The 10 best SMS marketing software for explosive growth

Looking for the best SMS marketing software for small businesses? I shortlisted the top ten platforms to help you find your business’s next SMS marketing tool.

SMS marketing software are service providers that help businesses and organizations send text messages to their customers and contacts as part of their SMS and MMS marketing campaigns. SMS marketing is sometimes referred to as bulk texting, mass texting, and bulk SMS.

Pretty straightforward, right?

In your search, you may also see these SMS marketing software synonyms:

• SMS marketing services
• SMS marketing platforms
• SMS marketing tools
• SMS marketing programs
• SMS marketing apps
• SMS marketing provider

1. SimpleTexting for independent businesses
2. EZ Texting for marketing beginners
3. Textedly for standard features on a budget
4. TextMagic for international text marketing
5. HeyMarket for customer support teams
6. SlickText for loyalty programs
7. Postscript for Shopify stores
8. Klaviyo for combining email and SMS marketing
9. Podium for local businesses
10. Attentive for small and medium-sized companies

SMS Marketing Platforms	Starting price (billed monthly)	Free trial	Key features
SimpleTexting	$29/mo. for 500 credits	14-day trial with 50 credits and one keyword	– AI Assist (message generator)– URL shortener– Unlimited keywords– SMS polls and surveys– Data collection– MMS– Free incoming messages
EZ Texting	Starts at $25/mo. + $0.03/message for up to 500 contacts (comes with 500 free credits)	14-days with 120 credits	– Unlimited keywords (for an additional cost)– QR codes– Shutterstock image tool– MMS– AI-backed message drafts and replies
Textedly	$26/mo. for 500 credits	14-day trial with 50 credits	– Data collection– Voice services– Instagram texting button– MMS— Automated conversation triggers
TextMagic	$0.049 per message (Charges can differ based on your location)	30-day trial with $0.40 in messaging credits	– Send SMS via email– SMS surveys
HeyMarket	$23/user/mo, plus $30/month for 1,000 credits. Two users minimum.	14-day trial	– Multichannel management (iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp)– Call forwarding– Customer sentiment ratings– Suggested responses– CRM integration
SlickText	$29/mo. for 500 credits	14-day trial with 50 credits	– URL shortener– SMS polls and surveys– Website popups– Loyalty rewards– QR codes– MMS– Unique promo codes
Postscript	$0.015 per SMS and $0.045 per MMS	30-day trial with $1,000 worth of messaging credits	– Cart abandonment text messages– Back-in-stock alerts– A/B testing
Klaviyo	$20/month for 5,000 emails and 150 SMS/MMS credits (Credit spending differs based on region)	Free plan for 500 email credits and 150 SMS/MMS credits for less than 250 contacts	– Drag and drop automation builder– Personalized benchmarks– A/B testing– Personalized product recommendations– Multichannel attribution– AI for optimized A/B testing and automated flows
Podium	$399/mo. for 250 bulk messages, unlimited contacts, and unlimited team members	Presently not available	– Built-in payment processor– VOIP system– Website chat– 200+ integrations– AI-suggested replies– Consolidated platform for lead generation
Attentive	Pricing is customized based on your location and estimated monthly website traffic (You’ll need to get in touch with the sales team.)	Presently not available	– Combined SMS and email marketing platform– AI support for campaign performance optimization and revenue increment

Side notes to consider: 

1. Some SMS marketing providers will also charge for 10DLC registration. The pricing of this varies from supplier to supplier. For example, while HeyMarket charges $10/month per campaign, TextMagic charges $35/quarter per campaign. SimpleTexting also offers 10DLC registration, and you can register for a one-time fee of $4. 

2. While the listed SMS marketing services provide features mentioned in this article, we have only mentioned the starter pricing of all the plans they offer (i.e., some features may not be available in the starter plans, and you’ll need to upgrade your subscription to unlock a few coveted features). 

