Geoff CuddYes, there are fees beyond the per-text rate. Textmagic badges its pricing “No hidden fees”, and for the texts themselves that is true. What catches people out is the number you send them from.
A toll-free number costs $10 a month. A local US number costs $10 a month plus another $10 a month for brand and campaign registration, so $20 a month before you send a single text.
Textmagic's own calculator prices 1,000 texts at $59 on a toll-free number and $69 on a local one. Neither figure is concealed. Both sit one dropdown below the headline rate, which is why people ask.
The first month of every number fee is free, so month one looks cheaper than every month after it.
The short answer
- Per text: 4.9 cents, falling to 2 cents at 100,000
- Toll-free number: $10 a month, verification free
- Local 10DLC number: $20 a month, number plus campaign registration
- No subscription, no contract, and unlimited users and contacts on every account
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The Fees That Are Not the Per-Text Rate
Textmagic sells prepaid credit rather than a subscription. You top up, and the balance covers texts, email and the rest of its services.
The recurring cost is the number. Which one you choose changes your monthly floor, and it is the single biggest decision on this page.
| Toll-free | Local (10DLC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | $10 / month | $10 / month |
| Registration | Free | $10 / month |
| Monthly floor | $10 | $20 |
| First month | Free | Free |
| 1,000 texts | $59 | $69 |
Take the toll-free number unless you need a local area code. It costs half as much to run and its verification is free, where the local route bills campaign registration every month.
That $10 gap is $120 a year, which at 4.9 cents buys about 2,400 extra texts.
Textmagic Per-Text Rates in 2026
The rate is not flat. It steps down as the volume you buy goes up, and plenty of write-ups still quote 4.9 cents as though it applies at every level.
| Texts | Per text | Cost of the texts |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | 4.9c | $24.50 |
| 1,000 | 4.9c | $49 |
| 2,000 | 4c | $80 |
| 5,000 | 3.5c | $175 |
| 10,000 | 3.5c | $350 |
| 20,000 | 3c | $600 |
| 50,000 | 2.5c | $1,250 |
| 100,000+ | 2c | $2,000 |
The first real drop is at 2,000 texts. Below that you pay full price, and the rate then halves between 2,000 and 50,000.
The rate is set by the volume you buy, so if you sit just under a step it is worth checking whether buying up to the next one costs you less in total.
Textmagic gives you a free test balance, so you can check delivery before you top up.
What Textmagic Costs a Month
Texts plus a toll-free number, which is what most US businesses will actually pay after the free first month.
| Texts | Texts cost | Toll-free total | Local total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $24.50 | $34.50 | $44.50 |
| 1,000 | $49 | $59 | $69 |
| 5,000 | $175 | $185 | $195 |
| 20,000 | $600 | $610 | $620 |
| 50,000 | $1,250 | $1,260 | $1,270 |
The number fee stops mattering as you scale. At 500 texts it is 29% of the bill. At 20,000 it is under 2%.
So the hidden-fee question really only bites small senders. If you text a few hundred people a month, choosing a local number over a toll-free one raises your bill by nearly a third.
The Monthly Plans Textmagic No Longer Publishes
The pay-as-you-go rate on this page is one of three ways to buy Textmagic, and it is the only one with a price attached to it.
Essential is the advertised pay-as-you-go credit. Professional is a monthly plan with discounted rates, one free virtual number and free inbound texts. Connect lets you bring your own Twilio, Vonage, Sinch or Bandwidth account and pay Textmagic 1 cent a message part on top of your carrier's rate.
Textmagic's own pricing FAQ confirms the monthly plans exist for customers in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, and lists what they include. It does not say what they cost.
It used to. Until at least November 2024 the pricing page carried a three-plan comparison with live figures in it. For a US account sending 1,000 texts a month, this is what it showed:
| Plan | Then published at | What came with it |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $49 per 1,000 | 4.9c a text, number $10 a month on top, inbound texts 2c each, credit never expires |
| Professional 1K | $42 per 1,000 a month | 4.2c a text, one number included, inbound texts free, credit rolls over 2 months |
| Professional 2K | $80 per 2,000 a month | 4c a text, marked as a 14% saving against pay-as-you-go |
| Connect 1K | $10 per 1,000 a month | 1c a message part, on top of what your own Twilio or Vonage account charges |
Read the first two rows together, because that is where the money is. On pay-as-you-go, 1,000 texts cost $49 in credit plus $10 for the number, so $59 before a single inbound reply. The monthly plan was $42 with the number included and inbound free. The plan Textmagic stopped showing you was about $17 a month cheaper at that volume, and the gap grew every time someone texted you back.
