EZ Texting is a well-known SMS and MMS platform for simple marketing campaigns, reminders, and two-way text messaging. Highly praised for its clean UI, templates, and quick setup, it is a great choice for small teams kicking off their SMS marketing efforts.
But as messaging needs grow, some gaps become increasingly difficult to bridge.
EZ Texting users have noted a few shortcomings that become more apparent at scale. These include limited direct integration options, credit-based pricing that becomes confusing and costly, along with insufficient support, as well as occasional deliverability issues. Some small businesses have reported feeling pressured by upsells and surprise charges under EZ Texting’s tiered plans.
If you are running high-volume SMS campaigns, need global reach, or want true omnichannel options, you might want to look beyond EZ Texting.
In this article, we’ll compare EZ Texting with seven strong alternatives and go over some basic evaluation criteria that can help you make the right choice.
Messente
Avochato
Twilio
Plivo
SimpleTexting
Textmagic
Textedly
Feature comparison table: Your top options at a glance
Use this grid to shortlist fast: SMS/MMS, WhatsApp/Viber, voice, inbox, API, analytics, and more.
Messente | Avochato | Twilio | Plivo | SimpleTexting | Textmagic | Textedly | |
SMS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MMS | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes |
WhatsApp Business | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Viber | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Voice capabilities | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Shared team inbox | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
API access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Web dashboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Analytics/reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Number validation/lookup | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Auto-replace | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
International coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Free trial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Finding the best EZ Texting alternative: Where to start
Identifying the right texting platform starts with knowing what features and qualities matter most for your business needs and goals.
Must-haves: Core criteria
Deliverability and routing reliability: High message deliverability is crucial. Look for providers with strong carrier networks and intelligent routing mechanisms to ensure your texts actually reach recipients.
Support responsiveness and account management: Prioritize vendors known for fast support response and dedicated account managers for high-volume clients.
Transparent pricing with cost optimization: The platform should have clear pricing without hidden fees. Bonus points for cost optimization tools like number validation or auto-removal of outdated or redundant contacts to avoid wasting credits.
API and dashboard: If you have a development team, a robust API with ample documentation is a must. A user-friendly dashboard is equally important for non-technical team members like marketers or salespeople.
Analytics, insights, and reporting: Look for analytics dashboards or exportable insights that give you visibility into performance over time.
Compliance and coverage: Make sure the provider covers the regions you need and adheres to relevant regulations. Features like consent management, sender ID registration, and content filtering are very valuable.
Scalability and flexibility: Think about how the service will scale as you grow. You will need support for multiple users or sub-accounts, role-based permissions, and other similar options.
Nice-to-haves: Secondary criteria
An omnichannel messaging API can expand your communications by reaching customers on their preferred channel.
Some texting services offer direct integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Shopify, and more, which can streamline your workflows.
Extra tools, such as those for subscriber list growth, drip campaigns, number validation, auto-replace, etc., can also help in ways that you may not realize at first.
With these criteria in mind, let’s examine the top alternatives to EZ Texting in detail.
1. Messente: Global omnichannel messaging API with a focus on reliability
Messente is a full-service business messaging provider that enables companies to send SMS and OTT messages worldwide. It offers a single API for delivering texts as well as WhatsApp and Viber messages, along with a web dashboard for campaign management. Messente’s core value proposition is reliability. The platform emphasizes high deliverability through direct carrier connections and smart routing, plus strict compliance measures for different countries. Messente is designed to help businesses securely reach anyone, anywhere, via messaging.
Messente’s key features
Messente provides an omnichannel API so you can reach customers via traditional SMS or popular chat apps using the same integration. This is useful for leveraging richer messaging featuring images and longer text through WhatsApp and Viber when possible, with SMS as a fallback.
You can deliver texts to 190+ countries through Messente’s network of 800+ mobile operators. The platform uses adaptive routing algorithms to find the best path for each message. You can even set backup routes to auto-send failed messages via an alternate configured channel in case the primary route fails. This ensures very high delivery rates for critical messages.
