Does an iMessage count as a text?

My friend doesn't have texting on her iPhone's plan and so my friends have to rely on apps and texting her email to talk to her, but sometimes it doesn't work. If you iMessage someone does it get charged in any way like it is on a text?

Nope, imessage doesn't use the same protocol as a text message, so it's not counted as one. Use it as much as possible and tell your phone company to go *** themselves for trying to charge you 10 cents for some data to piggy back on a transmission that will take place regardless of whether or not there's a text attached (text messages piggy back on the standard communication signal that is constantly going back and forth between your phone and your carrier's servers anyway)

IMessages are messages sent through the internet, therefore they are not text messages.