RCS billing and pricing model - AWS End User Messaging SMS
Billing overviewUnited States pricing modelCanada pricing modelRegistration feesDouble-delivery billingContent violation feesBill transparency

RCS billing and pricing model

RCS messaging in AWS End User Messaging uses a pricing model with two cost components: an AWS message fee and a carrier fee that is passed through with no markup. This chapter explains the pricing structure for RCS messaging. For current rates, see AWS End User Messaging Pricing.

AWS End User Messaging charges for RCS messages only when they are successfully delivered to the recipient's device. You are not charged for delivery attempts that fail. If an RCS message fails and falls back to SMS, you are charged for the SMS message that is delivered, not for the failed RCS attempt.

Billing overview

RCS billing in AWS End User Messaging has the following components:

  • Message fees — Per-message charges for outbound and inbound RCS messages, based on message segments.

  • Carrier fees — Pass-through charges from carriers with no AWS markup.

  • Registration fees — One-time and recurring fees for agent setup, brand vetting, and maintenance.

Each component appears as a separate line item on your AWS bill, giving you visibility into your RCS messaging costs.

United States pricing model

RCS messaging in the United States uses a message type called Rich RCS. Rich RCS messages are metered per 160-character segment, similar to SMS. Messages exceeding 160 characters are charged for multiple segments.

Each outbound or inbound Rich RCS message has two cost components:

Message transport fee

The per-segment fee charged by AWS for processing and delivering the RCS message.

Carrier fee (pass-through)

The per-segment fee charged by the carrier for RCS message delivery. AWS passes this fee through to you with no markup. Carrier fees are separate from message transport costs.

The total cost per message is the message transport fee plus the carrier fee. Inbound RCS messages (messages sent from end users to your AWS RCS Agent) follow the same two-component pricing structure.

Note

RCS messages are charged only for delivered messages. This differs from SMS, which charges for requested messages.

For current per-segment rates, see AWS End User Messaging Pricing.

Canada pricing model

RCS messaging in Canada uses two message types:

RCS Basic

Messages up to 160 characters. Charged per message.

RCS Single

Messages exceeding 160 characters. Billed as a single message, not as multiple segments. This differs from the United States, where Rich RCS messages exceeding 160 characters are metered per 160-character segment similar to SMS.

Each outbound or inbound RCS message in Canada has two cost components: a message transport fee and a carrier pass-through fee.

Note

RCS messages are charged only for delivered messages. This differs from SMS, which charges for requested messages.

For current rates, see AWS End User Messaging Pricing.

Registration fees

Launching an AWS RCS Agent requires registration with the RCS infrastructure provider. The following carrier pass-through fees apply to the registration process:

One-time agent setup fee

A one-time fee charged when you create and register your AWS RCS Agent. This covers the initial setup and verification of your agent with the RCS infrastructure provider.

Annual brand vetting fee

An annual fee for verifying your brand identity. Brand vetting confirms that your organization is legitimate and authorized to send RCS messages under your brand name.

Monthly agent maintenance fee

A recurring monthly fee for maintaining your active AWS RCS Agent registration with the RCS infrastructure provider.

These registration fees are carrier pass-through charges. For current registration fee amounts, see AWS End User Messaging Pricing.

Important

RCS registration fees are excluded from Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) discounts. These fees are pass-through charges from the RCS infrastructure provider and are not eligible for AWS volume discounts.

Registration fees appear as separate line items on your AWS bill. For details on how charges are categorized, review your AWS Cost and Usage Report.

Double-delivery billing

When AWS End User Messaging sends an RCS message with SMS fallback enabled (through pool-based or account-level sending), the service attempts RCS delivery first. If RCS delivery fails, the service falls back to SMS.

Under normal circumstances, the RCS message is revoked before the SMS fallback message is delivered. In this case, you are charged only for the SMS message that was successfully delivered.

In rare cases, both the RCS message and the SMS fallback message may be delivered to the recipient. This can happen if the RCS message is delivered after the revocation window but before the SMS message arrives. When dual delivery occurs, you are charged for both the RCS message and the SMS message.

Note

Dual delivery is uncommon. AWS End User Messaging is designed to revoke the RCS message before initiating SMS fallback. Monitor your delivery receipts and CloudWatch metrics to track delivery channel attribution. For more information about RCS metrics, see RCS CloudWatch metrics and monitoring.

Content violation fees

It is the responsibility of any RCS message sender to comply with country laws and regulations for messaging, as well as carrier policies. Carriers may impose penalty fees for RCS messages that violate their message content policies. These penalties are carrier-imposed charges that AWS may pass through to customers that send RCS messages that carriers flag as violating their message content policies.

Carriers typically categorize content violations into the following tiers:

Tier 1 — Phishing, smishing, and social engineering

Social engineering refers to the practice of targeting individuals in a way that manipulates them to reveal private information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers.

Tier 2 — Illegal content

Content must be legal in all 50 states and federally. Illegal content includes, but is not limited to, cannabis, marijuana, CBD, illegal prescriptions, and solicitation.

Tier 3 — Other violations

All other commercial messaging violations that breach federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or carrier codes of conduct on prohibited content.

For more information about content violation fee amounts, see AWS End User Messaging Pricing.

Bill transparency

RCS charges appear as separate line items on your AWS bill, allowing you to distinguish between the following cost categories:

  • RCS message fees (AWS charges)

  • RCS carrier fees (pass-through charges)

  • RCS registration fees (pass-through charges)

  • SMS message fees (for messages that fell back from RCS to SMS)

This separation helps you understand your messaging costs and identify opportunities to optimize your spending. For detailed billing information, review your AWS Cost and Usage Report.