Marketers can log into Messente’s web UI to send one-off campaigns or set up automated messaging without writing any code. The interface supports contact list management (with a Phonebook API for syncing contacts), message templating, scheduling, and team collaboration features like sub-accounts and role-based access control. This way, both technical and non-technical users can comfortably use Messente.
For countries that require proper sender registration or local numbers, Messente assists with compliance. You can register custom sender IDs for A2P messaging in many countries through their platform, and they’ve simplified processes like 10DLC registration in the US. This mitigates the risk of messages getting blocked due to regulatory issues.
Privacy is another top priority at Messente. You can choose to hide message content from Messente’s logs entirely, which can be useful for sensitive use cases, e.g., OTP codes or confidential info. Messente is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR-compliant.
The platform provides access to detailed delivery reports and messaging statistics, complete with error codes and timestamps. You can view campaign history and performance on the dashboard or pull data via a Statistics API for custom analysis. This transparency makes it easy to monitor ROI and troubleshoot any delivery issues ASAP.
Responsive and reliable customer support is one of Messente’s strongest flexes. All customers get free support from real humans, with no add-on fees, and high-volume clients are often assigned a dedicated account manager. The support team is available nearly 24x7, given Messente’s global client base, with under one hour response times in many cases.
Messente offers thoughtful tools to help you optimize costs. One such tool is the auto-replace feature that swaps out Unicode symbols with GSM characters to avoid multi-segment charges.
It also offers a Number Lookup API to verify if phone numbers are valid and reachable before you send, helping you skip inactive contacts and save money.
Strengths: What makes Messente better than EZ Texting?
Messente distinguishes itself from EZ Texting in several ways, particularly for companies looking for greater global reach and technical flexibility.
Firstly, Messente is omnichannel. Unlike EZ Texting, which primarily handles SMS and MMS, Messente lets you engage users on WhatsApp and Viber through the same platform. This is a huge advantage if your audience includes international users who prefer chat apps over SMS.
Deliverability is another key strength. Messente’s infrastructure is optimized for reliability, with intelligent routing and failover channels to ensure messages get through even if one route experiences trouble.
Businesses also often cite Messente’s transparent, usage-based pricing as a plus. You pay per message or bundle, and you can check real-time pricing via the API. In contrast, with EZ Texting, some users have struggled with understanding credits and extra fees.
In addition, Messente provides far more hands-on support. Users note that Messente’s support team is highly responsive and proactive, reaching out if they detect issues like unusual traffic or potential fraud.
For developers, Messente is extremely integration-friendly. It has clean API documentation and examples, which one reviewer (a CTO) specifically praised over competitors. Another reviewer was impressed with the 1-on-1 video demonstration and tutorials.
Compliance and security are also strengths worth noting. They make Messente a trusted choice for sensitive messaging like banking OTPs or healthcare reminders. If your business operates in regulated industries or across many countries, Messente will simplify registration and legal hurdles so you can focus on your messaging instead.
Weaknesses: Why Messente may not work for you
Messente is a powerful platform, but it may not be the perfect fit for everyone.
One consideration is that Messente is geared towards communication reliability and APIs, which means it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles that pure, out-of-the-box SMS marketing tools do. Don’t get us wrong. The dashboard itself is a big plus for marketers. But if you need add-ons like extensive template libraries or AI-assisted writing, you’d need to manage them separately when using Messente.
Secondly, if your team absolutely requires a dedicated mobile app or a visual marketing automation builder, Messente might feel a bit lacking. Its focus is on a clean web interface and robust API. It doesn’t have a mobile app for campaign management like some competitors might offer. However, given Messente’s overwhelming strengths, these weaknesses are relatively minor and often mitigated by the excellent support and the company’s dedication to continuous improvements.
