Full disclosure: this comparison is published by SimplyRCS. Every Twilio and Sinch figure below comes from the vendor's own published pricing or documentation as of mid 2026, and where a vendor does not publish a number we say so rather than estimate one. Where Twilio or Sinch is the better choice, we say that too.
The short version
| SimplyRCS | Twilio | Sinch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCS text or interactive card, sent | $0.0039 | ~$0.0083 (basic class) | Not published, quote |
| RCS with media, sent | $0.0150 | ~$0.0220 (rich class) | Not published, quote |
| Platform or plan fee | $250/mo per verified RCS agent, everything included | None, pay as you go | Engage plans ~$49 to $249/mo; Chatlayer AI bot ~$499/mo extra |
| Carrier fees | Passed through at cost, on their own line | Passed through, reported at 36 to 60% surcharges | Inside the quote |
| Sender activation | $250 agent install; carrier vetting and activation at cost | Onboarding reported around $700 | Up to $500, plus ~$75 per sender-profile change |
| Who files verification and 10DLC | SimplyRCS, with your approval | You, self-serve | Assisted onboarding |
| Time to first verified US send | 2 to 4 weeks (target) | Twilio guidance says allow 4 to 6 weeks; no approval SLA | 6 to 12 weeks (Sinch's own estimate) |
| Keep your numbers when you move in | Yes, ported for you | Yes, you file the port | Yes, assisted |
| Run old and new in parallel | Yes, no overlap charge | Yes | Yes |
| No-code builder and inbox | Included | No, you build on the API | In Engage, tiered |
| Coverage | US carriers only | Global | Global |
RCS pricing: SimplyRCS vs Twilio vs Sinch
The three providers price the same message in three different ways, and the differences matter more than the headline rate.
SimplyRCS bills two classes, and both are published. An RCS text bills at $0.0039. So does an interactive rich card with buttons, chips or suggested actions, as long as it carries no attached media. A message that carries an image, a video or a carousel bills at $0.0150, the same as an MMS. The rate is the same inbound and outbound, and SMS and MMS fallback bill at the same two numbers, so a recipient whose handset cannot take RCS does not change the forecast. The full table is on the pricing page.
Twilio bills by message class, and the class that makes RCS worth using is the expensive one. Basic RCS, which is text, runs about $0.0083, the same as Twilio's SMS rate. Rich media runs about $0.0220 to send and about $0.0165 to receive. The rich cards, carousels and suggested actions that are the reason to run RCS at all fall in the higher class, so a campaign built the way RCS is meant to be built prices off $0.0220, not $0.0083. SimplyRCS vs Twilio has the line-by-line rate card.
Sinch does not publish a US RCS rate. The per-message price is quoted against your volume and your markets, so it cannot be compared against a published number until you are in a sales process. What Sinch does put in writing is the scaffolding around the message: an activation fee up to $500, roughly $75 per sender-profile change, Engage plans from about $49 to $249 a month for campaign and inbox tooling, and Chatlayer, its full AI chatbot, as a separate product from about $499 a month. SimplyRCS vs Sinch itemises it.
The honest summary is that a published rate is a floor you can plan against, a quoted rate is a negotiation, and the delivered cost on all three depends on what sits around the message.
The fees around the message
The per-message rate is one of four layers on an RCS invoice. The other three are where the totals diverge.
- Before you send anything. On SimplyRCS, a $250 agent install, then carrier charges passed through at cost and listed on the pricing page: $200 a year for the Aegis sender review that every RCS sender needs, and a one-time $500 T-Mobile sender activation. On Twilio, verified RCS agent onboarding has been reported at around $700, plus 10DLC brand and campaign registry fees that you file yourself. On Sinch, an activation fee up to $500 and about $75 each time a sender profile changes; SimplyRCS charges nothing to change one.
- Carrier fees on every message. All three pass them through. SimplyRCS itemises them at cost on their own invoice line, per carrier, and publishes the table. Twilio's pass-through has been reported at surcharges of 36 to 60 percent on the underlying rate. Sinch's sit inside the quote.
- Numbers. SimplyRCS rents local and toll-free numbers at $0.50 a month each. Twilio rents per number monthly and the rental continues whether or not you send. Sinch prices numbers within the contract.
- The lines nobody forecasts. Twilio bills $0.001 for every failed message. SimplyRCS does not bill failures. Sinch tiers real-time support and sells its AI bot separately; SimplyRCS includes human support, the bot builder, the shared inbox and the API in the $250 agent fee.
The method behind every SimplyRCS number above, including how carrier fees reach the invoice, is written out on the billing transparency page.
