Zipwhip Alternative
Zipwhip shut down at the end of 2023 leaving tens of thousands of businesses without an SMS provider. Luckily, there are plenty of Zipwhip alternatives, including SimpleTexting, which offers a much bigger menu of automation features than Zipwhip.
We’ve created this guide to show you how SimpleTexting can take over everything you used Zipwhip for, plus how it can help you enhance your SMS marketing efforts with even more features.
SimpleTexting’s business text message service lets you connect with your audience in two distinct ways:
SimpleTexting uses a flexible credit system, where each text message requires one “credit”. For just $39 a month, you can send up to 500 text messages, which increases if you want to send more messages. 1,000 messages is $59 a month and for 2,000 messages, it’s $89 a month.
You’ll also need to pay a one-off $4 carrier registration when you get started. There are additional costs for adding team members to the dashboard ($20 a month per team member) and if you want to add extra numbers to your account ($10 a month for each additional number).
Use the pricing calculator to figure out how much you’ll pay each month.
The biggest benefit of SimpleTexting’s pricing model is its flexibility. You can upgrade and downgrade each month depending on your projected output and add team members when needed, which means you only pay what you need to pay each month. You’re not tied into a lengthy contract and can change your subscription at any time.
The downside is that it can be tricky to predict how much your SMS fees will be each month. However, this can work in your favor, because the amount you pay will essentially move up and down with your revenue based on the idea that the more messages you send, the more revenue you’ll generate and vice versa.
Free trial?
Yes, you can try SimpleTexting for free with a 14-day trial—no credit card needed. You’ll get 50 messaging credits to play around with so you can preview the platform’s features and get a feel for its capabilities.
Easy, quick, and simple to setup
Shortcodes and automated keywords make it easy for customers to sign up to receive messages
Bring together all SMS communication in one handy dashboard
Some users have had difficulty using the platform for more than one purpose (e.g. toll-free texting and shortcodes)
Tagging options are relatively limited
You can’t roll over unused credits to the next month
Car dealerships
Ecommerce
Education
Events
Fitness
Healthcare
Non-profits
Real estate
Religious groups
Restaurants
Retail
SimpleTexting G2 Rating:
4.7 stars (top 50 customer service products in 2023)
“SimpleTexting gives us the ability to communicate with our clients quickly and easily, one-on-one or in mass text form. We have real-time texting with them from a computer or smartphone. We can see what other users have sent. Texts are categorized by which user interacted with that client last. Simpletexting is used all day, every day by our office staff. SimpleTexting was quick and easy to set up. They worked with our phone provider to get the necessary certifications to use our existing landline as a text line through them as well.”
“I love how the messages are easy to see and easy to respond to. And it’s very easy to see the history of your chats with your clients. A great feature is that can also import your own business phone number to use to text from.”
“It is so easy to use! I also like the campaign feature and, the ease of importing contacts. I can contact multiple people with ease and, it separates each conversation so, I can still keep track of who I am talking to!”
Capterra rating: 4.7
“We had tried three options simultaneously and picked SimpleTexting because it has so many integrations that are easy to use. We can do giveaway contests, collect data, it integrates with our email software – really, they are the pros and have figured out what most clients need from the start.”
“The automated message response mechanism works to absolute perfection. On our first project using it to engage respondents on our post-grad research project, I was a bit skeptical and recommended just one standard response to each reply we got — thanking them for reaching out, and promising to call them back. But I got won over during the test run, and I was particularly amazed at the intelligence of the system to spot keywords even in badly composed or constructed replies.”
Trustpilot rating: 4.5
“Simple Texting is amazing. Super intuitive to use….and SO much easier than fumbling around with cutting and pasting one at a time. Also provides more privacy than just using a group text. I have ZERO complaints and have been using it for around 2 years I believe.”
“This is the best messaging service that I have found for small, nonprofit organizations. We only pay for what we use and they are very transparent about costs and fees. Previous services have surprised us with hidden fees and locked us into months of service, but not Simple Texting. I love that we could use our landline number for texting. Plus, their customer service is personalized and excellent!”
Software Advice rating: 4.7
“SimpleTexting may seem like they do everything all the other text vendors do. But, where they really stand out is their customer service. Every question I have asked has been at least acknowledged within 30 minutes. Every issue has been fixed within 24 hours. SimpleTexting makes it very easy to reach out to their customer service and they are very quick and friendly every single time. This is by far the main selling point for me when it comes to picking out a vendor.”
“I love the UI, it’s super easy to use, and customer support is off the charts amazing. I love the way the platform works in every way, it’s the best experience I have found after doing lots of research and trials.”
The basics
In its heyday, Zipwhip was a flagship text message provider. It actually invented high-volume texting on toll-free phone numbers instead of using shortcodes (a different type of opt-in messaging primarily used for one-way automated marketing campaigns).
Zipwhip helped small businesses streamline their customer communications with scheduled messages, auto-replies, and easy-to-access engagement metrics. In 2021, it was acquired by Twilio, who then decided to sunset the platform in late 2023.
Pricing
Zipwhip’s prices started at $19 a month for the start subscription. This increased to $49 a month for unlimited, but it also offered a Premium tier for $99 a month. Zipwhip’s user base was primarily made up of freelancers, sole traders, and small businesses, which explains why the price point was so low. It did offer a free trial for people who wanted to test out the provider’s features before investing.
