Billing

How pay-as-you-go billing works

No subscription — you top up a balance and pay only for what you use.

Updated May 22, 2026 3 min read
Key takeaway

Dial Milo uses a prepaid balance model: you add credit, and it's deducted as you use the service. There's no monthly subscription and no minimum commitment.

The model

You deposit money into your Dial Milo balance, and that balance is drawn down as you use the product. When the balance runs low, you top up again — manually or automatically. Nothing is charged without your knowledge, and you never get a surprise invoice at the end of the month.

This model works well for businesses whose call volume varies by season, or anyone who wants to control costs precisely.

What gets charged

Indicative rates: inbound calls are billed around $0.10 per minute. Outbound SMS messages are around $0.05 each. Phone number rental is a flat monthly fee (typically $2–5 per number depending on type). Exact rates are shown in your dashboard under Billing → Rates and may vary by country.

Your balance is drawn down for:

  • Call minutes — billed per minute (or part thereof), from the moment Milo answers to the moment the call ends.
  • Phone number rental — a monthly flat fee for each number you own, deducted on the anniversary of purchase.
  • SMS messages — billed per message sent, for features like post-call SMS confirmations.

There is no charge for test calls made from within your dashboard.

Topping up

Go to Billing → Add credit and choose an amount. Payment is processed via Stripe — credit and debit cards are accepted. The balance is available immediately after payment.

You can top up any amount above the minimum ($10). There's no maximum.

Bonus credits

Occasionally Dial Milo offers promotional bonus credits — for example, during your first top-up or as part of a referral. Bonus credits work exactly like paid credits but expire after 90 days if unused. Paid credits never expire.

Your dashboard shows the breakdown of paid vs. bonus credits at all times.

Auto-recharge

If you'd rather not think about topping up, you can enable auto-recharge. Set a threshold (the balance level that triggers a recharge) and a recharge amount. When your balance falls below the threshold, the recharge amount is charged to your saved card automatically.

To set this up, go to Billing → Auto-recharge.

What happens when you run out

If your balance reaches zero, Milo stops answering calls for your account until you add more credit. Callers to your number will hear a 'this number is unavailable' message from the network — not something from Milo.

Your phone number costs $3 a month. We email you 7 days before the next monthly rental if your balance won't cover it, so you have time to top up. If the charge still fails, the number is suspended for 3 days — top up in that window and it's automatically restored. After 3 days the number is permanently released and cannot be recovered.

With auto top-up enabled, none of this should happen — your balance refills the moment it drops below your threshold.

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