Australian businesses utilise messaging gateways to send bulk text messages for alerts, marketing and communication campaigns or two-way messages.
SMS Comparison has compared reputable Australian SMS providers based on pricing, reliability, compliance and customer service to recommend the best SMS plans for your business.
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By Alain Grossbard / Updated: Tuesday, October 24th, 2023
Here is our 2023 list of the best SMS Gateway Australia providers.
For those looking for an Australian-based text message gateway provider, ClickSend is recommended based on their:
View Clicksend Review >>Visit Clicksend >>
Whether it is 2000 text messages to a large quantity such as 500,000 text messages on a monthly basis, different SMS providers have comparatively cheap set prices.
Take for example several major SMS gateway competitors that vary in their pricing schedules.
ClickSend starts at $0.07 for 2000 or less for each SMS sent and received on your virtual number or shortcode at no additional charge. The higher volume of text messages distributed will be at a lower price. For example, for the distribution of 100, 000+ SMS every month the price comes down to $0.055 per SMS.
Cellcast has the cheapest pricing of $0.037 cents for 2000 messages, and for 20,000+ SMS the charge is $0.029 per SMS. With larger numbers, this pricing is negotiable
Notifyre offers a standard charge of $0.05 cents per SMS irrespective of volume. With larger numbers of 200,000+, this pricing is negotiable.
With all three companies, there are:
There is a free trial of 30 SMS offered by Cellcast, 25 SMS by ClickSend and a free trial by Notifyre once you create a free Notifyre account to access the platform. To start sending SMS messages, you will need to add funds to your Notifyre wallet. A minimum top-up spend of A$10 is required.
If businesses are looking to exceed 200,000 messages they can negotiate directly for lower pricing with the sales team and receive a dedicated account manager to discuss charges.
Pricing is in Australian dollars excluding GST.
1) Dedicated Number
ClickSend charges users $19.00 a month for a dedicated number but there are no setup fees. Notifyre charges $18.50 per month with unlimited inbound replies and a dedicated receive number.
A dedicated virtual number is recommended to increase interaction with text messages. It has been shown to improve response rates and can better integrate SMS to CRM or an e-mail account.
2) Dedicated Shortcode
For the engagement of dedicated shortcodes, ClickSend has a charge is $320.00 per month and there is a setup fee of $750.00.
A shortcode is a five to six-digit phone number that is used by brands to communicate with consumers. So it can be a phone number like 12345 or even 123456. Again, five to six digits, and again, used by brands to communicate to consumers. A dedicated short code is dedicated to one brand.
For any Australian business, reliability comes down to ensuring the message is properly delivered (known as Uptime) and the time taken for the text message to reach the mobile phone (Latency). How important reliability depends on the type of text messages that will be sent by the company. While something like an advertising burst may require minimal reliability, an SMS verification service of a bank or an appointment reminder may be critical.
With ClickSend, it offers one of the best SLAs in the industry with a 100% Service Level Agreement Guarantee with Tier 1 telecommunication networks. Service credits are provided if this service level agreement is not met in a calendar month.
With a range of features, our SMS Gateway Comparison review also found Cellcast to be a highly reputable SMS provider and worthy of serious consideration.
Notifyre states on its website that it has a 99.99% server uptime guarantee.
ClickSend reliable SMS gateway is fast with either direct or one-hop carrier connections that will ensure messages are delivered in a prompt time frame.
ClickSend provides real-time updates based on the telecommunication providers’ DLR information. The message delivery status monitoring information is then passed onto clients so they have up-to-date information on what messages have been sent to date.
Customers can control the validity of text messages. If an SMS isn’t delivered within a specified time frame, it can be discarded at no additional charge. This can be critical for time-sensitive messages such as a ‘flash sale’.
On the reputable review website TrustPilot, the ClickSend SMS gateway scored a very high rating of 4.5 based on 2947 reviews. With Cellcast review, it scored 4.9 based on 142 reviews (Trustindex). The data is based on August 2023 results.
Below compares this score to other SMS gateway providers. These are just from one website and it’s recommended to go through other third-party sites first and read individual reviews before choosing a provider.
Setting up a text message gateway even with the best support guides can be tedious, timely and, to say the least, confusing. This is why ClickSend has an Australian office which is so critical to providing local support. This support is initially limited to e-mails and their website with no dedicated number provided but a Live Chat option is available. For this reason, the comparable support levels are well with their competitors.