Very affordable price
Easy to store, organize, send, and receive text messages
Both a desktop and an app version
Send time can be unpredictable
Customer service is lacking
No longer in service
Healthcare
Fitness
Retail
Veterinary
Automotive
Legal
Education
Capterra rating: 4.6
“Great experience. We did not have to do the extra stuff like similar programs. We really enjoyed the simplicity of Zipwhip really no strings attached. We would continue to use it if it was still in service.”
“We had tremendous use in our office with the product and was easy to use. We liked the ease of texting customers and getting responses from our clientele base.”
Trustpilot rating: 2.9
“Steer far away from this company. They will make you pay even when your business has closed. It takes weeks to get ahold of people.”
“Really bad service in which promises are made to get you to sign a contract and then they hold you hostage with on refund when the service doesn’t meet your needs. We have had all the following limited functionality and issues for a really expensive service, some of which were eluded to be available when signing the contract.”
Software Advice rating: 4.6
“I love the fact that I can easily text clients without having to use my cell phone while at the office. It’s easy to input information so that I can tell which phone number is which as well. I can easily see the conversation that my co-worker has also had with clients so that I can catch up easily without having to ask the client questions that they have already answered.”
“Zipwhip has allowed us to have a centralized texting system so that all employees can view communication that affects the company. In that, it has been a positive experience but it has an overall clunky feel.”
Since Zipwhip ended its services on December 1, 2022, now is the time to switch business texting software. See below why SimpleTexting is more than just a cost-effective text marketing service alternative to Zipwhip.
| Features | SimpleTexting | Zipwhip |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | ||
| Rollover credits | ||
| Unlimited mass texting | ||
| Unlimited text contacts | ||
| Text-to-join keywords | ||
| Click-to-text mobile signup | ||
| Web signup forms | ||
| Text-to-vote polls | ||
| Text-to-win sweepstakes | ||
| Text-to-pay billing system | ||
| Data collection for text subscriber data | ||
| SMS contact lists and segmentation | ||
| Two-way conversational texting | ||
| Free incoming SMS | ||
| Text message templates and saved replies | ||
| Autoresponders/automated text messages | ||
| Recurring texts | ||
| Text message scheduling | ||
| Automated birthday texts | ||
| Text message drip campaigns | ||
| AI text message creator | ||
| Self-cleaning text contact lists | ||
| SMS API | ||
| Zapier integrations | ||
| Mobile apps (Apple App Store, Google Play) | ||
| Team members and assignments | ||
| Multiple text number support | ||
| Email sending/marketing | ||
| Mobile push notifications/marketing |
Yes!
You can transfer your phone number from Zipwhip to SimpleTexting. Simply follow the easy process after you start your free SimpleTexting trial.
One of the main reasons Zipwhip customers move to us is that the Zipwhip SMS inbox is very limited. With SimpleTexting, you can: add emojis, create notes and templates, change conversation statuses, and filter/manage conversations.
If you want to offer text-based customer service or sales, you can with SimpleTexting’s SMS inbox–at no extra cost.
With SimpleTexting, we offer you the ability to create unlimited keywords with any plan, even our starter plan. Zipwhip ‘s starter plan comes with no free keywords.
With Zipwhip, you’re also limited to messaging only 100 contacts per group, while SimpleTexting lets you message as many contacts as you’d like at once.
If you want to get back to customers with lightning speed you have to be available 24/7 with Zipwhip.
With SimpleTexting, you can respond to inquiries automatically thanks to our advanced auto responses, or keyword triggers. Follow up with leads, make appointments, and answer FAQs all without lifting a finger.
With Zipwhip, you have no option to pause your account like you can with SimpleTexting.
Plus, we don’t stop you from sending more messages than your plan allows, we charge you at a per-message rate. That means if you need to send more texts one month, you can without having to upgrade your plan.
Cost isn’t everything, but did you know you can save hundreds only using what you need with SimpleTexting?
The best part is you still take advantage of the same–and even more–features at every price point. It’s a no brainer.
Zipwhip offers a click-to-text button, which is great. So does SimpleTexting.
We also provide our customers free of charge graphic generator and a mobile sign-up widget they can place on their website. The latter is particularly powerful for customers with keywords on a toll-free number.
Hear what others have to say about how we measure up to the competition.
SimpleTexting is one of the easiest solutions to get started with. We’re able to directly contact our users to update them or get them to opt-in to our community. You don’t have to have any development experience. You can just sign up and have a way to directly text your users.
I use SimpleTexting to better connect with my audience and build relationships with them on a 1-on-1 basis. I love that there’s an app and that I can send things out from my phone. Texts are way more personal than sending an email blast or putting something out on social.
What I like best about SimpleTexting is that it allows me to interact with my clients on a regular basis. I send out a monthly market update along with an invitation to enter a drawing for a $25 gift card. This interaction keeps me top of mind for referrals and directs clients to my website.
We needed a simple way to drive app downloads for our company, and SimpleTexting provides that. It’s so easy to add the shortcode and keyword to our marketing materials. The platform even integrates with our website, allowing visitors to request a download link to their phone.
SimpleTexting makes my work easier. It has helped us streamline communication and cut down our communication time significantly. I like being able to send mass texts to my beneficiaries and also engage with them one on one. It’s super useful to automate messages.
We have been using SimpleTexting for almost a year now and I appreciate the ease of use of the software. To get through the basic task of setting up an SMS campaign, sending it, and tracking responses, it does the job without making it difficult. It’s great software at a good price point.
