Direct answer: at US public prices for one SMS segment, Twilio is 0.0083 + carrier fee 0.0035–0.0050, Vonage 0.0086 + 0.0025–0.0050 and AWS End User Messaging 0.00774 + 0.00421. With an illustrative carrier mix (30% each AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon, 10% other), the all-in price is about Twilio 0.01262, Vonage 0.01275 and AWS 0.01195 per message. At 10,000/month: Twilio about 126.20, Vonage 127.50, AWS 119.50 + 11 fixed 10DLC = 130.50; at 100,000/month: AWS 1,206, Twilio 1,262, Vonage 1,275. AWS has the lowest unit price, but its 10DLC fixed fees can make it more expensive at low volume.
This guide is for engineering, operations and procurement teams building OTP/verification, order notifications, alerts and marketing SMS. Data cut-off: 5 November 2026; prices are US public list prices in USD, excluding tax, with no FX conversion; the TCO is an editorial calculation, not a vendor quote. All three bill “per message + carrier fee + number/registration fee”, but base price, carrier fees, 10DLC, short links/MMS and number rental differ; comparing only “per message” misses fixed and compliance costs.
Compare the all-in “base + carrier fee”, not the base alone; add 10DLC/number/short-code fixed fees; finally estimate segments at 160 characters (GSM-7) or 70 (UCS-2). A USD 0.00774 AWS, a USD 0.0083 Twilio and a USD 0.0086 Vonage are not the same bill.
Three positions: CPaaS, global API, cloud provider
Twilio is a CPaaS: SMS/MMS/RCS/WhatsApp/voice/email on one platform, priced per message + carrier fee + number/feature fees, with the broadest ecosystem and SDKs. Vonage is a global communications API: SMS base 0.0086/message, US long-code carrier fees 0.0025–0.0050, number setup 1.09 including the first month, plus a Messages API (RCS/WhatsApp/Viber/MMS etc.). AWS End User Messaging (the SMS layer under SNS) is a cloud provider: US SMS 0.00774/message + carrier 0.00421, 10DLC company 4.50 one-time, campaign 50 one-time (T-Mobile fee waived), campaign monthly 10 (2 for low-volume), number 1/month; it fits teams already on AWS.
| Platform | Positioning | Pricing | Best fit | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | Omnichannel CPaaS | Per message + carrier fee + number/feature fee | Omnichannel/ecosystem/SDK | 10DLC registration fee not listed |
| Vonage | Global communications API | Per message + carrier fee + number fee | Price-sensitive, global coverage | MMS/short-code prices need confirmation |
| AWS End User Messaging | Cloud-provider SMS | Per message + carrier fee + 10DLC/number fee | AWS-native, high volume | 10DLC fixed fees hurt low volume |
Sources: Twilio SMS Pricing US, Vonage SMS Pricing and AWS End User Messaging Pricing (all accessed 5 November 2026). This is editorial grouping, not a vendor taxonomy; “boundary” covers only what the pricing pages verify and does not judge deliverability, latency or coverage.
The official 2026 US SMS price list
Twilio: long code/toll-free/short code outbound SMS 0.0083; long-code carrier fees AT&T 0.0035, T-Mobile 0.0045, Verizon 0.0050, US Cellular 0.0050, other 0.0042; MMS 0.022 + carrier 0.007–0.01; failed-message processing fee 0.001. Vonage: virtual long code outbound 0.0086, inbound 0.00691; carrier fees Verizon/US Cellular 0.0050, T-Mobile/Sprint 0.0045, AT&T 0.0035, Cspire/Bluegrass/Commnet 0.0025; number setup 1.09. AWS: US SMS 0.00774 + carrier 0.00421 (same for long code/short code/toll-free/10DLC); MMS 0.02 + 0.01; 10DLC company 4.50, campaign 50 one-time, campaign monthly 10 (2 low-volume), number 1/month; toll-free 2/month; US short code 650 one-time + 995/month.
| Platform | Outbound SMS base | Carrier fee (long code) | All-in | MMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | 0.0083 | 0.0035–0.0050 | 0.0118–0.0133 | 0.022 + 0.007–0.01 |
| Vonage | 0.0086 | 0.0025–0.0050 | 0.0111–0.0136 | To confirm |
| AWS End User Messaging | 0.00774 | 0.00421 | 0.01195 | 0.02 + 0.01 |
Sources: Twilio SMS Pricing US (base, long-code carrier fees, MMS, failed fee 0.001), Vonage SMS Pricing (0.0086, carrier fees, number 1.09), AWS End User Messaging Pricing (0.00774 + 0.00421, MMS, 10DLC/number/short code). Accessed 5 November 2026; USD, excluding tax; all-in is editorial addition and varies by carrier/number type/segments.
