How much does SMS marketing cost in 2025?

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SMS marketing pricing splits between message costs and platform subscriptions. You’ll pay a fee per message to each recipient, plus a subscription cost for the marketing software.

Your actual messaging costs will vary based on your sending volume, message length, and target countries. While standard messages allow 160 characters, using special characters or different languages reduces this limit to 70 characters.

Join us below to learn more about text message marketing costs.

How much does SMS marketing cost?

To send SMS marketing messages with Omnisend, you’ll pay around $0.015 per message per recipient in the USA. Costs vary by destination country and message length. 

Countries have different sending rates, while message length determines whether you need to pay for multiple message parts. 

Your message length comes in two formats:

• Standard GSM messages that let you write up to 160 characters
• Unicode messages that work for special characters and different languages allow 70 characters

Going over these limits splits your message into multiple parts, and you’ll pay for each separately.

Check out this pricing table for a cost comparison for US-based brands:

Characters	Cost per message
Up to 160	$0.015
Up to 320	$0.03
Up to 480	$0.045
Up to 640	$0.06

Here’s the good news — if you choose Omnisend’s Pro plan, you automatically get monthly SMS credits equivalent to your plan cost. So if you pay $59/month for the Pro plan, you’ll have $59 in SMS credits. 

Check out the image of Omnisend plans below based on up to 500 contacts. Notice how the Pro plan automatically upgrades you to a 2,500 contact list limit:

Since Omnisend is an omnichannel platform, you can combine SMS with email and push messages to cover every stage of your customer journey. 

Emails are more cost-effective for reaching a large audience than SMS, although SMS can work better for time-sensitive messages, urgent updates, and direct communication.

Factors affecting SMS marketing costs

There are three main factors that affect SMS marketing pricing:

Message pricing fundamentals

With Omnisend, your base SMS cost starts at $0.015 per message to each recipient in the US/Canada. 

You get 160 characters with standard GSM messages but only 70 with Unicode messages (used for special characters and different languages). Going over these limits splits your message into multiple parts, with each charged separately. 

Platform and service fees

Most SMS marketing services require a monthly platform subscription. With Omnisend, the Pro plan includes monthly SMS credits equal to the cost of your plan.

If you need to send more, you can add them through a subscription starting at $10 monthly. These credits roll over for one billing period, giving you flexibility in your messaging strategy.

Here’s an example of Omnisend’s SMS credit plans:

Geographic price variations

SMS costs vary significantly by country, with different carrier fees affecting the final price.

While US/Canada messages cost $0.015 each, rates for other countries differ. Omnisend calculates these costs separately for US/CA and non-US/CA recipients in your campaigns, helping you budget accurately for international messaging.

Consider geographic differences when planning your global SMS strategy. If SMS costs are too high in some regions, sending emails or push messages might be cheaper.

What is SMS marketing ROI?

SMS marketing ROI measures your text message revenue against total costs, showing if your campaigns are profitable for your business.

SMS marketing is only worth it if it generates more revenue than it costs. Each message costs around $0.015, so a campaign to 1,000 customers costs $15.

How to calculate ROI?

Here’s a three-step process for calculating SMS marketing ROI:

• Determine net profit: Calculate the total revenue generated from your campaign. Then, subtract the costs associated with running it to determine profitability.
• Calculate investment cost: Add up all the costs incurred to implement and run the SMS marketing campaign. This includes SMS service fees, campaign setup costs, and staff wages.
• Apply the formula: Divide the net profit by the investment cost. To convert the result into a percentage, multiply it by 100.

The resulting figure will tell you how profitable your campaign was.

That said, every business has unique goals for its SMS marketing strategy. So, there is no universal method to measure ROI.

To increase sales, you can evaluate the number of clicks a link receives in a specific campaign. Similarly, you can also assess conversion rate and cost per subscriber.

SMS ROI compared to other channels

SMS marketing generates a favorable ROI compared to other marketing channels like email, social media, and paid ads. This can be attributed to several factors:

• High open rates: SMS messages have higher open rates than other channels, ensuring a greater likelihood of recipients seeing and acting upon your message
• High engagement rates: SMS marketing recipients actively choose to opt in and receive messages from specific companies, leading to a more receptive and engaged audience
• Mobile friendliness: Since mobile phones have become integral to people’s lives, and SMS doesn’t require an internet connection or a specific app, it’s accessible to many users and demographics
• Minimal competition: The SMS inbox is generally less cluttered with marketing messages, meaning your SMS marketing campaigns have a higher chance of standing out
• More economical: SMS marketing pricing is typically lower than other advertising methods, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes

SMS delivers impressive returns through automated messages, generating 26% of all SMS orders from just 13% of sends. It’s a powerful sales driver with automated SMS achieving 0.28% conversion rates compared to 0.13% for campaigns.

Overall, SMS is an exceptionally powerful marketing channel.

How to choose the best SMS marketing tool

When deciding on the ideal SMS marketing tool, it’s crucial to consider various factors, such as:

• Pricing: Assess setup fees, monthly subscription costs, and additional charges for extra features or messages
• Features: Evaluate the range of features provided by the SMS marketing tool, particularly contact management, scheduling options, automation capabilities, and campaign tracking
• Reliability: Ensure the SMS marketing tool has a high delivery rate and reliable service
• Scalability: Pick a tool that can handle the number of contacts you have and can support your future expansion plans
• Customer support: Consider the quality of customer support offered by the SMS marketing tool, ensuring it offers timely and reliable support channels like phone, email, or live chat

Luckily, there is a range of SMS marketing tools available. Choose the most suitable one by evaluating your requirements and financial resources.

Omnisend fares well in all the considerations mentioned above, offering a combination of affordability and robust features and being suitable for small and large businesses.

Its functionalities include automation workflows, SMS list creation tools, two-way SMS messaging, and comprehensive analytics.

In addition, an award-winning customer support team is available to assist you with any issues.

Wrap up

For businesses looking to implement effective marketing strategies, it’s essential to understand SMS marketing pricing.

When choosing a service provider, consider factors beyond just the cost, like message volume, geographic reach, customer support, and integration capabilities.

But once you’ve chosen the right SMS marketing pricing plan, it will ultimately help drive engagement and reach your customers.

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