Those new to sending text messages or utilising a gateway may want to use an Australian provider like ClickSend which has a superior support network. It should be noted that this customer support level is based on Australian businesses looking for local support.
Our review of Australian businesses about their SMS Gateway Australia solutions found this provider, ClickSend, to have key strengths to make it a worthy choice. Their low-cost model, sound infrastructure and advanced features are their points of differentiation.
The overall rating is based on review by our experts
Our price comparison in 2023 showed that Cellcast is the cheapest in Australia. We update these figures each quarter with Cellcast being the lowest since July 2022.
Updated on 18-11-2023. Currency is in AUD $
Pricing is their big advantage and already mentioned this on some of the other SMS Comparison sites. Features, reliability, reputation (clients), and customer service are other features that need to be considered. Cellcast has some uniqueness (point of difference) which will be stressed.
View Cellcast Review >>Visit Cellcast >>
An SMS gateway bridges software applications and mobile devices, enabling the sending and receiving of SMS messages. It converts protocols, routes messages through mobile networks, and ensures successful delivery to the intended recipient. Commonly used for notifications, marketing, and two-factor authentication.
Within Australia, text message gateways will either directly route to the major providers such as Optus, Telstra, Vodafone or aggregators. This will impact the speed and prices of text messages sent.
It should be noted that a Short Message Service also known as a ‘SMS’ or ‘text message’ has a limit of 160 characters when sent to another device. This means that messages exceeding this character limit will be split into multiple parts which may lead to higher sending charges.
When sending any text message campaign within Australia, you must meet the federal government’s Privacy Act 1988 and Spam Act 2003. Within Australia, the law states that no company can send legally unsolicited electronic messages. This applies to text messages through a gateway with any message requiring:
Consent – The receiver must have provided consent to receive text messages or be an existing customer who has an existing business relationship. An example is the Australian Christmas Hampers form which requires users to give consent to SMS communications.
Identify – All text messages need to identify what business they came from.
Unsubscribe – There needs to be functionality to unsubscribe from future business SMS correspondence (2-way SMS). A company needs to ensure any such request is processed within five days.
From a compliance aspect, the SMS provider needs to feature a strong privacy policy, be SPAM compliant, have extensive terms and conditions and have a clear acceptable use policy. To learn more about direct marketing compliance you can view the information commissioner website direct marketing section.
Research has shown that short text messages perform the best. While 160 characters can exist within a text message, short and sharp messages that don’t require scrolling receive optimal open rates and engagement. Try to only provide a single message, whether a greeting, reminder, offer or referral.
Mobile is personal so understand an individual’s personal space. Unexpected bulk SMS messages can be intrusive so ensure they are functional and courteous but not too familiar. Customisation tools can help maximise relevance but there is always a line an advertiser shouldn’t cross. Also, understand when the recipient will receive the text and the reliability of the gateway. Nobody wants to receive a text at midnight!
Don’t over-use the bulk SMS marketing channel – Infrequent and brief messages from businesses will ensure that users don’t unsubscribe from the communication. Use other channels such as emails to regularly update emails but avoid text messages for such communications.
Make sure you have a legitimate reason to send SMS messages – Ensure every message passes on useful information, acts as a reminder or clarifies an arrangement. As long as it has a legitimate use for an individual they will be happy to receive more text messages in the future.
If your business sends SMS messages to customers, clients, stakeholders or staff and there is a matter of urgency, then a premium direct gateway carrier is for you. Your message will be delivered directly to major text message service providers (such as Telstra, Optus or Vodafone).
A text message gateway allows a computer to distribute or accept business SMS marketing transmissions to or from a telecommunications network. Most messages are usually routed to mobile phone networks. ClickSend is one such example of an SMS gateway provider using a direct carrier.
Need for a reliable premium SMS text message gateway provider when:
An SMPP stands for a Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol. The SMPP gateway protocol is used within the telecommunication industry that exchange SMS services between Short Messaging Entities (ESME) or Short Message Service Centres (SMSC). A level-7 TCP/IP protocol ensures speedy SMS message delivery. The SMPP can receive and send messages from mobiles including CDMA, UTMTS, GMA and UMTS phones.
