Emotive review
Emotive is an SMS marketing platform for online sellers, with a Starter monthly plan at $100 a month and a 14 day free trial that converts to a paid month-to-month plan at the standard price unless you cancel before it ends (read September 22, 2026). We score Emotive 5.00 out of 10 overall. Its lowest published message rate is 0.8c (read September 9, 2026).
Alain Grossbard OAM, with Justin Grossbard Updated How we rate Reader supported, we may earn a commission Reader supported. We may earn a commission when you sign up through a link on this page, and it never changes a score. How we make money.
Emotive cost at your volume
No calculator here: Emotive publishes per message rates, but the shared cost function this site prices every provider with does not yet model how Emotive applies them, so no monthly figure is computed. The rates are in the table below.
Emotive scores
| Value for money | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 8 | |
| Reliability | 2 | |
| Reputation | 6.5 | |
| Compliance | 7 | |
| Customer service | 4.5 |
Six criteria, equally weighted, each scored out of 10 from Emotive's own published pages (how we rate).
Emotive US rates
| As published | Price | How it compares |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1.50c | Lower than 13 of 32 other providers' lowest US rates, level with 1 |
| Pro | 1.00c | Lower than 15 of 32 other providers' lowest US rates, level with 3 |
| Advanced | 0.80c | Lower than 23 of 32 other providers' lowest US rates |
| Long code rental | $40 to $90 a month per verified 10DLC number, depending on volume and deliverability score. | Billed on top of message charges |
Read from Emotive's own US pricing page on 9 September 2026. By published band. Each row is read against the lowest published US rate of every other provider we price. Source.
Emotive fees, trial and support
| What | Emotive | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MMS rate | $0.025 per MMS on Starter, $0.02 on Pro and $0.016 on Advanced; Enterprise custom. Carrier fees are billed on top. | Read Source 1 |
| 10DLC registration fees | Each verified 10DLC number costs $40 to $90 a month. No separate brand or campaign registration fee is published. | Read Source 1 |
| Toll-free verification | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 |
| Carrier fees | Billed on top of the plan and message fees, as are taxes. Emotive's help center publishes a per carrier US table, for example 10DLC SMS: AT&T $0.0020, T-Mobile $0.0030, Verizon $0.0025, US Cellular $0.0050. Carrier fees also apply to inbound messages. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Free trial | 14 day free trial, which converts to a paid month-to-month plan at the standard price unless cancelled before it ends. A live FAQ also says a free tier exists, which the pricing page does not show. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Minimum plan or spend | Starter at $100 a month, a monthly contract with no minimum spend. Pro carries a $200 minimum spend and Advanced $400. An unmet minimum is billed as the difference. A 3.5% fee applies to invoices paid by card, waived on ACH. | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 |
| Credit expiry | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| API and SDKs | A documented HTTP API for sending order data (endpoint api.emotiveapp.co, token authorization), plus guides for a profile properties API and a custom site API. No endpoint for sending a message is published. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Web app | true. Web dashboard with campaign results, two-way conversations, scheduled sends by date or recipient time zone, 600+ templates and analytics. A mobile app for replying to customers is also listed. | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 |
| Email to SMS | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 |
| Integrations named | Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Zendesk, Gorgias, Recharge, Yotpo, Slack, Zapier and others, 32 named on the integrations page. The help center documents more, including Omnisend, Drip, Customer.io and Zoho Desk. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Support channels | Live chat and support tickets from the dashboard, and email (support@emotive.io) after hours. Billing questions go to accounting@emotive.io. No US phone number is published. A help center is at help.emotive.io. Starter includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager; a dedicated copywriter and Slack channel start at Pro. | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 |
| Support hours | Live chat Monday to Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM Eastern. After hours, email, answered the next business day. No weekend hours. | Read Source 1 |
