iMessage Marketing Statistics 2026
The short answer
iMessage marketing runs on one number: 58.35% of US mobile traffic came from iOS in June 2026 (StatCounter Global Stats). That's the share of a US B2B list that can receive a blue-bubble message with read receipts, typing indicators and full-quality media. This page collects the current sourced statistics on device share, channel performance, SMS costs, buyer behavior and compliance. Every stat names its source and date.
Key takeaways
- Just over half of US contacts receive native blue bubbles; iOS accounted for 58.35% of US mobile traffic in June 2026 (StatCounter Global Stats).
- Cold email replied at 0.45% in 2025 (Belkins), cold calls hit 2.7% (Cognism), and SMS outperforms both.
- A2P registration costs $24.50 to $71.91 one-time, campaigns run $1.50 to $10 monthly, and carrier fees add roughly $0.003 per SMS.
- 89% of consumers have opted in to business texts, 87% check within 15 minutes (EZ Texting April 2026).
- Enforcement accelerating: April 2026 had 330 TCPA cases and 255 class actions, up 40% YoY (TCPAWorld June 2026).
- Every stat has a named, dated source verified against the original publication.
How many US buyers can actually receive a blue-bubble message?
Just over half of US contacts receive native blue bubbles; iOS accounted for 58.35% of US mobile traffic in June 2026 (StatCounter Global Stats). RCS and SMS fallback handle the rest automatically.
58.35%
iOS accounted for 58.35% of US mobile operating system traffic in June 2026, versus 41.62% for Android
StatCounter Global Stats, June 2026
2.5 billion
Apple's installed base passed 2.5 billion active devices worldwide, up from 2.35 billion a year earlier
Apple Q1 FY2026 earnings call, January 29, 2026
87%
87% of US teens said they own an iPhone, from a survey of nearly 11,000 teens averaging 15.7 years old
Piper Sandler, Taking Stock With Teens, October 9, 2025
65%
The US Department of Justice put the iPhone's share of the US smartphone market above 65% in its antitrust complaint
United States v. Apple Inc., filed March 21, 2024
1 billion
More than 1 billion RCS messages are sent every day in the US across Android and iOS
Google, May 13, 2025
1 billion
Google Messages passed 1 billion monthly active RCS users
Google, 2023
2.2 trillion
Americans exchanged nearly 2.2 trillion SMS and MMS messages in 2024, roughly 6 billion a day, across 579 million US wireless connections
CTIA Annual Survey, September 2025
Which outbound channel performs best in 2026?
Cold email replied at 0.45% in 2025 (Belkins), cold calls hit 2.7% (Cognism), and SMS outperforms both. Denominators differ across studies, so measure against booked appointments, not replies.
0.45%
Cold email replied at 0.45% across 7,530,489 emails sent in 2025, counting replies against total emails sent
Belkins, 2026
0.57%
Cold email reply rates by seniority: founders and owners 0.57%, C-level 0.42%, VPs 0.32%
Belkins, 2026
0.72%
Cold email reply rates by company size: 0.72% at companies with 0 to 10 employees, 0.22% at companies with 10,000+
Belkins, 2026
3.43%
Woodpecker reports a 3.43% platform-wide cold email reply rate across more than 20 million sales emails sent through its platform
Woodpecker, June 2026
4
Sequences with 4 to 7 follow-up steps reply at 8.3%, versus 4.1% for campaigns with no follow-up
Woodpecker, June 2026
2.7%
The average cold call success rate rose to 2.7% in 2026 from 2.3% in 2025, across 200,000+ analyzed calls
Cognism, State of Cold Calling 2026
1.55
It now takes an average of 1.55 calls to reach a prospect, down from 2.9, and the average connected call runs 82 seconds
Cognism, 2026
13%
LinkedIn requires Recruiter users to hold an InMail response rate of at least 13% across 100 or more InMails per 14-day assessment period
LinkedIn Help Center, accessed July 2026
87.2%
Global average inbox placement for commercial email was 87.2% in 2025, a 3.7% year-over-year uplift, meaning roughly 1 in 8 sends never reached an inbox
Validity, 2026 Email Deliverability Benchmark Report
89.8%
Inbox placement by mailbox provider: Gmail 89.8%, Yahoo 87.3%, Apple 82.0%, Microsoft 77.4%
