SMS marketing offers high open and click-through rates, so it’s a cost-effective way to promote your services as an entrepreneur who needs to keep up with your clients.
But here’s the catch: Creating a text marketing strategy is one thing, and executing it well is another.
This is where SMS marketing tools come in for entrepreneurs and coaches. The right one can boost your conversion rates and revenue, but the wrong one leaves you shouting into the void.
In this guide, we’ll break down SMS marketing platforms and compare the top 8 options so you can choose the best one for your business.
The best SMS apps for entrepreneurs support all of the following:
With these features, you can easily promote your services to prospects and upsell existing customers, without being intrusive. Even more? You’ll be able to update your audience and request their feedback when needed.
To run successful SMS marketing campaigns, you need to choose the right tool. Below is a breakdown of the SMS platforms by cost:
Pricing Category | Tools |
---|---|
Pay-as-you-go | Twilio |
$20 or Less Per Month (Starting Cost) | Mobile Text Alerts, EZ Texting |
Over $20 Per Month (Starting Cost) | SlickText, SimpleTexting, Textedly, Klaviyo, Attentive |
Mobile Text Alerts is an intuitive SMS marketing platform that works well for entrepreneurs who want to send blast messages to their audience and manage two-way chats. With its intuitive design, robust features, and easy customization, Mobile Text Alerts lets you group your contacts easily and send or schedule texts on the go—no stress or fuss.
It is also ideal for other types of creators and organizations of all sizes, as it can scale up or down to match specific usage requirements. (Yes, we’re a little biased, but our app is truly so good—if we do say so ourselves 😉).
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Done-for-you onboarding and coaching | Not suitable for multichannel marketing without integrations |
User-friendly and easy to set up | Slight learning curve (which the support team helps address) |
Allows for unlimited users and easy collaboration | App design is a bit limited (but its great functionality makes up for that) |
Ongoing and easily accessible support (no bots) | Can get hard for occasional users to keep up with new features |
Mobile Text Alerts plans start at $20/month for basic texting features. We also offer a 14-day free trial on most plans.
“I like how easy it is to add subscribers, it is very intuitive. Also, the reporting tools are great. Customer support is nearly immediate with the chat bar on the right. I use it frequently.” - Verified G2 user
“A little outdated design compared…But better functionally than the other platforms” - Verified G2 user
Start your free 14-day trial of Mobile Text Alerts today.
SlickText is an SMS solution built to help brands create valuable customer connections via tailored, conversion-driven texts.
While it positions itself as being ideal for brands across industries, its messaging places little to no emphasis on solopreneurs. So unlike Mobile Text Alerts, which caters to both individual and corporate users, SlickText appears more focused on businesses.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Efficient and easy to use | Cost adds up quickly |
Helpful customer support | Confusing campaign setup process |
Unused message credits can be rolled over to the next month | No customer support after hours and on weekends |
Paid SlickText plans start at $29/month, and users can access a 14-day free trial before opting to upgrade.
“Tech support is able to solve all questions.” - Verified G2 user
“[Some negatives are:] Not having someone on the weekends to assist customers, no one to answer the phones when you call, making everyone use chat, the downtime/turnaround time for them to fix the features in the app…” - Verified G2 user
SimpleTexting is an SMS and texting service designed specifically for small businesses. It offers both one-on-one and two-way messaging to help users reach large groups more effectively.
However, if you’re an entrepreneur whose business is expanding or already quite big, you may want to consider alternatives that focus on (or at least also target) enterprise brands - that way, whether you’re a team of one or thousands, you can rest easy knowing your SMS marketing platform is built to scale.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Speedy live chat responses | Advanced reporting requires manual work or developer input |
Simple onboarding | Unreliable alerts |
Chat history visibility | Pricey multimedia messaging service (MMS) |
SimpleTexting costs an estimated $39/month, plus a $4 one-time carrier registration fee. The amount is an estimate because it increases or reduces based on your number type (local, toll-free, or dedicated short code) and the number of texts you send monthly.
“It's very functional to schedule new campaigns (and) duplicate/edit from past campaigns.” - Verified G2 review
“When we let go of a person…changing login credentials does not log the person out of the account. So you would have to deactivate the account to fully prevent them from having access to it.” - Verified G2 review
Launched in 2004, EZ Texting is one of the OG SMS solutions on the market. It also supports email marketing by integrating smoothly with tools like Constant Contact and Mailchimp.
Note: EZ Texting claims its Rich Communication Services (RCS) feature is “coming soon,” but until it’s live, we can’t properly assess it.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Allows contact imports from existing CRM | Users can get locked out of their accounts if they change plans |
Straightforward user interface | Its mobile app does not support message sending well |
Easy contact management | Unclear credit system makes estimating costs difficult |
EZ Texting offers a 14-day free trial, and its paid plans start at $20/month billed annually.
“I love that I can have different templates for all the reasons I text people.” - Verified G2 review
“The contact system is still hit or miss. It is not intuitive or doesn't work correctly.” - Verified G2 review
Twilio is a customer engagement platform that supports multiple communication channels, such as WhatsApp, email, Facebook, chat, and, of course, SMS. Its SMS marketing solutions fit numerous use cases, from onboarding subscribers to running promos and loyalty programs.
