# The cheapest SMS API for US texts, carrier fees counted

Source: https://jointextkit.com/compare/cheapest-sms-api
Index: https://jointextkit.com/llms.txt

**TextKit: $0.0032 per 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.

Of the seven APIs compared here, TextKit has the lowest rate, $0.0032 a segment; next is Plivo at $0.0077. Add the carrier fees every US text pays and a short text costs $0.0067 to $0.0082 at TextKit and $0.0112 to $0.0127 at Plivo.

## Price of one short US text

| Provider | Price per segment | Carrier fees on top | Rate + carrier fees | Number, monthly | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **TextKit** | $0.0032 | $0.0035 to $0.005 | **$0.0067 to $0.0082** | $0.95 | [pricing](/pricing) |
| Plivo | $0.0077 | $0.0035 to $0.005 | **$0.0112 to $0.0127** | $0.50 | [pricing](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/), [fees](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/) |
| Sinch | $0.0078 | $0.0035 to $0.005 | **$0.0113 to $0.0128** | $1.00 | [pricing](https://sinch.com/pricing/sms/), [fees](https://community.sinch.com/t5/Product-Pricing-FAQ/Carrier-Pass-Through-Fees-North-America-U-S-amp-Canada/ta-p/19773) |
| Twilio | $0.0083 | $0.0035 to $0.005 | **$0.0118 to $0.0133** | $1.15 | [pricing](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us), [fees](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us) |
| Vonage | $0.0086 | $0.0035 to $0.005 | **$0.0121 to $0.0136** | $1.05 | [pricing](https://www.vonage.com/communications-apis/sms/pricing/), [fees](https://www.vonage.com/communications-apis/sms/pricing/) |
| ClickSend | $0.0285 | $0.0041 | **$0.0326** | Not listed | [pricing](https://www.clicksend.com/us/pricing/us/), [fees](https://www.clicksend.com/us/pricing/us/) |
| Textmagic | $0.049 | None listed | **$0.049** | $10.00 | [pricing](https://www.textmagic.com/pricing/), [fees](https://www.textmagic.com/pricing/) |

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](/contact) and we will fix the page.

## What long messages cost

Every provider here, TextKit included, bills per segment: 160 plain characters, or 70 when the message has an emoji or a character outside the basic SMS alphabet. Longer messages split into parts of 153 (or 67), so a 300-character order update is two segments on the bill, and each pays the rate and the carrier fee.

| Provider | 160 characters (1 segment) | 300 characters (2 segments) | 450 characters (3 segments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| **TextKit** | $0.0075 | $0.0149 | $0.0224 |
| Plivo | $0.012 | $0.0239 | $0.0359 |
| Sinch | $0.0121 | $0.0241 | $0.0362 |
| Twilio | $0.0126 | $0.0251 | $0.0377 |
| Vonage | $0.0129 | $0.0257 | $0.0386 |
| ClickSend | $0.0326 | $0.0652 | $0.0978 |
| Textmagic | $0.049 | $0.098 | $0.147 |

Midpoint of each provider's range, rate plus carrier fees, rounded to a hundredth of a cent. Every provider here bills per segment, TextKit included, and each says so on its own site.

## What a month costs

| Provider | 1,000 texts | 10,000 texts | 100,000 texts |
|---|---|---|---|
| **TextKit** | $8 | $75 | $746 |
| Plivo | $12 | $120 | $1,196 |
| Sinch | $13 | $122 | $1,206 |
| Twilio | $14 | $127 | $1,256 |
| Vonage | $14 | $130 | $1,286 |
| ClickSend | $33 | $326 | $3,260 |
| Textmagic | $59 | $500 | $4,910 |

One local number (where the provider lists one) plus single-segment texts at the midpoint of rate plus carrier fees, list prices. Registration fees are left out.

## The costs list prices leave out

- **Carrier fees.** AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon charge a fee on every segment of a business text. Most APIs, TextKit included, add it at cost as a separate line.
- **Segments.** A long or emoji-heavy message is billed as several segments.
- **Failed messages.** Twilio charges $0.001 for each message that fails ([source](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us)). TextKit does not bill a message the carrier did not accept.
- **Phone numbers.** A local number is $0.50 at Plivo, $1.00 at Sinch, and $1.05 at Vonage a month; $0.95 at TextKit.
- **Registration.** Every US business sender registers for 10DLC. Brand and campaign fees come from the registry, and most providers pass them through.

## So which is cheapest?

- **Lowest rate here:** TextKit at $0.0032 a segment, plus carrier fees at cost.
- **Avoid:** Comparing one provider's rate with another's total. Carrier fees add $0.0035 to $0.005 to every segment at most providers here, TextKit included.

## 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

- [SMS API pricing explained](/compare/sms-api-pricing)
- [The best SMS APIs for developers](/compare/best-sms-api)
- [TextKit pricing](/pricing)