Treat those figures as an anchor, not a quote. They are two years old and Textmagic has not published a replacement, so the only way to get a current number is to ask for the Professional rate at your volume before you top up credit. If you already run Twilio or Vonage, ask about Connect first: 1 cent a message part on top of carrier rates undercuts everything else on this page.
How Textmagic Compares on Price
Against the platforms we track, on monthly billing with one number included.
| 1,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Textmagic | $59 | $185 | $610 |
| ClickSend | $29 | $129 | $358 |
| Mobile Text Alerts | $44 | $149 | $499 |
| SlickText | $49 | $169 | $579 |
| SimpleTexting | $59 | $239 | $559 |
Textmagic is not the cheapest at any of these volumes. That is worth saying plainly, because its pay-as-you-go framing implies otherwise.
What it sells instead is flexibility. There is no plan to outgrow, no credits bought and wasted in a quiet month, and no contract to leave. A business whose volume swings from 200 texts one month to 5,000 the next is the one that benefits, because plan-based rivals charge for the peak every month.
You can price your own volume against all six in our SMS marketing cost guide.
Is Textmagic Worth the Price?
Where it makes sense: irregular sending, small teams that would otherwise pay per seat, and anyone who wants to test delivery before committing money. Unlimited users and unlimited contacts come on every account, which several rivals charge for. Our Textmagic review covers how it performs day to day.
Where it does not: steady high volume, where a credit plan beats pay-as-you-go, and list building, since Textmagic sells sending rather than subscriber growth. At 5,000 texts a month you are paying $185 against $129 for ClickSend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Textmagic have hidden fees?
No fees are concealed, but the per-text rate is not the whole cost. A toll-free number is $10 a month and a local US number is $20 a month once campaign registration is added. Both are disclosed on Textmagic's pricing calculator, though only after you choose a number type.
How much does Textmagic cost per text?
US texts start at 4.9 cents and the rate falls with the volume you buy: 4 cents at 2,000, 3.5 cents at 5,000, 3 cents at 20,000, 2.5 cents at 50,000 and 2 cents at 100,000. Anything quoting a flat 4.9 cents is only describing the entry rate.
Does Textmagic have a monthly fee?
There is no subscription, but there is a recurring number fee. Budget $10 a month for a toll-free number or $20 a month for a local one. The first month of each fee is free, so your second month costs more than your first.
Is a toll-free or local number cheaper with Textmagic?
Toll-free, by $10 a month. Both numbers cost $10, but a local 10DLC number also carries a $10 monthly brand and campaign registration fee, while toll-free verification is free. Choose local only if a local area code matters to your audience.
Does Textmagic have a free trial?
Textmagic gives every new account a free test balance rather than a time-limited trial, so you can send test messages and check delivery before topping up. The first month of your number fee is also free.
How many users does Textmagic include?
Unlimited, at no extra cost, along with unlimited contacts. That matters against platforms that include one to three seats and bill for each additional login, which can add $20 a month per user elsewhere.
Does Textmagic have a monthly subscription plan?
Yes, two of them, and neither is priced on the pricing page. Professional is a monthly plan for the US, Canada, Australia and the UK with discounted rates, one free virtual number and free inbound texts. Connect lets you attach your own Twilio, Vonage, Sinch or Bandwidth account and pay Textmagic 1 cent a message part. Textmagic's pricing FAQ confirms both exist but gives no figures, so you have to ask.
How much does the Textmagic Professional plan cost?
Textmagic no longer publishes it. Until at least November 2024 the pricing page showed Professional at $42 a month for 1,000 US texts, against $49 of pay-as-you-go credit plus a $10 number, and Professional 2K at $80 for 2,000. Those figures are two years old and are an anchor rather than a quote, but they are the only published ones there have been. Ask for the Professional rate at your volume before topping up credit.
Is Textmagic cheaper than ClickSend?
No. At 1,000 texts a month Textmagic costs about $59 against ClickSend's $29, and at 20,000 it is $610 against $358. Textmagic's advantage is flexibility rather than headline price, since there is no plan to outgrow and nothing wasted in a quiet month.
When does Textmagic get cheaper per text?
The first drop comes at 2,000 texts, where the rate falls from 4.9 cents to 4 cents. Because the rate is set by the volume you buy rather than what you send, it is worth checking whether buying up to the next step lowers your total.
