TextKit

ComparePrices checked

The best SMS APIs for developers in 2026, with real prices

$0.0032 a segment, plus carrier fees at cost.

The same rate on every US and Canadian carrier. Carrier fees are passed through at cost, per segment: the same fees Twilio, Plivo, Vonage, and Sinch pass through. That rate is lower than the rates of Plivo, Sinch, Twilio, Vonage, ClickSend, and Textmagic.

Get startedSee pricing
per segment, plus carrier fees at cost
$0.0032per segment, plus carrier fees at cost
carrier fees per segment, passed through at cost
$0.0035–$0.005carrier fees per segment, passed through at cost
other APIs compared here cost more, on every carrier
All 6other APIs compared here cost more, on every carrier

We compared seven SMS APIs on what a US text really costs, rate plus carrier fees, and on what each one is good for.

SMS API prices compared

Each bar is the rate plus carrier fees, from the provider's cheapest carrier (solid) to its dearest (light). The blue line is TextKit on its dearest carrier, $0.0082. Bars past $0.015 are cut at the edge; the figure beside them is exact.
Price of one US text, rate plus carrier fees, at TextKit and 6 other SMS APIs, checked October 24, 2026
ProviderPrice per segmentCarrier feesRate + feesNumberSource
TextKit$0.0032$0.0035–$0.005$0.0067–$0.0082$0.95/moPricing
Plivo$0.0077$0.0035–$0.005$0.0112–$0.0127$0.50/moPricing
Sinch$0.0078$0.0035–$0.005$0.0113–$0.0128$1.00/moPricing, fees
Twilio$0.0083$0.0035–$0.005$0.0118–$0.0133$1.15/moPricing
Vonage$0.0086$0.0035–$0.005$0.0121–$0.0136$1.05/moPricing
ClickSend$0.0285$0.0041$0.0326Not listedPricing
Textmagic$0.049None listed$0.049$10.00/moPricing

Rate + carrier fees: the published price of one outbound text (one segment, up to 160 plain characters) to a US mobile from a registered 10DLC number, plus the per-segment fees AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon charge, lowest to highest. TextKit passes the same carrier fees through at cost, as Twilio, Plivo, Vonage, and Sinch do. Pay-as-you-go list prices, checked October 24, 2026.

  • TextKit's rate, $0.0032 a segment, is lower than the rates of Plivo, Sinch, Twilio, Vonage, ClickSend, and Textmagic, and it costs less on every US carrier once carrier fees are added.

We make TextKit, one of the APIs on this page. Every competitor price was read from that provider's own pricing page on October 24, 2026 and links to its source. Prices change; if one has, tell us and we will fix the page.

The short list

  • Lowest rate hereTextKit, $0.0032 a segment, plus carrier fees at cost. Next is Plivo at $0.0077.
  • Many channels and countriesTwilio, Vonage or Sinch.
  • Business texting with a web appClickSend or Textmagic.

The APIs, cheapest first

  1. 1.TextKit

    Carrier fees at cost: $0.0035 to $0.005
    $0.0032per segment
    • Price. $0.0032 per outbound segment, plus carrier fees at cost ($0.0035 to $0.005 on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon), shown on each message. Numbers $0.95 a month. Phone verification $0.025, charged only when a code is verified.
    • Free to start. Sandbox keys with every endpoint and signed webhooks, and 100 live texts a month to numbers you verify. No card.
    • Built for developers. One REST API, SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby and Go, a CLI, and an MCP server for AI agents.
    • The carrier side, handled. We file your 10DLC registration, STOP, HELP and START are handled on every number, and delivery-drop alerts tell you when a carrier starts filtering.
    • Limits. US and Canada only, SMS only (no voice, WhatsApp or outbound MMS), and no short codes. TextKit is a young product.
    QuickstartPricing

  2. 2.Plivo

    TextKit's rate is 58% lower
    $0.0112–$0.0127with carrier fees

    Plivo sells SMS and voice APIs to developers, with a pricing page that lists every US carrier surcharge. Its local numbers are among the cheapest here.

