5 Top WordPress SMS Plugins for Twilio in 2024

Did you know that WordPress SMS plugins for Twilio can handle all SMS text messaging tasks?

With a Twilio SMS plugin for WordPress, you can perform all of your SMS marketing tasks effortlessly.

It allows you to reach out to your customers on any channel including SMS, MMS, and social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or even Google’s Business Messages.

That’s why we’ve gathered a list of the best SMS plugins for WordPress for Twilio:

1. WP SMS
2. Joy of Text
3. WPNotif
4. WP Twilio Core
5. Twilio for Gravity Forms

These add-ons will help you integrate Twilio’s SMS capabilities with your WordPress website. This way, you can use Twilio’s cloud communication platform to send and receive SMS directly from your site.

What Is Twilio SMS Plugin for WordPress?

Twilio is a WordPress SMS plugin that simplifies sending and receiving messages directly from your WordPress website.

Key Features of Twilio

Twilio offers unique messaging features like:

1. Seamless Integration

You can quickly connect your Twilio account to your WordPress and send SMS messages from your dashboard.

2. Customizable Notifications

It allows you to customize SMS notifications for site activities.

3. User-Friendly Interface

Even non-expert users can use Twilio without coding skills.

4. Form Integration

It can be integrated with popular form builders like Contact Form 7 and Gravity Forms.

5. Bulk Messaging

The Twilio plugin supports bulk SMS for marketing campaigns and updates.

Benefits of Using A Twilio WordPress Plugin for Messaging

Here are the advantages of Twilio WordPress plugins for messaging:

• Enhancing Communication: It provides a direct SMS messaging tool.
• Improving Security: It uses 2FA to add an extra layer of protection to your customers’ information.
• Increasing Engagement: With Twilio, you can boost user interaction with direct and effective SMS messages.

Where Can We Use Twilio?

Here are some use cases for Twilio:

1. E-commerce: Using Twilio, you can send order updates and promotional offers.
2. Appointment-Based Businesses: Websites that need to manage appointments, can use Twilio to send reminders and confirmations.
3. Membership Sites: You can notify members about updates and exclusive offers.

5 Best WordPress SMS Plugins for Twilio in 2024

Now that you know the benefits of using Twilio’s WordPress plugin for messaging, you’d better get familiar with the best plugins in this regard:

#1 WP SMS

WP SMS ranks number one on our list of top WordPress SMS plugins for Twilio.

This plugin adds the ability to send SMS to your WordPress through Twilio and 300+ other SMS gateways, such as:

• Plivo
• Clickatell
• BulkSMS
• Infobip
• Vonage (Nexmo)
• Clockworksms
• Messagebird
• WhatsApp Business API

and much more!

WP SMS has one of the coolest designs that is never tiring for the eye. Even using a bold color such as orange, working with its features and menus, is very soothing and not misleading at all.

Talking about the features, this plugin has an outbox that has all the messages that have been sent with all the details regarding number, time, recipient, and status.

The status part is very interesting since it’s really rare for SMS plugins to show if the message has yet been received or not on your WordPress site.

Messages can be sent to users, groups, subscribers, and even individual numbers directly from your WordPress dashboard.

What you have to do is just purchase a number and some credit among over 300 gateways, including Twilio. Then put in the credentials of the number in the plugin and you are good to go.

Notifications can be received per new post, new comment, new page, new login, and new user.

It’s amazing how this plugin also handles WP Rest API, works with contact form 7, and supports GDPR regulations as well.

Due to the GDPL rules, every user has the right to ask the company to export or erase the data they have on the company’s website.

WP SMS has the highest number of installations which is +8,000 and above all that has been said, it provides a Pro version to expand it even more.

Pros of WP SMS

• Multiple Gateways: It supports various SMS gateways along with Twilio.
• Custom Notifications: It’s great for personalized SMS alerts.
• Subscriber Management: WP SMS provides easy management of SMS subscribers.

Cons of WP SMS

• Paid Advanced Features: You need to pay for some advanced features.

For all these features it has the fairest price above the other plugins for a Single site plan. It is only $39 per year and as long as you have a subscription, you will have definite support.

