Restaurant text message marketing: what it really costs in 2026
A marketing text costs about 1.3 cents to send at the raw carrier level in 2026, and 3 to 5.5 cents once you go past the included credits on the SMS tools most restaurants use. One text a week to 1,000 customers is about 4,000 texts a month, which works out to roughly $60 a month on bare Twilio before any software, and about $170 to $230 a month on a typical SMS tool's overage rates. Every number also needs written consent, and an unwanted marketing text can cost $500 to $1,500 in damages under federal law. App push notifications cost nothing per send, and email costs well under a cent.
What one text actually costs
Three things add up on every text: the sending price, a carrier fee, and the length of the message.
| Piece | Price |
|---|---|
| Twilio's price per SMS segment | $0.0083 |
| Carrier fee, AT&T | $0.0035 |
| Carrier fee, T-Mobile | $0.0045 |
| Carrier fee, Verizon | $0.005 |
| All in, one text to a Verizon phone | about $0.013 |
| All in, one picture text (MMS) to T-Mobile | about $0.032 |
Prices are from Twilio's US pricing page, current as of October 2026. Carrier fees went up this year: T-Mobile from 0.3 to 0.45 cents in January (Twilio).
Length matters more than most owners expect. A text is billed in segments of 160 characters. Put one emoji in it and the whole message switches to a format that fits only 70 characters per segment (Twilio docs). "🍕 Tuesday only: large cheese $12, show this text" plus your name and the required "Reply STOP to opt out" easily runs two segments, which doubles the cost.
What the SMS tools charge
Most restaurants don't use Twilio directly. They use a texting app with a monthly plan and a bundle of credits, where one credit is one text and a picture text usually costs 3 credits.
| Tool | Starting plan | Texts included | Each extra text |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimpleTexting | $39/mo | 500 | 5.5¢ |
| EZ Texting | $25/mo + $5 telecom fee | 500 | 4¢ |
| SlickText | $29/mo | 500 | not published |
500 texts is one message to 500 people. A pizzeria with 1,000 numbers that texts once a week needs about 4,000 credits a month. At EZ Texting's 4-cent overage that's $25 + $5 + 3,500 × $0.04 = $170 a month; at SimpleTexting's 5.5 cents it's $39 + 3,500 × $0.055 = $231.50, plus carrier fees, which SimpleTexting passes through. Bigger plans lower the per-text price, so check the tier that fits your list before you sign up.
The setup fees nobody mentions
US carriers block marketing texts from regular local numbers unless the business is registered first (this is called 10DLC registration). The registration fees, as Twilio passes them through (Twilio):
| Fee | Price |
|---|---|
| Brand registration, small sender | $4.50 once |
| Brand registration, standard (with vetting) | $46 once |
| Campaign vetting | $15 once |
| Campaign fee, standard | $10 a month |
| Campaign fee, low volume | $1.50 a month |
Texting apps either bundle this (EZ Texting says registration is included) or add it on top (SimpleTexting charges a $4 carrier registration fee and $10 a month for a local number).
The legal part: consent and quiet hours
This is the cost that can sink a small restaurant. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, each marketing text sent without permission can cost $500, and up to $1,500 if a court finds it willful (47 U.S.C. 227). Ten customers who didn't sign up, texted weekly for a month, is 40 texts.
What the rules require for marketing texts (47 CFR 64.1200):
- Written consent from each person, and it can't be a condition of buying anything. A phone number on a takeout ticket is not consent.
- No marketing texts before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the customer's time zone. Class actions have been filed over texts sent minutes outside that window.
- Stop texting anyone who replies STOP. Florida and Oklahoma have stricter state laws, including an 8 p.m. cutoff (Florida 501.059).
Restaurants do get sued. &pizza settled for $750,000 over texts sent to people who had already opted out (settlement details).
Does texting work for restaurants?
Yes, which is why people pay for it. Klaviyo's 2026 benchmarks across 183,000 brands show a 5.6% click rate on SMS campaigns (Klaviyo), and TextUs puts food businesses at about 0.12% opt-outs per send (TextUs). A text gets seen. The questions are whether it's worth 3 to 5 cents every time, and whether you have clean written consent for every number on the list.
Text vs push vs email, side by side
| Text (SMS) | App push | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per send | 1.3¢ to 5.5¢ | $0 | about 0.2¢ to 0.6¢ |
| Who you can reach | Anyone who gave written consent | People with your app who allowed notifications | Anyone who signed up |
| Benchmark | 5.6% click (Klaviyo) | 40% of iPhone users allow push in food apps (OneSignal) | 44% open, 1% click for restaurants (MailerLite) |
| Legal risk | High: $500 to $1,500 per bad text | Low | Low (CAN-SPAM) |
Push is free because Apple and Google don't charge per notification (Firebase pricing); OneSignal measured 40% of iPhone users and 33% of Android users allowing push in food and drink apps (OneSignal). Email on Mailchimp's Standard plan for 2,500 contacts is about $60 a month (EmailToolTester), and restaurants see a 44% open rate and about 1% clicks (MailerLite).
FAQ
Is texting cheaper than push notifications? No. Push costs nothing per send; texting costs every time. Texting reaches people who don't have your app, which is its real advantage.
Can I just text customers from my phone? Not for marketing. Bulk texts from a personal number get filtered by carriers, and the consent rules still apply.
How many texts a month is too many? Most restaurants stay at one to four a month. More than that and opt-outs climb, and every message costs money.
Do I need a lawyer? If you're collecting numbers, have your sign-up wording checked once. It's cheap next to one lawsuit.
What we'd do
Use push for your regulars, because they're the ones with your app and it costs nothing to send them a slow-night deal. Use email for everyone else. Save texts for the few messages that need to land within the hour, and only to people who signed up in writing.
Sources
- Twilio: US SMS pricing (Oct 2026)
- Twilio: T-Mobile carrier fee change, Jan 2026
- Twilio: SMS character limit and segments
- SimpleTexting pricing
- EZ Texting pricing
- SlickText pricing
- Twilio: 10DLC registration fees
- 47 U.S. Code 227 (TCPA)
- 47 CFR 64.1200 (consent and calling hours)
- Florida Statutes 501.059
- ClaimDepot: &pizza text message settlement
- Klaviyo SMS benchmarks (2026)
- TextUs: SMS benchmarks for food and beverage
- Firebase pricing
- OneSignal mobile app benchmarks
- EmailToolTester: Mailchimp pricing
- MailerLite email benchmarks by industry
Prices and fees were checked on November 6, 2026. They change, so check the source before you decide.