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Vendor prices and FCC rules, checked November 5, 2026

SMS marketing for restaurants: what it costs, the rules, and texts that work

A text to guests who asked for one can fill a slow Tuesday or bring back a regular. Here is what Square, SlickText, Textedly, SimpleTexting and Twilio charge for it, what a month of weekly texts costs, the consent and STOP rules, and eight example texts that fit in one message.

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Guest at a candlelit dinner table reading her phone
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.

One-minute answer

  • SMS marketing for restaurants means sending offers and news by text to guests who signed up for them. The FCC says commercial texts require written consent.
  • Square Plus ($49 a month per location) includes 500 marketing texts a month, then 3¢ each. SlickText and Textedly both list 5,000 texts for $169 a month before fees. Twilio charges $0.0083 per text segment plus carrier fees of $0.0035 to $0.005.
  • One plain text a week to 1,000 guests is 4,000 texts: $154 a month on Square Plus, $163 on Textedly ($125 plan, a $30 pack of 500 more texts and its $8 telecom surcharge), $185.80 on SlickText ($169 plus carrier fees of $16.80), $49.85 to $64.35 on Twilio before the cost of sending software.
  • A local texting number must be registered with the carriers (10DLC). Twilio lists $4 to register a brand, $15 to vet each campaign and $1.50 to $10 a month per campaign for small senders.
  • A guest can opt out by replying STOP or any other reasonable way, and the FCC rule says to honor it within a reasonable time, ten business days at most. CTIA tells senders to build their own list, not a rented, sold or shared one.

The cost

How much does SMS marketing cost a restaurant?

Each tool counts texts its own way, so the table shows what the monthly price buys and what lands on the bill on top of it. All prices are from each company's own pricing page or help center, read November 5, 2026.

ToolMonthly priceTexts includedEach extra textAlso on the bill
Square Plus$49 per location (Square POS plan)500 texts a month per account3¢ per textRuns inside a Square POS plan; text marketing is not on Square Free
Square Premium$149 per location (Square POS plan)2,500 texts a month per account1.5¢ per textRuns inside a Square POS plan
SlickText$29 to $939500 to 50,000 credits; 1 credit = one SMS of up to 160 characters, picture texts use 3Move up a planCarrier fees, which its help center puts at $0.0042 per text and $0.0087 per picture text; a toll-free number is free, a local number is $10 a month
Textedly$29 to $5,520500 to 300,000 messages a month$30 for an extra 500 texts$8 a month telecom surcharge on every plan; pays the 10DLC registration on your first local number; extra teammates $10 a month
SimpleTexting$29 for 500 credits, plus $10 a month for a local number500 credits; 1 credit per SMS of up to 160 characters, picture texts use 35.5¢ per extra credit$4 one-time carrier registration; carrier fees it puts at about $0.0025 per message on average; $40 vetting only if you need higher sending limits
Twilio (sending service for software)$1.15 per local numberPay per text$0.0083 per 160-character segmentCarrier fees of $0.0035 to $0.005 per text; 10DLC registration fees; $0.0083 to receive each reply; $0.001 per failed message

Sources: Square restaurant pricing, Square Marketing, SlickText pricing and credit rules, carrier fees and sending numbers, Textedly pricing and telecom surcharge, SimpleTexting pricing and local number fees, and Twilio US SMS pricing, all checked November 5, 2026. SlickText and Textedly prices are monthly billing; both give more texts on annual billing. SimpleTexting's larger plans are priced in a calculator on its page and are not shown here.

What makes the bill go up

  • Length. Twilio bills SMS per 160-character segment. A longer text is split into 153-character segments, and each one is billed. SlickText charges 1 credit for the first 160 characters and 1 more for each block of up to 153.
  • Emojis and curly quotes. Twilio's character-limit guide says one emoji, or a curly quotation mark your editor added, switches the text to UCS-2 encoding: 70 characters per text, then 67 per segment. SlickText's help center says em dashes and curly apostrophes can do the same.
  • Pictures. Twilio charges $0.022 for an outbound picture message (MMS). SlickText and SimpleTexting each charge 3 credits per MMS.
  • Carrier fees. Carriers add a fee per text. Twilio passes them through for local numbers at $0.0035 (AT&T), $0.0045 (T-Mobile), $0.005 (Verizon and US Cellular) and $0.0042 (all other carriers).
  • The number you send from. SimpleTexting lists a local number at $10 a month plus a $4 activation fee, a toll-free number at no extra fee with up to a week for carrier approval, and a dedicated short code from $1,000 a month with 6 to 8 weeks to set up.
  • Replies. SlickText, Textedly and SimpleTexting all say incoming text messages cost nothing (SimpleTexting charges 1 credit for an incoming picture message). Twilio charges the same $0.0083 to receive a text as to send one.

