SMS vs Email for Shopify Stores: Cost, Reach, When to Use
In our view, email is the default channel for a Shopify store and SMS the selective one. Shopify Messaging includes 10,000 free emails a month on the Basic plan and higher, while every text is paid, from $0.012 in the United States to $0.13 in Luxembourg, and only in the countries Messaging supports. Use email for anything with pictures, products or detail, and SMS for a few short, time-bound messages to customers who opted in to texts.
Prices and rules come from Shopify’s Help Center pages on email pricing, email deliverability, SMS pricing and SMS setup, read on October 23, 2026.
Side by side
| Email in Shopify Messaging | SMS in Shopify Messaging | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per send | Free up to 10,000 a month, then $1 per 1,000 (lower above 300,000) | Paid per message by country: $0.012 US, $0.025 Canada, $0.06 UK, $0.08 Denmark, up to $0.13 Luxembourg |
| Fixed costs | None | $2.15 a month per approved toll-free number for the US and Canada |
| Length | Up to about 200 words recommended, with images | A single message; longer texts are billed per part |
| Sender setup | A sender email; without domain authentication, emails go out from a Shopify subdomain | A sender name in the UK and EU; a verified toll-free number in the US and Canada (2 to 5 business days), which can’t receive replies |
| Consent | Email marketing consent | Separate SMS marketing consent, collected at checkout with the SMS option |
| Extra charges | Abandoned checkout emails are always free | Confirmation messages, double opt-in and keyword replies are billed |
What 1,000 subscribers cost per month
A worked example with our assumptions: 1,000 subscribers who accepted both email and SMS, four campaigns a month on each channel, one SMS part per message.
| Channel | Sends | Cost in the US | Cost in the UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 | $0 (inside the 10,000 free) | $0 | |
| SMS | 4,000 | 4,000 × $0.012 = $48, plus $2.15 for the number = $50.15 | 4,000 × $0.06 = $240 |
If each text runs to two parts, the SMS line doubles. At this list size, email campaigns are free and SMS campaigns are a monthly cost that grows with every send, so we keep SMS for fewer messages, each with a job a text does better than an email.
When each channel fits
In our view, the split looks like this.
Where SMS earns its cost
- abandoned checkout reminders, sent after the email, for shoppers who agreed to texts;
- time-limited events: a flash sale starting, a restock of a sold-out product, the last hours of a code;
- short, one-link messages that don’t need a picture.
Where email is better
- anything with products and images: new arrivals, collections, gift guides;
- welcome series, thank-you and post-purchase emails, win-back;
- longer content: care guides, stories, policies;
- customers outside SMS-supported countries.
If you add SMS, start with the abandoned checkout automation, measure what it recovers against its cost, and only then add SMS campaigns. The setup is in Shopify abandoned cart SMS, and the country price table and sender registration in Shopify SMS marketing.
Run both from Shopify Messaging
Shopify Messaging sends email, SMS and WhatsApp from one app, and charges appear on your Shopify bill. Set a monthly spending threshold in Messaging: you get an email when combined email, SMS and WhatsApp costs reach the amount you choose, with costs broken down by channel and source. Test messages are free up to 25 a week, and each part of a multi-part SMS test counts as one. The email and popups hub has the rest of our guides on both channels.
FAQ
Is SMS better than email for Shopify stores? Neither is better for every job. Email costs nothing up to 10,000 sends a month in Shopify Messaging and suits product-rich messages; SMS is paid per message and suits short, urgent ones for customers who opted in.
How much does SMS cost on Shopify? Shopify Messaging charges per message by country, from $0.012 in the United States to $0.13 in Luxembourg, plus $2.15 a month for each US or Canadian toll-free number. Long texts are billed per part.
Can I send Shopify SMS to every country? SMS works only in the countries Shopify Messaging supports. Spain and Austria were paused in September and October 2026 and can’t be added as new recipient countries.
Do I need separate consent for SMS? SMS marketing needs its own consent, separate from email. You can collect it at checkout by turning on the SMS checkout option and setting SMS under Marketing opt-in to Checkout only.