Shortcode Costs | Clickatell

Pricing and Coverage

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Shortcode Costs

A shortcode gives you a "from" number that that can be easily memorized by your customers, suppliers or employees, enabling them to respond to SMS text messages. Clickatell offers two types of shortcodes, depending on the destination country:

Standard Shortcodes

Standard shortcodes typically work across all major mobile operators and are assigned to an organization or company, which can use the number for SMS text messaging services. Mobile users receiving or sending messages to standard shortcodes are NOT charged any premium fees for SMS messages.

Premium Shortcodes (SA and Namibia only)

Messages associated with premium shortcodes will put a charge for a sent or received message on the mobile subscriber's phone bill, depending on the type of service (Premium MT or Premium MO). Clickatell will pay you the entire revenue share received from the mobile operator. Revenue share from the operator/carrier depends on the operator's model.

A minimum of 500 inbound (MO) messages per shortcode or keyword, per month will be required before Clickatell will be obligated to pass on premium SMS revenue to you. This will be effective after 90 days. If less than the above number of messages are received, the revenue for that month will be forfeit to Clickatell. Prolonged periods of volumes below the indicated thresholds or no activity may result in re-allocation of your shortcode (if owned by Clickatell) or keyword. Revenues will be paid to you after 90 days depending on when the operator pays Clickatell.

We only charge you a small fee (1/3 of credit) for each inbound message that you receive. In addition a once-off setup fee and a fixed monthly rental fee are also charged. These charges depend on the country and number type you choose.

Clickatell provides a hassle-free shortcode registration service for you and manages the complete application and provisioning process in the destination country. Please select the country you are interested in from the list below to display pricing:

South Africa (shortcode MO)
Namibia
USA
UK
Canada
Australia
India

South Africa (shortcode MO) pricing:

Clickatell charges a setup fee and a monthly rental fee. A small switching fee is charged for all inbound (MO) messages that you receive (1/3 of a credit). Please refer to the table below for pricing.

Note: Pricing is based on South African rands. All other currencies are considered to be quotes and are subject to the prevailing exchange rates at time of purchase.

Shortcode type	Once-off setup fee		Monthly rental
Dedicated shortcode	R 2000.00		R 500
Shared shortcode - keyword service	1st	R 1000	R 300
	2nd - 4th	R 500	R 300
	5th+	R 500	R 200
	Spelling	R 100	R 300

These prices exclude VAT and where applicable are per allocated number.
Setup is paid in advance.
Rental is paid 3 months in advance.
The keyword pricing is based on the number of keywords per price band. If a client requests 5 keywords on various price bands, then it will not be discounted as explained above.
When a client reaches their 5th keyword on the same price band, then all 5 keywords will have a rental of R 200 each; not only the 5th one.
Spelling variance refers to additional keywords that are seen as incorrectly spelt versions of an existing keyword. For example the word "Mommy" would be considered a spelling variance of "Mummy". This will be considered on a case by case basis.

In order to understand how our SA shortcode revenue share is allocated and for additional information, please download the following documents.

SA shortcode MO pricing & revenue share [88kb]

SA shortcode MO technical guide [62kb]

SA shortcode getting started guide [62kb]

Namibia Shortcode Pricing:

Note: Pricing is based on Namibian Dollars. All other currencies are considered to be quotes and are subject to the prevailing exchange rates at time of purchase.

Number type	Setup fee	Monthly rental
MTC	N$ 2000	N$675
CellOne	N$ 2000	N$675
MTC, CellOne and Telecom Namibia	N$ 2500	N$1300

These prices exclude VAT and, where applicable, are per allocated number
Once off setup is paid in advance

Revenue:

Clickatell will pass the full portion of the revenue share received from the network operator to you. A minimum monthly volume of 500 MO messages per shortcode will be required before Clickatell will pass on this revenue. Revenues will be paid to you after ninety (90) days. Please note that this depends on when the network operator pays Clickatell.

Revenue is split 40/60 between the operator and you, the content provider. Clickatell takes no share.

