SMS vs. Push Notifications - Cost, UX, and More
A well-timed, well-crafted message delivered to a mobile device can spur user action, such as making a purchase, visiting the nearest store location, or interacting with marketing content.
SMS and push notifications have many shared strengths: they reach users directly, enable personalized messaging, and excel at delivering time-sensitive information. Yet, crucial differences set them apart. Below, we break down push notifications and SMS to help brands decide which channel best supports their marketing goals.
SMS vs. Push Notifications – Required Customer Interaction
SMS vs. Push Notifications - Initial Enrollment
SMS requires someone to provide their phone number to subscribe for future text messages. This can be done numerous ways, such as filling out a web form, texting a keyword to a short code, signing up in person at a retail location, or entering their number during an online checkout process.
Getting customers to enroll in push notifications isn’t quite as straightforward, as they generally fall into one of two categories: app-based or web-based. While both types can function on mobile devices, app-based notifications are by far the more popular option. In fact, the term “mobile push notifications” is near-synonymous with app-based push notifications due to their widespread use.
Moreover, as noted by MobiLoud, app-based push notifications generally perform better than their web counterparts, across the board. More specifically, they have higher opt-in rates, delivery rates, and engagement rates. Therefore, for the sake of comparing SMS vs. push notifications, we will be referring to app-based push notifications moving forward.
SMS vs. Mobile Push Notifications - Engagement Rates
Different resources have different statistics for the engagement rates of push notifications. However, even the highest estimate of 90% doesn’t rival SMS’s established open-rate of 98%.
The main difference between push notifications and text marketing is how they appear on the screen. Push notifications appear without any interaction from the person while SMS marketing requires the person to click-to-open.
While this extra step for SMS could be seen as a minor inconvenience, it also gives recipients the flexibility to open messages at a time best suited for them. Additionally, because subscribers can choose if and when to read these messages, brands can send a higher volume of texts compared to push notifications without appearing heavy-handed or intrusive.
AppMySite actually compiled the estimated push notification open-rates across industries, referenced below. The industries with the highest open-rates for push notifications were Business/Finance and Entertainment. Among the lowest were Retail, Food & Delivery, and Services, all which seem much better suited to SMS.
SMS vs. Push Notifications - Abandonment Rates
Appcues shares some eye-popping statistics that may have you thinking twice about investing in app-based push notifications rather than SMS.
- Only 9.4% of app users revisit the app after the initial download
- 90-days post download, 71% of app users delete the app completely
When theorizing as to why, author Jonathan Kim notes that people are inherently suspicious of apps, especially when it requests access to other parts of the phone. Moreover, people like to keep their phones streamlined and will often delete apps as a way of freeing up storage and data.
The average unsubscribe rate for SMS programs isn’t as clearly established as the rate of app deletions, although SMS unsubscription is definitely much lower. Furthermore, if your SMS unsubscribe rate starts to increase, adjusting your strategy requires significantly fewer resources than redesigning app features.
When Does an App Even Make Sense
As highlighted in our guide, Types of Messages—SMS, RCS & More, an app only makes sense for certain kinds of companies. These generally have a business model that:
- Encourages customers to make purchases a few times a month or more
- Requires customers to have an account
- Involves a significant portion of customers who schedule services or place orders in advance
- Has a successful loyalty program
For example, a fitness center could be an excellent candidate for an app, through which customers could sign-up for classes and even track their own fitness journey within their profile. On the other hand, a comedy club would find little benefit from an app, as most of their customer base attends only a few times a year and won’t set up membership accounts.
SMS vs. Push Notifications – Cost Comparison
Understanding the Costs of Push Notifications
When thinking in broad strokes, it’s easy to assume that push notifications have greater upfront cost—due to app creation—but sport a free price tag from there on out. While this is partially true, it also ignores some inconvenient truths about running an app. Primarily, they need ongoing troubleshooting and updates, especially to stave off potential security threats.
To understand how push notifications vs. SMS costs compare, let’s dive deeper into the numbers.
Business of Apps breakdown the cost of developing an app as such:
- Simple app development cost - $5,000 – $50,000
- Medium complexity app development cost - $50,000 – $120,000
- Complex app development cost - $300,000+
What’s more, someone needs to be responsible for ongoing app maintenance, whether that be a full-time hire or outside developer. Cleveroad estimates that the basic upkeep of an app to be $5,000 - $15,000 per year.
Understanding the Costs of SMS
Budgeting for the cost of SMS is arguably easier than anticipating the ongoing needs of an app. Voxie charges $0.015 per text message per recipient, with the price increasing to $0.03 for MMS. However, when further breaking down text message marketing costs and ROI, consider the added expenses tied to growing your subscriber list and team members’ time spent managing the program.
SMS vs. Push Notifications – Ease of Use for Varying Team Members
Simply put, sending a marketing text message is straightforward. Platforms like Voxie allow brands to provide access to users in various roles while controlling their permissions within the system.
For example, a franchisee can draft a marketing text for their own marketing list, but not for others. Plus, the software can then block the message from being sent until it’s reviewed by a member of the corporate marketing team. Comparatively, push notifications don’t easily grant the same widespread access and built-in quality control.
SMS vs. Push Notifications – Message Versatility
While SMS limits your character count to 160, MMS can achieve much higher with a 1,600 character limit. This distinction is important because push notifications grant a maximum of 178 - 240 characters, with the variance based on the phone’s operating system.
Moreover, SMS can diversify the links and calls-to-action, such as visiting social media, responding to a text survey, or clicking through to an event page. Push notifications can only drive people toward the app or site sending the message. Similarly, push notifications can only include stagnant preview images, while MMS makes it possible to include GIFs, audio files, and other types of media.
SMS vs. Push Notifications – Two Way Customer Interactions
Apps can be designed to support two-way messaging, but when comparing push notifications to SMS, SMS is generally superior in this regard.
Nearly everyone is familiar with how text messaging works, making it easy for users to navigate and retrieve conversations. In contrast, people are less likely to use an app for customer service communication, and divergent app designs can make it difficult for users to find and use two-way messaging features.
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Questions to Consider When Comparing Push Notifications vs. SMS
There’s no universally shared answer to the question of whether SMS or push notifications are better. To better understand which route best aligns with your company’s specific needs, ask yourself the following:
- Would customers benefit from an app for reasons beyond receiving push notifications?
- Do you have the development team or resources to manage the ongoing requirements of an app?
- Has your industry generally experienced high or low open-rates for push notifications?
- Would you only be sending emergency or urgent messages—good for push notifications—or would you be sharing promos and brand content—ideal for SMS?
- Would you find value in 2-way messaging via SMS?
Additional Reading to Help Build Your Direct Marketing Strategy
Selecting the right medium for your marketing message requires a strategic approach, informed by research into your target audiences and the various channels at your disposal. To assist marketing teams in identifying the optimal mix, the Voxie team has developed the following articles:
About the Author
Ali Spiric
Growth Marketing Manager at Voxie