#2 Joy of Text

Joy of Text is another great plugin to connect with your customers, blog subscribers, or club members using the WordPress Twilio SMS plugin.

The plugin enables you to send SMS, MMS, and voice messages to a group or to an individual through the Twilio gateway. The Lite version gives you the chance to experience the plugin with very limited options (Some might not even function).

The Joy of Text Twilio plugin does not have any add-ons, although it has other plugins that are purposed to elevate the Pro version.

To name some of these plugins, I would like to mention the JOT Scheduler, the JOT Buddypress plugin, and The JOT Woocommerce integration plugin. They have different licenses other than the Pro version that must be bought to access the plugins.

Let’s get to the features and see what we got. Joy Of Text only works with Twilio and no other gateways which look a bit limited.

Groups can be defined for the admin to send messages to but the problem is that you need to add members one by one and pre-defined groups including customers or administrators are of no existence.

One of the fine features that are included is that it supports Twilio’s text-to-voice call, and there are settings for the voice’s gender, language, and also answer detection.

Pros of Joy of Text

• Dual Messaging: You can use email messaging along with SMS.
• Group Messaging: It allows sending messages to groups.
• Scheduling: It has a scheduling feature that makes your tasks easier.

Cons of Joy of Text

• Limited to Basic Features: If you need advanced SMS features, you have to go for other plugins.

This Twilio SMS plugin for WordPress also has 1,000+ active installations on WordPress. As for the payment, a Single site license with 1-year support is $65.00.

#3 WP Twilio Core (WPSMS)

The next Twilio WordPress plugin on our list is WP Twilio Core, which includes

• Contact form 7
• Twilio
• WordPress SMS marketing plugin
• Bulk SMS plugin
• WooCommerce SMS plugin

You might get a bit confused, only because of the name which is so similar to the WP SMS we mentioned in the first part. For competitive reasons and also advertising strategies this plugin decided to choose this name.

Let’s get to the review part! This plugin has a setting panel where you can enter your Twilio number and other information. As it comes from the name, it only works with Twilio therefore all the other WordPress gateways are out of the picture.

You will have a test panel as in the picture below in which you can test the functionality of the number you purchased and whether a message you enter is received by the recipient or not.

In case you are using the free version, Notifications is the last panel you may use. An interesting feature is that you can put in a different number than the one that is on your main setting, to receive all the notifications.

Now a question that might come to mind is what notifications can be received. You can choose among new posts, users, comments, and logins.

Then you can choose among various add-ons this plugin offers such as WooCommerce bookings, Bulk SMS, WP SMS for WooCommerce and so… On that account, you won’t have access to any of these features without purchasing one.

But rest assured that each one of them has a demo version which you can test out for yourself to see if they suit you or not.

Pros of WP Twilio Core

1. Simplicity: It’s easy to set up and use. So it’s ideal for users who need basic SMS functionality without complex configurations.
2. Cost-Effective: It has many free features. So you can have essential SMS features without a hefty price tag.
3. Customizable Notifications: It allows you to customize SMS messages.
4. Developer-Friendly: Provides a solid foundation for developers to build upon with custom code if needed.

Cons WP Twilio Core

1. Basic Features: It doesn’t have advanced features because it primarily focuses on basic SMS functionality.
2. Dependence on Twilio: This plugin exclusively uses Twilio, so users must have or create a Twilio account to utilize the plugin.

The number of active users is approximately 5,000+ and counting. In case you want to purchase this plugin’s Pro version once and for all, for the Single site plan, you need to pay the price of $99 but you will have the choice to pay $29 per year.

#4 WPNotif

This is also one of the best SMS plugins for WordPress for Twilio. WPNotif is one hell of a simple yet practical plugin.

The funny thing about it being so plain is that even the website’s description of the plugin itself is extremely minimal. But let’s get back to what we experienced.

WPNotif not only sends SMS but can use WhatsApp notifications and maybe even use them both. This plugin does not have any add-ons but as an SMS plugin works fine on its own. 

