What is a message credit?
Welco plans include a number of message credits each month, and every alert you send uses some of them. One credit is one text part of up to 160 plain characters, sent to one phone. Here is exactly how we count them.
7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing
- 160 plain characters per credit
- Each phone counts separately
- Never more than 6 credits per alert
Plain letters, numbers and common symbols: 160 characters fit in 1 credit.
The short answer
A message credit is the unit Welco uses to measure what your alerts send. Four rules cover almost every alert.
One part, one phone, one credit
One text part to one phone uses 1 message credit.
160 plain characters
An alert in plain letters, numbers and common symbols fits 160 characters into 1 credit.
70 with an emoji
One emoji or special character switches the whole alert to a smaller format of 70 characters. Think °, curly “smart quotes” from Outlook or Word, or accented letters outside the basic set.
Each phone counts
Each phone is counted separately. One alert to 3 phones, at 1 credit each, uses 3 credits.
How many credits an alert uses
Find the length of the whole text in the left column, or the middle one if it has a special character. Longer alerts go in parts of 152 plain characters (66 with special characters), and each part is 1 credit.
US and Canada numbers. In the UK and the Netherlands, longer parts hold 153 plain characters, or 67 with special characters. Length means the whole text, including about 30 characters for the Welco label and STOP line.
up to 160 characters
- Has an emoji or special character
- up to 70
- Credits per phone
- 1
161-304
- Has an emoji or special character
- 71-132
- Credits per phone
- 2
305-456
- Has an emoji or special character
- 133-198
- Credits per phone
- 3
457-608
- Has an emoji or special character
- 199-264
- Credits per phone
- 4
609-760
- Has an emoji or special character
- 265-330
- Credits per phone
- 5
761 or more
- Has an emoji or special character
- 331 or more
- Credits per phone
- 6 (maximum)
What's included in the length
US carriers want each business text to show who sent it and how to stop. So Welco puts Welco: at the start of every alert and Reply STOP to opt out. at the end, and you can't turn either off. Together they take about 30 characters. That leaves about 130 characters of your own alert in 1 credit.
A few characters count as 2 each: [ ] { } \ ~ ^ | and €. A line break counts as 1.
The pump station alarm below is 85 characters long. Its two brackets count as 2 each, so Welco counts 87. It is plain text under 160, so it uses 1 credit.
Welco: [Pump Station 2] Well 3 level LOW LOW alarm at 1:58 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.Examples of credits per alert
Each example counts the whole text, label and STOP line included.
The pump station alarm above (85 characters, counted as 87, plain)
- Phones
- 1
- Credits
- 1
The same pump station alarm
- Phones
- 3
- Credits
- 3
A 240-character server alert
- Phones
- 2
- Credits
- 2 × 2 = 4
A 100-character alert with °F in it (special character)
- Phones
- 1
- Credits
- 2
A 3,000-character alarm email, not trimmed
- Phones
- 1
- Credits
- 6 (capped)
A return-to-normal email dropped by a rule
- Phones
- 4
- Credits
- 0
See what your own alerts use
Your 7-day free trial comes with 15 message credits. Send a real alarm and check its count.
7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing
What uses credits, and what never does
Every text in either direction uses credits by the same rules. Anything Welco stops before it reaches the mobile network is free.
Uses credits
- Each alert text, once for every phone it goes to.
- Your staff's replies, like YES, STOP, HELP or a short note.
- Welco's own confirmation, STOP and HELP texts.
- A text the network or the phone fails to deliver. It uses its credits as soon as Welco hands it to the mobile network, and they aren't refunded. Our delivery rates disclosure explains why.
Never uses credits
- Emails that your alert rules drop.
- Emails from senders you haven't approved.
- Alerts you run in test mode.
- Texts our system rejects at the moment of sending.
- Alerts held because they contain a blocked word or phrase.
Monthly credits, packs and running out
Compare plans and prices to find the right size.
Monthly credits reset
Your plan's message credits reset each billing month. Credits you don't use that month don't carry over. Yearly plans get the same credits every month.
Credit packs never expire
Welco draws on a pack only after the month's plan credits are gone. Packs come in two sizes: 500 credits for $40, or 1,000 credits for $70.
When every credit is used
We email the admin at 80%, 90%, 95% used. At 100%, a pack takes over if you have one. Otherwise alerts pause, and you are never charged for overage.
How to use fewer credits
Most alerts can fit in 1 credit with a few small changes.
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Frequently asked questions
Why did one alert use 2 credits?
Do replies use credits?
Do unused credits roll over?
Does each phone cost a credit?
Is there a maximum per alert?
Do the Welco label and STOP line count toward the character limit?
Welco: at the start and Reply STOP to opt out. at the end take about 30 characters between them. That leaves about 130 plain characters for your own alert in 1 credit. Carriers require both lines, so they can't be turned off.How many message credits come with the free trial?
Count your credits with a real alarm
Use the 7-day free trial and its 15 message credits to see exactly what each of your alerts uses.
7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing