# OTP cost estimator.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/tools/otp-cost-estimator
- Language: en
- Last updated: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)
- Markdown version of the page above, generated from the rendered page.

Your rates only · runs in your browser

Estimate your monthly one-time-passcode spend and the effective cost per successful OTP. Enter your volume, delivery rate, retry rate and your own per-message rates. Every figure comes from the numbers you type — BroadNet does not set a price here.

OTPs

%

Rates use your own currency and figures only. Voice fallback, if priced, is applied to the OTPs that SMS did not deliver.

Enter your monthly volume, a delivery rate between 0 and 100%, a retry rate and — importantly — your own per-message SMS rate to see the estimate. Nothing is assumed for you.

The short answer

## What does an OTP actually cost?

More than the per-message rate. You pay for every send — including retries and messages that never arrive — but you only earn a successful OTP when one is delivered. The effective cost per successful OTP is your total spend divided by the number delivered, so a lower delivery rate or a higher retry rate quietly pushes the real unit cost up.

The formulas

- SMS attempts = volume × (1 + retry rate)
- SMS cost = SMS attempts × your SMS rate
- delivered = volume × delivery rate
- voice cost = volume × (1 − delivery rate) × your voice rate
- cost / successful OTP = (SMS cost + voice cost) ÷ delivered

### No prices are assumed

This estimator never inserts a BroadNet rate. Every currency figure it shows is derived only from the per-message SMS rate and optional voice rate you enter, so it reflects your own commercial terms. For a real quote across the destinations you send to, talk to our team.

## Frequently asked questions

**How is the cost per successful OTP calculated?**

Effective cost per successful OTP is the total monthly spend divided by the number of OTPs actually delivered. Because you pay for every attempt — including retries and any that fail — the effective cost per delivered OTP is always a little higher than the raw per-message rate.

**Why do retries increase OTP cost?**

Each retry is a separately billed message. If a share of your OTPs are resent because the first attempt was not confirmed, those extra sends add to spend without adding new successful OTPs, so both total cost and cost per successful OTP rise.

**Should I use voice as an OTP fallback?**

A voice fallback places a call reading the code to users who did not receive the SMS, which can lift overall delivery in markets with poor SMS routing. Voice usually costs more per attempt than SMS, so the estimator lets you add an optional per-call voice rate to see the blended impact.

**What per-message rate should I enter?**

Enter your own contracted or quoted rate for the destinations you send to, in whatever currency you use. This tool never assumes a price — all figures come from the rates you type in, so the estimate reflects your real commercial terms.

**Does this include multi-segment or long OTP messages?**

OTP messages are almost always a single segment, so the estimator treats each SMS attempt as one billable message. If your template runs to multiple segments, multiply your per-message rate by the segment count before entering it, or check the SMS segment calculator first.

[OTP One-time passcodes over SMS and voice.](https://www.broadnet.me/products/otp) [SMS API REST + SMPP 3.4, Bearer-token auth, delivery webhooks.](https://www.broadnet.me/products/sms-api) [Segment calculator Check whether an OTP template is one segment.](https://www.broadnet.me/tools/sms-segment-calculator) [Developer hub Quickstart, TypeScript SDK, references and tools.](https://www.broadnet.me/developers)

## Sending OTPs at scale?

BroadNet runs SMS and Voice OTP on carrier-grade routes across 200+ countries, with delivery reporting and voice fallback. Talk to our team for a rate on your destinations.

[OTP product](https://www.broadnet.me/products/otp) [Contact sales](https://www.broadnet.me/contact)