Choosing the right bulk SMS provider in Australia can feel overwhelming — there are dozens of options, and the pricing structures vary wildly. Some charge monthly fees, some don't. Some include a dedicated number, most charge extra. Some expire your credits, others don't.
We've done the hard work for you. We've evaluated six of the most widely used SMS platforms available to Australian businesses in 2026: Mobile Message, Burst SMS (Kudosity), MessageMedia (Sinch), ClickSend, Twilio, and SMS Broadcast. For each, we cover the platform overview, real pricing, honest pros and cons, and who it's best suited for.
We assessed each platform across six criteria that matter most to Australian businesses:
Australian-built · Lowest pricing · Free dedicated number · Strong integrations
Mobile Message is a Melbourne-based bulk SMS platform built specifically for Australian businesses that want reliable, affordable SMS without the complexity or hidden costs of larger platforms. The platform focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well: delivering SMS messages to Australian mobile numbers quickly and cheaply.
What genuinely sets Mobile Message apart is the pricing model. Every first purchase is a flat 2¢ per SMS regardless of volume — whether you buy 500 credits or 1,000,000. There are no monthly fees, no setup fees, no charges for inbound SMS, and credits never expire. A free dedicated virtual number is included after your first purchase, which is a feature most competitors charge $19+ per month for.
The platform includes a clean, intuitive web dashboard for composing and sending bulk campaigns, managing contacts via spreadsheet upload, scheduling messages, and tracking delivery in real time. Two-way messaging is included at no extra cost via your dedicated number.
For businesses that need to connect SMS to their existing systems, Mobile Message offers a REST API with comprehensive documentation, a Zapier integration (connecting to 7,000+ apps), a Make (Integromat) integration, and direct integrations with platforms including HubSpot, WordPress/WooCommerce, 3CX, Planning Center, aXcelerate, and Yeastar PBX. The HubSpot integration works natively without requiring Zapier as a middleman. A unique offering is their ChatGPT custom GPT for personalised API integration assistance — particularly useful for developers setting up custom workflows.
Mobile Message is also an ACMA Certified Provider for the upcoming Australian Sender ID Register (mandatory from 1 July 2026), meaning they can fast-track sender ID registration applications for their customers.
| Volume | First Purchase | Standard Price |
|---|---|---|
| 500+ | 2¢ | 4¢ |
| 1,000+ | 2¢ | 3.5¢ |
| 10,000+ | 2¢ | 3¢ |
| 100,000+ | 2¢ | 2.5¢ |
| 1,000,000+ | 2¢ | 2¢ |
All prices AUD excl. GST. 50 free SMS credits on signup. No credit card required to start. See full pricing details.
Dedicated number: First number FREE (after first purchase). Additional numbers $100/year each.
Australian-owned · Enterprise-ready · Conversational AI · ISO 27001 certified
Burst SMS has rebranded to Kudosity, though the burstsms.com.au domain still operates. It's one of Australia's longest-running SMS providers, founded in 2008, and has evolved into a full messaging platform with SMS, MMS, conversational AI, and rich messaging capabilities.
Kudosity is the strongest option for mid-market and enterprise businesses that need advanced features beyond basic bulk SMS. The platform offers a conversational inbox, keyword-triggered auto-responses, MMS support, and — notably — conversational AI capabilities for automated two-way SMS interactions. It holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, making it the most security-credentialed provider in this comparison.
The integration ecosystem is strong, with direct connectors for Salesforce, Oracle Eloqua, Oracle Responsys, Zoho, ActiveCampaign, Shopify, Zendesk, Keap, Autopilot, and JobAdder. Connector platforms include Zapier, Make, and Workato. The API supports REST and SMPP protocols.
| Plan | Per SMS | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (PAYG) | 7.9¢ | No lock-in contract, no setup fees |
| Business | 5.9¢ | 100,000+ messages/month, priority support |
| Enterprise | From 4.9¢ (down to 2.9¢) | Custom pricing, dedicated onboarding, 99.9% SLA |
All prices AUD excl. GST. See Kudosity pricing.
Dedicated number: From $19/month (verify current pricing with Kudosity). Gold numbers: $149/month. Shared numbers: free.
Enterprise-grade · 85+ integrations · Multi-channel messaging · Global reach
MessageMedia, now operating under the Sinch MessageMedia brand following Sinch's acquisition, is one of Australia's largest and most established messaging platforms. It's the go-to choice for large enterprises that need deep integration with major CRM and e-commerce platforms.
The standout feature is the integration ecosystem — MessageMedia claims 85+ integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, NetSuite, Adobe Campaign, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and Klaviyo. The platform also supports multi-channel messaging across SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram from a unified inbox.
The trade-off is cost. MessageMedia uses a subscription model with monthly fees ranging from $45 to $789, and per-message costs are significantly higher than pay-as-you-go alternatives.
