What is SMS customer service software?
SMS customer service software lets a support team send and receive text messages from a business number inside a shared inbox, so customers can text a question and get a reply from whoever is on shift. The better tools add assignment, templates, history, opt-out handling and, more and more, AI that answers routine texts.
Two-way support texting is different from SMS marketing. Marketing tools are built to send campaigns to lists. Support tools are built for conversations: a customer texts in, someone owns the thread, and it gets resolved. Several tools on this list do both, but you should know which job you are buying for. If your customers also message on WhatsApp, compare our list of the best WhatsApp customer service software.
How do the best SMS customer service tools compare?
Aftersales is the pick if you want texts in the same queue as every other channel and an AI agent that resolves them. Textline and Heymarket are the strongest texting specialists, Quo suits small teams that live on the phone, and Podium suits local businesses chasing leads and reviews.
| Tool | Channels | AI on texts | Pricing model | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aftersales | SMS, email, chat, WhatsApp, phone, social in one inbox | Agent resolves texts and takes actions (Shopify, Stripe) | Per seat from $24; Agent $0.99 per resolution | Yes, 1 seat |
| Textline | SMS, MMS, webchat, Facebook, Instagram | Automations, surveys | Per plan with message credits; contact sales | No |
| Heymarket | SMS, email; WhatsApp on Enterprise | AI Q&A and scheduling agents | $49-$199 per user/month annual, 2-user minimum, plus $0.03 per credit | No |
| Podium | Texting, webchat, phones, reviews, payments | AI Employee add-on for leads and booking | Quote only | No |
| Quo (formerly OpenPhone) | Calls and texts on shared numbers | Sona AI agent answers calls | $15-$35 per user/month annual | No |
| Zendesk | Full omnichannel; text via Zendesk Talk add-on | AI agents with 5-10 resolutions per agent included | Suite from $55 per agent/month annual, plus text fees | No |
| Gorgias | Ecommerce helpdesk; SMS and voice as add-ons | AI Agent at $0.90-$1.00 per interaction | By ticket volume, from $10/month | No |
| SimpleTexting | SMS and MMS, campaigns plus two-way inbox | AI message generator | From $39/month for 500 credits | No |
| Trengo | Omnichannel inbox; SMS charged by usage | AI per-conversation surcharge | Flat from €299/month annual (10 users) | No |
Checked October 2026. Carrier registration and per-message fees vary by vendor. Confirm current prices on each vendor's site.
How did we compare these SMS support tools?
We judged each tool as a support team would, and checked features and prices on each vendor's own site in October 2026. Where a vendor does not publish prices, we describe the model instead.
- Two-way conversations: shared inbox, assignment, notes, templates and history on a business number.
- Channel coverage: does SMS sit with email, chat and phone, or in a separate tool?
- AI on texts: can it answer, and can it act (look up an order, issue a refund) or only suggest?
- Consent and opt-outs: opt-out handling, registration help and records you can show later.
- Total cost: seats, message credits, carrier registration fees and AI charges together.
Aftersales is our product and we list it first. Every entry, ours included, has a "watch out for" so you can judge the list on its merits.
What consent rules apply to customer service texts?
Answer first: in the US, text consent is governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and FCC rules, and a customer who texts you first is in a different position from a list you message in bulk. This is a general summary, not legal advice; check your own use with counsel.
According to the FCC's guide to unwanted robocalls and texts, FCC rules ban autodialed texts to a mobile phone unless the owner gave prior consent (or it is an emergency). Commercial texts require written consent, while consent for informational texts may be oral. The FCC also says people can opt out of robotexts at any time and in any reasonable manner, even after consenting.
What that means for a support team in practice:
- Keep support and marketing separate. A reply to a customer's question is not permission to add them to promotions. Use a separate consent flow for marketing.
- Honour opt-outs in plain words. "Stop texting me" counts as well as STOP. Your software should flag it, and your team should stop sending.
- Record where consent came from. Keep the form, checkbox or conversation that shows it, alongside the contact.
- Register your number. US carriers require A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration for business texting from local numbers. Vendors pass this on as a fee: Textline lists a $15 monthly campaign fee, Heymarket $10 per month per campaign, and Quo $19.50 one-time plus a small monthly fee.
