How Much Does 10DLC SMS Cost? A Complete Breakdown for ISVs

“How much does 10DLC SMS cost?” is one of the most common—and most misunderstood—questions in A2P messaging.

The confusion usually comes from one thing: 10DLC SMS pricing is not a single line item.

Instead, the total cost of 10DLC messaging is made up of several components that work together—some set by your API provider, some mandated by mobile carriers, and some required by industry regulators.

This guide breaks down every cost that contributes to the true price of 10DLC messaging, including a commonly overlooked factor: the cost of failed messages caused by poor throughput management.

The Short Answer: What Makes Up the Cost of 10DLC SMS?

At a high level, the cost of 10DLC messaging includes:

• SMS and MMS messaging rates from your API provider
• Carrier pass-through fees imposed by mobile carriers
• Mandatory 10DLC registration costs
• Phone number rental fees
• Any support or platform fees charged by your provider
• Operational costs tied to deliverability and throughput limits

Let’s walk through each component in detail.

1. SMS & MMS Messaging Costs (Per Message or Per Segment)

Your API provider will charge for sending (and sometimes receiving) SMS and MMS messages. These charges are typically billed per message or per segment.

Important context about segments

• A standard SMS segment contains up to 160 characters
• Messages with emojis or special characters may be limited to 70 characters
• Longer messages are automatically split into multiple segments, and each segment is billed separately

MMS messages are billed per message and support media like images, GIFs, or videos.

Example of transparent 10DLC messaging pricing

Using Telgorithm’s base pricing as an example, messaging costs may look like:

• 10DLC (Local Long Code)
  
  • Inbound SMS: Free
  • Outbound SMS: $0.00500 per segment
  • Inbound MMS: $0.00930 per message
  • Outbound MMS: $0.01500 per message

SMS and MMS pricing does not include carrier pass-through fees, which apply separately.

Inbound pricing varies widely by provider. Some charge for inbound messages, while others include them at no cost.

2. Carrier Pass-Through Fees (Required)

Carrier pass-through fees are mandatory charges set by mobile carriers (such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and their subsidiaries). These fees are required for 10DLC traffic to be delivered and are passed through by your provider.

Key things to know:

• These fees are not negotiable
• They vary by carrier and use case
• They change frequently
• Every provider must pass them through in some form

Carrier fees may include:

• Message-based surcharges
• Monthly campaign fees
• Carrier-specific compliance fees

Carrier fees may include message-based surcharges, monthly Campaign fees, or carrier-specific compliance charges.

Because these fees apply regardless of provider, it’s critical to distinguish API provider pricing from carrier-mandated costs when evaluating total spend.

3. The Hidden Cost Many Teams Miss: Throughput Limits & Failed Messages

Beyond visible line items like messaging rates and carrier fees, there’s another cost factor that often goes unaccounted for:

The cost of failed messages caused by poor throughput management.

Each carrier enforces its own throughput limits, but T-Mobile’s strict daily and per-campaign limits are where many senders encounter issues. When these limits are exceeded, messages can fail—and importantly, failed messages are often still billable.

That means platforms may still pay:

• The outbound SMS or MMS charge
• Carrier pass-through fees—even though the message never reaches the end user.

Why this happens

If a provider doesn’t proactively manage throughput at the Brand, Campaign, phone number, and carrier level, messages may be sent faster than carriers allow. Without real-time awareness of where each message is headed—and how close the sender is to approved limits—exceeding carrier thresholds becomes likely.

Common approaches providers take (and their tradeoffs)

To handle carrier limits without true throughput management, many providers default to one of two approaches:

1. Lifting the ceiling: Providers allow unlimited sends from their platform, regardless of approved carrier limits. This may feel flexible, but it leaves senders vulnerable to hitting carrier limits—resulting in failed messages that are still charged.
   
   
2. Capping at the Campaign level: Providers cap sends based on the lowest approved throughput across all Campaigns under a Brand. While this avoids outright failures, it can lead to excessive queueing and significant delivery delays, especially during high-volume events.

Neither approach fully solves the problem of balancing delivery speed, compliance, and cost.

The downstream impact

Over time, poor throughput management can lead to:

• Paying for messages that never deliver
• Inflated carrier fee spend
• Lower delivery rates (a deliverability issue, not just a cost issue)
• Customer-facing failures during time-sensitive campaigns

In other words, throughput management directly impacts the true cost of 10DLC messaging, even though it rarely appears as a line item on a pricing page.

4. 10DLC Registration Costs (Mandatory for All Traffic)

All A2P 10DLC messaging requires registration with The Campaign Registry (TCR).

Registration costs are separate from messaging fees and typically include:

• Brand registration
• Campaign registration
• Vetting fees
• Monthly Campaign maintenance fees

These costs vary based on:

• Business type (sole proprietor, nonprofit, etc.)
• Use case (marketing, transactional, mixed)
• Campaign structure

Because registration pricing has multiple variables, we don’t repeat it in full here.

For a complete breakdown by use case, read our guide on the cost of 10LC registration. 

5. Phone Number Costs (10DLC & Toll-Free)

10DLC messaging uses standard 10-digit long code (local) phone numbers. These numbers are billed monthly and are separate from messaging and registration costs.

Phone number pricing often scales with volume.

Example monthly phone number pricing

• 10DLC (Local Numbers)
  
  • $0.50 per number (first 1,000 numbers)
  • $0.25 per number (above 1,000 numbers)

Phone number costs are usually modest compared to messaging volume, but they can add up for platforms managing large pools of numbers.

6. Support & Platform Fees (Provider-Dependent)

This is one of the biggest differentiators between providers.

Some API providers charge extra for:

• Compliance guidance
• 10DLC onboarding
• Deliverability troubleshooting
• Priority or human support

Others include these services as part of the platform.

Understanding whether support is included or monetized separately is important when calculating your true total cost of ownership.

All-In Cost Breakdown: 10DLC SMS Pricing at a Glance

Below is a consolidated view of the typical cost components involved in 10DLC messaging.

Why Per-Message Pricing Alone Is Misleading

It’s tempting to compare providers based on the lowest SMS rate—but that often tells only part of the story.

Poor throughput management, failed messages, non-compliant traffic, or unclear carrier fees can lead to:

• Paying for undelivered messages
• Higher carrier penalties
• Re-registration or re-vetting costs
• Slower delivery and customer impact

In many cases, how messages are managed and delivered matters just as much as how much each message costs.

Final Takeaway

10DLC SMS pricing isn’t complicated, but it is multi-layered.

Understanding each cost component allows you to:

• Forecast spend accurately
• Compare providers on equal footing
• Avoid hidden or unexpected fees
• Build a compliant, scalable messaging program

If you’re planning to send A2P SMS at scale, transparency across messaging, carrier fees, registration, phone numbers, and support is essential.

Reach out to one of our 10DLC experts to learn more.