SMS Marketing Pricing Explained: (2025 Edition)

SMS marketing is still one of the fastest and most direct ways of reaching your audience. But before you put your whole marketing budget into it, it’s important to understand exactly what it costs and why.

Throughout this guide, we’ll break down how SMS marketing pricing works in 2025, from the factors that impact your per-message cost to the common pricing models you’ll see most providers use.

And to make sure you get the most from every text you send, we’ll also share some tips on how to keep your costs low without compromising on reach or results.

How Much Does SMS Marketing Cost in 2025?

Your costs for SMS marketing are just platform fees + message fees. The exact amount depends on a few factors:

• Your Volume: Texting 100 people vs 100,000 people is a huge difference. High-volume senders often get lower rates per text (or higher-tier plans) than small businesses.
• Message Type: Standard SMS vs MMS. A plain 160-character SMS might be ~$0.015 in the US, whereas an MMS with a photo could be a few cents more. Some providers count an MMS as 3 credits (3x the cost of a text) since it carries more data.
• Country and Carrier: Sending within your country is usually cheapest. International messages cost more (e.g. sending to Europe or Asia might run $0.05 or $0.10 per text). And certain mobile carriers tack on extra fees for business texts (more on that later).
• Your Platform/Service: Different SMS marketing platforms have different pricing models. For instance, Twilio charges ~$0.0083 per SMS in the US pay-as-you-go. We’ll compare top providers in a bit.
• Any “Premium” Options: Using a dedicated short code (those 5-6 digit numbers) or fancy features like AI-driven texting can add to your costs. A dedicated short code alone can cost $500-$1,000 per month to lease, which is something only large campaigns usually justify.

How SMS Marketing Platforms Price Their Services

Some are pay-as-you-go, some are “unlimited” up to a point, some give you bulk credits.

Core Factors That Shape Your Cost

These are the main factors that shape how much you end up paying for SMS marketing:

Total Number of Messages Per Month

This is the biggest driver of cost. More texts = more money, plain and simple. Many platforms have pricing tiers based on message volume. For instance, 500 texts might cost $29/month on one service, whereas 5,000 texts could be $99/month on a higher tier. Some services just charge per message with slight volume discounts as you scale.

Message Segmentation & Character Count

Remember that one SMS = 160 characters or less. If you go over that, your message gets split into 2 (or more) texts, which are now separate charges. And emojis or non-Latin characters (Unicode) shrink that limit even further to 70 characters. So a long message with an emoji could be split into 3+ messages, which is tripling your cost!

Domestic vs. International Delivery

Sending texts to domestic recipients usually costs less. International SMS often has higher rates. For example, a text within the US might be $0.015, but to the UK it could be $0.05.

If you run campaigns across the U.S. and Canada, those two are typically similar in cost. But once you start texting Europe, Asia, etc., factor in higher prices for those regions.

One-Way vs. Two-Way Messaging

Many SMS programs are one-way (you send a blast, perhaps expecting no reply). But if you open up two-way conversations, like customers who reply “STOP” or ask questions, those inbound messages cost money too.

Most providers charge ~$0.01 per incoming SMS you receive. It’s small, but if you get thousands of replies, it adds up. Some platforms include free inbound texts, others don’t, so check your plan.

Short Code, Toll-Free, or Local Number Usage

The type of phone number you use to send texts can influence cost. If you use a regular local number (10DLC), the number itself is cheap (often free or ~$1/month) but you need to register your brand/campaign in the U.S.

Toll-free numbers (like 1-800 texts) often have no extra monthly fee and decent throughput, so it’s a more cost-effective choice for most people. Short codes (those 5-6 digit numbers) are the priciest: as mentioned, renting a dedicated short code costs hundreds per month.

However, short codes do allow for very high volume and fast sending, so large enterprises or urgent blasts (e.g. TV voting campaigns, big retail promos) might justify them. There are also shared short codes (multiple brands use different keywords on the same number), but carriers have been phasing those out for A2P marketing.