Validity, 2026
12.39%
Marketing SMS click rates: 12.39% for one-time campaigns and 20.34% for automated flows, across 246 million campaign sends and 20 million automation sends from 27,000+ brands in 2025
Omnisend, June 11, 2026, vendor-reported ecommerce data
$0.15
Revenue per SMS was $0.15 for campaigns and $0.75 for automations, with 96.6% deliverability
Omnisend, June 11, 2026, vendor-reported
Cold email, all campaigns
- Published benchmark
- 0.45% reply rate
- Source and date
- Belkins, 2026
- Sample
- 7,530,489 emails sent in 2025
Cold email, platform average
- Published benchmark
- 3.43% reply rate
- Source and date
- Woodpecker, June 2026
- Sample
- 20M+ emails through platform
Cold email with 4-7 follow-ups
- Published benchmark
- 8.3% reply rate
- Source and date
- Woodpecker, June 2026
- Sample
- Platform sequences
Cold call
- Published benchmark
- 2.7% success rate
- Source and date
- Cognism, 2026
- Sample
- 200,000+ calls
LinkedIn InMail
- Published benchmark
- 13% minimum response rate required of Recruiter users
- Source and date
- LinkedIn Help Center, 2026
- Sample
- 100+ InMails per 14-day window
Marketing SMS, ecommerce
- Published benchmark
- 12.39% CTR campaigns, 20.34% automations
- Source and date
- Omnisend, June 2026
- Sample
- 266M+ sends, 27,000+ brands, 2025
Commercial email inbox placement
- Published benchmark
- 87.2% global average
- Source and date
- Validity, 2026
- Sample
- Trillions of data points, 2025
What does A2P 10DLC actually cost in 2026?
A2P registration costs $24.50 to $71.91 one-time, campaigns run $1.50 to $10 monthly, and carrier fees add roughly $0.003 per SMS. iMessage requires no A2P registration or carrier surcharges.
1,
The Campaign Registry and carrier fees changed on August 1, 2025, and again on January 19, 2026, when T-Mobile and US Cellular published new A2P pass-through rates
Telgorithm, 2026
10
T-Mobile set 10DLC and toll-free mobile-originated SMS pass-through at $0.0025 per message effective January 19, 2026
Telgorithm, 2026
2
Twilio lists standard A2P 10DLC registration at $44 one-time brand registration, $15 per campaign vetting, and $2 to $10 per campaign per month (Twilio A2P 10DLC pricing, 2026). HighLevel's bundled schedule runs $1.50 to $10 per campaign per month.
Rejected campaign resubmissions carry no additional fee under the HighLevel schedule, but approval delays still cost sending days
HighLevel, August 2025
Brand registration + campaign vetting, sole proprietor
- Amount
- $24.50 one-time
- Source and date
- HighLevel A2P fee schedule, effective Aug 1, 2025
Brand registration + campaign vetting, low-volume standard
- Amount
- $24.50 one-time
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Brand registration + campaign vetting, high-volume standard
- Amount
- $71.91 one-time
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Each additional campaign under the same brand
- Amount
- $15.00 one-time
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Monthly campaign fee, standard use case
- Amount
- $10.00 per month
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Monthly campaign fee, low-volume mixed
- Amount
- $1.50 per month
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Carrier pass-through, outbound SMS
- Amount
- $0.003 (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon), $0.005 (US Cellular)
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Carrier pass-through, outbound MMS
- Amount
- $0.0075 (AT&T), $0.005 (Verizon), $0.01 (US Cellular)
- Source and date
- HighLevel, Aug 1, 2025
Twilio standard registration bundle
- Amount
- $44 brand + $15 per campaign + $1.50-$10 per campaign monthly
- Source and date
- Twilio A2P 10DLC pricing, 2026
T-Mobile 2026 pass-through update
- Amount
- $0.0025 per mobile-originated 10DLC or toll-free SMS
- Source and date
- Telgorithm, effective Jan 19, 2026
Those are our assumptions. The Blue Funnel Map runs the same arithmetic on the funnel you actually have, and you keep the map either way.
Run these numbers on your funnelHow do people actually treat business texts?