- Keep AI inside the lines. An AI agent replying to an inbound text is answering a question, not starting a campaign. Do not let it send promotions, and have it hand off anything legal, medical or financial to a person.
In Aftersales, escalation rules can trigger on keywords, sentiment, customer tier or legal language, so a text that mentions a lawyer or a complaint goes straight to a person. Aftersales does not make you compliant on its own; your consent process does.
The 9 best SMS customer service software tools
1. Aftersales: best for support teams that want texts resolved, not just answered
Aftersales puts SMS in the same Inbox as email, web and in-app chat, WhatsApp, phone, social DMs and Slack Connect, so a customer who texts and then emails stays one conversation with one history. Agent reads the first text for intent, order numbers, sentiment and language (31 languages), then works through the procedure you wrote in plain language: it can verify an order in Shopify, create a replacement or issue a Stripe refund within the spend limits you set.
When Agent hands off, the person gets the thread, the data Agent looked up and what it already tried, so the customer is not asked to repeat themselves by text. Copilot drafts replies that cite their sources and translates them, and Insights flags a spike (say, a run of delivery texts) in real time. Median resolution by Agent is 71% of conversations after 90 days.
Where it is weaker: Aftersales is a support platform, not a texting tool for mass campaigns, keywords or short codes. If most of your SMS volume is outbound marketing, SimpleTexting is the better fit. If you are a small team whose work is mostly calls with some texts, Quo is simpler and cheaper. Healthcare teams that want a dedicated HIPAA texting tool on a lower plan should also look at Heymarket or Textline; Aftersales supports HIPAA with a signed BAA on the Enterprise plan only.
- Best for
- Support teams that want SMS in one queue with every other channel, and an AI agent that resolves texts and takes actions
- Pricing
- Free plan (1 seat, live chat + email inbox, first 50 Agent resolutions free). Starter $24, Growth $69, Scale $109 per seat/month billed annually (20% more monthly). Agent $0.99 per resolution, counted once per conversation; conversations Agent can't help with are free. See pricing.
- Strengths
- Agent acts in Shopify and Stripe with guardrails; escalation on sentiment, keywords, tier and legal language; full handoff context; Copilot drafts with sources; GDPR DPA, US-hosted.
- Watch out for
- Not built for bulk SMS marketing, keywords or short codes. Free plan covers live chat and email, so check SMS setup and number fees for your plan. Confirm niche integrations on a call.
Let Agent answer your texts.Start free; your first 50 Agent resolutions are free, then $0.99 per resolution.
2. Textline: best texting specialist for support teams in other helpdesks
Textline is a business texting platform built for support, sales and operations teams. It handles SMS and MMS plus webchat, Facebook and Instagram in a shared inbox, with automations, scheduled messages, saved replies it calls Shortcuts, SMS surveys (NPS and CSAT) and mobile apps. It connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Help Scout, Slack, Aircall and Talkdesk, among others.
Textline says it is SOC 2 certified and offers HIPAA-compliant messaging, which makes it a better pick than Aftersales for a healthcare team that only needs texting and does not want an Enterprise plan. It is the stronger choice if you want to add texting to a helpdesk you are keeping. It does not resolve conversations with an AI agent the way Aftersales does.
- Best for
- Support teams that want dedicated two-way texting next to an existing helpdesk
- Pricing
- Essentials (3 agents, at least 600 message credits/month), Pro (5 agents, at least 2,000 credits, Salesforce integration) and Enterprise; prices are quoted on request. Extra credits $0.03 each; MMS uses 3 credits; $15 monthly 10DLC campaign fee.
- Strengths
- Built for texting; broad helpdesk and CRM integrations; SMS surveys; HIPAA option; compliance and registration help.
- Watch out for
- Prices are not published. Message credits add up with MMS and long texts. Limited AI compared with an AI agent platform.
3. Heymarket: best for regulated teams that want texting with AI agents
Heymarket is a business messaging platform with a shared inbox for SMS and email, campaigns, automations and AI agents that answer FAQs from an approved knowledge base or handle scheduling. It integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Aircall and Shopify, and says it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and HIPAA compliant, with opt-in management and 10DLC registration help.
