How Rally credits work
Credits are used for both sending and receiving messages.
SMS (text messages)
Up to 160 characters → 1 credit
161–320 characters → 2 credits
Longer messages continue to split into additional segments (and use more credits)
MMS (images, video, PDF, vCard)
2 credits per message fixed
What changes how credits are calculated?
SMS pricing depends on the type of characters in your message:
1. Standard text (GSM-7)
This includes:
A–Z, a–z
Numbers
Basic punctuation (.,!?)
→ Up to 160 characters per credit
2. Special characters (Unicode)
If your message includes any of the following, it switches to Unicode:
Emojis (😊 👍 🎉)
Smart quotes (“ ” ‘ ’)
Accented letters (é, ñ, ü)
Certain symbols or non-English characters
→ Limit drops to 70 characters per credit
Important:
There are no “safe” emojis in GSM-7.
Any emoji will reduce your character limit and may increase credits.
Examples
120 plain text characters → 1 credit
200 plain text characters → 2 credits
120 characters + emoji → 2 credits (Unicode)
MMS with image → 2 credits
Tips to avoid extra credits
Avoid emojis and special characters if you want to stay at 1 credit
Use plain quotes (" ") instead of smart quotes
Keep messages concise
Watch personalization fields like
{first_name}(they can increase length)Use our GSM-7 Tool (button lights up) to identify and remove characters pushing you into multiple SMS credits
Use Credit Counter
Use the character and credit counter as you compose a message to see how the system counts your message.
Tip: Add an image and send the message as an MMS instead of SMS. This forces it into an MMS message, which is often more cost-effective than a multi-segment SMS.
Need More Credits?
Every plan includes credits, and you can add more anytime.
Get 1,000 credits for $50 (bulk discounts available).
Monthly plan credits expire at the end of the month
Added/Purchased credits never expire
Extras & Special Cases
MMS, international messaging, and calling features may require additional credits.
Tell us what you’re planning, and we’ll estimate exactly what you’ll need.