One of the ways to send pictures from one phone user to another is through sending a picture via a text message, but that is quite outdated in 2022 I must admit.
However, there are quite number of persons that would like to go old fashioned way in sending pictures via text messages instead of using any of the instant messaging apps and services.
Now talking about sending pictures via SMS text message, the question being asked is does it cost money to send pictures on text?
The answer is yes. It cost money sending pictures through sms text message because the message will be sent through the cellular network service and this attracts a fee.
When sending pictures through a text message you should know that will be a mms messaging and which is not free.
As long as mms messaging is concerned, it is not free unless your network service provider offers free mms messaging which is very rare to see. Mms messaging requires an active network service, a sim card and a data plan else you can’t send mms message on your cell phone.
Once you put a picture attachment on your sms text message, it will automatically turn to mms and you will be charged by your network service provider sending an MMS message.
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Understanding mms messaging
MMS messaging is a standard way of sending messages that include multimedia content like picture, video, gifs, etc from a mobile phone to another over a cellular network. For the fact that cellular network service is involved when sending mms messages, you will be charged by your network service provider.
Sending mms messages don’t work with Wi-Fi and you shouldn’t bother yourself trying to figure out how to send mms messages through Wi-Fi unless you will use google voice in sending mms through Wi-Fi.
But the only disadvantage is that Google voice doesn’t work in all countries and limited only to the United States, Canada, UK, and few other countries.
Does it cost money to send pictures on messages?
It does cost money to send pictures on messages as it will turn to mms messaging and which is not free, in order to avoid being charged by the network provider for sending mms then the you will have to use an instant messaging apps or services.
Instant messaging apps and services I’m talking about is the imessage, android rcs chat feature, whatsapp, Skype, Facebook messenger, telegram, viber, Google voice, etc.
Let me explain more on getting the best mms messaging on your cell phone using any of the instant messaging apps or probably using the Google voice.
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Alternative to mms messaging
Honestly I don’t see the reason to go old fashioned way in order to send mms messages on your cell phone when you have the imessage, rcs chat, whatsapp and Co all available to you.
If you can’t stand the mms messaging charges by your network service then you have lots of options available to you no matter what cellphone you are using. These options or alternatives include the followings;
1. Using Google voice to send mms messages
If you live in the United States, Canada, UK i recommend using Google voice to send mms messages especially for the fact that you can use it to send mms through Wi-Fi and the recipient will receive the mms message on it’s cellular phone number.
That is to say the recipient must not have a google voice account in order to receive mms messages sent by you through Google voice. As long as you the sender has an active Google voice account you can send any text messages, mms, calls from your cell phone to any phone number.
For the fact that Google voice uses the internet like Wi-Fi or data makes it a lot better especially for those thar prefer to send mms through Wi-Fi instead of using cellular data.
Having answered the question of does it cost money to send pictures on text, one of the best solution to avoid this cost is by using the Google voice and below is how to get started with Google voice.
To get started i recommend you to first download and install the google voice app on your android phone or on your Iphone or iPad.
After you have downloaded and installed the app in your mobile phone, open the app to get started with your account creation.
1. Open the google voice app on your iPhone or android phone.
2. Kindly select your Google account which you will use to attach a Voice number to and tap “Continue.”
For iPhone users you have to create a Google account in order to use the voice app. Android users you have to select any of your google account if you have multiple accounts with Google for this Google voice app.
3. On the next window, tap “Search” in the lower-right corner to select a Google Voice number. This is followed by entering your zip code or city to load a list of regionally relevant numbers for you to choose from.
You will see list of phone numbers based on the zip code you entered.
4. You have to select your preferred phone number by tapping on the blue button next to the phone number you prefer to use for your google voice account.
5. Google will display the phone number once more on your screen and you have to accept the phone number you selected or you can press the back button to select another phone number.
6. On the next screen is to link the phone number and your google voice account to your android phone or iPhone.
7. What follows next will be to enter your mobile number and mind you Google voice will send a verification code to the phone number.
So you better enter a valid phone number or phone number that is active and Google will send a six digit code to the phone number.
8. On the next screen, enter the code texted to your phone before selecting “Verify.”
That’s it.
