A text message gets read, which is exactly why it is easy to ruin. A list that was built carelessly, a promotion sent at 6 a.m., or a number that never completed carrier registration can get a sender blocked in an afternoon, and the business pays for every message that did not arrive. Most buyers start by comparing price per text and discover later that the harder questions are consent records, registration paperwork, quiet hours and what happens when a customer replies STOP. This ranking is written for owners and marketers at small and mid-sized companies who need to send campaigns, reminders and automated flows by SMS. We judged how quickly a real account can send lawfully, what the bill looks like after six months, what leaves with you if you switch, and which kind of business each tool is wrong for.
Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; 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. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
How we ranked these
Setup: number registration, consent capture and the first compliant send
Setting up a texting program is mostly paperwork. In the United States a business needs a registered sender: a 10-digit local number tied to a 10DLC campaign, a verified toll-free number, or a dedicated short code. Vendors differ on how much of that they handle. Textedly, for instance, states that toll-free numbers carry no setup cost and that the first 10DLC registration is free, while Textmagic lists its own monthly campaign registration charge. We also looked at how consent is gathered: web opt-in forms, keyword sign-ups, checkout checkboxes and imports with proof of consent. A tool that lets you launch a broadcast before registration is complete is not helping you; it is setting up a blocked number.
The real price: per message, per credit, per profile or per seat
SMS pricing falls into four shapes, and each rewards a different habit. Credit plans, like SimpleTexting's and EZ Texting's, bundle a monthly allowance and charge overage, so a sudden promotion costs extra. Prepaid balances, as at Textmagic and Brevo, cap spend at what you load but carry a higher per-message rate for small senders. Pure usage billing, as at Postscript and CM.com, tracks sends but may add a base fee. Platforms that sit on a customer database, Klaviyo and Omnisend among them, bill on profiles or plan tiers in addition to messages. MMS multiplies cost: three credits at SimpleTexting and EZ Texting. We also noted where a number rental, a short code or an AI add-on is billed on top.
Getting your data out: phone numbers, opt-in proof and conversation history
A phone number list is only as valuable as the proof that each person agreed to receive texts. When you leave a platform, the receiving vendor will ask when and how every contact opted in, and a bare CSV of numbers will not satisfy it. We checked whether each product exports consent timestamp, source keyword or form, opt-out status, custom fields and tags, plus the message history that sits in the inbox. We also looked at whether the keyword you promoted on flyers and receipts can be moved with you, since a number belongs to the carrier chain and not always to the customer. Tools that hold numbers on your behalf, as with leased numbers, deserve a close read of the porting terms.
Independence from the vendor: numbers, carriers and platform lock-in
Texting lock-in comes from three places. The first is the sender identity: a number or short code with a good reputation takes weeks to rebuild if you start over. The second is the platform around the channel. A store whose cart-recovery flows, subscriber forms and revenue reports live inside an ecommerce tool will find SMS hard to detach from it. The third is the carrier route behind the product. Some vendors sell through their own infrastructure; Textmagic, for example, lets customers connect their own CPaaS account for a lower per-message rate. We favored products where a business can bring its own number, export history cleanly, and still run the campaigns it designed elsewhere.
Who it's for: shops, service businesses and multi-country senders
The tools split along what the texts are for. Online stores want events from a catalog and orders feeding automated flows, plus attribution to revenue; that points to Klaviyo, Omnisend, Postscript or Attentive. Restaurants, clinics, schools and clubs mostly send reminders, announcements and replies to individual questions, which favors an inbox-centered tool such as SimpleTexting, EZ Texting or Textedly. Companies sending to customers in several countries care about per-destination rates, local sender rules and an EU contracting entity, which brings in Brevo, CM.com or Bird. Local service firms that treat the text thread as a sales channel are Podium's market. A buyer's first decision is which of these jobs they have.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 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. The credit-based plans are published, the trial asks for no card, and the number options (10-digit local, toll-free, text-enabled landline, dedicated short code) cover the usual compliance routes. Inbound SMS is free, which matters for businesses that field a lot of replies. It earns first place because a new account can be sending lawful campaigns within a day.