2. Avochato: SMS for teams, with CRM integration
Avochato is a cloud-based messaging platform built with team collaboration in mind. It enables businesses to communicate with customers through SMS (and also voice calls and live chat) while sharing access to conversations across a team.
Avochato’s platform is often used for customer support, sales, and operations use-cases where multiple agents need to manage incoming texts. It integrates well with CRMs like Salesforce and offers mobile apps, making it a flexible choice for organizations that need two-way texting at scale with internal workflows.
Avochato’s key features
Collaborative team inbox
One-way and two-way messaging
SMS and rich messaging (MMS and RCS)
Voice call capabilities
Automation tools for drip campaign sequences, auto-replies, survey questionnaires, AI chatbot, and more
Integrations with CRM and Slack
Mobile and web apps
Strengths: What makes Avochato better than EZ Texting?
One major strength is its team collaboration capabilities. Avochato’s shared inbox and assignment features let multiple agents seamlessly manage incoming texts from customers. So, businesses that require reliable conversational texting (e.g., a sales line or support line by text) may find that Avochato fits their needs well.
Avochato also integrates more deeply with other business tools. For example, within Salesforce, you can trigger and respond to texts using Avochato, automatically log those interactions, and even set triggers to send texts on certain events. EZ Texting’s integration capabilities pale in comparison.
Furthermore, Avochato includes voice calling and web chat in the same platform, which EZ Texting lacks natively. You could route a phone call to the same inbox or escalate an SMS conversation to a call easily, all within Avochato’s platform.
Lastly, if your communication strategy could benefit from AI automation, Avochato has built-in AI chatbot and automation capabilities that EZ Texting doesn’t natively provide.
Weaknesses: Why Avochato may not work for you
One commonly cited issue is the performance and reliability of Avochato’s app interface. Some users have reported that Avochato’s software can be laggy at times. The mobile app has been flagged for lacking some features available on the desktop and occasionally being glitchy.
Another concern is Avochato’s pricing structure. Avochato tends to be on the higher end price-wise, especially considering its charges per user seat. For example, there was one mention of the standard plan being around $250 per month for a single user, which includes a sizable platform fee. For teams just starting with SMS, this can be a problem, especially if they don’t really need all the bells and whistles that the platform comes with.
Lastly, if you’re looking for a single provider to cover SMS and international OTT apps or email, Avochato won’t give you that. A platform like Messente or Twilio might be a better match.
3. Twilio: The developer’s choice for communication APIs
Twilio is a well-known communications platform that offers APIs for SMS, voice calls, WhatsApp, video, and more. Rather than a marketing campaign tool, Twilio is a cloud communications infrastructure that businesses and developers use to build custom messaging solutions. Twilio’s flexibility and scale have made it a top choice for tech-savvy teams and large-scale applications.
Twilio’s key features
Programmable SMS and MMS
WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, and email
Voice API
Virtual phone numbers
Large network for high deliverability
Drag-and-drop flow builder
Extra tools for convenience, e.g., Twilio Verify, Authy, and TaskRouter
Extensive developer ecosystem
Strengths: What makes Twilio better than EZ Texting?
Twilio’s primary strength is its flexibility and customization. Where EZ Texting may feel too limited for your needs, Twilio basically lets you custom-build a one-stop solution exactly as you want. Twilio also supports far more channels than EZ Texting, so it’s better if your goal is to consolidate communications.
Another strength is Twilio’s global reach and deliverability. Twilio has a huge footprint and expertise in telecom. If your business is international, Twilio will give you better direct routes than a more US-centric provider like EZ Texting.
Twilio also shines in its integration capabilities. It’s built for developers, so it can integrate with virtually anything since you have full API access.
Weaknesses: Why Twilio may not work for you
While powerful, Twilio is not the most user-friendly option for non-developers or those who just want a ready-to-use solution. One of the biggest weaknesses is its complexity and steep learning curve. Twilio is very developer-focused. Setting it up to do what you want often requires writing code or, at the very least, in-depth configuration. If you don’t have access to an engineering and dev team, maxing out Twilio’s potential may be impossible.