    Price
    $0.0077 per segment + $0.0035 to $0.005 carrier fees
    Number
    $0.50 a month
    Watch for
    Carrier surcharges are added to every text, and volume discounts are not published.
    Plivo pricing

  3. 3.Sinch

    TextKit's rate is 58% lower
    $0.0113–$0.0128with carrier fees

    Sinch sells SMS, voice, email and verification APIs, with carrier connections in many countries.

    Price
    $0.0078 per segment + $0.0035 to $0.005 carrier fees
    Number
    $1.00 a month
    Watch for
    Carrier fees are added on top, and each number has a one-time setup fee as well as its monthly price.
    Sinch pricing

  4. 4.Twilio

    TextKit's rate is 61% lower
    $0.0118–$0.0133with carrier fees

    Twilio is the best-known communications API: SMS, voice, WhatsApp, email and verification, sending to most countries from one account.

    Price
    $0.0083 per segment + $0.0035 to $0.005 carrier fees
    Number
    $1.15 a month
    Watch for
    Carrier fees are charged per segment on top of the rate, and each message that ends in a failed status costs $0.001.
    Twilio pricing

  5. 5.Vonage

    TextKit's rate is 62% lower
    $0.0121–$0.0136with carrier fees

    Vonage, formerly Nexmo and now part of Ericsson, offers SMS, voice, video and verification APIs with wide international coverage.

    Price
    $0.0086 per segment + $0.0035 to $0.005 carrier fees
    Number
    $1.05 a month
    Watch for
    Carrier fees are added on top, and toll-free numbers carry a setup fee.
    Vonage pricing

  6. 6.ClickSend

    TextKit's rate is 88% lower
    $0.0326with carrier fees

    ClickSend is a business messaging service with a web app and an API, for SMS, MMS, email and letters. You prepay, and the rate depends on how much you top up.

    Price
    $0.0285 per segment + $0.0041 carrier fees
    Number
    Not listed
    Watch for
    The price shown is for the smallest top-up. It falls to $0.0093 for a $2,000 top-up, plus a flat $0.0041 carrier fee.
    ClickSend pricing

  7. 7.Textmagic

    TextKit's rate is 93% lower
    $0.049with carrier fees

    Textmagic is a business texting app with an API, sold in prepaid credit bundles. Inbound texts are free, and the first 10DLC registration is free; each campaign is then $10 a month.

    Price
    $0.049 per segment, no carrier fee listed
    Number
    $10.00 a month
    Watch for
    Built for sending from a web app more than from code, and a local number is $10 a month. The pricing page lists no carrier fee.
    Textmagic pricing

How to choose

  • Sending only to the US and CanadaCompare rates, then check the carrier fees. They add $0.0035 to $0.005 to every segment on most of these APIs, TextKit included.
  • Sending long messagesA message over 160 plain characters, or 70 with an emoji, is split into segments, and every provider here bills each segment. See how segments change your bill.
  • Need voice, WhatsApp or 100+ countriesA multi-channel platform such as Twilio, Vonage or Sinch covers more than SMS.
  • Want a dashboard more than an APIClickSend and Textmagic are built for teams that text from a web app.

How we counted

Source
Each provider's own public pricing page and its carrier-fee page or help article, read on October 24, 2026. No reseller sites, no old blog posts.
The message
One outbound SMS to a US mobile, from a registered 10DLC (local) number. That is the case almost every developer starts with.
The price
The lowest pay-as-you-go list price, before the volume discounts or contracts most providers here offer.
Carrier fees
The per-segment pass-through fees for registered 10DLC traffic on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, ours included. Smaller carriers are left out. Where a provider includes them, we say so.
Left out
Taxes, 10DLC brand and campaign registration (passed through at about the registry's cost by most providers here, TextKit included), MMS, and international traffic.

Related

$0.0032 a segment. Carrier fees at cost.

Free sandbox keys, every endpoint, no card. Your first text in minutes.

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