Resources · Zapier integration

Clickatell Zapier integrationAutomate Clickatell with Zapier.

The Clickatell Zapier integration gives you 1 trigger, 1 action and 0 searches. Short list, sharp use: catch every SMS that lands on your Clickatell number the instant it arrives, and push texts out from any other app, even on the free plan.

See the 2 operations

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

Overview

What the Clickatell Zapier integration actually does

It links your Clickatell account to Zapier so text messages stop being a dead end. An SMS that reaches your Clickatell virtual number can start an automation, and any other app you connect can make Clickatell send a text. No code, and no developer in the loop.

Three outcomes come up again and again. An inbox for replies: the New SMS trigger hands every inbound text to the next step, so customer answers end up in a sheet, a CRM or a team chat instead of a phone nobody checks. An alert that reaches a phone: the New SMS action sends a text to a number you choose when something happens in another app, like a form submitted or a deal closed. A relay: chain both, and a text received on the virtual number is forwarded to whoever is on duty.

Now the limits, because the list is short. Zapier offers no search on Clickatell, so a Zap (more on that word below) cannot look up a past message or a contact. Nothing deletes, edits or schedules a text from here. The trigger only watches the two-way Mobile Virtual Number, not every message on the account. And a single outgoing text tops out at 765 characters (split into chunks of 153, up to 5 messages).

Weighing your options before you build? The same app has a Clickatell Make integration page, and the n8n vs Zapier comparison sits one click away.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight words, and the rest of this page reads easily.

Zap
One trigger followed by one or more actions. On this page, a text landing on your Clickatell number is the usual starting point.
Trigger
The event that wakes the Zap up. For Clickatell there is exactly one: an SMS received on your virtual number.
Action
The step that does the work once the Zap has started. Here that means Clickatell sending a text to the number you set.
Task
Zapier's billing unit: one action that went through. A text sent by the Zap is one task; a text received costs nothing.
Polling vs instant
Polling means Zapier checks the app on a timer set by the plan. Instant means the app calls Zapier itself, as Clickatell does.
Filter
A gate between two steps: the Zap goes on only if the incoming text matches your rule, for example a keyword, and halts otherwise.
Search step
A step that finds something already sitting in an app so later steps can use it. Clickatell has none on Zapier.
Connection
Your Clickatell login stored in Zapier once. The trigger and the send both reuse it, so you never sign in per Zap.
Cost

What a Clickatell Zap really costs

No premium badge on Clickatell: the free plan can run it. What Zapier counts is tasks, and on this app only an outgoing text makes one.

  • TriggerFree, never counted
  • Each successful send1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • Premium appNo

The New SMS trigger never costs a task, however many texts arrive. Each New SMS action that goes through counts once; a send that fails counts for nothing. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and Zaps of two steps only: one trigger, one action. Add a filter or a second action and you have a multi-step Zap, which needs a paid plan. The interval grid below applies to polling triggers; the Clickatell trigger is instant, so it skips it on every plan.

Connect

Connect Clickatell to Zapier in 3 steps

  1. 01

    Open your connections

    Head to the Apps page of your Zapier account, then hit + Add connection. Have your Clickatell login ready, with access to the two-way number the Zap will receive on or send from.

  2. 02

    Pick Clickatell

    In the dialog that opens, search for Clickatell, pick it from the results and confirm with Add connection. Zapier then hands you over to Clickatell in a fresh browser tab.

  3. 03

    Sign in and allow access

    Log in to Clickatell in that tab and grant Zapier access to the account. Back in Zapier, the connection shows up in your list, ready for any step that uses Clickatell.

First Zap

Your first Zap: forward urgent texts to the person on call

GoalEvery text received on the Clickatell virtual number that matches a keyword goes straight to a team phone.

  1. 01

    Build: start with the trigger

    Create a Zap, pick Clickatell as the trigger app and New SMS as the event. Choose your Clickatell connection so Zapier knows which account to watch.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Send a text to the virtual number, then test. Zapier brings back the three most recent items so you map on a real message, and you can spot the value your filter will check.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    From the plus icon, add Filter. Pick the value you spotted in the test, a text rule, and your keyword. A text rule only works on text, so the right type matters.

  4. 04

    Add the send

    Add Clickatell again, event New SMS on the action side. Put the on-call number, country code included, in To, and map what came in from the trigger into Text Message.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Run the action test and check the phone. When the text lands, publish the Zap to switch it on. This three-step Zap needs a paid plan because of the filter.

Triggers

Clickatell trigger on Zapier

1 event starts a Zap when something happens in Clickatell, and one of them is instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

New SMS

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Trigger executed whenever a new Sms is received in your Clickatell Account Mobile Virtual Number.”

