ℹ️ SMS now runs on a balance. To see what changed for your account, read Moving to SMS Balance.
Table of contents:
The short version
Each message costs its real price, based on the country it goes to and its length. We pass on the carrier's price with no markup.
Your plan allowance is used first. Paid plans include a monthly allowance, shown in money. It resets every cycle; unused allowance doesn't carry over.
Your balance is used next. Money you add never expires. It stays yours across cycles, plan changes, downgrades and cancellation.
Top up your way: add money once, or turn on Auto top-up so sending carries on when you run out. Both charge the payment method already on your account.
One pot for all SMS: scheduled SMS and two-way conversations use the same allowance and balance.
SMS works on every plan, including Free.
Your plan allowance
Plan | Monthly SMS allowance |
Starter | ~5% of your plan price |
Growth | ~15% of your plan price |
Pro | ~20% of your plan price |
Legacy Max | ~10% of your plan price |
Custom | Agreed with your account manager |
Free | No allowance: send from your balance |
On an annual plan, the allowance is worked out from the monthly equivalent of your plan price. Your exact allowance is on your SMS page and your Billing page.
When it resets: every month on your billing day. On an annual plan, it resets every month on the day of the month your plan started. Your SMS page shows the reset date.
Plan allowance and balance side by side
| Plan allowance | SMS balance |
Comes from | Your paid plan | Money you add (Add money or Auto top-up) |
Used | First | Once the allowance is used up |
Resets | Every cycle; unused allowance doesn't carry over | Never expires |
If you downgrade or cancel | Changes from your next cycle | Stays as it is |
How each message is paid for
A message is sent and its real cost is taken from your plan allowance.
If the allowance runs out partway through a message, the rest comes from your balance.
Once the allowance is at zero, messages are paid from your balance.
If a message costs more than what's left, it's still sent. Your balance goes to zero and, if Auto top-up is on, money is added straight away.
Your balance never goes below zero, and there are no overage charges.
What a message costs
Destination country: texting some countries costs several times more than others. For example, the same long message can cost 21.7¢ to Germany and 2.8¢ to the US.
Length: up to 160 characters is one price step and up to 306 characters is two; longer messages add a step roughly every 153 characters. Emojis and special characters make each step shorter. See How to write SMS templates that cost less.
Your SMS page
Go to Messaging & Chat → SMS Usage (legacy Hub: Message Hub → SMS Usage).
Current balance: everything you have left for SMS, which is your plan allowance left plus money you've added. Underneath, Allowance: X · resets on (a date) shows the part of it that is plan allowance, and you'll see whether Auto top-up is on (green) or off (red).
Average message cost: total cost ÷ messages sent this cycle, per message. With nothing sent yet this cycle, it's estimated from where you usually send, and marked as an estimate.
Estimated remaining messages: roughly how many messages your Current balance covers at your average cost. It's always rounded down, and it moves as your mix of countries changes.
Planned messages: messages already scheduled in this cycle, and roughly what they'll cost.
Spend bar: how much of this cycle's money is spent, with the Auto top-up settings and Add money buttons.
Messages by country: for the selected cycle, each country with its messages, average cost per message and total cost, plus a total row.
Looking at another month? Pick it in the cycle picker at the top right. Cycles start on your billing day. Only Planned messages and Messages by country change; Current balance and the estimate always show today. For a past cycle, Planned messages shows "—" and "past cycle — nothing planned".
Your Billing page
To open it, click your name in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar, then Billing (legacy Hub: profile icon at the top right → Billing).
The SMS balance section shows your Current balance, your plan allowance and its reset date, and your Auto top-up status, with Turn off when it's on. Under Top-ups you'll find every top-up with its date, type (Top-up, Auto top-up or Opening balance) and amount.
The Usage section shows your Remaining SMS budget: the same money, paid from your plan allowance first, then your balance.
Questions & Answers
Do I keep my plan's SMS allowance?
Do I keep my plan's SMS allowance?
Yes. It's shown in money and used before your balance.
Does my money expire?
Does my money expire?
No. Money you add never expires. Only the plan allowance resets each cycle.
Why did one message cost more than another?
Why did one message cost more than another?
Some countries cost more, and longer messages cost more. Messages by country on your SMS page shows where your money went.
Why does "Estimated remaining messages" change?
Why does "Estimated remaining messages" change?
It's your Current balance divided by your average message cost, rounded down. Sending to pricier countries, or sending longer messages, lowers it.
Do two-way conversations use the same money?
Do two-way conversations use the same money?
Yes. Scheduled and two-way SMS share one allowance and balance.
Are WhatsApp messages paid from my SMS balance?
Are WhatsApp messages paid from my SMS balance?
No. WhatsApp is billed by Meta directly.
Will my emails stop if my SMS money runs out?
Will my emails stop if my SMS money runs out?
No. Only SMS pauses. See SMS warnings and paused sending.
I'm on the Free plan. Can I send SMS?
I'm on the Free plan. Can I send SMS?
Yes. Add money to your balance and send. If you haven't added a card yet, click Add payment method first. See How to top up your SMS balance.
I'm on a trial. Can I try SMS?
I'm on a trial. Can I try SMS?
Yes. Your trial includes a one-time balance of $1.00, about 20 messages. When it runs out, top up to keep sending. If you then choose a paid plan, any trial money left stays in your balance, and your plan allowance starts from your first cycle.
🤝 Need help?
Our Fin AI assistant is available 24/7 and typically responds in under 10 seconds. If Fin isn't able to solve your issue, our support team will take ownership of your case from there.
You can also reach out to our team at [email protected], and we'll be happy to help.