Because I work in the SMS marketing industry, I have a solid idea of which texting platforms are the top players. I signed up for each tool and tested out some actions that marketers and business owners use these platforms for:

• Creating a contact list
• Sending a text message campaign
• Exploring the SMS metrics analytics reports

I also spent time poking around the dashboards to see what apps and third-party integrations are available.

Finally, I sifted through customer reviews to see common praise and complaints and made a note of the pricing packages offered by each SMS marketing software.

Even if you only plan to send a simple promotional text once in a while, you never know when you’ll need to scale your text marketing efforts.

At a minimum, choose a platform that offers these SMS marketing software features:

• Mass texting
• Automatic texting
• Scheduled texting
• 2-way texting
• Keywords
• Reporting and analytics
• Customer service

Mass texting

For most businesses that deal with text messaging, mass texting is a non-negotiable feature. It allows you to send one message—like promotions, announcements, and alerts—to many contacts at once.

For example, an e-commerce marketer might send a mass text to a list of their VIP customers for an exclusive sale.

Automatic texting

Automatic texting features allow you to trigger text messages based on keywords and contact behavior. For example, you can create autoresponders that welcome contacts to your list when they text a keyword to your number, and you can answer frequently asked questions even when you’re out of office.

Scheduled texting

With scheduled texting, you can send messages at a specific time and date. Your contacts receive the right message at the right time, and you don’t have to manually send each campaign. Win-win. 

2-way texting

Build relationships with your contacts through two-way text message conversations. You can answer their questions and help them make the right purchase in real time via text.

Keywords

Invite contacts to join your text list in a convenient way with SMS keywords. For example, a coffee shop could create the keyword VIPBREWS to encourage sign-ups for their VIP customer list. 

If this is a feature that interests you, look for SMS marketing apps that offer unlimited keywords for every plan.

Reporting & analytics

Speaking of campaign performance, look for features like analytics dashboards and campaign performance charts. If you can’t see metrics like link clicks and opt-out rates, you could be wasting time and money on the wrong strategies.

Customer service

Select a platform that is backed by a responsive, knowledgeable customer support team that has coverage every day of the week. That way, you’ll have someone dedicated to helping you resolve issues or walk you through how to use certain features, even if you’re launching a campaign over the weekend.

You can find out what current customers think about a software company’s customer service by reading third-party reviews on sites like G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra.

Which texting platform will work best for you depends on your business needs and goals. Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision:

1. Make sure the SMS platform fits in your budget. Compare prices and check how many credits you get in each pricing tier.

2. Test to see if the texting platform is easy to use. Nobody wants to spend hours trying to figure out how to navigate a complicated app. Give the platform a test run with a free trial (or book a product demo) to ensure it’s intuitive.

3. Look for built-in SMS automation. That will help you save time by setting up features like autoresponders and scheduled messages. This means you can respond to your clients faster and keep them engaged.

4. See if it has the ability to personalize texts at scale. You might not always have time to send personal messages to every single client, but you still want them to feel seen. Look for features like custom fields and the ability to segment your contacts.

5. Don’t forget to check the privacy and security features of each SMS marketing app. You want to make sure the app you choose is secure and encrypted to protect your clients and your brand.

6. If you run into any issues or have questions, you’ll need a responsive support team. Check out third-party review sites to see what other customers are saying about the software’s customer service.

7. You need the ability to track the performance of your texts. Look for software that provides detailed analytics so you can see whether your mass text campaigns are getting people to take actions like clicking on links to your site.

SimpleTexting offers a user-friendly platform with a comprehensive set of features that are available across all pricing plans. Keeping all biases aside, here are some of its standout features:

• AI message generator
• Two-way messaging
• Mass texting
• Rollover credits
• Self-cleaning lists
• Scheduled and recurring texts
• Autoresponders
• Segments

With built-in tools like web forms and keywords, you can easily acquire more contacts with just a few clicks.

The best part is you can use SimpleTexting on your computer or on their mobile app, so you’ll never miss a message from your customers. 

If you use Zapier, you can connect SimpleTexting to your other favorite business tools and platforms, or you can have SimpleTexting’s team create and maintain custom integrations for you.

