Updated October 2026. Originally published September 2022 as "The 7 Best SMS Marketing Automation Tools."

"SMS automation" covers two different jobs. One is sending the same message to a list of people, like a weekend promotion or an appointment reminder. The other is holding a separate conversation with each new lead until they're ready to talk to a salesperson. Most tools on the market are built for the first job, and picking one for the second is a common and expensive mistake.

This guide explains the difference, profiles six well-known broadcast tools with what they cost as of October 2026, and covers when a sales team needs two-way lead conversations instead.

Broadcast texting and lead conversations

Broadcast tools send messages to many people at once. You build a list and schedule the message, and the tool takes care of delivery and opt-outs. Most also offer keywords and a shared inbox where your staff can answer replies by hand. They suit retailers, clinics, gyms and any business that talks to an existing audience on a schedule.

Conversational lead tools start from a single new lead. When someone fills out a form, the system texts them within seconds and reads each reply. It keeps the conversation going until it knows whether the person is ready, and then connects them to a rep. The work is one-to-one, even when thousands of conversations run at the same time. These tools suit sales teams whose revenue depends on reaching inbound leads before they go cold.

A quick test: if success means more people seeing a message, you want broadcast. When success is measured in leads on the phone with a rep, you want a conversational tool.

What to look for in any SMS automation tool

Registration and compliance. Business texting from local US numbers goes through carrier registration, known as A2P 10DLC, which is why you'll see a registration fee on some of the pricing pages below.¹ Under the FCC's TCPA rules, automated texts generally need the recipient's prior consent, and marketing messages need it in writing.² Look for a tool that stores each person's opt-in and honors opt-outs automatically. Our guide to A2P vs. P2P texting covers the difference between the two sending types.

Two-way replies. Nearly every tool now lets people text back. The useful question is who answers them, a person on your team or software that can carry the conversation on its own.

Integrations. Texts that never reach your CRM create a second inbox nobody checks. Confirm the tool connects to the system your team already works in.

Pricing model. Some tools sell monthly bundles of message credits, and others charge per message. Phone numbers usually cost extra. Estimate your monthly volume before you compare.

Six SMS broadcast tools worth a look

Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 26, 2026. They change often, so confirm before you buy.

SimpleTexting

SimpleTexting is a business texting platform for mass messaging, two-way conversations and SMS marketing in the US and Canada. Plans start at $39 a month billed yearly for 500 credits, with a local number at $10 a month and a one-time carrier registration fee.³

Textedly

Textedly includes every feature on every plan, and price scales with message volume. The Basic plan is $29 a month for 500 messages, or 600 messages a month if you pay annually.⁴

SlickText

SlickText's entry plan is $29 a month for 500 credits. Incoming texts don't use credits, and unused credits roll over to the next month. There's a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.⁵

TextMagic

TextMagic is pay-as-you-go. Outbound US texts are $0.049 each, plus $10 a month for each local or toll-free number.⁶ It suits teams with uneven volume who don't want a monthly bundle.

Omnisend

Omnisend is an email and SMS marketing platform that runs both channels from the same campaigns. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at $11.20 a month. Texts are billed per message on top of the plan, from under one cent each in the US depending on volume.⁷

Podium

Podium brings texts, calls, reviews, website chat and payments for local businesses into one inbox. It doesn't publish prices, so you'll need a demo to get a quote.⁸

Questions to ask before you choose

Who is the message for? If it's people who already know you, like customers or members, a broadcast tool will usually do the job. Someone who filled out a form ten seconds ago is expecting a reply, and a scheduled campaign won't give them one.

Who answers when they text back? A shared inbox works when replies come in a handful at a time. When a campaign brings in hundreds, someone has to read every one, and the leads who wait longest are the ones most likely to have moved on by the time anyone gets to them.

What does a good outcome look like? For a promotion, success is clicks and redemptions. For a sales lead it's a conversation with a rep, so the tool has to know when to hand off and to whom.

When you need a conversation instead of a broadcast

The tools above do their job well. A sales team with a steady flow of inbound leads is usually solving for something else: getting each lead an answer within a minute of asking, at whatever hour they ask, from someone who can tell whether they're ready to buy.

Conversational lead tools are built for that. With Aktify, a new lead gets a text within seconds of submitting a form, sent under your company's name. The agent works through a short two-way conversation to find out whether the lead is ready. When they are, it connects them to your sales team by phone, and if no rep is free, it books a callback automatically. We go into what changes once a lead can text back in What Changes When a Lead Can Text Back, and into the mechanics in Lead Response Automation: How It Works and What to Look For.

Plenty of companies run both kinds of tool. A conversational agent handles every new lead from forms and ads, while existing customers get reminders and offers from a broadcast tool. Leads who don't buy right away can move onto the broadcast list later, as long as their consent is on record. Keep both connected to your CRM so nobody gets a promotion in the middle of a sales conversation.

To see the lead side of that first minute, See It Live sends you a text from an Aktify agent so you can try the conversation yourself.

Sources

SimpleTexting pricing page, which lists a one-time $4 carrier registration fee, checked October 26, 2026. https://simpletexting.com/pricing/
47 CFR § 64.1200(a)(1) and (a)(2); FCC Declaratory Ruling and Order, FCC 15-72 (July 10, 2015), in which "call" includes text messages. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
SimpleTexting pricing, checked October 26, 2026. https://simpletexting.com/pricing/
Textedly pricing, checked October 26, 2026. https://www.textedly.com/pricing
SlickText pricing, checked October 26, 2026. https://www.slicktext.com/pricing
TextMagic SMS pricing, checked October 26, 2026. https://www.textmagic.com/sms-pricing/
Omnisend pricing, checked October 26, 2026. https://www.omnisend.com/pricing/
Podium pricing page, checked October 26, 2026. https://www.podium.com/pricing/

SMS Automation Tools: How to Pick the Right Kind for Your Team