The 9 Best SMS Marketing Software for Explosive Growth

SMS marketing software are service providers that help businesses and organizations send text message marketing campaigns to their customers and contacts. 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

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

Platform	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
EZ Texting	$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
Textedly	$26/mo. for 500 credits	14-day trial with 50 credits and one keyword	– Data collection – Voice services – Instagram texting button – MMS
TextMagic	$0.04 per message	30-day trial with $0.40 in messaging credits	– Send SMS via email – SMS surveys
HeyMarket	$24/user/mo, plus $30/month for 1,000 credits. Two user minimum.	14-day trial	– Multichannel management (iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp) – Call forwarding – Customer sentiment ratings – Suggested responses
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
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	$35/month for 5,000 emails and 1,250 SMS credits	Free plan for 250 contacts or fewer, 500 email credits, and 150 SMS/MMS credits	– Drag and drop automation builder – Personalized benchmarks – A/B testing – Personalized product recommendations – Multichannel attribution
Podium	$289/mo. for 100 bulk messages, 1,000 contacts, and three team members	14-day trial	– Built-in payment processor – VOIP system – Website chat

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 platform.

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 use 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 bulk 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 to make sure 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 that 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

SimpleTexting offers a user-friendly platform with a comprehensive set of features that are available across all pricing plans:

• AI message generator
• Two-way messaging
• Mass texting
• 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 that 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.

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.
• Live customer support is available seven days a week if you need assistance.

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.

Customer Ratings

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

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 the right fit for you before you commit.

EZ Texting

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 a native integration with Shutterstock for stock photos, which can save you time when looking for the perfect image for your MMS campaigns.

What’s really great is that EZ Texting 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.

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.

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.3/5
• TrustRadius: 8.3/10

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

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

Textedly

Textedly is a great option 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.

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. 

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5
• TrustRadius: 7.7/10

Pricing

Textedly offers eight pricing tiers, ranging from $26/mo. for 600 messaging credits and one keyword to the $349/month plan, which includes 18,000 credits and seven 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.

TextMagic

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 is 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. 

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 a link instead of being embedded into the text itself, which can create a clunky experience for your contacts.

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5
• TrustRadius: 8.8/10

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 $0.04 per text to numbers in the U.S., and they offer custom pricing on message volumes of 10,000 per month or more.

HeyMarket

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 is 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.

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.

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

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 pricing plans.

Pros: 

• You can message contacts and manage campaigns on the go with SlickText’s mobile app.
• Customers on $139/month plans or higher get a free one-on-one onboarding session.
• 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.

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. 

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.

Postscript

If you’re using Shopify to run your online store, Postscript is the tool 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.

One of the best things 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.

Cons: 

• Some customers have expressed frustration with the platform’s user interface and analytics dashboard.

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5
• TrustRadius: No rating available

Pricing

Postscript offers four different pricing tiers:

• Free: If you’re just starting out, the free tier might be right for you. There’s no monthly cost, and 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

Klaviyo is a marketing platform that combines both email and SMS, and it’s 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 with 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.

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.

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5
• TrustRadius: 9.2/10

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.

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.

Podium

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.

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 many competitors and the lowest pricing plan has limited features, which may not be ideal for some businesses. 

Customer Ratings

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.3/5
• TrustRadius: 6.6/10

Pricing

Podium has three straightforward pricing plans:

• Essentials: Starts at $289/month for 1,000 contacts and three team members
• Standard: $449/month with unlimited contacts and team members
• Professional: $649/month with unlimited contacts and team members

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

Which SMS Marketing Platform Will You Choose?

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 short-list, and take advantage of free trials.

To start your search, sign up for a 14-day free trial of SimpleTexting and see what all the hype is about.
This piece was originally published February, 26, 2023. It was refreshed April 7, 2023, and May 30, 2023. Dani Henion authored and refreshed this piece.