And that’s not all: You can use this software’s data collection capabilities to send personalized messages, connect your team with a unified inbox or give them their own number(s), receive incoming responses for free, and so much so as even run surveys through polls. 

Oh, and if you’re ever in a creative rut, you’ve got SimpleTexting’s AI Assist, which will draft messages for you in an instant. 

Pros

• If you have multiple numbers and users, you can manage them all from one central admin account.
• SimpleTexting integrates with thousands of apps via its Zapier integration, and you can take advantage of our custom integrations team that builds and maintains integrations for you.
• There’s no limit to the number of templates and keywords you can create (you can also add unlimited contacts).
• Live customer support is available seven days a week if you need assistance.
• They also have a generous refund policy—SimpleTexting refunds your subscription amount if you say you don’t like the product within 30 days (although we doubt this is likely to happen!)

What customers say: “Triple threat — great product, great features, great price.” – Dana North, TrustRadius 

Cons

• SimpleTexting is a North America-only platform, so you can only send messages to phone numbers in the U.S., Canada, and some mobile carriers in the Caribbean. 
• It’s not designed for one industry specifically, so if you’re looking for a platform that’s custom-built for your niche, this one may not be for you.

What customers say: “The only downside is the limit on characters per message that you can send, but I don’t think that is something that they can control.” – Katherine K., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5
• TrustRadius: 8.8/10

Pricing

SimpleTexting’s plans start at $29/month, which gives you 500 messaging credits. If you don’t use all of your credits for the month, they’ll roll over to the next month (for one month only). If you need more credits, you can add them at any time using the self-serve billing dashboard.

You can try SimpleTexting free for 14 days. We won’t ask for your credit card information until you’re ready to upgrade. That way, you can see if it’s really the best SMS marketing software for small businesses.

If you’re new to SMS marketing or aren’t comfortable using most SaaS tools, you’ll love EZ Texting’s intuitive messaging platform and helpful features. 

They’re the only SMS marketing service that offers native integration with Shutterstock for stock photos, which can save you time when looking for the perfect image for your MMS campaigns.

EZ Texting also allows you to automate campaigns, integrate with your favorite tools (e.g., Zapier), and access analytics on how your campaigns are performing. 

What’s really great is that this company also provides a beginner’s guide, so you can get up and running quickly without feeling overwhelmed. And if you’re still not sure, you can try the platform for free for 14 days to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Pros

• The platform has a short learning curve, so even complete SMS marketing newbies will find it easy to use.
• EZ Texting has a huge template library that speeds up the campaign creation process.
• Like SimpleTexting, this solution also has generative AI capabilities (also known as AI Compose), which can help you with your first drafts. 

What customers say: “EZ Texting is incredibly easy to use. I’ve recommended it to dozens of people, some more tech-savvy than others. Everyone has commented how simple it is to get started.” – Steve A., G2

Cons 

• If you’re on a lower pricing plan with this SMS marketing program, you won’t be able to send MMS messages, schedule recurring texts, run drip campaigns, or access their API for advanced integrations. 
• It’s a bit more expensive than some other options on this list, and unused messaging credits don’t carry over month to month.
• They have a mobile app, but customers have reported that the features on mobile are limited.

What customers say: “It’s expensive! But works very well. Doesn’t fit into everyone’s marketing budget. I wish there was more customization for plans to better fit diverse businesses.” – Verified User, G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.3/5
• TrustRadius: 8.8/10

Pricing

EZ Texting offers four different pricing tiers to choose from: Launch, Boost, Scale, and Enterprise. 

Plan name	Monthly cost	Recommended number of contacts	Cost per message
Launch	$25	Up to 500	$0.030
Boost	$75	500-2,000	$0.025
Scale	$125	2,000-50,000	$0.020
Enterprise	$3,000	50,000+	$0.010

EZ Texting’s plans, pricing, number of contacts, and cost per message.

Each plan comes with 500 free credits, except for the Enterprise plan, which comes with 200,000 free credits.