Heymarket is the better pick for a healthcare, logistics or field team that wants a texting-first tool with HIPAA on its Pro plan. It costs more per user than most, and WhatsApp needs Enterprise.
- Best for
- Healthcare, logistics and operations teams that want compliant texting with AI and CRM sync
- Pricing
- Standard $49, Plus $99, Pro $199 per user/month billed annually, 2-user minimum; Enterprise custom. Messages $0.03 per credit (MMS 2 credits); $10 per month per 10DLC campaign.
- Strengths
- AI Q&A and scheduling agents; deep CRM integrations; HIPAA on Pro; opt-in and registration tools.
- Watch out for
- High per-user price on upper plans; credits charged per message; HIPAA, API and advanced AI only on Pro.
4. Podium: best for local businesses that text leads, reviews and payments
Podium combines a texting inbox, webchat, phones, review requests by text, payments and text marketing. Its AI Employee, an add-on to any plan, answers leads around the clock, qualifies them and books appointments. Podium focuses on auto dealerships, home services, aesthetics and wellness, and retail.
For a local business where texting is mostly about converting leads, collecting reviews and taking payments, Podium is a better fit than Aftersales. It is less suited to a support team handling a high volume of order or account questions.
- Best for
- Local and multi-location businesses that sell and collect reviews over text
- Pricing
- Not published; plans are quoted by sales. AI Employee is an add-on.
- Strengths
- Reviews and payments by text; AI for lead response and booking; built for local verticals.
- Watch out for
- No public pricing; sales and lead focus rather than support ticketing.
5. Quo (formerly OpenPhone): best for small teams that share a business number
Quo is a business phone system with a shared inbox for calls, texts and voicemail on shared numbers. All plans include unlimited calling and messaging to US and Canadian numbers. Its Sona AI agent answers calls, captures details and transfers them. It integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Zapier and more.
For a small team where most contact is calls with texts alongside, Quo is cheaper and simpler than a full support platform. It is not a helpdesk: there are no tickets, SLAs or AI that resolves texts end to end.
- Best for
- Small businesses and startups that run support from a shared phone number
- Pricing
- Starter $15, Business $23, Scale $35 per user/month billed annually ($19, $33, $47 monthly). 10DLC registration $19.50 one-time plus $1.50-$3 monthly. Automated SMS via API or Zapier $0.01 per segment.
- Strengths
- Low price; unlimited US and Canada texts; shared numbers; Sona AI for calls.
- Watch out for
- No ticketing or SLAs; Sona is focused on calls, not texts; limited for multi-channel support teams.
6. Zendesk: best for large teams already on Zendesk
Zendesk Suite covers email, messaging, live chat, social and voice with mature ticketing and reporting. Text messaging is an add-on delivered through Zendesk Talk, with extra fees. AI agents are included with 5 automated resolutions per agent per month on Suite Team and 10 on Suite Professional, then billed per resolution.
If you already run on Zendesk, adding texting there keeps one system. You can also run Aftersales Agent inside Zendesk with no seats or migration. See Zendesk pricing for the full breakdown.
- Best for
- Large support teams that need deep ticketing and already use Zendesk
- Pricing
- Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115 per agent/month billed annually; Enterprise custom. Text messaging is a paid add-on. Additional AI resolutions $2.00 pay-as-you-go.
- Strengths
- Mature ticketing, reporting and marketplace; voice and text in one product.
- Watch out for
- SMS costs extra on top of seats; setup and admin effort; AI resolutions beyond the allowance add up.
7. Gorgias: best for Shopify stores that want SMS in their helpdesk
Gorgias is an ecommerce helpdesk priced by ticket volume rather than seats. SMS and voice are add-ons priced by usage, and texts arrive as tickets with order data next to them. Its AI Agent costs $0.90 per automated interaction on an annual contract ($1.00 monthly).
Gorgias is a good fit for Shopify brands that want unlimited seats and ticket-based pricing. Compare it with Aftersales on our Gorgias alternative page and see Gorgias pricing.