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Included SMS | Additional Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basics | $45 | 570 | 1 user |
| Conversations | $115 | 1,600 | 3 users |
| Pro | $279 | 4,000 | 5 users |
| Pro Plus | $439 | 7,300 | 10 users |
| Advanced | $789 | 13,500 | 20 users |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
All prices AUD excl. GST. 1% credit card surcharge applies. 14-day free trial with 25 SMS credits, no card required. See MessageMedia pricing.
Dedicated number: Available from the Conversations plan ($115/month) upward.
Sinch-owned (Swedish) · Pay-as-you-go · 900+ integrations · Global reach
ClickSend is a Perth-founded platform now headquartered in Melbourne. Originally Australian-owned, it was acquired by Sinch (the same Swedish-headquartered company that owns MessageMedia and SMS Broadcast), making it part of a larger corporate group rather than an independent Australian business.
ClickSend historically offered multi-channel communication — SMS, email, voice, fax, and postal mail — from a single dashboard. However, since the Sinch acquisition, ClickSend has been scaling back its offering. Voice, email, fax, and postal services have been discontinued for new customers, narrowing the platform to SMS and MMS with RCS messaging.
ClickSend's pricing is purely pay-as-you-go with volume-tiered rates and no monthly fees or contracts. The integration ecosystem is a genuine strength, with ClickSend claiming 900+ integrations through its marketplace.
| Plan | Per SMS | Minimum Top-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Boost | 7.2¢ | $20 |
| Growth | 6.7¢ | $500 |
| Scale | 6.2¢ | $3,000 |
| Enterprise | 5.7¢ | $10,000 |
All prices AUD excl. GST. Tiers are based on top-up amount. Current promotion: 50% extra free on first top-up. See ClickSend pricing.
Dedicated number: $19/month, no setup fee. Inbound SMS is free.
Developer-first · API powerhouse · Global infrastructure · Best for international SMS
Twilio is the world's most well-known communications API platform. For development teams that need to send SMS to multiple countries, it's the natural choice — you can access carrier infrastructure in 190+ countries under a single API, with world-class documentation and SDKs in every major language.
However, Twilio is not built for business users. There is no web dashboard for composing and sending campaigns. Everything requires code. If you don't have development resources, Twilio is not the right choice. And if you're only sending SMS to Australian numbers, Mobile Message's API offers a simpler, significantly cheaper alternative — Twilio's effective per-message cost to Australian numbers is roughly 4x higher.
Pricing is in USD and charged per message segment, which makes direct comparison more complex for Australian businesses. Twilio also uses progressive tiered pricing — you pay each tier's rate on the messages within that tier, not a single flat rate. This means you always pay the most expensive rate (US$0.0515) on your first 20,000 messages each month, with lower rates only applying beyond that. For example, sending 25,000 messages costs the full rate on the first 20,000 and the discounted rate on only the remaining 5,000. Additional features like link tracking and message scheduling (the "Engagement Suite") cost an extra US$0.015 per message.
| Monthly Volume | Outbound (USD) | Approx. AUD Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| First 20,000 | US$0.0515/segment | ~7.7–8.2¢ |
| 20,001–75,000 | US$0.0505/segment | ~7.6–8.0¢ |
| 75,001–150,000 | US$0.0484/segment | ~7.3–7.7¢ |
| 150,001+ | US$0.0474/segment | ~7.1–7.5¢ |
Prices in USD per segment. AUD equivalent at approximate exchange rates. Inbound: US$0.0075/segment. Failed message processing fee: US$0.001/message. See Twilio pricing.
Dedicated number: US$6.50/month (~AUD $10–11/month).
Simple interface · No-frills · Acquired by Sinch MessageMedia
SMS Broadcast is a straightforward, no-frills bulk SMS platform that's been operating since 2005. It was once a market leader on price for Australian bulk SMS, but has since been acquired by Sinch MessageMedia. Since the acquisition, its pricing has become less competitive and the platform hasn't seen significant feature development.
The platform offers exactly what you'd expect from an older SMS tool: a simple web interface for composing and sending bulk SMS, contact management, scheduling, templates, and an HTTP API. There's also an email-to-SMS feature that lets you send text messages directly from your email client.
The main drawback is the lack of modern integrations — there's no Zapier integration, no CRM connectors, and no integrations marketplace. All connections require custom code via the basic HTTP API.
SMS Broadcast offers up to 40% off on your first purchase. Standard recharge rates range from 7.0¢ (500 credits) down to 3.7¢ (1,000,000+ credits). A 1% credit card surcharge applies.
All prices AUD excl. GST. 25 free SMS credits on signup, no card required. Credits expire 12 months from date of purchase. See SMS Broadcast pricing.