SMS vs MMS Cost Differences

SMS (Short Message Service) is the standard text message, up to 160 characters of text and no images. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows images, GIFs, videos, or just longer text (up to ~1600 chars depending on carrier).

MMS messages are charged at a higher rate than SMS on virtually all platforms. For example, an SMS might cost ~$0.01, while an MMS might be ~$0.03 or $0.05 on the same service.

Common Pricing Structures

How do different platforms charge you? Here are the common pricing structures you’ll encounter in SMS marketing services:

Pay-As-You-Go

You pay purely based on usage; no monthly fee. This is how Twilio and some API-centric services work (and some smaller businesses start this way). It’s nice because you only pay for what you use, but you don’t get volume discounts until you reach big numbers.

Pay-as-you-go is fine if you’re sending a handful of texts occasionally. At higher volumes, other models might save you money.

Monthly Subscription Plans

Many SMS marketing platforms offer tiered plans. These often bundle a set number of credits (1 credit = 1 SMS) and sometimes additional features depending on your tier. If you go over the included messages, you pay an overage (like $0.03 per extra text) or bump up to the next plan.

Bundled Credits (Bucket of Texts)

Similar to above, some platforms have you purchase message credits in bulk. For instance, you buy a pack of 1,000 credits for $20 (so $0.02 each). Those credits get used as you send. If you run out, you top up with another purchase.

This is effectively pay-as-you-go but in prepaid chunks. The advantage is you can often buy a larger chunk at a discount (the per-text cost often goes down the more you buy at once).

Flat-Rate or Unlimited (Rare for SMS)

True unlimited SMS plans are not common because of carrier costs (it’s not like email where sending more is virtually free). However, some platforms for high-volume enterprise clients will negotiate a flat monthly fee for X messages (it’s “unlimited” as long as you stay within fair use).

Fixed vs Variable Costs

Fixed costs are things like:

• Platform subscription fees
• Setup fees (if any)
• Phone number leasing costs
• Compliance-related fees like 10DLC registration

Variable costs scale depending on your usage (mainly the per-message fees and any carrier pass-through charges). These include things like paying for extra features triggered by usage.

For example, if you enable an SMS chatbot that uses AI API calls, you might pay per conversation or per AI message. Or integrating with your CRM might have a small per-text webhook fee (depends on the service).

Bulk vs. Individual SMS Campaigns

Individual/triggered messages are things like transactional texts or behavior-based drip texts. You send them one by one, but potentially a lot of them over time.

From a cost-saving perspective, some businesses will batch certain messages to go out in bulk rather than scattered, if it helps them stay in a cheaper tier. For instance, instead of sending daily deal texts (30 campaigns a month), they might reduce to weekly and combine offers, so they only send 4 big blasts a month, which is just easier to predict and potentially a smaller plan.

Sample Monthly Cost Breakdown

It might help to see some hypotheticals for SMS marketing costs:

Example 1: Small Local Business, ~5,000 Messages/Month (Domestic)

Let’s say a boutique retailer has 5,000 SMS subscribers and sends about one text each per month (5k messages). Using a platform that charges $0.015 per SMS, that’s about $75 in message fees.

The business uses a standard local number (10DLC) which was free with their platform (but they did pay a one-time $10 campaign registration). The SMS software costs $49/month for their size. Total monthly cost: ~$124.

In return, those texts bring in several thousand dollars in sales. Not a bad trade-off.

Example 2: Mid-Size eCommerce Brand, Cross-Border (U.S. & Canada)

This brand sends ~20,000 texts a month. They have a U.S. customer base (15k messages) and some Canadian customers (5k messages). Their platform charges $0.015 per SMS in the US and $0.015 in CA (Canada luckily costs the same in this case). So message fees = $300 total.

