Definition · Business Texting
MMS (multimedia messaging service)
Also known as: MMS, multimedia messaging service, picture message
MMS (multimedia messaging service) is the text-message standard for sending media — images, GIFs, short audio or video, or long text — to a mobile phone. It carries larger payloads than SMS and is billed at a higher per-message rate, typically counting as several SMS segments' worth of cost.
MMS extends texting beyond plain characters: a business can send a photo of a product, a branded image, a longer block of text that would otherwise split into many SMS segments, or a vCard. To the recipient it arrives as a richer message; to the sender it costs more.
The pricing impact is the point buyers miss. An MMS is not billed like an SMS — most platforms charge a single higher rate per MMS (often equivalent to two to four SMS segments). A campaign that swaps a plain text reminder for an image-rich MMS can multiply the per-message cost even though the recipient count is unchanged. Some plans bundle a separate MMS allowance; others meter MMS entirely separately from SMS credits.
When comparing texting vendors, the MMS questions are the per-MMS rate versus the per-SMS-segment rate, whether MMS draws from the same credit pool, and whether the carrier registration (10DLC) needed for A2P MMS adds further per-message fees.