Australian Bulk SMS companies are primarily used for marketing and communication campaigns covering deals, alerts, reminders, new or alternate products or services for immediate customer attention.
Use this free SMS Comparison Table and site to compare bulk SMS providers based on price, reliability, quality and security in deciding whom you wish to engage.
The latest update on 22 September 2022.
In order to compare SMS providers a number of variables or factors need to be considered such as price, features, service support, reliability, compliance, present clients and promotional offers.
Pricing, distribution and reliability are always central concerns for all companies whether they are SMEs to organisations that need to send large volumes of text messages on a constant basis. Each element is discussed below.
Price is a major determining factor in the consideration of engaging a bulk text message provider. Price will vary on the volume of distribution of SMS over a period, which is usually calculated on a monthly distribution basis.
The number of SMS that is disseminated ranges from 500+ to over 1 000 000+ text messages during a month. When the volume is low, the charges can vary from around 9 cents per message to as low as 5 cents per text message. So you can see that there can be a large variation in charges.
With larger volume distribution, around 100,000+ per month, the charges vary from around five (5) cents per message to over ten (10) cents per message, a significant difference between bulk SMS providers. On the largest scale, when considering a distribution of one million or more text messages a month there is also a significant price difference.
The table below shows the top bulk SMS companies and while exact prices couldn’t be stated as they differ by volume and circumstances, a range was provided based on quotes provided.
The above table shows that the ClickSend provider was one of the lowest prices of the selected reputable providers. It also offered the best value of the SMS companies covered. Its Australian pricing schedule offers for 2k or less, a charge of $0.07/SMS; 10k + charge of $0.06/SMS; and for 100k+ charge of $0.055/SMS.
WholesaleSMS is also one of the few providers that provide clear prices based on volume. While the $0.065/SMS is an introductory offer and is standard across any 1000+ package, the ongoing rate ranges from $0.06/SMS for 50,000+; $0.055/SMS for 100000+ to $0.05/SMS for 250,000+ based on the number of messages purchased. It all depends on a minimum spend on a monthly basis.
It should be stressed that pricing is not the only factor in considering which provider offers the best overall value. Other indicators will be discussed later in this overview. Therefore if you are a client or a prospective client, please check around to ensure you take note of all the factors in assessing value as well as the terms and conditions of these charges.
As stated above, many other features need to be considered in valuing the SMS provider other than purely on price.
Take, for example, the two-way process for the distribution of SMS. You need to be aware and see if the provider can send a text message to a mass target audience and can receive replies from those recipients. The SMS company should have the capacity to forward comments, ideas and inputs from specific contributions or feedback for the client to analyse ad take appropriate action.
This two-way process provides an immediate set of responses that can be analysed and action taken promptly and reliably. This process provides peace of mind and reassurance that the provider can track and monitor SMS distribution and responses. Recording incoming and outgoing text messages will ensure that a delivery tracking analysis can be done in any marketing or communication campaign. Records can be sent to excel with deliverable reports further sent through API or an SMS gateway.
Offering a range of quality and diverse features for SMS gateway distribution, it was seen that Burst SMS presents the best set of features of all the bulk text message providers investigated in Australia. Adopting a scale of 0 to 100, the calculations showed that the features offered by Burst SMS had a rating of 97 out of 100, which is an excellent set of features. This is followed closely by bulk provider SMS Tech with an excellent complimentary range of features thereby ranking 89 out of a maximum of 100. The other three SMS competitors’ ranking was lower ranging between 72 to 81 out of 100. Although not as high it should be stressed that they still offer a good range of valued features and therefore should not be excluded from consideration as prospective good bulk text message providers.
One of the important factors in the selection of a bulk SMS company is the reliability and credibility in sending out bulk SMS to either customers, clients, staff or any groups that require some form of communication.
One of the selection criteria is the assurance that the client can set a time and date that the message will go out and be reassured that that requirement is met whether it be a reminder for appointments or some important date that either customer, clients, or staff need to know about. The alternative is that the client can set up a text message for a later date to promote a marketing or communication campaign and know it will be distributed.
