Bulk SMS for Small Businesses in India
What a small business can send by SMS in India, which kind of message each one is under TRAI’s rules, and what a month costs at our listed per-message prices.
- Transactional, Per Message
- ₹0.25
- Promotional, Per Message
- ₹0.15
- Use Cases Priced
- 6
Prices as listed on our Services page, read 20 October 2026
- NotifyTech AI Team
- 6 min read
- SMS Guide
Why small businesses use bulk SMS
Bulk SMS sends one message to many phone numbers at once, and the customer needs no app. A small business can use it for messages it already sends one by one: order updates, reminders and the occasional offer.
In India every commercial SMS runs on TRAI DLT: a registered sender, header and template. This guide lists six common messages, says which kind each one is under TRAI’s rules, and prices a month at NotifyTech AI’s listed per-message rates (₹0.25 and ₹0.15). It is not legal advice.
SMS at a glance
- Billing
- Per message
- Transactional SMS
- ₹0.25 per message
- Promotional SMS
- ₹0.15 per message
- Compliance
- TRAI DLT, with approved templates
- Support
- Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 7 PM IST
What can a small business send by SMS?
Six messages cover most of what a small business sends: order updates, appointment and payment reminders, offers, event invitations and feedback requests. Which kind of message each one is decides its consent and timing under TRAI’s rules.
Order confirmations and delivery updates
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Transactional or service
Why
An order confirmation sent within 30 minutes of the order is transactional. Delivery information for an existing customer is a service message.
Appointment reminders
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Service, if it only informs
Why
It informs an existing customer. If it also advertises something, the whole message counts as promotional.
Payment reminders
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Transactional or service
Why
A payment confirmation sent within 30 minutes of the payment is transactional. A due-date reminder informs an existing customer.
Offers and flash sales
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Promotional
Why
It advertises, so it must offer an opt-out in the same message. Without explicit consent, the default delivery window is 10:00 to 21:00.
Event invitations
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Depends on the content
Why
An invitation that advertises is promotional. Plain information for an existing customer is a service message.
Feedback requests
Kind under TRAI’s rules
Depends on the content
Why
If a request also carries an offer, the whole message is promotional. Ask how your DLT portal classifies a plain request.
How do I get started?
Five steps, in order: collect consent, register on DLT, write to your templates, send, and keep the registration current. NotifyTech AI’s SMS runs on TRAI DLT with approved templates, so the registered parts are the ones to get right.
Collect numbers with consent
A promotional SMS reaches recipients who have not blocked promotions, or who gave explicit consent. Keep a record of where each number came from.
Register on DLT
Your entity, header and templates are registered on an access provider’s DLT portal. Documents, fees and approval time are the portal’s own.
Write to the template
Each message has to match a registered template: fixed text, plus up to three variables by default. A promotional template is fixed text.
Pick the product and send
Use Transactional SMS for OTPs and order or payment notices, and Promotional SMS for campaigns. The Services page lists segmentation, A/B testing and campaign analytics for Promotional SMS.
Keep it current
Registrations, headers and templates are self-certified every year, or they are suspended automatically. A promotional message must offer an opt-out.
What does bulk SMS cost?
SMS is billed per message: ₹0.25 for transactional and ₹0.15 for promotional, as listed on our Services page. A month costs your message count times the rate, with no other figures to guess.
Transactional SMS: ₹0.25 per message
For OTPs and order or payment notices, with priority routing, TRAI DLT compliance and DLT-approved templates, as listed on the Services page.
Promotional SMS: ₹0.15 per message
For bulk campaigns, with lifetime validity, segmentation, A/B testing and campaign analytics, as listed on the Services page.
The figures here are the per-message prices on our Services page, and the examples multiply those prices only. Check the Services page for the current prices.
Price your own month
Change the counts to your own. The total is each listed price times its count, added up. It shows the arithmetic and is not a forecast of sales or of any result.
Example volumes, not a result. It adds up listed per-message prices and says nothing about sales. Which product a message uses is decided when you register it, so confirm with our team.
Messages in a month
Priced at Transactional SMS, ₹0.25
₹50.00
Priced at Transactional SMS, ₹0.25
₹20.00
Priced at Transactional SMS, ₹0.25
₹15.00
Priced at Promotional SMS, ₹0.15
₹45.00
Priced at Promotional SMS, ₹0.15
₹6.00
Priced at Transactional SMS, ₹0.25
₹25.00
- Transactional SMS: 440 × ₹0.25₹110.00
- Promotional SMS: 340 × ₹0.15₹51.00
Example month, total
₹161.00
780 messages
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about bulk SMS for small businesses in India
References & Further Reading
TRAI’s own documents behind the message types and rules in this guide
- Read the Regulations
TCCCPR 2018, consolidated
TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations as consolidated on 21 May 2026: the rules for senders, headers, templates, consent and scrubbing. The gazetted text prevails.
- Read the Direction
TRAI Direction, 28 October 2024
Whitelisting of URLs, APKs, OTT links and call-back numbers, and rejection of messages whose telemarketer chain is undefined or does not match.
Send your first SMS on TRAI DLT
Transactional SMS from ₹0.25 and promotional SMS from ₹0.15 per message, on TRAI DLT with approved templates.