SMS Marketing vs Email Marketing: Which One Should You Use?

Everyone keeps talking about SMS marketing like it’s the new gold rush. “98% open rates!” they shout. “People read texts within 3 minutes!” Sure, that’s true. But does that mean you should abandon email and go all-in on SMS? Not so fast.

The Case for Each Channel

Email and SMS solve different problems. Understanding those differences helps you use each effectively rather than treating them as interchangeable.

Email excels at delivering detailed content. You can include images, links, formatted text, and lengthy explanations. It’s perfect for newsletters, product announcements, educational content, and anything requiring more than a few sentences.

SMS shines with urgency and brevity. Flash sales, appointment reminders, order updates, and time-sensitive offers land better via text because they’re seen immediately and the short format forces clarity.

Open Rates: Context Matters

Yes, SMS open rates hover around 98% compared to email’s 20-25%. But that comparison misses crucial context.

SMS messages can’t be filtered, labeled, or sorted. They arrive in a personal space alongside messages from family and friends. This creates immediate visibility but also higher expectations—people don’t tolerate irrelevant texts the way they tolerate uninteresting emails.

Email’s lower open rates reflect choice. Subscribers can engage on their own schedule, save messages for later, or skip what doesn’t interest them. Lower opens don’t mean lower value—your engaged email subscribers may be more qualified than your SMS list.

Cost Comparison

Email is dramatically cheaper. Platforms like Brevo let you send thousands of emails for pennies each. SMS costs significantly more—typically 2-5 cents per message depending on volume and carrier.

For a list of 10,000 contacts, sending a single email blast might cost a few dollars. Sending an SMS blast costs $200-500. That math changes your strategy entirely.

SMS makes sense for high-value, high-urgency messages where the cost is justified by immediate action. Weekly newsletters via SMS would bankrupt most small businesses.

Subscriber Acquisition Differences

Getting someone’s email address is relatively easy. People share emails freely, sign up for content, and don’t think twice about another newsletter subscription.

Phone numbers are more guarded. People hesitate to share them, worry about spam calls, and expect texts only from close contacts or critical services. Building an SMS list takes longer and requires stronger value propositions.

This selectivity cuts both ways—SMS subscribers are often more engaged because they actively chose to share something personal. But you’ll have far fewer of them.

When to Use Email

Email works best for regular newsletters and content updates, detailed product information and education, nurturing sequences over days or weeks, anything requiring images or complex formatting, and building long-term relationships and brand awareness.

When to Use SMS

SMS excels for flash sales and limited-time offers requiring immediate action, appointment and booking reminders, order and shipping notifications, two-factor authentication and security alerts, and abandoned cart recovery with time-sensitive discounts.

The Power of Combining Both

Here’s the thing—you don’t have to choose. The most effective strategy uses both channels strategically.

Send your regular content via email. Use SMS as a supplement for truly time-sensitive communications. If your flash sale ends in 6 hours, send an email in the morning and an SMS reminder 2 hours before expiration.

Platforms like Brevo let you manage both from one dashboard, even combining them in single automation workflows. A customer abandons their cart: send an email 1 hour later, then an SMS 24 hours later if they haven’t converted.

Respecting the Channel

Whatever you choose, respect the channel’s norms.

Email tolerance is higher—people accept weekly or even daily emails from brands they follow. SMS tolerance is much lower—weekly texts feel like spam to many subscribers.

Email can be longer without penalty. SMS should be short and action-focused—ideally under 160 characters to avoid splitting into multiple messages.

Email allows creative design. SMS is plain text with maybe a link—no images, no formatting, no fancy layouts.

My Recommendation

Start with email. Build your list, develop your content strategy, and establish consistent communication. Email gives you the foundation.

Add SMS once you have specific use cases that justify the cost—transactional notifications, time-sensitive promotions, or re-engagement campaigns. Let SMS complement your email strategy rather than replace it.

Together, they’re powerful. Separately, email is the foundation while SMS is the accelerator for special situations.