Testing this Twilio SMS integration is a bit different from other plugins. You need to get a 7-day trial staging area from Dummywp then test the plugin and see if it works for you or not.

Notifications here can be sent from multiple gateways at once. Besides, notifications are for customers, Admins, or other user groups you might need to define in the plugin. 

These notifications can be for different reasons such as Login, Password change, New post, Post update, Abandoned cart, and so on. All of these options can be done by only switching a toggle.

Moreover, there are placeholders for making a Customized message on an occasion you might have in mind. This might become a bit tricky and the reason is that all the placeholders are posted in an article on the WPNotif blog.

One may ask what’s tricky about that. The answer is that you will likely be needing some hints for the most common ones yet you are not getting any.

Pros of WPNotif

• Multi-Channel: It supports both SMS and WhatsApp notifications.
• WooCommerce Integration: WooCommerce stores can greatly benefit from this tool.
• Multi-Language Support: If your mother tongue is something other than English, it’s best for you.

Cons of WPNotif

• Complexity: If you want to use more features, you need to spend time learning them.
• Cost: Premium version needed for full functionality.

Talking about the price, you would only have to pay $34 for the regular plan to get this Twilio SMS integration on Codecanyon. Additionally, this plugin has 5,500+ purchases up till now.

#5 Twilio for Gravity Forms

Twilio for Gravity Forms is another solution that integrates Twilio’s powerful SMS capabilities directly with the popular Gravity Forms plugin.

This plugin allows you to send SMS notifications based on form submissions. So if you rely heavily on forms for customer interactions, it’s the best choice for you.

Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of this WordPress Twilio integration:

Pros of Twilio for Gravity Forms

• Gravity Forms Integration: Offers simple integration with Gravity Forms.
• Custom Notifications: It sends SMS based on form submissions.
• Easy Setup: Straightforward configuration process.

Cons of Twilio for Gravity Forms

• Specific Use Case: This plugin is limited to users of Gravity Forms.
• Advanced Features: If you need more complex needs, you have to use other plugins.

Which SMS Plugin Is Best for Twilio on WordPress?

Let’s remember that we wanted to use Twilio as the best gateway for SMS. Which of the mentioned WordPress SMS plugins is truly the best? Which has more to offer?

To choose the best one, it’s good to take a look at the following table:

You are probably considering WP SMS which you are not wrong at all!

No other WordPress plugin is needed for WordPress users!

Above all the things previously mentioned about WP SMS, could you believe there’s more? In addition to all the other options, WP SMS offers 2 powerful add-ons to advance the existing options.

These 2 add-ons are WP SMS WooCommerce Pro & WP SMS Two Way:

WP SMS WooCommerce Pro

This add-on has additional features for WooCommerce for SMS marketing purposes, such as SMS campaigns, abandoned cart SMS notifications, manageable SMS notifications, and local shipping SMS notifications.

• SMS Campaigns are among the most important features of this add-on, which lets you do anything you want to your customers through SMS and significantly increases their satisfaction.

• Abandoned Cart SMS notification is an ability to send an SMS to customers who add products to their basket but never complete them. A reminder will be sent to them to complete the purchase.

WP SMS Two-Way

You can receive SMS messages from your subscribers or clients using the WP SMS Two-Way add-on. In fact, this feature allows you to enable incoming messages on the inbox page.

This add-on has several useful features, including commands and actions. When you create a command and name it, if you receive a message that includes that name, the command will be executed, and you can notify the user by sending them a saved message.

If you create a command called “CANCEL” on WooCommerce, that customer will be able to cancel his order automatically if they send that command!

Conclusion

Twilio is a great cloud-based communication tool offering SMS services. However, you need reliable tools to be able to use it on your website. We introduced several best plugins that let you use Twilio’s gateway directly from your WordPress dashboard. Using these tools, you can integrate your SMS marketing campaigns into your digital marketing strategies and control them from a single dashboard.

By comparing all of the features offered by these tools, we can suggest WP SMS to businesses of all sizes. So why wait? Get started with your SMS marketing campaign now.

FAQs

Here are some tutorials you may wanna use:

• Installing WP SMS plugin
• How to configure the Twilio gateway?