Best SMS marketing platforms
SimpleTexting, EZ Texting and SlickText all sell a similar job at a similar entry price. Podium bundles it into a broader local-business tool instead.
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EZ Texting wins on the lowest published entry price for a team that wants nothing but SMS sending; Podium wins for a local business that also wants reviews and webchat bundled into the same platform, once its price is confirmed directly since it does not publish one.
The short answer
- EZ Texting's Launch plan is $20/mo billed annually ($25/mo month-to-month) for 500 credits, one number and one user.
- SimpleTexting's Local Number plan runs roughly $33-39/mo depending on billing for 500 credits a month.
- SlickText's Standard plan is $29/mo for 500 credits, with a free tier and a 14-day trial available.
- Podium does not publish a price on its own pricing page; it is fully demo-gated and bundles SMS with reviews, webchat and payments rather than selling SMS alone.
How we compared these
We compared each vendor's entry paid plan, its price, and the number of credits included at that tier, pulled from each vendor's own pricing page. Where a vendor did not publish a price, we say so rather than estimate one. Checked September 2026.
SMS marketing pricing
| Tool | Starting price | Credits included | Bundled features | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EZ Texting | $20/mo Launch (annual) | 500/mo | SMS only, one number and user at entry tier | The lowest published starting price for SMS alone | A team needing more than one number or user without upgrading |
| SimpleTexting | ~$33-39/mo Local Number plan | 500/mo | SMS with a stated one-time 10DLC registration fee of $4 | A team that wants the registration cost itemized upfront | A team that wants the absolute cheapest entry price |
| SlickText | $29/mo Standard | 500/mo | Free tier and 14-day trial available | A team that wants to try before committing to a paid plan | A team that wants Podium's broader reviews-and-webchat bundle |
| Podium | Pricing on request | Not published | SMS bundled with reviews, webchat and payments | A local business that wants one platform for SMS, reviews and webchat together | A team that wants a published price before a sales call |
Figures checked on each vendor's own pricing page, September 2026: eztexting.com/pricing, simpletexting.com/pricing, slicktext.com/pricing, podium.com/pricing.
The field, ranked
1. EZ Texting
The lowest published entry price among the self-serve platforms checked, for the same 500-credit allowance the others offer. Best for: a small team or solo operator starting with SMS on a tight budget. Not for: a team that needs more than one number or user without upgrading.
2. SlickText
A comparable price to SimpleTexting with a free tier and trial to test before paying. Best for: a team that wants to try SMS marketing risk-free before committing. Not for: a team that wants Podium's broader local-business bundle.
3. SimpleTexting
A similar entry price to SlickText, with a clearly stated one-time registration fee that removes guesswork about setup cost. Best for: a team that wants to know the full first-month cost upfront. Not for: a team purely optimizing for the lowest headline price.
4. Podium
SMS bundled with reviews, webchat and payments into one local-business platform, fully demo-gated. Best for: a local business that wants all of those tools from one vendor. Not for: anyone who wants a published price before a sales conversation, or who only needs SMS.
How to choose
Choose EZ Texting if you want the lowest published start price for SMS alone. Choose SlickText if you want a free tier and a 14-day trial before you pay. Choose SimpleTexting if you want the $4 registration fee shown upfront. Choose Podium if you want reviews, webchat and payments from the same vendor. These tools earn their price once volume, opt-in tracking or campaign timing outgrow what one phone can handle.
Questions
- What is a 'credit' in an SMS marketing platform?
- Usually one text message segment sent to one recipient. A longer message can consume more than one credit depending on character count and encoding, so a plan's credit allowance does not always equal that many separate texts.
- Do I need 10DLC registration to use any of these platforms?
- Yes, for US business texting from a standard local number. Every platform in this category routes through the same carrier registration system regardless of which one sends the message; none of them can bypass it.
- Is Podium the same category as these three?
- Podium bundles SMS marketing with reviews, webchat and payments as part of a broader local-business communication platform, and its pricing page is fully demo-gated rather than publishing a self-serve figure. It fits teams wanting that broader bundle more than teams wanting SMS alone.
- Where does SalesCrew fit with SMS marketing?
- SalesCrew runs two-way SMS through Twilio, with templates, consent tracking and STOP handling. SMS steps sit in the same cadences as email, and suppression is enforced when the audience freezes.