---
title: "What is a sending credit in Sarbacane?"
description: "Understand how many credits an email or SMS uses, and why a send may cost more."
url: https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/298-what-is-a-sending-credit-in-sarbacane
collection: "Credits & Usage"
updated: 2026-10-26
language: en
alternates: [fr, es]
---

# What is a sending credit in Sarbacane?

Understand how many credits an email or SMS uses, and why a send may cost more.

A sending credit lets you send an email to a recipient from Sarbacane Campaigns or Sarbacane Sendkit, or an SMS from Sarbacane Campaigns. An email up to 194 KB costs 1 credit per recipient. An SMS of fewer than 160 characters to France also costs 1 credit.

## How many credits does an email use?

-   **Up to 194 KB** : 1 credit per recipient.
    
-   **Over that limit** : 1 additional credit per recipient for every 194 KB increment. Example: a 300 KB email costs 2 credits per recipient.
    
-   **Images** : your images are hosted automatically (5 MB included per campaign), which limits the message size.
    

## How many credits does an SMS use?

-   **To France, fewer than 160 characters** : 1 credit per recipient.
    
-   **More than 160 characters** : 2 credits per recipient.
    
-   **More than 300 characters** : 3 credits per recipient.
    
-   **International** : the cost varies by country. See [How many credits does an SMS use in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/430.md)
    

> **Important** : certain elements (special characters, links, dynamic fields, or legal notices) increase the total number of characters in your SMS and may push your message into the next credit tier.

## Are credits shared between Sarbacane Campaigns and Sarbacane Sendkit?

No. Email credits are specific to each product: Sarbacane Campaigns credits cannot be used in Sarbacane Sendkit, and vice versa. SMS credits apply only to Sarbacane Campaigns, as Sarbacane Sendkit does not send SMS messages.

## Related articles

-   [How to check your credit balance in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/90.md)
    
-   [How many credits does an SMS use in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/430.md)
    
-   [Are sending credits carried over from one period to another?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/297.md)
    
-   [Cost of sending an email campaign](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/42.md)