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Marketing · head to head

Postscript vs Zoho Marketing Automation

Postscript logo

Postscript

Marketing

SMS marketing built for Shopify merchants, with carrier fees billed on top of message rates

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Marketing Automation logo

Zoho Marketing Automation

Marketing

Contact-count marketing automation priced well below the mainstream platforms, tightest with Zoho CRM

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Postscript carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.; Zoho Marketing Automation pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • They diverge on capability: Postscript covers Shopify segmentation, Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Postscript and Zoho Marketing Automation actually diverge.

Attributes where Postscript and Zoho Marketing Automation differ
AttributePostscriptZoho Marketing Automation
Starting price$49/month$19/month
Pricing modelPer month plus per message sentPer month by contact count
PlatformsWeb, iOSWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (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 Postscript

  • Shopify segmentation
  • Automated flows
  • Subscriber acquisition
  • Two-way conversations
  • MMS campaigns
  • Revenue attribution
  • Headless SDK
  • Usage-based tiers

Only in Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Journey builder
  • Lead scoring
  • Unlimited email sends
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Web behaviour tracking
  • Social campaigns
  • SMS and WhatsApp
  • Lead attribution and X-RAY

What people use each for

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

Postscript

  • A Shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inboxnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • A brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanismnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • A merchant segmenting by past purchase and variant to send replenishment reminders at the right intervalnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • A store on headless Shopify or a custom stack that still wants SMS built on order data through the SDKnot Zoho Marketing Automation

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • A B2B team already on Zoho CRM that wants scoring and nurture without paying for a separate platform and an integrationnot Postscript
  • A business emailing its list frequently, where unlimited sends beats a competitor metering both contacts and emailsnot Postscript
  • An Indian or emerging-market marketing team that would otherwise pay a US-dollar list price plus card forex feesnot Postscript
  • A small team upgrading from plain newsletter sending to behaviour-triggered journeys without a five-figure annual commitmentnot Postscript

Where each one falls short

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

Postscript

  • Carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.
  • The cheapest per-message rates require the $500 a month plan, so a small sender pays more than double the headline low rate per text.
  • The $0 Starter plan carries a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it is not a free tier and quiet months still generate a bill.
  • US SMS marketing carries real legal exposure under consent, quiet hours and carrier registration rules, and the compliance obligation sits with the merchant, not the platform.
  • It is SMS and MMS only, so email, push and on-site messaging live in a separate tool and audience suppression between the two has to be managed across systems.

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • The Enterprise plan caps users at 25, which is a hard ceiling for larger marketing organisations rather than an upgrade path.
  • Its value depends heavily on running Zoho CRM; used alongside Salesforce or HubSpot the integration is shallower and much of the scoring and attribution advantage disappears.
  • Zoho sells Campaigns, Marketing Automation and MarketingPlus as separate products with overlapping function, and buyers regularly purchase the wrong one and then migrate lists between them.
  • Support and deliverability tooling are basic next to dedicated senders, so sender reputation problems on a large list get less expert help than a specialist provider would give.

Pricing, plan by plan

Postscript

$49/month
  • Starter$49/month
    • $0 base fee but a $49 minimum monthly spend
    • SMS at $0.015 and MMS at $0.045 per message
    • Campaigns, automations, acquisition tools and analytics
  • Growth$100/month
    • Lower per-message rates than Starter
    • Full campaign and automation feature set
    • No contract required
  • Professional$500/month
    • Rates falling towards $0.007 SMS and $0.024 MMS
    • Suited to high-volume senders
    • Upgrade or downgrade at any time
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing on a contract
    • Negotiated message rates and support terms

Zoho Marketing Automation

$19/month
  • Standard$19/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Unlimited social campaigns and signup forms
  • Professional$29/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Contact scoring
    • Journey builder with reports
  • Enterprise$59/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Lead attribution and X-RAY journey tracing
    • Landing page personalisation

Which should you pick?

Choose Postscript if

  • You need shopify segmentation.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want automated flows.
Postscript review

Choose Zoho Marketing Automation if

  • You need journey builder.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want lead scoring.
Zoho Marketing Automation review

Questions people ask

Is Postscript or Zoho Marketing Automation better?
Neither clearly leads. Postscript starts at $49/month and Zoho Marketing Automation at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Postscript or Zoho Marketing Automation?
Postscript starts at $49/month and Zoho Marketing Automation at $19/month.
Does Postscript or Zoho Marketing Automation run on more platforms?
Postscript runs on Web, iOS. Zoho Marketing Automation runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Postscript best used for?
Postscript is most often used for a shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inbox, a brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanism, a merchant segmenting by past purchase and variant to send replenishment reminders at the right interval, a store on headless shopify or a custom stack that still wants sms built on order data through the sdk. Of those, a shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inbox and a brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanism are not what Zoho Marketing Automation is typically brought in for.
What can Postscript do that Zoho Marketing Automation cannot?
Postscript covers Shopify segmentation, Automated flows, Subscriber acquisition, Two-way conversations. Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder, Lead scoring, Unlimited email sends, Landing pages and forms.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Postscript: Is Postscript only for Shopify?

It is built for Shopify and that is where its segmentation advantage lies, but headless and non-Shopify stores are supported through an SDK with more setup work.

Zoho Marketing Automation: How does it differ from Zoho Campaigns?

Campaigns is email sending and newsletters. Marketing Automation adds journeys, lead scoring, web tracking and CRM writeback. Buying Campaigns and outgrowing it is the common mistake.

Postscript: What is the real cost per text?

The plan rate plus carrier fees. On Starter that is about $0.015 plus roughly $0.00418 in US carrier fees per SMS, so budget close to two cents a message before discounts.

Zoho Marketing Automation: Are email sends limited?

No, sends are unlimited on all plans. Only contact count determines your tier, which is unusual at this price level.

Postscript: Is the Starter plan free?

No. The base fee is $0 but there is a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it functions as a $49 floor.

Zoho Marketing Automation: Is there a user limit?

Yes, up to 25 users on Enterprise, with lower limits below that. It is not designed for large marketing departments.

Postscript: Do I need a contract?

No. Contracts are offered but not required, and plans can be moved up or down at any time under usage-based billing.

Zoho Marketing Automation: Can I pay in local currency?

Yes, Zoho publishes real local pricing in several markets including India rather than converting the US dollar figure at checkout.

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