Twilio lists US SMS at $0.0083 per segment. Carrier fees are added to every segment, failed messages carry a fee, and the number has a monthly price. Here is the full bill, from Twilio's own pricing page on October 24, 2026 (source).
Twilio vs TextKit, per message
| Message | Twilio | TextKit |
|---|---|---|
| A 6-digit login code (1 segment) | $0.0118 to $0.0133 | $0.0067 to $0.0082 |
| An order update, 300 characters (2 segments) | $0.0236 to $0.0266 | $0.0134 to $0.0164 |
| A reminder with an emoji, 150 characters (3 segments) | $0.0354 to $0.0399 | $0.0201 to $0.0246 |
| 10,000 short texts and one number, a month | $127 | $75 |
Each price is the rate per segment plus the AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon carrier fees, lowest to highest. Both bill per segment and pass the same carrier fees through.
We make TextKit, an SMS API that competes with Twilio. Every Twilio number on this page links to Twilio's own page. If one has changed, tell us.
Twilio's US SMS rates
| Outbound SMS | Inbound SMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Local (10DLC) number | $0.0083 | $0.0083 |
| Toll-free number | $0.0083 | $0.0083 |
Per segment. Twilio does not publish volume tiers; discounts go through its sales team.
The carrier fees Twilio adds
For a registered 10DLC number, per outbound segment:
| Carrier | Carrier fee | Twilio total |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T | $0.0035 | $0.0118 |
| T-Mobile | $0.0045 | $0.0128 |
| Verizon | $0.005 | $0.0133 |
| US Cellular | $0.005 | $0.0133 |
So a short text from a Twilio local number costs $0.0118 to $0.0133, depending on the recipient's carrier.
Everything else on the bill
- Failed messages: $0.001 for each message that ends in a failed status.
- Numbers: $1.15 a month for a local number, $2.15 for toll-free.
- Verify: $0.05 per successful verification, plus the channel fee for the SMS it sends (source).
- Long messages: a message over 160 plain characters (70 with an emoji) is split into segments, and every segment pays the rate and the carrier fee.
- Registration: A2P 10DLC brand and campaign fees, passed through.
Is Twilio worth it?
Twilio is worth its price when you use what it adds: voice, WhatsApp, email, and sending to most countries from one account. If you only send SMS in the US and Canada, you pay for a platform you do not use.
Switching is a console import of your numbers, Messaging Services and webhooks; see Migrate from Twilio.
Twilio next to every other SMS API
| Provider | Price per segment | Carrier fees | Rate + fees | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TextKit | $0.0032 | $0.0035–$0.005 | $0.0067–$0.0082 | $0.95/mo | Pricing |
| Plivo | $0.0077 | $0.0035–$0.005 | $0.0112–$0.0127 | $0.50/mo | Pricing |
| Sinch | $0.0078 | $0.0035–$0.005 | $0.0113–$0.0128 | $1.00/mo | Pricing, fees |
| Twilio | $0.0083 | $0.0035–$0.005 | $0.0118–$0.0133 | $1.15/mo | Pricing |
| Vonage | $0.0086 | $0.0035–$0.005 | $0.0121–$0.0136 | $1.05/mo | Pricing |
| ClickSend | $0.0285 | $0.0041 | $0.0326 | Not listed | Pricing |
| Textmagic | $0.049 | None listed | $0.049 | $10.00/mo | 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 Twilio, 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.
Related
$0.0032 a segment. Carrier fees at cost.
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