Our 2020 SMS gateway provider USA comparison found Bulk SMS to offer the best mass texting service based of SMS service features and SMS API to send large volumes of text messages. Compare the leading mass text message providers for USA businesses with our simple to follow SMS comparison table.
By Alain Grossbard / Updated: Wednesday, January 08th, 2020
Reliable customer support services via email and phone
Bulk SMS Mass Text Message Pricing
The table below displays the 2020 prices for BulkSMS.com, with no hidden fees or contracts (click here to see full pricing list).
The only additional cost for United States businesses is for incoming long numbers, which are used for text message marketing purposes. Cheaper mass text message prices are available for larger volume requirements (50,000+ messages). Therefore, American businesses should visit BulkSMS.com and request a tailored quote to send and receive mass text messages throughout the USA and worldwide. There is a money-back guarantee on all pricing points with refunds offered for unused credits if a client is unhappy with the service provided.
Most mass texting service providers will offer a range of SMS payment methods through debit of credit card. Payments can be made on a monthly basis (payment plan) or using a pay-as-you-go or pre-paid method, with the more credits purchased, the cheaper the cost per text message.
Mass Text Message Features Offered By Bulk SMS
The BulkSMS text messaging utilises JSON for request which is recommended for most API integration. JSON deals with long messages in various languages and enables webhooks, which allows text messages to be received back to a web server, as well as publishing status reports for monitoring purposes.
Other 5 best mass texting service features include:
Local and International 2-way messaging
Delivery (status) reports
Custom sender ID
Unicode character set functionality
Long message availability
A unique feature of BulkSMS is their Marketo and ClickDimensions integration. This offers two-way text message communications directly with ClickDimensions and Marketo, which allows recipients to reply to a business’s mass text messages. Replies go to the CRM directly allowing for workflow actions. The key benefits are the ability to send messages to large custom groups, improved reporting and Salesforce functionality.
Furthermore, SMS providers such as BulkSMS offer text message marketing automation which enables businesses to schedule their campaigns ahead of time and automate the time and content that messages are being sent. Such services are highly effective for drip campaigns (for example, to send multiple automated messages for upcoming promotions), and social media integration. Many SMS providers also offer a text-to-speech function which enables businesses to text particular messages which can then be converted into a voice call or voice mail, which can be highly effective for SMS marketing campaigns.
BulkSMS.com Reviews
Being a global mass text message provider, BulkSMS has over 1,000 reviews with a 4/5 on Trustpilot. The key to their positive reviews is their ease of use, the fact that they don’t lock customers into a monthly contract, their reliability (99.9% up-time guarantee), and no credit expiry. Customers can simply text STOP to discontinue receiving the SMS messages from the business, thus complying to the mobile marketing regulations within the USA.
BulkSMS Customer Service Support
BulkSMS offers both e-mail and phone support from their call centre. This enables round the clock support for American businesses at any time they require it. The local USA phone number is+27 21 528 3420 and the support team can be contacted via the email address support@bulksms.com
The mass text message provider also offers additional support through video tutorials, FAQs, and government regulation information.
A mass texting service (also known as a bulk texting service) provides business SMS marketing solutions through:
Web SMS – Go online to upload contacts and send mass text messages to the list
SMS API – Integrate CRM software to automate SMS campaigns
E-mail SMS Gateway – Integrate programs such as MS Office to send text messages
2-Way SMS – Allow users to respond to messages with customised options
MMS – Ability to send photos and videos to large groups of phone numbers for text marketing purposes
Some mass texting service providers offer SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer). This protocol used by the American telecommunication providers allows exchanging text messages between Short Message Service Centres and External Short Messaging Entities. This protocol is level 7 TCP/IP and can minimise latency of text messages sent. Version 3.3 SMPP is the most widely used within USA while version 3.4 has transceiver support allowing 2 way SMS solutions.
Bulk SMS Laws To Consider In The USA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
CAN-SPAM Act
National Do Not Call Registry
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)
The above four laws and regulations should be considered nationally while different states may have additional policies. The TCPA act requires communication only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and only when prior consent is provided. The CAN-SPAM policy complements the TCPA and ensures that mass texting has a ‘STOP’ service to opt-out of future communication.
