How often do you check your phone each day? Studies show the average is 96 times, making SMS the king of direct outreach in our digital world. According to Sender.net, SMS marketing boasts an open rate of 98%, which is five times higher than that of email marketing and the highest across all marketing channels. As Q4 nears, bringing with it the major sales events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, it’s a prime time to drive revenue. But it’s also when inboxes are bombarded with emails, making it hard to get noticed. This is where SMS comes to the rescue—it’s a fast, direct way to reach your customers without competing in the crowded email space.
At Budai Media, we’ve tested the waters with numerous platforms, helping over 200 ecommerce clients find their perfect match. And now we’re sharing with you a list of the top 4 SMS marketing tools that have consistently delivered the best results for us. In this guide, we’re diving deep into the features, usability, and unique benefits of each platform, providing you with a clear roadmap to selecting a solution that not only meets your needs but also enhances your marketing impact.
But before we dive into the best SMS marketing tools out there, let's take a moment to understand how to make the right choice for your business.
How to Choose the Right SMS Marketing Tool
Choosing the right SMS marketing platform is more than just picking the most popular or the cheapest option; it involves matching the platform’s capabilities to your specific marketing needs. Here’s how you can ensure you select the tool that aligns best with your business goals:
👉Assess Your Needs: Before diving into the options, clearly define what you expect from an SMS marketing platform. Consider the volume of messages you plan to send, the types of campaigns you aim to execute, and any specific features you need, such as segmentation, sign up forms, and other automations.
👉Compare the Features: Look for platforms that offer robust integration capabilities, advanced AI functionalities for automating responses, and tools for segmenting and targeting your audience effectively. Also, make sure to choose a platform that easily integrates with your e-commerce store, as some SMS platforms such as Recart work only with Shopify stores.
👉Evaluate Pricing and Scalability: When it comes to choosing a new tool to add to your ecommerce tech-stack, it’s important to think long-term. So when you’re looking at pricing, make sure to factor in the cost of scaling your business as well. Ensure the platform can keep up with your businesses needs as it grows without breaking the bank. Consider both upfront costs and long-term expenses as your messaging needs increase.
Top 4 SMS Marketing Tools Out There
Features | YOTPO | RECART | ATTENTIVE | KLAVIYO |
Available countries | Worldwide | US, Canada | The main focus is the US, Canada, UK, and AUS. We can do all EU countries (France, Germany, and Italy are the most popular). No functionality in Asia yet. | US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom |
Products | ||||
Cost | Yotpo follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model where the cost is based on the number of messages sent and the location of the recipients. FREE upgrade to the Growth Plan for our clients. | Attentive costs $300 a month plus clients pay $0.01 per SMS, plus carrier fees (see below), which can add around $0.Being billed carrier fees depends on the pricing plan. If you’re in a long-term contract with lower sending rates, they will usually pass through the carrier fees directly. The month-to-month plan is covered in the message-sending costs. Check more here. | Klaviyo uses a tiered pricing model based on how many SMS ‘credits’ you would like to buy. Depending on the country you are based in, sending an SMS message may cost more credits in for example Australia as opposed to New Zealand. Check more here. | |
AI copy support | YES. | YES, check more here. | ||
Usability | Yotpo specializing in SMS marketing, has a user-friendly interface built around this specific channel. It makes creating and scheduling SMS campaigns straightforward. | Clear dashboard with transparent cost vs earning. State of the art flow builder with one-of-a-kind conditional split. | User-friendly interface | Klaviyo is more versatile, offering a broader range of features and functionalities, accommodating both email and SMS marketing along with various other channels. |
Integrations | Shopify. Check more here. | Shopify. Check more here. | See the prebuilt e-commerce integrations here. If not listed, we can still work with the site we'd just need a tag manager to display the Attentive pop-ups + host our tag. Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce. Check more here. | Magento, Shopify |
Support Systems | Yotpo offers email and chat support and a comprehensive knowledge base packed with helpful articles and tutorials. However, the absence of phone support is notable. | Free migration or program built out regardless of the plan, fully managed service for upper plans. | Dedicated CSMs depend on the account size. You will receive a dedicated partner success manager who is your go-to POC for all things product and strategy-related. | Klaviyo goes the extra mile by offering phone support, alongside email and chat. They also provide a wealth of online resources, including video tutorials and webinars. |
