Bulk SMS Service: How to Choose the Right Provider for 100,000+ Texts
What a bulk SMS service does, what it really costs at volume, and the five questions to ask before you pay anyone.
What a bulk SMS service does, what it really costs at volume, and the five questions to ask before you pay anyone.
Sending 100,000 texts or more in occasional campaigns? A managed bulk SMS service with one price per campaign costs a fraction of per-message platforms. Smarterblast: $449 for 100,000 texts, $699 for 500,000, $999 for 2,000,000, with a 70% delivery guarantee.
A bulk SMS service sends one text message to thousands or millions of phone numbers in a single campaign. Each recipient gets it as an ordinary text, in the same inbox as messages from friends and family, with no spam folder or promotions tab in the way. That is why real estate, solar, insurance, mortgage and political campaigns lean on SMS when they need a big list to act quickly.
Bulk SMS services differ from everyday business texting apps in three ways:
The headline price per text is the number most providers show you. The number that matters is the total for your campaign:
| Campaign size | At $0.01 per text | At $0.025 per text | Smarterblast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 texts | $1,000 | $2,500 | $449 (Bronze) |
| 500,000 texts | $5,000 | $12,500 | $699 (Silver) |
| 2,000,000 texts | $20,000 | $50,000 | $999 (Gold) |
At 500,000 texts our Silver package works out at about $1.40 per 1,000 messages, against $8.30 per 1,000 at Twilio's published per-segment rate before carrier fees. Per-message platforms also tend to add monthly plans, number rental and carrier surcharges on top. The pricing page shows the cost per 1,000 at every tier.
Pick per-campaign pricing if you send 50,000+ texts at a time, your volume varies from campaign to campaign, or you run campaigns for clients.
Pick per-message pricing if you send small batches every week and need two-way conversations with each customer.
| Self-serve platform | Managed service (Smarterblast) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small lists, frequent two-way texting | 100,000 to 2,000,000+ texts per campaign |
| Pricing | Monthly plan plus per-message fees | One price per campaign, from $449 |
| Your effort | Set up the account, manage numbers, run each send | Upload your list and message, we send |
| Contract | Usually a monthly subscription | None, pay per campaign |
| Delivery guarantee | Rare | 70% of valid numbers, or your money back |
Send only to people who agreed to hear from you, and end your message with an opt-out like "Reply STOP to opt out". It keeps replies positive and delivery high.
A bulk SMS service sends one text message to a large list of phone numbers in a single campaign. Each person receives it as an ordinary text from you. Self-serve platforms give you software to run the send yourself; a managed service like Smarterblast takes your list and message and runs the send for you.
Per-message platforms typically charge around $0.01 to $0.025 per text plus carrier fees, which is $1,000 to $2,500 for 100,000 messages. Smarterblast charges one price per campaign: $449 for up to 100,000 texts, $699 for up to 500,000 and $999 for up to 2,000,000. At 500,000 texts that is about $1.40 per 1,000.
For occasional large campaigns, a managed service with per-campaign pricing usually costs far less than a monthly platform billed per message, and you do not have to learn any software. For frequent two-way texting with a small list, a self-serve platform is the better fit.
Yes. Every Smarterblast package carries a 70% delivery guarantee: if fewer than 70% of the valid numbers on your list are delivered, according to the carrier delivery report, we refund the package price.
No. Choose a package and pay in crypto. Once payment is confirmed we email you a private link to upload your list and message, and we agree the launch timing with you.
Yes. Smarterblast sends bulk SMS campaigns worldwide. Tell us where your contacts are when you upload your list.