10k / 100k / 1M messages: all-in TCO
With an illustrative carrier mix (30% each AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon, 10% other): Twilio 0.01262, Vonage 0.01275, AWS 0.01195/message. 10k/month: Twilio 126.20, Vonage 127.50, AWS 119.50 + 11 fixed 10DLC = 130.50; 100k/month: Twilio 1,262, Vonage 1,275, AWS 1,206; 1M/month: Twilio 12,620, Vonage 12,750, AWS 11,961. AWS is slightly more expensive at low volume because of 10DLC fixed fees; its unit advantage shows from 100k up.
| Monthly volume | Twilio/month | Vonage/month | AWS/month | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | 126.20 | 127.50 | 130.50 | Twilio |
| 100,000 | 1,262 | 1,275 | 1,206 | AWS |
| 1,000,000 | 12,620 | 12,750 | 11,961 | AWS |
| Annual (100k/month) | 15,144 | 15,300 | 14,472 | AWS |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Illustrative carrier mix: 30% each AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon, 10% other; Twilio carrier 0.0035/0.0045/0.0050/0.0042, Vonage 0.0035/0.0045/0.0050/0.0025, AWS 0.00421. AWS monthly includes 10DLC number 1 + campaign 10; excludes one-time 54.50, tax, short code/toll-free, MMS and failed fees. Assumes one segment (160 GSM-7 / 70 UCS-2 characters); Vonage “other” uses the lowest listed 0.0025 because the page does not list an “all other” row, so the bill governs.
The core is “low volume looks at fixed fees, high volume looks at unit price”. At 10k/month Twilio 126.20 is lowest and AWS 130.50 is higher because of the 10DLC number 1 + campaign 10; at 100k/month AWS 1,206 is 56/month below Twilio, and at 1M/month 659/month below. If your carrier mix skews Verizon (0.0050), Twilio/Vonage all-in rises and AWS’s flat 0.00421 looks better; if it skews small carriers (Vonage 0.0025), Vonage can overtake.
Fixed fees: 10DLC, numbers, short codes, toll-free
AWS: 10DLC company 4.50 one-time, campaign 50 one-time (T-Mobile fee waived), campaign monthly 10 (2 low-volume), number 1/month; toll-free 2/month; US short code 650 one-time + 995/month. Twilio: the page says US A2P 10DLC has a registration onboarding fee but does not list the amount; number rental is separate. Vonage: virtual number setup 1.09 including the first month; subsequent monthly/10DLC fees need confirmation. Low-volume/short-code/toll-free cases must include these fixed fees, not just the unit price.
| Item | Twilio | Vonage | AWS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10DLC company registration | Amount not listed | To confirm | 4.50 one-time |
| 10DLC campaign registration | Amount not listed | To confirm | 50 one-time (T-Mobile fee waived) |
| 10DLC campaign monthly | To confirm | To confirm | 10/month (2 low-volume) |
| 10DLC number monthly | Number rental separate | Setup 1.09 incl. first month | 1/month |
| Toll-free | Number rental separate | To confirm | 2/month |
| US short code | To confirm | To confirm | 650 one-time + 995/month |
Sources: Twilio SMS Pricing US (10DLC onboarding fee, number separate), Vonage SMS Pricing (virtual number 1.09 incl. first month), AWS End User Messaging Pricing (10DLC 4.50/50/10/1, TFN 2, short code 650+995). Accessed 5 November 2026; USD, excluding tax; “not listed/to confirm” means no public amount on the pricing page and is not guessed here.
Short codes are the easiest fixed fee to miss: AWS US short code is 650 one-time + 995/month, 12,590 a year before sending. Under 10k/month, the fixed fee far exceeds the SMS itself; only high-volume, strong-brand/high-throughput use cases justify it. 10DLC is similar: AWS one-time 54.50 + 10/month adds about 0.0011/message at 10k/month; the larger the volume, the thinner it spreads.
