Tips for getting the best SMS pricing from your messaging provider

Get the best SMS pricing from your messaging service

SMS messaging is an extremely cost-effective way to communicate with your customers if you choose the right SMS service provider. And, because SMS has a 98% open rate, you know exactly how (and how efficiently) your budget is being spent. Let’s take a look at how SMS pricing is calculated to help you get the most out of your messaging spend.

Factors influencing SMS pricing

Sending messages involves many variables, such as different currencies and delivery costs charged by mobile networks across the world. In addition, fluctuations in exchange rates and delivery charges mean that the price of messaging could, in theory, vary all the time. But, since it would be somewhat inconvenient to worry about the price of every SMS you send, what we do at Clickatell is charge you an average price per SMS. You'll pay a set price to send a set number of messages – it’s much simpler that way.

3 tips on getting the best SMS pricing for your messaging

• Choose a provider that can give you reliable, quality service – remember, cheaper is not always better. You don’t want your customers to miss out on critical information because of a message sending failure. Your provider should make frequent SMS routing changes to ensure you get the best possible service.

• Shop around. Certain SMS gateway providers have strongholds in certain countries, enabling them to offer more cost-effective rates. Always ask about their reach and the history of their relationships with local mobile network operators. These are the factors that help them secure better rates for you.

• Always negotiate with your SMS provider according to your budget to find the most cost-effective package for your SMS needs.  

Try our SMS pricing estimator

Clickatell’s bulk SMS pricing estimator will give you a good indication of how much each SMS will cost, based on factors like your country and the type of message you want to send. It’s a useful tool for managing your budget, and it’s super easy to use.

Plus, we’ll give you an insider tip: the more messages you send, the lower the price per SMS. It’s so simple to get started: give our pricing estimator a try, or sign up for a Clickatell Platform account and we’ll give you unlimited free text messages in our sandbox environment to try out our service.