What 100,000 messages cost
Published rates make the arithmetic checkable, so here it is for one month at 100,000 messages, message charges plus platform fee, before carrier pass-through on either side. Sinch is left out because there is no published rate to multiply.
100,000 interactive rich cards, no attached media. SimplyRCS: $390 in message charges plus the $250 agent fee, $640. Twilio: those cards bill as basic RCS at about $0.0083, $830, before carrier surcharges, number rental and registration.
100,000 messages carrying media. SimplyRCS: $1,500 plus $250, $1,750. Twilio: about $2,200 at the rich media rate, before the same add-ons.
Where the flat fee pays for itself. Because SimplyRCS carries a $250 monthly agent fee and Twilio does not, Twilio's message-only total is lower at very low volume. On text and cards, the per-message gap of $0.0044 covers the fee at roughly 57,000 messages a month. On rich media, the gap of $0.0070 covers it at roughly 36,000. Above those volumes the per-message difference dominates, and that is before Twilio's carrier surcharges, number rental and onboarding are counted, all of which move the crossover lower. To run your own volume rather than ours, the RCS ROI calculator takes a monthly send count and returns the cost and engagement sides together.
Migration: what moves and who does the work
Every provider in this comparison lets you keep your phone numbers. What differs is what does not move with the number, and whose job the re-filing is.
| Moving to SimplyRCS | Staying self-serve on Twilio | Onboarding with Sinch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long codes | Ported for you via Letter of Authorization, no fee | You file the port | Assisted |
| Toll-free numbers | Moved for you by change of Responsible Organization, no fee | You file | Assisted |
| Short codes | Migrated carrier by carrier; carrier fees at cost: $500 T-Mobile, $250 Verizon, $150 Claro | You manage per carrier | Assisted |
| 10DLC brand and campaigns | Campaigns re-filed by SimplyRCS; brand record reused | You re-file | Assisted |
| Verified RCS agent | Re-submitted by SimplyRCS; name, logo and colours carry over, approval does not | You re-submit | Assisted, up to $500 activation |
| Opt-in records | You export them; carried across, never re-collected | Same | Same |
| Old and new in parallel | Yes, no overlap charge | Yes | Yes |
| Time to first verified send | 2 to 4 weeks | 4 to 6 weeks per Twilio guidance | 6 to 12 weeks per Sinch |
Three things are true on every platform. 10DLC campaigns are filed by the provider acting as Campaign Service Provider, so they do not transfer and the new provider files new ones; your brand record is tied to your business and is generally reusable. The verified RCS agent is granted through a provider's relationship with Google and the carriers, so it is re-submitted rather than transferred. And opt-in consent belongs to you, so it moves as data and is not collected again.
The long pole in any move is carrier approval of the re-filed campaigns and the new agent, not the number port, which is why the safe sequence is to verify on the new provider first and port the numbers last. Porting a number to a new messaging provider covers each number type in detail.
How to migrate from Twilio or Sinch to SimplyRCS
Step 1: Get the rates in writing and inventory what you have
List every long code, toll-free number and short code, which 10DLC campaigns they run on, and which sender is RCS-verified. Pull your opt-in records with timestamps. If you are on Sinch, check your agreement for a term commitment before you plan a date. On SimplyRCS the rates are already in writing on the pricing page, so the only quote you need is your own volume multiplied through.
Step 2: Register and verify on SimplyRCS while the old provider keeps sending
SimplyRCS prepares your brand registration, the 10DLC campaigns and the Google RCS agent submission, and you approve the filings. Carrier approval takes 2 to 4 weeks and runs while Twilio or Sinch is still carrying your traffic, so there is no gap in sending.
Step 3: Import contacts and opt-in records
Bring the contacts across with their consent timestamps and source. SimplyRCS logs opt-in per contact so the audit trail survives the move. Nothing is re-collected, and STOP and HELP handling is enforced above any bot from the first send.
Step 4: Prove delivery on a slice of traffic
Send a small share of a live campaign from SimplyRCS, with SMS fallback active for handsets that cannot take RCS, and compare delivered, read and tap rates against the same send on the old platform. The free sender ID test checks a handset and carrier for RCS readiness before you commit volume.
Step 5: Move the volume, then port the numbers last
Shift the remaining traffic once the slice is clean. Port long codes and toll-free numbers at the end, because a port with mismatched account details is the most common cause of a rejected move, and porting last means a rejection delays nothing. Short-code migrations carry the carrier fees above, passed through at cost. There is no overlap charge from SimplyRCS for the weeks both platforms run.