Starts your Zap each time someone texts your Clickatell Mobile Virtual Number, the two-way number on the account. The message becomes the raw material of every step after it: log it, route it, answer it.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a support line, a keyword campaign or an opt-out channel where customers reply by SMS and someone has to see it fast, even if you are still on the free plan.
Watch out
only texts that arrive after the Zap is switched on count; anything already sitting in the account stays where it is.
Actions

Clickatell action on Zapier

Clickatell gives you 1 action. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

New SMS

Action

In Zapier“Send a new SMS.”

Sends a text from your Clickatell account to the number you set, with the content you write or map from earlier steps.

When to use it
a delivery notice, an appointment reminder triggered by a calendar app, or an alert to a manager when a big order comes in.
Watch out
long content is cut into chunks of 153 characters, 5 at most, and each chunk is a separate SMS on the Clickatell side.
When it breaks

When a Clickatell Zap breaks

No Zapier help article covers Clickatell specifically. What follows is how Zapier behaves in general, seen through an SMS line.

Most failures come from timing and from loops, not from the connection itself. If a case below matches yours, the Zapier troubleshooting page is the next stop.

  • Old messages never show up

    Texts that reached the number before the Zap was published are never replayed. The Zap starts with the next SMS; bringing over the backlog is another project.

  • The Zap keeps texting itself

    If the send goes to your own virtual number, every text starts the Zap again, which sends another one. Tasks drain fast. Always send to a different number.

  • A sudden wave gets held back

    When a campaign makes hundreds of replies land at once, Zapier's flood protection can hold the batch back instead of running the Zap on all of it.

  • The text arrives in pieces

    Content past 153 characters is split, up to 5 messages and 765 characters in all. Keep alerts short so the recipient reads one message, not a puzzle.
Need help

Need help automating Clickatell with Zapier?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Clickatell Zapier integration: questions people ask

01Is the Clickatell Zapier integration free?
Yes, on the Zapier side. Clickatell is not a premium app, so the free plan can use it, with its 100 tasks a month. The catch is the shape of the Zap: the free plan only builds two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action. A Zap that receives a text and sends one fits. Add a filter or a second action and it becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. What Clickatell itself charges for each SMS is a separate matter, set in your Clickatell account, and nothing about it is published on this page.
02How many tasks does a Clickatell Zap use?
One per successful send, and zero for everything else. The New SMS trigger never counts, so a thousand inbound texts that only feed a filter cost nothing until an action actually runs. Each New SMS action that goes through counts as one task. A send that fails is not counted against the plan. If a Zap holds two actions, both are counted when they succeed, so it eats twice as fast. Keep that in mind with the free plan's 100 tasks: a busy SMS line can reach the cap well before the month ends.
03Does Clickatell trigger Zapier in real time?
Yes. New SMS is an instant trigger: Clickatell reports each received text to Zapier as it happens, so the Zap starts right away instead of waiting for a scheduled check. That holds on every plan, the free one included. The polling grid (15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise) only concerns triggers Zapier has to check on a timer, and this one is not among them. In the editor, a Zap built on it shows a lightning bolt, which is the quickest way to confirm it.
04What is needed to connect Clickatell to Zapier?
A Clickatell account, and access to the two-way number the Zap should watch or send from. The rest happens in Zapier: open the Apps page, click + Add connection, search Clickatell, click Add connection, then sign in to Clickatell in the tab that opens and grant access. The connection is then saved once and reused by every step that touches Clickatell. To send, keep numbers in full international format, or plan to fill the Country Code field so Zapier can add the prefix itself.
05Why do the Clickatell trigger and action have the same name?
Both are labelled New SMS in Zapier, so the event name alone does not tell them apart. The one in the trigger list means a text was received on the Clickatell virtual number. The one in the action list means a text will be sent from your account. Check which list you are in when you pick the event: the trigger always comes first in the Zap, the action after it. Picking the wrong side gives a Zap that either never starts or never sends anything.
06What if the Clickatell operation required is missing?
Then Zapier cannot do it with this app today. The integration holds exactly two operations: receive a text and send one. There is no search, so a Zap cannot fetch an older message or look up a contact in Clickatell. There is no way to edit, delete or schedule a text either. The honest answer is to check the Zapier app page again before building, since the list is what the editor shows, or to plan that step outside Clickatell entirely.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Clickatell?
Decide by criteria, not by brand. First, timing: on Zapier the inbound trigger is instant on every plan, so if speed on a free plan matters, that point is settled for Zapier. Second, the shape of the scenario: a plain receive or send fits the free two-step limit, while anything with a filter or a second step means a paid Zapier plan. Third, coverage: Zapier offers one trigger and one action here, nothing else. Check that the other tools cover your exact need before comparing what they cost.
Same platform

Other docs you might need on this stack.

Browse all integrations