Worked example

A worked month: one text a week to 1,000 guests

1,000 guests who opted in, four texts each in the month, every text plain and under 160 characters: 4,000 texts. Here is what each tool charges for that month at the prices above.

ToolHow it adds upMonth
Square Plus$49 plan + 3,500 texts over the 500 included at 3¢ ($105)$154.00
Square Premium$149 plan + 1,500 texts over the 2,500 included at 1.5¢ ($22.50)$171.50
SlickText$169 plan for 5,000 credits (the $129 plan's 3,500 is too small) + carrier fees, 4,000 × $0.0042 ($16.80)$185.80
Textedly$125 plan for 3,500 messages + one $30 pack of 500 extra texts + $8 telecom surcharge (the $169 plan for 5,000 would make it $177.00)$163.00
Twilio4,000 × $0.0083 ($33.20) + carrier fees ($14.00 to $20.00) + one number ($1.15) + campaign fee ($1.50 to $10)$49.85 to $64.35
  • If you already pay for Square Plus to run the restaurant, the texts themselves add $105 a month, about 2.6¢ per text across the 4,000.
  • Twilio is the cheapest per text, about 1.2¢ to 1.3¢ with carrier fees, but it sells sending by the text to software built on it. Unless a tool you already use connects to it, someone has to build the list, the scheduling and the STOP handling. Registration adds $19 once ($4 brand and $15 campaign vetting) on the low-volume plan.
  • Add a picture to every text and the count changes: on SlickText the same 4,000 texts would use 12,000 credits, more than the $319 plan's 10,000, so the next plan up is $579 for 25,000.

The rules

Is SMS marketing legal for restaurants?

Yes, when guests opt in first. This is a plain-English summary of the federal rule and the carriers' industry guidelines as published on November 5, 2026. It is not legal advice, states can add their own rules, and you should have your attorney review your sign-up wording before the first send.

Get written consent for marketing texts

The FCC's consumer guide says FCC rules ban texts sent to a mobile phone with an autodialer unless the owner gave consent first, and adds: "Commercial texts require written consent; for informational texts, your consent may be oral." The rule itself (47 CFR 64.1200) defines prior express written consent as a written agreement, signed by the guest, that:

  • clearly authorizes you to send them advertising or telemarketing messages with automated technology,
  • names the phone number they want the messages sent to,
  • tells them clearly that they do not have to agree in order to buy anything from you, and
  • can be signed electronically where federal or state law accepts an electronic signature.

Make opting out easy, and honor it fast

Under the same rule a guest can revoke consent by any reasonable method. A reply of "stop", "quit", "end", "revoke", "opt out", "cancel" or "unsubscribe" counts automatically, and the request must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days. You may send one confirmation text with no marketing in it; the rule presumes it is fine if it goes out within five minutes.

Send between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The rule bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time where the guest is. Schedule promotional texts inside that window in the guest's time zone.

Follow the carriers' rules too

The wireless industry's own guidelines, CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023), add more. Among them: send a confirmation after sign-up that names the program, gives a help contact (such as a HELP reply), explains how to opt out, says the messages are recurring and how often, and states any fees; never use a rented, sold or shared list; and use a link shortener dedicated to your own business rather than a shared one.

Local business numbers also need 10DLC registration. Twilio lists three steps (verify your brand, register each campaign and how you collect consent, attach your numbers), estimates approval in under a week, and its compliance docs say senders who skip registration pay additional carrier fees.

Food stall owner holding a pen while taking an order on her phone
A phone order gives you a number, not permission to send promotions. Photo by Israel Torres on Pexels.

