Airship vs Clickatell (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Airship grades higher than Clickatell: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Airship grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Airship
Cross-channel push, SMS, email and wallet messaging platform for apps
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick Airship if
- Fits if you run a mobile app and want push, SMS and email in one platform
- Works for firms with a team to set up journeys and a budget for a quote
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before a sales call
- Not for you if you only need to send texts, since it's heavier than a plain SMS tool
- Watch out: Essentials shows a sign-up button with no price
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed
Pick Clickatell if
- Fits if you are a large brand that wants chat commerce and SMS in one platform
- Works for developers who want an SMS API with global reach
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a published price, as platform pricing goes through sales
- Too light for a quick start: the pricing page is an estimate tool, so a country's rate was not captured
- Not for you if you are a small team, since the site says it serves large global brands
- Watch out: only a web platform and APIs are listed, with no mobile or desktop apps
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAirshipWeak | 1.6GPAClickatellWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published: the full platform is a quote, and Essentials has a sign-up button but no figure. | CNo plan price is published; platform pricing goes through sales and SMS rates come from a calculator, so it sits at the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed on its pages, so you pay from the first day. | FNo free plan and no trial on the pages read. |
| Features | BJourney orchestration, several channels in one place, customer segments, testing and a no-code builder. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job, though services and onboarding are part of the full offer. | CBroadcasts, automations, AI chatbots, a live agent inbox and in-chat payments. It is aimed at large brands, and the pages show little for small teams. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's a large platform with journeys to build. | CNo store rating on record. Platform and API setup with sales involvement. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with no integrations named. | CWeb platform and APIs only; no separate mobile or desktop apps are listed. |
| Best for | push, SMS and email for mobile apps | large brands sending chat and SMS at scale |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Airship and Clickatell. How we grade
Where they differ
- Airship also covers marketing automation, email campaigns and a/B testing.
- Clickatell also covers workflow automation, AI agents, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
In commonWebPublic APISMS marketing
At a glance
| Airship | Clickatell | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Airship | Clickatell |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Airship
- The pricing page publishes no figures: the full platform is a quote, and Essentials has a sign-up button but no price.
- Strategic services, training and onboarding are described as part of the full platform offer.
- It is built around mobile apps and wallet passes, so it is heavier than a plain SMS tool.
Clickatell
- No plan prices are published: platform pricing goes through the sales team, and SMS rates come from a country-by-country calculator.
- The pricing page we could read is an interactive estimate tool, so the rates for a given country were not captured.
- The site says it serves large global brands, so small teams may find it heavier than they need.
- Pages read list a web platform and APIs only, with no separate desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
Airship
- Journey orchestration
- Connects messaging, app and web experiences into flows that guide a customer toward a conversion.
- Channels in one platform
- Push, SMS, RCS and MMS, email, web notifications and mobile wallet passes are managed together.
- Customer data and segments
- Builds dynamic segments from behavior and preferences, and captures preferences through forms and surveys.
- Testing and optimization
- Experiments and automatic tuning of timing, content and channel are described for each campaign goal.
- No-code builder
- Scenes and in-app experiences are built without developers, according to the vendor.
- Airship Essentials
- A self-service edition aimed at growth teams building app and web experiences; its price is not on the pricing page.
Clickatell
- Broadcasts
- Campaigns are defined, personalized and scheduled across countries and time zones, from a web interface or through the API, with sign-up and opt-out management.
- Automations
- A drag-and-drop workflow editor and integration hub build automated self-service journeys, with buttons, lists and catalogs inside chat.
- AI chatbots
- Chatbots can be trained on business-specific information, and Clickatell describes a private model kept in a secure environment.
- Live agent inbox
- A unified inbox lets agents take over chats, transfer them between agents and departments, and use tags, notes and chat history.
- In-chat payments
- Customers can pay inside the chat thread through a hosted checkout page or a one-tap tokenized flow.
Plans
Airship
Pricing could not be confirmed. See airship.com.
Clickatell
Pricing could not be confirmed. See clickatell.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Airship or Clickatell?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Airship has no price we could confirm, and Clickatell has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Airship or Clickatell?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Airship nor Clickatell has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.