Another drawback is Twilio’s poor customer support structure. Twilio’s standard support is mostly self-service (like documentation and community forums). Direct support from Twilio (like phone or fast email support) usually costs extra or comes with enterprise plans.
At scale, Twilio’s pricing can be a major con as well. Its per-message fees are competitive for low volumes, but if you are sending millions of messages, the costs may end up higher than some other bulk SMS platforms.
Lastly, Twilio’s sheer breadth might mean it lacks specialized features for marketing that dedicated SMS platforms have.
4. Plivo: Scalable SMS and voice at affordable costs
Plivo is a cloud communications platform similar to Twilio, offering API services for SMS, MMS, and voice calls. Often seen as a Twilio alternative, Plivo advertises simpler pricing and cost savings. It’s a good option for developers and enterprises that want the flexibility of an API solution but are sensitive to pricing or looking for certain features that Twilio might lack.
Plivo’s key features
SMS and MMS API
Developer tools and SDKs
Voice call API and SIP trunking
Visual workflow builder
WhatsApp Business API
Enterprise-ready, secure, and compliant
Strengths: What makes Plivo better than EZ Texting?
Plivo shares some of the same advantages over EZ Texting that Twilio does, such as flexibility, global reach, and multi-channel capabilities. But Plivo’s biggest selling point is cost savings for comparable service.
Another strength is support and customer service. Plivo tends to engage more with customers to ensure successful deployment. They may give a bit more attention to clients than a bigger company like Twilio.
For any scenario where SMS is part of your app or service workflow, and not just reserved for marketing campaigns, Plivo is a stronger choice. Many users who outgrow a platform like EZ Texting might be looking for more control via APIs, and Plivo is positioned as a cost-effective way to do that.
Weaknesses: Why Plivo may not work for you
Plivo, much like Twilio, is primarily a toolkit and not just a basic SMS marketing solution. This means its usability for non-technical folks is limited. So, if you want pure no-code ease-of-use in mass texting, Plivo is not the one for you.
There have been some user comments about Plivo’s UI/UX being not the most intuitive. The console experience might feel a bit clunky in places compared to more modern SaaS platforms.
One user also mentioned that initially they had some deliverability issues compared to a competitor, but after tweaking settings with Plivo’s support, those issues were resolved.
5. SimpleTexting: Easy text marketing with full campaign features
SimpleTexting is an SMS marketing platform focused on providing an intuitive dashboard for creating and managing text campaigns, much like EZ Texting itself. It’s often lauded for staying true to its name and simplifying SMS marketing for businesses big and small.
SimpleTexting’s key features
Mass texting and two-way messaging
SMS and MMS
Unlimited keywords and contacts
Powerful yet easy automation tools
AI Assist tool for copywriting
Sign-up forms and widgets
Mobile app with near-full functionality
Opt-in and opt-out handling with age-gating
Strengths: What makes SimpleTexting better than EZ Texting?
One big strength is that SimpleTexting includes almost all features in all plans, even the lowest tiers. You don’t have to pay for a premium plan to get things like automations, segmentation, or keywords. This means a small business on a budget can still leverage automation and unlimited campaigns with SimpleTexting, getting better value for money.
One review comparison noted that SimpleTexting’s keywords and segmentation features are very easy to use and a standout. Users have also praised how they can track exactly which messages led to responses or opt-outs, and even evaluate staff performance on the platform.
SimpleTexting gets high points for customer satisfaction and support helpfulness. They also have an extensive knowledge base and offer one-on-one onboarding for new customers.
Overall, SimpleTexting is often recommended for small businesses because it combines robust functionality with a gentle learning curve and fair pricing.
