If you do have a small business,To effectively communicate with your customers, using the best SMS apps is a great option. For example, since people read them, texts are the ideal media to transmit such messages as order confirmations, booking reminders, special offers, and updates.
Sure, you won’t be able to grab your smartphone and send texts; you have a business to run. SMS marketing apps can send messages manually or automatically (based on your schedule, contact list, or another integration) to the customers. Even the customers can text you back directly.
I have worked in the field of technology for more than 10 years, and it is I who have been updating this list throughout the past 6 years with a little help from some of the other app testers. In that time I’ve gone very deep into researching and testing over 50 of the very best SMS apps for small businesses. Inspired by these encounters, here are my top SMS marketing tools.
The Anatomy of an Excellent Text Messaging App
Do you prefer reading text messages or emails? The numbers don’t lie: in terms of text message open rates, they are higher than email open rates. Texts are also a great alternative for your customers to respond to you. Mobile messaging apps are handy, user-friendly, and fit the present schedule, whereas email in real life is simply awful.
Best SMS Apps, SMS marketing is a really big deal worldwide, so there is a wide variety of SMS marketing platforms available. On the other hand, the majority of them don’t fit in the small businesses. A lot of those apps are targeted at corporations, campaigns in politics, and other organizations that regularly send thousands of messages daily as part of their marketing activity, rather than small businesses that value a more personal connection with their customers. Similarly, we have a lot of “apps” which are API services that developers can use to add SMS functionality to their projects, while there is a service that you can sign up for and start using straight away.
Five Key Criteria for SMS Apps
- Anyone can use it. Marketing your business via an SMS app should not require hiring a marketing agency to do it for you. There is an abundance of good apps that just get along with whatever existing set-up you currently have, and it doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge. Some of the apps—and especially the API services—were just not user-friendly enough to be included in the recommendation list. Yes, you have maybe read their support documents or asked the support team a question or two, but all of my picks are easy to get started with. In reality, this actually translates to almost all the apps on the list having a dedicated web app you can log into and use for messaging. A lot of them can send and receive text messages through your email client or with mobile apps too.
- Able to do the messaging, both one-way and two-way communication, so you can have a dialogue with your customers. These are not the bulk SMS marketing apps that can send 100,000 text messages with one click of a button. These are tools for small business owners who want a direct line of communication with their customers. Thus, communication needed to be bidirectional, which is usually the case when texting a friend, for inclusion. These will still allow you to automate responses, collect survey data, and schedule texts.
- It can connect with other apps to take things like reservation reminders. Interoperability with other applications and services was essential. Therefore, you can use the ability to communicate with your customers directly via text (for example) to have your online ordering system automatically confirm when an order is placed or ready for collection, and after that, you can send a customer satisfaction survey.
- The cost of manufacturing is affordable for small businesses that do not produce high volumes. When we talk about SMS marketing pricing is very important. I required every service on the following list to be affordable for small businesses. This meant no long-term contracts, no high monthly pricing, or large volume requirements. Subsequently, the services are either pay-as-you-go or have monthly plans that are both low volume and low fee.
- Capable of scaling accordingly. Going with a plan that is too little to fill your holiday marketing space is not good either. Additionally, all these services would allow you to scale your SMS campaigns up without paying ridiculous fees or to move up to an expensive tier level.
It should be mentioned that as of August 2023 businesses that send texts to their customer in the US must use The Campaign Registry. Unregistered phone numbers may be blocked by carriers, thus all the companies on this list have taken measures to ensure compliance – some have a form, while others handle this process for you.
I browsed through all the SMS apps I came across, trying all those that seemed to fit these parameters. I took whatever free offer was on and bam, texting. When I mentioned the trouble I was having in talking directly with the customers, I paid particular attention to how easy it was to do. I also saw if I could get texts delivered which was a lot of me talking to myself and discovered any automation and integration possibilities.
