Long SMS API
flat $0.02 per message
not per segment
Twilio charges 4× for a 600-char appointment reminder ($0.04 US / $0.40 Germany). MySMSGate charges $0.02 flat — up to 7 segments per send (~1071 chars Latin / ~469 chars Cyrillic). One charge, regardless of length.
The same message, billed differently
A 600-character appointment reminder breaks into 4 segments under SMS protocol rules. Carrier-API providers bill all 4. We bill 1.
| Provider | Per-segment price | 4-segment SMS billed as | 1000/month cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio US | $0.0083 × 4 | $0.0332 | $33.20 |
| Twilio Germany | $0.082 × 4 | $0.328 | $328 |
| Twilio Brazil | $0.097 × 4 | $0.388 | $388 |
| Twilio Indonesia | $0.234 × 4 | $0.936 | $936 |
| MessageBird Germany | $0.095 × 4 | $0.380 | $380 |
| Plivo Germany | $0.075 × 4 | $0.300 | $300 |
| MySMSGate (any country) | $0.02 × 1 (flat) | $0.02 | $20.00 |
Provider pricing pages cited as of April 2026. Verify current rates on provider sites for production decisions. MySMSGate fee is the flat platform charge — destination SMS cost is paid via your phone's carrier plan.
Why per-message billing exists at all
SMS protocol is 160-char
The original GSM standard caps a single SMS at 160 chars (GSM-7) or 70 (UCS-2 for Cyrillic/emoji). Longer messages are split into segments — 153 chars each in GSM-7, 67 in UCS-2 — concatenated by the receiver's phone, but counted separately by carriers.
Twilio pays per segment
Carrier-API providers buy SMS termination wholesale, paid per-segment. They pass that cost (plus markup) to you. A 5-segment SMS = 5 carrier charges = 5× billing on your invoice. There's no way around it for them.
We don't pay carriers
Your phone's SIM sends the SMS. Your existing consumer plan typically includes unlimited SMS or a generous quota. We don't reach a carrier-API at all — we just ask your phone to send the message. So we charge a flat platform fee, not a per-segment markup.
Soft cap at 7 segments
We cap at 7 segments per send (~1071 chars) to keep your SIM safe. Carriers flag abuse-pattern phones with frequent 7+segment marketing blasts; getting your number blocked breaks the whole stack. Beyond 7 → split or contact us.
What you can fit in one charge
Real-world message lengths and how they map to segments. All cost flat $0.02 on MySMSGate; 1×, 2×, 3×, 5× on per-segment providers.
≤ 70 chars (Cyrillic)
(short notification)
(appointment reminder)
(rich notification + CTA)
(maximum)
Best for these use-cases
Appointment reminders
«Your appointment with Dr. Smith on Tuesday March 15 at 3pm. Address: 123 Main St. Reply CONFIRM or call 555-1234. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.» — 200+ chars, 2 segments at competitors. Flat $0.02 here.
Order/delivery notifications
«Hi {name}, your order #{{order}} (3 items, $42) shipped via {carrier}. Tracking: {url}. Expected delivery: {date}. Reply HELP for support.» — easily 300+ chars on real data.
OTP with branding
«Your {brand} verification code is 123456. Don't share this code. {brand} will never ask for it. Code valid for 5 min. Issues? help@{brand}.com or call 555-1234.» — looks long, costs 3× at Twilio.
Multilingual notifications
Cyrillic / Arabic / Chinese / emoji content = UCS-2 = 70 chars/segment (vs 160 for Latin GSM-7). A 180-char message in any of those scripts is 3 segments. Twilio bills 3×; we bill 1 flat regardless of language.
Customer-service replies
Natural «Hi, sorry about the delay — your refund of $X has been processed and will appear in 3-5 business days. Reference: ABC-123. Anything else I can help with?» replies are 200+ chars in conversational style.
Event RSVPs & confirmations
«You're confirmed for {event} on {date} at {venue} ({address}). Doors open 19:00. Bring ID. Add to calendar: {url}. Refund policy: {url}» — 6+ variables, naturally long.
Honest about the tradeoffs
Flat per-message pricing isn't a universal win.
Big win when
- Messages avg > 160 chars (notifications, reminders, multi-language)
- Sending to non-US destinations (Twilio's per-segment 4-50× more expensive)
- UCS-2 / Cyrillic / Arabic / emoji content (70-char segment limit hits fast)
- Mid-volume transactional traffic (1k-50k/month)
Not the right pick
- US-only short OTP (≤160 chars) — Twilio at $0.0083 still cheaper
- 1M+ messages/month (need volume-discount carrier API)
- Workflows requiring > 7 segments per send (cap protects your SIM)
- 99.99% SLA with carrier-grade redundancy
FAQ
Why does Twilio charge multiple times for one SMS?
SMS protocol limits a single message to 160 chars (GSM-7) or 70 chars (UCS-2 / Cyrillic / emoji). Anything longer is split into segments — 153 chars each in GSM-7, 67 in UCS-2 — and each segment is billed separately by carrier-API providers. A 200-char notification = 2 segments = 2×. A 500-char appointment-reminder = 4×. We bill flat $0.02 per send because we don't pay carrier termination.
What's the maximum message length?
Up to 7 segments per send: ~1071 characters in GSM-7 (English/Latin) or ~469 characters in UCS-2 (Cyrillic / Arabic / Chinese / emoji). Beyond that the API returns 413 with an explanation — split the message or contact us about a long-message tier. The cap exists to protect your own SIM from carrier abuse-detection (50-segment marketing blasts get phones flagged); it's not a billing trick.
How does «flat per-message billing» actually save money?
Real example: 5-segment appointment reminder (≈ 750 chars). Twilio US: $0.0083 × 5 = $0.0415. Twilio Germany: $0.082 × 5 = $0.41. Twilio Indonesia: $0.234 × 5 = $1.17 per message. MySMSGate: flat $0.02 per message anywhere. For 1000 such messages/month: Twilio US = $42, Twilio DE = $410, Twilio Indonesia = $1170. MySMSGate = $20.00. Savings compound with longer messages and non-US destinations.
Does the message arrive as one SMS or multiple on the recipient's phone?
Modern smartphones (iOS, Android) automatically reassemble multipart SMS into one bubble — recipients see a single message. Carrier-side: still N segments, still consumes N from your phone's plan limit (irrelevant on unlimited plans). Billing-wise on our end: 1 charge regardless. The recipient experience is identical to single-segment SMS.
Are there any cases where this isn't a win?
Three. (1) US-only outbound short OTP (≤160 chars): Twilio at $0.0083 beats $0.02 — segments irrelevant when message fits in one. (2) High-volume 1M+/month: dedicated carrier-API providers have volume discounts we can't match. (3) Workflows that genuinely need > 7 segments per send: hit the cap, need to split. For everything else, flat-per-message wins big.
Can I see the segment count before sending?
Yes. The web /send page shows segment count live as you type. Via API, your message body returns segment count in the response. On 413 «too many segments» the response includes the actual segment count and the cap so you can split programmatically.
One charge per message. Up to 1071 chars.
50 free SMS, no credit card. Test long-message sends end-to-end, see segment counts, decide if flat-rate works for your workflow.
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