Cheap SMS Gateway

Cheap SMS Gateway

A cheap bulk SMS gateway is a service that allows individuals or organizations to send many SMS messages cheaply.

The service is provided by a bulk SMS gateway provider who acts as an intermediary between the sender and the mobile network operators, allowing messages to be delivered to their intended recipients. The “cheap” aspect refers to the relatively low service cost, making it an affordable solution for businesses or individuals who need to send many SMS messages.

These services often offer features such as scheduling, personalization, reporting, and others and are usually priced based on the number of messages sent or the traffic volume.

In covering cheap bulk SMS gateway options, three significant factors need to be considered, namely:

Pricing: The pricing of the service is an essential factor to consider when looking for a cheap bulk SMS gateway. Compare the prices different providers offer to ensure that you get the best value for your money.

Delivery rate: Another critical factor is the SMS gateway’s delivery rate. A high delivery rate ensures that your messages are delivered successfully and promptly.

Features: Different SMS gateways offer different features, such as scheduling, personalization, bulk sending, reporting, etc. Ensure the provider you choose offers the features you need for your business.

Considering these factors, you can choose a cheap bulk SMS gateway that is affordable and meets your specific needs.

A business needs to consider what it requires from a bulk SMS provider. It is cheap in terms of low cost per text message, but that may mean a loss in reliability because of the use of hybrid telecommunication carrier(s) derived from overseas network facilities. Companies with less sophisticated API platforms cannot easily convert your message into SMS through a gateway system as promptly as expected. Thirdly, the economies of scale in that the charge for large volumes may be cheaper, but the low to medium volumes may cost more per text message.

Deciding on a cheap bulk SMS gateway depends very much on the gateway the SMS provider uses.

Bulk SMS gateway providers use two types of telecommunication carriers to deliver SMS messages:

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs): MNOs are the primary carriers that provide bulk SMS gateway services. They own and operate the cellular networks that transmit SMS messages. Examples include Telstra, Vodafone and Optus.

Short Message Service Centres (SMSCs): SMSCs are intermediary systems bulk SMS gateway providers use to route SMS messages between MNOs. They are responsible for storing, forwarding, and delivering SMS messages to their intended recipients.

By using both MNOs and SMSCs, bulk SMS gateway providers can ensure that SMS messages are delivered quickly and reliably to their intended recipients.

The more expensive gateway is known as the Premium or Tier 1 gateway. It uses a telecommunications carrier from Australian networks such as Telstra, Vodafone, or Optus. These companies charge more for their network service, which is more reliable and safer.

Suppose you need immediacy, near 100% reliability, and the ability to simultaneously move large volumes of text messages with good privacy. In that case, this is the right SMS gateway for you.

Alternatively, the cheaper version is a grey gateway hybrid that uses overseas and Australian telecommunication carriers to reach the customer or the end-user. It will use the most affordable route available and is suitable for marketing or promotional campaigns where time-poor is not an issue and delivery may take up to minutes, hours or possibly a day to reach the recipient’s mobile phone.

Cheap bulk SMS gateway comparison on price

From the range of cheap bulk SMS gateway providers in Australia, reputable ones were selected because they could offer a range of gateway features that will ensure good distribution, affordable rates, and reliability. It was reviewed from a monthly pricing per SMS that Cellcast, Mobile Message and Notifyre offered the best value compared to other reputable Australian gateway providers.

The graph below summarises the range of pricing offers evaluated, considering the small, medium and large volumes of text messages distributed per month.

Cheap bulk SMS gateway comparison on reliability

From the perspective of up-time reliability and latency (time), a wide range of issues need to be assessed using the gateway system available by each provider. The features that should be considered include:

Timeliness of a text message being sent;

The content is private and confidential;

Being SPAM compliant;

The ability for SMS to be returned, i.e., a two-way communication system;

Notification and report of when SMS is delivered; and

Reasons for SMS distribution, whether for urgency or non-urgent marketing and promotional campaigns.

On that basis, the graphical representation of many cheap bulk providers is shown below.

It must be emphasized that you should continually assess value for money based on pricing but must be provided with an uptime SLA of 99.95% or a money-back guarantee that all text messages are distributed swiftly and on time and that a reporting system is available to scrutinize.

Cheap SMS gateway API on support and help

A cheap SMS gateway API is a software interface that allows developers to integrate SMS functionality into their applications or systems. It provides a simple way for developers to send SMS messages from their applications, and the service cost is usually based on the volume of messages sent.

From analysing and reviewing numerous reputable and reliable cheap gateway APIs, one must understand the need for a sophisticated and valuable API.  When discussing an API, referring to an Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows two different applications to communicate with each other in a meaningful way. API is the conduit or messenger that allows your requirements to be made into a communication form that will deliver the SMS and be able to reply to you to know that all has gone well. APIs will significantly impact your business or organisation in sending out efficient and effective text messages.

There are expensive and cheap API platforms around, so you are encouraged to scrutinize which cheap SMS gateway provider will do the job for you. Many of them have flexible integration abilities, meaning your business can seamlessly integrate mobile phone messaging into the provider’s usual way of operating. The API platform can easily integrate into business applications, websites, intranets, CRMs, and other software, which means real-time text messaging capacity.

All this information leads to the fact that the reliability of gateway API will assist in the effective distribution of text messages at any one time in the cheapest way possible. A range of reliable cheap SMS gateway providers was assessed, and it was analysed from an Australian business perspective that Notifyre,  Cellcast and Burst SMS were all rated as very high on a scale of 0 to 100 based on their up-time SLAs, their sophisticated and well-versed APIs, and their easy integration processes with businesses.

Cheap International SMS Gateway

When deciding on engaging a cheap international SMS gateway provider, one needs to consider several elements before venturing into engaging overseas SMS companies. This is not to say that such overseas companies are not good because they offer a cheap SMS distribution rate. It is saying that factors that need to be also considered are:

• the speed to which the text message will be sent;
• the reliability of sending an SMS at the required time and to the required person;
• the security of the database list of persons provided;
• the accessibility of contacting a customer centre;
• the global time difference should something need attention or change, and finally
• The volume of text messaging will have different rate cards.

Having made you aware of all the above factors to consider, you need to consider the cheap international gateway provider’s carrier. Different types of telecommunication carriers are used in overseas gateway services. Some international SMS providers may use a carrier direct, sometimes known as a Premium gateway service, which offers a more reliable and efficient service but at a higher cost per SMS sent.

Alternatively, other global SMS providers may use a cheaper version called a hybrid gateway service to reach customers, clients, stakeholders, and employees’ end-users. This uses various telecommunication carriers from different countries at a cheaper rate but with less assurance that the text message will reach the end mobile user on time, in the same format as was released and with the same level of privacy.

The hybrid version is the cheapest route to use. If there is no urgency, like promotions, marketing campaigns, or providing general information and requiring larger volumes to be distributed, cheap international SMS gateway providers are a possibility.

Simply summarizing the difference between the direct and hybrid gateways, the direct gateway is the better option if time-reliant SMS and SMS alerts are needed. The hybrid gateway is a cheaper option if large or bulk volumes of SMS are sent out at any time without time restraints for marketing or information campaigns.

Due to the large number and range of international gateway providers from various countries available to service your needs, a list of the best value was challenging to assess because the above points must be considered rather than price alone.