SMS marketing tools compared
Brevo and Omnisend are both email platforms that added SMS, which means SMS arrives as a credit you buy on top of a plan priced around email volume and contacts. This comparison puts both side by side on what SMS actually costs, what each one gates behind a higher tier, and how they report on revenue, so you can see which one fits your store, and where a platform built around messaging rather than email fits alongside them.
Best for: businesses that want email, SMS, CRM and a sales pipeline from one vendor, with ecommerce as one use case among many.
Plans from $9 per month. SMS credits sold separately, and WhatsApp only from the $499 Professional tier.
Rating for ecommerce
Best for: ecommerce stores that want email, SMS and push in one place with a genuinely usable free tier.
Free plan, then $11.20 and $41.30 per month. SMS from $0.007 each, charged as credits on top.
Rating for ecommerce
Best for: established ecommerce brands that want WhatsApp and SMS run as a revenue channel, with every order attributed to the message that drove it.
One usage based rate per message, unlimited users, platform and managed service included.
Rating for ecommerce
The full comparison
Everything below is taken from what each company publishes about itself. Where a vendor does not publish something, the cell says so instead of guessing.
| Capability | BrevoBusiness suite | OmnisendEcommerce email + SMS | ZefirRevenue platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you are actually buying | |||
| Product category | Business suiteEmail, SMS, chat, CRM and a sales pipeline in one account | Ecommerce ESPEmail, SMS and push built specifically for online stores | Managed channelAI WhatsApp and SMS revenue platform built for ecommerce |
| What the pricing is built around | Email volumePlans step up by emails per month, from 5,000 to 150,000 | Contacts and emailsBilled on contacts who received messages, with email caps per tier | Messages sentOne regional rate per message, nothing else metered |
| Who operates the channel | Your team | Your team | Zefir operates itChannel built and operated by Zefir, per their pricing page |
| Channel coverage | |||
| SMS as a marketing channel | YesIncluded from the Starter plan, credits bought separately | YesAvailable on every plan including free, from $0.007 per SMS | YesWhatsApp and SMS on the same platform and the same rate model |
| $499 per month tierWhatsApp appears only on the Professional plan at $499 per month | Not listedNo WhatsApp channel published | YesNative, on the same rate as SMS | |
| YesFrom 5,000 emails per month on Starter | Yes500 per month free, 12x your list size on Standard, unlimited on Pro | Not a channelZefir does not do email | |
| Ecommerce and revenue | |||
| Built for ecommerce | One use caseAdvanced ecommerce features start on the $499 Professional plan | YesThe whole product is built around online stores | YesBuilt only for ecommerce |
| Per order revenue attribution | Contact scoringRFM and CLV scoring on Professional, per order attribution not published | Campaign reportingReports sales per campaign, per order attribution to a specific message not published | IncludedEvery order attributed to the exact message that made the sale |
| Product recommendations | Professional tierAI recommendations, back in stock alerts and coupons from $499 per month | IncludedAI product recommender on paid plans | IncludedAI decides the product and the timing per customer |
| Abandoned cart flows | YesMarketing automation from the Standard plan | YesPrebuilt ecommerce automations | Built for youFlows live within the first week, copy written in your brand voice |
| Automation and AI | |||
| Marketing automation | From StandardNot on the $9 Starter plan | All plansAutomations available on the free plan | Built for youZefir builds the flows rather than handing you a builder |
| AI features | Professional tierAI segmentation and an AI data analyst from $499 per month | IncludedForms AI and a personalised product recommender AI | On every messageAI personalization applied to every send, no credit cap published |
| A/B testing | From StandardA/B testing and send time optimization on the $18 plan and up | Included | IncludedAdvanced segmentation and A/B testing on every plan |
| Pricing model | |||
| Entry price | $9 per monthStarter, from 5,000 emails per month, billed annually at $8 | $0Free plan, 500 emails and 250 contacts per month | $0No platform fee at any size |
| Mid tier | $18 per monthStandard, billed annually at $16 | $11.20 per monthStandard, 6,000 emails per month | $0 |
| Top published tier | $499 per monthProfessional, billed annually at $449, 10 seats, from 150,000 emails | $41.30 per monthPro, unlimited emails under fair use | $0 |
| Published SMS rate | Not publishedSMS credits are sold separately and no per message rate appears on the pricing page | $0.007 to $0.0085Volume rate $0.0085 per SMS, $50 buys 5,882 | Quoted to volumeOne regional rate covering SMS, WhatsApp and AI conversations |
| Hidden line items to budget for | ThreeSMS credits on top, WhatsApp gated at $499, Sales Advanced at $58.50 per user per month | TwoSMS credits on top, and you are billed for non subscribers who received automated messages | No hidden feesPlatform, managed service and unlimited users are all inside the per message rate |
| Team, scale and control | |||
| Users included | 10 on ProfessionalMulti user access is a Professional tier feature | Not seat based | Unlimited |
| What a dormant list costs you | Counts toward tierPlans step up with contacts and email volume | Counts if messagedBilled for subscribers and non subscribers who received automated messages, unsubscribed contacts are not billed | NothingYou pay per message sent, never per contact stored |
| Compliance and support | |||
| Support model | Phone from ProfessionalPhone support and three hours a year of deliverability specialist time on the $499 plan | 24/7 on every planLive chat and email support on all plans including free, dedicated account expert above $400 per month spend | Dedicated, includedDedicated account manager on every account |
| Migration help | Not published | Free 5 day migrationAutomations, lists, templates and setup moved for you | IncludedSetup, templates and compliance review handled at onboarding |
| Who writes the message copy | You do | You do | Zefir doesFlow copywriting in your brand voice, included |
Weighted scorecard
The weighting below is built for an established ecommerce brand doing seven figures a month. Change the buyer and the ranking changes, so the weights are printed rather than hidden.