Textedly is one of the best SMS marketing software for small businesses with a tight budget. This bulk texting platform is simple yet effective, offering just the right suite of features to help you get your messages out there without breaking the bank.

If you’re looking for more texting power beyond the basic features, Textedly offers advanced apps for an additional one-time fee. These include personalization, auto-replies, an Instagram texting integration, and drip campaigns.

Pros

• Textedly is one of the least expensive SMS platforms on the market.
• Its interface is simple and user-friendly.
• It allows unlimited contacts and free incoming messages. 
• It even lets you send payment requests and collect payments.
• You can also personalize your campaigns, schedule texts, create SMS triggers, and access analytics with Textedly. 

What customers say: “The UI is simple and allows me to easily send messages to users. The support also gets back to you in a timely manner, and they’re able to solve your problems. I use Textedly every day, and it’s a simple system to learn.” – Verified User, G2

Cons 

• Customers looking for a way to manage their SMS campaigns on the go will be disappointed to hear that Textedly is a desktop-only application.
• The platform doesn’t have an API available for custom integrations—just Zapier-powered integrations.
• Contact segmentation capabilities are limited compared to other top SMS software companies. 
• Some reviewers on third-party platforms didn’t use the most positive words when describing its customer support (this was around 2022); however, there seems to be a shift in recent opinions, and lately (aka in 2024), reviewers have begun praising its customer service once again. 

What customers say: “I have found the downsides to be the inability to send what I’d like to send with regard to emojis and other additional text, the inability to remove some of the automatic text that goes out, and there not being any easy way to transfer a lot of numbers into the system. 

I would also say I haven’t had the best experience with customer service teams online as the answers have often left me wanting and ultimately me having to figure it out on my own.” – J. Clay C., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5
• TrustRadius: 5.6/10

Pricing

Textedly offers eight pricing tiers, ranging from $26/mo. for 600 messaging credits and one keyword to the $2999/month plan, which includes 200,000 credits and fifty keywords. 

You can also try this mass SMS platform free for 14 days with 50 credits, and they’ll create a custom plan for businesses with unique needs.

Safe to say, the pricing options in itself indicate that Textedly is the best SMS marketing software for small businesses. 

TextMagic is a solid SMS marketing platform that lets you get up and running quickly. It’s unique in that it offers international service, so you can reach customers outside the U.S. and Canada. 

Though anyone can use TextMagic, its user experience and pay-as-you-go pricing structure are most useful for small businesses.

Pros 

• TextMagic has a pay-as-you-go pricing model instead of monthly or annual plans like most of their competitors.
• You can text contacts in 200 countries.
• One of its features lets you send business text messages from your email. 
• It lets you create sub-accounts to collaborate with your team members (you can add unlimited team members and provide role-based permissions for free). 

What customers say: “Easy-to-use and maintainable application that allows both high-load and occasional text messaging. As a small business, the fact that the credit stays valid and does not expire is a true plus!” – Michel M., G2

Cons 

• The pricing model may not be cost-effective for companies sending a high volume of texts.
• MMS attachments (like photos and videos) appear as links instead of being embedded into the text itself, which can create a clunky experience for your contacts.
• You need to pay additionally for each feature (i.e., MMS, virtual numbers, and voice calls require extra payment). 

What customers say: “The customer is charged the same for a delivered message as well as for undelivered ones. I believe that there should be a rebate for the latter, for the service to be truly profitable to the user.” – Isabella C., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5
• TrustRadius: 8.3/10

Pricing

TextMagic has a pay-as-you-go pricing model, meaning you pay by the message instead of through a monthly or annual subscription. Pricing starts at $0.049 per text to numbers in the U.S., and they offer custom pricing on message volumes of 10,000 per month or more.

The pricing also differs based on the destination country of the text messages. For example, if your destination is the United Kingdom or Bolivia, you’ll need to pay $0.068 and $0.127 per text, respectively.  

