# Sendblue review (2026): is the free plan enough? > iMessage, SMS and RCS messaging API sold per phone line Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Sendblue provides an API and a CRM add-on for sending and receiving iMessages, SMS and RCS from a dedicated phone number. It is used by sales teams that want blue-bubble messages from their CRM and by developers building messaging agents. Pricing is a flat monthly fee per line with no per-message charge. - **Category:** SMS & Chat Marketing - **Made by:** Round One Inc. - **Website:** https://www.sendblue.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you want outbound messaging, as the $100 plan is inbound-first with 1,000 contacts a day. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Sendblue has a free plan, and paid plans start at $100 per month per dedicated line. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free Sandbox: full API access with a shared number and up to 10 verified contacts; inbound-first, with no outbound messaging or webhooks. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free Sandbox | $0 | Test environment with a shared number, up to 10 verified contacts, CLI and SDK support and community support. | | AI Agent | $100 per month per dedicated line | A dedicated phone number for inbound-first messaging, 1,000 inbound contacts a day, webhooks, media, typing indicators, reactions and priority support. | | Enterprise | Custom | Volume pricing with full outbound messaging, multiple dedicated lines, SOC 2 and HIPAA plans and a dedicated account manager. | Read from https://www.sendblue.com/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Sendblue before buying. ## Key features - **iMessage, SMS and RCS from one line:** Each dedicated line can send and receive iMessages, SMS and RCS, according to the pricing FAQ. - **Messaging API, SDK and CLI:** A REST API with an npm package and CLI lets developers provision a number and send messages in code. - **CRM integrations:** Native connections for GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Salesforce, Close and Monday.com log messages on contact timelines. - **MCP server for AI tools:** A Sendblue MCP server lets AI coding tools and agents built on Anthropic's SDK send and receive iMessages. - **No per-message fees:** The page states there are no per-message fees, A2P registration charges, carrier surcharges or SMS fallback fees. - **Compliance:** The vendor says it is SOC 2 Type II certified and offers HIPAA plans on enterprise terms. ## Good for - Developers building AI agents that talk to people over iMessage - Sales teams that want blue-bubble messages triggered from a CRM - Teams that prefer a flat per-line fee to per-message billing ## Worth knowing - The $100 AI Agent plan is inbound-first with 1,000 inbound contacts a day; full outbound messaging is part of the custom Enterprise tier. - The free sandbox has no dedicated number, no outbound messaging and no webhooks. - Annual billing and volume discounts for 10 or more lines are available only by contacting sales. - iMessage reaches Apple devices only; the vendor says each line can also send SMS and RCS. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Sendblue sends iMessage, SMS and RCS from one line through an API, at $100 a month per dedicated line. That plan is inbound-first, full outbound messaging is on the custom Enterprise tier, and the free sandbox has no outbound messages. - **Value for money: D.** $100 a month per dedicated line, in the dearer part of chat tools, where the middle is $36. - **Free plan and trial: D.** A free sandbox with a shared number and 10 verified contacts, but no outbound messages or webhooks, so it is a test only. - **Features: C.** iMessage, SMS and RCS, an SDK, CLI, MCP server and CRM links. Outbound messaging is Enterprise. - **Ease of use: D.** No store rating on record. It is an API, SDK and CLI to build against. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web with HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Close, Pipedrive and more. No apps are listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Sendblue's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among SMS and chat marketing tools - Sendblue's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 2 of the 77 other SMS and chat marketing tools we grade, and level with 13. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 19 of 77) and worst on value for money (D, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $100 a month for each person, against a middle price of $36 for the category: 44 of the 50 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 36 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/chat-marketing ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Sendblue you would be making texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 62 of the 77 other SMS and chat marketing tools grade higher. It costs $1,200 a year. - You could not: Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers. - You could not: An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. - You could not: Texts from a business number, registered with the carriers. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: SOC 2 and HIPAA. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Close, Monday.com, Pipedrive, Clay, Apollo.io **Tags:** Business texting, Public API, SMS marketing, AI agents, Workflow automation ## Alternatives - [Heymarket](https://toolgpa.com/tools/heymarket): Shared inbox for business texting and email. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/heymarket-vs-sendblue) - [TextUs](https://toolgpa.com/tools/textus): Business texting for recruiting, sales and customer teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/sendblue-vs-textus) - [Text Request](https://toolgpa.com/tools/text-request): Business texting with a shared dashboard, priced by included texts. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/sendblue-vs-text-request) - [SimpleTexting](https://toolgpa.com/tools/simpletexting): SMS marketing and two-way texting priced by monthly message credits. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/sendblue-vs-simpletexting) - [Avochato](https://toolgpa.com/tools/avochato): Business texting with a shared inbox, broadcasts and AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/avochato-vs-sendblue) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.sendblue.com/pricing - https://www.sendblue.com/ - https://www.sendblue.com/integrations Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/sendblue Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).