SMS gets opened by around 98% of recipients, typically within minutes- email offers richer formatting but lands in a far more crowded, filtered inbox. See exactly where each channel wins, and why most Indian businesses run both.
Trusted by 10,000+ businesses across India
Trusted by 10,000+ businesses across India
Bulk SMS is the practice of sending text messages to a large list of recipients at once, through a DLT-registered sender ID on either a transactional or promotional route. It works on any mobile number, smartphone or not, and needs no app, login, or internet connection to be received- the message simply appears in the recipient's default messaging app, usually within seconds of being sent.
Email marketing is the practice of sending newsletters, offers, and nurture content to a list of subscriber email addresses through a sending platform. It supports rich formatting- images, layout, long-form copy, multiple calls to action- but requires the recipient to have an active, regularly checked email address, and delivery is subject to spam filters and inbox-tab sorting that don't apply to SMS.
This is the single biggest gap between the two channels. SMS open rates are typically cited around 98%, mostly opened within minutes. Email open rates, per widely cited industry benchmarks, typically run in the 15-25% range for marketing sends- and can take much longer to be seen, if seen at all.
| Aspect | Bulk SMS | Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Typical open rate | Around 98%- most SMS get opened, even if not acted on immediately. | Roughly 15-25% for typical marketing sends, per widely cited industry benchmarks- varies heavily by list quality and sender reputation. |
| Time to open | Usually within a few minutes of delivery- SMS notifications appear directly on the lock screen. | Can take hours or days, if opened at all- email competes with every other message sitting in the inbox. |
| Where it lands | Delivered straight to the native messaging app- no separate inbox or folder to check. | Can land in Primary, Promotions, or Spam depending on the recipient's client and filters, which directly suppresses opens. |
| Read without action | Read receipts and open behavior are consistent since there's only one place an SMS can land. | Even a well-designed email can go unopened simply because a subscriber never scrolls that far down a crowded inbox. |
| Aspect | Bulk SMS | Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Typical delivery time | Near-instant- SMS on a DLT-registered transactional route typically lands within seconds of being sent. | Usually seconds to a few minutes technically, but effective delivery is often delayed by spam filtering, batching, or the recipient simply not checking their inbox. |
| Time-sensitive use | Well suited to OTPs, appointment reminders, and urgent alerts where minutes matter. | Not ideal for anything time-critical- there's no guarantee of when, or if, the recipient will see it. |
| Filtering risk | Transactional SMS on the DND-exempt route is not subject to spam-folder-style filtering the way email is. | Can be delayed or silently dropped by aggressive spam filters before it ever reaches the inbox tab. |
Every mobile phone in India can receive SMS by default. Email requires an active, regularly checked email address- and many Indian consumers check personal email far less often than they check text messages.
| Aspect | Bulk SMS | Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Device requirement | Works on any mobile phone with basic cellular service- no smartphone, app, or data connection required. | Requires an active email account, plus a device or app the recipient actually uses to check it. |
| Checking frequency in India | Read almost as soon as it arrives, since SMS notifications surface immediately on the lock screen. | Many Indian consumers check personal email far less often than SMS, especially outside urban, white-collar segments. |
| Address/number accuracy | Phone numbers are collected at KYC or signup and tend to stay current for longer stretches. | Email addresses go stale faster- abandoned accounts, typos at signup, and multiple addresses per person all hurt reach. |
| Universal coverage | Every mobile subscriber in India can receive SMS by default. | Depends entirely on the customer having provided, and still actively checking, a working email address. |
OTPs, delivery updates, appointment reminders, and payment confirmations- anything where the message needs to be seen within minutes belongs on SMS.
Newsletters, detailed offers with images, product catalogs, and anything that benefits from rich formatting is a better fit for email than a 160-character SMS.
Order confirmations, low-balance alerts, and service disruptions- concise, action-now messages read well as SMS and poorly as a buried email.
Product photography, brand storytelling, and multi-offer promotions with layout and imagery are simply not possible in a plain-text SMS.
Email frequently lands in spam or promotions folders rather than the primary inbox, even for legitimate, well-crafted campaigns- sender reputation, list hygiene, and content filters all play a role, and a business has limited control over any of them. DLT-registered transactional SMS in India runs on a route that bypasses DND filtering entirely and doesn't face the same folder-sorting problem, since it delivers directly into the recipient's native messaging app. Promotional SMS is still subject to DND registry rules, so the deliverability advantage applies specifically to the transactional route.
Both channels are low-cost, but the comparison depends on what you measure. On a pure per-send basis, bulk email can work out cheaper at very high volumes since sending has near-zero marginal cost on many platforms, while transactional bulk SMS in India typically starts from around Rs 0.09 per SMS. But cost-per-send isn't the same as cost-per-read. Since a much larger share of SMS actually get seen- typically around 98%, against roughly 15-25% for email- the effective cost per engaged contact often favors SMS despite the higher per-message price, particularly for time-sensitive communication where a message that goes unread has effectively cost nothing but wasted opportunity.
Around 98% of messages get opened, typically within minutes
No app, inbox, or internet connection needed to receive it
DLT-registered transactional SMS bypasses DND and spam filtering
Ideal for OTPs, alerts, and other time-critical notices
Works on every mobile number, smartphone or not
160-character limit per segment restricts message length
No rich imagery, layout, or long-form storytelling
Promotional SMS is still subject to DND registry rules
Supports images, layout, long-form copy, and rich formatting
Well suited to newsletters, catalogs, and detailed nurture sequences
Easy to include multiple offers, links, and calls to action in one send
Often has a lower per-send cost at very high volumes on some platforms
Open rates are typically much lower than SMS, per industry benchmarks
Frequently lands in spam or promotions folders instead of the primary inbox
Delivery and open timing is unpredictable- can sit unread for days
Requires an accurate, actively checked email address for every contact
Most Get Click Media clients don't choose between SMS and email- they run both. SMS carries time-critical and transactional messages, email carries detailed and nurture content, and many businesses also layer in WhatsApp Business API for rich, conversational engagement. See also our blog comparison of WhatsApp vs Email Marketing for how that channel stacks up too.
Trusted by 10,000+ businesses across India for DLT-compliant, high-deliverability messaging infrastructure.
Transactional templates registered on TRAI DLT with confirmed DND-exempt routing for OTPs and time-critical alerts.
Direct operator routes designed to deliver SMS within seconds, not minutes or hours.
Track delivery status, click activity on shortened links, and campaign performance from one dashboard.
Integrate bulk SMS into your existing systems- ecommerce, CRM, banking, or support- through one straightforward API.
Talk to our experts about running SMS and email together, with the right channel for each message type.
Big or small, we power communication for all- talk to us today.
It depends on the message. SMS wins for anything time-critical or transactional- OTPs, delivery alerts, appointment reminders- since it's typically opened within minutes and works on any mobile number without needing an app or checked inbox. Email wins for long-form content like newsletters, detailed offers, and visual storytelling. Most Indian businesses that scale get the best results running both, not choosing one over the other.
Get Click Media runs both channels for 10,000+ Indian businesses- request a demo and we'll map out the right mix for yours.