While Twilio works well for SMS, its inclusion of other features—like social conversation APIs—may be a dealbreaker if you don’t want a generic messaging app with “divided attention”.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Comprehensive help center | User interface is not beginner-friendly |
Pay-as-you-use pricing | Custom codes and APIs require tech know-how |
Advanced opt-in and opt-out management | Hidden charges and costs that quickly add up |
Twilio operates a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which adds up fast but also ensures users only get charged for what they use. The brand also offers volume discounts and a limited free trial account for all its features. E.g., Texts sent on this tier are prepended with a “Sent from Twilio trial account” note.
“Excellent developer documentation to implement…SMS Integration. Support National and International SMS.” - Verified G2 review
“Twilio’s pricing can quickly add up, especially at scale or with global usage. The cost structure isn’t always transparent, and debugging delivery issues (e.g., SMS not received) can be difficult without deep telecom knowledge. Support can also be slow for smaller accounts.” - Verified G2 review
Textedly is a text message marketing app that helps you communicate with your contacts seamlessly. It offers unique features such as private sticky notes for internal team communication and an omnichannel inbox for customer conversations across SMS, chat, messaging apps, and email.
While other tools on this list can also work for both, Textedly specifically highlights its review management and payment use cases as key offerings.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Cloud-based software | Limited analytics and reporting |
Robust template library and personalization tokens | Occasionally times out when being used to handle large contact lists |
Customizable keyword responses | Unclear number verification request process |
Textedly offers a free plan with a limit of 50 text messages. And while its paid plans start at $29/month (billed annually), it can go as high as $3,599 or more, depending on what works for your brand.
“...When I had a problem, I requested support and got a response in 30 minutes.” - Verified G2 review
“Weird system hiccups in some of the processes (e.g., bulk contact import)...” - Verified G2 review
Klaviyo is a multi-language B2C CRM that includes email, mobile app, WhatsApp, and SMS marketing tools. It also serves as a review management tool and Customer Data Platform (CDP).
However, if you’re a business coach who simply wants to focus on reaching your audience quickly and productively, you may find Klaviyo’s omnichannel features and extra capabilities excessive.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
The app’s CDP aids message personalization | Limited customization flexibility |
Enables SMS marketing in 20+ countries | Difficulty suppressing and unsuppressing contacts |
In-depth multichannel reporting | Customer service is sometimes slow |
Klaviyo offers a free plan and a $45 tier, but they only include email features–no SMS. However, its standard email + SMS package costs about $60/month. Also, incorporating extra features, such as analytics and CDP, requires allocating a higher monthly budget.
“This platform is very user-friendly, mostly everything is out of the box.” - Verified G2 review
“The trade-off of being easy to use and out of the box is that you lose out on being able to tailor to your exact needs. I will also say that so many of the features are ALMOST there, but not quite.” - Verified G2 review
Attentive is an AI-powered digital marketing platform that supports SMS and email. Like Klaviyo, it leverages customer data to create and send targeted one-on-one campaigns.
The app also recently beta-launched an RCS tool aimed at delivering interactive brand moments—it’s still a new feature, though, so the jury is still out on its performance.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Strong segmentation tools | Rigid, time-consuming journey building |
Account managers (on higher-tier plans) | Steep learning curve for advanced automations |
Seamless and helpful integrations, e.g., Shopify, Salesforce, and Zendesk | Campaign and journey previews aren’t always true-to-life |
Attentive does not have a public pricing page, so you’ll need to request a demo or contact the team for a cost estimate
“Their sign-up units are flexible and effective for list growth.” - Verified G2 review
“The pricing is on the premium side, so you really need to use it frequently but strategically for it to feel worth it. They charge per message, not just per subscriber, so that can add up fast.” - Verified G2 review
Your marketing goals and business needs are the key factors when evaluating which SMS solution to choose. Below is a selection table to aid your decision-making.
Your Objective | Recommended App |
---|---|
Acquire, engage, and retain more business coaching clients—as a solopreneur or full-blown business | Mobile Text Alerts |
Drive conversions for your business coaching services | SlickText |
Reach prospects/clients of a small coaching business faster | SimpleTexting |
Expand brand reach by combining text and email marketing | EZ Texting |
Add texting to your omnichannel communication strategy | Twilio |
Get client reviews and request payments | Textedly |
Maximize customer data for targeted SMS and email campaigns | Klaviyo |
Engage your audience with rich, secure RCS messaging | Attentive |
As an entrepreneur your requirements are unique to you.
However, with thousands of users and more than 20 tailored features, Mobile Text Alerts is in a lane of its own, well-positioned to help entrerpeneurs of all types grow their businesses. Mobile Text Alerts’ APIs are also one of its biggest attractions, helping solopreneurs, SMBs, and enterprise firms reach their audience effectively and conveniently.
Ready to begin your SMS marketing journey or up your current game? Start your free 14-day Mobile Text Alerts trial today.
An SMS marketing platform is a software for creating, sending, and tracking promotional text messages. The term may refer to standalone tools that integrate seamlessly with other communication apps or omnichannel solutions and CRMs that include SMS.
Unlike other promotional strategies, such as social media or emails, where ads can easily be ignored or lost in an oversaturated inbox, SMS marketing helps you:
We recommend dedicated SMS apps, e.g., Mobile Text Alerts, for business texting because they are hyper-tailored to the specific use case. However, if you’re already using an all-in-one tool like HubSpot for some of your marketing, integrations make it possible to get the best of both worlds.
For example ⬇️
Explore whether Mobile Text Alerts might be the right fit for your business.