The first thing to understand is how the pricing works. ActiveCampaign does not have a single price. Instead, it uses a credit system. You buy credits, and then you use those credits to send messages. Think phone number lead of it like a pay-as-you-go phone plan. You add money to your account, and each call or text uses up some of that money. Likewise, each text message you send through ActiveCampaign uses up a certain number of credits. The cost of one text message is not always the same. It depends on a few things.
How Do ActiveCampaign SMS Credits Work?
ActiveCampaign uses credits for all SMS messages. One credit is not always equal to one text message. The cost in credits changes based on where you are sending the message. For instance, sending a text to someone in the United States might cost one credit. However, sending the same text to someone in another country could cost more credits. This is a key point to remember. It means you must check the credit cost for each country you plan to message. The credit value also depends on the length of your message. A short message might be one credit. A longer message might be two or three credits. They give you a clear table to show these costs. This helps you plan your budget well.
Buying Credits and How They Affect Your Budget
You buy ActiveCampaign SMS credits in bundles. You can buy 500 credits, 1,000 credits, or even more. The price per credit usually goes down when you buy a bigger bundle. For example, a single credit might cost a little more if you buy a small package. But if you buy a huge package, the price per credit drops. This is a common practice in many services. Therefore, it is often a good idea to buy more credits at once if you know you will be using SMS a lot. It will save you money in the long run. Also, credits do not expire as long as your account is active. This is a great benefit. It means you will not lose your money if you don’t use the credits right away.
Breaking Down the Cost of SMS
Let's look at a simple example to make it clear. Imagine you buy a bundle of 1,000 credits for $10. In this case, each credit costs 1 cent. If a text message to the United States costs one credit, then each text costs you 1 cent. But if you send a message to Canada, and it costs two credits, then that message costs you 2 cents. Now, what if your message is very long? Let's say it takes up three credits. Then the cost for that one message is 3 cents. So, the final cost is a mix of three things: the price you pay for each credit, the number of credits per message, and the number of messages you send. It is not very hard to figure out. You just need to keep track of these numbers.
The Role of Country and Message Length
As we mentioned, the country you send a message to makes a big difference. ActiveCampaign has different costs for different regions. You can find a full list of these costs on their website. It is a good idea to check this list if you have customers in many different countries. Also, message length is a key factor. Most text messages are limited to 160 characters. If your message is longer than that, it is split into multiple parts. Each part will use up a credit or more. For example, a 300-character message might be sent as two separate texts. This would double the credit cost. To save money, it is best to keep your messages short and to the point.
How to Manage Your SMS Budget
Managing your budget for SMS marketing is not hard with ActiveCampaign. You can set up alerts to tell you when your credits are running low. This is a very useful feature. It helps you avoid running out of credits in the middle of a big campaign. You can also see a detailed report of your usage. This report shows you how many messages you have sent, and where you have sent them. You can use this report to understand your spending. If you see you are spending a lot on a certain country, you can adjust your plans. You can also decide if you want to buy a larger bundle next time.
Comparing ActiveCampaign with Other Services
Many other companies also offer SMS marketing. Some have a fixed monthly fee. They might give you a set number of messages for a single price. Others have a similar credit-based system. ActiveCampaign's system is flexible. You only pay for what you use. This can be great for small businesses that do not send many messages. But for very large businesses, a flat-rate plan from another provider might be cheaper. It all depends on your specific needs and how many messages you plan to send.
The flexibility of ActiveCampaign's credit system is a great advantage. It allows you to scale your campaigns up or down without being locked into a big, expensive plan. You can start with a small number of credits. As your business grows, you can easily buy more. This makes it a good choice for new businesses. In summary, ActiveCampaign SMS pricing is easy to understand once you know the basics of the credit system. The cost per message depends on the country, the message length, and the credit bundle you buy. By keeping these things in mind, you can use SMS marketing effectively without overspending.