Weaknesses: Why SimpleTexting may not work for you
One potential issue with SimpleTexting is its modest integration ecosystem. It has several native integrations, such as Mailchimp and HubSpot, but for broader options, you’ll need Zapier. If you use a less common CRM or want deep native integration, setup might take some time and effort. The API also doesn’t feel as open as some others. There is one, but the provider expects you to primarily use their app for most tasks. If you plan to heavily customize or white-label, that could be a constraint.
Another consideration is scalability in terms of team size and enterprise features. SimpleTexting is ideal for small to mid-sized operations. Large enterprises might experience some lacking. In terms of feature set, SimpleTexting focuses solely on SMS and MMS messaging. It doesn’t do voice, WhatsApp, or other channels. So, it might seem a bit limited if multi-channel targeted messaging is a goal. If at some point you want those channels, you’d have to use another service.
SimpleTexting charges overages per text once you exceed your plan, and some users note that it lacks “intermediate” plan options, making the budget jumps quite far apart.
There have also been a few reports of customers experiencing slow or insufficient support, particularly during peak times.
6. Textmagic: SMS with email in one platform
Textmagic started as a straightforward SMS service but has evolved into a more multi-channel messaging platform. It allows businesses to send and receive SMS and MMS easily, and also includes features for sending emails and certain OTT messages and managing contacts in one system.
Textmagic’s key features
Bulk text messages
Email-to-SMS
Unified messaging inbox with replies
Social messaging
Voice capabilities
Contact management and segmentation
Mobile apps
Anti-spam enforcement
Strengths: What makes Textmagic better than EZ Texting?
Textmagic’s one major strength is that it combines SMS and email channels. If your marketing or customer communication strategy uses both, Textmagic lets you handle them on a single platform and even use them in a complementary way.
Another strength is Textmagic’s ease of use and reliability. It’s often described as straightforward and doesn’t require consulting help docs much because the interface is intuitive. Textmagic also usually has high customer satisfaction ratings for doing the basics very well.
Textmagic’s pricing model is flexible. You can use pay-as-you-go credits, which don’t expire (although unused subscription credits roll over for up to two months, after which they expire). On the other hand, EZ Texting typically uses monthly bucket plans. If you have inconsistent usage, Textmagic might save you money since credits roll over and you purchase as needed.
Lastly, Textmagic’s unified inbox, including social channels, is something EZ Texting doesn’t offer at all. Being able to manage Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp (in some capacity) alongside SMS in Textmagic could be a major benefit for those who need it.
Weaknesses: Why Textmagic may not work for you
While great for moderate use, Textmagic could become expensive for large volumes on a per-message basis. EZ Texting’s bulk messaging plans might be more cost-effective if you strictly do high-volume SMS marketing in the US.
Another issue is interface modernity. Some reviewers feel Textmagic’s UI, while easy, is a bit basic in design. This is subjective, but something to think about, regardless.
One more point: no built-in CRM or segmentation beyond contact lists. For instance, while you can segment contacts by lists or tags in Textmagic, it’s not as marketing-oriented. Overall, advanced features are also limited in Textmagic. It also lacks granular campaign performance breakdowns.
7. Textedly: One line description that perfectly and aptly summarizes the provider/company/its services
Textedly is an SMS marketing service aimed at businesses of all sizes, known for its budget-friendly plans and generous messaging limits. It’s often recommended for organizations that need to send high volumes of texts without breaking the bank, while still having access to necessary marketing tools.
Textedly’s key features
Easy mass texting and scheduling
Unlimited subscribers or contacts for all plans
Team collaboration features
List growth and customer engagement tools
Mobile-responsive web platform
Strengths: What makes Textedly better than EZ Texting?
Textedly’s strengths revolve around affordability, scalability, and innovation.
In terms of cost, Textedly is often cited as one of the most affordable services for the number of messages you get. Another advantage is ease of scaling. As your needs grow, you can smoothly move up Textedly’s tiers without switching platforms, and they allow topping up additional messages as needed easily.