Now open open Google voice app on your cell phone
and open the tab for Messages 
, and then tap Compose .
From your list of contacts, tap the person you want to send a text message. At the bottom, enter your message, and then tap Send . Enter a contact’s name or phone number.
To send mms messages using the Google voice app, you have to tap Select image and select the picture which you want to send and finally hit on the send button. Once you have done that the recipient will receive the mme message on it’s cell phone even without having a Google voice account.
2. Using imessage or rcs chat
One of the best options for mms messaging is by using imessage for ios and rcs chat for android. Imessage offers all that you desired when it comes to sending multimedia messages and best part is that it doesn’t reduce the picture quality as imessage doesn’t compress files.
Same goes to android rcs chat and you can send a file upto 100mb in size which is not possible using the phone default mms messaging.
Talking about sending mms messages through Wi-Fi, iMessage and rcs chat feature is the best option as long as you both you and the recipient are ios user or android user.
3. Using Whatsapp, Skype, Facebook messenger, telegram, etc in sending multimedia messages
Lastly I recommend using whatsapp, Skype, Facebook messenger, telegram, viber, Google duo, or any other instant messaging apps you know that both you and the recipient are using in sending pictures, videos, gifs, emojis, etc.
Once you have decided to use any of the instant messaging apps you should bear in mind that the recipient must be using the instant messaging app else nothing will work. As whatsapp is very popular I recommend it to you in sending multimedia messages.
Once you have these instant messaging apps and services available to you, there’s no need asking does it cost money to send pictures on text because they are way better compared to the phone default mms messaging.
How much does it cost to send pictures by text?
The cost of sending pictures by text depends on the service network provider as some do charge $0.25 while some charge $0.75. In order to get the correct mms charges for your network service, you have to contact your network carrier and make an inquiry about their mms charges.
How to send a picture in a text
To send a picture in a text on your cell phone, open the message app and select the contact you are sending the message to and scroll down to the message box.
Now beside the message box you will see a picture icon and you have to tap on it to select the picture. You will notice that immediately it will turn to mms just like on the picture below.
Now hit on the send button and the message will be sent to the recipient. Remember to send mms messages using the default message app you must have an active data plan, a sim card and a cellular network service on your cell phone.
Kindly note that if you are sending mms messages on iPhone you must enable it on your iPhone before going ahead with the message.
Why do i get charged for sending picture messages
The reason why you get charged sending pictures messages is because they are being sent as mms messaging and which is not free simply because it through the cellular network service mms messages are sent.
In order to avoid being charged then you have to use any of your preferred instant messaging apps and services like imessage, whatsapp, Skype, Facebook messenger, telegram, Google voice, etc.
How can i send free picture messages?
To send free picture messages on your cell phone i recommend using google voice or any of imessage, rcs chat, whatsapp, Skype, Facebook messenger, and other instant apps.
You can also use TextNow but I always prefer to use google voice, imessage and rcs chat depending on whom I’m sending the message to.
Does it cost to send picture messages on imessage?
It doesn’t cost money or dime sending picture messages on imessage as it is instant messaging service which uses internet and not cellular network service. Once you and the recipient are ios users, it is very commendable to use iMessage to send multimedia messages unless you want to go old fashioned.
Related Questions
Is it safe to send pictures through text?
It is quite safe to send pictures through text as long as your network service provider is very trusted, well secured and encrypted. You shouldn’t be worried at all sending pictures through text unless you don’t trust your network service provider at all then you should be worried.
Does it cost to send picture messages on iphone?
Once you are sending mms messages on iPhone it will cost you because mms messaging isn’t free but if you use imessage to send picture on iphone then it is free and won’t cost you a dime.
As long as you are using an iPhone, please it is way better to use iMessage in sending multimedia messages unless the recipient isn’t using imessage on it’s cell phone.
Then you can choose to use google voice, whatsapp or any other instant messaging apps to send multimedia messages to the recipient. This will automatically avoid any cost of sending mms messages by your network service provider.
This is where I drawn the conclusion on the topic of the day, does it cost money to send pictures on text. Once again it does cost money as long as you are using the default message app in sending the message as it will appear as mms messaging.