Like the rest of the providers in this list, HeyMarket offers an SMS marketing program for businesses to communicate with customers and employees. What sets it apart is that you can send and receive messages across platforms like iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and more. 

HeyMarket is also known for its team features, like the ability to send private chats to other users on your account. Even cooler, it uses machine learning to incorporate features like sentiment, intent, and keyword analysis.

I could see this being an especially useful platform for large customer support or sales teams that need to have one-on-one conversations with leads.

Pros

• HeyMarket places a heavy emphasis on collaboration, so large remote teams will find features like shared inbox and private messaging to be indispensable.
• It takes an omnichannel approach to messaging, thanks to integrations with Google Business Messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and other communication apps.
• You can get insights into customer preferences through its analytics and surveys. 

What customers say: “We love HeyMarket for having a UI allowing easy access to multiple demographic options and continuing fluid communication with clients; simply put, users can access the chatspace and demographic, notes, and tags. etc., all in the same window.” – Joshua G., G2

Cons 

• Integrations and access to the API aren’t available for the standard plan.
• HeyMarket charges by user in addition to a separate charge for SMS and MMS, and there’s a two-user minimum—meaning it could be cost-prohibitive for some businesses.

What customers say: “While the platform offers an easy-to-navigate UI, the downside is that everything else you want or need is charged extra, including access to print/download conversations, the number of texts incoming/outgoing each month, etc. This makes it frustrating when you’re attempting to access raw data.” – Joshua G., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.6/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5
• TrustRadius: No rating available

Pricing

Unlike most SMS marketing providers on this list, HeyMarket charges by the user (with a two-user minimum) in addition to charges for SMS and MMS.

The Standard plan starts at $23 per user per month, and the lowest messaging subscription is $30/month for 1,000 message credits. You can also try the platform free for 14 days.

SlickText is a highly-rated SMS marketing platform with core features like two-way messaging, mass texting, MMS, and keywords. It also offers advanced capabilities like automated workflows, personalization tools, and loyalty program software. 

The company also offers a solid library of how-to videos as well as one-on-one onboarding sessions for customers on higher-priced plans.

However, its real winner is its automation capabilities—you can create drip campaigns and automate workflows with SlickText’s drag-and-drop editor to engage with your subscribers and optimize your conversion rates. 

Pros 

• You can message contacts and manage campaigns on the go with SlickText’s mobile app.
• All plans allow unlimited contacts, free incoming texts, and live support (plans above the $139/month threshold also get one-on-one onboarding).  
• It’s the only SMS service provider on this list to offer a built-in loyalty program tool.
• Unused messaging credits roll over to the next month.

What customers say: “(I) was able to create a fairly in-depth automated texting experience for my customers. Loved their customer service that helped me every step of the way from onboarding to troubleshooting.” – Brian V., GetApp

Cons

• You’re limited in the number of keywords (or “textwords,” as they call them) you get, depending on your pricing plan.
• If you want to talk to a customer support rep in real-time, you can only do so Monday through Friday. 

What customers say: “SlickText might be a more expensive SMS marketing solution and may not offer a diverse selection of native integrations, but the pros are more than the cons.” – Verified User, G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.9/5
• TrustRadius: No rating available

Pricing

SlickText’s pricing starts at $29/month for 500 messaging credits, and that plan comes with two textwords (but doesn’t include automated workflows). You can also try it free for 14 days with 50 messaging credits. In total, the company offers eight pricing tiers. 

If you’re a medium or large company, you might benefit from its higher-priced plans (such as The Whale and The Monstro, which are priced at $750 and $1,250 per month and allow 25,000 messages and 50,000 messages per month, respectively). You get 20 keywords and 30 keywords with these plans. 

Enterprise companies can get in touch with sales teams. 

If you’re using Shopify to run your online store, Postscript is one of the best SMS marketing platforms for you. It’s designed to help Shopify stores grow their contact lists, engage in two-way conversations, and use their store’s historical data for more personalized SMS campaigns.