Two kinds of text

Order-ready texts are not marketing texts

Many ordering and POS systems already text guests about their order. Square's restaurant plans list order-ready texts that go out when the kitchen marks an order complete, and Orderitto's features page lists automated SMS and push notifications for order confirmations, updates and delivery status.

Those are informational texts. Under the FCC's split, the number a guest gave to hear that their food is ready does not cover a Tuesday discount. Ask for marketing consent as its own, optional step, and keep the two lists apart in your texting tool.

Customer waiting under a Pick Up Here sign at a restaurant counter
An order-ready text tells this guest to come to the counter. A promotion needs its own consent. Photo by Giuseppe Macri on Pexels.

Step by step

How to start SMS marketing at your restaurant

  1. Pick the tool and the number. If you run Square Plus or Premium, texts are already included. If not, compare the plans above at your real list size. Register the 10DLC brand and campaign before your first send.
  2. Write the sign-up wording. Have your attorney review it. Example wording for an online checkout box: "Text me offers from Your Taqueria at the number above. Up to 4 msgs/month. Consent is not required to order. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel." It covers the FCC's not-a-condition-of-purchase point and CTIA's frequency, fees, help and opt-out points.
  3. Ask where guests already are. An unchecked box at your own online checkout, a text-to-join keyword on table tents, receipts and takeout bags, and a line on your website. CTIA says to build your own list; never upload numbers you bought.
  4. Send the confirmation text right away. Use example 1 below: program name, frequency, fees, HELP and STOP.
  5. Keep the records. CTIA says to keep every opt-in and opt-out so a guest who left is never texted again.
  6. Schedule inside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the guest's time zone, at the frequency you promised.
  7. Measure orders, not opens. Give each text its own promo code or link so you can count the orders it brought in, and compare that with what the month of texts cost.

Examples

8 restaurant text message examples that fit in one text

Each one starts with the restaurant's name, carries one offer or piece of news, and says how to opt out. Swap in your own name, offer and ordering link. The counts include the 13-character name; all eight use plain characters only, so each is billed as a single text.

Use it toTextLength
1. Confirm the sign-up (send first)Your Taqueria: You're in for text offers, up to 4 msgs/month. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel.126/160
2. Fill a slow nightYour Taqueria: Slow Tuesday? $5 off pickup orders of $30+ today with code TUE5. Order: example.com/order Reply STOP to opt out126/160
3. Launch a new itemYour Taqueria: New this week, birria tacos with consomme. Order ahead for pickup: example.com/order Reply STOP to opt out121/160
4. Pre-sell a big dayYour Taqueria: Game day trays for 10 or 20 people. Order by Friday 6pm for Sunday pickup: example.com/trays Reply STOP to opt out129/160
5. Win back a lapsed guestYour Taqueria: We miss you! 15% off your next online order with code BACK15, good for 7 days. example.com/order Reply STOP to opt out133/160
6. Nudge a loyalty memberYour Taqueria: You have 80 points. 20 more gets you free chips and guac. Order: example.com/order Reply STOP to opt out119/160
7. Remind offices about cateringYour Taqueria: Office lunch next week? Catering orders need 24 hours notice. Order: example.com/catering Reply STOP to opt out126/160
8. Turn bad weather into delivery ordersYour Taqueria: Rainy night, stay in. Free delivery on orders of $25+ until 9pm tonight. example.com/order Reply STOP to opt out127/160

The offers, codes and example.com links are placeholders, not real promotions. Keep apostrophes straight (') when you paste: a curly one switches the text to the 70-character limit.

Pick the channel

SMS, email or app push: which one for which job?

Texts cost the most per send, so save them for offers with a deadline.

ChannelWhat a send costsWhat you need firstBest for
SMS3¢ or 1.5¢ per text over Square's allowance; about 1.2¢ to 1.3¢ on TwilioWritten consent and a registered numberSame-day offers, slow nights, deadlines
EmailUnlimited email campaign sends on Square Plus and PremiumThe guest's email address and permissionMenus, stories, longer news
Push in your own appOrderitto Pro includes a branded app with push notifications; no per-message price is listed on its pricing pageThe guest installs your appReorders, loyalty points, regulars

Email from Square Marketing; app push from Orderitto's online ordering system page and pricing page, checked November 5, 2026.