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. A dedicated short code costs $1,000 or more a month, and MMS burns three credits per message, so image-heavy campaigns drain a plan faster than the headline credit count suggests.
Wrong for
Online stores that want abandoned-cart texts tied to catalog data and order history. Klaviyo, Omnisend or Postscript fit that job better than a general texting platform.
Pricing: Plans are sized by monthly message credits and number type, starting around $39 a month billed yearly for 500 credits plus a local number; extra credits are 5.5 cents each. (free trial)
Visit SimpleTexting →
#2 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. The entry tier has no monthly base fee, which suits a store testing SMS before committing. Positioning has moved toward AI-written journeys and RCS, but the core is still campaigns, flows and list-growth tools that are straightforward to run.
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. The AI tier is priced separately, starting at $699 a month, and per-message cost rises if you stay on the cheapest base.
Wrong for
Merchants on non-Shopify platforms, service businesses and anyone who needs a general inbox for staff replies. SimpleTexting or Omnisend would fit better.
Pricing: Usage-based: a $0 Starter base at $0.009 per SMS, $100 Growth at $0.008, $500 Professional at $0.007; a 30-day $100 messaging credit serves as the trial. (free trial)
Visit Postscript →
#3 Omnisend
Email and SMS flows for online stores · Lithuania · omnisend.com
Email + SMS Store integrations Cheap entry
Omnisend gets third 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. There is a free plan to prove the setup before paying. Forms include consent language, frequency caps and local quiet hours, which spares a small team from building compliance rules by hand. It is based in Vilnius, a point for European buyers who prefer an EU contracting entity.
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. Deep segmentation and predictive features trail Klaviyo, and non-ecommerce businesses will find the templates oriented to shops.
Wrong for
Service businesses, clinics and nonprofits that mostly send reminders and announcements by text. A conversation-first tool such as SimpleTexting or Textmagic suits them better.
Pricing: Free plan with 500 emails and 250 contacts; paid plans from $11.20 a month; SMS is a separate credit add-on from $0.009 down to $0.007 per message at volume. (free plan)
Visit Omnisend →
#4 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. The free plan includes a small allowance of mobile messages, which is enough to test a flow end to end. Its move in July 2026 to dollar-per-message pricing for mobile makes costs easier to forecast than credit bundles were. As a dominant incumbent it cannot take a top-three place on this list.
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. Text-only users pay for a data platform they do not need, and staff conversation features are minimal compared with inbox-style tools.
Wrong for
Teams that only want to send reminders or broadcast announcements and have no store data to segment on. SimpleTexting or Textedly cost less and are simpler.
Pricing: A free plan includes 250 active profiles and $5 of mobile messages a month; since July 2026 mobile messaging is billed in dollars per message by channel and region rather than credits. (free plan)
Visit Klaviyo →
#5 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. As a dominant name in retail texting it cannot take a top-three place, and the sales-led entry bar means smaller buyers will often do better elsewhere.
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. Self-serve onboarding is not the point of the product.
Wrong for
Small businesses and stores with a few thousand subscribers who want published prices and a same-day start. Omnisend, SimpleTexting or Postscript are better matches.
Pricing: 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 trial)
Visit Attentive →
#6 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. The platform lists UK, Canadian, Australian, European and US compliance rules in its documentation, and it connects to a wide range of business apps. A mid-table rank reflects solid breadth without a standout in ecommerce depth.
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. The interface is utilitarian and ecommerce flows are not the focus.
Wrong for
Online stores needing purchase-triggered journeys, or very high-volume senders who would pay less by contracting a carrier-grade provider directly.
Pricing: Fully prepaid credit bundles; outbound SMS about $0.049 per message, number rental $10 a month, optional subscription plans in some countries, and a free test balance. (free trial)
Visit Textmagic →
#7 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. SMS costs one credit and MMS three, with unused credits carrying over one extra cycle on monthly plans, so planning a month's volume is easy.
