The importance of bulk SMS services is increasing rapidly nowadays. Even though there are many other modes of communication such as email, WhatsApp, Instagram, MMS, etc, people prefer SMS services as the messages can be sent with one click to anyone around the world which doesn’t require any source of internet. Bulk SMS has been an integral part of many businesses. Marketing is done through SMS only as it is the safest and best option to communicate with the customers and has a higher success rate rather than their email marketing platforms.
Bulk SMS can send multiple messages to customers or clients and this requires software support. Bulk SMS-sending software is a collection of tools and various types of applications that are designed to utilize and manage SMS campaigns. The software is a cloud-based SaaS solution that can be accessed from any mobile device or computer. Today there are many free and open-source bulk SMS-sending software introduced and are available to everyone to maintain stability in businesses and higher success rate. Let us look into some of the free and open-source bulk SMS software.
Atomic SMS:
This allows the user to send bulk SMS from any mobile device or computer to the recipient. This software supports more than 700 mobile devices and the pricing depends on monthly messages sent and also offers discounts for more messages to be sent. This can send messages in any language accordingly to 200 countries with unlimited message sizes. The disadvantage is that the messages cannot be delivered on time.
My SMS Mantra:
This enables users to send bulk SMS online using an Excel plug-in. The user has to download and install the Excel plug-in and communicate with the customers through SMS. This has no setup fees, no monthly fees and also has group SMS sending functionality which is an advantage for the business. It provides fast delivery to all the networks and provides a premium high-speed gateway for priority customers like commodities.
Rapid SMS:
This is software designed for users who are not interested to purchase any type of software. It is the most reliable and secure software and also has a tracking facility for messages history and delivered messages. This also has fast delivery with up to 100000 SMS/hour. Bulk SMS can be sent with one click through an Excel add-in. It offers a free trial of 2 weeks and is free of maintenance. The major disadvantage is the software takes more time to load if there is more data.
TXT180:
One of the best open source software to send bulk SMS and is easy to use from any computer, or mobile device. With this type of software, one can manage SMS campaigns through a control panel which works as a dashboard. This software offers a trial of 15 days and its autoresponder works instantly. The main features are two-way messaging, mobile coupons, live graph reporting, and contact management. Its major disadvantage is the messages should have a word limit and has complex software.
Kannel:
This is one of the powerful open-source software and very simple software which is used for Wireless Application protocol and volume SMS solutions. Kannel is mostly used for SMS exchange which supports push and pulls gateway and can manage over 1000 Sms/second. This software is too simple to be used and is not developed properly.
playSMS:
This is a flexible, web-based software which can be customised accordingly. This software supports multiple messages, group communications, SMS gateway, SMS to email and email to SMS through polling mailbox. It supports Unicode, flash and text messages and can send bulk SMS to single and multiple mobile devices. This is also a very simple software to be used which doesn’t provide all opportunities of sending messages.
FrontlineSMS:
This software enables two-way communication to all mobile devices which is free software to be downloaded by anyone. The key features are, it is the most secure software which is easy to use and has fast SMS delivery that also provides delivery reports immediately. The main disadvantage does not support desktop platforms and cannot do drip SMS campaigns. This is free to download but one has to pay for the messages they want to send and can be used to track missed calls also.
Jasmin Gateway:
This software is especially for businesses that have slow communication systems. The businesses can easily customize according to their needs and can send bulk SMS. The main features are two-way messaging, MMS in bulk, advanced filtering of messages and support for concatenated messages. This also supports long messages, flexible processing of bills and has a good UI system.
EZTexting:
This type of software is very useful for marketing purposes as we all know many messages or emails that we send go to the spam folder in some cases. But this software has overcome this feature as it doesn’t let the messages jump into the spam folder. This offers a 14 days trial to review all its key features and to make sure this software is suitable or not.
SpringEdge:
This offers an instant messaging feature to deliver messages to all networks. This has a web-based interface which allows the creation of cloud-based messaging. The delivery speed of messages is good and doesn’t show any errors. The main disadvantage is it doesn’t provide message history and delivery reports. This is of two types, Transactional SMS service, Promotional SMS services. For marketing purposes, promotional SMS services are used as it is the most popular service and fastest mode of promoting business.
Bulk SMS service is used by all businesses to promote their brands and products. This is not a limited service as it can be used by all companies of any size for communicating to their customers using bulk SMS software. This offers an easy way of communication and also boosts customer retention. The above-mentioned software serves a very important role for brands and companies that are struggling to build up personal engagement with customers.
