The Best SMS Marketing Platform in 2023: Top 7 Picks

SMS is a powerful marketing tool, especially for small businesses that may have little money to spend trying to reach customers. SMS is cost-effective and achieves brilliant results – several sources report impressive open and response rates of 98% and 45%, respectively.

Did you know there are 6.64 billion smartphone users in the world today? That's 83.32% of the global population. Furthermore, a total of 7.26 billion people have access to a mobile phone (91% of the population).

An SMS marketing campaign can reach all these people, including that gap of 0.62 billion with feature phones that don't have access to internet-based channels like email, social media and third-party messaging apps. Because all users need to receive SMS is a basic mobile phone and a cellular network.

SMS marketing is ideal for sending out special offers and rewards, appointment reminders, review requests, order confirmations and welcome messages. To employ SMS marketing, you'll need to use SMS marketing software.

What is SMS marketing software?

SMS marketing software is a platform that facilitates your SMS marketing efforts. It acts as an intermediary between your business and the mobile phone networks, enabling you to send text message marketing campaigns to a list of customers who've opted in.

In addition to promotional messages, you can use an SMS marketing service to send two-factor authentication (2FA) PIN code requests, customer service messages and urgent alerts.

How SMS marketing software works

Typically, you'd create an account with an SMS provider to receive your API key (your secure ID as a user) or you can send campaigns manually using their online service. Then you'd apply for a sender name (or register your existing number). Once your SMS provider verifies the sender, you can start sending text messages through the provider's platform or by integrating its API into your business systems. Read more information on getting started with SMS marketing software.

How to choose the best SMS marketing platform

There are many SMS marketing platforms around, each offering different features and advantages. If you're comparing one platform over another, look out for the following:

• Pricing – check whether there's a free trial, monthly subscription or Pay As You Go option. Ideally, you'll only want to pay for the number of texts you send and not be tied into messaging volumes you won't always need.

• Bulk text messages – this is where you can text a single campaign to thousands of subscribers simultaneously. Look out for how many contacts you can upload.

• MMS support – not all providers offer MMS. If you want to send rich media content, this is something you might need.

• Scalability – check whether you can scale your operations up or down according to your messaging needs.

• Integrations – the best SMS marketing platforms can integrate with CRM and e-commerce systems.

• Level of personalisation – can the platform use customer data so you can send targeted campaigns?

• Scheduling and automation – both are important features that save time. Automation can help you engage customers even when you're busy with other tasks.

• Reporting and analytics – it’s vital to check the performance of your campaigns. Ensure your chosen platform offers the type of insights you need.

Seven of the best SMS marketing platforms

To get you started with your research, we've compiled a list of seven SMS marketing tools that have earned a reputation for achieving great results. Below is an overview of each, plus pros and cons.

Messente

Messente was established in 2001 and has a strong reputation for its enterprise-level global messaging solutions. The company has partnerships with over 1,200 mobile networks in more than 190 countries, so can help businesses around the globe reach anyone with access to a mobile phone.

Key products/services offered:

• SMS API – helping you deliver business-critical PIN codes, transactional communications and marketing messages directly to customers.

• Viber Business Messages – enabling you to have rich content conversations with 1 billion Viber users.

• User Authentication API – so you can carry out user verification seamlessly through two-factor authentication.

Messente gives you access to bulk text messages for blanket marketing campaigns. You can also review and schedule SMS campaigns, set up two-way messaging, upload contacts and carry out audience segmentation.

Messente pros:

• Affordable messaging based on volume. You can scale or up down as needed without any commitment and Pay As You Go to manage costs easily.

• Adaptive routing – messages arrive virtually instantly due to smart routing algorithms.

• If subscribers can't be reached on SMS, Messente tries to deliver your message through fallback routes (Whatsapp or Viber).

• Free comprehensive support is available for all customers, no matter the size of the business or its messaging requirements.

• Easy integration with more than 5,000 apps.

• Global solution.

Messente cons:

• Doesn't support MMS.

Sakari

Founded in 2016, Sakari provides business text messaging services in multiple countries. The company prides itself on being affordable, easy to use and reliable.

Key product/service offered:

• SMS API for SMS reminders, confirmations, alerts and marketing campaigns.

Sakari has a strong focus on SMS, offering two-way texting, MMS messaging, mass texting, email to SMS and autoresponders.

Sakari pros:

• Supports rich text SMS messages where each message is a website page you can customise with your brand.

• Easy to use platform.

• Integrates with existing systems.

• Global solution.

• Reasonable pricing, starting at $16 per month.

Sakari cons:

• Doesn't support omnichannel messaging.

