Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI-powered SMS, MMS, RCS, email, and push marketing platform for consumer brands, with REST and GraphQL APIs for subscriber management and event-triggered messaging rather than direct message sending. | Multi-channel marketing and messaging platform offering email, SMS, web push, and chatbots (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Instagram) through a unified interface and REST API. |
| Founded | 2016 | 2015 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 1,000-1,500 | 51-200 |
| HQ city | New York | New York |
| HQ country | USA | USA |
What's the differenceSendPulse edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (63 vs 40). Attentive is private and headquartered in New York, USA; SendPulse is private and based in New York, USA.
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | Yes | No |
| RCS | Yes | No |
| No | Yes | |
| Viber | No | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | No | Yes |
| Telegram | No | Yes |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | No | No |
| Yes | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 2 channels. Attentive additionally offers MMS, RCS, while SendPulse additionally offers WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Telegram.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | No | Yes |
| Free developer credit | No | Free plan (15,000 emails/mo) + 10 test SMS |
| Docs quality | med | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), React Native | PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Node.js, C# |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | No |
| API types | REST, GraphQL | REST, SMTP |
What's the differenceSendPulse offers Self-service onboarding, while Attentive does not; on SDKs, Attentive adds iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), React Native; SendPulse adds PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Node.js, C#; Attentive offers Sandbox / test env, while SendPulse does not; on API types, Attentive adds GraphQL; SendPulse adds SMTP.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | No | Yes |
| US data residency | Yes | Yes |
| Choose region | No | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | No | No |
What's the differenceSendPulse offers EU data residency, while Attentive does not; Attentive offers SOC 2, while SendPulse does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Retention policy | No fixed retention periods are published; the privacy policy states personal information is retained "for as long as necessary to provide our Service or as needed to comply with applicable legal obligations." EU/UK/Swiss consumer data is transferred to and processed in the United States under the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks. | Personal data is retained for as long as needed to provide the services or to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Servers are located in the United States and Germany with redundant, backed-up storage; under GDPR users can access, export, or request deletion of their data, and all account data is permanently deleted when an account is terminated. |
What's the differenceAttentive: No fixed retention periods are published; the privacy policy states personal information is retained "for as long as necessary to provide our Service or as needed to comply with applicable legal obligations." EU/UK/Swiss consumer data is transferred to and processed in the United States under the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks. SendPulse: Personal data is retained for as long as needed to provide the services or to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Servers are located in the United States and Germany with redundant, backed-up storage; under GDPR users can access, export, or request deletion of their data, and all account data is permanently deleted when an account is terminated.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Custom-quoted, usage-based subscription priced on message volume, subscriber list size, channels, and premium AI add-ons; no self-serve signup or published per-message rates. | Pay-as-you-go for SMS (priced per message by destination country); free-forever plan plus paid monthly subscription tiers for email and other channels. |
| SMS starting price | Not published | €0.01 per SMS (e.g. Colombia, Turkey) |
| Free developer credit | No | Free plan (15,000 emails/mo) + 10 test SMS |
What's the differenceAttentive and SendPulse are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 20 | 200 |
| Direct operator connections | No | No |
| Published uptime SLA | No published SLA | No published SLA |
What's the differenceSendPulse leads on Countries covered (200 vs 20 for Attentive).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Attentive | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| G2 reviews | 1,483 | 714 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 1,000-1,500 | 51-200 |
What's the differenceSendPulse leads on G2 rating (4.6 vs 4.5 for Attentive); Attentive leads on G2 reviews (1,483 vs 714 for SendPulse).
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