The short version
SMS is included in your plan. Growth and Pro plans come with a monthly SMS allowance; Starter does not include SMS.
Your allowance is shown as an approximate number (for example ~770 SMS/mo). The ~ is there because the real cost of a text depends on the country it's sent to.
A long text can use more than one SMS. Every 160 characters counts as one "segment," and each segment is one SMS.
One shared pot. Scheduled SMS and two-way conversations both draw from the same allowance. Emails are unlimited and never affected.
Need more? Top up your SMS budget any time from your billing page — one-time or monthly. It's shown as an approximate SMS count.
Allowance resets each cycle and doesn't roll over.
What's included in your plan
Every paid plan that includes SMS is given a monthly SMS budget, sized as a share of what you pay. Higher plans get a bigger share, so your allowance grows as your subscription does.
Plan | SMS included? | Share of plan price |
Starter | Not included | — |
Growth | Included | ~8% |
Pro | Included | ~12% |
Legacy Max | Included | ~4% |
Custom | Included | Agreed with your account manager |
On Starter and want to send SMS? You'll still see the SMS tools in your account — selecting one will invite you to upgrade to a plan that includes SMS.
How your allowance is worked out
It's worked out in three simple steps:
Take the SMS share of your plan price (Growth ~8%, Pro ~12%).
Convert it to texts at a blended rate of about $0.04 per SMS.
Round down and add a ~ to signal it's an estimate.
What the $0.04 actually is$0.04 is an approximate rate we use only to turn dollars into a round SMS number — for your limit, your remaining count and top-up bundles. The real cost of each message depends on the country it's sent to (see below), and that real cost is what draws down your budget behind the scenes.
A worked example
Take a Growth account whose plan works out to about $385 a month:
SMS share of the plan (8%) | ≈ $30 / month |
Divided by the blended rate ($0.04) | ≈ 770 SMS |
Shown in your account | ~770 SMS / mo |
On the same account, a Pro plan (12% share) would show roughly ~1,320 SMS/mo. Your own numbers depend on your plan, property count and currency, and update live if any of those change.
What counts as one SMS
Phone networks measure texts in segments, not messages. A single segment holds about 160 characters. If your message is longer, it's split into several segments — and each segment counts as one SMS against your allowance.
Emojis and special characters count for more
Adding an emoji or certain symbols switches the message to a different format where one segment holds only ~70 characters — so a short message with an emoji can still use two SMS. Keeping messages concise and emoji-light stretches your allowance further.
Why your allowance is "approximate"
Your allowance is an estimate for a good reason:
The real cost of an SMS depends on the destination country — one country can cost several times more than another.
We can't know in advance where each guest is, so we use one flat blended rate (about $0.04) to give you a single, simple number to plan around.
So your remaining count can drop faster (or slower) than the messages you've sent — pricier countries use a little more budget per message.
Usage by country · example billing cycle
Country | Messages | Segments | Avg / msg | Price / segment | Cost |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | 19 | 41 | 2.16 | $0.0522 | $2.14 |
🇪🇸 Spain | 16 | 37 | 2.31 | $0.0243 | $0.90 |
🇺🇸 United States | 33 | 71 | 2.15 | $0.0000 | $0.00 |
The SMS Usage page breaks your spend down by country, so you can see exactly why a cycle cost what it did. Illustrative breakdown from your live usage data
One counter for all your SMS
Both types of SMS draw from the same monthly allowance:
Scheduled / automated SMS — the texts your guidebook sends automatically (invitations, reminders, check-in details).
Two-way conversations — messages you send and receive in the Message Hub Conversations tab.
Emails are separate and unlimited — they keep sending even if your SMS allowance runs out.
Tracking your usage
Go to Message Hub → SMS Usage to see everything at a glance for the current billing cycle: your allowance, roughly how much you've used and have left, your actual cost so far, and the country breakdown.
The SMS Usage dashboard in the Message Hub — allowance, approximate used and remaining, real cost this cycle, and the country breakdown.
Reading the cards, left to right:
Monthly allowance — the approximate SMS included with your plan this cycle.
Approx used — roughly how much you've sent so far. This updates on a short delay (about 30 minutes) while we sync real usage from the SMS provider, so a message you just sent may take a little while to appear.
Approx remaining — an estimate of what's left, and the date it resets.
Cost this cycle — the real carrier spend to date, shown in USD.
A note on timing
Usage syncs from the SMS provider roughly every 30 minutes, so these figures can lag slightly behind what you've just sent. They'll always catch up — they're never missing, just a touch behind real time.
Your plan and SMS allowance on the Billing page, with the “Need more SMS?” top-up entry point.
