smskick vs SimpleTexting: Subscription or Pay-As-You-Go?
SimpleTexting is a good product and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. It is mature, well supported, and has features smskick does not have. The real difference is the shape of the bill. SimpleTexting is a monthly subscription with an included credit allowance; smskick is credits you buy when you need them, with no subscription at all. Which one is cheaper depends entirely on whether you send steadily every month or in bursts a few times a year.
SimpleTexting starts around $39/month for 500 credits, with extra credits at 5.5 cents, a local number at $10/month plus a $4 carrier registration fee, and three user seats included. That works out near $0.078 per message on the entry plan, improving as you commit to more volume. smskick has no monthly fee: credits run from $0.060 on the smallest pack to $0.035 on the largest, they do not expire while your account is open, and there is no per-seat charge. If you send predictably every month and want MMS, drip campaigns, integrations and seven-day live support, SimpleTexting earns its subscription. If you send in bursts - a seasonal promotion, an occasional announcement - a subscription you use twice a year is the expensive option.
| smskick | SimpleTexting | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | smskick is pay-as-you-go credits with no subscription: 1 credit = 1 SMS segment, from $0.060 on the 250-credit Trial pack down to $0.035 on the 20,000-credit Scale pack. No monthly minimum, no per-seat charge, and credits do not expire while your account is open. | Monthly subscription with an included credit allowance - around $39/month for 500 credits, more as you scale. Extra credits at 5.5 cents. Unused allowance is the risk if your sending is uneven. |
| Cost of the phone number | Included. No separate number rental or registration fee. | A local number is $10/month plus a $4 one-time carrier registration; a toll-free number carries no extra fee. Short codes start at $1,000/month. |
| Team seats | No per-seat pricing. | Three user seats included on the standard plan, which is generous if you have a team that needs them. |
| Consent and opt-out | Every list you upload requires you to confirm, for that list specifically, that the people on it opted in - and smskick records who confirmed it, when, and the exact wording they agreed to. STOP and its plainer cousins ("please stop", "unsubscribe me") are detected automatically and suppressed permanently for your account. Campaign sends are held outside 8am-9pm in the recipient's local time, inferred from their area code. | Standard opt-out handling and compliance guidance, with keyword and auto-reply tooling. Consent collection and record-keeping are handled the way most platforms handle them: as your responsibility, documented in the terms. |
| Feature breadth | Focused: contacts with custom fields, templates, campaigns, scheduling, delivery tracking, analytics, REST API. smskick sends SMS to US numbers. No MMS, no international, no voice or WhatsApp. It is built for a business texting its own customer list, not for high-volume blasting or global multi-channel messaging. | Broader: MMS and picture messaging, autoresponders and drip campaigns, two-way inbox, AI message generation, integrations, analytics and an API. If you want a marketing suite rather than a sender, this is the fuller product. |
| Support | Email support from the people who wrote it. | Live support seven days a week. For a business where texting is a daily operational tool, this is worth real money. |
| Carrier registration | We file the verification for your business as part of onboarding. | Handled as part of the number setup, with a small registration fee on local numbers. |
Where smskick wins
smskick wins on the shape of the bill and on consent record-keeping. There is no subscription to justify in a quiet month, no per-seat charge, no separate number rental, and credits keep until you use them - which suits seasonal and occasional senders far better than a monthly allowance that resets whether you sent anything or not. On consent, smskick is unusually explicit: each import is attested to individually and the wording is stored with it, so "can you show consent for this number" has an answer rather than a policy document.
Where SimpleTexting wins
SimpleTexting wins on maturity and breadth. MMS, autoresponders, drip sequences, a two-way inbox, integrations and live seven-day support are all real advantages, and for a business that texts every day the subscription buys things smskick simply does not have. If you fill your credit allowance every month, the effective per-message cost is competitive, and if you need a marketing suite rather than a way to send a campaign, SimpleTexting is the better product.
FAQ
Is smskick cheaper than SimpleTexting?
It depends on your pattern. On the entry subscription, SimpleTexting works out near $0.078 per message if you use the full 500-credit allowance, and more if you do not. smskick is $0.035-$0.060 with no monthly fee. If you send steadily at higher volume, SimpleTexting's larger plans close the gap; if you send occasionally, smskick is clearly cheaper because you are not paying in the months you are quiet.
Does smskick support MMS or picture messaging?
No. smskick sends SMS to US numbers only. If images are part of your campaigns, SimpleTexting is the right choice.
Can I import my existing SimpleTexting contacts?
Yes - export a CSV and upload it. smskick maps columns by header, so phone, first_name, last_name and any custom fields come across and become {{merge_tags}} in your messages. You will be asked to confirm the list was opted in, which it will have been if you were already texting them.
Do my credits expire?
No, not while your account is open. That is the main practical difference from a monthly allowance.
Try smskick free
No registration. Pay only for what you send.
Buy a small pack and send a real campaign before you commit to anything.