As a current reference point, one major CPaaS provider lists RCS basic text at $0.0083 to send or receive (the same as its SMS rate) and rich media at $0.0220 to send / $0.0165 to receive, plus automatic per-message carrier fees. Rates vary by provider, volume, and carrier. That provider is Twilio, and the full rate card sits beside ours, with a 100,000-message worked example, on Twilio RCS pricing.
The single most important thing to understand about RCS cost is that the headline per-message rate is only one layer. A fair comparison has to include carrier surcharges, registration and vetting, any setup or RCS-sender fees a provider charges, the platform/software fee, and taxes, which is exactly what the Billing Transparency page itemizes.
This page is the short answer. If you are comparing providers rather than looking up a rate, RCS pricing by provider puts twelve platforms' published rates side by side and works through the fees that do not appear on a headline rate. Our own numbers are on the pricing page and itemised on billing transparency. To size a programme against your own volume before you talk to anyone, use the free RCS tools.
- Business RCS per message, published US rates, September 2026: SimplyRCS $0.0039 text or card / $0.0150 media; Telnyx $0.0065 per segment / $0.016; AWS $0.007 per segment + $0.00494 carrier / $0.020 + $0.00949; Plivo $0.0077 per segment / $0.0180; Twilio ~$0.0083 / ~$0.0220 plus carrier fees. Google publishes no price; Sinch, Infobip, Vonage and Bird quote.
- Per-message carrier surcharges (all four US carriers,
$0.003-$0.005) apply on top, plus a failed-message fee at some providers ($0.001). - One-time/recurring registration: TCR brand (
$4.50), brand vetting ($41.50; enhanced ~$95), campaign vetting ($15), monthly campaign ($1.50-$10).
How much does RCS business messaging cost per message?
Between about $0.004 and $0.009 for an RCS text and between about $0.015 and $0.022 for an RCS message with media, before carrier fees, depending on the provider. On SimplyRCS an RCS text or interactive card is $0.0039 and a message with media is $0.0150, the same inbound and outbound, plus the carrier surcharge at cost. Twilio publishes about $0.0083 for basic RCS and about $0.0220 to send rich media, plus carrier fees of $0.0025 to $0.02. Telnyx publishes $0.0065 per segment for rich text and $0.016 for rich media, Plivo $0.0077 per segment and $0.0180, and AWS End User Messaging $0.007 per segment plus a $0.00494 carrier fee for rich text and $0.020 plus $0.00949 for rich media. Google does not publish a per-message price for RCS Business Messaging; the price reaches a business through its provider. Sinch, Infobip, Vonage and Bird quote.
Published US per-message RCS rates, checked September 2026, before carrier surcharges unless stated:
| Provider | RCS text | RCS with media | Carrier fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyRCS | $0.0039 per message, cards with buttons included | $0.0150 per message | Passed through at cost per carrier, own invoice line |
| Telnyx | $0.0065 per segment | $0.016 per message | Passed through |
| AWS End User Messaging | $0.007 per segment | $0.020 per message | Published: $0.00494 per text segment, $0.00949 per media message |
| Plivo | $0.0077 per segment | $0.0180 per message | Passed through |
| Twilio | ~$0.0083 per message | ~$0.0220 sent, ~$0.0165 received | $0.0025 to $0.02 per message |
| Sinch, Infobip, Vonage, Bird | Not published | Not published | Inside the quote |
Two things decide which rate applies to a given message. The first is the class: a plain text and, on SimplyRCS, a card with buttons and no attached image bill at the text rate, while anything carrying a photo, video or file bills at the media rate. The second is the unit: SimplyRCS, Twilio and AWS media bill per message, while Telnyx, Plivo and AWS text bill per 160-character segment, so a 300-character text is two units there and one here. Which RCS providers charge no platform fee and only usage-based rates? covers what sits around the per-message line.
RCS pricing explained
RCS pricing has five layers. (1) The message rate, set by message type, basic/branded text is billed per segment like SMS, while rich media (cards, carousels, video) is billed per message at a higher rate. (2) Carrier surcharges, a per-message fee each US carrier adds. (3) Registration and vetting fees through The Campaign Registry to send at all. (4) The provider's platform/software fee, which varies hugely, some bundle everything, others charge setup, per-feature, or per-seat add-ons. (5) Telecom taxes and surcharges. Your true cost is all five together.
How message type drives price: a plain branded text is the cheapest tier; adding rich media (a carousel, a video, a rich card) moves it to a higher per-message class. Some markets and providers also bill conversationally (a flat fee per 24-hour session) rather than per message, the model varies, so check how your provider counts.
How providers differ on the other layers is where bills diverge most. A low headline message rate can be undercut by setup fees, per-RCS-sender charges, feature tiers, or a separate inbox/UX you have to build. SimplyRCS's approach is to price messaging at carrier rates with no platform fee, a flat $250/month per RCS Agent covers the app, API, and every feature, with optional AI packages priced separately, and the API and app at the same price, so the layers are visible, not hidden.
- Message classes: basic/rich text billed per segment; rich media billed per message (provider classification).
- Five layers: message rate + carrier surcharge + registration/vetting + platform fee + taxes.
- Watch for: setup/activation fees, per-RCS-sender fees, per-feature or per-seat tiers, and whether an inbox is included.
