What does a text message cost, and why are texts not included in any plan?
Short answerEvery business text costs money, billed per message by a carrier and a texting provider, and the bill grows with how many you send. Apex leaves texts out of every plan, so the plan price neither hides nor caps them. Texts run on your own provider account or on a prepaid wallet that is rolling out.
The explanation
Texting providers bill per message, and the details matter. Long messages can count as more than one segment. Picture messages cost more than plain ones. Many providers also bill for messages you receive, not only the ones you send. Business texting needs a registered sending number before messages go out, and registration can carry its own fees from the provider.
Bundling texts into a flat plan forces a bad choice. Either the plan caps your messages, or every customer pays for texts that only some of them use. Apex's design puts zero texts in any plan. You choose one of two routes. On your own provider account, Apex charges nothing for the texts. On the prepaid wallet, which is rolling out, a text sent is $0.025, a text received is $0.012 and a picture message is $0.10. The smallest top-up is $20. Until the wallet arrives, texts stay off unless your own provider is connected.
To estimate your own bill, count the messages one appointment produces: a confirmation, a reminder, an on-the-way note and a reply or two. Multiply by your monthly appointments, split the total into sent and received, and price each at the rate you are quoted. Do the same sum for any vendor you compare.
| Message type | Wallet price |
|---|---|
| Text sent | $0.025 |
| Text received | $0.012 |
| Picture message | $0.10 |
How Apex does it
In progress
Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
Texting stays off until a provider account or the wallet is connected and the sending number is registered. Reminders and STOP handling are designed to run on top of that connection, so the price follows the messages you actually send.
- CM01Two-way SMS from business number(In progress)
- CM03Appointment reminders (SMS/email)(Built, rolling out)
- CM09Opt-out / STOP and quiet hours(Built, rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.
More questions
Does each reminder count as a separate text?
Yes. Every message sent to a customer is billed on its own, so a confirmation, a reminder and an on-the-way note are three texts. Replies from the customer are counted as received texts.
What happens if I never connect a provider or fund the wallet?
Texts simply stay off. The schedule, customer records and booking requests still work, and emails are included by plan, so email reminders do not draw on the wallet.
Are emails charged per message like texts?
No. Emails are included by plan with a monthly allowance. Only texts and AI phone minutes run on your own provider account or the wallet.
More pricing explainers
- Why does per-user pricing add up, and how do I work out my real monthly cost?
- How does a prepaid wallet work, and why does it stop at zero?
- What does bring-your-own AI mean for what I pay?
- Does annual billing save money, and when should I choose it?
- What does the 14-day free trial include, and what stays off?
- What do extra users above 6 cost, and what happens past 50 users?