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FAQ: How Does SMS Billing Work?

Learn how SMS usage is billed in Homeworks, including pricing, plan allowances, and monthly billing.

SMS messaging in Homeworks is billed based on usage. This article explains how SMS pricing works, what's included with each plan, and how your monthly usage is calculated.

How SMS Pricing Works

Homeworks charges for outbound SMS messages based on the number of message segments sent.

  • Outbound SMS: $0.03 per segment

  • Inbound SMS: Free

A segment is up to 160 characters for a standard SMS message. Most everyday text messages are a single segment, although longer messages may be divided into multiple segments and billed accordingly.

Note: You are only billed for messages you send. Receiving SMS messages is always free.

SMS Usage by Plan

Your included SMS usage depends on your Homeworks subscription.

Enterprise

Enterprise plans include 1,000 free SMS segments per month.

Once your included monthly allowance is used, additional outbound segments are billed at the standard rate of $0.03 per segment.

Growth

Growth plans do not include any free SMS segments per month. All outbound segments are billed at the standard rate of $0.03 per segment.

Solo

SMS messaging is not included with the Solo plan.

How Billing Works

SMS usage is metered in real time throughout your billing cycle.

At the end of each monthly billing period:

  • Your outbound SMS usage is totaled.

  • Any billable usage is automatically charged through Stripe.

  • You only pay for the SMS segments you actually send during that billing cycle.

There are no prepaid SMS packages or minimum usage requirements.

Why SMS Is Usage-Based

Every SMS message sent through Homeworks is delivered through our messaging provider, which incurs a real delivery cost for each message.

Usage-based billing ensures SMS costs scale with actual usage while allowing Homeworks to continue providing reliable message delivery and ongoing improvements to the platform.


Frequently Asked Questions

Do I pay for incoming text messages?

No. Incoming SMS messages are free. Billing only applies to outbound SMS segments.

What counts as an SMS segment?

A standard SMS segment contains up to 160 characters. Messages longer than a single segment may be split into multiple segments, which are billed individually.

When am I charged?

SMS usage is calculated throughout your monthly billing cycle and charged through Stripe at the end of the cycle.

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