Buying more SMS
Running low or expecting a busy month? On your Billing page, under "Need more SMS?", choose + Purchase more SMS. You pick how you want to top up:
One-time — a top-up that applies to this month only, ideal for fixing a one-off surge. It's added right away and doesn't renew.
Recurring — an ongoing monthly amount added to your allowance that renews every cycle until you stop it.
With a recurring add-on, changes take effect right away and you're only charged for the timing:
Adding or increasing it — the extra SMS are available immediately. Only the part-month difference is charged to your card on file now, and the full monthly amount begins at your next renewal.
Reducing it — you keep your current, higher allowance for the rest of this month (nothing is refunded), and the lower amount takes over from your next renewal.
Good to know
You can have one recurring add-on at a time — choosing a new amount replaces the previous one. One-time top-ups are separate and always apply to the current month only.
If a payment doesn't go through
Top-ups are charged to your card on file. If that charge can't be completed, the purchase won't go through and no SMS are added — you'll see a message right in the window so you can update your payment details and try again.
A few things to know about top-ups:
You're adding to your SMS budget, held in USD and shown as an approximate SMS count at about $0.04 each.
We don't sell SMS at a fixed per-message price — the real cost of a text varies by country.
You pick an amount and see the total before you confirm.
Always billed monthly — even on an annual plan — so you can add and drop them by season.
The “Purchase extra SMS” flow, with a live price and a reminder that budgets reset each cycle.
When you reach your limit
We email you at 75% and again at 100% of your budget — no surprises.
At 100%, SMS sending pauses until the next reset.
Your emails keep sending as normal — only SMS is affected.
To keep texting straight away, buy a top-up or move to a higher plan.
Does my allowance roll over?
No — it's a monthly capacity, a bit like a phone plan:
Anything unused doesn't carry into the next cycle — and neither do one-time top-ups.
Monthly billing: resets with your calendar month.
Annual billing: refreshes on the day your subscription started (start on the 17th → resets on the 17th each month)
Questions & Answers
How many SMS do I get?
How many SMS do I get?
It depends on your plan and price. Growth includes about 8% of your plan value as SMS, Pro about 12%. You'll see your exact figure on the SMS Usage page and your Billing page, shown as an approximate number like ~770 SMS/mo.
Why is my "remaining" number dropping faster than the messages I've sent?
Why is my "remaining" number dropping faster than the messages I've sent?
Long messages use more than one SMS (see below).
Country costs differ — remaining reflects real spend, so pricier destinations use more budget per message.
The percentage bar always stays accurate; the exact SMS number is an estimate.
Why did one text use more than one SMS?
Why did one text use more than one SMS?
Networks count texts in 160-character segments, and each segment is one SMS. A message over 160 characters becomes two or more segments. Adding an emoji or special character shortens a segment to about 70 characters, which can also push a message onto a second SMS.
Do unused or purchased SMS roll over to next month?
Do unused or purchased SMS roll over to next month?
No. Your allowance is a monthly capacity that resets each cycle, and one-time top-ups apply to the current month only. If you want a permanent increase, a recurring add-on or a plan upgrade is the way to go.
What's the difference between a one-time and a recurring top-up?
What's the difference between a one-time and a recurring top-up?
One-time — tops up the current month only, expires at cycle end. Ideal for a sudden surge.
Recurring — an ongoing monthly amount on top of your plan allowance.
Adding/increasing recurring — extra SMS available immediately; charged only the part-month difference now, full amount from next renewal.
Reducing recurring — keep the higher allowance for the rest of this month; lower amount begins next renewal.
One recurring add-on at a time.
What happens when I run out?
What happens when I run out?
SMS sending pauses until your next reset; emails carry on as normal.
Buy a one-time or recurring top-up (or upgrade) to start sending again right away.
We email you at 75% and 100% so you get advance warning.
Do scheduled SMS and two-way replies both count?
Do scheduled SMS and two-way replies both count?
Yes — both come out of the same monthly SMS allowance. There's a single combined counter rather than separate pots, so the SMS Usage page shows everything together.
Will my emails stop if my SMS runs out?
Will my emails stop if my SMS runs out?
No. Emails are separate and unlimited. Only SMS sending pauses when the SMS budget is used up.
How do I see exactly what I've used?
How do I see exactly what I've used?
Open Message Hub → SMS Usage. You'll see your allowance, approximate used and remaining, your real cost this cycle, and a country-by-country breakdown of messages, segments and cost.
Why is there a limit now, and why does cost vary?
Why is there a limit now, and why does cost vary?
SMS carriers charge us per message, and those rates differ by country and have risen over time. A defined allowance keeps pricing fair and predictable, and lets you top up only when you actually need to — rather than baking a huge, one-size-fits-all SMS cost into everyone's plan.