Compare Intercom Fin AI Agent pricing against SMB friendly alternatives like Alive5, which combines AI chat, SMS texting, and live chat in one platform for less.

See 2026 SMS marketing benchmarks for open rates, response rates, and click through rates compared to email, plus tips on using SMS well.

Subscription + Usage Fees At Alive5, our goal is to offer a best-in-class communication platform filled with features, stellar support, and great value achieved through smart and flexible pricing. Affordable subscriptions and usage-based text credits allow you to easily adjust costs to match the seasonality of your business’ demand for texting. Users A subscription plan (Alive5 SMS STARTER, PRO, PRO PLUS, PREMIUM, ENTERPRISE) includes up to a certain number of users or lines. For example, the PRO plan includes up to 3 users and 3 lines. A user consists of a unique login (email and password) in which a team member can chat with unlimited contacts (mobile cell numbers) which is limited by text credits consumed (explained below). Additionally, users are limited by concurrent logins. For example, if your plan includes 3 users (using the PRO plan example above), you can create unlimited users (email and passwords) in your account, but limited to 3 users logged in at the same time. Lines A line refers to an office phone line you can enable for SMS texting. We do not interfere with the voice functionality, only the SMS messaging portion of a phone line. So you can keep your existing voice phone service (Comcast Business, Vonage, Ring Central, etc), and use Alive5 in parallel. Alive5 does not offer voice. Think about users and lines like "musical chairs" - you have 3 chairs for users and 3 chairs for lines for your entire team to use. If you need more users and lines you can easily purchase add-ons or upgrade your plan. Text Credits For usage, your Alive5 account is equipped with text credits that are allocated every billing cycle. These credits can be used for sending and receiving SMS messages. Each plan includes a set amount of monthly text credits (150 for STARTER, 500 for PRO, 1,500 for PRO PLUS, 3,000 for PREMIUM, and 10,000 for ENTERPRISE). One text credit consists of up to 160 characters, or 70 characters if the message includes an emoji. Messages longer than 160 characters will require multiple text credits. Using Emojis 😃: Using an emoji decreases the number of characters that can fit in a credit from 160 to 70. Each emoji takes up 2 characters. Using Unicode characters á: Using a unicode character, similar to emojis, decreases the number of characters that can fit in a credit from 160 to 70. In contrast to emojis, a unicode takes up 1 character. MMS: Images 🖼 and multimedia files: When sending smaller files (less than 500KB) from Alive5 to a mobile cell phone, it costs 4 credits, while larger files (greater than 500KB) will be converted to a link and cost 1 credit. When mobile cell phone users send an inbound text with an image or video, it will cost 4 credits. Try our SMS Length Calculator  This shows how many message segments (text credits) your text will use. Standard messages allow 160 characters per segment using GSM-7 encoding, but including emojis or special Unicode characters reduces this to 70 characters per segment. Messages exceeding one segment are charged as multiple messages, so character count directly impacts your messaging costs.

Why is a compliant Privacy Policy required?

