Most SMS pricing pages show you rate cards and tier structures that mean nothing until you translate them into what you'll actually pay monthly. A platform advertising "$0.015 per message" doesn't tell you whether your dental practice will spend $75 or $750 monthly. Volume tiers, platform fees, and feature add-ons turn simple per-message pricing into complicated calculations.
The real question isn't "what does SMS marketing cost?" It's "what will I spend given my specific business type, customer volume, and messaging needs?" A 200-patient dental practice sending appointment reminders has completely different costs than a pest control company running promotional campaigns to 5,000 customers or a restaurant with 15,000 subscribers getting weekly specials.
This guide shows you real-world cost examples across different service business types and volumes. You'll see what companies actually pay monthly, what that spending includes, and how to estimate your own costs based on your customer base and messaging frequency. These examples use realistic scenarios from businesses that track their SMS spending carefully.
SMS platforms charge in ways that aren't immediately obvious from their pricing pages. Understanding the basic components helps you interpret the cost examples and estimate your own spending.
Per-message costs are what you pay each time you send an SMS. Rates typically range from $0.0075 to $0.04 per message depending on volume. Higher volume usually means lower per-message rates. Standard SMS (160 characters or less) costs one message credit. Longer messages use multiple credits. MMS (messages with images) typically cost 2-3x standard SMS rates.
Platform fees are monthly or annual charges for accessing the SMS platform itself. These range from $0 for basic pay-as-you-go plans to $500+ monthly for enterprise platforms. Platform fees usually include certain features (automation, integrations, support level, number of users) and may or may not include message credits.
Volume tiers determine your per-message rate. Send 500 messages monthly and you might pay $0.03 each. Send 10,000 monthly and the rate might drop to $0.015 each. Most platforms adjust your tier automatically as volume changes, while others require you to manually select and commit to volume levels.
Add-on costs include extras like: additional phone numbers ($5-30 monthly each), toll-free numbers ($20-100 monthly), dedicated short codes ($500-1,000 monthly), premium support, additional team members, advanced features, API access, or higher message throughput.
The calculation most businesses care about: (Platform fee) + (Messages sent × Per-message rate) + (Any add-ons) = Total monthly cost.
Now let's look at what real businesses actually pay.
Business profile: Single-location dental practice with 180 active patients, sending appointment reminders 24 hours before appointments plus occasional recall reminders for patients due for cleanings.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Two-way messaging, basic automation for appointment reminders, simple scheduling, message templates, compliance features, email support.
Cost per patient per month: $0.22-0.42 to maintain text communication with each active patient.
ROI consideration: If text reminders reduce no-shows by even 3-5 appointments monthly, the saved chair time typically covers the entire SMS cost. One dental practice calculated that preventing just 2 no-shows monthly ($200 each in lost revenue) generated $400 in value against $60 in SMS costs.
This volume level works for: Small healthcare practices, solo professional services (accountants, lawyers seeing 30-50 clients monthly), very small service businesses.
Business profile: Residential HVAC company serving 800 customers, running seasonal campaigns, sending appointment confirmations, following up on quotes, and maintaining customer relationships.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Advanced automation, CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.), team inbox for managing conversations, scheduled campaigns, merge fields for personalization, detailed analytics, priority support.
Cost per customer per month: $0.16-0.25 to maintain ongoing text communication with each customer.
ROI consideration: This HVAC company tracked that SMS quote follow-ups improved their quote-to-booking rate from 28% to 41%. The 13-percentage-point improvement on 120 quotes monthly meant 15-16 additional jobs booked. Even at modest margins, this paid for SMS costs many times over.
This volume level works for: Mid-size home services companies, dental practices with 2-3 locations, restaurants doing weekly promotions to moderate subscriber base, property management companies.
Business profile: Pest control company with 1,200 quarterly service customers plus new customer acquisition campaigns, sending service reminders, promotional offers, and maintaining regular communication.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Full automation suite, multi-channel campaigns (SMS + email), advanced CRM integrations, detailed segmentation, A/B testing capabilities, dedicated account support, custom workflows, API access if needed.
Cost per customer per month: $0.20-0.28 for comprehensive text communication.
ROI consideration: The pest control company measured that automated quarterly reminders increased their service completion rate from 71% to 84%. The 13-percentage-point improvement meant 156 additional services completed annually (1,200 customers × 4 services × 13%). At $99 per service, this generated $15,444 in additional revenue against $3,500 annual SMS costs.
This volume level works for: Established home services companies, multi-location healthcare practices, hotels with strong guest communication programs, professional services firms with large client bases.
Business profile: Restaurant group with 3 locations, 8,500 opted-in customers receiving weekly specials, event announcements, and reservation confirmations.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Enterprise-grade automation, unlimited users, advanced segmentation by location and customer behavior, MMS for visual menu items, integration with reservation systems, comprehensive analytics by location, priority 24/7 support.
Cost per subscriber per month: $0.05-0.07 to reach each opted-in customer.
ROI consideration: The restaurant group calculated that their weekly text campaigns drove an average of 35 additional reservations per location per week. At $65 average check and 15% margin, this generated approximately $3,400 monthly in additional profit across three locations against $500 in SMS costs.
This volume level works for: Restaurant groups, hotels with substantial guest databases, large property management portfolios, service franchises with multiple locations, event venues.
Business profile: Regional HVAC and plumbing company with 12 trucks, serving 4,500 residential and 200 commercial customers across three counties, running comprehensive SMS marketing program.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Full enterprise platform, unlimited users and numbers, custom workflow development, dedicated success manager, priority support with SLA, advanced reporting and dashboards, white-label capabilities if needed, custom API integrations with field service software.
Cost per customer per month: $0.15-0.20 for multi-channel communication program.
ROI consideration: This company tracked comprehensive ROI across multiple SMS functions. Appointment reminders reduced no-shows by 7%, saving approximately 40 wasted trips monthly ($80 per trip in labor and fuel). Quote follow-ups improved conversion by 9%, generating 30 additional jobs monthly. Seasonal campaigns filled slow periods. Combined value exceeded $12,000 monthly against $800 SMS investment.
This volume level works for: Large regional service companies, hotel chains, multi-location healthcare systems, enterprise professional services firms, large B2B service providers.
Business profile: Accounting firm with 300 active clients sending appointment reminders, deadline alerts, tax season communications, and quarterly check-ins.
Monthly messaging breakdown:
Typical costs:
What this includes: Professional-grade platform, secure client communication, appointment scheduling integration, document workflow notifications, compliance features appropriate for professional services, business hours automation.
Cost per client per month: $0.29-0.46 for text-based client communication.
ROI consideration: The firm found that text reminders reduced missed appointments by 60% (from 10 monthly to 4 monthly). Each missed appointment wasted approximately 1 hour of billable time ($250). Preventing 6 missed appointments monthly saved $1,500 in lost billings against $125 SMS costs.
This volume level works for: Small professional services firms (accounting, legal, consulting), medical specialist practices, B2B service companies with smaller client rosters but high communication needs.
Now that you've seen real examples, here's how to calculate what you'll likely spend based on your specific situation.
Step 1: Calculate your monthly message volume
Count all message types you'll send:
Add these up for total monthly messages. Multiply by 1.2 to account for growth and unexpected volume.
Step 2: Identify required features
Match your needs to platform tiers:
Step 3: Calculate message costs
Use these rough per-message rates by volume:
Multiply your monthly volume by the appropriate rate.
Step 4: Add platform and features
Platform fee + Message costs + Any add-ons (extra numbers, premium features) = Total monthly cost
Step 5: Factor in seasonal variation
Many service businesses have seasonal volume swings. Tax accountants send 3x more messages in March-April. HVAC companies spike in spring and fall. Restaurants peak around holidays. Calculate your peak month costs separately from average months.
Common hidden costs to remember:
Most pricing surprises come from:
Ask specifically about these before signing up.
You now know what different business types pay at various volumes. Here's how to evaluate whether you're getting fair value.
Price-to-value benchmarks:
If SMS costs less than $200 monthly and you're a service business doing $30,000+ monthly revenue, the investment is negligible compared to potential return. Focus on features and reliability over minor price differences.
If you're spending $500+ monthly on SMS, you should be getting enterprise-grade support, dedicated account management, and custom integrations. At this level, poor platform choice wastes more money through inefficiency than you'd save with cheaper alternatives.
Calculate cost per customer served. If you're paying more than $0.50 per customer monthly, you're either over-messaging or overpaying (unless you're in a very high-touch industry like luxury hospitality).
Red flags that suggest overpricing:
Long-term contracts required for basic features. Month-to-month should be standard for most small business plans.
Per-recipient fees on top of per-message fees. You shouldn't pay for storing contacts separately from sending messages.
Charges for basic integrations. Standard CRM connections should be included in professional-tier plans.
Support paywalls. Email/chat support should be included; premium phone support is reasonable to charge for.
The right SMS platform pricing matches your volume, includes the features you'll actually use, and costs less than the revenue it helps generate through better customer communication, reduced no-shows, and improved conversion rates.
Ready to see how SMS marketing fits your budget and business needs? Start your free trial with Sakari to send your first campaigns and see exactly what you'll spend with transparent, straightforward pricing that scales with your business.