Twilio might be the most popular SMS marketing app, but it’s not the perfect match for every business. Are you looking for a new way to manage your inbound and outbound messages? Then keep reading for the 8 best Twilio alternatives for SMS!

SMS marketing continues to be one of the easiest ways to pursue leads and spread brand awareness. As a result, there are actually a lot of great alternatives to Twilio out on the market. 

While they might not have the same popularity, they are definitely just as useful making them the best Twilio alternatives for SMS.

SMSGatez

As an SMS-centric platform, SMSGatez provides features that go beyond many of its competitors.  

Because it’s been designed with messaging as the main focus, it provides a very in-depth collection of features. All of which are designed to keep your SMS campaigns easy and personalized.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose SMSGatez:

• Keyword triggers for auto-replies
• Highly customizable surveys which can also be multi-level
• Receive analytical insights for your campaigns in spreadsheet format
• SMS SpinTax allows for broader personalization messages
• URL shortening
• You have unlimited keywords

Pros

• Supports bulk messaging
• Easily integrates with other messaging API’s
• Allows you to choose between BYOR (Build Your Own Route) or SimDroid implementation
• Customer support team is very responsive
• Features carry a lot of depth for SMS campaigns

Cons

• In person training isn’t available
• Only runs on Android devices

Pricing: Starting from $49.99

Plivo

With a strong focus on global communication, Plivo allows you to conduct campaigns with recipients from all over the world.

This operational philosophy is further supported by the ability to use character sets for any language.

You also have the ability to redact any information that’s considered too sensitive to be included.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose Plivo

• Support for any character set
• Allows you to queue messages
• Delivery notifications for the messages you send
• Automated triggers for opt-out commands

Pros

• Can easily accommodate different languages
• You can redact sensitive data for inbound and outbound messages
• Only pay for features that you use

Cons

• Notifications are a bit overwhelming
• Requires coding knowledge (Node.js)

Pricing: Starting from $ 0.0050/SMS

Vonage

Vonage, formerly Nexon, is a suite of various business communication tools. While they aim to provide all manner of customer support, they also have a specific SMS app.

While it tends to lag, it offers convenience through its global compliance engine that prevents any regulatory conflicts.

For companies managing international recipients, this would be one of the best alternatives to Twilio for SMS.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose Vonage

• Adaptive routing helps your messages arrive where they’re meant to
• Supports local number ID’s
• Gives you the tools to secure a pool of local sender ID’s
• Unicode support will translate emojis between different phones

Pros

• Allows you to connect with a global audience without any hassle from regulations
• You can set up secondary accounts
• Assign permissions to protect sensitive information

Cons

• UI has a tendency to lag, especially on older devices
• Doesn’t support images
• Navigation can be confusing

Pricing: $53.49 per month

Telnyx

Telnyx is a fairly simple SMS marketing tool, but it has certain features that provide instant value. So the whole app might seem fairly standard, these specific offerings make it stand out.

Geo-matching in particular makes it very easy to send messages to people with the right area code. Or using the same number for SMS and MMS texts, making it quicker to send out different kinds of messages.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose Telnyx

• 2 Factor Authentication
• Send out SMS texts from a toll-free number
• You can send SMS and MMS texts from the same number
• Use Geomatch to send messages that share area codes with the recipients
• Distinguish landline and mobile numbers from one another

Pros

• Customer support team has 24/7 availability
• Easily navigate through contacts
• Security notifications when suspicious activity is detected
• Performance is quick, so lag isn’t an issue
• Fairly flexible features

Cons

• Not enough reporting features
• Could be more user-friendly
• Charges can quickly pile up until you set up another IP address
• Server outages can be an issue

Pricing: Starting from $0.0025 per SMS

MessageBird

MessageBird is a great one to consider because of its scalable nature. This matters because most other apps are primarily designed with a specific clientele in mind, such as small businesses or large-scale enterprises.

This app allows you to keep your SMS campaigns manageable at every level, so you always have the resources you need to sustain your growth.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose MessageBird

• Rest API enables the use of multiple virtual numbers
• Create alerts and notifications
• Message scheduling
• Every message has a unique ID making it easy to track

Pros

• Extremely scalable with the needs of your business
• Coding knowledge isn’t required
• In depth screening and testing to ensure numbers are functioning as required
• Email to SMS link

Cons

• SMS content is limited by their provider
• To determine your costs you need to calculate manually
• On occasion SMS delivery is glitched

Pricing: Starting from $0.006 / message

InfoBip

For those who enjoy coding APIs with flexibility, Infobip gives you the room to program your preferred integrations with any programming language of your choice.

This allows you to set up all sorts of cool functions for your SMS campaigns.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose InfoBip

• Coverage ensures messages are delivered quickly
• Autoencoding ensures long messages are sent easily
• Customizable SMS drafting
• Support for local numbers in 90 countries

Pros

• Visually pleasing User Interface
• Intuitively designed 
• Supports global messaging

Cons

• Naming system is clunky and confusing
• Pricing isn’t competitive
• Top up payments are inconvenient
• Without coding knowledge you can’t fully make use of it

Pricing: Starting from €0.009 per SMS

Braze SMS

Designed for customer engagement, Braze is primarily focused on personalization. While it’s not entirely focused on SMS marketing, it still has some interesting features you can take advantage of.

However, Braze has no official pricing plans and all costs have to be privately negotiated with their sales team.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose Braze SMS

• Provides statistics for all messages sent
• Setup custom keywords
• Easy campaign management

Pros

• Highly customizable
• Optimizes the potential of smaller teams
• Segmenting users is very convenient
• Allows you to define the metrics of your success

Cons

• Not as cost effective as competitors
• Lacks support for cloud based reporting
• Data it collects is very poorly organized
• Very limited features overall

Pricing: All prices need to be negotiated with the sales team

Avaya OneCloud 

Avaya offers many solutions under its umbrella, but for SMS campaigns we’re looking at their OneCloud CPaaS option.

Definitely among the more affordable options, which is what helps it stand out on this list.

Features

You can benefit from these services when you choose Avaya OneCloud’s CPaaS services

• Easily automate reminders and other notifications
• Only pay for outbound messages
• Customize your sender ID
• SMS and MMS support

Pros

• Densely packed with features
• Ideal for smaller businesses
• Mobile app is well optimized
• Cost effective

Cons

• You can’t redact sensitive information recorded in your logs
• The available integrations are limited
• Doesn’t support WhatsApp
• You can’t set up sub-users under a single account

Pricing: Starting from $0.0085 per SMS

Summing It Up

Since it isn’t able to suit the needs of every business, it becomes important to look at the best Twilio alternatives for SMS.

The goal of this list is to explore different alternatives capable of supporting companies of all sizes. In this way, they can fill a gap that Twilio can’t.