This article clarifies Aircall's approach to SMS/MMS costs and the associated Fair Use Policy for services within the United States (US) and Canada (CA). This information reflects an update communicated in December 2024.
The Aircall fair use policy for US/CA SMS/MMS
Aircall offers a Fair Use Quota for accounts that have an eligible US/CA domestic bundle. Under this policy, Aircall covers the cost of your US/CA domestic messaging up to a specified monthly quota.
Quota Details:
- SMS: 250 SMS segments per user, per month for traffic from US/CA numbers to US/CA numbers.
- MMS: 50 MMS segments per user, per month for traffic from US/CA numbers to US/CA numbers.
Important Notes on Quotas:
- Company-Level Pooling: The individual user quotas are pooled at the company level (see section 4 for details).
- Charges for Exceeding Quota: Usage that exceeds this pooled company-level quota is charged monthly on a per-segment basis.
- Understanding Segments & Charges: For detailed explanations of how segments are counted and how charges apply, please see our articles:
Eligibility for the fair use quota
The Fair Use SMS/MMS quota described above is an inclusive benefit exclusively for Aircall plans that feature the US/CA domestic bundle.
- Plans without the US/CA Domestic Bundle: If your Aircall plan does not include the US/CA domestic bundle, SMS/MMS messages sent to or from your US/CA numbers will be charged from the very first message, per segment.
- Learn More About Bundles: To understand more about plans that include these bundles, please see our article: Call bundles. The specific US/CA domestic bundle available or applied to your account is determined by your registered billing address. To ensure your bundle is correctly assigned and your billing details are up to date, please see our guide: How to update your billing address.
How to check if your plan includes the US/CA domestic bundle
If you are unsure whether your current Aircall plan includes the US/CA domestic bundle, you can verify this directly within your Aircall dashboard.
Please note: Accessing plan information requires Owner permissions for the Aircall user account.
Steps to Check Your Plan:
- Log in to your Aircall dashboard.
- Click on your company name (usually located at the bottom left of the screen).
- Navigate to the "Plan" tab.
- Scroll down to the section titled "Included calling destinations." If the US/CA bundle is part of your plan, it will be listed here.
ℹ️ For further guidance on accessing your plan details, refer to our article: How to find information about my plan.
How fair use quota pooling works
Your company’s total monthly Fair Use Quota for US/CA SMS and MMS is a combined pool.
Here’s how your total pooled SMS/MMS quota is calculated:
a. Contribution from committed licenses/users:
Each user license that is part of your base plan commitment contributes its full SMS/MMS quota to the monthly company pool. For each such user, the contribution is:
- 250 SMS segments per month
- 50 MMS segments per month
Example: If your plan includes 3 committed user licenses their contribution to the pool is:
- SMS Quota from committed users: 3 users × 250 SMS segments/user = 750 SMS segments
- MMS Quota from committed users: 3 users × 50 MMS segments/user = 150 MMS segments
- 💡 Note on Unused Committed Licenses: This quota is included for every committed license as long as the license itself is part of your subscription.
b. Contribution from additional licenses/users:
If, during your monthly billing cycle, you have more users than your number of committed licenses, each additional user also contributes their full SMS/MMS quota to the company pool for that specific billing period. The contribution per additional eligible user is:
- 250 SMS segments per month
- 50 MMS segments per month
Example (Continuing from above): If you have 3 committed eligible licenses but had 5 users on your account (meaning 2 additional eligible users):
- SMS Quota from additional users: 2 users × 250 SMS segments/user = 500 SMS segments
- MMS Quota from additional users: 2 users × 50 MMS segments/user = 100 MMS segments
c. Calculating Your Total Pooled Quota:
Your total company SMS/MMS Fair Use Quota is the sum of contributions from both committed and additional eligible users.
Total Pooled SMS Quota Example: 750 (from committed) + 500 (from additional) = 1,250 SMS segments per month
Total Pooled MMS Quota Example: 150 (from committed) + 100 (from additional) = 250 MMS segments per month
Your company can send up to this total calculated number of US/CA domestic SMS and MMS segments per month before incurring additional per-segment charges.
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⚠️ Important Note for Annual Plan Subscribers regarding Additional Users: If you are on an annual plan, additional user licenses are typically billed through to your contract's end date. Even if an additional user is deactivated before this term concludes, its SMS/MMS quota contribution continue to be included in your company’s pool for the duration of the paid term, as the "seat" with its bundle eligibility is reusable.
- For detailed information on how billing for additional users works, please see our article: How will my additional users & numbers be billed?
We hope this information is helpful. Thank you for being an Aircall customer.