10DLC pricing confuses people because it stacks four unrelated fee types: one-time brand fees, one-time campaign fees, monthly campaign fees, and per-message carrier surcharges. Here is the complete 2026 picture, with worked examples. (Fees are set by TCR and carriers and passed through by providers like Twilio; always confirm current numbers on your provider’s pricing page.)
One-time fees
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Brand registration (Sole Prop, LVS, Standard) | ~$4 | Once per brand |
| Secondary vetting (optional, Standard only) | ~$40 | Per vet, typically valid 1 year |
| Campaign vetting | ~$15 | Once per campaign |
Failed submissions can cost real money: some brand re-vets incur the fee again, which is why getting your legal name and EIN exactly right the first time matters.
Monthly campaign fees
Every active campaign carries a recurring fee by use case (typical 2026 rates):
| Use case | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Marketing, Mixed | ~$10 |
| Account Notification, Customer Care, Delivery, 2FA and most standard cases | ~$10 (some providers price lower tiers at $2–$5) |
| Low-volume / Sole Proprietor | ~$2 |
| Charity | ~$3 |
| Emergency | ~$5 |
Two structural implications: consolidate numbers into few campaigns (fees are per campaign, not per number), and deactivate campaigns you no longer use, because they bill until deleted.
Per-message carrier surcharges
On top of your provider’s SMS price, carriers add a surcharge per outbound message segment on registered 10DLC traffic, roughly $0.002–$0.005 per SMS segment depending on carrier (MMS surcharges slightly higher). Two consequences: long messages cost proportionally more (a 3-segment blast pays 3 surcharges), and the surcharge applies to all registered traffic, so it belongs in your unit economics. Segment math explained in our throughput guide.
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Solo practitioner (Sole Proprietor)
- Setup: $4 brand + $15 campaign = $19 one-time
- Running: ~$2/month + surcharges (500 reminders/mo ≈ $1–2) ≈ $3–4/month plus provider SMS rates
Dental clinic, 3 locations (Low Volume Standard)
- Setup: $4 brand + $15 campaign (one Account Notification campaign, 3 numbers) = $19 one-time
- Running: ~$2–10/month + surcharges (3,000 reminders/mo ≈ $6–15) ≈ $10–25/month
E-commerce brand with marketing list (Standard, vetted)
- Setup: $4 brand + $40 vetting + $15 × 2 campaigns (Marketing + Delivery) = $74 one-time
- Running: ~$20/month campaigns + surcharges (50,000 mostly 2-segment sends/mo ≈ $200–500); surcharges dominate at scale
The hidden cost: failed reviews
The most expensive line item is invisible: a rejected campaign costs 1–4 weeks of delay, sometimes a re-vet fee, and for revenue-dependent launches, real money. Most rejections trace to the sender’s website: privacy policy gaps and missing opt-in language. Checking your site before submitting (our scanner does it free, in 30 seconds) is the cheapest insurance in this whole price list.
Frequently asked questions
Are 10DLC fees charged by Twilio or by carriers?
Both, separately. TCR registration fees (brand, vetting, campaign) and carrier surcharges are set upstream and passed through by Twilio on top of Twilio’s own per-message SMS pricing.
Do I pay per phone number?
Not for registration. Campaign fees cover all numbers in the campaign. You pay your provider’s normal number rental (about $1.15/month per US local number on Twilio) as usual.
Is there a fee to cancel or change registrations?
Deleting campaigns/brands has no exit fee; just stop before the next monthly cycle. Editing a campaign’s core declaration can trigger re-review; upgrading a brand tier or re-vetting costs the corresponding fees.