Perhaps the most coveted thing about Postscript is its automation features, which help can help you recover abandoned carts, send shipping notifications, welcome new contacts, and even reward customers with loyalty offers. 

These features help you save time and create a better shopping experience for your customers.

Pros

• It’s specifically made for Shopify stores.
• All of Postscript’s pricing plans offer unlimited contact segments and advanced analytics that use your Shopify data.
• If you’re new to SMS, the free plan is a great way to get started, though it has some limitations.
• The customer support has only received positive reviews. 

What customers say: “Partnering with Postscript has been a no-brainer for us. SMS is the perfect channel to both reliably reach our best customers and build our brand. Our Postscript Plus account managers have acted as a true extension of our team and constantly take the initiative to find new opportunities. After working with dozens of agencies and strategic partners, Postscript sits at the top of our list.” – Matt B., G2

Cons

• Some customers have expressed frustration with the platform’s user interface and analytics dashboard.
• Reviewers have said there were a few limitations to the platform (e.g., certain metrics not being visible and list exclusions being difficult to navigate).

What customers say: “The segmentation feature could be built out more to include multiple list exclusions. At the moment, you’re only able to include one list and exclude one list, but I would love to be able to exclude multiple lists.” – Eva D., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.9/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5
• TrustRadius: No rating available

Pricing

Postscript offers four different pricing tiers:

• Starter: If you’re just starting out, the starter tier might be right for you. There’s no monthly cost; you only pay for messaging credits and carrier fees.

• Growth: This tier is $100 per month, plus messaging credits and carrier fees. You’ll get unlimited keywords and integrations, which is a great thing for expanding your marketing strategy.

• Professional: The Professional tier costs $500 per month, plus messaging credits and carrier fees. You’ll get a dedicated onboarding specialist, priority customer support, and API access.

• Enterprise: This plan is best for larger businesses with more complex needs. The price varies based on your specific needs, but you’ll get a dedicated account manager and priority support.

Klaviyo is one of the top SMS marketing platforms that combines both email and SMS, which makes it perfect for online stores looking to grow and retain their customers.

It’s especially helpful for creating personalized messages and segments for your customers based on their actions in your store, like when they abandon their cart or make a purchase.

That means you can send targeted messages like order updates and review requests to specific customer groups. Plus, Klaviyo has powerful analytics to help you assess the success of your campaigns and improve on them.

Pros

• Klaviyo combines email and SMS marketing in one place so you can streamline your messaging efforts.
• One standout feature is its A/B tests. You can experiment with different content and send times to see what works best for your audience.
• Another thing that’s awesome about Klaviyo is the “flow” feature. It lets you visualize and automate your campaigns and even has a library of pre-built workflows to help you get started.
• Klaviyo also makes it super easy to integrate with top e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.
• You can use Klavyio’s AI-backed features to access predictive analytics, create SMS, and optimize send times. 

What customers say: “We have never been able to segment and target so specifically until we started with Klavyio. Over half of our business income is directly attributed to our email and SMS marketing efforts. To say we rely on Klavyio is an understatement.” – Deagan W.,  G2

Cons

• If you’re already using an email service, you’d need to switch to Klaviyo’s email and SMS platform since they don’t offer just the SMS service.
• Some customers have complained about long wait times to speak with support reps.
• Keep in mind that Klaviyo has limits on the number of contacts you can send messages to based on your pricing plan.

What customers say: “The platform can be a bit slow at times, particularly when it comes to loading larger email lists. Additionally, the pricing can be a bit steep for smaller businesses or those just starting out.” – Kielo D., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.6/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5
• TrustRadius: 9/10

Pricing

Klaviyo’s pricing is based on the number of email and SMS contacts you have and how many messages you want to send.

You can get started for just $20 a month, which includes up to 500 contacts, 150 monthly messaging credits, and 5,000 monthly email sends. 

If you have more than 250k customers on your list, you’ll need to get in touch with the sales executives at Klavyio to get pricing information. Alternatively, you can get the pricing information for anything between 500 and 250k contacts and 150-450k SMS/MMS credits on Klavyio’s pricing page.

