# What is LCR (Least-Cost Routing)?

> LCR (Least-Cost Routing) automatically selects the cheapest available route for each message or call from a rate table of every path to a destination. Mature LCR weighs price against quality and compliance, not price alone — because the cheapest SMS path is often a grey route whose delivery is unreliable and whose sender IDs break. The right target is least effective cost: price per successfully delivered message. See /answers/sms-routing-lcr, /answers/what-is-grey-route-sms, and /operators/smsc-gateway.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-lcr
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-07-22
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Related

- [All answers](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [Glossary](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [How does SMS routing and least-cost routing (LCR) work?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/sms-routing-lcr)
- [What is smart routing in SMS?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-smart-routing)
- [What is a grey route in SMS?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-grey-route-sms)
- [What is route failover in messaging?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-route-failover)
- [What is a DLR (Delivery Receipt)?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-dlr)
- [SMSC gateway](https://www.broadnet.me/operators/smsc-gateway)
- [SMS API](https://www.broadnet.me/products/sms-api)