Compliance | Yotpo is regularly reviewed by top law firms to ensure your SMS marketing program meets all TCPA, CTIA, GDPR, CASL and Australian anti-spam legislation requirements across every opt-in and opt-out process. Full details here. | 100% compliant with all US/EU laws (more on it here) | Audit trail of every opt-in, in-house legal team of 12 people to stay up to date on new regulations, and features in the product that help teach users about compliance. Check more here. | Deliverability and compliance can seem complex, but Klaviyo keeps things simple. Guided onboarding, training, and a robust help center put expertise at your fingertips, and our dedicated support team offers even more insight. Find more here. |
Deliverability | Text across the globe. Yotpo ensure your messages get where they’re going — and get there fast. Full details here. | Recart is capable of delivering SMS to user phone in less than 2 seconds. | Largest sender of text messages in SMS marketing space, working with various difference aggregators, meaning we have access to the fastest sending time and most reliable system. Check more here. | |
Signup tools | All subscriber tools are listed here with details. Floating buttons; Pop-ups; Keywords; Signup pages; Social opt-in; Footer collection; Embedded form; QR Generator; | landing pages social media e-commerce checkout pop-ups | landing pages social media e-commerce checkout In-store pop-ups | Multi-step forms; Popu-ups; Embedded forms; Fly-outs; Form teasers |
Comparing Top SMS Marketing Platforms: Klaviyo, Recart, Attentive, and Yotpo
Here’s how Klaviyo, Recart, Attentive, and Yotpo stack up against each other:
1. Recart (Agency's Top Choice)
Recart is our top pick for SMS marketing at Budai Media, offering an intuitive interface and robust features. One of the best features of Recart is its popups—they’ve run a ton of A/B tests to find out which ones work best, so you get the most out of them. Plus, they provide a dedicated customer success manager who’s there to help with any questions or issues you might have. With super-fast message delivery (less than two seconds!) and full compliance with US and EU laws, Recart is a reliable and powerful platform for businesses looking to boost their SMS strategies quickly. The only downside is that they’re only compatible with Shopify stores.
2. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is the most trusted partner for integrated email and SMS marketing solutions, especially favored by businesses that wish to manage both channels through a single platform. With over 10 years of experience in the field, Klaviyo offers extensive features that go beyond SMS, including email marketing and mobile push notifications. The platform's robust integrations with Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce cater to a broad range of ecommerce operations. Klaviyo's comprehensive support system, which includes phone support alongside email and chat, as well as its rich array of online resources, positions it as a leader in customer service and user education.
3. Attentive
Attentive stands out for its focus on major markets like the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, though it extends its services to all EU countries. It is particularly noted for being the largest sender of text messages in the SMS marketing space, which gives it access to the fastest sending times and a highly reliable system. Attentive’s platform offers a user-friendly interface and is known for its robust e-commerce integrations that work well with any site, requiring just a tag manager for implementation. The dedicated customer success manager provided to clients enhances its personalized service approach, making it a strong contender for businesses needing tailored support.
4. Yotpo
Yotpo offers a comprehensive suite that includes SMS marketing, loyalty and referral programs, email marketing, reviews, and user-generated content management. Its global reach and integration primarily with Shopify make it suitable for international brands seeking a wide range of marketing tools in one place. Yotpo excels in deliverability and compliance, ensuring messages not only reach their destinations reliably but also adhere to various international regulations. However, just like Recart, the platform only integrates with Shopify stores. While Yotpo has many powerful features, the absence of phone support might be a concern for businesses that value direct, immediate communication with their service providers.
A good SMS platform is the foundation, but a great strategy is what builds the house. At Budai Media, we construct campaigns that produce tangible results. If you need some help creating an SMS strategy for your ecommerce store, check out this SMS strategy that helped one of our ecommerce partners generate $283,000+ extra revenue for their kitchenware store in just 2 months.
Interested in achieving similar results? We’re offering a free ecommerce marketing audit to businesses that generate at least $50,000 monthly. In this 1:1 call we’ll go through your entire SMS, email, and Google ads setup and pinpoint actionable changes to help you optimize your strategy from the get-go. Click here to reserve your slot!
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