Head to head
Both platforms price SMS as a credit on top of a plan that exists mostly for email. Only one of them publishes the per message rate, which makes a like for like total possible on one column and not the other.
Omnisend publishes its volume rate, so the number can be built honestly. Brevo does not put an SMS rate on its pricing page at all, which is a finding rather than an omission on our part.
| Line item | BrevoBusiness suite | OmnisendEcommerce email + SMS | ZefirRevenue platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per message cost | Not publishedSMS credits sold separately, no rate on the pricing page | $42550,000 at the $0.0085 volume rate | One regional rateQuoted to your volume |
| Platform fee alongside it | $18 to $499Standard at $18, or Professional at $499 if you also want WhatsApp | $41.30Pro plan, which also returns bonus SMS credits equal to your monthly bill | $0 |
| Monthly total on published rates | Cannot be calculatedThe rate is not public | $466.30Before email volume overages | One number, quotedPlatform, service, users and attribution all inside it |
| What you still cannot do | WhatsApp under $499WhatsApp is a Professional tier channel | WhatsApp at allNo WhatsApp channel published | Nothing gatedWhatsApp and SMS on the same rate from day one |
Both platforms put the ecommerce features an established store needs on their top tier. That is where the real price difference lives, not in the headline.
| Capability | BrevoBusiness suite | OmnisendEcommerce email + SMS | ZefirRevenue platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing automation | From $18Not on the Starter plan | From free | Built for you |
| AI product recommendations | From $499 | On paid plans | On every message |
| Multi user access | From $49910 seats included on Professional | Not seat based | Unlimited users |
| Phone or dedicated support | From $499 | 24/7 on every planDedicated account expert above $400 per month spend | Dedicated account managerIncluded on every account |
| From $499 | Not available | IncludedSame rate as SMS |
The decision
Find the row that sounds like your business. The recommendation is the honest one, not the convenient one.
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You need email, CRM and a sales pipeline from one vendor | Brevo | The only one of the three that publishes a CRM and sales product alongside marketing. |
| You want a free tier that actually does something | Omnisend | Free plan includes SMS, push, automations and segmentation, capped at 500 emails and 250 contacts. |
| Email is your main channel and SMS is a bolt on | Omnisend | Ecommerce native, unlimited emails on the $41.30 Pro plan, and a free five day migration. |
| WhatsApp is part of your 2026 plan | Zefir | Brevo gates WhatsApp behind the $499 Professional tier and Omnisend does not offer it. Zefir runs it on the same rate as SMS. |
| You have to prove what the channel earned, to the dollar | Zefir | Every order attributed to the exact message that made the sale. Neither of the other two publishes this. |
| Your list is large and mostly dormant | Zefir | You pay per message sent, not per contact stored or per email allowance. |
| Seven figures a month and nobody free to run the channel | Zefir | Setup, flows, templates and copy are built for you, and the channel is live within 72 hours. |
| BFCM is coming and cash flow is tight | Zefir | Post paid billing on a credit line scaled to volume, seasonal peaks included. |
The third option
Both are competent email platforms. Neither was built around messaging, which is why SMS arrives as a credit and WhatsApp arrives late or not at all. Zefir publishes 1,000 plus ecommerce brands on the platform, more than $530M in WhatsApp attributed revenue, and an average revenue increase of 12 to 15 percent measured per order.
On both platforms the plan is priced around email volume and contacts, and SMS is a credit you buy on top. That is why neither publishes a messaging first report, and why WhatsApp is either a $499 tier feature or absent.
Zefir prices WhatsApp, SMS and AI conversations on one rate, because messaging is the whole product.
Brevo steps up by email volume and contacts. Omnisend bills for subscribers and non subscribers who received automated messages. A large, quiet list costs money on both before it earns anything.
Zefir charges per message sent, so a dormant list costs nothing until you use it.
Brevo scores contacts on RFM and CLV. Omnisend reports sales per campaign. Neither publishes attribution from a specific order back to the specific message that caused it, which is the number a finance team asks for.
Zefir attributes every order to the exact message that made the sale.
If you already picked one
The subscriber list and the consent behind it are the two things that matter. Everything else is rebuildable.
| What moves | Leaving Brevo | Leaving Omnisend | Arriving at Zefir |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriber list and consent | Exportable | Exportable | Imported, compliance reviewed |
| SMS opt in records | Export before you leaveConsent evidence matters for TCPA, take it with you | Export before you leave | Reviewed at onboardingTCPA and Meta compliance managed as part of the service |
| Automations and flows | RebuildNo cross platform format exists | Rebuild | Rebuilt for you |
| Email programme | Stays where it isNothing forces you to move email | Stays where it is | Not replacedZefir does not do email, so it runs alongside your ESP |
| Historical reporting | Export before you leave | Export before you leave | Starts freshAttribution begins from the first message sent |
Frequently asked
Zefir connects your store, builds the WhatsApp and SMS channel, and attributes every order to the message that produced it. Live within 72 hours.
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All nine sit on the WhatsApp and SMS comparison hub.