Texting has become one of the fastest ways for teams to get work done, whether it’s confirming appointments, updating order details, or following up after calls. The problem is when your provider puts limits in the way, leaving you with delays and frustrated or even lost customers.
That’s where Vonage’s SMS feature falls short. This guide will break down the Vonage SMS texting feature. Plus, discuss its limitations and show you a better alternative to give your customers fast, reliable service.
Can you send text messages with Vonage?
You can send SMS messages through the Vonage desktop or mobile app if your business is located in the US — but only to US and Canadian numbers. That means its pre-built plans won’t be enough if you need to send international texts.
You’re also out of luck if your team sends media in its text messages. Vonage’s pricing plans don’t support MMS messaging out of the box. This means you can’t send videos to demo products, share images to help solve complex support issues, and more.
Here’s what people say about using Vonage to text customers:
Vonage users report problems with sending text messages. Some say the service is difficult to use and that customer support doesn’t always provide the help they need.
Here’s some of what people are saying about their experience with Vonage SMS:
- “Sometimes I am unable to send text on some US numbers.” — G2
- “Texting is a very large part of what we do, and the text feature has either been removed or just doesn’t work any longer.” — Capterra
- “…It’s a little difficult to use the different features, like switching from call to text, which is a time-consuming process.” — G2
- “We wanted support for texting, and it has been a horrible experience. … They don’t answer the calls or respond timely.” — Capterra
Vonage SMS API
To access international and MMS text messages with Vonage, you need the Vonage SMS API. It’s an add-on service, so you’ll pay extra fees on top of your Vonage plan, which we’ll get into later in this guide.
You’ll also get access to features like:
- Secure text messaging: Hide your real phone number when messaging customers. Instead, it shows your brand name as the sender ID, so you can have conversations without worrying about spam or unwanted calls.
- Automated messages: Automatically text customers with personalized updates like delivery attempts and appointment reminders.
- SMS reporting: Reports that track SMS traffic and find opportunities to cross-sell and upsell to increase how much your customers spend.
Getting Vonage’s SMS API up and running can be confusing and time-consuming. If you don’t have a developer on staff, you’ll need to hire one — which adds to the overall cost just to access basic SMS features.
How much does Vonage charge for SMS?
Pricing for Vonage’s plans varies by team size. For a team of up to four people, you can expect to pay $13.99 per user per month on the annual plan. Vonage also requires new customers to commit to a one-year contract and charges a termination fee for early cancellations.
Keep in mind Vonage limits you to just 2,000 texts per day across your entire account. After that, you’ll need to pay for every message you send, but Vonage doesn’t list its overage rates publicly. That means you’ll have to talk to a sales rep just to know how much it’ll cost.
You also have to complete the US carrier registration, also known as A2P 10DLC, to text US numbers from a virtual phone number. If you don’t register, your messages could be marked as spam or not delivered at all.
With Vonage, the registration process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. You’ll wait even longer if Vonage requests changes or additional information. Once you get approved, your number needs to go through a linking process that can take up to three days.
Here’s how much it costs to set up and maintain A2P 10DLC registration with Vonage:
| Fee Type | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10DLC brand registration fee | $4.00 | One-time fee per account |
| Recurring monthly fee | $1.50 | Monthly fee per account |
| Failed submission/resubmission fee | $4.00 | Applies if your brand registration is rejected and needs to be resubmitted |
Vonage SMS API pricing
Remember those extra fees we mentioned for using the Vonage SMS API to send automated, international, MMS, and other types of messages? Here they are:
| Number type | Outbound texts | Inbound texts |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual phone number | $0.01 per message | $0.00649 per message |
| Toll-free number | $0.0 per message | $0.00649 per message |
| Short code | $0.0 per message | $0.00649 per message |
Keep in mind that your mobile provider may charge additional carrier fees for international texting.
7 Vonage texting limitations you should know
Here are seven more limitations you should consider before choosing Vonage to send business texts.
If you want your team to collaborate on texts using the same phone number, you need to pay for Vonage’s Business Inbox add-on.
It lets multiple reps share access to one messaging inbox. They’ll be able to see past conversations and step in to reply when a team member needs help.
While Vonage does offer shared calling, there’s a catch: the service is only available on desk phones, not through the Vonage desktop or mobile app. So if your office doesn’t use them, your team can’t share responsibility for answering calls.
2. Texting can abruptly stop working
Vonage experienced a long SMS outage in 2024, which drew lengthy complaints from Reddit users. According to their posts, Vonage confirmed the outage was the company’s choice to suspend texting services. At the time, they said they were “working closely with our SMS partner provider to restore SMS service as soon as possible.”
Users were unable to send texts from their Vonage accounts during the outage. Some didn’t immediately realize that messages weren’t being delivered, and others had to deal with angry customers who didn’t know the service was down and thought their texts were being ignored.
Vonage finally reinstated texting several months later, but not until after some users had already decided to find another SMS provider.
