How the calculator works
For each channel the calculator multiplies a price per message by your monthly volume, then applies your assumptions. Conversions are messages × your conversion rate, revenue is conversions × the value you enter, cost per conversion is cost ÷ conversions, and ROI is (revenue − cost) ÷ cost.
It also shows the break-even rate: the conversion rate at which a channel's revenue just covers its cost, which is cost per message ÷ value per conversion. If your real response rate is far above the break-even rate on every channel, both are profitable and the question becomes which one maximises margin and customer experience.
- SMS: country list price averaged across operators, at the volume tier your monthly segment count reaches, times segments per message
- WhatsApp: the Meta rate for the category (marketing, utility or authentication), passed through at zero markup; it varies by country
- RCS: priced on request, so it is not part of the cost and ROI comparison; contact sales for RCS pricing
Worked example: 50,000 marketing messages in the UAE
At our published list prices (rate card reviewed September 2026), 50,000 single-segment marketing SMS to the UAE cost about $615, and the same volume of WhatsApp marketing templates about $1,295. With the same 1% conversion rate and $50 order value on both channels, each produces 500 orders and $25,000 of revenue, so cost per conversion is about $1.23 for SMS and $2.59 for WhatsApp.
Now change one assumption. If your own data shows WhatsApp converting at 2% because customers can tap a button and buy in the chat, its cost per conversion falls to about $1.30, close to SMS. If your Arabic SMS needs two segments, SMS cost doubles to about $1,230. These figures are illustrations of the method, not predictions; your rates and results will differ.
SMS vs WhatsApp cost: what actually drives the difference
SMS is priced per segment, so length and alphabet matter. A message in GSM-7 holds 160 characters; one Arabic or emoji character switches the whole message to Unicode, which holds 70 (67 per part when split). A 100-character Arabic promotion is billed as two SMS. Volume discounts then lower the per-segment price at higher tiers.
WhatsApp is priced per delivered template message, regardless of length up to the 1,024-character body limit, and the category matters more than the length: marketing templates cost more than utility, and authentication is usually the cheapest. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per message rather than per 24-hour conversation, so every template you send counts.
Choosing realistic assumptions
The defaults in this calculator are placeholders, set equal for every channel on purpose. They are not industry benchmarks, and published “average open rate” figures rarely match a specific brand, country and audience. The most reliable inputs are your own: past campaign conversion rates by channel, your average order value and your delivery rates.
If you have no history on a channel, run a small A/B test: send the same offer to two random halves of an opted-in audience, one by SMS and one by WhatsApp, and measure orders with unique codes or tracked links. A few thousand messages per arm is often enough to see a meaningful difference in cost per conversion.
- Use the same attribution window (for example 7 days) for every channel
- Count only customers who opted in to that channel; WhatsApp marketing requires opt-in
- Include fallback costs: undelivered WhatsApp or RCS messages resent by SMS are billed again
When each channel makes sense
SMS reaches every mobile phone without an app or data connection, which makes it the default for OTPs, critical alerts and audiences you cannot reach on WhatsApp. WhatsApp suits two-way journeys, such as appointment confirmation, delivery rescheduling, cart recovery and support, where buttons and replies raise the action rate. RCS brings verified branding, rich cards and suggested replies to the native messaging app on supported phones, with SMS as the safety net.
Most businesses end up with a mix: WhatsApp or RCS first where the customer can receive it, and SMS as fallback. The platform handles the routing automatically, so you pay for the channel that actually delivers.