How much does it cost to send/receive SMS text messages using a dedicated short-code or long-code number at a volume of 1,000,000+ messages/month?

If you go with an application service provider like Msgme (http://www.msgme.com), you want to know the answers to the following questions: 1) What type of software do you need (ie are you looking at just sending static messages, premium content messages, polls, sweepstakes, etc.)? 2) Do you need a vanity dedicated short code or a random dedicated short code? 3) How much variability is there going to be in your monthly messaging? 4) What kind of short code/customer support are you looking to provide? 5) What country are you going to do your messaging in? Assuming standard rate SMS in the US, vanity short code, non-variable messaging, standard support. Here's the parameters you want to sort out with your provider: 1) Software License fee: I would ballpark you at $2.5-$7.5K/month depending on exact software you need 2) Messaging fee: fraction of a penny for each outbound message 3) Service fee (should be included in software license fee) 4) Short code provisioning and ongoing maintenance (should be included in software license fee) 5) Net number lookup to verify mobile number (should be included in license fee) In addition to the above you are also looking at the Neustar fees, which at cost are valued at: 1) $1575 one time carrier provisioning fee 2) $1000 per month lease fee The advantage of going with an application service provider as opposed to an aggregator or developer platform is that you get your software built and short code handled for you so that you can focus on customers and content. At 1 million msg/month you'll have sufficient volume to be able to get aggregator-level messaging pricing as well.

As mentioned before, it will depend on the countries you send and receive traffic to and from and also on the SMS provider that you use. You can try Nexmo SMS API (I work for this company). We offer wholesale pricing globally. For outbound SMS we offer reach to 200 countries . To send high volumes we have information available here: http://www.nexmo.com/high_volume_pricing/index.html For inbound, we offer Long Numbers in a few countries and you pay per long number monthly. You can take a look at our website: http://nexmo.com

With Twilio it costs $10,000/month to send 1 Million messages, whether they are from a long-code or short-code number.  There is also an additional charge of $1/month per phone number for longcodes, or $1500/month custom shortcode or $1000/month random short code. With longcodes, receiving messages cost .5 cents, while they cost 1 cent with longcodes. More information here: http://www.twilio.com/pricing/

There is a significant difference between the use of long codes vs short codes. Carrier regulations limit the sending of SMS through long codes to be 1 SMS per second, while there is no limit on short codes. At Plivo, we have a default rate of 40 SMS per second, which can be increased upon request. Regulations also require that the ratio of Inbound to Outbound SMS traffic be better than 1:3, while there are no such requirements for Short Code SMS. See the entire comparison in our FAQ: http://plivo.com/faq/shortcode/what-is-the-difference-between-a-short-code-vs-a-long-code/ So assuming that your SMS traffic ratio is within carrier standards and that you don't mind sending 1 SMS per second using long codes below are the two scenarios broken down in cost: *note that all prices are for US Short Codes Option 1: Using a Dedicated Short CodeDedicated Short Code Rental Fees (includes hosting, short code rental, and carrier charges): Random Short Code: $2,700 per 3 months + $500 setup fee Vanity short Code: $4,200 per 3 months + $500 setup fee Sign up before March 31st, 2014, we will deduct $1000 off your first invoice. And 12 month rental subscriptions receive 3 months of rental free. See our FAQ for more info: http://plivo.com/faq/shortcode/what-are-random-vs-vanity-short-codes/ For volume lower than 5M, we offer: $0.0050 per SMS inbound: 1M SMS = $5000 $0.0065 per SMS outbound: 1M SMS = $6500 Option 2: Using a Shared Short CodeThe cheapest way is to broadcast your SMS is via a shared Short Code. Since shared short codes are not subject to rental fees, you only pay for usage. The approval process is faster, however, you can only use a set of pre-approved templates for SMS. See our FAQ for more info: http://plivo.com/faq/shortcode/what-is-dedicated-vs-shared-short-codes/ Here are Plivo's prices for usage under 5M SMS per month in the US: $0.0050 per SMS inbound $0.0065 per SMS outbound See the entire price break down here: http://plivo.com/sms-api/shortcode/ Option 3: Using a Long Code Carrier regulations state that long codes should only be used for person-to-person (p2p) communication, so this option is not recommended if you are doing application-to-person (a2p) communication. Below are our prices for long code SMS in the US: Send Outbound SMS starting at 0.65¢ per SMS Receive inbound SMS starting at 0.45¢ per SMS Buy numbers at $0.8 per month See all https://manage.plivo.com/pricing/#!sms

You can use a low cost Android based solution Like SMS2Server @https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ng.cloudware.sms2server , with a cheap android device(you can dedicate for the service), you can have your long code setup in minutes, long codes can be a very cost effective approach of achieving the same 2-way messaging goal as with expensive shortcode counterpart. With this arrangement you dont pay for received MO messages, for Sending out SMS, you can use an SMS Gateway Such as @http://cloudsms.com.ng  they be sure to provide you with International low pricing for your volume. The App Automatically forwards of All inbound SMS to your server script for processing in realtime. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ng.cloudware.sms2server

Here's a company that offers good value with a unique short code. http://www.izigg.com/america Plans start at $100/mo and top out at $1500/mo for unlimited use.