Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment gives a vendor more visibility, higher up on the review pages; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in SMS marketing software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 Postscript
SMS and RCS retention marketing for Shopify stores · United States · postscript.io
Shopify-native Pay after sending RCS
Postscript is the cleanest fit for a merchant whose store runs on Shopify and whose texting program is the main retention channel. Billing is by message after you send, with no prepaid balance and no charge for how many profiles you hold, so a large, quiet list does not inflate the invoice.
- Pricing: Base fee + per message. Usage-based: a $0 Starter base at $0.009 per SMS, $100 Growth at $0.008, $500 Professional at $0.007. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Shopify merchants prioritizing SMS
- Strengths: SMS and MMS campaigns; Automated flows; RCS messaging.
Where it falls short
The product assumes a Shopify store; other platforms can connect through an SDK, which means developer time. Email arrived only recently, so a merchant wanting one tool for both channels may find it thinner than Klaviyo or Omnisend.
Wrong for
Merchants on non-Shopify platforms, service businesses and anyone who needs a general inbox for staff replies.
Visit Postscript →
#2 Textedly
Keyword-driven texting at flat message tiers · United States · textedly.com
Same features all plans Free inbound Keyword-based
Textedly keeps things narrow. You pick a message volume, everything is included, and the same feature set applies whether you send 500 texts or 300,000. A free account with 50 messages and one custom keyword lets a club or shop test the sign-up flow with no card.
- Pricing: Message-volume tiers. Tiered by monthly message volume from $29 for 500 messages up to $5,520 for 300,000. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Local businesses and organizations with small lists
- Strengths: Mass texting; Custom keywords; Inbound messages.
Where it falls short
It lacks ecommerce triggers, deep segmentation and revenue reporting. Seats are billed at $10 a month each, which adds up for a team of five.
Wrong for
Growing retail brands or teams that need automation depth, integrations and attribution; Postscript or Klaviyo are closer to that need.
Visit Textedly →
#3 SimpleTexting
Plain bulk and two-way texting for non-technical teams · United States · simpletexting.com
Shared inbox Credit plans No contract
SimpleTexting is what most small businesses actually need from this category: upload or collect a list, send a broadcast, answer replies from a shared inbox, and set up a welcome text or a drip without calling a salesperson.
- Pricing: Credits / month. Plans are sized by monthly message credits and number type, starting around $39 a month billed yearly for 500 credits plus a local number. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small businesses texting customers
- Strengths: Mass texting and scheduled sends; Two-way conversation inbox; Drip campaigns and autoresponders.
Where it falls short
It is not an ecommerce tool. There is no native storefront-driven flow with product feeds or revenue attribution of the kind Shopify-focused platforms provide.
Wrong for
Online stores that want abandoned-cart texts tied to catalog data and order history.
Visit SimpleTexting →
#4 Omnisend
Email and SMS flows for online stores · Lithuania · omnisend.com
Email + SMS Store integrations Cheap entry
Omnisend gets fourth place because it combines two channels without forcing a merchant to buy twice. Cart recovery, welcome sequences, birthday offers and shipping updates can mix email and text in a single workflow, and SMS is billed as credits that drop in price as monthly volume climbs past the thresholds on its pricing page.
- Pricing: Plan + SMS credits. Free plan with 500 emails and 250 contacts. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Stores wanting both channels in one tool
- Strengths: SMS automation for carts and welcome series; Email and SMS in one workflow; TCPA-aware signup forms.
Where it falls short
SMS is an add-on rather than the center of the product, so inbox features for staff-to-customer conversations are limited next to dedicated texting tools. Message rates vary by destination and are higher than raw CPaaS prices.
Wrong for
Service businesses, clinics and nonprofits that mostly send reminders and announcements by text.
Visit Omnisend →
#5 Klaviyo
Ecommerce CRM with email and mobile messaging · United States · klaviyo.com
Purchase segmentation Email + SMS Per-message billing
Klaviyo is the tool to look at if you already trust it with customer data. Texts draw on the same profiles, order events and predicted behaviors as email, so a flow can send a text only to buyers who skipped the email, or hold SMS for high-value segments.
- Pricing: Profiles + per message. A free plan includes 250 active profiles and $5 of mobile messages a month. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Stores segmenting on purchase data
- Strengths: SMS and MMS campaigns; Flows triggered by store events; Segmentation on order data.