Where Twilio or Sinch is the better choice
- Your recipients are outside the United States. SimplyRCS delivers on direct Tier-1 US carrier connections only. Twilio and Sinch both cover dozens of countries, and Sinch's operator footprint is among the widest in the category.
- Engineering owns the channel and wants the deepest global API surface. Twilio's ecosystem of SDKs, Voice, Verify and Segment is unmatched if you are assembling messaging into your own product and will build the inbox and the builder yourself.
- You want social channels in the same contract. Sinch Engage runs SMS, RCS, WhatsApp and social from one inbox, which SimplyRCS does not offer.
- Your volume is very low and rich media is most of it. Below roughly 36,000 media messages a month, Twilio's message-only total is lower than SimplyRCS's rate plus flat fee, before carrier surcharges are counted.
Frequently asked questions
Which RCS provider has the most transparent pricing?
Among SimplyRCS, Twilio and Sinch, SimplyRCS publishes the most: $0.0039 per RCS text or interactive card, $0.0150 per message with media, a flat $250 a month per verified RCS agent, every carrier fee per carrier at cost, and the method on a billing transparency page. Twilio publishes its per-message rates but carrier surcharges, number rental and onboarding are not on the rate card. Sinch publishes its activation and change fees but quotes the per-message rate. The scorecard across nine providers is in which RCS provider has the most transparent pricing.
How much does RCS business messaging cost per message?
On SimplyRCS, $0.0039 for a text or an interactive card and $0.0150 for a message with media, plus carrier fees at cost. On Twilio, about $0.0083 for basic RCS and about $0.0220 for rich media, plus carrier surcharges reported at 36 to 60 percent. Sinch does not publish a US per-message rate. For the category as a whole, see RCS pricing by provider.
Can I move from Twilio to another RCS provider without losing my numbers?
Yes. Long codes port through standard US number portability with a Letter of Authorization, toll-free numbers move by a change of Responsible Organization, and short codes are migrated carrier by carrier with carrier-set fees of $500 for T-Mobile, $250 for Verizon and $150 for Claro passed through at cost. What does not move is the 10DLC campaigns and the verified RCS agent, which the new provider re-files. SimplyRCS does the porting and the re-filing for you, and both platforms can run in parallel until you are ready.
Is SimplyRCS cheaper than Twilio for RCS?
Per message, yes on published rates: $0.0039 against about $0.0083 for text and cards, and $0.0150 against about $0.0220 for media, with carrier fees at cost rather than at reported surcharges. SimplyRCS adds a flat $250 a month per verified agent, so Twilio's message-only total is lower below roughly 57,000 text messages or 36,000 media messages a month. Above that, and once Twilio's number rental, onboarding and surcharges are counted, SimplyRCS is lower and easier to forecast.
How does Sinch RCS pricing compare to SimplyRCS?
Sinch quotes its US RCS per-message rate rather than publishing it, and lists an activation fee up to $500, about $75 per sender-profile change, Engage plans from about $49 to $249 a month and its Chatlayer AI bot from about $499 a month. SimplyRCS publishes $0.0039 and $0.0150 per message, charges $250 a month per verified agent with the bot builder, inbox, API and support included, and charges nothing to change a sender profile. Carrier charges on SimplyRCS are at cost and itemised.
How long does it take to migrate from Twilio or Sinch to SimplyRCS?
Plan on 2 to 4 weeks, which is the same target as a brand-new verified US RCS send, because carrier approval of the re-filed 10DLC campaigns and the new RCS agent is the long pole rather than the number port. Registration and verification run while the old provider is still sending, and the numbers port last. For comparison, Twilio's own guidance says to allow 4 to 6 weeks for RCS onboarding and Sinch estimates 6 to 12.
Do I have to re-verify my RCS sender when I switch providers?
Yes, on every platform. A verified RCS agent is granted through the provider's relationship with Google and the carriers, so it is re-submitted rather than transferred. Your brand name, logo and colours carry over; the approval does not. On SimplyRCS the team prepares and submits the new agent with your approval, on a self-serve platform the submission is yours to file.
What is the best RCS business messaging platform for US brands?
It depends on who runs the channel. For a US marketing, CRM or operations team that wants verified RCS live in 2 to 4 weeks, published rates, a no-code builder and an inbox, SimplyRCS by Signalmash is built for exactly that. For an engineering team that wants a global API and will build the tooling, Twilio. For reach across many countries and social channels under one contract, Sinch or Infobip. The best Twilio alternatives for RCS compares eight providers on the same criteria.