Avoid these

Six mistakes to avoid with restaurant texts

  1. Texting a bought, rented or shared list. CTIA says not to; the FCC requires the guest's own consent.
  2. Treating order-update numbers as a marketing list.
  3. Leaving out how to opt out, or ignoring a reply like "please opt me out" because it was not the exact keyword. CTIA says normal-language requests should be acted on too.
  4. Sending before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the guest's time zone.
  5. Sending from an unregistered local number, which Twilio says brings additional carrier fees.
  6. Using a public link shortener (CTIA says to use one dedicated to your business) or an emoji, which cuts the text to 70 characters and can double what you pay.

Orderitto

Where Orderitto fits

A text list is only as good as the guests on it, and the guests who order from your own website or app are the ones you can ask. Orderitto is online ordering software for restaurants: its features page lists automated SMS and push notifications for order confirmations, updates and delivery status, and its loyalty page says you own the customer list, order history and rewards.

Orderitto Pro is $1,299 setup and $249 a month, with no per-order commission. It lists a mobile app, a loyalty program, promo codes and discounts, automated marketing campaigns and customer behavior tracking, and the online ordering system page says the Pro app comes with push notifications. Orderitto's pages do not say which channels its automated marketing sends on, so ask in the demo how it would reach your guests and how they opt in.

Book a demo

Keep reading

Restaurant Loyalty App

Rewards, promo codes and automated marketing inside your own branded app.

Restaurant Loyalty Program Software

Compare loyalty software by direct-ordering fit, customer data and price.

First-Party vs Third-Party Delivery

Why the guests who order direct are the ones you can market to.

Orderitto Pricing

Setup and monthly prices for each Orderitto plan.

Frequently asked questions

How much does SMS marketing cost for a restaurant?

On published prices checked November 5, 2026: Square Plus ($49 a month per location) includes 500 marketing texts a month, then 3¢ each; Square Premium ($149) includes 2,500, then 1.5¢. SlickText and Textedly both start at $29 a month for 500 and list $169 for 5,000; SlickText adds carrier fees ($0.0042 per text, per its help center) and Textedly adds an $8 monthly telecom surcharge. Twilio charges $0.0083 per 160-character segment plus carrier fees of $0.0035 to $0.005, but you need your own sending software. One text a week to 1,000 guests worked out at $154 on Square Plus, $163 on Textedly ($125 for 3,500 texts, a $30 pack of 500 more and the $8 surcharge) and $185.80 on SlickText ($169 plus $16.80 in carrier fees).

Is SMS marketing legal in the USA?

Yes, with consent. The FCC's consumer guide says commercial texts require written consent, and its rule (47 CFR 64.1200) defines that consent as a signed written agreement, which can be electronic, naming the phone number and saying the guest does not have to agree in order to buy. Guests can opt out any reasonable way, including replying STOP, and the opt-out must be honored within ten business days at most. This is a summary, not legal advice.

Can I text customers who ordered online?

Order-update texts, yes. The FCC guide says consent for informational texts may be oral, while commercial texts require written consent. A phone number given so the guest can hear when the order is ready does not, on its own, cover promotions. Ask for marketing consent separately, with its own optional checkbox or keyword.

How often should a restaurant send marketing texts?

There is no federal number. CTIA's guidelines say the sign-up confirmation should state that messages are recurring and how often they come, so pick a frequency you will keep, say it at sign-up, and stick to it. The FCC rule bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the guest's local time.

What is 10DLC and does my restaurant need it?

10DLC is a standard 10-digit local number used for business texting. Twilio says registering means verifying your brand, registering each campaign and how you collect consent, and adding your numbers, and estimates approval in under a week. For businesses with a tax ID sending fewer than 6,000 segments a day it lists $4 one-time brand registration, $15 campaign vetting and $1.50 to $10 per campaign per month. Twilio adds that unregistered traffic gets extra carrier fees.

Do emojis make restaurant texts cost more?