Quick Overview: The Top Best SMS Applications
| Name | Best for | Stand-out feature | Pricing |
| Twilio | Customizing SMS marketing | Completely flexible and customizable, API for building custom apps | Text messages start at $0.0079/message sent and received; dedicated phone numbers from $1.15/month |
| TextMagic | Quickly sending texts | Intuitive web app and pay-as-you-go pricing | Starts at $0.04/text sent; dedicated virtual numbers from $10/month |
| SlickText | Collecting phone numbers and advanced marketing | Opt-in web forms and pop-ups, loyalty programs | From $24/month for 200 text messages, one testable number, and one signup keyword |
| SimpleTexting | Easy-to-run SMS marketing campaigns | Built-in apps and integrations for surveys, competitions, and automation | From $39/month for 500 credits |
| Salesmsg | Small, local businesses using SMS | Local numbers in the U.S. and Canada, integrations with CRMs | From $25/month for 500 text messages and a single phone number |
| Sakari | Outgoing SMS marketing | Super affordable pricing for outbound text messages | From $16/month for 500 messages sent or received |
| EZ Texting | Non-technical people who want some guidance | Onboarding and help docs, customer service available | From $24/month for 200 text messages, one textable number, and one signup keyword |
The Top Best SMS app for customization
Twilio
Twilio Pros:
- Tailored for any situation and convenient to use in any workflow.
- There are no-code features and integration that make ProcessStreet easily available for non-developers.
Twilio Cons:
- A lot of setup is required for it to work compared to any other application in this list.
- Only a backend
Possibly, you are here because you are looking for a Twilio alternative, however, please, listen to me. Twilio, unlike all SMS software on the list, is a white paper. It provides an API for a number of services including SMS messaging, phone number redirection, and dozens of other features, to let companies build them into their own apps and services. Those companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix use it as a tool for the back end.
Yet Twilio is mainly focused on developers’ perspective, and you don’t even need to be one to use it because of plenty of no-code features. Rather than creating your own applications, you can use services such as, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM to connect to Twilio’s API directly, without the hassle of much, or any, coding if possible. You mostly just need to puzzle out which parts you need to copy and paste where.
Twilio price: As Twilio is more of a platform than an app, the way its pricing differs from the others on the list as well. Text messages begin at $0.0079/message sent or received, including an additional carrier fee, which averages about $0.003 cents on text messages you send. Dedicated phone numbers, starting from $1.15 per month.
Swift Messaging: Top-Rated SMS Application
TextMagic
TextMagic pros:
- The interface of the web app is very simple and user-friendly.
- The pay-per-use plan is what you get.
TextMagic cons:
- Unlike some of the other selections, the automatic features aren’t as advanced.
Some time ago you could just go to TextMagic’s site and start sending messages. This is not true anymore—now you need to register your marketing campaign with The Campaign Registry and send the texts only after completing this process. And, there is no way to skip this step. This was the longest process of any I tested, though that might be a good thing: they are actually focused on banning spammers from their platform.
You can simply send the message after setup in addition. Unlike other apps, which open up to a dashboard cluttered with widgets and options, TextMagic takes you straight to what you want to do: shoot a text.
Yet, that shouldn’t prevent us from considering it dysfunctional or weak. You can reach out via TextMagic’s number to the API, the web app, or your email; or your own mobile number to your phone to receive replies. You can create contact lists by importing an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file, entering them manually in the app’s Contacts section, saving the number of anyone who texts you, or using the click-to-text form on your website.
In the Scheduled tab you can set up messages like a Friday Specials message every week. You can also create useful templates in the Templates section so that you can send follow-up messages (for example, appointment confirmations) and automate responses to customer texts faster. In fact, you can text your customers from the web or from the iPhone companion app.
You know, TextMagic satisfies that only requirement of being so simple to use and at the same time capable enough for almost anything a small business requires. The best part? Text credits work on a pay-as-you-go basis, which means you remain flexible by not getting locked into an expensive ongoing contract. You prepay for the credit, pay $10 every month for a virtual number, and then text—which can begin at $0.04—as much as you like or as little as you need.