| Price changes | No price guarantee. The Terms let Emotive change fees or add new fees on 14 calendar days' email notice. | Read Source 1 |
| SOC 2 | Emotive's pricing-comparison FAQ states it is compliant with SOC2 and Privacy Shield. No report, trust portal or auditor is published. | Read Source 1 |
| ISO 27001 | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 |
| HIPAA | Not HIPAA compliant by default. The Terms bar customers from giving Emotive protected health information; a HIPAA covered entity must request a BAA before using the service. | Read Source 1 |
| GDPR | Emotive's pricing-comparison FAQ states it is fully GDPR compliant and supports data subject requests. A DPA is published. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Opt-out handling (TCPA) | A Litigator Filter that removes numbers tied to TCPA disputes, an opt-in audit trail, and consent tracking documentation. Its compliance team guides TCPA, CCPA and CTIA practice. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| 10DLC registration | Supports 10DLC, toll-free and dedicated short code numbers. Each verified 10DLC number is billed at $40 to $90 a month. No registration process or timing is published. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Founded | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 |
| Head office | 8605 Santa Monica Boulevard, PMB 57093, West Hollywood, California 90069, the address the DPA gives for Emotive, Inc. The privacy policy says the company is headquartered in Los Angeles. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| Ownership | Owned by Privy. The Terms of Service name Privy Operations, LLC doing business as Emotive; Privy announced the acquisition on 8 July 2025. | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
| US contracting entity | Privy Operations, LLC d/b/a Emotive, under Massachusetts law (Terms updated February 5, 2026). The older privacy policy and DPA name 317 Labs, Inc. d/b/a Emotive. | Read Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 |
| Uptime or SLA | Not published | Read Source 1 Source 2 |
Not published means Emotive's own pages were checked on that day and state no figure. Nothing here is carried over from the earlier version of this review.
When Emotive fits
Emotive fits a US ecommerce business on Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or Magento that runs two-way conversational campaigns, since the web dashboard covers scheduled sends by date or recipient time zone, 600+ templates, and analytics, plus a mobile app for replying to customers (read September 9, 2026). It fits a budget above $400 a month, where the Advanced plan charges 0.8c per message and $0.016 per MMS (read September 9, 2026). A Starter plan at $100 a month includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager (read September 22, 2026). Emotive supports 10DLC, toll-free and dedicated short code numbers, and bills verified 10DLC numbers at $40 to $90 a month (September 28, 2026), covered in the rules for business texting.
When to look elsewhere
Look elsewhere when you need a documented endpoint for sending a message: the API covers order data, profile properties and a custom site, but no message endpoint is published (read September 9, 2026). Look elsewhere for phone support, since no US phone number is published and live chat runs Monday to Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM Eastern, with no weekend hours (read September 22, 2026). Emotive does not publish short code or toll-free number rental rates, uptime, or a founding date (read September 9, 2026), and it is not HIPAA compliant by default.
Emotive compared
Emotive is ranked against the rest of its category: where Emotive ranks among the best SMS marketing platforms in the USA.
Emotive questions
What is Emotive?
Emotive is an SMS marketing platform owned by Privy, which announced the acquisition on 8 July 2025. The Terms of Service name Privy Operations, LLC doing business as Emotive (read September 22, 2026).
How much does Emotive cost?
Emotive charges a Starter monthly plan at $100 a month, with Pro carrying a $200 minimum spend and Advanced $400 (read September 22, 2026). Message rates run 1.5c on Starter, 1c on Pro and 0.8c on Advanced (read September 9, 2026). A 3.5% card payment fee applies, waived on ACH.
Does Emotive have a free trial?
Emotive offers a 14 day free trial that converts to a paid month-to-month plan at the standard price unless you cancel before it ends (read September 22, 2026). A live FAQ also says a free tier exists, which the pricing page does not show.
Does Emotive have an API for sending messages?
Emotive has a documented HTTP API for sending order data, plus guides for a profile properties API and a custom site API (read September 9, 2026). No endpoint for sending a message is published, so you send through the web dashboard or a mobile app instead.