How many messages can you push through the TNZ platform? This guide gives concrete per-hour throughput figures for SMS, Email, Voice and Fax.
Summary
- No plan-tier caps. Throughput is the same on every TNZ plan and every connection method (REST API, SMPP, Email-to-SMS, Dashboard).
- Hourly capacity: 450,000 emails, 100,000 SMS, 30,000 voice calls, or 20,000 fax pages.
- Overflow is queued: Extra messages queue safely. They're delivered as capacity allows.
- Spreading Activity: You may make multiple requests across accounts to increase throughput. Chat with the team.
Throughput by Channel
Two figures matter for capacity planning: how long each message takes to process, and how many you can move through per hour at full tilt.
| Channel |
Per-message processing time |
Hourly throughput capability |
| 📧 Email |
12 seconds |
450,000 / hour |
| 💬 SMS |
4 seconds |
100,000 / hour |
| 📞 Voice |
15 seconds |
30,000 / hour |
| 📠Fax |
25 seconds |
20,000 / hour |
"Processing time" is the overhead the TNZ platform adds per message: encoding, carrier negotiation, audio rendering for voice, image conversion for fax. It's not the same as the carrier's downstream delivery time to the handset or inbox, which depends on the network.
What Happens When You Exceed Throughput
Your messages sit in the queue and are delivered as capacity frees up. There's no rate-limit error and no message loss. The tail of the queue arrives a little later than the head, but it does arrive.
That means you can safely submit a 500,000-email broadcast as a single API call and let the platform pace it. You don't need to throttle the submission yourself.
Planning Large Broadcasts
Quick capacity maths for a few common scenarios:
| Scenario |
Estimated time |
| 50,000 SMS appointment reminders |
~30 minutes |
| 500,000 emails (monthly newsletter) |
~67 minutes |
| 10,000 voice broadcast (civil defence alert) |
~20 minutes |
| 5,000 fax pages |
~15 minutes |
If your broadcast needs to land inside a tighter window than the figures above allow, talk to the TNZ team. For high-volume customers we can pre-scale capacity ahead of a known event.
FAQ
Does throughput vary by plan?
No. The figures above apply to every TNZ plan, from Starter through to enterprise. Plans differ on monthly fees, included credits, and contracted pricing. Throughput is the same across all of them.
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Can I get higher throughput for a one-off campaign?
For most customers the figures above are well above what's needed. If you have a specific event that requires faster delivery (e.g. a time-critical civil defence alert), contact the team. We can arrange dedicated capacity ahead of the event.
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What about downstream delivery time?
The figures here cover the work TNZ does on the message. Once handed to the carrier, SMS typically delivers in seconds, email in seconds to minutes depending on the receiving server, voice connects in real-time, and fax depends on the receiving fax machine. See the relevant SMS, Email, Voice and Fax result-code guides for downstream behaviour.
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Where do credit limits fit in?
Throughput and credit limits are separate. Throughput caps how fast you can send; the credit limit caps how much you can spend before the account is paused. See How TNZ Pricing Works.
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For developer-facing detail on submitting messages and handling webhook callbacks, see the TNZ API Structure and Configuring API Webhooks guides.