TextMagic Price: Billing starts as low as $0.04/text sent and dedicated virtual phone numbers from $10/month.
The Best Top SMS App For Collecting Phone Numbers & Marketing
SlickText
SlickText Pros:
- The use of opt-in web forms and pop-ups will help you collect phone numbers from your website or social media pages, which you can further use to run a loyalty program.
- Well-designed onboarding and help information within the app make it easy for you to start no matter how technical you are.
SlickText Cons:
- Complex software elements like workflow are high-priced.
SlickText stands out for its strong focus on marketing. It nearly didn’t make the list because of this. It’s great for gathering phone numbers and sending lots of marketing messages at once, rather than having personal chats with your current customers.
Having that said, if you are looking for a very simple to use SMS app to collect cell phone numbers in various different ways and to run marketing campaigns by texting them, it is one of the best apps you can get. The onboarding process is quite fast and efficient, with a wizard that asks you what industry you’re in and directs you to relevant features. The free trial is also less restricted than others in this list because you can send a message to any number. Just remember to check the box that you got permission from them before you send.
The tutorials introduce SlickText’s best feature: their Marketing Tools. Here you will get web forms easy to install, site pop-ups, text surveys, automatic opt-in links, discounts, contests, promo codes, loyalty programs, and so on. Also, you will get the hints on how to use them. What really impressed me about the templates was how they looked by default. For example, one can just in a few minutes create a good-looking pop-up for a website that is ready to grab phone numbers and this is more than other SMS marketing apps can boast.
The same holds for all the other marketing tools of SlickText – they are just effective. Honestly, it’s incredible how many features are there hidden in one part of the app that seems minimal otherwise.
SlickText Price: From $29/month- 500 texts and 2 text words; from $139/month- automated workflows.
SMS Best App For Easy-to-run Marketing Campaigns
SimpleTexting
SimpleTexting Pros:
- Targeting your audience is very simple.
- Apps and integrations are built-in and you can run surveys and contests and set everything for automation.
SimpleTexting Cons:
- One can send an individual message, but such an option is not obvious.
SimpleTexting will be the most suitable if you need to run marketing campaigns that require speed. I found the interface simple and self-explanatory like TextMagic. I didn’t need to even view any tutorials to figure out how things worked. You don’t have to fill out a profile form for The Campaign Registry if you want to use SimpleTexting – the company claims it will register your number for you automatically after you sign up.
In contrast to you, SimpleTexting has direct contact with clients but is more concerned with easy-to-run marketing campaigns, where you text the same message to everybody on a list. Go to the Campaigns tab, click on New, provide a name, and you are all set to carry out marketing to your customers.
Set up a keyword in the Keywords section to get prospects to your list. Such as, clients are able to text SAUSAGE to 555888. And be added to your Sausage and Hot Dog Deals list. As soon as they opt-in, the autoresponder can start by texting them with a discount code. And asking if they want more information. If it gets this, it can send a text in return. Using SimpleTexting’s apps included in the Apps tab. You have the opportunity to run more technical marketing campaigns such as sending surveys, polls, and sweepstakes.
Sure, for any marketing activity, you must have analytics. The Analytics tab of SimpleTexting will give you a detailed account of how your campaigns are going. Details include First subscribers, what keyword they used to join, how many autoresponders have triggered,. How many people have unsubscribed, and what you have received as a response.
Moreover, there are a lot of other good features as well. Set up an away message to notify a customer when you’re out of service. And the cheapest plan has 3 user seats to enable joint work with your team. You can leave comments on conversations or assign them to your team members. Basically, it seems to cover all the bases.
SimpleTexting Price: Starting at $39/mo for 500 credits which are enough for 500 short texts. Extra credits are spent on the entry plan. They cost $0.055. If you need to send more texts, there are other volume plans.
SMS Best App for Small & Local Businesses
Salesmsg
Salesmsg Pros:
- You are able to get a regional number from any location in US or Canada.
- Integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive, and other CRMs as well
Salesmsg Cons:
- The web app is slightly complicated.