By collaborating with our SMS vendors and partners, we've created these guidelines to assist you in completing the 10DLC compliance process in the most efficient way possible. To avoid delays, be prepared to take on the necessary tasks such as contacting your web developer or legal team. Related: 10DLC and What it Means for Business SMS/Texting 1. Matching EIN and Legal Business Name An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity. This allows The Campaign Registry to verify the identity of your organization (Brand), which is a requirement for any Campaign to be registered on 10DLC. It is crucial that the "EIN" matches the "Legal Business Name" (above) of the Brand you are registering for it to be correctly verified. TIP: Refer to IRS forms (W2, SS-4) for correct EIN and Legal Business Name. 2. Valid Web/Online Presence Your organization must have a valid web presence in order to use A2P SMS services. If you do not have a business website, a social media profile (Facebook Page or LinkedIn profile) may be used instead. The social media profile should indicate an operational business (active followers and engagement). Some examples of failed approvals: Website is not functional or is not secure (no HTTPS). Website contains malware. Website does not represent the registered business. Social media profile does not represent the registered business. Website Alternative: Social Media Profile If your Brand only has an established online presence, such as a Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn page, instead of a website, you can still get approved. Here are some tips for each Facebook and Instagram pages – these should be professional accounts (not personal) where the Brand is clearly identified. It’s best if the email address and phone number shown on the page also match what you used in the 10DLC registration details. LinkedIn page – This also needs to be a company listing, not a personal profile (that will be rejected). The email address and phone number should match the 10DLC registration details, and the ‘About’ section should have Privacy Policy and Opt-in language disclaimers. Don’t use LinkedIn for Sole Proprietors. We strongly advise you to use an established website, Facebook, or Instagram page over a LinkedIn company page. In summary (if you use social profiles for web presence): Use company listing type of profile pages, not personal. Must have Privacy Policy and Opt-In Language disclaimers. These can be in About sections or pinned posts. See example: https://www.facebook.com/wearealive5/about_privacy_and_legal_info 3. Opt In Language If you utilize a contact form where you are capturing any phone numbers, opt in language must visible to the user when completing the form. Example verbiage which may be used: "By providing a telephone number and submitting the form you are consenting to be contacted by SMS text message from {your Business Name (DBA) here}. Message frequency may vary. Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt-out of further messaging. Reply HELP for more information. See our Privacy Policy {your Privacy Policy URL here}" Be sure to replace the contents {your Business Name (DBA) here} and {your Privacy Policy URL here} with your actual business details.

12/1/2024 Updates On February 1st, 2025, mobile carriers will be blocking all unregistered A2P (application to peer) 10DLC (10-digit long code) SMS phone numbers from sending texts. The previous deadline of 12/1/2024 was deferred until this new date. Sole proprietors are now required to have a valid IRS EIN number to apply for 10DLC Brand and Campaigns. 11/8/2023 Update Toll free numbers (TFNs) require full vetting and verification before texting capability can be enabled. Previously, texting capability was available right after port without full verification (with limits). Vetting process is done by Twilio/Zipwhip which takes on average 4 weeks (reduced from previous 6-8 weeks). 10/6/2023 Updates Update 1: A compliant privacy policy is now required for any type of business, except SOLE PROPRIETORS. Update 2: For "Provisional Compliance", throughput is no longer limited to 2k per day. Throughput limits are now 25 messages per minute (a message consisting of 160 characters or less). For example, if you want to send a Broadcast to 5000 contacts, it should take about 3.3 hours. Update 3: 10DLC approval ETA has now increased from 2 weeks to 4-6 weeks for each review and approval. With Alive5, we have a solution which allows you to start texting within 24-72 hours (assuming your website, opt-in language, and privacy policy is compliant). 8/1/2023 Updates On September 1st, 2023, mobile carriers will be blocking all unregistered A2P (application to peer) 10DLC (10-digit long code) SMS phone numbers from sending texts.

Goals and Objectives Now that you have live chat configured for your Alive5 account, it's time to optimize and measure everything in efforts to create the best Visitor experience based on your current team resources. We'll cover: How to measure the performance of your live chat agents through various reports (Performance, Conversations, Agent Activity) Configure live chat settings for your organization's call center set up (Max Chat, Ring Mode, Chat Timeout). Measure performance KPIs (key performance indicators) of your team to see where you can improve. Predict future trends for staffing team members for optimum effectiveness.

This new generation of prospective scholars grew up in a very different way from how those running academic administration did. Alive5 SMS explains why SMS is a necessary component and how to keep classrooms full and campus enrollment high.

SMS is faster becoming the preferred method for businesses and customers to communicate marketing promotions, conduct sales consultations and resolve customer complaints but for newcomers, the landscape can be daunting. Here’s a list of SMS best practices to ensure your SMS strategy is as effective as possible.