Compare
CaptiFi Connect and The SMS Works, side by side
The SMS Works is a UK API-first provider that bills only for delivered texts and gives 50 free credits. CaptiFi Connect is a dashboard and an API with the same weight on each. The comparison below is from The SMS Works' site on 16 October 2026.
How does CaptiFi Connect compare with The SMS Works?
The SMS Works leads with a low headline rate (from 3.1p plus VAT), refunds for undelivered texts and 50 free credits, and rents a reply number for £13.50 a month and a short-code keyword for £14. CaptiFi Connect runs 3.5p to 5p plus VAT, gives 10 free credits, refunds texts that fail before leaving, and includes a threaded inbox, keywords, link tracking and unlimited team logins.
What The SMS Works offers (checked 16 October 2026)
The SMS Works sells an SMS API with batch sending, scheduling, delivery-report and inbound webhooks, one-time-password endpoints, seven SDKs and a Zapier app, plus a web "Workshop" for campaigns, templates, imports, lists, opt-outs and an inbox, and email to SMS from authorised domains. Texts that the network reports undelivered are refunded. It offers up to five user logins, auto top-up, a credit overdraft, and tools for unicode and message length. Support is by email on weekdays from 08:00 to 17:30; there is no phone number. It holds Cyber Essentials.
Pricing is "from 3.1 pence plus VAT" per UK text, lower at volume; the tier table is filled in by script and did not render in the page when we checked. Email to SMS and short-code pages quote 4.4p a credit with a £10 minimum order. A virtual reply number is £13.50 plus VAT a month with a seven-day trial, and a keyword on the shared short code is £14 plus VAT a month with a three-month minimum. Credits never expire. The trial is 50 free credits for UK businesses with no card.
Where CaptiFi Connect differs
The SMS Works' headline rate is lower than our cheapest pack, and its delivered-only billing refunds texts the network could not deliver, which we do not: we refund texts that fail before they leave us and charge for texts the network accepted. Its 50-credit trial is bigger than our 10.
What we add is the dashboard side. Replies sit in a threaded inbox rather than a campaign log; keywords and link tracking are free rather than a rental or absent; team logins are unlimited with roles rather than capped at five; a dedicated number is 250 credits a month, about £10, against £13.50. Our API has test keys that send nothing and fire real webhooks, an Idempotency-Key header, and an OpenAPI document.
Moving from The SMS Works
Switching takes an afternoon. Export your contacts and opt-out list from The SMS Works as CSV, create a CaptiFi Connect account, and import both: contacts go in with column mapping, opt-outs go in under Opt-outs so nobody who has stopped hears from you again. Sender names are re-checked by us, which takes a working day or two, so ask for them first.
- Set everything up while we check your account: contacts, lists, templates, keywords and API keys all work before approval.
- Build against the API with a test key, then swap in a live key. The request shapes are documented on one page and in the OpenAPI document.
- Run the first campaign to a small list and compare the delivery report with what you are used to.
Head to head (checked 16 October 2026)
| CaptiFi Connect | The SMS Works | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per text | From 3.5p to 5p plus VAT a text, depending on the pack. Four packs from £25 to £700, shown on the pricing page. | "From 3.1p plus VAT", lower at volume; tier table loads by script; 4.4p quoted for email to SMS. |
| Free trial | 10 free credits on every new account, no card. | 50 free credits, no card, UK businesses. |
| Credit expiry | Credits never expire. | Never. |
| Undelivered texts | Refunded if they fail before leaving us; charged once the network accepts them. | Refunded when the network reports them undelivered. |
| Dedicated UK number | Dedicated UK mobile number: 250 credits a month (about £10), no setup fee, no minimum term. | £13.50 plus VAT a month, seven-day trial. |
| Keywords and auto-replies | Free. Any number of keywords, each with a reply and a list. | £14 plus VAT a month on the shared short code, three-month minimum. |
| Link tracking | Free. Short tracked links, one per recipient, with click reports and a webhook per click. | Not offered. |
| Two-way inbox | Two-way inbox threaded by number; replies free. | Campaign inbox in the Workshop; inbound webhooks. |
| Email to SMS | Email to SMS included, verified senders only. | Included from authorised domains. |
| API | REST API, test keys that send nothing, signed webhooks, OpenAPI document. | REST API, JWT auth, OTP endpoints, seven SDKs, Zapier app. |
| Team logins | Unlimited team logins with owner, admin and member roles; two-step sign-in. | Up to five logins. |
| Support | Email support from the people who run the service. | Email on weekdays 08:00 to 17:30; no phone. |
| Certifications | No certifications yet; a UK company with UK staff. What we do to protect data is on the security page. | Cyber Essentials. |
Questions people ask
Is CaptiFi Connect cheaper than The SMS Works?
Not on the headline rate: The SMS Works says from 3.1p plus VAT and our lowest is 3.5p. Its tier table did not render when we checked, so we cannot compare at a given volume. Add-ons go the other way: a reply number is £13.50 there and about £10 here, and keywords are £14 a month there and free here.
Does CaptiFi Connect refund undelivered texts?
We refund a text that fails before it leaves us, and never charge for a number we refuse. A text the network accepted and then could not deliver is charged, because it was sent. The SMS Works refunds those too.
Does CaptiFi Connect have one-time-password endpoints?
Not as a separate product. Send the code with POST /messages like any other text; the guide on verification codes shows the pattern.
What can The SMS Works do that CaptiFi Connect cannot?
Refund network-undelivered texts, offer a credit overdraft, OTP endpoints, SDKs in seven languages and a Zapier app, and give 50 free credits. If you are a developer who will never open a dashboard, it is a strong choice.
Where do these figures come from?
From The SMS Works' website on 16 October 2026. Prices and terms change, so check their site before deciding, and tell us if something here is out of date.
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