Twilio SMS price increase 2026: carrier fees rise, T-Mobile goes from $0.003 to $0.0045 per segment
Twilio kept its US SMS rate at $0.0083 per segment on long codes in 2026. The carrier fees Twilio passes through went up. On long codes, the T-Mobile fee per outbound SMS went from $0.003 to $0.0045. AT&T went from $0.003 to $0.0035. Verizon went from $0.004 to $0.005 in two steps. All other carriers went from $0.004 to $0.0042. We do not track Twilio on SaaS Price Watch yet. The figures come from the Twilio pricing page, the Twilio Help Center, and archived copies of the pricing page.
Old and new prices
Long code (10DLC) carrier fee per outbound SMS segment, in US dollars, as Twilio lists it. Twilio's own long code rate is $0.0083 per segment on top.
| Carrier | December 3, 2025 | October 26, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | $0.003 | $0.0045 |
| AT&T | $0.003 | $0.0035 |
| Verizon | $0.004 | $0.005 |
| US Cellular | $0.005 | $0.005 |
| All other carriers | $0.004 | $0.0042 |
Our math: the T-Mobile fee rises $0.0015 per segment (50%). AT&T rises $0.0005 (17%), Verizon $0.001 (25%), and all other carriers $0.0002 (5%). An outbound SMS to a T-Mobile number now costs $0.0128 per segment with the Twilio rate, up from $0.0113. For 100,000 segments to T-Mobile numbers, the carrier fee goes from $300 to $450, $150 more, on top of $830 in Twilio rate.
What Twilio said
The Twilio Help Center says "Effective January 19, 2026, T-Mobile will increase pass-through carrier fees for SMS via Long Code (10DLC), Short Code, RCS and Toll-Free channels." It says "These changes will automatically be applied to your Twilio account on the effective date." It adds "While Twilio does not control these carrier-imposed fees". The T-Mobile table in that article labels the new price "New Price (Jan 29, 2026)" while the text says January 19, 2026.
Who it hits and when
Every Twilio customer who sends US SMS pays the carrier fee for the destination carrier. T-Mobile rose on January 19, 2026, per Twilio. The archived pricing page shows the AT&T change between March 1 and April 10, 2026. Verizon rose to $0.0045 between April 10 and May 11, 2026, and to $0.005 between August 5 and October 12, 2026. The fee for all other carriers changed in that same window. Inbound SMS to T-Mobile long codes moved from $0.003 to $0.0025, a cut.
What to do before your next bill
- Pull your SMS volume by destination carrier from your Twilio usage records.
- Multiply each carrier's volume by the new fee to see your new carrier cost.
- Shorten messages to cut the segment count. Each segment pays the fee.
- Check whether RCS or WhatsApp fits some of your traffic. Twilio suggests both.
What we withhold
We do not publish short code, toll-free, MMS, or RCS carrier fee history. Twilio lists them, but we did not check every change. We do not publish volume discount tiers. We do not publish the exact day of the AT&T and Verizon changes. We give the window between archived copies.
FAQ
Did Twilio raise SMS prices in 2026? The Twilio rate stayed at $0.0083 per long code segment. Carrier fees went up, so the total cost per US SMS rose.
What is the T-Mobile carrier fee on Twilio? $0.0045 per outbound SMS on long codes, up from $0.003.
What is the Verizon carrier fee on Twilio? $0.005 per outbound SMS on long codes, up from $0.004 on December 3, 2025.
Do I need to change anything in my Twilio account? No. Twilio says the changes apply to your account on the effective date.
Why did Twilio carrier fees go up? Twilio says the carriers set these pass-through fees, and Twilio does not control them.
How we check
We read the Twilio US SMS pricing page and the Twilio Help Center article on T-Mobile fees on October 26, 2026. We read archived copies of the pricing page from December 3, 2025 to October 12, 2026, including January 2, February 11, March 1, April 10, May 11, and August 5, 2026. Get an alert when a SaaS price changes.
Checked 2026-10-26. Prices and policies change. Confirm on the source before you buy.
Sources
- https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us
- https://help.twilio.com/articles/44609260499995
- https://web.archive.org/web/20251203072556/https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us
- https://web.archive.org/web/20260410113846/https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us
- https://web.archive.org/web/20260511235456/https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261012051230/https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us
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