RCS vs SMS: Which messaging solution is best for your business?

With the recent integration of RCS into iOS 18 by Apple, RCS has the potential to attract many new iPhone users. This new messaging protocol also represents an opportunity for businesses, who are looking for new, more interactive ways to communicate with their users.

With all eyes on RCS, it's time for a good old-fashioned match: RCS versus SMS, which is better?

Let's take a look at how RCS differs from SMS and which one to use.

What is SMS? The good old protocol we all love

SMS (Short Message Service) is the traditional text messaging service we all grew up with and love. It allows users to send short text messages (up to 160 characters) between mobile phones, using the cellular network.

More than 30 years after the first SMS message was sent (wishing “Merry Christmas”), SMS is still a very reliable and widely supported mean of communication.

The beauty of SMS lies in the fact that every phone device can use it, whether it’s a smartphone or not, iOS or Android, with access to Internet or not.

But this accessibility and longevity come at a price: innovation. The SMS format is very standard and lacks some of the features brought up to date by online messaging applications. That's why a new messaging protocol is becoming increasingly popular…

What is RCS? The new cool kid on the block

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is an upgraded messaging protocol designed to replace SMS. It offers a more feature-rich experience similar to messaging apps like WhatsApp or iMessage. For instance, on RCS you can send high-resolution images, videos and audio messages, create group chats or see when your message has been read.

With over one billion monthly active users, RCS is one of the fastest growing messaging protocol, highly popular amongst Android users. It’s also very popular as a business messaging platform, RCS allowing companies to send branded messages.

For a long time, RCS was exclusive to Android users. But in September 2024, the release of iOS 18 changed all that, allowing iPhone users to use RCS too (while still differentiating between green and blue bubbles - some things will never change).

The key features of RCS

What are the features that are enabled by RCS and that SMS does not support?

Rich Media: With RCS, you can send and receive high-quality images and videos, gone is the era of blurry MMS pictures! You can also share voice messages, GIFs, animated stickers.

No character limits: RCS supports long-form text messages without character limitations, unlike SMS, which cuts you off at 160 characters.

Typing indicators and read receipts: Similarly to iMessage or WhatsApp, RCS shows when someone has read your message or is typing a reply. If you’re being ghosted, RCS will clue you in (whether that's helpful or not, we'll let you decide!).

Group chats: You can create a group chats, manage members and share media easily with RCS, ensuring you’re not missing any cute pictures of your great-aunt cat in the family chat.

Rich cards: Rich cards allow you to send at once a batch of information to a user, including media, text and action buttons (like “buy now” or “track my order”). It’s a powerful tool for companies who want more interactive conversation with their users and drive more engagement.

Verified sender: Businesses can have a verified profile, reducing the risk of fraud or spam and reassuring their customers.

RCS also provides with some cool capabilities such as location sharing, file sharing (like PDFs) and end-to-end encryption (but more on that later).

Why businesses should care about RCS?

With all its features, RCS can bring significant benefits to businesses looking for alternative ways of communicating with their customers.

1. Branded messaging

On RCS, companies can include their logos, colors and other brand elements in their messages to extend their brand experience to this communication channel.

They can also have their profiles verified, so that customers know that the message comes from an authentic source (which, at a time when SMS fraud is becoming increasingly common, is an interesting feature).

2. Rich media and interactive messaging

With the ability to send images, videos or GIFs, the opportunities to engage with customers more effectively are much greater, particularly for marketing messages such as promotions or product launches.

Customers can receive messages that are not only more visually appealing, but also more interactive, thanks to the use of suggested replies and interactive buttons that allow users to take immediate action, such as confirming a purchase, booking an appointment or contacting support.

3. Better analytics

RCS provides more metrics than SMS, showing whether the message has been read or interacted with. This enables companies to understand how customers react to their campaigns or transactional messages, so they can improve their calls to action and messages.

4. No app requirement

Like SMS, RCS does not require users to download a separate application to interact with your messages. Because RCS is integrated into the smartphone's native messaging application, it can be adopted by anyone with a compatible smartphone and operator.

5. End-to-end encryption

SMS does not offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This means that the content of messages is not secured between the sender and receiver, because messages are sent in plain text over cellular networks. This makes them vulnerable to interception by network providers, governments, or hackers with access to the network.

RCS has recently started implementing end-to-end encryption for 1:1 conversations in the Google Messages application. Although it's not yet supported for group conversations or messages sent by other RCS providers, it still provides more security than SMS and encryption will gradually be adopted on a wider scale (it should arrive soon on iOS, for example).

The challenges of RCS

So is RCS going to replace SMS anytime soon? While it’s a very solid alternative, RCS has a few challenges to solve before it can pretend to be SMS 2.0.

1. Adoption and availability

Not all mobile carriers and devices support RCS yet, meaning that it doesn’t have the same universal reach that SMS enjoys.

So if a customer’s phone doesn’t support RCS, your message will default to SMS, limiting the effectiveness of your campaign and creating inconsistency in your users experience.

2. Internet access dependance

Just like SMS needs access to a cellular network to function, RCS requires an Internet connexion (via mobile data or Wi-Fi).

This can be an advantage in regions like Latin America or Southeast Asia, where internet usage is more popular than cellular (due to higher-costs, poor cellular coverage, cultural preferences or even government policies). But in other regions where SMS is still the most popular messaging protocol, this is a major pitfall.

In the end, it all comes down to who you want to communicate with.

3. Higher costs

All these added features available within RCS come at a higher cost, compared to SMS. The fees charged by network providers are usually higher. For instance in Germany, sending an SMS is approximatively 0.046€ while RCS messaging costs an average of 0.054€.

RCS also comes with indirect costs for setting up and managing infrastructure, including using features like branded messaging and interactive buttons.

Should you use RCS or SMS?

Well sorry to disappoint, but there is not a definitive answer to that question.

A short answer would be to:

• Choose SMS for simple text messages, limited to 160 characters and that work on any phone.

• Choose RCS for messages requiring more features like pictures or buttons for users who have compatible devices and data connections.

But in reality, a better approach would be to use both channels simultaneously and let the user guide your decision.

If you send an SMS to verify the registration of a new user, your ultimate objective is to ensure that this user completes the onboarding process. So you need to choose the channel on which this user will be most responsive, and this varies from one user to another.

For instance, if your user is in an area with poor cellular network coverage in Brazil, your one-time password (OTP) could be delivered through RCS rather than SMS to deliver the OTP, as this channel is known to be more likely able to reach the user in this country.

That’s how at Prelude we use both RCS and SMS for verification and transactional messages.

Having a multi-channel delivery help us determine which channel would be the most efficient to reach a specific user, depending on dozens of data sources (IP address, route performance history, device, network provider, etc.).

This is how we help our clients to reach their users globally, with a 99% delivery rate and 95% conversion rate. If you want to know more about our messaging API, you can book a demo here!