They also pay for a toll-free number at $2/month and subscribe to a Pro plan with advanced automation at $199/month (which includes some credits). After included credits, the overage they pay was part of that $300 calc. They also incur minor carrier fees (maybe $20 extra) because carriers charge a tiny fee on each message (their platform passes it through). All-in, maybe ~$520/month.

Example 3: Enterprise Company, Global Sends (Transactional + Marketing)

Picture a large enterprise sending 500,000+ SMS/month worldwide. They use a dedicated short code in the US ($1,000/mo lease) and have local numbers in 5 other countries. They negotiated a custom rate of $0.007 per SMS on high volumes. Let’s say 300k messages are US, 200k international at various rates averaging $0.02.

What Factors Influence SMS Marketing Pricing?

We’ve touched on many factors, but what influences pricing the most?

• Message Volume: This is number one. Higher volume typically lowers your per-message cost, but it still increases your total spend.
• Where Your Recipients Are: If all your customers are on the same country’s carriers, you’ll have simpler (and likely cheaper) pricing than if you’re sending worldwide because international messaging costs and cross-border fees are expensive.
• Feature Set and Integrations: Basic SMS tools might be cheaper, but platforms that offer everything from SMS automation and AI content to deep eCommerce integration might charge more.

Comparing SMS Pricing Models

Additional Costs to Take Into Account

These are outside the basic “messages and subscription” but are still important for budgeting.

Carrier and Compliance Fees

When sending SMS professionally, particularly in the U.S., there are industry and carrier fees to know:

10DLC Registration Fees

10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code, so basically standard phone numbers sanctioned for A2P (application-to-person) messaging. To use these for mass texting in the U.S., you need to register your brand and campaign with The Campaign Registry (TCR).

There’s typically a one-time brand registration fee of $19.

A2P Per-Message Fees

As mentioned, U.S. carriers (and some in other countries) have introduced per-SMS and per-MMS fees for A2P traffic. These are fractions of a cent, but they exist. For instance, AT&T charges $0.003 per SMS and $0.0075 per MMS.

And if your SMS provider says “carrier fees not included,” be prepared to see them on your invoice. If they say “all carrier fees included,” it means they baked that into your per-message price (so you might be paying a slightly higher base rate).

Short Code, Toll-Free, and Dedicated Number Costs

The number-related fees will be fairly minor (a few dollars a month) for most businesses unless you go the short code route. And if you integrate SMS with say a talent management or influencer campaign, sometimes those involve short codes for voting or contests. Those costs might be rolled into an overall campaign budget rather than your ongoing SMS marketing cost.

• Toll-free is a great middle-ground for most people
• Local numbers are good for a personal touch (and necessary for some local marketing use cases)
• Short codes are premium

Integration and Setup Costs

There’s also the integration and setup expenses:

Software Integration Costs

Many SMS platforms offer integrations with popular systems (CRM, eCommerce platforms, etc.). Some are free, some are paid.

For example, integrating with Shopify might be free out-of-the-box for a specialized SMS tool like Postscript, but integrating with a custom CRM could require a paid connector or Zapier usage.

And if you use an API, the development work has a cost (developer time). Some services charge for API access at certain tiers.

Migration Costs

There might be costs for migrating data if you are switching providers or starting fresh with a large existing list. Exporting contacts from one and importing to another is the straightforward part, but it gets a bit more complicated if you need help rebuilding some of your automations or workflows and the new provider will charge you for it.

Onboarding and Training

A few platforms (mostly enterprise ones) have optional paid onboarding packages. For instance, a platform might offer a $500 onboarding service where their team helps set up your first campaigns, segment your list, etc.

Support Levels

Basic support (email, forums) is included with most services. But some offer premium support or a dedicated rep for an extra cost or only on higher plans. Decide if you need that. If you’re new to SMS marketing, having a human to talk to can save you costly mistakes (like messaging outside permitted hours or messing up an opt-out keyword).

Add-On Features and Usage Triggers

What if you want extra capabilities?

