Carrier Fee Snapshot by Carrier (2026)

Last updated: May 26, 2026

SMS Carrier Fees (Approximate Current State)

Carrier

10DLC SMS

TFN SMS

SC SMS

AT&T

$0.0035

$0.0035

$0.0035

Verizon

$0.0045

$0.0045

$0.0045

T-Mobile

$0.0045

$0.0045

$0.0045

T-Mobile MO

$0.0025

$0.0025

varies

US Cellular

$0.0045

$0.0045

$0.0045

  • MT(Mobile Terminated) This means messages sent to a mobile subscriber (outbound from your platform to the end user).

  • MO (Mobile Originator) This means messages originated by the mobile subscriber (inbound from the end user to your platform).

1. Fees Are Per Segment

Carrier fees are charged per SMS segment, not per logical message.

That means:

  • GSM SMS:

    • 160 chars = 1 segment

  • Unicode / emojis:

    • 70 chars = 1 segment

2. Carrier Fees Stack on Top of Usage Fees

These fees are NOT your total messaging cost. These are fees that are added on top of