89% of consumers have opted in to business texts, 87% check within 15 minutes (EZ Texting April 2026). Frequency drives opt-outs; message quality and sender identity matter more as fraud losses climb.
89%
89% of consumers have signed up to receive texts from a business, up from 66% five years earlier
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
87%
87% check a new text within 15 minutes and 32% check immediately
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
70%
70% expect a business to respond within one hour
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
46%
46% prefer text over phone (43%) when contacting a business
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
64%
64% are more likely to click or purchase when a promotional text includes an image
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
40%
40% name message frequency as the top trigger for opting out
EZ Texting, April 14, 2026
67%
67% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep-free buying experience, from 646 buyers surveyed August to September 2025
Gartner, March 9, 2026
45%
45% of those B2B buyers used AI during a recent purchase
Gartner, March 9, 2026
69%
69% of B2B buyers turn to sales reps to validate AI-generated insights
Gartner, May 20, 2026
$470
Consumers reported losing $470 million to scams that started with a text message in 2024, five times the 2020 figure
FTC Data Spotlight, April 2025
80%
80% of Americans say they ignore important calls out of fear of scams
Truecaller survey, April 21, 2026
What do the compliance numbers say about texting in 2026?
What do the compliance numbers say about texting in 2026?
Enforcement accelerating: April 2026 had 330 TCPA cases and 255 class actions, up 40% YoY (TCPAWorld June 2026). FCC rules require consent, reasonable revocation (10 business days), and honest identification.
10
Consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable means, and senders must honor revocation within a reasonable time not exceeding 10 business days
FCC 24-24, adopted February 15, 2024, effective April 11, 2025
5
A single confirmation text is permitted if it contains no promotional content and is sent within 5 minutes of the revocation request
FCC 24-24
25
The FCC granted a limited waiver, DA 25-312 (April 7, 2025), delaying the revoke-all provision to April 11, 2026, then extended it in the second extension order DA 26-12 (January 6, 2026) to January 31, 2027.
$500
TCPA statutory damages run $500 to $1,500 per message under 47 U.S.C. 227.
330
330 TCPA cases and 255 TCPA class actions were filed in April 2026, the single highest monthly class action count on record and a 40% year-over-year increase
TCPAWorld, June 4, 2026
856
856 TCPA class actions were filed through April 2026, against 691 in the same period of 2025, a 23% increase
TCPAWorld, June 4, 2026
Methodology: how these statistics were compiled
Methodology: how these statistics were compiled
Every stat has a named, dated source verified against the original publication. Vendor-reported figures and platform data are labeled as such. Denominators differ across studies, so treat comparisons directionally.
The industry's most-quoted messaging figures
The industry's most-quoted messaging figures
The figures below are vendor and analyst-reported rather than independent academic research, which is standard for messaging benchmarks. List them separately so readers can choose their rigor level.
98%
98% open rate on text messages, the most-cited figure in the messaging industry
widely reported across vendor and analyst sources
90%
90% of texts are read within three minutes of arrival
widely reported
3%
Under 3% of text messages are treated as spam, against roughly 85% of global email volume
widely reported; the email figure aligns with long-running industry spam-share reporting
27.7%
Cold email open rates have fallen to around 27.7%, meaning roughly three in four cold emails are never read
widely reported, 2026
$85,000,
iPhone owners have a median household income around $85,000, roughly 40% above Android owners, and iPhone ownership is one of the single strongest brand-level predictors of top-bracket income in US consumer research.
Blue Reacher's own benchmarks, marked as vendor-reported
Blue Reacher's own benchmarks, marked as vendor-reported
Blue Reacher drives 2-3x reply rate and conversion vs prior email/SMS (internal medians, vendor-reported, not audited). We report reply and conversion rate, not appointments alone, since many B2B teams don't run booking funnels.
2
2-3x the reply rate of the same account's prior cold email
Blue Reacher internal median, vendor-reported, 2026
2
2-3x more closed deals from existing traffic, with booked appointments as the intermediate stage for accounts that run a booking funnel
Blue Reacher internal median, vendor-reported, 2026
$249
Pricing is public: $249 per line per month, or $1,949 per line per year, about $162.50 per month
Blue Reacher, 2026
50
Unlimited iMessages per line, paced at up to 50 opted-in / 30 cold new conversations per line per day, with RCS then SMS fallback for non-iMessage recipients
Blue Reacher, 2026
$449
$449 activation fee waived on annual billing, and the leads add-on at $0.03 per contact against a 700M+ record B2B database is billed monthly with the line
Blue Reacher, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Does my prospect need an iPhone to receive a blue-bubble message?
