Softwr

Email Marketing · head to head

Attentive vs Omnisend

Attentive logo

Attentive

Email Marketing

Enterprise SMS and email marketing for retail brands, sold on quarterly minimum spend commitments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Omnisend logo

Omnisend

Email Marketing

Email, SMS and push marketing automation for ecommerce

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Omnisend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Attentive minimum spend commitments are use it or lose it: if quarterly usage falls short, the shortfall is invoiced anyway, which makes Attentive expensive for any brand whose sending is seasonal rather than even.; Omnisend free plan caps at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Attentive and Omnisend actually diverge.

Attributes where Attentive and Omnisend differ
AttributeAttentiveOmnisend
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Attentive

  • SMS-first journeys
  • Two-tap sign-up units
  • TCPA compliance tooling
  • Email channel
  • Revenue attribution
  • Concierge
  • Identity resolution
  • Negotiated order form rates

Only in Omnisend

Nothing recorded that Attentive does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Attentive

  • A direct-to-consumer brand where SMS is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a sessionnot Omnisend
  • A retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing TCPA-compliant consent records to go with themnot Omnisend
  • A consumer brand running SMS and email from one audience so subscribers are not messaged twice for the same promotionnot Omnisend
  • A high-volume merchant with predictable year-round send patterns that can commit to a quarterly minimum and negotiate rates down against itnot Omnisend

Omnisend

  • Sending cart abandonment recovery emails with product recommendationsnot Attentive
  • Segmenting customers by purchase history for targeted SMS campaignsnot Attentive
  • Creating browse abandonment sequences triggered by browsing behaviornot Attentive
  • Generating personalized product recommendations in email messagesnot Attentive

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Attentive

  • Minimum spend commitments are use it or lose it: if quarterly usage falls short, the shortfall is invoiced anyway, which makes Attentive expensive for any brand whose sending is seasonal rather than even.
  • No rates are published anywhere, so a buyer cannot benchmark a quote before entering a sales process, and the effective per message cost is only visible once an order form is drafted.
  • Contracts commonly run six to twelve months, so a brand that finds performance disappointing after two months still owes the balance of the term.
  • Total cost combines a platform fee, per message SMS and MMS charges and carrier pass-through fees, and MMS at two to five cents per message means image-heavy campaigns cost several times what the SMS rate suggests.
  • It is priced and built for established consumer brands, and the entry commitment puts it out of reach of small merchants that Postscript and similar tools serve on usage-based plans with no floor.

Omnisend

  • Free plan caps at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month
  • Standard plan is limited to 500 contacts and 6,000 emails per month before an upgrade is required
  • SMS is billed separately starting at $0.007 per message and varies by country and volume
  • Custom pricing only begins above 150,001 contacts, requiring a sales conversation at that scale

Pricing, plan by plan

Attentive

On request
  • Attentive$undefined/year
    • No public rate card; rates are set in an individual order form
    • Platform fee plus per message SMS and MMS charges
    • Contracts commonly six to twelve months

Omnisend

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 250 contacts
    • 500 emails/month
    • 500 web push/month
  • Standard$11.2/month
    • Up to 500 contacts
    • 6,000 emails/month (12x list size)
    • Unlimited web push
  • Pro$41.3/month
    • Up to 2,500 contacts
    • Unlimited emails
    • Unlimited web push
  • Custom$undefined/mo
    • 150,001+ contacts
    • Custom pricing with dedicated account expert

Which should you pick?

Choose Attentive if

  • You need sms-first journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want two-tap sign-up units.
Attentive review

Choose Omnisend if

  • You want to start without paying.
Omnisend review

Questions people ask

Is Attentive or Omnisend better?
Neither clearly leads. Attentive starts at On request and Omnisend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Attentive or Omnisend?
Omnisend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Attentive and Free for Omnisend.
Does Attentive or Omnisend run on more platforms?
Attentive runs on Web, iOS, Android. Omnisend runs on Web.
Can I use Omnisend for free?
Yes. Omnisend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Attentive starts at On request.
What is Attentive best used for?
Attentive is most often used for a direct-to-consumer brand where sms is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a session, a retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing tcpa-compliant consent records to go with them, a consumer brand running sms and email from one audience so subscribers are not messaged twice for the same promotion, a high-volume merchant with predictable year-round send patterns that can commit to a quarterly minimum and negotiate rates down against it. Of those, a direct-to-consumer brand where sms is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a session and a retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing tcpa-compliant consent records to go with them are not what Omnisend is typically brought in for.
What can Attentive do that Omnisend cannot?
Attentive covers SMS-first journeys, Two-tap sign-up units, TCPA compliance tooling, Email channel.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Attentive: How much does Attentive cost?

It does not publish rates. Costs are a platform fee plus per message charges set in your order form, with minimum spend commitments commonly around 2,000 to 3,000 USD per quarter.

Omnisend: What is Omnisend's pricing model?

Omnisend uses contact-based tiered pricing. Free plan includes 250 contacts, Standard tier covers 500 contacts at $11.20/month, Pro tier covers 2,500 contacts at $41.30/month. Monthly or 3-month subscriptions available with 30% discount on quarterly billing.

Source
Attentive: What happens if I do not use my minimum?

You are invoiced for the shortfall at the end of the quarter. Unused commitment is not carried forward.

Omnisend: Does Omnisend charge for SMS?

Yes, SMS is an add-on with volume-based pricing starting at $0.007 per message for orders of 10,000+ messages, up to $0.009 per message for smaller volumes.

Source
Attentive: How long is the contract?

Typically six to twelve months, billed monthly or quarterly.

Omnisend: Is there a free version of Omnisend?

Omnisend offers a free tier for up to 250 contacts with 500 emails/month, 500 web push/month, and basic automation features.

Source
Attentive: Does it do email as well as SMS?

Yes, with shared audiences and journeys, though the product was designed SMS-first and that remains its strength.

Omnisend: What is included in the Pro plan?

The Pro plan at $41.30/month covers up to 2,500 contacts with unlimited emails, unlimited web push, AI personalization, and SMS starting at $0.007 per message.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Attentive

More on Omnisend

Keep looking

Other head to heads