Dedicated number: $179/year, no setup fee. Inbound SMS is free.
| Provider | Lowest per SMS | Monthly Fees | Free Trial | Free Dedicated Number | Credit Expiry | Zapier | AU Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Message ⭐ | 2¢ | None | 50 free SMS | ✓ First number free | Never | ✓ | ✓ Melbourne |
| Burst SMS (Kudosity) | 2.9¢ (enterprise) | None (PAYG) | 14-day trial | ✗ From $19/mo | Not published | ✓ | ✓ Syd & Melb |
| MessageMedia (Sinch) | ~5.9¢ (on $789/mo plan) | $45–$789 | 25 free SMS | ✗ From $115/mo plan | Monthly (included SMS) | ✓ | ✓ Melbourne |
| ClickSend | 5.7¢ ($10k+ top-up) | None | $2 credit (14-day trial) | ✗ $19/mo | 12-month inactivity | ✓ | ✓ Melbourne |
| Twilio | ~7.1¢ (150k+, AUD) | None | ~US$15 credit | ✗ ~$10–11/mo | N/A (PAYG) | Via API | ✗ US-based |
| SMS Broadcast | 3.7¢ (1M+ volume) | None | 25 free SMS | ✗ $179/year | 12 months | ✗ | ✓ Melbourne |
Per-message pricing only tells part of the story. Here's what you'd actually pay to send 1,000 standard SMS messages per month, including platform fees and a dedicated number:
| Provider | Per-SMS Cost (1k msgs) | Monthly/Number Fees | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Message | $20 (at 2¢ first purchase) | $0 (free number) | $20 |
| SMS Broadcast | $42 (at 4.2¢ first purchase) | ~$15 ($179/year) | $57 |
| ClickSend | $72 (at 7.2¢) | $19 (dedicated number) | $91 |
| Kudosity | $79 (at 7.9¢ PAYG) | $19 (dedicated number) | $98 |
| MessageMedia | $115 (plan fee, 1,600 SMS included) | Included from $115/mo plan | $115 |
| Twilio | ~$82 (at ~8.2¢ AUD equiv.) | ~$11 (number rental) | ~$93 |
Mobile Message and SMS Broadcast figures use first-purchase rates. All other providers use standard/PAYG rates. MessageMedia requires minimum $115/month plan for a dedicated number. Prices exclude GST.
The "best" bulk SMS provider depends entirely on your specific situation. Here's a quick guide:
Mobile Message is the clear winner in this comparison. It offers the lowest pricing, the most transparent fee structure, and a feature set that covers everything Australian businesses actually need — without the bloat or cost of enterprise platforms.
At 2¢ per SMS with no monthly fees, no credit expiry, a free dedicated number, a native HubSpot integration, and connections to thousands of apps via Zapier and Make, no other provider comes close on value. Every competitor charges more per message, and most add monthly fees, number rental charges, or credit expiry on top.
The pricing gap speaks for itself. Sending 10,000 SMS through Mobile Message costs $200 on the first purchase. The same volume through ClickSend costs $720. Through Kudosity's PAYG plan, $790. That's 3–4x more for the same result.
It's also worth noting that three of the six providers in this comparison — MessageMedia, ClickSend, and SMS Broadcast — are now owned by the same Swedish parent company, Sinch. Mobile Message is independently Australian-owned, with Melbourne-based support and data stored entirely in Australia.
The only scenario where a different provider makes sense is if you specifically need native Salesforce or Oracle CRM integration (Kudosity or MessageMedia) or you're a developer sending SMS internationally across dozens of countries (Twilio). For everything else, Mobile Message is the right choice.
Mobile Message currently offers the lowest per-message pricing at 2¢ per SMS on your first purchase, regardless of volume. Standard rates start at 4¢ for 500+ credits and drop to 2¢ at 1,000,000+ credits. There are no monthly fees, and credits never expire.
Not necessarily — you can send from an alphanumeric sender ID (your business name) on most platforms. However, a dedicated number is essential if you want to receive replies and have two-way conversations. Mobile Message includes a free dedicated number; most competitors charge $19+ per month.
From 1 July 2026, ACMA requires all alphanumeric sender IDs used for SMS in Australia to be registered on the SMS Sender ID Register. Unregistered sender IDs will be labelled "Unverified" on recipients' phones. Mobile Message is an ACMA Certified Provider and can fast-track registration for customers.
This varies by provider. Mobile Message credits never expire. ClickSend credits expire if your account is inactive for 12+ months. SMS Broadcast credits expire 12 months from date of purchase. MessageMedia includes credits in monthly plans that don't roll over. Check each provider's policy before purchasing large credit volumes.
Yes. Most Australian SMS providers support alphanumeric sender IDs, which display your business name (up to 11 characters) instead of a phone number. This is a one-way feature — recipients cannot reply to an alphanumeric sender ID. Mobile Message includes this feature at no extra cost.
Mobile Message offers a native HubSpot integration that works directly without middleware. Beyond HubSpot, it integrates with 7,000+ apps via Zapier and 2,000+ apps via Make (Integromat). Direct integrations also include WordPress/WooCommerce, 3CX, Planning Center, aXcelerate, and Yeastar PBX. A REST API is available for custom integrations, with a ChatGPT custom GPT available for personalised API assistance.
Yes, provided you comply with the Spam Act 2003. This requires three things: consent (express or inferred) from the recipient, identification (your business must be identified in the message), and an unsubscribe facility (recipients must be able to opt out). All providers in this comparison offer built-in opt-out management tools.
Start with 50 free SMS credits. No credit card required. Get a free dedicated number with your first purchase.