Small Businesses: Best SMS Marketing Software

The SMS (short message service) marketing software, also known as text marketing, uses text messages to promote businesses and their products and services to potential customers. It usually includes SMS messages up to 160 characters long Multimedia Messaging Service (or MMS) messages. These messages can include images, videos and links to websites.

This best SMS marketing software allows unlimited contacts, keywords, website forms and design tools. You can also add users to the product and get a free trial.

Pricing: 500 credits start at $29 per Month Based on the number of messages received per month, costs will increase. To receive a discount, you can choose to have your billing done annually.

Feature overview: You can get a 14-day free trial that includes 50 outgoing messages and all the features and support you need. SimpleTexting offers the following plans:

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  Choose from a toll-free number or a local number.
  

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  Unlimited contacts and keywords, as well as free incoming SMS messages.
  

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  Free templates, graphic generator tool.
  

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  Click-to-text button.
  

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  Mobile sign-up widget.
  

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  Three user seating.
  

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  Zapier and Mailchimp integrations.
  

You can add advanced contact sync integrations and advanced automations for an additional fee. 24/7 live support available with extended hours on weekdays The help center offers step-by-step instructions, videos, tools, and articles.

Pricing: There are four plans available. Prices start at $25 per month for 500 credits. You can add credits for an additional charge. To receive a discount, you can choose to have annual billing.

Feature overview: 100 messages are included in the free trial to give you a taste of the service. The following features are included in all plans:

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  10 digit textable local number.
  

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  Unlimited contacts and keywords. Incoming messages, two-way texting.
  

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  Sign up forms for websites and SMS QR codes
  

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  Design tools and templates for free with Shutterstock’s image library.
  

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  Basic contact upload and grouping. Personalization tools.
  

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  Zapier integrations, Mailchimp and Constant Contact, HubSpot.
  

Some features are available at no additional cost with higher-tiered plans. These include dedicated short codes, reporting tools, and toll-free numbers. Chat and phone support are available during weekday business hours. The resource center provides videos, guides and articles to users.

Pricing: There are nine plans available; prices start at $29 per Month for 500 credits. Prices can be increased based on text limits, keywords or “textwords” and other features. Monthly and annual billing options are available.

Overview: 50 text messages are included in the 14-day trial. The following features are included in all plans:

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  Unlimited contacts, free incoming messages.
  

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  Keywords (textwords). Allowance increases according to plan
  

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  Text to sign up, opt-in, pop-ups and QR codes.
  

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  Opt in forms and user-friendly builder.
  

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  Surveys, contests, promo codes, mobile coupons, loyalty rewards and other options.
  

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  Permissions for custom users based on role.
  

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  Zapier, HubSpot, and Shopify integrations
  

Starting with the Big Bro plan, an automated workflow and a one-on-1 onboarding session are included. Email support is available 24/7. Chat and phone support are also available for extended hours on weekdays. You can find videos on the YouTube channel of SlickText and articles, guides, and step-by–step instructions.

Pricing: There are twelve plans available. Prices start at $24 per Month for 1,000 credits. The price increases based upon monthly messages and keywords. You can choose to pay monthly, or annually.

Feature overview: You can get a 14-day trial with 50 messages and a custom keyword for free. Paid plans include:

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  Toll-free number.
  

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  Unlimited contacts, free incoming messages.
  

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  Embedded sign-up forms for websites and form builders.
  

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  SMS templates, drip campaigns and
  

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  Analytics with interactive graphs, performance metrics and Analytics
  

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  Additional users can be granted permissions based on
  

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  Zapier and Instagram integrations.
  

Chat, email, and phone support are available 7 days a week. Online resources and guides are also available.

Pricing: Prices start at 4 cents per MMS or SMS of 160 characters or less. There is no monthly subscription fee. Instead, you can purchase prepaid credit packs ranging in size from 10 to 10,000.

Feature overview: Premium features are available for a 30-day trial. TextMagic users get:

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  Unlimited contacts, free incoming messages.
  

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  Click to Text forms for websites.
  

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  Contact segmentation and templates to automate bulk sending.
  

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  Subaccounts available for additional users.
  

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  Reporting, analytics and reporting.
  

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  Send messages to more than 190 countries.
  

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  Zapier integration.
  

Email support is available 24 hours a day, and phone support during weekdays. Additional resources include video tutorials, articles, and tools.

Pricing: 500 credits for $25 per month. The number of messages per month will determine the cost.

Overview: Plans include these notable features:

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  Toll-free or local numbers.
  

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  Unlimited keywords and contacts.
  

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  Private Inbox for Sales Reps, or shared inboxes to support team members.
  

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  Private conversations, internal notes and archiving options.
  

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  Call forwarding and auto-reply messaging. Cached responses.
  

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  Analytics, reports and statistics.
  

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  Zapier, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot integrations
  

Advanced features are available for 5,000 credit and higher. These include a dedicated account manager, premium phone support, and premium email support. All users have access to a help center, videos, and articles.

Text-based communication is an important part of your overall business marketing strategy . Consider these factors when deciding on the right text message marketing software to help you achieve your business goals.

These terms are common and can help you understand the offerings of each SMS marketing software company.

• SMS: Short Message Service text messages have a 160 character limit. Typically, one credit will be required for a text marketing plan.

• MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service text have a limit of 1,600 characters, can include embedded images and videos, and usually cost two to three credits.

• Credits: Each message sent to one contact will be assigned a credit.

• Keywords: Short phrases or words that customers can use to add to the subscriber lists of a company.

• Short codes: These are five- to six-digit text numbers that can be combined with keywords to encourage customers to sign up for a subscriber list.

• Click-to-text forms/buttons: Subscribers can opt-in to receive marketing messages from businesses using click-to-text links.

• QR codes: These are scannable images that open the text messaging app on your mobile device.

• User seats: This is the number of people who have access your SMS marketing software account.

• Merge fields: A coded field that allows you to insert names or other details in text messages.

• Segregation: Groupings based on location and other interests.

The number of SMS messages sent each month is the main determinant of how much an SMS marketing plan costs. This will be referred to by some providers as the number or text messages sent each month. Others will refer to it as a credit allowance. An SMS is one credit. However, longer messages, or MMS, may count for two or more credits. The price can go up depending on the amount of keywords, limits for users, and advanced features. You might be interested in a pay as you go plan if you plan to only use SMS marketing occasionally. This plan can help you save a monthly subscription fee.

Although onboarding support and 24/7 live customer support are rare, there are providers who offer both daily support and those that can assist with higher plan tiers. Most software includes step-by-step instructions as well as videos and articles. These additional resources can be accessed on the provider’s site, so you can see if they will suit your needs before you buy a plan.