SMS has been a potent and effective tool for SMEs. However, sending text messages via phone is hectic and time-consuming, especially when you want to send in bulk.
SMS APIs have emerged as a solution to this problem and many others. But when there are so many SMS API in the market, choosing the best for your business can be challenging.
Get started with our list and compare the best SMS API services available on the market.
- SMS = Short Message Service
- API = Application Programming Interface
- SME = Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
What is SMS API?
SMS service providers provide SMS API so that you can utilize it to transact SMS between your customers and the platforms you operate. The SMS API (Application Programming Interface) bridges your business system with the telecommunication service provider's network so that you can send and receive messages programmatically. This bridge creates an easy way for a business to communicate with its customers.
Why Do You Need an SMS API?
SMS authentication tokens have become an effective tool to curb the increase in rampant hacking attempts. They have proved to be an easy and straightforward tool for businesses, whether to authenticate customer's login or financial transactions.
However, it doesn't make sense for companies to employ people to handle such sensitive information, especially when they might have to send hundreds of thousands of these tokens each day. Enter SMS API.
SMS APIs provide a secure and automatic way for businesses to send and receive sensitive information from their customers. However, they have much more extensive use cases.
Companies can use SMS APIs to automatically send reminders, order status, notifications, including promotional offers to their customers. SMS API can be a powerful tool to drive the growth of your business.
What to Look for in SMS API for SMEs?
For every business, the cost will always be the primary factor that affects the choice of a product or service. However, there are more factors to consider before integrating an SMS API into your business system.
Let's look at the most important:
Cost
SMEs generally operate on a very tight budget. However, you do not have to settle with an SMS API solution that doesn't meet your needs. SMS APIs providers have flooded the market with various offers and solutions that fit your demands. Look for an SMS API provider with a pricing model that matches your business needs.
Ease of integration
One factor that separates the best SMS API solution from the rest is the ease of integration. Whatever solution you choose must seamlessly blend with your system without having to spend a fortune on expensive technical resources.
Plus, the Internet of Things (IoT) is no more a thing of the future. It’s here, and businesses need to ensure that their infrastructures are ready to reap the benefits. Choose an SMS API solution that can blend with multiple platforms and channels.
Quality of service
Theoretically, you should be able to send an SMS in less than a fraction of a second. However, even with the technical barriers, the best SMS API solution will deliver an SMS successfully within seconds. Check out the SMS API provider's SLA to ensure that you are getting the best service in the market.
The best SMS API solutions also provide value-added services like message tracking, delivery receipts, message tagging and mobile verification. All of these services can help you calculate your SMS's effectiveness and eventually manage the cost.
Range
Most SMS API providers cater to their domestic market. However, if your business has or aims to have an international client base, opt for a global coverage service. Most of the best SMS APIs already have global coverage when sending messages, but a few cannot receive messages from an international sender.
If your business operation relies on receiving messages from an international sender, such API solutions will not fit your requirements. Go for an SMS API solution that offers the range you require.
Compliance
Most SMS API solutions are compliant with the laws of the country where they operate. But the best SMS API solutions go beyond that to ensure they are compliant with the international regulations so that when it's time for you to scale your operation, you will not have to worry about getting yourself into legal problems.
Look for SMS API solutions that are compliant with the country's regulations where you (want to) operate.
Customer support
For a business whose most significant strength doesn't come from information technology, customer support can become a crucial factor. Even companies with a robust technical workforce can benefit from better customer support. Whether it comes to integrating your business system with the SMS API or making changes to the way the SMS API works, good customer support will always go miles.
In addition to technical help, there are a multitude of scenarios where customer support matters. You will always thank the SMS API solution that provides excellent support account, billing or even general issues.
The Best SMS APIs for SMEs
Considering the above points, here is the list of the top 5 SMS APIs for SMEs in 2021 that can help the SMEs generate more revenue and give a better service to clients.
1. Twilio SMS API
Twilio SMS is known as the best for customization.
It offers excellent integration features to customize the app per your requirement. It also has an exciting range of SMS messaging solutions, including phone number redirection and verification.
You can integrate Twilio with all the popular CRMs without any coding. You can also incorporate a Twilio account into your Zapier account. It allows you to send and receive text messages via your email account.
On top of that, Twilio's community has answers to thousands of problems related to SMS API usage in a business environment.
The price starts from $0.0075 per message for sending and receiving messages.
2. Telesign SMS Gateway API
Telesign SMS Gateway API is the best for adding SMS authentication to your application.
Telesign offers SMS API solutions specially designed for authentication needs. But their service doesn't end at that. You can integrate their solution and get message delivery notifications, send reminders and send 1-time and time-based passcodes to your customers for verification.
The API can handle 2-way private communication. It can also automatically split long SMS messages and cleanse phone numbers to boost the amount of delivery.
It offers customized pricing models for your solution when you request a quote from them.
3. Octopush SMS API
Octopush SMS is the best for integration without coding.
When it comes to integration, there is no match of Octopush. You can use the plugins and modules without any coding and work with more than 300 applications, including Gmail, Dropbox, Magento and Zendesk.
The interface also allows you to manage delivery reports, embed two-factor authentication, include 2-way SMS, send scheduled SMS, push SMS and check your credit balance. The robust customer support is also an important feature that differentiates it from others.
The pricing model depends on your geographical location. Octopush has different prices for 6 sets of SMS packs for different countries.
4. Vonage SMS API
Vonage is the best for seamless mobile integration.
If you are thinking of integrating the SMS message to your Android or iOS application, Vonage can be the best solution for you. Besides sending and receiving high SMS volumes globally, it can embed custom messaging, do fraud detection and perform voice verification.
It also offers phone number verification API, phone number insights API and chat API to cater to all text messaging needs of a business.
Pricing starts from $ 0.0068 per message .
5. Telenyx API
Telenyx API is the best for embedding voice and multimedia messaging capabilities.
Its API has some exceptional features. It offers toll-free SMS numbers so your customers don't have to pay to send messages to you. It also provides short SMS numbers for businesses who want to identify their brands through SMS numbers.
Apart from sending and receiving bulk SMS, the APIs offer private SMS communication and broadcasting with minimal latency. It also allows you to send event-based notifications and verify phone numbers.
The prices depend on the recipients' geographical regions. And with the variety of pricing plans it offers, almost all businesses can find a plan that best fits them.
SMS to the Rescue
No matter what size of business you run, you will always want to ensure that you hear your customers and they hear you. You want them to feel safe doing business with you. And SMS can be an easy, inexpensive and personal way to do that.