Hidden costs: segments, MMS, failures, compliance
SMS is billed per segment: GSM-7 160 characters/segment, UCS-2 (Chinese/emoji) 70/segment; long messages, signatures and links all add segments. MMS: Twilio 0.022 + carrier 0.007–0.01; AWS 0.02 + 0.01; Vonage to confirm. Twilio failed-message processing 0.001/message; 10DLC/toll-free verification/short-code compliance have one-time or monthly fees; international SMS is priced by destination. All three exclude tax, number rental, support and implementation.
| Item | Twilio | Vonage | AWS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segments | 160/70 characters | 160/70 characters | 160/70 characters |
| MMS | 0.022 + 0.007–0.01 | To confirm | 0.02 + 0.01 |
| Failed messages | 0.001/message | To confirm | To confirm |
| 10DLC/compliance | Onboarding fee | To confirm | 4.50+50+10/month |
| Number rental | Separate | 1.09 setup | 1–2/month |
| International SMS | By destination | By destination | By destination |
Sources: Twilio SMS Pricing US (segments, MMS, failed fee 0.001), Vonage SMS Pricing (segments/international), AWS End User Messaging Pricing (MMS, 10DLC, numbers). Accessed 5 November 2026; USD, excluding tax; “to confirm” means no public number on the pricing page and is not guessed here.
Chinese/emoji SMS must be counted at 70 characters/segment: a 100-character Chinese message becomes two segments, doubling the unit cost. Marketing messages also spend characters on short links, opt-out text and brand names; procurement should use real template lengths, not “one message = one price”.
Capability matrix: channels, global coverage, compliance, support
Twilio is strong on omnichannel (SMS/MMS/RCS/WhatsApp/voice/email), SDK/ecosystem and support plans; Vonage is strong on price, global numbers and the Messages API; AWS is strong on cloud integration, pay-as-you-go and transparent 10DLC/numbers, but needs more integration and operations. For omnichannel/ecosystem: Twilio; for price/global coverage: Vonage; already on AWS and high volume: AWS.
| Capability | Twilio | Vonage | AWS |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS/MMS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RCS/WhatsApp | Yes | Yes (Messages API) | Yes |
| Global coverage | Broad | Broad | 200+ countries |
| 10DLC transparency | Fees not listed | To confirm | 4.50/50/10/1 |
| Short code | To confirm | To confirm | 650+995/month (US) |
| Support | Support plans | Support plans | AWS Support |
| Best fit | Omnichannel/ecosystem | Price/global | AWS/high volume |
Sources: the three official pricing pages (accessed 5 November 2026). This is an editorial comparison, not a full feature list; “to confirm” means the pricing page has no explicit amount/capability and sales/docs must confirm; actual deliverability, latency, country coverage and support response were not tested.
Which option fits which scenario?
Under 10k/month, omnichannel: Twilio (126.20/month); price-first: Vonage (127.50); AWS-native and can accept 10DLC fixed fees: AWS (130.50). 100k/month: AWS 1,206, Twilio 1,262, Vonage 1,275; 1M/month: AWS 11,961, Twilio 12,620, Vonage 12,750. For short codes/toll-free: calculate AWS fixed fees first (short code 650+995/month, toll-free 2/month); for MMS: Twilio/AWS have public prices, Vonage needs confirmation.
- Under 10k/month: Twilio 126.20/month lowest; Vonage 127.50; AWS 130.50 (includes 10DLC fixed fees). For omnichannel/ecosystem choose Twilio.
- 100k/month: AWS 1,206, Twilio 1,262, Vonage 1,275; AWS’s unit advantage starts to show.
- 1M/month: AWS 11,961, Twilio 12,620, Vonage 12,750; high volume favors AWS.
- Short code/toll-free: AWS short code 650+995/month, toll-free 2/month; Twilio/Vonage need confirmation; not worth it at low volume.
- MMS: Twilio 0.022+0.007–0.01, AWS 0.02+0.01; Vonage to confirm.
- Chinese/emoji: 70 characters/segment, 100-character Chinese = two segments, cost doubles; test with real templates.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least eight things: monthly volume/peak, carrier mix, segment length, 10DLC/number/short-code fixed fees, MMS/international, failures/retries, compliance (10DLC/toll-free verification/short code) and a two-week real-send POC. The POC should use the same templates and record deliverability, latency, failures/retries, carrier filtering, the bill and segment counts, not just the base price.
- Volume: monthly/peak; calculate unit and fixed fees from the 12-month average.
- Carriers: AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon/other mix; carrier fees vary by destination/carrier.
- Segments: GSM-7 160/segment, UCS-2 70/segment; use real template length.
- Fixed fees: 10DLC registration/monthly, number rental, short code 650+995/month, toll-free 2/month.
- MMS/international: MMS unit, destination price, FX; Vonage to confirm.
- Compliance: 10DLC company/campaign, toll-free verification, short-code approval, opt-out/frequency limits.
- Failures/retries: failed fee, retry policy, carrier filtering, blocklists; avoid double billing.
- POC: two weeks, real templates, 10k–100k sends; record delivery, latency, failures, filtering, bill and segments.
FAQ
10k/month: what is cheapest?