Example: If each message sent to your chosen shortcode is charged at N$10, then you will be paid N$6 and the operator will keep N$4. For information on Shortcode revenue share and for additional information, please download the following documents:

	Namibia Shortcode Getting Started Guide [52kb]
	Namibia Shortcode Technical Guide [156kb]
	Namibia Shortcode Pricing & Revenue Share [64kb]

USA Standard Rate Shortcode Pricing:

Clickatell charges a setup fee and a monthly rental fee. A switching fee of 1/3 of a credit is charged for each inbound message received.

Please refer to the table below for pricing.

Fee type	Setup	Monthly
Random shortcode (5 digit)	$1,500	$800
Vanity shortcode (5 or 6 digit) subject to availability	$1,500	$1,300
T-Mobile USA*	$500	-
Virgin Mobile USA**	$175	-
Sprint Nextel (incl. Boost)***	$100	-
shortcode Addendum: $250 (per addendum)

*Additional Fee - Only required if the shortcode is active on T-Mobile USA.
**Additional Fee - Only required if the shortcode is active on Virgin Mobile USA.
***Additional Fee - Only required if the shortcode is active on Sprint Nextel (incl. Boost).

View our USA Enterprise page to read more about shortcode text messaging in the United States or contact our US sales team at salesUSA@clickatell.com.

Please note: We are unable to deliver SMS to T-Mobile USA prepaid and MVNO (virtual network) subscribers due to T-Mobile policy.

Download the following documents for additional information:

Clickatell USA Shortcode Getting Started Guide [160kb]

Clickatell USA Shortcode Technical Guide [224kb]

Clickatell USA Standard Rate Shortcode Pricing [156kb]

United States of America
Code of Conduct as per the Mobile Marketing Association (source MMA) USA: http://www.mmaglobal.com/modules/content/index.php?id=5
U.S. Consumer Best Practices -United States ( v5.2)*
A compilation of accepted industry practices, wireless carrier policies and regulatory guidance. http://mmaglobal.com/policies/education

Canada Standard Rate Shortcode Pricing:

Clickatell charges a setup fee and a monthly rental fee. A small switching fee is charged for all inbound (MO) messages that you receive. Outbound (MT) message fees may vary between networks and can be viewed on the shortcode Coverage using MO page. A switching fee of 1/3 of a credit is charged for each inbound message received.

Please refer to the table below for pricing.

Fee type	Setup	Monthly
Random shortcode (5 digit)	$1,000	$1,200
Vanity shortcode (5 or 6 digit)	$1,000	$1,200

All shortcodes in Canada are obtained time between 6 - 8 weeks.
Rental fee to be paid in advance on a quarterly basis.
Rental is back-dated to the date of application and NOT the date on which the service commences.
Setup fees to be paid in advance.

Download the following documents for additional information:

	Canadian Shortcode Getting Started Guide [240kb]
	Canada Shortcode Standard rate Pricing [204kb]
	Canadian Shortcode Technical Guide [240kb]

Australian Standard Rate Shortcode Pricing:

Clickatell charges a setup fee and a monthly rental fee. A small switching fee (1/3 of a credit) is charged for all inbound (MO) messages that you receive.

Please refer to the table below for pricing.

Fee type	Setup	Monthly
Dedicated shortcode (8 digit)	AUD $880	AUD $340

These prices exclude Australian VAT and are per allocated number.
Rental is paid 3 months in advance.
Rental is back-dated to the date of application and NOT the date on which the service commences.
Setup is paid in advance.

Please note: Mobile Network Operators require businesses to submit a pre-registered local toll free helpline number with their application. This toll free number should provide end users with a destination where all queries relating to the shortcode can be handled.

Download the following documents for additional information:

	AU shortcode getting started guide[164kb]
	AU shortcode Pricing Guide[154kb]
	AU shortcode technical guide[388kb]

View our Australian shortcode rules and regulations below for more information:

	Telephone Information Services Standards Council code of practice
	Vodaphone's Terms and Conditions[1.1MB]
	Mobile Premier Services[532kb]

India Standard Rate Shortcode Pricing:

Please refer to the table below for pricing.

Fee type	Setup	Monthly
Dedicated shortcode (7 digit)	$100.00	$1,050.00

These prices exclude VAT and are per allocated number.
Rental is paid 3 months in advance on a quarterly basis.
Rental is back-dated to the date of application and NOT the date on which the service commences.
Setup is paid in advance.

Download the following documents for additional information: