- Which store platform are you running?
- SMS-first, email-and-SMS or Shopify-only?
- Tools that start from the text message
- Pairing SMS with your email platform
- Consent and opt-in before your first text
- Who's each SMS tool for?
- My advice for store owners
- Connect your store first: a checklist
- Frequently asked questions
Start with your store platform. SMS tools differ more by which store and email tool they connect to than by their feature lists, so confirm the connection first, then check how each one collects consent for the countries you text, and only then compare features.
If you're leaving Postscript, the first question isn't which tool has the most features. It's which store platform you run, and which email tool you already use. A brilliant SMS tool that doesn't talk to your store is no use, and one that fights with your email platform means two lists, two sets of reports and customers getting the same offer twice.
Below are nine alternatives, in no particular order, grouped by approach: SMS-first tools, suites that run email and SMS together, and one built only for Shopify. There's a table, a section per group, a section on consent, a line on each tool and a checklist to run before anything else.
Which store platform are you running?
Some text marketing tools are built around one store platform. Others connect to several, and some are general business texting tools that happen to work for shops. Before you look at automations or templates, check three things on each vendor's own site: does it connect to your store, does it connect to your email tool, and does it bring order and customer data across both ways?
If the answer to any of those is no, move on. It's the quickest way to cut a long list down.
SMS-first, email-and-SMS or Shopify-only?
| Tool | Approach | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Attentive | Email and SMS together | Large SMS and email programmes with AI |
| Community | SMS-first | Two-way chats across several message apps |
| Emotive | SMS-first | SMS with a done-for-you service |
| Klaviyo | Email and SMS together | Email and SMS run from a B2C CRM |
| Privy | Email and SMS together | Pop-ups that grow email and SMS lists |
| Recart | Shopify-only | SMS list growth for Shopify stores |
| Sendlane | Email and SMS together | Email, SMS, reviews and forms in one stack |
| SlickText | SMS-first | Straightforward text message marketing |
| Yotpo | Loyalty and reviews | Loyalty programmes and reviews for stores |
Tools that start from the text message
These start from the text message. SlickText is text message marketing software, plain and simple. Emotive pairs SMS marketing software with agency-style services, which suits owners who'd rather someone else wrote and ran some of the campaigns. Community goes beyond one-way texts, with personalised two-way messaging across SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Messages and RCS.
Pairing SMS with your email platform
SMS tools differ more by store platform and email pairing than by features. Recart says it's built exclusively for Shopify, which is its own claim and a clear signal of who it's for. Privy, Klaviyo and Sendlane, by contrast, describe email and SMS together for ecommerce more broadly: the first adds pop-ups for list growth, the second runs both channels from a B2C CRM, and the third puts reviews and forms into the same stack.
Attentive, one of the two big names here, also combines SMS and email with AI features. Yotpo sits alongside this group rather than in it: its platform covers loyalty programmes, reviews and AI visibility, so it's one to pair with your messaging tool rather than replace it.
If you're also weighing up your email platform, my list of Omnisend alternatives covers several of the suites in this group from the email side.
Consent and opt-in before your first text
Marketing by text has tighter rules than email in many countries, and they aren't the same everywhere. Requirements vary, so check the regulator for each country you text before you send anything, and don't treat this page as legal advice.
What you can check in the software is how it collects and stores opt-in. Ask each vendor how a customer signs up, what record of their consent is kept, how they opt out and how that opt-out reaches every tool you use. If you're new to the channel, my guide on how SMS marketing works for a small business covers the basics.
Who's each SMS tool for?
Listed A to Z, one line each.
Attentive
Best for: Larger brands that want SMS and email marketing on one platform with AI features, which the vendor says bring customer interactions to life.
Community
Best for: Brands that want personalised two-way messaging across SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Messages and RCS rather than one-way campaigns.
Emotive
Best for: Store owners who'd rather hand some of the work over, since the vendor pairs SMS marketing software with agency-style text marketing services.
Klaviyo
Best for: Online brands wanting email and SMS marketing tied to a B2C CRM, so customer data and messages sit in one system.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Privy
Best for: Ecommerce brands that want pop-ups, email and SMS in one tool, so list growth and messaging stay together.
Recart
Best for: Shopify merchants focused on SMS marketing and list growth, from a vendor that says it's built exclusively for Shopify and offers OneClick Opt-in.
Sendlane
Best for: Stores that want to unify email, SMS, reviews and forms in one platform instead of several separate tools.
SlickText
Best for: Businesses that want text message marketing software without an email suite attached.
Yotpo
Best for: Online stores building loyalty programmes and collecting reviews, with AI visibility tools in the same ecommerce platform.
My advice for store owners
Don't compare features until you've checked the connections. The right tool for you is the one that plugs into your store and your email platform cleanly and records consent in a way you can show if asked. After that, the differences between most of these tools come down to how much of the work you want to do yourself and whether you want two-way conversations or one-way campaigns.
Connect your store first: a checklist
- Confirm the tool connects to your store platform and brings orders and customers across.
- Confirm it works with your email tool, or replaces it if you want one suite.
- Check how it collects opt-in and what record of consent it keeps.
- Check how an opt-out travels to every other tool you use.
- Send a test message to your own phone from a real product flow, such as an abandoned basket.
- Only then compare automations, templates and reports.
Do you make ecommerce SMS marketing software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check first in a Postscript alternative?
Whether it connects to your store platform and your email tool. If either connection is missing or weak, the features won't matter, because your lists and reports will split in two.
Is a Shopify-only SMS tool a problem?
Not if you run Shopify and plan to stay on it. If you might move store platforms, a tool that connects to several is the safer choice.
Should I run email and SMS in one tool?
It keeps one customer list and one set of reports, which many store owners prefer. If you're happy with your email platform, an SMS-first tool that connects to it can work just as well.
Do I need consent to send marketing texts?
In many countries, yes, and the rules vary from place to place. Check the regulator for each country you text, and check how your tool records opt-in and opt-out.
What's two-way messaging?
It lets customers reply and hold a conversation, rather than only receiving campaigns. Some tools extend this beyond SMS to apps such as WhatsApp and Apple Messages.
Are these SMS tools ranked?
No. They're in no particular order and grouped by approach, because the right one depends on your store platform and your email tool.


