How Much Does SMS Marketing Cost in 2026
SMS marketing pricing in 2026: plans from $25 to $100 a month plus per-message fees from $0.007 to $0.009 on Postscript, before US carrier fees.
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Postscript (usage-based)
SMS marketing in 2026 costs three things stacked together: a platform fee, a per-message rate and US carrier fees. Entry platform fees run from $25 a month (Salesmsg Basic) and $39 (SimpleTexting, 500 credits) to Postscript, which has no plan fee on Starter but a $49 monthly minimum spend. Postscript charges $0.009 per SMS on Starter, $0.008 on Growth ($100 a month) and $0.007 on Professional ($500 a month), plus carrier fees. For ecommerce, usage-based pricing (Postscript) means you pay for messages sent rather than a plan tier. For SMB broadcast, SimpleTexting at $39 a month is the flat-fee entry. The real cost driver is list size times send frequency.
Try Postscript (usage-based)At a Glance
| Feature | Postscript (usage-based) | SimpleTexting | Klaviyo SMS | Salesmsg | Attentive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 plan fee, $49 monthly minimum, $0.009/SMS | From $39/mo (500 messages) | Billed on top of the email plan; $5 of mobile messages a month on the free plan | From $25/mo (Basic), $277/mo (Pro) | Enterprise (custom, sales-led) |
| Entry Price | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pricing Model | - | - | - | - | - |
| Best For | - | - | - | - | - |
| Platform Fit | - | - | - | - | - |
Quick Comparison
Our Top Picks
Postscript (usage-based)
The cost-control winner for ecommerce SMS. Pay for messages sent, no email plan underneath, no tier you outgrow.
- Usage-based: spend tracks messages sent, no tier to outgrow
- Free install, no email plan cost stacked underneath
- Transparent per-message economics
- First-class US compliance (A2P 10DLC handled)
- Shopify-only (no BigCommerce or WooCommerce)
- SMS-only, so email is a separate cost
SimpleTexting
The flat-fee floor for SMB and non-Shopify senders. Cheapest credible entry with messages bundled into the plan.
- Flat $39 a month entry for 500 credits
- Messages bundled into the plan, easy to budget
- Platform-agnostic (not Shopify-locked)
- Compliance and keyword opt-in included
- Bundled-message tiers cost more per message than usage-based at high volume
- Shallower ecommerce segmentation than Postscript or Klaviyo
Klaviyo SMS
The runner-up if you want SMS and email consolidated. SMS metered on top of a Klaviyo email plan, one bill.
- Cheapest path to coordinated email plus SMS on one bill
- Deepest segmentation drives higher revenue per message
- Free email tier to 250 contacts lowers the entry cost
- More expensive than Postscript for SMS-only use
- SMS cost stacks on top of the email plan tier
Salesmsg
The cost basis for sales SMS, not marketing SMS. Higher entry, priced for two-way rep conversations with CRM sync.
- Priced for conversational sales SMS with CRM sync
- Calling bundled alongside SMS
- Two-way threading reps actually use
- Higher entry than marketing-focused SMS tools
- Wrong cost basis for broadcast ecommerce campaigns
Attentive
0Caveat: enterprise pricing. Custom contracts that typically only make sense above roughly $20M revenue.
- Best-in-class list-growth tooling for large programmes
- Enterprise deliverability and carrier relationships
- Custom sales-led pricing, no published rate
- Overkill on cost below roughly $20M revenue
How This Was Tested
Pricing reflects public list prices and published per-message rates on vendor websites, re-read for Postscript, SimpleTexting, Sendlane and Salesmsg in October 2026, plus US A2P 10DLC carrier fee structures published by the major carriers. Cost examples assume US sending. No annual prepay discounts applied. The right tier depends on monthly message volume and whether you need SMS-only or coordinated email plus SMS. Usage-based pricing beats bundled-tier pricing for high-volume ecommerce; flat bundled pricing is easier to budget for low-volume broadcast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Budget $25 to $100 a month at the entry tier, plus per-message costs and US carrier fees. A small sender on a flat plan like SimpleTexting pays from $39 a month for 500 credits. An ecommerce brand on Postscript pays no plan fee on Starter but a $49 monthly minimum spend, then $0.009 per SMS. The platform fee is rarely the main cost; message volume is.
Published US rates start around $0.007 to $0.009 per SMS on Postscript ($0.024 to $0.045 per MMS), and SimpleTexting charges 5.5 cents for each extra credit beyond its plan, so rates vary widely by platform and volume (higher volume gets lower rates). A long text over 160 characters counts as multiple segments, so message length affects cost. International sending is priced per destination country and is usually higher than US domestic rates.
A2P 10DLC is the US carrier registration system for application-to-person SMS sent from standard 10-digit numbers. It adds a one-time brand registration fee (typically a few dollars to around $50) plus small monthly campaign fees levied by the carriers, passed through by your SMS platform. It is mandatory for US business SMS, and skipping registration causes carriers to filter or block your messages. Reputable platforms (Postscript, Klaviyo, SimpleTexting) handle the registration for you and itemise the fees.
It depends on volume. Flat-fee bundled pricing (SimpleTexting) is cheaper and easier to budget for low, predictable volume. Usage-based pricing (Postscript) is cheaper at higher ecommerce volume because you only pay for messages sent rather than a tier you may not fill, and per-message rates drop as volume grows. The crossover is roughly where your monthly volume exceeds the messages bundled into a comparable flat plan.
Because the platform fee is only one of three costs. The other two are per-message charges (which scale with how many subscribers you have times how often you send) and US carrier fees from A2P 10DLC. A brand that grows its list or increases send frequency sees the message-cost line rise even though the platform fee is unchanged. Control the bill by segmenting sends to engaged subscribers rather than blasting the whole list, which also lifts revenue per message.
For SMS-only use, usually yes, because Klaviyo meters SMS on top of an email plan you also pay for. For coordinated email plus SMS, Klaviyo can be cheaper than running a standalone SMS tool plus a separate email tool. The deciding factor is whether you want both channels on one platform. If you only need SMS, a standalone like Postscript avoids paying for the email tier.