3. Users cite Vonage’s texting registration process as difficult
Vonage users have faced several problems with Vonage’s Campaign Registry process for A2P 10DLC registration. This includes long wait times, multiple requests for updates or changes, and applications being rejected. The delays made it difficult or impossible to send customers text messages:
- “Waited 6+ months just for SMS registration approval. Sometimes I don’t receive picture messages, and I am still unable to send messages. All they say is that it’s an issue they are having with major carriers like T-Mobile, but it doesn’t work for any carrier. This whole process has been a joke. I’ve lost so much money. I’m just waiting for a class action lawsuit “ — Reddit
- “Same issue over here. Texting down for a week now. Literally dead in the water, as most of my clients know, texting is the best way to reach me. The kicker is, each time they run my application, I’m charged 4 dollars. So everyday for the past week, I’m seeing multiple 4 dollar charges. I’m probably at 50ish dollars now, which doesn’t hurt as much as not being able to text. All very frustrating. I’m looking into other voip providers.” — Reddit
According to Vonage, “Unfortunately, the volume of users required to register has caused a backlog, especially since some registrations required further action once reviewed.“ Due to this backlog, you could wind up waiting a long time just to text customers.
4. Vonage stores calls, voicemails, and texts in different folders
You can’t see all your conversations in one place inside the Vonage app. Instead, you have to click back and forth between tabs like “Calls” and “SMS.” This means reps will have to spend extra time getting context and could miss important details, slowing down how fast they can solve customer issues.
5. Vonage caps how many messages you can store
Losing access to old text messages can create major problems for your business. Your team can lose the information they need to track ongoing conversations, manage renewals, or resolve disputes. The challenge with Vonage is that it only keeps messages for 12 months, so anything older than that disappears.
Analytics and reporting are also limited: you can only see up to three months of messaging data at a time, like the number of texts your reps send and receive. Reports are only available for up to 12 months in total, and only a Super User can request them. Without easy access to a comprehensive history of your message activity, you won’t know what changes to make to improve customer service efficiency.
6. Toll-free numbers require an expensive setup fee
Vonage charges a one-time setup fee of $49.99 for toll-free numbers. Compare that to a VoIP service like Quo that includes your choice of a local or toll-free number for each user you add to your plan. Additional toll-free numbers are just $5 per number per month with no extra setup fee.
7. Group texting isn’t available
Vonage doesn’t offer group texting with its pre-built plans or as an add-on. Without group texting, your reps can’t loop vendors into customer conversations to close deals or assist with support requests. Switching back and forth between messaging threads can cause reps to overlook details and delay the resolution of important customer issues.
Why Quo is the best texting alternative to Vonage SMS
Now that you know the limitations of sending texts with Vonage, you might be looking for an alternative that offers texting features tailored to your growing business. Quo is a small business phone system that includes more SMS features on every plan without the need for complex, expensive add-ons.
Check out how Quo’s plans compare to Vonage:
| Feature | Vonage | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Availability 🌎 | Only available to US customers, can only text US and Canadian numbers | Available in the US, Canada, and many other countries, with international texting included |
| MMS support 📷 | Not supported without SMS API | Included on all plans, no extra setup |
| International texting ✈️ | Requires SMS API | No API required to text |
| Shared numbers for texting 👥 | Requires a paid add-on | Included — collaborate from a single number at no extra cost |
| Message storage 📂 | Messages kept for 12 months, reporting only shows the most recent three months | Unlimited message history and full conversation view |
| Toll-free numbers ☎️ | $49.99 one-time setup fee | Each user gets one local or toll-free number; any additional numbers are $5 per number per month |
| Ease of setup ⚡ | Complex A2P 10DLC registration process with reported delays and rejections | Fast, guided A2P 10DLC registration with support |
Quo gives you everything you need to send and receive SMS, MMS, and international texts, and more. When you sign up for a Quo plan, you’ll be able to:
- Call and text customers in the US or Canada from a local or toll-free number.
- Send unlimited SMS and MMS texts to US and Canadian numbers on every plan, with no need to worry about keeping track of per-message costs. If you need to send international texts, you can find rates right on the Quo website instead of having to contact sales.
- Save time by using auto-replies for missed calls or creating snippets to quickly respond to FAQs. Schedule texts in advance during your customers’ business hours so you can stay in touch even when you’re closed.
- Automatically log calls, texts, and contact information with CRM integrations that keep customer data up to date in HubSpot, Salesforce, and more.
- Set up shared numbers so your whole team can manage calls, send texts, and track conversations in one SMS inbox.
- Tag teammates privately on specific messages using internal threads to collaborate behind the scenes and give customers faster service.
Quo: The best small business communication tool
Can Vonage work for business texting? It might if you only need basic texting features.
But if you don’t want to waste time setting up complicated add-ons and worrying about potential overage fees, Quo could be a better option. You’ll also get access to unlimited calling and texting to US and Canadian numbers.
Plus, you’ll be able to use Sona, Quo’s AI voice agent that can answer every call when you’re unavailable to pick up the phone. You can also get AI features like call summaries and transcriptions that save you time by keeping accurate records of every conversation.
Start a free seven-day trial today to see how Quo compares.
