Free SMS marketing tools rarely include free texts. Most free plans cover email and give you a small text starter or none, so the realistic free routes are gateways that send through your own Android phone and carrier plan, or a developer test key. Whichever you choose, you still need each person's consent before you send a marketing text.
Here's what the free plan headlines don't tell you: on almost every free SMS plan, the texts are the part that isn't included. The email side gets the generous allowance. SMS gets a small starter, credit you buy separately, or a test key that sends one message a day.
That doesn't make these tools useless. It means you should start with the cap each one hits first, because that cap decides whether you can run a campaign at all or only test one.
The first cap each free SMS tool hits
| Tool | Kind of tool | First cap you'll hit |
|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Email suite with SMS credit | Free email sending; texts need separately bought credit |
| httpSMS | Open-source Android gateway | Phone must stay online; self-hosting needs extra services |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce email and SMS | A small monthly mobile-message credit, not a text bundle |
| SendPulse | Email suite with SMS add-on | A short free SMS starter, then a top-up balance |
| SMSGate (SMS Gateway for Android) | Open-source Android gateway | A gateway only: no lists, campaigns or opt-out tools |
| textbee | Android phone gateway | One device, with daily and monthly message caps |
| Textbelt | Developer SMS API | One text a day on the free test key |
Three places the free part of an SMS tool sits
Email platforms where texting is an extra
Brevo's free plan covers email sending up to a daily cap, not text messages; its plan page says SMS credit is sold separately, and your account has to be approved before sending starts. SendPulse makes only the first 10 standard SMS messages free, then you top up a balance, and some countries need sender-name registration. Klaviyo's free plan is limited to 250 active profiles and 500 emails per month, and texting comes as a small monthly mobile-message credit rather than a bundle of texts. All three free-plan limits are as of Nov 2026.
Android phone gateways on your own carrier plan
These send through a real Android phone and SIM, so each text goes over your own carrier plan rather than a platform's network. On free, textbee allows one registered device, 50 messages a day and 300 messages in a month, with basic support. SMSGate is open source and gives you a REST API, but local mode only works while the phone is reachable on your network, and it's a gateway only, with no lists, campaigns or opt-out tools. httpSMS is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence; self-hosting means setting up your own Firebase, email service and database first, and sending still depends on the phone staying online.
A developer API with a test key
Textbelt's free test key sends 1 text a day. Its open-source version is free to self-host, but it relies on carrier email-to-SMS gateways rather than direct mobile network delivery, and replies by webhook work for US numbers only.
The seven SMS tools, in no particular order
Brevo
Best for: Small businesses that mainly send email and want SMS and WhatsApp campaigns in the same account once they're ready to add text credit.
httpSMS
Best for: Developers sending and receiving texts through their own Android phone with a simple HTTP API, webhooks for replies and, per the vendor, end-to-end encryption.
Klaviyo
Best for: Online shops wanting email and SMS tied to store data in one platform, starting small and growing into it as their list grows.
SendPulse
Best for: Marketers who want email, SMS, chatbots and web push in one account, with sender names available across many countries, per the vendor.
SMSGate (SMS Gateway for Android)
Best for: Privacy-minded developers who want texts sent from their own Android phone through a REST API, with data kept on the device in local mode.
textbee
Best for: Owners who want to send texts from their own Android phone through an API or a no-code bulk tool, without writing a full integration.
Textbelt
Best for: Developers testing an SMS feature with a simple API, or happy to self-host the open-source server that sends through carrier email gateways.
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Honest advice before your first text campaign
If you already use one of the email platforms here, add texting there when you're ready, because your contacts, consent records and unsubscribes are already in one place. Treat the free starter as a test of how texts look on a phone, not as a campaign channel. If you're a developer or a very small business sending a few reminders a day, a phone gateway is the closest thing to free texting, but it's only as reliable as the phone sitting on your desk.
For anything bigger, such as offers to a few thousand customers, a dedicated platform is the more realistic route; our guide to SMS marketing software for growing businesses covers those, and if you're building texts into your own app, see our roundup of SMS API providers for developers.
Consent, opt-outs and sender names are your job, whatever the tool
None of these tools hands you compliance for free. Marketing texts need each recipient's consent, a clear way to opt out, and in some countries a registered sender name or number. The gateway tools in particular give you no opt-out handling, so you'd have to track replies such as STOP yourself.
- Keep a record of when and how each person agreed to receive texts.
- Include a simple opt-out instruction in every marketing message.
- Check your country's sender registration rules before the first send.
- Send at sensible local times; texts land straight in someone's pocket.
- Check with your regulator or a legal adviser, because the rules vary by country and sector.
Do you make an SMS marketing tool with a free plan? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I send marketing texts completely free?
Only in a narrow way. Phone gateway tools send through your own Android phone, so the platform charges nothing per text, but your carrier plan still applies and free tiers can cap daily and monthly sends.
Why do free email platforms not include free texts?
Every text travels over a mobile network that charges the sender, so platforms usually sell text credit separately or give a small starter allowance. Email is much lighter for them to deliver at scale, which is why the free allowance sits there.
Is it legal to send SMS marketing from my own phone?
Sending isn't the issue; consent is. You need each person's permission for marketing texts and a way for them to opt out, whichever tool or phone you send from. Check the rules where you and your customers are.
What's an SMS gateway app?
It's an app that turns an Android phone into a sender your software can control, usually through an API. Your website or system tells the phone what to send, and the phone sends it as a normal text.
Can I use a free SMS tool for appointment reminders?
Yes, for small volumes. A phone gateway or a test key can handle a few reminders a day, but check its daily cap and make sure the phone stays switched on and connected.
Do I need a sender name for SMS marketing?
In some countries, yes. Several platforms require sender-name registration before you can send with your business name, so check the rules for each country you text.