RCS vs SMS pricing
Per message, basic RCS costs about the same as SMS, while rich RCS costs more, but RCS's higher engagement usually lowers cost per result. Branded RCS text is often priced at the SMS rate (around $0.008 at one major provider), and rich media runs higher (roughly $0.0165-$0.022). Both carry per-message carrier fees. Because RCS drives far higher click-through and conversion than SMS, the cost per click or per conversion is frequently lower even when the per-message price is higher.
The right comparison isn't price per message, it's price per outcome. If RCS costs 2-3x more per rich message but converts several times better, the effective cost per conversion drops. That's why pairing RCS for engagement with SMS as the universal fallback usually beats SMS-only on ROI.
Per-message comparison (illustrative; one major provider, 2026, verify current rates):
| Message type | Send | Receive |
|---|---|---|
| SMS (per segment) | ~$0.0083 | ~$0.0083 |
| RCS basic/branded text | ~$0.0083 | ~$0.0083 |
| RCS rich media (per message) | ~$0.0220 | ~$0.0165 |
| Plus, on all of the above | per-message carrier surcharge | + taxes |
How much does an RCS campaign cost?
An RCS campaign's cost is the number of messages times the per-message rate for the message type, plus per-message carrier surcharges, a share of any platform fee and one-time registration, plus telecom taxes. For example, a 50,000-message rich-media campaign at a ~$0.02 send rate is about $1,000 in message cost, plus carrier surcharges (roughly $150-$250 across carriers), plus registration (mostly one-time) and applicable taxes. The exact total depends on message type, your carrier mix, volume discounts, and your provider's fee structure.
The biggest swing factors are message type (basic text vs rich media) and your provider's extra fees. A campaign of mostly branded text costs far less than one full of video carousels; and two providers quoting the "same" message rate can produce very different invoices once setup, per-sender, and feature fees are added.
Illustrative 50,000-message rich-media campaign (not a quote; replace with SimplyRCS rates):
| Line item | Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RCS rich-media messages × 50,000 | ~$1,000 | At a ~$0.02 send rate; basic text would be far less. |
| Carrier pass-through surcharges | ~$150-$250 | Per-message, all four carriers; passed through, no markup. |
| Registration / campaign fees | mostly one-time | TCR brand/vetting once; small monthly per campaign. |
| RCS Agent (verified sender) | $250.00 | $250/month per agent, covers app, API, and all features; no separate platform fee. |
| Estimated telecom taxes | estimated up front | USF, state/local, E911, itemized, not hidden. |
| All-in minimum | $250/mo | Carrier surcharges included; you pay your itemized total if higher. |
What affects RCS pricing?
RCS pricing is driven by message type, volume, carrier, region, and your provider's fee structure. Rich media costs more than basic text; higher volume earns discounts; each carrier sets its own surcharge; destination/region changes the rate; and providers differ enormously on setup fees, per-RCS-sender charges, feature tiers, seats, and whether an inbox is included. Registration and vetting fees and telecom taxes add further layers. The provider's structure often affects the final bill more than the headline message rate.
A useful way to read any RCS quote: separate the things every provider must charge (message rate, carrier surcharge, registry fees, taxes) from the things a provider chooses to charge (setup/activation, per-sender fees, feature/seat tiers, inbox or API gating). The first set is roughly comparable across vendors; the second set is where you're really choosing.
- Cost drivers: message type (basic vs rich media), volume/commit discounts, carrier surcharge, region/destination.
- Provider-choice fees: setup/activation, per-RCS-sender, feature tiers, per-seat, inbox/UX included or not.
- Pass-through layers: TCR registration & vetting, per-message carrier fees, telecom taxes (e.g., federal USF ~37% in 2026).
Utility, transactional and marketing campaigns do not cost the same
The use case you register your campaign under is a pricing input, not only a compliance one. Carriers set their per-message surcharges and your throughput from that record, and marketing traffic generally carries higher surcharges and tighter throughput than transactional or utility traffic on the same account. The per-message platform rate does not change with the use case, ours stays $0.0039 for an RCS text and $0.0150 for multimedia whichever campaign it runs under, but the carrier pass-through line on the invoice does, which is why two campaigns sending identical volumes can bill differently.
This catches people out because the two halves are set by different parties. Your provider sets the message rate. The carriers set the surcharge, and they set it against the campaign use case you declared to The Campaign Registry, alongside your brand's trust score. So the lever that moves your carrier cost is registration quality and accurate use-case selection, not negotiation with your platform.
Three practical consequences:
- Register each programme under its true use case. A business running both marketing and order notifications registers two campaigns, because the carriers price and throttle them differently. Running marketing traffic through a campaign registered as transactional is a violation that risks filtering, and it also makes your cost model wrong.
- Expect marketing throughput to be lower. Throughput follows the brand and campaign record, so a marketing campaign on a thinly-registered brand will hit a ceiling that a well-registered transactional one does not. That is a deliverability and scheduling constraint as much as a cost one.
- Read the pass-through line, not the blended total. Because carrier fees vary by use case and by carrier, the only accurate figure is the itemised one for your own traffic mix.
We pass carrier surcharges through at cost on their own invoice line rather than blending them into a headline rate, so the number you see for a marketing campaign is the carriers' number, not a markup. The worked bill is on billing transparency, and the registration mechanics behind the tiering are in how 10DLC registration works.
- The registered use case drives carrier surcharges and throughput; the platform per-message rate does not change.
- Marketing traffic generally carries higher surcharges and lower throughput than transactional or utility traffic.
- Register one campaign per use case; misdeclared traffic risks filtering and distorts the cost model.