- Free trial requires a valid credit card number.
Salesmsg is a good fit for US or Canada-based small organizations—the problem is that it is not available internationally beyond that.
Salesmsg is on the list of apps with the simplest web app among all the services here. There are only a few tabs in the sidebar: Conversations, Contacts, Broadcasts, Triggers, Analytics, and Keywords. Integration with other apps is required if you want to leverage more power from Salesmsg. the service has been in beta testing the Workflows automation feature though I have not tried it yet.
After you register with salesmsg, you are asked to create a local number. This is the number that all your text will come from. But you can assign a different number to each teammate. And also, you will be asked whether you want to go for the compliance procedure. But not till the end of your free trial you will be able to test the application.
Of course, you can use call forwarding as well, so when a customer calls your text number. You can either get redirected to your personal or business phone or just answer those calls using the web app.
Salesmsg Price: For just $25/month you can get 500 text messages and one phone number. Additional messages cost $0.04 and an extra number of $10/month. Large-volume customers, on the contrary, can get this text a little cheaper if they choose a higher tier.
The Top Best SMS App For Outgoing Text Messages
Sakari
Sakari Pros:
- They are very cheap for outbound SMS.
- Robust pricing together with the capability to integrate makes it a great tool for SMS workflow automation without you even noticing.
Sakari Cons:
- You have to pay for inbound messages
- You cannot do that with a free @gmail.com account.
If you’re using this service mainly for sending outgoing text messages, like booking confirmations, delivery notifications, and similar types of messages, Sakari would be one of the best solutions which could also help you save money.
Also, as with other apps here, Sakari is a full-blown SMS messaging app along with a great web app. When you log in, you can reply to a text message immediately. But only to those who have specifically opted in to get messages from you. Anyone can opt in by sending a text to your Sakari number with the word start. This changes when you leave the free trial, start paying for the service, and register with The Campaign Registry: you will be able to text normally after this.
Through the left sidebar, you can see your Conversations with customers. Build marketing campaigns in the Campaigns tab, integrate your app with apps in the Integrations tab. And do what you want with a messaging app.
It costs only $16/month for 500 SMS messages sent or received. It’s that much cheaper than TextMagic ($25 to send 500 messages), but you’ll also have free inbound messages. Additional messages are $0.032 when the price of TextMagic is $0.04, becoming more apparent with volume.
For example, you operate a takeaway delivery service that sends 6,000 phone texts weekly. But gets just 250 responses from customers. With Sakari, you could start with the $170/month Team plan, which provides you with the first 6,250 SMS messages. In comparison to with TextMagic you would have to pay $240—$0.04 for every text. You send, and nothing for everyone you receive.
Sakari Price: Starting at $16/month for the Starter plan with 500 messages sent/received including one free number; per SMS message from $0.032.
User-Friendly SMS App: Perfect for Beginners Needing Guidance
EZ Texting
EZ Texting Pros:
- Among the most useful onboardings and help docs for non-technical business owners are the following.
- Customer service is easily accessible and they are always happy to help.
EZ Texting cons:
- Can be irritable if you want to be alone.
Texting doesn’t do much that the other apps don’t. You can text your customers as a group or 1-on-1 using the Inbox; you can set up marketing campaigns of various kinds in the Campaigns tab. And you can view reports in the Reporting tab. It is its key difference, though, that at every point EZ Texting guides you exactly what to do.
Register for a free trial, and you’ll be able to check all features. Which you would not be able to text your own number otherwise until you begin paying. It’s enough but it gives you some idea of how the app works. After you log in, the dashboard has large, inviting buttons for group texts, conversations, drip campaigns, keywords and sign-up forms.
Just click any of these buttons, and there are lucid directions on what to do with it as well as examples in the event of a template. If you’re truly not comfortable with new apps, it’s hard to beat this level of instruction. Then again, the signup emails will always remind you that you can call one of their staff members if you need further assistance.
EZ Texting Price: $25 monthly for 500 text messages and one textable number.