Another matter and is that many bulk SMS companies do have an uptime guarantee whether it be 99% uptime to 99.9% or 100% up-time with Service Level Guarantee (SLAs) as part of their overall assurance.
Looking at the graph below, it is reassuring to know that all the major five SMS bulk Australia providers investigated showed reliability in their customer service. This put all these organisations in good stead with present and future clients and customers knowing that their arrangements and distribution requirements will be met effectively and efficiently. Even though SMS Broadcast, ClickSend and DirectSMS rate the top 100, this is closely followed by Burst SMS and SMS Tech.
It was investigated and shown that of all the bulk SMS companies that were compared, most provided a promotional offer of a free trial to review the range of services provided. Such free trials may vary from 5 free SMS to 50 free SMS.
From a reputation perspective, comparing bulk SMS providers, there appeared to be quite a diverse range of offers available. From the research done, SMS Tech was regarded as the most reputable organisation ranking a solid performer scoring a full complement of services with a 100 out of 100 ratings. This was closely followed by Burst SMS and ClickSend with high rankings. SMS Broadcast was also well placed with a good reputation scorecard. The two bulk SMS providers were rated and ranked much lower with Direct SMS rating a mere 59 out of a total of 100.
It needs to be emphasised that it is one matter to offer a selection of features and provide relatively cheap charges, it is another matter to be aware that there is, with most providers, a nearby customer support centre available in Australia to answer queries or assist with the distribution of text messages.
This factor has led a number of large reputable Australian and multinational companies to become clients of bulk SMS Australian providers. A list of some of the clients can be viewed on the providers’ websites or on the Bulk SMS Australia Comparison Table.
It takes quite some time for Australian businesses and organisations to find and select the right bulk text message provider. It requires an SMS service that can distribute text messages promptly and to the right people. This means letting individuals know about either a new marketing or communication campaign or letting people know about a reminder notice or receiving deals and alerts.
Many companies and organisations in Australia are finding out now that mass SMS distribution is the way to go.
So discovering the best bulk SMS company does require lots of research, investigation and analysis to understand what are the best factors that will make your mind prior to engaging their services. Features like price, reliability, reputation and ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 for quality and security are just a few of the issues that need to be looked at.
That’s why a Bulk Text Message Comparison Table was developed for you to compare at your own convenience.
Several bulk SMS companies in Australia will be able to provide a Short Message Service (SMS) to you for ease of distribution, whether it be via mobile phone, Web or any other communication device.
By notifying the providers as to what device or devices they wish to use and supplying the database of customers or consumers or any other groups, everything else is done by the bulk SMS company.
It only takes a few minutes from when you instruct to send until the SMS is received at the other end. It does not matter if the database sends out hundreds or thousands of contacts, it is a very efficient way of communicating.
The major advantage of bulk SMS distribution is that there is no requirement for any software to be installed into your system.
Why you may ask? The simple answer is that the bulk SMS companies are web-based and so the only need from your side is to have a web browser and internet access. What is only needed is to provide the SMS company with your name and contact details for distribution purposes.
Then when you are ready to send a message out, it is just a matter of notifying the provider which group or groups of people need to receive the SMS and it will be sent in a matter of minutes or seconds.
In formulating this comparison table and associated site, the authors analysed providers’ websites on an ongoing basis. Sometimes changes do take place in the pricing schedule and features, and this can occur without notice. Therefore it is recommended that readers may need to check prices and features before engaging any bulk provider.
If you believe that any information on this comparison table needs to be updated, please use the ‘contact us section to notify the owners of the site. Such changes will be made as soon as possible.
This SMS Comparison Table and site are provided free to assist you. Should there be any information provided that may be different from what is presented in the table or site, please let the authors know and the changes will be made as soon as possible. Should you use the information provided and as a result, decide to engage one of the SMS companies covered, the author may request a commission from the provider but, please be assured, we will not ask you for any fee.
There are no forms of advertising on this site and the authors have made price and other key features the key selection elements that have led to the recommendations made on the site.
Last edited on 22 September 2022