SMS Broadcast review

SMS Broadcast pricing

SMS Broadcast prices messages as a prepaid credit bundle. The rates this site read are recharge rates in Australian dollars excluding GST, across six credit bands. A recharge costs 7.00c at 1,000 messages a month and 6.00c at 15,000, which works out to $70 and $900 on the monthly bills at those volumes.

The volume curve exists only on recharge. A first purchase costs the same unit rate at every band up to the largest, so a first-time buyer of a small bundle pays the same per message as a first-time buyer of a large one. The cheapest recharge rate also requires a single very large purchase, which puts it out of reach for most small senders.

Two rules change the real cost. A credit card surcharge applies to card payments, and credits expire within a year of purchase, so unused balance carries a deadline. The bundle also shapes what you get on the sending side.

SMS Broadcast features for Australian senders

The provider publishes an SMS API, email to SMS, two-way SMS, dedicated numbers, shared numbers and alphanumeric sender IDs. The API uses HTTP GET or POST, with an account username and password passed as request parameters, and it offers an official PHP library. Delivery receipts and replies are pushed to your URL.

Email to SMS sends to an address at the Australian domain for your account, and one address cannot be linked to two accounts. A setting includes or excludes the subject line, and optional subject threading keeps the original subject on later messages. Replies land in your sending email inbox and the web inbox, and they can be forwarded to another address. A configurable message limit cuts off text beyond the limit.

The web app imports recipient files in CSV or Excel, and columns from the file can go into the message as merge fields. You import through Contacts or Lists, or you send straight from a file on the messaging screen. All customers can use its pool of free shared numbers. The trial gives free credits plus a month on the platform with no credit card. Sender choices lead into the register question.

SMS Broadcast sender ID and the ACMA register

ACMA's approved list for the SMS Sender ID Register lists SMS Broadcast under its own name as a certified telco, with the entry in the name Sinch Pty Ltd. Its customer terms name Message4U Pty Ltd, the operating company behind that entry. A business that registers a sender ID through this provider is registering through a certified telco on that list. Support is the next thing to check.

SMS Broadcast support and reputation

No support hours, phone number or support email are published, and the contact page carries only a heading. The pricing page says the customer service team "will always be around to help you out. Reach out to our experts whenever you like, at no cost." The provider publishes no uptime figure, so there is nothing to hold it against. Public reviews sit at 4.5 from 349 reviews on ProductReview.com.au. That record points to who the provider suits.

Who SMS Broadcast suits

SMS Broadcast suits a business that wants onshore delivery, because it publishes connections with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone and no low-grade international routes. It also suits a team that sends by API or email to SMS and wants replies back in an inbox.

A business that needs published support hours, a phone number or an uptime figure should look elsewhere. Credits that expire within a year and a flat first-purchase rate also make it a weaker fit for a small sender that cannot commit to a large recharge.