Contents
Best SMS Marketing Software: TL;DRFull SMS Marketing Software Comparison ChartWhy Use SMS Marketing Software?What to Look for in SMS Marketing SoftwareRegarding SMS Marketing Software Pricing…13 SMS Marketing Software SolutionsNarrowing It Down to 5 OptionsWhy Mobile Text Alerts WinsSMS Marketing Software FAQWhat Is SMS Marketing Software?Marketing with SMS gives you an assurance of one thing: your messages will be read.
SMS still delivers the highest open rates in digital marketing—55%, and 100% “view rate,” meaning people are almost guaranteed to at least see your message. But getting those results also depends on the SMS software behind your campaigns.
In this guide, we compare 13 of the best SMS marketing software in 2025, highlighting their pros, cons, and pricing so you can pick a tool that fits your business goals and send texts that actually convert.
That way, you don’t have to do all the preliminary work of sorting through the dozens of platforms out there for yourself—and you can choose 2–5 to test out to see which would be the best fit for you.
Platform | Best for |
---|---|
Mobile Text Alerts | Best overall for simplicity, automation & transparent pricing |
SlickText | Best for ease of use (tie) |
Omnisend | Best for ecommerce stores |
Attentive | Best for enterprise personalization & AI |
SimpleTexting | Best for small business texting |
Textmagic | Best for ease of use (tie) |
Klaviyo | Best multichannel platform (email + SMS) |
EZ Texting | Best for creative campaigns with images |
Twilio | Best for developer-built SMS solutions |
Heymarket | Best for share-inbox texting |
Podium | Best for review generation & multichannel messaging |
Salesmsg | Best for ActiveCampaign users |
Textedly | Best for text-to-pay |
Provider | Pricing model | Standout features | Notable integrations | Notes / caveats | Suggested designation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mobile Text Alerts | Tiered plans; carrier fees included (no pass-through) | Automation workflows, scheduled/bulk sends, opt-in tools | Popular CRMs/marketing apps | Check plan inclusions for advanced add-ons | Best overall for simplicity, automation & transparent pricing |
SlickText | Tiered plans | Visual Automated Workflows, keywords, web forms, drip campaigns | Ecommerce & marketing stacks, Zapier | Fewer deep ecommerce integrations than suite platforms | Best for ease of use (tied with Textmagic) |
Omnisend | Free / Standard / Pro; Pro includes SMS credits equal to plan price | Good for ecommerce: email + SMS automations, etc. | Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, etc. | Best value realized when paired with ecommerce stack | Best for ecommerce stores |
Attentive | Usage-based, custom quotes | Enterprise personalization, Attentive AI, SMS/email/RCS | 150+ enterprise integrations | Pricing details not itemized publicly | Best for enterprise personalization & AI |
SimpleTexting | Credit-based tiers; rollover available | SMB-focused texting, templates | MailChimp, Zapier, API | Geared toward SMB | Best for small business texting |
Textmagic | Pay-as-you-go; per-message rates with monthly options | Noted ease of use | API, CPaaS connectors, Zapier | A few reports of poor customer support | Best for ease of use (tied with SlickText) |
Klaviyo | Email + SMS pricing with public calculator | Multichannel: email, SMS, push | 350+ integrations | Plan thresholds change; reconfirm before quoting | Best multichannel platform (email + SMS) |
EZ Texting | Credit-based | Shutterstock image library & editor for MMS | Zapier, Constant Contact, API | Likely less developer-centric than CPaaS options | Best for creative campaigns with images |
Twilio | Pay-as-you-go per message | Programmable Messaging (SMS/MMS/WhatsApp), granular APIs | Developer ecosystem & SDKs | A2P 10DLC registration & carrier fees typically passed through | Best for developer-built SMS solutions |
Heymarket | Per-user pricing + volume message bundles/overages | Shared team inbox, personalization, & automations | Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Zapier | Often a 2-user minimum; confirm bundle sizing | Best for shared-inbox texting |
Podium | Quote-based | Reviews acquisition/management, calls | Broad integrations | AI focus | Best for review generation & multichannel messaging |
Salesmsg | Credit-based plans | HubSpot & ActiveCampaign integration, ringless voicemail, IVR | HubSpot, ActiveCampaign + more | Some telephony features billed per-use | Best for ActiveCampaign users |
Textedly | Tiered plans | Text-to-Pay via SMS, AI text messaging | Zapier | Limited integrations | Best for text-to-pay |
It’s commonly accepted and understood that SMS is one of the best ways to reach people.