Chatbots & AI

Some providers have this as an add-on if you want to use AI chatbots for two-way SMS. It might be billed per active chatbot or per conversation. It’s not usually standard in basic plans.

Advanced Segmentation & Analytics

Generally included in decent platforms, but super advanced analytics (like multi-touch attribution, LTV calculations from SMS, etc.) might only be in enterprise plans.

If a platform markets an “AI-driven segmentation” or “predictive send time optimization” feature, check if it’s included or an add-on.

Workflow Builders

Many SMS marketing platforms come with automation builders (for birthday messages, drip series, etc.). It’s basically upselling you from manual messaging to automated (which is worth it if you can afford it, because automation = better results usually).

AI Copywriting

This one’s minor but a few platforms now have AI text generators to help write your SMS content. Can be helpful at scale, but we’d suggest sticking to manual writing to not lose that personal factor.

Retargeting and Media Integrations

Some SMS tools let you trigger Facebook Custom Audiences or Google Ads based on SMS engagement (a kind of multi-channel retargeting). Those typically don’t cost extra on the SMS platform side, but of course you’d pay for the ads.

The point is, SMS can work well with other marketing tools, but find out if connecting those requires a subscription to another service (like a retargeting platform or a CDP).

Overage, Throttling, and Scaling Limits.

What happens if you go beyond your plan limits?

Overage Charges

Most platforms will charge a per-message overage rate if you exceed your plan’s included messages. This can be slightly higher than your normal rate. For example, a plan might include 5,000 texts and then charge $0.04 for each text above that in a month. And if you consistently have overages, it’s time to upgrade your plan because you’ll save by being on the next tier.

Throttling Policies

Every platform and carrier has sending speed limits. If you suddenly try to send 100,000 messages at once from a single long code, the platform will queue them and send at the allowed rate (to avoid carrier blocking).

Throttling isn’t a fee, but it means your campaign might take longer to complete. Some providers might offer a service to distribute across multiple numbers to increase throughput, but that’s usually at an extra cost.

Holiday or Peak Surcharges

This one’s rare, but some messaging aggregators have higher costs during very peak times (around Black Friday, carriers sometimes impose extra fees on heavy traffic). Most marketing platforms shield you from this or bake it in, but just a heads up that send volumes skyrocket during the holiday season, so carriers can get strict.

SMS Pricing Comparison: Top 5 Providers

How to Estimate Your Monthly SMS Marketing Budget

Follow this approach:

Know Your Send Volume and Campaign Frequency

Start with estimating how many messages you’ll send per month. This depends on:

• How often you plan to text your subscribers
• How many subscribers you have (or expect to have)
• If you want triggered/automation messages
• If you need two-way interactions

Account for Segment Count per Message

Adjust the volume calculation if you often send longer texts or use emojis (knowing some messages will count as 2 or 3 SMS segments).

For example, if your standard promotional text is 180 characters, that’s 2 SMS segments. So sending that to 1,000 people actually uses ~2,000 message credits. If you plan rich content like this regularly, effectively double your volume estimate in the budget.

Include All Fixed and Recurring Costs

List out all your monthly fixed costs:

• Platform subscription fee (if any).
• Phone number leasing cost (if any).
• 10DLC campaign fee (e.g. $10/mo if applicable).
• Any other add-on subscriptions (maybe you pay $5/mo for an integration or $20/mo for an AI bot add-on).

Also any one-time or annual costs:

• One-time setup fees (you might amortize this across a few months for internal budgeting).
• Yearly short code lease (if you paid $6,000 for a year, that’s $500/mo effectively).
• If you prepaid for credits, write down how long you expect them to last (e.g. you bought 5,000 credits for $75, so maybe that’s 2 months of messaging and effectively $37.50 per month).

