The only constant is change, they say, and when it comes to messaging, there have been a lot of changes over the years! As channels such as 10DLC (and now, RCS) open new ways to promote brands and engage users, organizations have more options than ever to build awareness, connect with a community, and drive sales.
But sometimes, old technologies offer experiences that new technologies can’t match. Even as e-books and audiobooks grow in popularity, many people still read paper books—and the printing press has been around since the 1400s!
Which brings us to short codes, the OG of messaging channels.
SMS short codes have been around since the early days of texting, but they gained wide adoption around 2003, when reality TV shows such as “American Idol” started asking viewers to use them for interactive voting.
Even with all the messaging options available to organizations these days, short codes remain a solid, viable option for a variety of uses.
- Alerts and updates: Be sure that important notifications and time-sensitive updates get through to your users. Short codes have high throughput and delivery rates, which make them ideal for messages that absolutely, positively must get through.
- Authentication: Users are accustomed to receiving security texts via short codes, making them a trusted avenue for two-factor authentication, password resets, and one-time codes that help keep private information secure.
- Customer service: When customers need immediate help, short codes give them a quick, convenient way to connect for support, inquiries, and issue resolution.
- Marketing and promotions: Short codes remain a solid option for brands to conduct surveys, provide exclusive offers, and build loyalty among their opted-in users.
3 benefits of using SMS short codes in 2025
When you choose short codes for your SMS strategy, you’ll benefit from:
- Throughput
In A2P messaging, “throughput” refers to the number of messages a carrier can deliver within a defined timeframe. SMS short codes have the best throughput of any messaging channel, averaging throughput rates of 500 messages per second. These rates make them ideal for sending messages to very large groups; it’s just as easy to send to 10,000 users as it is to send to 100.
- Reliability
According to Bandwidth’s 2025 State of Messaging Report, 60% of businesses surveyed said that deliverability was the most important factor in choosing a messaging provider—more than capacity, feature range, and price combined!
When delivery matters, short codes get the job done. SMS short codes have a high degree of reliability; many organizations use short codes for alerts, notifications, and updates because of their high deliverability rates.
- Ease of number-sharing/memorization
Short codes consist of just four to six numbers, making them simple to communicate and easy to remember. Organizations can even request vanity short codes if they are willing to pay higher rates and wait a bit longer to complete registration. While vanity short codes don’t necessarily drive better results, they could be easier for users to remember.
A channel built on trust
There’s one additional benefit to using SMS short codes: trust.
Organizations must follow a very specific registration and verification process to acquire a short code. The combination of this process and the overall reliability of SMS short codes means that customers and end users have a high degree of trust in messages received via SMS short codes.
Carriers like short codes, too—they know that senders are more likely to be fully vetted and less likely to spam their customers. And establishing a track record of trust with customers and carriers is a big plus for organizations looking forward to RCS and future messaging channels!
Short codes in action
See how Attentive harnesses the power of Bandwidth SMS to win at scale.
Are there any downsides to SMS short codes?
There are a couple of disadvantages to short codes. First, they aren’t called the Cadillac of messaging channels for no reason—they typically carry the highest registration and monthly hosting fees of all the messaging channels. In addition, they tend to have the longest registration wait times—sometimes up to twelve weeks.
Second, as carriers pursue a cleaner texting ecosystem and make room for new messaging channels, they no longer allow shared short codes. While this step is a positive one for the industry overall, preserving brand trust, it does mean that sharing the cost of a short code with another brand is no longer an option, and organizations need to move to their own short codes if they currently share one.
SMS short codes may have a long and storied messaging past, but they also represent a future for business messaging. As a longstanding leader in the messaging universe, short codes offer a picture of the new world of all-registered traffic—and a cleaner messaging ecosystem that benefits everyone.
Want to make short code registration easy? Bandwidth can help! Our new Registration Center makes getting started easier than ever.
