About SMS Marketing Credits

If you’re located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, or Canada and have a paid marketing plan, you can add SMS Marketing to manage your own text messaging program. Set up a monthly SMS credit subscription with your SMS Marketing application, then use your credits to send marketing text messages.

In this article, you’ll learn about SMS Marketing credits.

Things to know

Here are some things to know.

• This article covers SMS credits. To learn more about how SMS Marketing works, check out About SMS Marketing with Mailchimp.
• SMS Marketing is available as an add-on feature for customers in the US, the UK, AU, and CA with the Essentials plan or higher.
• You must be an account Owner, Admin, or Manager to purchase SMS credits. Learn more about the different user levels in Mailchimp.
• Standard vetting is included with the purchase of 5,000 or more SMS credits. For credits less than 5,000, standard vetting is included with the Premium plan.
• SMS credits are required to send outbound text message replies with your Mailchimp Inbox.
• SMS credits can’t be used towards your pricing plans or other Mailchimp features.
• SMS credits don’t roll over month to month which means that all credits must be used throughout the billing cycle in which you purchase them.

What are SMS credits?

SMS credits are units of payment that determine the number of SMS or MMS (US and CA only) you can send to your subscribed SMS contacts.

How do SMS credits work?

SMS credits are required to send marketing text messages. When you complete an SMS Marketing application, you set up a monthly SMS credit subscription for a US, UK, AU, or CA program. After your application is approved, you pay for SMS credits on a monthly basis like you do with your monthly pricing plan.

Upgrade your credits as your subscribed SMS audience grows or your sending frequency increases. You can also make a one-time purchase in the middle of a billing cycle if you run out of credits early and want to refill them before your credits renew.

Your SMS credits are divided into 3 categories.

• Used
• Scheduled
• Remaining

If you send an SMS, the credits required to complete that send will no longer be available, and they’ll be considered used credits. If you schedule an SMS to send at a future time, the credits required to complete that send are reserved as scheduled credits. Any unused credits that are available within your billing cycle are considered remaining credits.

You'll also need SMS credits to send outbound text message responses with Mailchimp Inbox.

You can view, track, and manage your credits on the SMS overview page and the SMS Settings page.

SMS credits expire at the end of each billing cycle and don’t rollover month to month. To avoid losing credits, purchase enough SMS credits to cover 1 billing cycle at a time and refill during the month as needed. You can also adjust your monthly SMS credit subscription at any time.

SMS credits are based on your SMS Marketing program’s sending country and the currency that is associated with your Mailchimp account. Your account currency is managed on the Billing information page. To learn more about how Mailchimp handles international currencies, check out Pricing for International, Non-US, and Other Currencies.

How do I purchase SMS credits?

On the Credit Subscription step of your SMS Marketing application, you set up a monthly SMS credit subscription. This is the number of credits that you plan to use each month to send SMS or MMS (US and CA only). The payment method on file for your Mailchimp account is charged after your application is approved. The information on the Credit Subscription step is specific to your SMS Marketing program’s sending country.

To learn more about how to set up your monthly SMS credit subscription, check out Set Up Your SMS Marketing Program.

You can purchase additional SMS credits as needed throughout your billing cycle from the SMS overview page or the SMS Settings page.

How does Mailchimp suggest an SMS credit subscription for me?

On the Credit Subscription step of your SMS Marketing application, select the number of subscribed SMS contacts in your audience or the number of text messages you plan to send each month. Mailchimp uses this information to suggest the amount of SMS credits that you may need per month. If you don’t have subscribed SMS contacts in your audience yet, or if you aren’t sure on your sending needs, choose I’m just getting started from the How many SMS subscribers do you have? drop-down. We’ll suggest a beginner-friendly subscription. You aren’t required to accept Mailchimp’s suggestion. Select your own amount of SMS credits if you prefer.

If I purchase SMS credits in the middle of a billing cycle, do I pay full price?

If you set up your monthly SMS credit subscription during a billing cycle, you’ll be prorated. This means that you’ll only pay for the number of days left in your current billing cycle during which you can use the SMS credits.

For example, if you set up a monthly SMS credit subscription of 5,000 credits 1 week before your next billing date, you’ll receive 5,000 credits right away, but you’ll only pay for the 7 days left in your current billing cycle. At the time of your next billing cycle, your monthly SMS credit subscription will renew, you’ll receive a new amount of 5,000 credits, and you'll be charged the full price.

If you make a credit refill purchase in the middle of a billing cycle, you’ll be charged the full price and receive the full amount of SMS credits right away.

If you adjust your monthly SMS credit subscription during a billing cycle, you’ll see the change take effect at the beginning of your next billing cycle, and you’ll be charged the full price then.

How many SMS credits do I need?

Text message costs vary based on sending country and message type.

• For US programs, each SMS costs 1 credit to send, and each MMS costs 3 credits to send.
• For UK programs, each SMS costs 5 credits to send. MMS isn't available.
• For AU programs, each SMS costs 4 credits to send. MMS isn't available.
• For CA programs, each SMS costs 3 credits to send, and each MMS costs 5 credits to send.

To calculate the SMS credit amount that’s right for you, consider a few factors.

• Your program’s sending country and SMS credit rate.
• The number of recipients that you plan to send marketing text messages to each month.
• The type of text messages you plan to send, either SMS or MMS.
• The length of the text messages that you plan to send.
• The use of emojis or special characters you plan to use.

Depending on the number of characters in your message, you may be required to send your SMS as multiple text messages that require individual credits.

For example, if you have a US program, and you want to send an SMS that requires 1 message per send to 500 subscribed contacts, you’ll need 500 credits. If you want to send an SMS that is long enough to require 2 messages per send to 500 subscribed contacts, you’ll need 1,000 credits. If you want to send an MMS to 500 subscribed contacts, you’ll need 1,500 credits. To learn more about character limits and message counts, check out About SMS Marketing.

If you try to send or schedule an SMS that exceeds your number of remaining credits, you’ll need to purchase additional credits before you can send.

Emojis and special characters don’t impact the number of credits required to send an MMS (US and CA only).

Do SMS credits automatically renew?

After you set up your monthly SMS credit subscription, your selected credit amount automatically renews each month at the same time as your pricing plan. Upgrade or downgrade your monthly SMS credit subscription at any point, and your new subscription will take effect at the start of your next billing cycle. One-time purchases, or credit refills, don’t automatically renew.

How do SMS credit refills work?

If you run out of SMS credits in the middle of a billing cycle, you can make a one-time purchase from the SMS overview page or the SMS Settings page. A credit refill allows you to purchase additional credits so that you can continue sending text messages during that billing cycle.

To learn how to refill your SMS credits with a one-time purchase, check out Create and Send a Marketing SMS.

How do SMS credit refunds work?

As a company policy, we don’t issue refunds unless a system malfunction caused a problem or your account was terminated without cause. Mailchimp doesn’t provide refunds for unused SMS credits on accounts that were terminated due to a compliance issue.

Be sure to read and understand Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use before you send an SMS with Mailchimp. Mailchimp reserves the right to disable or deactivate any account if our Compliance team finds abuse to our system in any way.

If you request a chargeback, the bank that issues your credit card reverses a payment you made to Mailchimp, and your SMS Marketing program is disabled. To re-enable sending, you’ll need to pay the chargeback.

For more information, contact our Billing team.

Get started

Ready to begin using your SMS credits? Here are some resources to help you get started.

• Create and Send a Marketing SMS
  Learn how to create and send marketing text messages to your subscribed SMS contacts.

• About SMS Marketing with Mailchimp
  Learn about rate limits, quiet hours, and more.