Now you know:

• Expected messages sent per month: 10,000
• Cost per message (estimate with your provider): $0.02
• Message costs = 10,000 * $0.02 = $200
• Platform fee = $50
• Phone number fee = $2
• 10DLC fee = $5

Total per month = $257

Project List Growth Over Time

Your SMS list usually grows (or shrinks) faster than email because of opt-in and opt-out sensitivity. People may opt out more readily if you over-message them, and you may add a lot via promotions or events.

So we suggest doing a 3, 6, 12-month projection:

• Month 1: 1,000 subscribers where you send 4 texts each = 4,000 messages.
• Month 6: Maybe 2,000 subscribers and sending 5 texts each (maybe you increased frequency) = 10,000 messages.
• Month 12: 5,000 subscribers (if things go great!) at 4 texts each (say you found 4 is the sweet spot) = 20,000 messages.

Plotting this out helps in a few ways:

1. Budget Planning: You might start at $100/mo and end up at $500/mo by year-end. No shock when it happens, because you forecasted it.
2. Selecting the Right Pricing Model: If you know you’ll outgrow the basic plan in 3 months, maybe just start on the higher plan if it’s more cost-efficient in the long run (especially if there are any annual contract benefits). Or make sure the provider you choose can scale with you.
3. Infrastructure Planning: If you were on pay-as-you-go, at some growth point it might make more sense to switch to a subscription (or vice versa). E.g., pay-as-you-go Twilio for 500 messages is fine, but if you plan to hit 50k messages, you might then integrate with a marketing platform for better rates and features.

And seasonal growth is also something to think about. If you’re a retailer, your list might get bigger during the holiday season (as might your email marketing campaign). So budget accordingly for those peak months rather than averaging it out and being short in November/December.

Measure Cost Against Results

This is more about justifying the budget, but always plan to measure the ROI of your SMS marketing so you can see if the cost is giving you a return.

We’d recommend tracking:

• Revenue Per Message (RPM): If you made $5,000 from a campaign that sent 10,000 texts, that’s $0.50 revenue per text. So your ROI is huge there if your cost per text was only $0.02.
• Conversion Rates: If 5% of recipients make a purchase and your average order is $50, 1,000 texts could net you $2,500 revenue.
• Lead Conversion or Response Rate: For non-direct sales, maybe you measure responses or clicks. SMS click-through rates can be 5-20% easily, which is much higher than email. That can translate to more leads or engagement that has value (even if that’s not immediate dollars).

And knowing your results like this means you can be confident in changing your budget. For instance, if sending one extra text campaign per month costs an extra $200 but generates $5,000 in sales, you’ll happily do it. Conversely, if a certain type of message isn’t performing, you can cut that and save money.

Also, think about your customer LTV (lifetime value) in the equation. SMS might not always drive an immediate sale, but it could increase retention or repeat purchase frequency, which is value over time. It’s harder to attribute, but worth acknowledging.

For instance, SMS could reduce no-show rates for appointments, which means you save lost revenue and it also justifies the cost of those reminder texts.

Ways to Reduce SMS Marketing Costs Without Sacrificing Results

Everyone likes to save money, especially in marketing where you can reallocate any pennies you save into other channels. Fortunately, you can trim SMS costs and often improve performance at the same time. Here are some cost-saving strategies:

Finally, make a habit out of reviewing your plan over time, because you want to have the optimal pricing structure as your list grows or shrinks. The plan that was best when you had 500 subscribers may not be best at 5,000. And providers won’t always auto-adjust you to the cheapest option; that’s on you to optimize.

Final Takeaways

SMS marketing is a lot more about budgeting and strategy than just blasting texts. In general, you can expect to spend a few cents per message, but those costs quickly add up as your list grows and you send messages more often. So keep your texts short and targeted so you’re not paying for more than you need.

And don’t forget to account for platform fees or carrier charges that could unexpectedly inflate your budget! It’s also worth taking the time to compare providers. Make the most of free trials across a selection of platforms, and land on a pricing model that fits your business. But above all, track your ROI so you know your budget is being used effectively.