An SMS marketing software gives the most user-friendly and scalable experience for engaging in SMS marketing.
Here are some ways that SMS marketing software makes SMS more feasible…
What all of this means is that a robust SMS marketing plan is not only possible but scalable as you grow in your business and your SMS efforts.
There are a lot of different SMS marketing software services out there.
But there are a few non-negotiables that you’ll want to make sure the SMS marketing service includes before you consider using it…
If an SMS marketing software doesn’t have all of those elements, you’ll want to look elsewhere for a solution.
One major question on top of everyone’s mind when researching a solution is pricing.
Here are a few points to keep in mind in regards to pricing…
Most SMS platforms operate on a subscription basis.
You’ll pay a regular monthly or annual fee which will allow you to send a certain number of messages per month. (You can upgrade to a higher plan or purchase more credits if you run out.)
With this model, your unused messages may or may not roll over into subsequent months (depending on the policy of the SMS platform you choose).
Another somewhat common model is the “pay-as-you-go” model. With this option, you may pay a monthly phone number or maintenance fee, but other than that, you will pay for messaging credits as needed.
Another model (that’s rare, but exists) is a subscription-based model that’s focused on number of users. With this approach, you’ll pay a certain amount per user, and you may also pay an additional amount for messaging credits.
Be aware that with most SMS marketing platforms, the prices that they list for their plans don’t include everything you’ll need to pay.
You may also need to pay a regular phone number fee to maintain your phone number, and you may need to pay pass-through carrier fees in addition to the listed subscription fees (or message fees).
Keep that in mind when you’re researching pricing—you may need to do some digging or contact the company to determine the actual amount you’ll be paying.
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of what SMS marketing software is and does, let’s go over some specific solutions.
You can use this list to help with your own research in order to determine which software will work best for your own situation.
Summary: Straightforward SMS/MMS platform with automation and transparent, carrier-fee-included pricing—great for teams that want power without complexity.
Summary: Visual workflow builder and campaign tools with a strong focus on ease of use.
Summary: Ecommerce-first email + SMS suite with automation tied to store events; Pro plan includes bonus SMS credits.
Summary: Enterprise growth marketing platform with AI-driven personalization across SMS, email, and more.
Summary: SMB-friendly texting with responsive customer support and MailChimp integration.
Summary: Self-service SMS with transparent per-message rates and a strong “ease of use” profile.
Summary: Omnichannel growth platform combining email, SMS, and push with a large integration ecosystem.
Summary: Business texting with a creative edge—image library and in-app editor help MMS campaigns stand out.
Summary: Developer-grade CPaaS for building custom messaging with granular APIs and infrastructure control.
Summary: Team inbox for personalized, 1-to-1 business texting with per-user pricing and volume bundles.
Summary: Service that offers options for reviews, messaging, payments, and an "AI employee" in a central platform.
Summary: Business texting with standout CRM ties—especially for HubSpot and ActiveCampaign.
Summary: SMS platform with built-in Text-to-Pay and practical compliance resources.
In all reality, most of the SMS marketing software mentioned above are very similar in terms of what they offer.
Several of them have similar features and when it comes down to it, there’s not much difference between them.
So we can simplify things by taking some representative examples and narrowing it down to 5 categories of SMS platforms that hold more substantial differences.
Here are those examples…
Mobile Text Alerts represents the “standard” SMS platform.
This platform and others like it are perfect for those who want a simple yet robust SMS platform & API at a reasonable price.
It’s flexible, not financially prohibitive, and out-of-the-box ready while also being customizable.
(Bonus for Mobile Text Alerts specifically: its listed prices are inclusive of carrier fees, so you don’t have surprise charges.)
Twilio represents and SMS service that’s focused on being developer-centric rather than on having a user-friendly platform that’s ready for you to use.
