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How many characters can an RCS message contain?

RCS Business Messaging operates with three categories of messages—Basic, Single and Conversational—each with its own characteristics.

How many characters can a Basic RCS message contain?

A Basic RCS message corresponds to the classic SMS experience: it is limited to 160 characters, just like a regular SMS.

You can think of Basic as a “postcard” – short and precise, with room for the most important information. If, on the other hand, you want to write a longer message or include rich media (such as images, buttons, etc.), you move up to the Single RCS message category.

How many characters can a Single RCS message contain?

Single messages break the classic 160-character limit and give you much more space – in fact, a full 3,072 characters in the text portion of the message, equivalent to 19 SMS messages! This gives you a much larger format to play with.

How many characters can a Conversational RCS message contain?

The third type, Conversational RCS messages, is similar to an open dialogue or a continuous conversation. Once the recipient replies and thus starts a conversation, you can freely exchange messages back and forth within a 24-hour window. Each message in the conversation can, of course, also be long and contain rich content.

Does rich media count towards the character limit?

Images, carousels, and other rich media do not count towards the character limit, but instead fall under an overall file size limit for RCS messages, which is typically 100 MB. It should also be noted that it is possible to use emojis without affecting the character limit of the RCS message.

Can it be cheaper to send RCS Single messages than SMS messages?

Yes, it can be in cases where you often send long messages that take up several concatenated SMS messages. By sending a single RCS message instead of a long concatenated SMS message, the total cost is lower – all while benefitting from the extended functionality of RCS as well.

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