SMS costs in Engage are simple once you know the two moving parts: the number and the segments. This article explains both.
The Two Parts of SMS Cost
- Your number — texting numbers bought through Engage carry a monthly fee. The exact price is always shown before you confirm the purchase.
- Usage — every SMS you send is billed per segment.
What a Segment Is
A segment is the unit carriers charge in — up to 160 characters for a plain-text message. Longer messages are split into multiple segments and billed accordingly. Emoji and special characters switch the message to a different encoding, which lowers the per-segment character limit and can increase the count.
Watching the Count as You Type
The Engage composer counts for you: next to Send, 0 · 1/10 segments means your message currently fits in one segment. Carriers accept up to 10 segments per message — the counter keeps you honest before you send.
TIP: Templates keep costs predictable: a well-written 1-segment template beats an improvised 3-segment reply sent fifty times a month.
Where to See Your Usage
Message volume by channel is charted in Reports → Messages — see our Engage Reports: Track Calls, Messages and Team Performance article. For billing itself, see our How Engage Billing Works: Subscriptions and Credits article.
Related Articles
We suggest reading our How Engage Billing Works: Subscriptions and Credits article for the complete billing picture.
For more guides, refer to related articles below, select additional guides, or use the search bar at the top of the page. These guides will help you get the most out of your Pabau account.
Additionally, to help you fully utilize and understand your Pabau account, we recommend exploring additional guides and resources offered at the Pabau Academy.