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SMS Pricing

This guide explains Exotel's SMS pricing structure, including per-message costs, bulk discounts, and factors that affect your SMS bill.

Pricing Model​

Exotel uses a per-message pricing model where you are charged for each SMS sent. The cost varies based on:

  • SMS Type -- Transactional, promotional, or OTP
  • Volume -- Higher volumes qualify for lower per-message rates
  • Message Length -- Multi-part messages (long SMS) cost more
  • Encoding -- Unicode messages have lower character limits and may result in more parts
note

For current pricing details specific to your account, contact Exotel Sales or check your account dashboard. Prices are subject to change and may vary by plan.

Pricing Factors​

1. SMS Type​

SMS TypeTypical Pricing TierNotes
TransactionalStandard rate24/7 delivery, DND bypass
PromotionalLower than transactionalTime-window restricted, DND filtered
OTPMay have premium ratePriority delivery, shorter TTL

2. Message Length and Parts​

A single SMS can contain up to 160 characters (plain text) or 70 characters (Unicode). Longer messages are split into multiple parts:

EncodingSingle SMSMulti-part SMS (per part)
Plain Text (GSM 7-bit)Up to 160 characters153 characters per part
Unicode (UCS-2)Up to 70 characters67 characters per part

Each part is billed as a separate SMS. For example, a 300-character plain text message is split into 2 parts and billed as 2 SMS.

3. Volume Discounts​

Exotel offers volume-based pricing tiers. The more SMS you send, the lower your per-message cost:

Monthly VolumePricing Tier
Up to 10,000Standard
10,001 -- 100,000Volume discount
100,001 -- 1,000,000Enterprise
1,000,000+Custom pricing
tip

Contact your Exotel account manager to negotiate volume pricing for high-volume use cases.

Billing Details​

What You Are Charged For​

ScenarioCharged?
SMS delivered to handsetYes
SMS delivered to operatorYes
SMS failed (invalid number)No
SMS failed (DLT scrubbing)No
SMS failed (DND blocked)No
SMS queued but not deliveredDepends on final status
Multi-part SMSCharged per part

What You Are NOT Charged For​

  • Failed messages that were rejected before submission to the operator.
  • Messages blocked by DND filtering (for promotional SMS).
  • Messages rejected due to invalid DLT configuration.

Understanding Your Bill​

Your SMS bill in the Exotel dashboard includes:

  1. Total SMS Sent -- Number of messages submitted.
  2. Total SMS Delivered -- Number of successfully delivered messages.
  3. Total Parts -- Total message parts (relevant for long SMS).
  4. Total Cost -- Computed as: delivered parts x per-part rate.

Viewing SMS Usage​

  1. Log in to the Exotel Dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Reports > SMS Reports.
  3. Filter by date range, sender ID, or status.
  4. Export reports in CSV format for detailed analysis.

Cost Optimization Tips​

  1. Keep messages short -- Stay within 160 characters (plain text) to avoid multi-part charges.
  2. Use plain text -- Unicode messages have a 70-character limit and cost more per message. Use Unicode only when necessary (e.g., regional languages). See Unicode SMS.
  3. Clean your contact lists -- Remove invalid numbers to avoid wasted API calls.
  4. Use URL shortening -- Shorten long URLs to save characters. See URL Shortening.
  5. Monitor DND lists -- For promotional campaigns, pre-filter DND numbers to avoid unnecessary attempts.
  6. Negotiate volume pricing -- If you send over 100,000 SMS/month, contact sales for better rates.
  7. Use bulk endpoints -- The Bulk SMS API is more efficient and may qualify for bulk pricing.

Prepaid vs Postpaid​

Plan TypeDescriptionBest For
PrepaidBuy credits in advance; deducted per SMS sentSmall to medium volumes, testing
PostpaidBilled monthly based on usageHigh volumes, enterprise customers

Next Steps​