“How much does 10DLC actually cost?” is one of the most common questions we get — and the most common answer across the industry is a shrug. Fees are layered across TCR (The Campaign Registry), carriers, and the messaging provider, and each provider adds its own markup to every layer. By the time a business is done signing up, they often find out their real per-month cost is 3x what the marketing page suggested.
This guide lays out every fee you’ll encounter when registering for 10DLC in 2026, what each one actually pays for, and how the top providers stack up on total cost.
The Four Layers of 10DLC Fees
Every 10DLC registration involves four distinct fees. Some are regulatory (paid to TCR), some are carrier pass-throughs, and some are provider markup.
- Brand registration. One-time + monthly. Registers your business as a sender with TCR.
- Campaign registration. Monthly, per campaign. Authorizes a specific use case (e.g., “marketing promotions,” “appointment reminders”).
- Brand vetting (optional). One-time. Raises your trust score and unlocks higher throughput.
- Per-message carrier fees. Per segment sent. Paid to AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and other carriers.
Layer 1: Brand Registration Fees
This is the one-time fee to register your business entity with TCR. It must be paid before you can register any campaigns.
| Provider | Setup fee | Monthly | Annual total |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCR (direct) | $4/year | $0 | $4 |
| ReadySMS | $0 | $10 | $120 |
| Twilio | $40 | $10 | $160 |
| Sinch | $4 | $4 | $52 |
| Bandwidth | $0 | $50 | $600 |
| LeadConnector (GHL) | $19 | $39+ | $487+ |
TCR’s actual cost to register a brand is $4/year. Everything above that is provider markup. Most providers bundle additional services (dashboard access, support, API availability) into the monthly fee — which is reasonable, but the range from $52 to $600/year shows how much that bundle pricing can vary.
Layer 2: Campaign Registration Fees
Once your brand is registered, you must register at least one campaign before sending. Campaigns describe specific use cases. A business with a promotional campaign and a transactional campaign pays two campaign fees.
| Campaign type | TCR fee | Typical provider fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (Marketing, Account Notifications) | $10/month | $15–$30/month |
| Low Volume (under 2,000 msgs/day) | $1.50/month | $2–$10/month |
| Charity/Non-profit | $1.50/month | $2–$10/month |
| Political | $10/month | $15–$30/month |
| Agent/Franchise (aggregated) | $10/month | $15–$30/month |
At ReadySMS, standard campaigns are $20/month (including TCR’s $10). Low Volume and Charity campaigns get TCR’s discount pricing plus a small platform fee.
If you have multiple distinct use cases, you need multiple campaigns. A typical agency or multi-purpose business registers 2–3 campaigns: one for marketing, one for appointment/transactional messages, one for 2FA. Total campaign cost: $40–$90/month depending on provider.
Layer 3: Brand Vetting (Optional but Recommended)
Brand vetting is a one-time verification that boosts your trust score, which determines how many messages per minute you can send. Unvetted brands are capped at ~10 messages per second (MPS) across all US carriers combined. Vetted brands can send 2x–10x more.
| Vetting level | Cost (one-time) | Throughput increase |
|---|---|---|
| Standard vetting | $40 | 2x–4x |
| Enhanced vetting (Aegis) | $200 | 4x–6x |
| Tier 1 vetting (WMC Global) | $500 | 6x–10x |
For a business sending under 50,000 messages per month, standard vetting is sufficient and pays for itself quickly in faster throughput. For high-volume senders (100k+ messages/month or time-sensitive campaigns), enhanced or Tier 1 vetting is worth the one-time fee.
Layer 4: Per-Message Carrier Fees
Carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, etc.) charge small per-message fees for every 10DLC segment you send. These are not optional — carriers deduct them regardless of your provider — but some providers absorb them while others pass them through as a line-item markup.
| Carrier | Per-segment fee (outbound) |
|---|---|
| AT&T | $0.0040 |
| T-Mobile | $0.0030 |
| Verizon | $0.0030 |
| U.S. Cellular | $0.0030 |
These fees are blended across your sending — if your list is a typical US mix, you’ll pay an effective $0.003–$0.004 per segment in carrier fees on top of whatever your provider charges for the SMS itself.
This is the hidden cost that blows up pricing comparisons. A provider advertising “$0.0079 per SMS” really costs ~$0.011 after carrier fees. ReadySMS passes carrier fees through transparently at $0.0044 per segment — the same fee every other provider pays, just line-itemed instead of marked up.
Full First-Year Cost Examples
Let’s compare real first-year 10DLC costs across providers for two common scenarios. Both assume one brand, one standard campaign, and standard vetting.
Scenario A: Small business, 5,000 messages/month
| Provider | Brand (yr) | Campaign (yr) | Vetting | Carrier fees (yr) | SMS (yr) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReadySMS | $120 | $240 | $40 | $264 | $504 | $1,168 |
| Twilio | $160 | $180 | $40 | $264 | $474 | $1,118 |
| LeadConnector | $487 | $360 | $40 | $264 | $570 | $1,721 |
Scenario B: Agency, 50,000 messages/month
| Provider | Brand (yr) | Campaign (yr) | Vetting | Carrier fees (yr) | SMS (yr) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReadySMS | $120 | $240 | $40 | $2,640 | $3,840 | $6,880 |
| Twilio | $160 | $180 | $40 | $2,640 | $4,740 | $7,760 |
| LeadConnector | $487 | $360 | $40 | $2,640 | $5,700 | $9,227 |
Twilio is competitive on base fees but loses on per-segment pricing once volume scales. LeadConnector is the most expensive in both scenarios — primarily because of high brand/campaign markup combined with $0.0095 per message. ReadySMS wins overall because it keeps base fees moderate and aggressively prices the per-segment rate.
Want to run your own numbers? Try our SMS cost calculator.
Costs You Should Not Pay
Some providers charge fees that are not legitimate TCR or carrier costs. Watch for:
- “Registration setup” or “onboarding” fees above $50. Often pure profit — TCR charges very little to providers, and any real setup work is a one-time 15-minute form fill.
- “Express registration” or “expedited vetting” upsells. There is no such thing. TCR processes submissions in the order received; paying more does not make it faster.
- “Compliance consulting” add-ons. Unless you’re in a highly regulated vertical, your provider should handle compliance as part of the basic service, not as a premium tier.
- Per-keyword fees. Registering keywords (STOP, HELP, etc.) is built into campaign registration. Any provider charging extra for this is double-dipping.
How Long Does 10DLC Take?
Budget timing as carefully as budget cost. Registration is not instant:
- Brand registration: 1–3 business days (most same-day).
- Standard vetting: 2–7 business days.
- Campaign registration: 1–10 business days depending on use case. Marketing campaigns take longer because carriers review opt-in language.
- Number attachment: Instant after campaign approval.
Most businesses are sending within 3–5 business days. High-volume or high-risk verticals (debt collection, cannabis, CBD) can take 2–4 weeks due to enhanced review.
The Bottom Line
10DLC costs have three structural layers: regulatory fees (small), provider markup (highly variable), and per-message carrier fees (fixed). The difference between a $500/year and a $2,000/year 10DLC setup is almost entirely in provider markup — especially on brand and campaign monthly fees.
Before signing up with any provider, get them to itemize all four fee categories explicitly. Any provider that won’t is almost certainly the most expensive option you could choose. For a full walk-through of what 10DLC is and why it matters, read our 10DLC explained guide.