- Best for
- Shopify and ecommerce brands handling order questions by text
- Pricing
- Starter $10 (50 tickets), Basic $50 (300), Pro $300 (2,000), Advanced $750 (5,000) per month billed annually. SMS and voice are usage-based add-ons. AI Agent $0.90 per interaction annual.
- Strengths
- No per-seat fees; ecommerce order context on every ticket; SMS in the same helpdesk.
- Watch out for
- SMS is an extra cost; each AI interaction also counts as a ticket; mainly built for ecommerce.
8. SimpleTexting: best for teams that mix SMS marketing with simple support replies
SimpleTexting is an SMS platform with campaigns, unlimited keywords, opt-in forms and auto-replies, plus a two-way inbox with free incoming messages. Plans include 3 users, and it offers toll-free numbers and dedicated short codes.
If most of your texting is outbound marketing and support is a side job, SimpleTexting is a better fit than Aftersales. As a helpdesk it is thin: no ticketing, SLAs or AI that resolves questions.
- Best for
- Small businesses that send SMS campaigns and answer replies in the same tool
- Pricing
- Credit-based plans, for example $39/month for 500 credits (20% off annually); extra credits $0.055; local number $10/month; extra users $20/month.
- Strengths
- Keywords, opt-in forms and campaigns; free incoming texts; simple to start.
- Watch out for
- Marketing-first; no ticketing or SLAs; credits for outbound texts add up.
9. Trengo: best for European teams that want flat-price omnichannel
Trengo is an omnichannel inbox with flat plans that include a set number of users and conversations. SMS, WhatsApp and voice are charged by usage, and AI-assisted conversations carry a per-conversation surcharge.
Trengo suits a European team that wants one predictable fee for a group of users, with SMS as one of several channels. For US-heavy texting, a specialist may be simpler.
- Best for
- European teams that want a flat-fee shared inbox across messaging channels
- Pricing
- Boost €299/month (10 users, 500 conversations a month) and Pro €499/month (20 users, 1,500 a month) billed annually; Enterprise custom. SMS by usage; AI conversations €0.25 each annual.
- Strengths
- Flat pricing per team; many channels in one inbox; also available in USD and GBP.
- Watch out for
- Conversation caps; SMS and AI charged on top; high entry price for very small teams.
How much does SMS customer service software cost for a 5-person team?
For a 5-person team handling 1,500 text conversations a month, expect roughly $115 to $1,100 a month depending on whether you want AI to resolve texts. Assumptions below use list prices only and exclude taxes.
- Aftersales Growth: 5 seats × $69 = $345. If Agent resolves 50% of conversations, 750 × $0.99 = $742.50. Total about $1,087.50, while your team handles only the remaining 750 conversations. Check number and carrier fees for SMS on a call.
- Heymarket Standard: 5 users × $49 = $245, plus credits. At about six credits per conversation, 9,000 × $0.03 = $270, plus $10 for 10DLC. Total about $525, with people answering every text.
- Quo Business: 5 users × $23 = $115 with unlimited US and Canada texts. Lowest cost, but no ticketing and every text is answered by hand.
The useful comparison is cost per resolved conversation, not price per seat. If Agent takes half the volume, you may need fewer people on texts, which is where the difference shows up. Read our guide to resolution rate before you set targets.
Which SMS customer service software is best for your use case?
- Texts in one queue with every other channel, resolved by AI that can refund or replace: Aftersales.
- Adding texting to a helpdesk you are keeping: Textline, or run Aftersales Agent inside Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud or Freshdesk.
- Healthcare or regulated texting on a mid-tier plan: Heymarket Pro or Textline. Aftersales offers a BAA on its Enterprise plan.
- Local business focused on leads, reviews and payments: Podium.
- Small team that mostly takes calls: Quo.
- Large team already on Zendesk: Zendesk with the text add-on.
- Shopify store with ticket-based pricing: Gorgias.
- Mostly SMS marketing: SimpleTexting.
- European team on a flat fee: Trengo.
Comparing wider platforms? See the best omnichannel customer service software and the best AI customer service software, or browse more on the blog.