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. Compared with SimpleTexting, the interface feels less current.
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.
Pricing: Launch $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), Boost $60, Scale $100, Enterprise $3,000; each plan includes 500 monthly credits, with overage at $0.01 to $0.04 per credit. (free trial)
Visit EZ Texting →
#8 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 is calculated per destination, so a European or international sender can estimate costs before sending. French incorporation matters to buyers who prefer an EU supplier for contracts and data processing. It sits mid-list because SMS is secondary to the email product.
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. Text is not the product's center of gravity.
Wrong for
Texting-heavy organizations needing a shared team inbox, or US stores wanting deep purchase-based segmentation. SimpleTexting or Klaviyo fit those cases.
Pricing: SMS credits are bought in packs of 100 that do not expire, from $0.0109 per message credit in the US; the credit count per message depends on destination and length. (free plan)
Visit Brevo →
#9 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. Inbound messages are free, toll-free numbers carry no setup fee, and the first 10DLC registration is free. That simplicity suits local organizations with list sizes in the hundreds or low thousands.
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. Higher volume tiers cost significantly more per message than usage-based competitors, and the interface is plain.
Wrong for
Growing retail brands or teams that need automation depth, integrations and attribution; Postscript or Klaviyo are closer to that need.
Pricing: Tiered by monthly message volume from $29 for 500 messages up to $5,520 for 300,000; all plans carry the same features, extra teammates are $10 a month. (free trial)
Visit Textedly →
#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. A campaign module sits alongside its API for companies that want to send from their own systems. For a firm sending reminders or promotions across several countries, the clarity of a per-destination price list is worth more than a shop-specific feature set.
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. Ecommerce flows and list growth tools are not what it is known for, and its breadth makes it heavier than a small business needs.
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.
Pricing: Pay per use with one fixed price per SMS in each country, no monthly fee, and volume discounts from 50,000 messages by quote. (none)
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. It fits an organization with a developer or a technical marketer, who will configure sending and numbers. The Amsterdam entity contracts with customers outside the US, which some European buyers prefer.
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. A non-technical marketer expecting a ready-made campaign calendar will find less hand-holding than in SimpleTexting.
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.
Pricing: Usage-based with product subscriptions; SMS starts at $0.0035 per US segment, WhatsApp $0.005, US local numbers $0.50 a month, email plans from $15 a month. (free plan)
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. Unlike a broadcast tool, its center of gravity is responding to individual inquiries, which is a different job from running promotions. We place it last because mass marketing is not its core strength and because buyers cannot see prices.
Where it falls short
No published pricing, so comparison shopping requires a sales conversation and likely a contract. It is not designed for sending large promotional broadcasts, and a small business with a simple list would pay for capabilities it does not use.
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.
Pricing: Plans are sold through the sales team; the pricing page lists no tiers or entry price, and an AI Employee add-on is available on all plans. (none)
Visit Podium →
What the data says about this market
SMS marketing is split between two kinds of vendor. Some sell texting as the product, with a shared inbox, keywords and a message-credit price. Others treat it as a channel inside a larger system for email, ecommerce data or customer communication. Of the twelve products ranked here, seven are headquartered in the United States, two in the Netherlands, and one each in the United Kingdom, Lithuania and France. The American vendors are mostly aimed at US carriers and US consent rules, which are the strictest in the sense that a single unregistered campaign can stop delivery altogether.
Pricing transparency is uneven. Attentive and Podium publish no price and route buyers to a sales conversation; CM.com shows per-country rates only on a separate page. The other nine put a plan ladder, a per-message rate or a prepaid credit price on their own sites. Four offer a free plan (Omnisend, Klaviyo, Brevo and Bird, though in Brevo's case the free tier covers email with SMS credits bought separately, and Bird's free tiers cover selected products); six more offer a trial or test credit. No vendor on this list sends texts for free forever, because the carrier fee on every message has to be recovered somewhere.