Plus, there’s a totally free plan available for those with 250 contacts or fewer. This free plan gives you 500 monthly email sends and 150 monthly messaging credits.

Designed specifically with local businesses in mind, Podium is the perfect solution to help you reach new customers and grow your business. 

With its easy-to-use SMS marketing service, you can send mass text messages to your customers, request reviews to boost your reputation, chat with customers in real time, send text blasts to promote your latest offers, and even collect payments through text.

Pros 

• Podium has built-in features that make it easy for you to collect reviews and payments via text.
• You can manage customer reviews from several different platforms within your Podium dashboard. 
• For businesses that get a high volume of customer questions, the website chat feature can help you respond to them quickly and reduce the number of phone calls you have to answer.
• Regardless of whichever plan you subscribe to, you get to add unlimited contacts and team members.

What customers say: “For my team, (the best part about Podium) has been the ability to communicate easily with customers in multiple ways. From scheduling appointments, creating reminders, and asking for reviews — this is a superb platform.” – Jeffrey S., G2

Cons

• Customers who have reached out to Podium’s support team didn’t love the long wait times and level of care they received.
• Pricing is higher than that of many competitors, and the lowest pricing plan has limited features, which may not be ideal for some businesses. 
• Some users also complained about increased spam messages. 

What customers say: “Setting up automation and navigating the site could be more efficient; I tend to get lost a bit in some of the processes. We also get increasingly more spam-type texts and messages.” – Verified User, G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.3/5
• TrustRadius: 6.9/10

Pricing

Podium has three straightforward pricing plans:

• Core: Starts at $399/month for 250 bulk messages/month and 5 phone numbers
• Pro: $599/month for 500 bulk messages/month and 15 phone numbers 
• Signature: Custom pricing depending on bulk messages and phone numbers

The higher the plan, the more features you have access to. You can also try Podium free for 14 days.

For SMBs (small and medium businesses), Attentive is like an all-in-one platform that can help you with SMS marketing just as easily as it can help with email marketing, client strategy, and list management. 

For SMS specifically, you can leverage Attentive to collect customer data and send personalized messages based on that data, or you can use its AI capabilities to create custom messages, identify target audiences, create workflows, and optimize send times.  

Pros

• Attentive allows you to create an omnichannel marketing experience for your customers by unifying email and SMS conversations. 
• You can use Attentive’s conversational AI in real time to act as a customer support agent when chatting with your customers. 
• You can also access visual analytics about your revenue, campaign performance, subscribers, and message delivery rate (and can even generate reports or run A/B tests based on these analytics). 
• Attentive lets you integrate with other solutions in your tech stack, including CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, and customer data platforms. 

What customers say: “We have now been with Attentive for over a year, and the team uses it every week. Good ROI so far, knowledgeable support team, easy onboarding process, easy-to-use backend with intuitive UI, minimum management time required. More robust and streamlined compared to some competitors. Integration was seamless and took close to no time from our end.” – Vladimir, G2

Cons

• Some customers were unhappy with the limited integration options Attentive provides. 
• People folks were also unhappy with the pricing and said they had to opt for longer contracts to get monthly pricing that was within their budget. 

What customers say: “The pricing is a little higher compared to much of the competition around. However, I feel that having access to such great CS and tools takes enough of the sting away.” – Andrew C., G2

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.8/5
• TrustRadius: 7.7/10

Pricing

You need to get in touch with Attentive’s sales team to get custom pricing, as pricing depends on your monthly web traffic and where this traffic comes from (location source). 

Unfortunately, at this time, Attentive does not provide any support for companies with monthly web traffic of less than 10,000. 

The perfect SMS marketing software for you depends on your business or organization’s specific use cases. Compare the pricing, features, and reviews for the companies on your shortlist, and take advantage of free trials and product demos.

To start your search, sign up for a 14-day free trial of SimpleTexting to see what all the hype is about and if it’s really the best SMS marketing software for small businesses.