How texting is billed

Texting works like calling minutes: every seat adds to one shared pool, and you only pay for what you send past it.

The pool

Each seat adds a set number of outbound text segments a month to a pool shared by your whole organization. On the standard package that's 250 segments a seat, so a 4-seat account gets 1,000. Your agreement can set a different number. It doesn't matter which seat sends them: a quiet seat covers a busy one.

The pool resets on the first of each month and does not roll over.

Your Billing page shows the size of your pool and how it's made up.

What a segment is

A segment is one carrier-sized piece of a message.

• A plain text up to 160 characters is 1 segment.
• Longer texts are split, so a 200-character text is 2 segments and a 400-character text is 3.
• Emoji or accented letters lower the limit to 70 characters a segment, so a short text with an emoji can be 2 segments.
• A picture message (MMS) counts as the segments the carrier bills it as, which is more than one.

To make the pool go further, keep texts short and skip emoji in automatic reminders.

What counts and what doesn't

Counts: every outbound segment your organization sends, whoever or whatever sent it. That includes texts typed in the Inbox, appointment reminders and other automatic texts from a call flow, and texts the AI receptionist sends. Automatic texts aren't tied to a person, so the usage report groups them as "Unassigned".

A text the carrier refuses doesn't count. Only texts actually handed to the carrier use your pool.

Doesn't count: texts you receive. Incoming texts are free and unlimited.

Past the pool

Segments past your pool are billed per segment, after the month ends, at the rate on your agreement, plus taxes. They show as one line on your next invoice, such as "Texts past your pool — 230 segments — June 2026".

If you stay inside your pool, there's no texting line on your invoice. A line worth nothing is never added. To check where you stand, open your Billing page or Reports → Usage & spend. Both show segments used, your pool, and anything past it this month.

Making the pool bigger

1. Add a seat. Each seat adds its segments to the pool.
2. Add a text bundle. If one is offered on your account, turn it on yourself from the Billing page under Add-ons you can enable. It adds a fixed block of segments every month, and you can remove it any time.

Registration fees are separate

Carriers charge their own fees to register your business for texting. Those aren't part of your pool. See Text registration fees.