European buyers have fewer native options than the market's size suggests. The World Bank series on ICT service exports as a share of all service exports puts the European Union at 17.55% in 2023, up from 10.58% in 2013, against 8.54% for North America. Yet the SMS platforms with the strongest ecommerce and local-business followings are still mostly American. Brevo, Omnisend, CM.com, Bird and Textmagic give buyers who want a European contracting party a real shortlist, but they trade some store-specific depth for it. Consent law (GDPR and ePrivacy in the EU, PECR in the UK, the TCPA in the US) also differs enough that a vendor's home market is worth checking.
The 12 ranked vendors, counted
- Headquarters by region: North America 7, Europe 5
- By country: United States 7, Netherlands 2, France 1, Lithuania 1, United Kingdom 1
- Pricing model: Quote only 2, Base fee + per message 1, Credits / month 1, Message-volume tiers 1, Per message by country 1, Plan + SMS credits 1, Prepaid SMS credits 1, Prepaid credit 1, Profiles + per message 1, Tiered subscription + credits 1, Usage-based 1
- Free option: Free trial 6, Free plan 4, None 2
Counted from the 12 vendors on this page. More in our market data.
For the wider market behind SMS marketing software, read our report The Global Shift to ICT Services,
or browse all industry reports.
Questions and answers
What is the best SMS marketing software in 2026?
SimpleTexting is our first pick for most small and mid-sized businesses: published credit plans, a no-card trial, a shared inbox, keywords, drips and free inbound messages. Postscript is the better pick for a Shopify store that wants texting as its main retention channel, and Omnisend is better for a shop that wants email and SMS in the same flows with a free plan to start. Klaviyo and Attentive are large platforms that make sense when purchase data or a very big list drives the program.
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. Vendors handle this differently: Textedly says toll-free numbers have no setup fee and the first 10DLC registration is free, while Textmagic lists a monthly campaign registration charge. Ask any vendor who files the paperwork and how long approval usually takes.
How much does it cost to send 10,000 texts a month?
It depends on the pricing shape. At usage rates on vendors' pages, Postscript lists $0.009 per SMS on its Starter tier, which is about $90, and Omnisend lists $0.007 per message at the top volume band, about $70 for the messages alone. Credit plans such as EZ Texting add monthly fees, and MMS costs three credits per message at SimpleTexting and EZ Texting. Add number rental and any plan fee, and check carrier surcharges.
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. Klaviyo's earlier credit pricing stated that its message cost included carrier costs. Marketing platforms usually quote an all-in rate, while infrastructure providers itemize. When comparing, add the surcharge to any quote that shows only a base rate.
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. Collect opt-ins through forms, checkout checkboxes or keywords, store the date and source, and honor STOP immediately. Buying a list is the quickest way to get a number blocked. Several tools here, such as Omnisend, include consent language, frequency caps and quiet hours in their forms.
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. Email handles longer content and a bigger audience at lower per-message cost. Most stores run both, which is why Klaviyo, Omnisend, Brevo and Postscript put them in one account. A reasonable approach is to keep email as the default, then use text for the moments where timing is worth the higher per-message price.
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. If you migrate, bring the suppression list; texting an opted-out person again is a compliance violation. Test it during the trial by joining your own list and replying STOP.
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. A Shopify-focused texting specialist like Postscript can make sense when texts are the main program and you want billing by message rather than by profile. An SMS-only general tool like SimpleTexting is fine for broadcasts but lacks store events. Decide by where your purchase data already lives.
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. Numbers a vendor provides as part of a plan may be released if you cancel. Before signing, ask whether you can port the number out, how long it takes, and what happens to the keyword you printed on packaging or signage.
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. Textmagic is registered in England and Wales. The US-based vendors can still serve European customers, but check where data is processed and which entity signs the contract if your procurement rules require an EU party.
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. SimpleTexting, EZ Texting and Textedly fit that case with fixed monthly plans. Ecommerce platforms add cost and features you would not use, and their inbox tooling for staff conversations is usually thin.