With the illustrative carrier mix, Twilio 126.20/month is lowest; Vonage 127.50; AWS 119.50 sending + 10DLC number 1 + campaign 10 = 130.50/month plus one-time 54.50. At low volume Twilio is slightly lower; for omnichannel/ecosystem choose Twilio, for price/global choose Vonage.
What about 100k/month?
AWS 1,206/month, Twilio 1,262, Vonage 1,275; AWS is lowest. If carriers skew Verizon (0.0050), Twilio/Vonage rise and AWS’s flat 0.00421 looks better; if they skew small carriers, Vonage can overtake. Use your real carrier mix.
What about 1M/month?
AWS 11,961/month, Twilio 12,620, Vonage 12,750; AWS saves about 8k–9.5k a year. High volume favors AWS; for omnichannel/support/SDK you can still negotiate volume with Twilio.
Why is the all-in price so much higher than the base?
US SMS is “base + carrier fee”: Twilio 0.0083 + 0.0035–0.0050; Vonage 0.0086 + 0.0025–0.0050; AWS 0.00774 + 0.00421. Comparing only the base understates by 30%–60%.
How are 10DLC fixed fees calculated?
AWS: company 4.50 one-time, campaign 50 one-time (T-Mobile fee waived), campaign monthly 10 (2 low-volume), number 1/month. Twilio only says there is a registration onboarding fee, without an amount; Vonage needs confirmation. At low volume the fixed fee significantly raises the unit cost.
How are short codes/toll-free priced?
AWS US short code 650 one-time + 995/month, toll-free 2/month; Twilio/Vonage need confirmation. Short codes fit high-volume/strong-brand use; at low volume the fixed fee far exceeds the SMS itself. Toll-free fits notifications/support, but throughput/compliance need confirmation.
How are Chinese/emoji messages billed?
GSM-7 160 characters/segment; UCS-2 (Chinese/emoji) 70/segment. A 100-character Chinese SMS splits into two segments, roughly doubling cost. Short links, opt-out text and brand names in marketing templates also consume characters; calculate with the real template.
What other costs are hidden?
MMS (Twilio 0.022+0.007–0.01, AWS 0.02+0.01, Vonage to confirm), failed messages (Twilio 0.001/message), 10DLC/short-code/toll-free fixed fees, number rental, international SMS, tax and implementation. All three exclude tax/support/migration.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: base prices, carrier fees, MMS, 10DLC and number/short-code fees come from the three official pricing pages; the 10k/100k/1M TCO adds them under an illustrative carrier mix, not a vendor quote. It does not compare actual deliverability, latency, carrier filtering, country coverage or support response.
Eight limitations: (1) only US public list prices are compared, excluding tax, number rental, short code/toll-free, MMS, international, support and implementation; (2) the TCO uses an illustrative carrier mix (30% each AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon, 10% other), and real bills vary by carrier/number type/segments; (3) it assumes one segment (160/70 characters), while long/Chinese/emoji templates add segments; (4) the AWS 10DLC fixed fee assumes one number + one regular campaign, excluding the one-time 54.50; (5) Twilio/Vonage 10DLC/short-code/number rental amounts are not listed and not included; (6) Vonage MMS/short-code prices were not confirmed; (7) real deliverability, latency, failures/retries and carrier filtering were not tested; (8) mainland China SMS/sender registration/carrier compliance and local pricing are excluded. Treat this as a unit-alignment template and replace assumptions with a two-week real-send POC.
Sources and basis
- Twilio, SMS Pricing US: twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us. Long code/toll-free/short code outbound 0.0083; carrier fees AT&T 0.0035, T-Mobile 0.0045, Verizon 0.0050, US Cellular 0.0050, other 0.0042; MMS 0.022 + 0.007–0.01; failed fee 0.001; 10DLC onboarding fee not listed. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Vonage, SMS Pricing: vonage.com/communications-apis/sms/pricing. Virtual long code outbound 0.0086, inbound 0.00691; carrier fees Verizon/US Cellular 0.0050, T-Mobile/Sprint 0.0045, AT&T 0.0035, Cspire/Bluegrass/Commnet 0.0025; number setup 1.09 including first month. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- AWS, End User Messaging Pricing: aws.amazon.com/end-user-messaging/pricing. US SMS 0.00774 + carrier 0.00421; MMS 0.02 + 0.01; 10DLC company 4.50, campaign 50 one-time, campaign monthly 10 (2 low-volume), number 1/month; toll-free 2/month; US short code 650 one-time + 995/month. Accessed 5 November 2026.
Data cut-off 5 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement advice.