# SMS credits, countries and segments explained

Canonical URL: https://www.intellipush.com/en/sms-credits/

Understand free setup, prepaid credit packages, destination countries and message length when estimating SMS cost.

## Free to start, pay for usage

Setup costs NOK 0, and the platform account has no monthly fee or lock-in. New customers receive 10 free credits. This is a credit balance, not a promise of ten SMS messages: usage depends on destination and the number of message segments.

The standard model is prepaid credit packages. Choose and purchase a package in the portal when you need more balance, then top up as needed. Credits remain valid for 24 months. Optional rental services may carry recurring charges.

## Larger packages reduce unit cost

On 30 October 2026 the portal calculator displayed 500 credits for NOK 401, 10,000 for NOK 5,027 and 250,000 for NOK 101,902, excluding VAT. These are selected packages. The destination affects how many SMS messages a package can cover.

For Norway, the calculator showed approximately 446 SMS and 89.9 øre per SMS with 500 credits, compared with approximately 223,214 SMS and 45.7 øre with 250,000 credits. These are indicative volume-pricing examples. Actual usage depends on destination, final wording, segments and current account pricing.

## Estimate using destination and final wording

Start with recipients by country, use the message-length tool as guidance for the final text. Encoding and length can turn one text into several SMS segments. One credit is not one SMS. Use current portal pricing and the account quote before setting your budget.

The current API describes POST /restv2/sms/quote as an estimate without creating notifications, reserving credits or changing balances. It uses current account pricing and separates input_segments, segments and billing_segments. Check availability and the contract in the reference; the estimate may change before sending.

[Packages and country examples](https://www.intellipush.com/en/pricing/)

[Message-length tool](https://portal.intellipush.com/en/tools/sms-message-length-calculator)

[API reference](https://api.intellipush.com/restv2/developer/)

## Plan a month with explicit assumptions

Planning example: 2,000 notifications to one country, each using two segments, means 4,000 SMS segments before applying destination pricing and account configuration. This is an arithmetic example, not a price or credit balance. Allow for changed wording, additional countries and agreed extras when budgeting.

At higher volumes, monthly invoicing based on actual usage can be agreed. Around 100,000 SMS per year is an indicative starting point for discussion, not a fixed eligibility threshold. Always confirm current portal prices before purchasing.

[View portal pricing](https://portal.intellipush.com/en/pricing)

[Discuss volume and invoicing](https://www.intellipush.com/en/contact-us/)

Reviewed: 2026-10-30