> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dialtu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What SMS costs

> How conversations, tests, Atlas and the Send SMS tool consume credits

Everything on this page is in **credits**. For how credits work in general — plans, balance,
top-ups — see [Credits](/en/getting-started/credits).

## Per message

Each AI message costs **the model's per-message price** — the figure shown in the model
picker — **plus the carrier's per-message cost**.

<Frame caption="The model price is the per-message figure in the picker">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/dialtu-0be120d3/GIBR8K1e58Uj8RP_/images/en/sms-agents/model-picker.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=GIBR8K1e58Uj8RP_&q=85&s=ad38dcccc3b066afe843a129b70c075e" alt="LLM Model listbox open, listing each model with its per-message price and a one-line description" width="360" height="470" data-path="images/en/sms-agents/model-picker.png" />
</Frame>

What counts:

* **Both directions** of the conversation.
* A reply split at **1600 characters** — each part is billed.
* The **Auto Close Message**, when it's sent.

What doesn't count:

* Tool execution rows.
* System notes — keyword confirmations, handoff and takeover notes, third-party Send SMS notes.
* Failed sends.

## When you're charged

**Once, when the session closes** — from the inactivity timeout, the 24-hour backstop, an End
Chat tool, an operator's **Close session**, or a STOP keyword.

If the debit fails, it's retried nightly. The payer is the account of the agent's creator.

## Inbound isn't gated on credits

An inbound conversation is answered **even at zero balance**, and the balance can go negative
until the session closes and settles.

Only **starting** an outbound chat — by hand, scheduled or from Salesflow — checks the plan and
the balance first.

<Note>
  The credits page's "blocked up front" list refers to **starting** an SMS chat, not to
  answering one.
</Note>

## Testing, Atlas and Salesflow

* **The test panel is billed.** Each exchange is charged at your plan's test rate, once, when
  you leave the editor or reset the conversation, to whoever tested. Unlike the WhatsApp test
  panel, it isn't free.
* **Atlas turns consume credits.**
* **AI-generated Salesflow openers** consume credits. The conversation itself is charged when
  the session closes, not when the action runs.

## The Send SMS tool

| Sent to                     | Billed             |
| --------------------------- | ------------------ |
| The conversation's customer | Yes — like a reply |
| A third party               | No                 |

See [The Send SMS tool](/en/sms-agents/send-sms-tool).

## Summary

| Billed                                         | Not billed                 |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| AI replies — both directions, counted at close | Tool execution rows        |
| The **First Message** and any per-run opener   | Keyword confirmations      |
| The **Auto Close Message**                     | Handoff and takeover notes |
| Each part of a split reply                     | Third-party Send SMS notes |
| Test-panel exchanges                           | Failed sends               |
| Atlas turns                                    |                            |
| AI-generated Salesflow openers                 |                            |
| Send SMS to the conversation's customer        |                            |

## Back to the start

<Card title="Introduction to SMS agents" icon="comment-sms" href="/en/sms-agents/introduction">
  The full path through this section.
</Card>