Compare SMS Providers for US business
SMS Comparison scores 39 US SMS gateway, API and mass-texting providers out of 10 on one published method. Published US rates run from 0.35c (MessageBird) to 8.00c (Avochato) per SMS, and BurstSMS holds our highest score among the providers that publish a rate at 8.17. Only 27 of 39 publish a per-message rate at all, and enter your volume to see what the flat-rate ones cost a month.
Monthly cost at your volume
US published rates · captured 2026-09-08| Lane | Provider | Rate | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Clickatell | 0.75c | $113 |
| 02 | Infobip | 0.82c | $123 |
| 03 | Twilio | 0.83c | $125 |
| 04 | Vonage | 0.86c | $129 |
| 05 | SMSGlobal | 1.90c | $285 |
| 06 | Notifyre | 2.00c | $300 |
| 07 | Salesmsg | 4.00c | $600 |
At 15,000 messages a month, 7 providers publish a flat rate from 0.75c (Clickatell) to 4.00c (Salesmsg).
These 7 providers publish one US rate that applies at any volume, so the monthly figure is that rate multiplied by your volume and nothing is estimated. Carrier fees and number rental are charged on top by most providers.
21 more providers publish a rate, but keyed to something other than monthly volume: ClickSend (by top-up amount) , Messente (by monthly volume) , MessageMedia (by monthly plan) , BurstSMS (by monthly volume) , MessageBird (by number type) , TrueDialog (by monthly volume) , EZ Texting (by monthly plan) , BulkSMS (by credit bundle) , Avochato (by published band) , Bandwidth (by number type) , Emotive (by published band) , Heymarket (by monthly plan) , Omnisend (by monthly volume) , Plivo (by number type) , Postscript (by monthly plan) , Sendlane (by monthly volume) , SimpleTexting (by monthly volume) , Sinch (by number type) , Telnyx (by number type) , Textline (by credit bundle) , Text Request (by monthly plan) . A further 11 publish no per-message rate at all. See every published rate with its own tier labels.
Top rated US SMS providers
Five of the 27 providers that publish a per-message US rate, ranked on the sitewide score out of 10. The price shown is that provider's published rate, or its lowest published rate where it publishes bands.
How SMS Comparison scores a provider
Every provider gets one score out of 10, the equal-weighted average of six criteria: value for money, features, reliability, reputation, compliance and customer service. The same six apply to a two-person clinic sending reminders and an enterprise pushing a million one-time passcodes.
No provider pays for a position on this site. Some pay a commission when a visitor signs up through our link. That commission is disclosed on every review and does not touch the score. Read the full scoring methodology.
- C-01Value for moneyPublished cents per SMS at 1K, 15K, 125K and 250K a month, plus number and setup fees.
- C-02FeaturesNumber types, two-way messaging, scheduling, automation, API and SDK coverage.
- C-03ReliabilityPublished uptime or SLA, carrier routing, and stated throughput.
- C-04ReputationThird-party review scores, named customers and time in market.
- C-05Compliance10DLC and toll-free registration support, and security certification.
- C-06Customer serviceChannels, hours, US phone support and documentation depth.
Start with what you need to send
Three questions decide which of our guides you need. Pick the one that matches the job, not the vendor with the biggest ad budget.
Campaigns and promotions
Marketing traffic needs keywords, opt-in capture, scheduling and a 10DLC campaign registered before the first send. SlickText and Textedly lead on campaign tooling; Notifyre and ClickSend win on price at volume.
Transactional and API
Order alerts, passcodes and app notifications run through an API. Twilio publishes 0.83c flat and Bird 0.35c on a long code, and TrueDialog publishes volume bands down to 0.69c. Check per-segment pricing and carrier fees, not just the headline rate.
Reminders and email to SMS
Appointment reminders and staff alerts rarely justify an integration. Email-to-SMS gateways send from an inbox you already have, and two-way replies land back in it.
What every US sender has to sort out first
US carriers police application-to-person traffic harder than any other market. Two facts change which provider, and which number type, you should buy.
Application-to-person messages sent from a standard US local number must be registered as a brand and a campaign with The Campaign Registry. Unregistered traffic is filtered or blocked by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Toll-free numbers need one-time verification instead of campaign registration, and throughput is higher than an unregistered local number. The right fit for alerts and two-way support.
A dedicated short code is leased monthly and needs carrier approval before it runs, which takes weeks. Only volume campaign senders recover the cost, and most senders should start on toll-free instead.
Read the SMS gateway guide, including number types, throughput and routing.
Questions before you compare
Short answers. Each links to the guide that holds the detail.
What does a business SMS cost in the US?
Published US rates run from 0.35c to 8.00c per outbound SMS. 27 of the 39 providers we score publish a rate at all, and they publish it on different bases: flat, by volume, by top-up, by plan or by number type.See the price table.
Which is the cheapest SMS provider?
MessageBird publishes the lowest US rate at 0.35c per outbound SMS. Carrier fees and number rental are charged on top by most providers, so the lowest rate is not always the lowest bill.Compare cheap gateways.
Do I need 10DLC registration?
Yes, for application-to-person traffic from a US local 10-digit number. Toll-free numbers use verification instead, and short codes have their own approval. Your provider submits the registration.
SMS gateway or SMS API: what is the difference?
A gateway is the provider service that hands messages to carriers. The API is the developer interface to that gateway. Most providers here offer both plus a web dashboard.
How does SMS Comparison make money?
Affiliate commission when you sign up through a link on this site. No provider pays for placement, and commission never changes a score. The disclosure is on every review.