Textedly also shines in simplicity of use. It’s frequently described as easy and user-friendly. Like EZ Texting, it’s built for marketers, not developers. One BusinessNewsDaily review emphasized how the dashboard is “clear and crisp”.
Finally, Textedly’s approach to customer success can be seen as a strength. For instance, they offer one-on-one onboarding for new customers and an extensive knowledge base.
Weaknesses: Why Textedly may not work for you
A noted weakness of Textedly is its cancellation and billing practices. There have been multiple complaints and even a BBB F rating citing issues like auto-renewals and difficulty obtaining refunds. So, if you want a platform with a flexible cancellation policy or month-to-month ease, be cautious with Textedly’s terms. Make sure to read the fine print on how to cancel to avoid surprise charges.
Another current con is the lack of a mobile app. Unlike EZ Texting (which has an iOS app) or SimpleTexting, Textedly only has the web interface, although it is mobile-friendly.
Textedly’s primary focus being on the US could be a limitation if you need international messaging. They primarily operate short codes and long codes in the US and Canada. If global texting is a priority, Textedly might not work as well as, say, Twilio or Messente.
Evaluating use-case scenarios and pricing comparisons
A practical buyer’s view: ideal use cases, entry-level pricing, and free-trial availability for each EZ Texting alternative.
Best for | Pricing | Free trial | |
Messente | High-deliverability global messaging, OTP/notifications, WhatsApp/Viber via one API | Pay-as-you-go (EU only) starts from €0.043 per SMS; WhatsApp Business from €0.001; Number Lookup €199/month + per-request fee; monthly commitment plans and custom quotes available | Yes |
Avochato | Team-based two-way texting with CRM workflows (Salesforce), SMS+MMS+Voice | Pay as you go: $0 platform fee + $0.08/segment (with 5 users); standard plan: $210/month platform fee + $0.03/segment (with 5 users); custom plans available | Yes |
Twilio | Developer-led builds, global scale, multi-channel (SMS/MMS/WhatsApp/Voice) | US SMS: from $0.0083/segment; US MMS: from $0.022/message; long codes from $1.15/month; pay-as-you-go | Yes |
Plivo | Cost-efficient programmable SMS/Voice with WhatsApp option | US SMS: outbound from $0.0055/message; inbound from $0.0035/message; country-based rates | Yes |
SimpleTexting | SMB marketing teams looking for an easy campaign dashboard | Starts at $39/month for 500 texts plus $4 one-time carrier registration fee; price varies by volume | Yes |
Textmagic | Simple, global pay-as-you-go texting; SMS + email in one place | US pay-as-you-go starts from $0.049/SMS for 500 messages and 0 emails + separate charges for local number and brand registration | Yes |
Textedly | Budget-friendly SMS marketing with high message allocations | Starts at $29/month for 500 messages; higher tiers scale up to 200,000 messages | Yes |
Wrapping up: Migrate from EZ Texting to Messente
Switching SMS platforms might seem daunting, but it can lead to huge benefits in reach, reliability, and cost savings.
In this article, we’ve broken down why many businesses eventually outgrow EZ Texting and explored seven great alternatives. From the ultra-scalable Twilio and Plivo to user-friendly marketing platforms like SimpleTexting, there is a wide variety of options available. Messente, however, stands out as a top choice, especially if you’re looking to go global and need a partner known for high deliverability and hands-on support.
Moving from EZ Texting to Messente helps you reach customers on their preferred channels, with transparent pricing and a supportive team that makes sure your texts land. Organizations that switch often report smoother operations and happier audiences.
Ready to make the switch? Messente is here to help every step of the way. Sign up on Messente’s omnichannel messaging platform and experience improved deliverability and support firsthand. Our team can even walk you through a demo, showing how easily you can send your first campaign via Messente’s API or dashboard.
Drop us a line and get started with your free trial today!