Where it falls short
Billing is anchored to active profiles, so growing a list lifts the bill even if texts stay constant. The pricing page hides paid tiers behind a calculator.
Wrong for
Teams that only want to send reminders or broadcast announcements and have no store data to segment on.
Visit Klaviyo →
#6 Attentive
Omnichannel messaging for larger ecommerce brands · United States · attentive.com
Enterprise retail Quote-based AI journeys
Attentive is built for brands that treat text as a core revenue channel and have the list to match. It combines SMS, email, RCS and push under a single customer ID, runs managed compliance and deliverability work, and offers AI products for automating journeys and growing subscribers. The integration catalog covers the common ecommerce, loyalty and customer-service tools.
- Pricing: Quote only. Usage-based and quote-driven: price depends on list size, message volume, channels and AI tools, with no published entry price and a free trial request form. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Retail brands with large subscriber lists
- Strengths: SMS campaigns; Email; RCS for Business.
Where it falls short
Pricing is not shown, so budgeting means a sales conversation, and the model rises with list size and sends. The scope, with AI tools and several channels, is more than a small shop will use.
Wrong for
Small businesses and stores with a few thousand subscribers who want published prices and a same-day start.
Visit Attentive →
#7 Textmagic
Prepaid business SMS with a flow builder · United Kingdom · textmagic.com
Prepaid Multi-currency Alerts and campaigns
Textmagic suits organizations whose texting is a mix of marketing and operations: appointment reminders, delivery alerts, internal notices and the occasional promotion. Credit is bought up front in bundles, so spend can never exceed what was loaded, and bundles can be priced in dollars, euros, pounds or Australian dollars.
- Pricing: Prepaid credit. Fully prepaid credit bundles. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams sending alerts and campaigns
- Strengths: Bulk SMS campaigns; Flow builder; Shared inbox.
Where it falls short
At $0.049 per message the base price is higher than usage-based rivals, and the cheaper $0.01 rate applies only if you connect your own CPaaS account. Number rental and campaign registration add to the bill.
Wrong for
Online stores needing purchase-triggered journeys, or very high-volume senders who would pay less by contracting a carrier-grade provider directly.
Visit Textmagic →
#8 EZ Texting
Subscription SMS with published tiers · United States · eztexting.com
Published tiers 14-day trial Credit pools
EZ Texting offers a transparent ladder: a 14-day trial with no card, then three self-serve tiers whose differences come down to features and overage rates, and a custom enterprise plan. It has been around for years under the CallFire umbrella, which counts for something with schools, churches, clubs and local service firms that want a vendor with a long record.
- Pricing: Tiered subscription + credits. Launch $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), Boost $60, Scale $100, Enterprise $3,000. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small organizations wanting fixed monthly tiers
- Strengths: Mass texting; Two-way messaging; Automation.
Where it falls short
Overage cost climbs quickly if a campaign runs hot, and the Enterprise tier jumps straight to $3,000 a month. It is generic: no store-event triggers, and nothing for revenue attribution.
Wrong for
Retailers who want revenue attribution and catalog-aware flows, or large senders who need volume-based per-message rates without a $3,000 floor.
Visit EZ Texting →
#9 Brevo
Email-led marketing suite with prepaid SMS · France · brevo.com
EU vendor Prepaid credits Email suite
Brevo is the practical option for businesses that already email through it and want to add text without a second vendor. SMS runs on prepaid credits that never expire, with no monthly minimum, and the free plan carries email for up to 100,000 contacts at 300 sends a day.
- Pricing: Prepaid SMS credits. SMS credits are bought in packs of 100 that do not expire, from $0.0109 per message credit in the US. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: European senders sending SMS and email
- Strengths: SMS campaigns; Prepaid credits; Email marketing.
Where it falls short
Credits-per-message varies by country and length, which makes forecasting fiddly, and long messages use several credits. The SMS tooling has fewer conversational features than texting-first platforms, and ecommerce segmentation is lighter than Klaviyo's.
Wrong for
Texting-heavy organizations needing a shared team inbox, or US stores wanting deep purchase-based segmentation.
Visit Brevo →
#10 CM.com
Pay-per-use business messaging from the Netherlands · Netherlands · cm.com
EU supplier Per-country price No monthly fee
CM.com is the choice for a European business that wants a single Dutch supplier for messaging and does not want a seat-based plan. It charges one price per country for all operators, with no monthly subscription, and negotiates discounts once volume passes 50,000 messages.
