Shopify SMS Marketing (2026): Setup, Rules, Quiet Hours and Costs

Short answer: The simplest way to start SMS marketing on Shopify is Shopify’s own Messaging app. Add your target countries, and for the US and Canada complete toll-free registration (2–5 business days). Collect SMS-specific opt-ins, update your privacy policy and terms, and keep texts under 160 characters. US texts cost $0.012 each plus $2.15 a month for the number. If you want two-way texting, flows that mix email and SMS, or lower per-message rates, use a dedicated app instead.

Shopify’s rules and prices below come from its Help Center, checked November 4, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice – Shopify itself recommends consulting a qualified attorney about SMS rules.

Step 1: Check you can send where your customers are

Shopify Messaging can send SMS marketing only to customers in these countries:

Your store can be based anywhere. For other countries, Shopify points you to third-party apps. SMS marketing campaigns are separate from order and shipping text notifications, which you set up elsewhere in Shopify.

Step 2: Register your sender

In your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Messaging > Settings > SMS, then Add countries.

• UK and EU: create an alphanumeric sender name (your brand). You can send right away.
• US and Canada: fill in the toll-free registration form – contact details, business information, and links to your privacy policy and terms. Verification takes 2 to 5 business days. The toll-free number is randomly assigned and is send-only: customers can’t reply to it.

Avoid a rejection. The most common reasons Shopify lists are:

• A free email address (Gmail, Yahoo) that isn’t shown on your store as an official contact – use an address on your own domain.
• A generic contact name such as “Admin” or “Support” instead of a real, authorized person.
• Mismatched details between the form, your website and your opt-in pages.
• Selling age-restricted products without a proper age-verification app (a checkbox isn’t enough).

Step 3: Get consent and update your policies

Shopify requires that your opt-in method complies with the laws that apply to you – it names the TCPA in the US, GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive in the EU, the CPRA in California and PECR in the UK.

• SMS consent is separate. A customer who opted in to email hasn’t opted in to texts. Phone numbers without SMS consent are excluded automatically.
• Collect it clearly – a checkout checkbox or a keyword sign-up – and say what you’ll send and how often. Don’t buy or import lists.
• Privacy policy must explain how you collect phone numbers, how you use and store the data, who you share it with (including SMS providers) and customers’ rights to access and delete it.
• Terms of service must state message frequency, that data rates might apply, how to opt out, and how to contact you.

Some products can’t be promoted by SMS at all, including alcohol, tobacco and vaping, cannabis and CBD, firearms, fireworks, gambling and high-risk financial services.

Step 4: Write texts that arrive and don’t cost double

• Stay within one message. 160 standard characters, or 70 if the text contains any emoji or non-standard character (including accented capitals like À or É). A 200-character text is billed as 2 messages.
• Shorten links with Shopify’s option and link only to your own domain. Public shorteners such as bit.ly are often blocked by carriers.
• Identify your store, make clear it’s marketing, include an easy opt-out, and use one call to action.
• Avoid spam patterns – all caps, excessive punctuation, deliberate misspellings.
• Test small first: send a test, then send to a small slice of your list before the full segment.

Step 5: Respect quiet hours

Shopify won’t deliver marketing texts during quiet hours in the customer’s local time zone; messages are held and retried afterwards, and Shopify adds a one-hour buffer before quiet hours begin.

A campaign sent just before quiet hours can take up to 12 hours to reach everyone.

What it costs

Shopify bills per message on your Shopify invoice. US texts are $0.012, Canada $0.025 and the UK $0.06, plus $2.15 a month for each US/Canada toll-free number. Subscriber confirmations, double opt-in messages and keyword replies are billed too; 25 test messages a week are free. A campaign to 2,000 US subscribers costs about $24. Full rate tables are in our Shopify Messaging pricing guide.

When to use a dedicated SMS app instead

Shopify Messaging is enough for occasional promotional blasts. Consider a dedicated platform if you need:

• Two-way texting – Shopify’s US/Canada number can’t receive replies.
• Automated flows mixing email and SMS, such as an abandoned-cart email followed by a text.
• Lower rates at volume – Omnisend’s US SMS runs $0.009 down to $0.007 per message, and Postscript’s plans range from $0.009 to $0.007 plus carrier fees (rates from our Omnisend pricing and Postscript review, checked Oct 21–Nov 2).
• Countries Shopify doesn’t support.

Compare per-message costs and features in best SMS marketing apps for Shopify and Postscript vs Klaviyo SMS.

See Omnisend's email + SMS plans

Related: SMS vs email marketing · Shopify email marketing guide · Email marketing laws for online stores · Postscript review