They can. Twilio's character-limit guide says one emoji, or even a curly quotation mark, switches a text to UCS-2 encoding, which cuts the limit from 160 characters to 70 and splits longer texts into 67-character segments. Each segment is billed. SlickText's help center warns that em dashes and curly apostrophes can use extra credits too.

Can I buy a list of phone numbers to text?

Don't. CTIA's Messaging Principles say message senders should not use opt-in lists that have been rented, sold or shared, and should create and vet their own. Bought numbers also come without the written consent the FCC requires for commercial texts.

What should a restaurant marketing text include?

Your restaurant's name at the start, one offer or piece of news, a link that clearly belongs to you, and how to opt out. CTIA says senders should state how to opt out, with standard STOP wording, and should use link shorteners dedicated to their own use. Keep it to 160 plain characters or fewer so it is billed as one text.

Want a guest list you can actually text?

See how Orderitto's own-brand ordering, app and loyalty keep your guests in your account, and what it costs for your restaurant.

Book a DemoView Pricing

Sources checked

  • Square restaurant pricingChecked November 5, 2026 for Plus $49 and Premium $149 per location, 500 texts then 3¢ and 2,500 texts then 1.5¢, no text marketing on Square Free, and order-ready texts.
  • Square MarketingChecked November 5, 2026 for unlimited email campaign sends and included texts on Square Plus and Premium.
  • SlickText pricingChecked November 5, 2026 for $29 (500 credits) to $939 (50,000 credits) a month, $169 for 5,000, $319 for 10,000, free incoming texts and carrier fees.
  • SlickText: understanding message creditsChecked November 5, 2026: 1 credit per 160-character SMS, 1 per extra 153 characters, 3 per MMS, special characters can add credits.
  • SlickText: understanding carrier feesChecked November 5, 2026 for blended carrier fees of $0.0042 per SMS and $0.0087 per MMS on US numbers, billed after the month.
  • SlickText: obtaining a sending numberChecked November 5, 2026 for a free toll-free number with the account and $10 a month for a local (10DLC) number.
  • Textedly pricingChecked November 5, 2026 for $29 (500) to $5,520 (300,000) messages a month, Elite $169 for 5,000, Enterprise $125 for 3,500, free inbound texts, first 10DLC registration paid, $10 per extra teammate, and in its FAQ $30 for an additional 500 texts and an $8 monthly telecom surcharge.
  • Textedly: telecom surchargeChecked November 5, 2026 for the $8 a month telecom surcharge that applies to every plan.
  • SimpleTexting pricingChecked November 5, 2026 for $29 for 500 credits, 5.5¢ extra credits, $10 local number, $4 registration, toll-free and short-code terms, carrier fees about $0.0025 per message, MMS 3 credits.
  • SimpleTexting: registered local number feesChecked November 5, 2026 for the $4 registration, $10 monthly fee, pass-through carrier fees and the $40 vetting fee for higher sending limits.
  • Twilio SMS pricing, United StatesChecked November 5, 2026 for $0.0083 per segment sent or received, $0.022 per outbound MMS, $1.15 local number, long-code carrier fees by carrier and $0.001 per failed message.
  • Twilio A2P 10DLCChecked November 5, 2026 for the three registration steps, under-one-week estimate, and $4 or $44 brand, $15 vetting and $1.50 to $10 monthly campaign fees.
  • Twilio A2P 10DLC compliance docsChecked November 5, 2026: unregistered 10DLC traffic receives additional carrier fees.
  • Twilio: SMS character limitChecked November 5, 2026 for 160 and 153 characters (GSM-7) and 70 and 67 characters (UCS-2, emoji or curly quotes).
  • FCC: Stop Unwanted Robocalls and TextsLast updated February 27, 2026 per the page. Checked November 5, 2026 for written consent for commercial texts and opting out any reasonable way.
  • 47 CFR 64.1200 (eCFR)Checked November 5, 2026 for (a)(2) consent, (a)(10) to (a)(12) revocation, (c)(1) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and (f)(9) the definition of prior express written consent.
  • CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023)Checked November 5, 2026 for confirmation messages, opt-out wording, no rented or shared lists, record keeping and dedicated link shorteners.
  • Orderitto pricingChecked November 5, 2026 for Pro at $1,299 setup and $249 a month and its listed features.