- Pricing: Per message by country. Pay per use with one fixed price per SMS in each country, no monthly fee, and volume discounts from 50,000 messages by quote. Free plan: none.
- Best for: European senders needing country-based pricing
- Strengths: Bulk SMS; Worldwide destination pricing; Campaign tooling.
Where it falls short
The overview pricing page shows no actual rates, so you must navigate to the country list or ask sales. No trial is advertised.
Wrong for
Small shops wanting pop-ups, cart recovery and an all-in-one dashboard, or buyers who want a published price ladder rather than per-destination rates.
Visit CM.com →
#11 Bird
Multichannel messaging and CRM billed by usage · Netherlands · bird.com
Formerly MessageBird Usage billing Multichannel
Bird, the company that traded as MessageBird until its rebrand, appeals to teams that want SMS as one channel among several, billed by use. The per-segment SMS rate is low, WhatsApp and email run on the same account, and balances can be topped up independently of subscriptions.
- Pricing: Usage-based. Usage-based with product subscriptions. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Developers and teams mixing SMS, WhatsApp and email
- Strengths: SMS; WhatsApp; Email.
Where it falls short
Separate billing for each channel, number and top-up makes the total hard to predict. Free tiers apply to selected products, not all SMS usage.
Wrong for
Non-technical owners wanting guided list building, keywords and a shared inbox out of the box; SimpleTexting or Textedly are the simpler start.
Visit Bird →
#12 Podium
AI-assisted texting for local, multi-location businesses · United States · podium.com
Local business Quote-based AI lead response
Podium belongs on the list because many local businesses reach for it first: a dentist, an auto dealer or a home-services firm that wants every inbound lead answered by text. The vendor leads with AI lead conversion, and tailored versions exist for home services, wellness and automotive.
- Pricing: Quote only. Plans are sold through the sales team. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Local businesses wanting a managed system
- Strengths: Text-based lead conversion; AI Employee add-on; Plans by sales quote.
Where it falls short
No published pricing, so comparison shopping requires a sales conversation and likely a contract.
Wrong for
Anyone seeking low-cost bulk promotions or a self-serve, published-price start; SimpleTexting, Textedly or EZ Texting are cheaper and more direct.
Visit Podium →
Questions and answers
What is the best SMS marketing software in 2026?
Postscript ranks first of 12, best for shopify merchants prioritizing SMS. Textedly is second (local businesses and organizations with small lists) and SimpleTexting third (small businesses texting customers). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
Do I need to register a number before sending marketing texts in the US?
Yes, in practice. Business texts to US numbers go through a registered 10-digit local number tied to a 10DLC campaign, a verified toll-free number or a dedicated short code. Unregistered traffic is filtered by carriers.
How much does it cost to send 10,000 texts a month?
It depends on the pricing shape.
Are carrier fees included in the per-message price?
Sometimes. Twilio's US page lists a base rate of $0.0083 per segment and then separate carrier fees per network, from $0.0035 at AT&T to $0.005 at Verizon for outbound messages.
Can I text customers who have not agreed to it?
No. In the US, the TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing texts, and carriers expect proof. The UK's PECR and EU ePrivacy rules likewise require consent for marketing messages, with limited exceptions for existing customers.
Is SMS better than email for marketing?
They do different jobs. Texts are short, immediate and read quickly, which suits flash sales, appointment reminders and back-in-stock alerts.
What happens when a customer replies STOP?
The platform must record the opt-out and stop all marketing messages to that number, usually automatically and across every campaign, with a confirmation text. Check that opt-outs are applied account-wide rather than per list, and that they survive an import.
Should an online store use an SMS-only tool or its email platform?
If the store already sends email through Klaviyo or Omnisend, adding SMS there avoids a second integration and lets one flow use both channels.
Can I keep my keyword and number if I switch platforms?
Often, but not automatically. A toll-free or local number can usually be ported to another provider, and a dedicated short code is leased from the carrier ecosystem, so moving it takes coordination.
Do any of these vendors offer a European contracting entity?
Yes. Omnisend contracts as Omnisend, UAB in Vilnius, Lithuania. Brevo operates through a French company in Paris, CM.com through CM.com N.V. in Breda, the Netherlands, and Bird through Bird B.V. in Amsterdam.
When is a general texting tool better than an ecommerce one?
When the texts are not tied to a catalog. A dentist sending reminders, a school announcing closures or a club coordinating volunteers needs a reply inbox, groups and keywords more than order events.