The national do not call registry acknowledged by the TCPA has a list of numbers which can’t be contacted without specific conditions met while COPPA prevents communication to children under 13 years of old. These should all be considered prior to any SMS marketing campaign executed in the USA.
What Are Examples of Mass Text Message Services Used in USA?
American companies are quickly learning the benefits of using a mass SMS service within their organisation. Mass text message services are most commonly associated with SMS marketing campaigns, providing special deals to customers who opt-in to receive special deals and alerts. Thus, US businesses are able to target specific customers on their contact lists, and these users can then simply text STOP to opt-out.
More recently, governments and councils have discovered the immediacy and cut-through of SMS when used as an information tool. With USA’s diverse weather conditions it became apparent that a reliable and scalable alert system was required. SMS provide to be more than just a mobile marketing solution. With the ability to reach hundreds of thousands of mobile phones on multiple networks with seconds, mass SMS has quickly become a trusted and reliable tool used by hundreds of councils and authorities across the country.
Purchasing SMS in bulk is an effective method of keeping the overall cost per text message to a minimum. Most bulk SMS providers will offer very low rates per SMS when you make a bulk purchase, allowing you to use as many or as few SMS per send without the worry of an expiration date. For this reason, organisations from gyms and social clubs through to online services prefer to purchase their SMS in bulk and keep their customers and consumers happy with regular offers and updates.
A number of Bulk Text Message providers in the US (such as Nexmo) enable businesses to rent different types of phone numbers for varying prices. These phone numbers are listed below:
Virtual Phone Number
Toll Free Number
Short Code
Consider some of the offers made by Mass Text Message USA providers
1. Free SMS trial
A number of mass text messaging USA service offer a trial session where you can see the way the whole text messaging service process transpires from start to finish. There is a range of free trial offers ranging from a time period of 14 days available from Burst SMS to a free trial through a number of SMS, whether it is 5 SMS to 35 SMS. Other mass SMS providers do charge such as Ez Texting and Nexmo with a minimal cost of US$2.29. Whilst International company MessageBird which does not offer a free trial period. By checking mass text messaging USA providers’ websites, you will see what free trial they offer.
2. Business Bulk SMS Services
Bulk SMS USA companies provide a range of featured Business SMS platforms for sending text messages to customers, clients or employees in a cost-effective, efficient and secure manner. They can be sending a SMS online, importing contacts and managing lists of customers and staff. Bulk SMS USA services are able to integrate their SMS gateway with your website or software using SMS API tools and add text messaging to your business workflow. Business SMS services that are also offered by Bulk SMS USA providers include two-way, online text messaging chat, which is ideal for remote communications and using dedicated SMS numbers to receive inbound SMS and replies to your text messages from customers and employees.
SMS Marketing
As discussed in our recent article for 2020, SMS is very effective as a marketing tool for reaching out to large numbers of present and potential customers through mass text messaging USA providers. 98% of text messages are opened, compared to just 20% of emails. Additionally, SMS messages are more likely to be opened and responded to within just 3 minutes of being delivered. This makes SMS marketing a reliable form of communication particularly for marketing campaigns, promotions, contest, and appointment reminders, as some examples. Furthermore, many SMS providers also offer MMS gateway options which enables businesses to send mass numbers of photos, videos and other visual promotional material to selected mobile phones.
Through the engagement of mass SMS USA companies, you can evaluate how to improve your campaign or promotion by reviewing detailed reports that will assist you to boost better responses. SMS marketing can assist in organising campaigns creations, automated personalisation and unsubscribed management.
Ultimately, SMS marketing is highly effective for any business wanting to improve their customer relationships and brand awareness. Many industries around the globe utilising this messaging platform to connect with their customers in new ways. These industries include:
Health
Retail
Hospitality
Real Estate
Not For Profits
Mass Text Messaging Frequently Asked Questions
What Is A Mass Texting Service?
