You already use text messaging to send appointment reminders and follow up after calls. If you’re evaluating virtual phone systems like Grasshopper, SMS messaging is an essential feature for talking to your customers. So how does it stack up?
Yes, Grasshopper offers business SMS and MMS texting. However, there are major restrictions to keep in mind. You can only use local numbers to text US and Canadian numbers. You can’t use toll-free phone numbers to text Canadian numbers or send MMS messages and group texts. Grasshopper also doesn’t offer international texting, templates, or automations beyond basic auto-replies.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about texting with Grasshopper’s SMS. And if it turns out to be too limited for your business, we provide a Grasshopper alternative at the end of the guide.
How much does Grasshopper charge for SMS?
Grasshopper’s pricing starts at $14 per month and includes unlimited texting to the US and Canada. The base plan includes only one user, making it almost impossible for small businesses to manage customer texts as a team.
To let more team members handle texts, you’ll have to upgrade to the Solo Plus plan, which costs $25 per month. But keep in mind this only includes one phone number, so you’ll need to buy additional numbers for $9 extra per month. Even if you upgrade to the Small Business plan, which costs $55 per month, it still only comes with four phone numbers.
Since Grasshopper charges per number and extension, sending texts from different numbers can add up quickly.
Another SMS-related fee you’ll have to pay upfront is the A2P 10DLC registration fee. This is a set of messaging regulations pushed for by the major US cell carriers, like AT&T and Verizon. Businesses that use a virtual phone have to register their business number and the purpose for texting customers. It’s a requirement to reduce mass spam texts and fraudulent messages. Here’s how these carrier registration fees break down:
| Fee type | Cost | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Registration fee | $19.50 — one-time | Initial registration with The Campaign Registry — $4.50 Carrier campaign review — $15 |
| Low volume SMS campaign fees | $1.50 — monthly | Monthly fee for sending less than 6,000 texts per day |
| Standard volume SMS campaign fees | $10.00 — monthly | Monthly fee for sending more than 6,000 texts per day |
| Campaign resubmission fee | $15 | Required to resubmit campaign details if registration is rejected |
Note: Grasshopper doesn’t offer US carrier registration to sole proprietors. Grasshopper may seem like a good fit for entrepreneurs, but it won’t work if you’re self-employed and don’t have a business tax ID.
7 more Grasshopper texting limitations you should know
We’ve covered some of the biggest limitations you can expect with Grasshopper. Here are a few more you should be aware of:
1. Can’t automatically log texts in your CRM
Grasshopper doesn’t connect with third-party tools like HubSpot, which means you’ll need to manually log all call and text activity in your CRM. This adds work for your team and can lead to errors in your CRM data.
Learn more about how missing Grasshopper integrations can affect your business operations.
2. Users cite Grasshopper’s texting registration process as frustrating
As mentioned, if you want to send texts through a VoIP SMS service, you need to complete The Campaign Registry registration. But according to past users, Grasshopper doesn’t make this easy. There may be delays and poor communication, leading to message delivery issues.
Some say it can take several months to get up and running with texting. This isn’t ideal for business owners already using SMS to communicate with customers.
See for yourself with this Grasshopper review:
“I gave them months to try and get the SMS verified. … I spent days on the phone waiting, on hold, redoing suggestions, while stuck on an annual plan. I ended up having to leave, telling them to cancel and refund me; they told me they couldn’t refund $500 even though I was only a few days past the renewal date.” — Trustpilot
Delays with A2P registration are unique to Grasshopper. It can take multiple attempts to get approved using Grasshopper’s verification process. Take this example from a past Grasshopper customer who switched to Quo:
“I switched to Quo from Grasshopper after six rejected attempts and countless hours trying to fix my website and forms to meet their constantly changing requirements. I used the exact same application with Quo, and it was approved within 24 hours.” — G2
3. Limited recurring message automation
Is your team spending valuable time typing the same messages to your leads and customers? Unlike modern VoIP solutions, Grasshopper won’t be able to solve this problem for you. It doesn’t offer features like reusable snippets, which means your team has to type each message manually. You also can’t schedule texts to go out later. Everything has to be sent in real time, even if it’s outside business hours.
The only automated messaging feature Grasshopper offers is instant response. This is an automated message sent to callers if no one on the team can take an incoming call. However, this feature comes with its own limitations. You can’t set it up based on time of day. You also can’t use it to reply to customers when they text you or leave a voicemail. You can only set it up to reply to callers when you miss their call.
4. Toll-free and international texting limitations
Grasshopper offers toll-free numbers to teams, but it limits how much you can use them for texting. You can’t use toll-free numbers to send:
- Texts to Canadian numbers
- Group texts
- MMS messages
With these limitations, your team may find it hard to actually use their toll-free numbers on Grasshopper’s platform.
Another major limitation with Grasshopper’s messaging capabilities: you can’t send text messages to international numbers. If you have customers or vendors based outside the US, you can only text them with a Grasshopper alternative.
5. MMS limitations
MMS messages on Grasshopper are limited in size and number, making it tough to send media to customers. For example, each message caps out at 1 MB total, and you can only include up to five attachments, which may not be enough. With a business phone system like Quo, you get more flexibility. Send up to 10 images per message and up to 5 MB total, making it easy to share menus, photos, receipts, and more.
6. No message export or backup
Grasshopper doesn’t give you any option to export or back up your SMS messages. This means if you decide to port out, you may not have access to message logs. You might also feel trapped using Grasshopper as your SMS provider, which doesn’t bode well if you expect to scale in the future.
7. No texting API
Grasshopper has no SMS API, webhooks, or programmatic access to messaging. You can’t build automated workflows, chatbot integrations, or custom notification systems.
Want to build custom integrations with apps in your tech stack? Without an API or webhooks, you can’t do that. Since Grasshopper doesn’t have a Zapier or Make connection, you can’t use those options either.
Why Quo is the best texting alternative to Grasshopper
If you’re a solopreneur or someone who rarely texts customers, you might be able to make Grasshopper’s SMS features work. But if you’re a growing small business looking to explore more ways to text customers, it doesn’t hold up next to modern providers like Quo.
Quo was designed for small business owners who want to build better customer relationships with text messaging. Each plan offers unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada, plus features that help you collaborate and get more work done with your team.
Here’s how Quo makes texting easier:
- Split responsibility for incoming calls and texts by sharing vanity, toll-free, and local phone numbers with your team.
- Need to delegate tasks? Use Tasks and internal threads to assign follow-up action items.
- Set expectations by sending a professional auto-reply to every missed call, text, and voicemail.
- Quickly complete US carrier registration with a step-by-step walkthrough in our web, desktop, or mobile apps.
- Automatically log all texts under the right contact in your CRM with Quo’s integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, and Make.
- Save time with text templates, also known as snippets.
- Send scheduled texts so you can reach customers during business hours in their time zones.
- Store messaging logs for legal and compliance reasons.
- Send follow-ups to leads in batches with our Claude and ChatGPT integrations.
Get a detailed feature-by-feature comparison of Quo vs Grasshopper.
See why Quo is the best Grasshopper SMS alternative by signing up for a seven-day free trial.
FAQs
Group texting is only available from local Grasshopper numbers. You can’t send group text messages with toll-free or vanity numbers. You also can’t use Grasshopper to send short code text messages.
No, texting isn’t available in Grasshopper’s free trial. You can only call your contacts. The trial limits calling to 50 minutes only.
Every virtual phone provider, including Grasshopper, requires A2P 10DLC registration for business texting. This is a requirement pushed by major US carriers, not virtual phone providers. This is why you can’t send texts in Grasshopper’s free trial.