For true iMessage, yes. iOS is 58.35% of US mobile traffic (StatCounter, June 2026). Blue Reacher falls back to RCS then SMS for non-iMessage devices, so every message lands. RCS handles ~1 billion daily US messages (Google, May 2025), providing read receipts and media like iMessage, not plain text.
Where do these statistics come from, and how often is this page updated?
Every stat names its publisher and date in the line itself. Sources include StatCounter, Apple, Piper Sandler, CTIA, Belkins, Woodpecker, Cognism, Validity, Omnisend, EZ Texting, Gartner, the FTC and FCC. Vendor-reported data is labeled as such. The page refreshes quarterly; next update is October 2026.
Is iMessage outbound better than cold email for B2B sales teams?
No independent comparison of the two channels exists at scale. Cold email: 0.45% reply rate (Belkins 2026), 1 in 8 emails missed inboxes (Validity 2026). Texts: 87% checked in 15 minutes (EZ Texting 2026). Blue Reacher accounts close 2-3x more deals than prior email/SMS (vendor-reported, not audited).
What is the average cold email reply rate in 2026?
Belkins measured 0.45% across 7.5M cold emails sent in 2025 (Belkins 2026). Woodpecker reports 3.43% platform-wide average, rising to 8.3% for sequences with 4-7 follow-ups (Woodpecker June 2026). Denominators differ across studies, so quote the method with the number.
What share of the US is on iPhone in 2026?
iOS was 58.35% of US mobile traffic in June 2026 vs 41.62% for Android (StatCounter). 87% of US teens own iPhones (Piper Sandler October 2025), and the DOJ put iPhone's US smartphone share above 65% (antitrust filing March 2024).
What is the average cold call success rate in 2026?
2.7%, up from 2.3% in 2025, across more than 200,000 analyzed calls (Cognism, State of Cold Calling 2026). Reaching a prospect now takes an average of 1.55 calls, down from 2.9, and the average connected call runs 82 seconds.
How fast do people read text messages?
87% of consumers check texts within 15 minutes and 32% immediately (EZ Texting April 2026). 70% expect a 1-hour business response. The industry's three-minute read-time figure is vendor-reported, not academically sourced.
What do SMS marketing messages cost in carrier fees?
Carrier fees run $0.003-$0.005 per outbound SMS depending on carrier (HighLevel/Telgorithm 2026), plus T-Mobile's $0.0025 inbound fee effective Jan 19 2026. At 50k segments monthly, carrier fees alone total $150-$250.
How many TCPA lawsuits are being filed in 2026?
April 2026: 330 TCPA cases, 255 class actions, up 40% YoY (TCPAWorld June 2026). 856 class actions filed through April 2026 vs 691 in 2025. Statutory damages run $500-$1,500 per message under 47 U.S.C. 227, making list hygiene essential.
Do consumers actually want texts from businesses?
89% have opted in to business texts, up from 66% five years ago; 46% prefer text over phone (EZ Texting April 2026). But 40% cite frequency as top opt-out reason, and $470M in text scam losses in 2024 (5x 2020 level, FTC) means sender identity and pacing matter more each year.
Turn the numbers on this page into closed deals
You already paid for the lead. The channel is why they never replied. Blue Reacher is a B2B iMessage platform that sends blue-bubble texts from your CRM across the entire funnel, driving 2-3x the reply rate of cold email and higher conversion at every step, with no A2P registration required. Pricing is public: $249 per line per month, or $1,949 per line per year, about $162.50 a month, with unlimited iMessages per line paced at up to 50 opted-in / 30 cold new conversations a day and white-glove setup included. At launch the $449 activation fee is waived on annual billing and the leads add-on, $0.03 per contact against a 700M+ record B2B database, is free. Book your Blue Funnel Map, and ask us to open it by text if you want to watch the channel prove its own statistics.