The primary benefit of this type of service includes the ability to program and customize it to your specific needs.
These types of services may also be more used to enterprise-level customers and traffic, which could be a consideration if you have a large database of contacts and/or will be sending large numbers of messages.
However, you won’t have the benefit of an out-of-the-box platform or mobile app readily available. (And you may not get to have as individualized of customer service.)
Some platforms, such as Attentive, offer both SMS and email marketing services.
These types of platforms can be useful if you don’t already have an email service provider that you’re happy with.
You may find, however, that services tend to be strong in one area or the other (SMS or email) but not particularly in both.
Also, costs may be more prohibitive since it’s a more robust tool than only SMS—so you may en up paying for something you don’t need.
Other platforms, such as Podium, go beyond SMS and even email to be an even more robust multichannel marketing tool.
As with the “email & SMS” example above, these types of platforms could be useful if you don’t have solutions for different marketing channels and you want something more all-in-one.
And also as with the “email & SMS” example, you may find tools like these to be too robust so as to be overkill. Thus, you may be paying for a lot of features you don’t need.
Heymarket is an example of an SMS service that seems to cater more toward a customer service use case (although mass SMS is still an option).
This type of service can obviously be great if you’re looking to primarily use SMS for 1-on-1 conversations.
However, most SMS marketing will be done on more of a mass scale. So when considering an SMS platform, be mindful of the emphasis of the software you’re considering.
Mobile Text Alerts gives you a robust SMS platform + API that focuses on what it’s good at (SMS) and delivers hands-on customer support to boot.
You’ll get a user-friendly platform that lets you schedule messages at will, plus a workflow builder so you can create your own custom automated campaigns.
There’s a one-on-one SMS inbox for individual conversations, segmentation for personalized messaging, deliverability reporting, and analytics to help you determine the effectiveness of your campaigns.
On top of all that, you get 1-on-1 coaching calls to help you get started so you’re not left on your own (unless you want to be, of course!)
All in all, it’s an SMS marketing software that just works, so you can focus your time on growing your business instead of micromanaging campaigns.
You can try it out for yourself... get a free trial now.
Here are some more answers to frequently asked questions regarding SMS marketing software…
SMS marketing software is software, typically offered online, that allows you to send and receive SMS messages on a mass basis.
With SMS marketing software, the messages you send on a mass basis are delivered to each recipient individually. In other words, each recipient will receive the message on their phones as if they were the only recipient.
This differs, then, from group messaging apps that are created more for personal messaging, such as WhatsApp or GroupMe.
SMS marketing costs can vary widely depending on the type of software you use and the volume of messages you’ll be sending.
To give a point of reference, Mobile Text Alerts would be on the lower end, and the cost is a minimum of $20 per month for up to 500 messages per month.
One thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t expect the costs to be comparable on a per-message basis to email, because the processing fees that SMS marketing providers need to pay are much higher than what it costs to send an email.
However, although SMS costs more than email on a per-message basis, the higher open rates and engagement make it worth it for many businesses.
Also, generally speaking, you will get more discounted pricing for higher volumes of messages.
The process for SMS marketing is similar to email:
Yes!
According to the most recent data, 55% of people open their text messages and 100% of people view their text messages.
So even if your recipients don’t actually open your text, they are almost guaranteed to at least see it.
In other words, people pay a lot more attention to their texts than they do their emails, social posts, or other methods of communication.
SMS marketing software solutions typically provide you with a few different ways you can collect phone numbers for your marketing efforts:
SMS marketing has several beneficial use cases.
You can use it for purposes such as:
The list could go on.
Basically, any potentially beneficial scenario of communication with a prospect, lead, or customer could be an opportunity to use SMS.
Yes, SMS marketing is legal.
The legal requirements used to be more stringent, but in the past couple of years they’ve laxed up a bit.
There are a few best practices you’ll want to keep in mind, however, so that you can maintain a good standing with the mobile carriers and therefore get the best message delivery possible:
Sam Pelton is the content director for Mobile Text Alerts, an SMS marketing service that gives businesses an easier way to reach customers. He has 11 years of experience working with the texting platform in the areas of customer support, quality assurance testing, content creation, copywriting, and marketing strategy.
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