Utilising an API (Application Programming Interface) is a common practice by Australian businesses and organisations that have large-scale text message requirements. Developers connect to the SMS gateway through their preferred API from SMPP, Java, .NET, PHP or SOAP. Most providers will support SDKs through sample cost, documents and reusable libraries. Make sure the provider you choose has support levels that match your understanding of an SMS API as you may need a hands-on provider.
When setting up your API, the Australian SMS provider will provide you with a sample code. This will allow you to connect to a SOAP API regardless of the SMS API language you prefer. A provider like MessageMedia has samples of Java, GitHub in C3, Bash & Python as well as PHP. Other languages such as C++, Ruby and Powershell can also be utilized. Just talk to their support team when you first join and talk to their specialist SMS API technical support software person.
API integration is so popular because:
SMS Gateway Australia is essentially an online platform that provides a client with the means to send mass text messages within seconds of the command to send. It acts as a conduit between the SMS provider, the telecommunication network and the end user so that a reliable service is provided. There are the premier and hybrid telecommunication services, the latter being usually cheaper overseas providers which can be not as efficient in transmission as those within Australia.
Many of the Gateway Australia providers like ClickSend, use national dependable carriers such as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone with an up-time of 99.9% or better with many having a 100% money-back reliability guarantee. In most cases, Australian SMS Gateway providers have customer care centres in Australia to respond quickly to any concerns or information needed for the distribution of text messages. They provide an SMS service to engage with customers as well as to measure and track campaign performance.
An API allows query parameters, the optional key-value pairs that appear after the question mark in the URL that provide SMS gateway instructions to send text messages. This can be enabled through a scripting language such as PHP that can be integrated into web forms and other applications.
A text-message gateway acts as a relay. It translates from one protocol to another through SMS centres. They include wireless networks that handle forwarding, routing store and other SMS operations ensuring the messages are delivered to the destination mobile phone.
SMS integration is when businesses use their existing database or CRM to target their customers through an SMS gateway. This can include targeting customers with promotions, news and other information. This integration can use automation to communicate with customers at various forms of the consumer life cycle.
SMS means Short Message Service while MMS means Multimedia Messaging Service. This is the next level of a text message allowing video, audio and picture content to be sent to a mobile device. Sending an MMS can lead to a premium price depending on the gateway used.
Email security gateways have gained popularity as they monitor the emails that are processed to be sent to mobile devices. They can assist in preventing unwanted content from being delivered that can be caused by phishing attacks, SPAM and malware.
One of the values of assessing the functionality, reliability and efficiency of the SMS Gateway Australia providers is by testing them through the offers of using their free trial period or the provision of a range of SMS that is allocated to test their service. It can vary from free 5 SMS to 30 SMS depending on the providers’ offer. In the case of the five selected Gateway providers, ClickSend, SMS Global, Burst SMS and SMS Solutions all offer a free trial based either on several text messages or a period of time.
The use of flexible SMS API gateway providers can integrate SMS services into their system and application for better functionality required by the client. New SMS integrations can often be added later on. Many SMS Gateway Australia providers as reviewed on this site have APIs that can send many messages at any one time with the right type of application. For example, one can check the balance and delivery status of a single or group SMS without the need to log into the web interface. The official Microsoft ASP.NET site is available for PHP, Ruby and . NET. There is no concern about shared resources since these providers have dedicated SMS API servers, thus allowing text messages and responses to be distributed efficiently and reliably. A number of these providers have quick integrations, connected with applications such as MailChimp, Infusionsoft, Campaign Monitor and Zapier.
SMS Gateway Australia is essentially an online platform that provides a client with the means to send mass text messages within seconds of the command to send. It acts as a conduit between the user and the telecommunication network so that a reliable service is provided. There are the premier and hybrid telecommunication services, the latter being cheaper overseas providers which can be not as efficient as those within Australia.
Our comparison was updated in August 2023. The table shows the final reputable SMS providers while other providers were considered such as Nexmo, SMS Central, DirectSMS, SMS Broadcast, SMS solutions, Wholesale SMS, SMS Tech, Clickatell, Textit and ClickSend.
The information was all sourced from the web SMS provider’s websites with correspondence only made at the time to verify the information published. As this information came from the websites with no automation used it’s recommended that you verify the data shown on this site within the provider’s website. This can verify your decision when selecting the Australia SMS Gateway provider that’s right for you.
Published by Alain Grossbard
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