Compare email marketing and SMS marketing software to decide which one aligns better with your marketing goals.
For your marketing team, it can be confusing to decide whether to use email marketing software or SMS marketing software. Both software tools help spread the word about your small business and reach your target audience, but they operate in different ways and serve different purposes.
While email marketing software lets you promote your offerings via the email channel, SMS marketing software strictly targets mobile users and allows you to send promotional content via text messages.
This article discusses the similarities and differences between email marketing and SMS marketing software so you can select the right one for your marketing needs. For each software category, we’ve also included the top five products based on verified software reviews. Read more.
What is email marketing software?
Email marketing software allows your business to create and run email marketing campaigns to promote your products, services, new launches, events, and more. It lets you create segmented email lists so you can send targeted, relevant content to your subscribers.
The software helps track metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, and conversion to assess how well your email campaigns are performing. You can send personalized emails to promote your offerings, build brand awareness, or increase customer engagement.
Our lists of email marketing agencies by location can help you find the services you’re looking for.
Core features of email marketing software
The core features of email marketing software are:
Email management: | Helps organize your inbox by categorizing emails using filters such as sender name, subject, and keyword. |
List management: | Allows you to create multiple subscriber lists and maintain their quality by flagging and removing inactive or invalid email addresses. |
Subscriber management: | Lets you add, edit, or remove subscribers from email lists and segment subscribers based on various criteria such as demographics, interests, and behavior. |
5 top-rated email marketing software
These products are listed in alphabetical order. (Check how we selected them.)
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
What is SMS marketing software?
SMS marketing software provides the tools to launch and run text marketing campaigns to promote your products or services. It enables you to send personalized text messages to a specific audience or bulk messages to a pool of contacts.
The software allows you to create and maintain contact lists, schedule messages, analyze open rates, and generate reports to check engagement levels. You can use text marketing software to advertise weekly specials, send coupons to customers, get feedback, run surveys, and promote contests, among others.
Core features of SMS marketing software
The core features of SMS marketing software are:
Contact management: | Offers a centralized repository to store customer details, such as their names, addresses, and phone numbers, in an organized, searchable manner. It lets you create multiple contact lists, add or remove individual contacts from a list, and import or export existing contact lists. |
Mass texting: | Enables you to send bulk text messages to a large group of people. Mass texting helps you reach a larger audience and promote sales, events, or other marketing campaigns. |
5 top-rated SMS marketing software
These products are listed in alphabetical order. (Check how we selected them.)
To present the most up-to-date information, the product information below shows the latest real-time ratings, which may differ from the ratings values at the time this report's analysis was conducted, since new reviews may have been left in the meantime.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Email marketing vs. SMS marketing software: How are they similar?
Email marketing and SMS marketing tools assist marketing and PR teams in delivering promotional content to target audiences. Both help automate communication with prospects or customers, enabling your small business to run targeted marketing campaigns.
Both tools allow you to create targeted contact lists, schedule messages, and track customer engagement levels. You can use both to deliver marketing messages such as shopping deals, account alerts, appointment reminders, brand updates, targeted campaigns, purchase confirmations, and newsletters.
Contact management, customer segmentation, campaign management, subscriber management, and reporting/analytics are a few features commonly found in both software solutions.
Ready to hire an email marketing agency for your business needs? Browse our list of companies in the following areas:
Email marketing vs. SMS marketing software: Which one is right for your business?
Choosing between email marketing and SMS marketing software depends on various factors, and the age and demographic of your target audience is the most important one. If you’re targeting a younger audience, SMS marketing could be more effective, as youngsters prefer texting over email. But if your audience is diverse, email marketing could be a better choice because it allows you to include more varied, detailed content along with visuals.
Your budget is the next factor. A text message marketing tool could be more expensive than an email marketing tool, as each text message is charged separately. However, pricing for email marketing software usually depends on the size of your email list. If you have a large contact list, email marketing could be a more cost-effective option.
You should also consider your marketing goals. If you want to drive website traffic or generate leads, email marketing would be better, as it allows you to add more links and/or CTAs. But if you want to create urgency or drive immediate actions, SMS marketing would be more effective.
Once you’ve decided which software to use, head to our email marketing and SMS marketing category pages where you can find a sortable list of products and software reviews from verified users.
How to choose email marketing vs. SMS marketing software
The software you choose should make your marketing team's job easier. Below are a few things to consider when selecting between the two tools:
Evaluate your content needs. If your marketing communication includes detailed content and/or images, opt for email marketing software, as it allows for longer messages and the inclusion of graphics and images. However, if your marketing messages are short and straightforward, go for an SMS marketing platform instead.
Check customer segmentation functionality. Customer segmentation is crucial to your marketing effort, irrespective of the software you choose. This feature lets you create targeted email or SMS lists to send relevant, personalized messages. Opt for software that allows you to segment your prospects or customers based on location, behavior, interests, etc.
Look for customer opt-in options. Whether choosing email marketing or text message marketing software, select a tool that allows you to add an opt-in option, such as a web form, for customers to subscribe to your messages. Similarly, the tool should let you include opt-out options so customers can choose to unsubscribe from your promotional messages.
Common questions when selecting email marketing vs. SMS marketing software
Here are some questions you should ask software vendors before making a purchase:
Is the software CAN-SPAM compliant?
CAN-SPAM compliance requires all commercial emails and SMS messages from your business to reflect accurate content when promoting products and services and to provide an opt-out mechanism that allows recipients to unsubscribe from future communications.
Does the software help analyze deliverability metrics?
Software that lets you track metrics around message deliverability, such as open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribe rate, will help measure customer engagement as well as campaign performance. You should also look for a tool that automatically removes invalid email addresses and mobile numbers to help you maintain clean contact lists and improve message deliverability.
Does the software provide the split testing feature?
Split testing, also known as A/B testing, helps optimize your email and text marketing campaigns by creating two versions of a campaign or promotional message and analyzing which version has better audience engagement.