In order to send SMS to the United States customers are required to set up a local number which they can use as their originator. MessageBird offers 3 types of numbers for sending to the US. Below you can see the various features for each type of number to determine which number is best used for your use case.
| Short Code | Toll Free Number | 10DLC | |
| Type of Number | Five/Six digit Short Code | Toll Free Number | Geographical Number |
| Example | 12345 | 18885555555 | 13458674329 |
| SMS enabled | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice enabled | No | Yes | Yes |
| MMS enabled | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2-Way Possible | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Suggested Use Cases | High volumes, Marketing, 2FA, Alerts, Notification & content compliant to CTIA Guidelines | Low - Medium volumes, Non-Marketing & Marketing, Customer Service, Alert Notifications |
Low - Medium volumes, All use cases & content compliant to CTIA Guidelines
|
| Mixed Use Cases | Yes | Yes |
Not advised
|
| Unicode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Concatenated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Carrier DLR's | Yes | Yes | No |
| Service Restrictions | Content pre-approved by CTIA | Content must follow CTIA Guidelines | Content must follow CTIA Guidelines |
| Daily Send Limit | N/A | N/A | 200,000 |
| Throughput Limit | TBC by operators on case by case basis | Medium/High (increase after case registration) | TBC by operators on case by case basis |
| Passthrough fee* | N/A | Yes | Yes, depending on type of use case |
| Inbound Charge | Yes | Yes | Yes, T-Mobile only |
| Setup Time | 8-12 weeks | 1 business day Use case verification can take up to 1 week |
1 week |
| Minimum Subscription Period | 3 months | N/A | 12 months |
* Passthrough fees are determined by the operators and are subject to change. This is out of MessageBird's control.