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SMS Volume Stats Report

The SMS Volume Stats report provides an overall summary of all SMS messaging activity for the selected date range. It shows a single transposed view with one row per metric, giving you a comprehensive snapshot of your SMS program.

SMS Volume Stats Report

Report Fields​

FieldDescription
Total MessagesTotal count of all SMS messages (inbound + outbound)
Total SegmentsTotal number of message segments across all messages
InboundNumber of inbound (customer-sent) messages
Inbound SegmentsTotal segments from inbound messages
OutboundNumber of outbound (sent from the system) messages
Outbound SegmentsTotal segments from outbound messages
Agent OutboundNumber of outbound messages sent manually by an agent
Agent Outbound SegmentsTotal segments from agent-sent outbound messages
Campaign OutboundNumber of outbound messages sent by automated campaigns
Campaign Outbound SegmentsTotal segments from campaign-sent outbound messages
Outbound ErrorsNumber of outbound messages that had a delivery error

How the Numbers Are Computed​

Messages vs Segments​

An SMS message longer than 160 characters is split into multiple segments for delivery. The system tracks both the message count (1 message regardless of length) and the segment count (how many parts the message was split into). A minimum of 1 segment is counted per message even if the segments field is zero in the database.

Inbound​

Messages where direction = 'inbound'. These are messages sent by customers or guests to your phone numbers.

Outbound​

Messages where direction = 'outbound'. This is the total of all outbound messages regardless of how they were sent.

Agent Outbound​

Outbound messages where sent_by_id is set, meaning an agent manually sent the message from the inbox. This is a subset of the total Outbound count.

Campaign Outbound​

Outbound messages where campaign_id is set, meaning the message was sent by an automated campaign or workflow. This is a subset of the total Outbound count.

Outbound Errors​

Outbound messages where last_error_at is set, indicating a delivery failure occurred.

Relationship Between Counts​

  • Total Messages = Inbound + Outbound
  • Outbound >= Agent Outbound + Campaign Outbound (some outbound messages may not be attributed to either an agent or a campaign)
  • Total Segments = Inbound Segments + Outbound Segments

Report Filters​

Date Range​

  • From/To: Select the date range for messages to analyze
  • Example: Jan-01-2026 to Jan-31-2026

Timezone​

  • Purpose: Determines how message timestamps are interpreted
  • Options: Select from available timezones (e.g., Central, Eastern, Pacific)

Understanding the Results​

Example​

FieldValue
Total Messages62
Total Segments75
Inbound38
Inbound Segments47
Outbound24
Outbound Segments28
Agent Outbound19
Agent Outbound Segments23
Campaign Outbound0
Campaign Outbound Segments0
Outbound Errors0

This shows:

  • 62 total messages were sent/received, consuming 75 segments
  • 38 inbound messages from customers (47 segments, meaning some were multi-segment)
  • 24 outbound messages sent (28 segments)
  • Of the 24 outbound, 19 were sent by agents and none by campaigns — the remaining 5 outbound were not attributed to either
  • No delivery errors occurred

Transposed vs Normal View​

This report defaults to a transposed view (metrics as rows). Click the Normal button to switch to a standard table view with metrics as columns.

Use Cases​

SMS Program Health​

  • Monitor overall message volume and trends
  • Track delivery error rates
  • Ensure segment counts are reasonable (high segments per message may indicate overly long messages)

Cost Management​

  • Use segment counts to estimate SMS costs (billing is typically per segment)
  • Compare agent vs campaign message volumes for budgeting
  • Track outbound errors that may still incur charges

Agent vs Automation Balance​

  • Compare Agent Outbound vs Campaign Outbound to understand the mix
  • Determine if more messaging should be automated
  • Verify campaign automations are sending expected volumes
  • SMS Volume Stats By Day: Same metrics broken down by day
  • SMS Volume Stats By Hour: Same metrics broken down by hour
  • SMS Response Duration: Agent response time metrics for SMS