Mass texting also known as Bulk Messaging allows a large number of text messages to be delivered through mobile carriers. This is primarily used by businesses looking to communicate to existing or prospective customers due to the 98% open rate of SMS messages. Mass Text Messaging providers software allow integration with CRM, e-mail or databases. View our 2020 article and infographic here.
How To Send Bulk Text Messages From Gmail
Previously, there was an option within Google (settings>labs) that allowed free SMS from Gmail through chat (see below).
This option was removed and unless you had it enabled, no free service exists. Instead, in order to send mass text messages via email services such as Gmail, a paid mass texting service provider such as Clickatell, Clicksend and Direct SMS is required. These gateways can plugin through Google Apps (or any other mass text message app) to Gmail contacts, dates and other information and send text messages. Rules can be set to determine and customise these bulk Text Messaging messages.
How To Send Free Mass Text Messages In USA
There are two services that offer free SMS text messaging. The easiest and simplest site is A Free SMS which you can put in an individual number, the message and it’s sent at no cost. The second web site is GlobFone which has advanced functionality such as scheduling, however one must complete surveys and other tasks to get credits used for an SMS messages.
How To Send Mass Text Messaging From Computer
Sending mass text messages via computer is simple when following these 4 easy steps:
Connect mass text messaging software from a text message provider to your PC computer or Mac
Import contact lists and set the logic of who will be contacted from the mass SMS messages
Create the custom SMS templates and rules for future messages
Activate the account to commence the campaign
How Mass Text Messaging Works
Many businesses may ask the question of how to send mass text messages. A mass text messaging program is able to use specific or originating short code or long codes methods to be able to distribute large volumes of text messages to a mobile phone or mobile devices (including both iOS or Android devices) at a specified time.
SMS messages are distributed via text message API’s, which enable a large number of text messages to be sent to a target audience for a marketing campaign.
These SMS API platforms are able to be integrated into any existing business application, without the need to download any additional marketing software or messaging apps.
How To Register For Mass Text Messaging
To register, firstly review the range of mass text messaging providers’ websites available in USA (and overseas), using the mass SMS Comparison Table. If interested, you’ll see each provider has an information section and an email address for you to register. Consider requesting a free trial to test their features before committing to that bulk SMS provider.
Why Mass Texting
With a highly cluttered marketing environment, text messaging directly to a user’s phone is becoming more important than ever in 2020. By using a mass texting sender, you are able to send large number of a text message at any time, whether it is sent Nationally or Internationally. Bulk SMS is an ideal tool for businesses, large or small, who want to be assured that they can reach their target audiences effectively. As discussed in our article The Growth Of Text Messaging For Businesses In 2020, 90% of users have gained value of text message campaigns.
Background To This Mass Text Message Comparison Table
Mass SMS marketing has become a highly effective form of communication, with many American businesses utilising this two-way communication to form long lasting relationships with target audiences. Every SMS service provider in USA uses an SMS gateway to send SMS messages to a target audience’s cell phone – whether it be to clients, customers or organisations.
An SMS comparison table has been developed to identify and compare the services and products offered by these SMS providers by means of an independent yet well analysed SMS Bulk Comparison Table. The information has been summarised into a simplified, readable, and easy to follow tabulated format to provide you with key information on selection criteria such as message distribution costs, networks availability, composing online to single and bulk recipients, credit availability, service support and so on.
It should be stressed that the information provided in the table should only be used as a guide as prices and features may be updated at any time by the SMS Gateway providers’ websites without any prior notification. This comparison website also reviews Twilio, TextedlyTrumpia, and Wholesale SMS but they did not make the short-list to five providers in this particular comparison.
About This Mass Text Message Comparison Table
After working with SMS providers over several years, the authors of this site understand how time consuming and difficult it can be to compare mass texting services. To simplify the process, a set of criteria was created to suit most American businesses needs. The information on the table came from the American text message websites. In some occasions the providers were contacted to verify information and some providers recommended provide an affiliate payment for traffic to their inventory. We also have a how to guide and a companies check list on our site.
Bulk Text Message Service Provider USA Comparison
A comparison of American Bulk Text Message Service Providers.