• Only supports MMS in the United States and Canada.

• Pricing is subscription-based, but you can cancel anytime.

EZ Texting

EZ Texting is a text marketing company aimed at small to medium-sized businesses. It provides high-ROI mobile marketing solutions that support businesses to grow.

Key product/service offered:

• SMS API for marketing and sales, customer service and HR and employee operations.

EZ Texting's text marketing solution includes contact management, text messaging tools, customer list growth tools, template and design tools and a range of textable number options.

EZ Texting pros:

• Robust suite of features for a wide range of SMS campaigns.

• Supports MMS messages.

• Offers helpful resources such as getting started guides and video tutorials.

• Trusted platform by many businesses.

EZ Texting cons:

• Doesn't support omnichannel messaging.

• Not the cheapest SMS-only marketing solution on the market, with prices from $25 per month.

• Only operates in the United States and Canada.

Boostly

Boostly was founded in 2017 and is an automated text marketing solution operating in a niche market: restaurants. It works seamlessly with POS providers and online ordering systems to drive incremental visits and gather reviews from diners.

Key product/service offered:

• Text marketing and feedback platform for restaurants.

Restaurants can use Boostly to collect customer text message opt-ins and feedback about their dining experience. The platform provides automated SMS marketing campaigns such as weekly offers, birthday deals and reservation reminders.

Boostly pros:

• Achieves a 10 x greater redemption rate compared to printed advertising.

• Good ROI – restaurant partners get $10-$15 back for each dollar spent with Boostly.

Boostly cons:

• Only suitable for restaurants in the United States and Canada.

• Not a complete messaging solution for most businesses.

Twilio

A global company, Twilio has offices in fifteen countries and the infrastructure to support communications around the world. The company provides simple tools that power customer interactions and solve complex problems.

Key products/services offered:

• Omnichannel messaging APIs – supporting SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Google Business Messages.

• Twilio Engage – customer engagement solution that captures customer data.

• Trusted Activation – customisable verification solutions, including no-input verification.

• Twilio Flex – a cloud-based contact centre platform.

Using Twilio, you can carry out SMS marketing, streamline workforce operations and customer fulfilment, and deliver personalised customer service at scale.

Twilio pros:

• Wide range of features, giving you everything you need to manage mobile customer communications.

• Omnichannel solution.

• Supports MMS.

• Pay As You Go pricing for SMS.

Twilio cons:

• Complex to set up and requires coding knowledge.

• So many features can lead to overwhelm.

• Customer support is only available via email, not phone.

• Pricing can be confusing as it differs for each product/service.

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a growth marketing platform founded in 2012. It offers automated email and SMS marketing and is geared towards e-commerce brands looking to deliver personalised experiences for customers.

Key product/service:

• Unified email and text message marketing solution for e-commerce businesses.

Through Klaviyo, e-commerce stores can drive repeat sales, increase revenue and improve customer retention. The platform pulls data from your online store and other apps you use to send personalised, targeted email and SMS marketing. Through detailed analytics, you can see where customers are in the buying process and how they've interacted with your campaigns.

Klaviyo pros:

• Supports two communication channels, SMS and email.

• Good selection of automated email flows.

• Advanced audience segmentation.

• Advanced analytics.

• Supports MMS.

• Free plan available to get you started.

Klaviyo cons:

• Not suitable for all businesses, only e-commerce.

• No mobile app.

• Email builder is a little clunky, according to reviews.

• SMS is only available in the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia.

• Expensive if you want to use email and SMS together.

Emotive

Established in 2018, Emotive is a text message marketing platform aimed at fast-growing e-commerce brands looking to reach customers through personalized text messages.

Key product/service:

• Emotive SMS marketing plugin for online retailers.

Emotive's features include subscriber list building, audience segmentation, SMS campaign creation, two-way messaging, automated campaigns and analytics.

Emotive pros:

• Each client gets access to Emotive's customer success team.

• Powerful automated SMS messaging features.

• Easy to use platform.

• 5 x ROI guarantee.

• 30-day free trial available.

• Supports MMS.

Emotive cons:

• Only suitable for e-commerce stores.

• Supports one channel only.

• Pricing not advertised – you'll have to book a demo to get a quote.

Which SMS marketing platform is the best?

There's much to think about when choosing the right SMS marketing platform for your business. Consider pricing, bulk SMS and MMS, scalability, ease of integration, level of personalisation, marketing automation and reporting capabilities.

We've identified seven of the best SMS marketing services around currently and provided an overview of each to guide your research. If you'd like to try Messente, you can create a free account and send your first few text messages for free. Here's how.