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Kudosity Zapier integrationAutomate Kudosity with Zapier.

The Kudosity Zapier integration gives you 6 triggers, 8 actions and 2 searches to send business text messages, keep contact lists in sync and react to replies, clicks and delivery reports. Four triggers are instant, and the app runs on the free plan.

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Overview

What the Kudosity Zapier integration actually does

Kudosity is an SMS platform (some operation descriptions and field hints on Zapier still say Burst SMS) built for businesses that text their customers. Plugged into Zapier, it can send a message whenever something happens in another tool, and it can tell your other tools when a text comes in, a link gets clicked or a message bounces. No one has to copy a phone number by hand.

Three results people usually build first. An appointment reminder that sends itself: a booking in your calendar tool feeds Send SMS, with Format Number in front so the mobile is in international format. A list that grows from inbound texts: SMS Received fires when someone texts your virtual number, and Add/Update Contact files them on the right list. A follow-up for people who clicked: Link Hit starts the Zap when a recipient opens a tracked short link, so sales can call while the interest is fresh.

What the integration does not do matters as much. There is no way to create or rename a list from Zapier, only to add, update or delete contacts on lists that already exist. The searches cannot create what they miss, since Kudosity offers no find-or-create variant. The contact-list trigger only works once you switch on a forwarding option inside Kudosity itself. And two of the six triggers are polling ones, so they wait for Zapier's next check.

If you are weighing platforms, the Make vs Zapier comparison is a good place to start. There is no Kudosity page for n8n or Make on the site yet.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

These eight words come back all over this page. Here they are in everyday English, once.

Zap
The automation you build in Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, like a text arriving. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for exactly that.
Action
What the Zap does once it starts: the step that sends a text, updates a contact or cancels a message for you.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task equals one action that completed successfully, and nothing else counts on your plan.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked by Zapier on a timer. An instant trigger is pushed by the app itself the moment the event happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when the incoming data meets your condition, and quietly stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already stored in an app, such as a contact, so the following steps can reuse it.
Connection
Your Kudosity account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every Kudosity step in every Zap you build.
Cost

What a Kudosity Zap really costs

Kudosity is not a premium app, so it works on the free Zapier plan. Your Zapier bill depends on successful actions, never on how many texts come in.

  • Free plan100 tasks per month, unlimited Zaps
  • Free plan Zap sizeTwo steps: one trigger, one action
  • Premium appNo, Kudosity works on the free plan
  • Instant triggers4 of 6, no waiting on any plan

The trigger never costs a task, and Zapier checking your inbox for new texts is free however often it runs. Every action that completes counts as one task, and one that fails does not. A Zap that formats a number and then sends an SMS uses two tasks per run. The limit nobody mentions: the free plan only builds two-step Zaps. A second action, a filter or a search makes the Zap multi-step, and that needs a paid plan.

Connect

Connect your Kudosity account in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the connection dialog

    In Zapier, open the Apps page of your account and click + Add connection. Type Kudosity in the search box and select it. You need an existing Kudosity account before you start.

  2. 02

    Sign in to Kudosity

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens on Kudosity: sign in with the account that owns the lists, numbers and messages your Zap will use, or that has write access to them.

  3. 03

    Grant Zapier access

    Approve the access request in that tab. The connection then appears on the Apps page and in every Kudosity step you add, so this only happens once per account.

First Zap

Your first Zap: answer every inbound text

GoalWhen someone texts your Kudosity virtual number, add them to a list and send them a confirmation SMS.

  1. 01

    Start the Zap

    Start a new Zap, pick Kudosity as the app and SMS Received as the event, then choose your Kudosity connection from the list.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent texts received on your virtual number, so you can map against a real one. The test costs nothing.

  3. 03

    Add Add/Update Contact

    Add a Kudosity action, choose Add/Update Contact, pick the target list and map the sender's mobile into Mobile Phone. Both fields are required.

  4. 04

    Add Send SMS

    Add Send SMS, map the same mobile into Recipient Mobile Number and write a short reply. One SMS holds 160 characters before it splits into several.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each action, check the contact and the reply on your own phone, then click Publish. Two actions make this Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

Triggers

Kudosity triggers on Zapier

6 events start a Zap when something happens in Kudosity, and 4 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

Delivery Report Received

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a delivery report is received for a message. Report values are "delivered", "pending", "hard-bounce", "soft-bounce".”

Each time Kudosity gets a delivery status back for one of your messages, the Zap starts with that status: delivered, pending, hard-bounce or soft-bounce. It is how you learn that a number is dead.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
flagging a contact in your CRM as unreachable when a reminder hard-bounces, so nobody keeps texting a dead number.
Watch out
pending is a status too; add a filter on the value you care about, or every interim report will run the Zap and its actions.
3

Contact Added

Instant trigger

In Zapier“A notification for contacts added to, or removed from lists is available via the Forward to URL option in the AUTOMATION settings for a list.”

Starts the Zap when a contact is added to, or removed from, one of your Kudosity lists. You get the contact and the change, so another tool can stay in step with your lists.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
mirroring an opt-out list into your email platform, so someone who leaves your SMS list stops getting promotions everywhere.
Watch out
nothing arrives until you switch on the Forward to URL option in the AUTOMATION settings of that list inside Kudosity.
4

SMS Received to Inbox

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when there's a new messages found in your SMS Inbox. Will also automatically detect an email address in the message and return this in the response.”

Zapier reads your Kudosity SMS inbox and starts the Zap for each new message it finds. If the text contains an email address, Kudosity spots it and hands it over as a separate value.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
collecting every reply in a shared spreadsheet where a short delay does no harm.
Watch out
for texts sent to a virtual number, SMS Received does the same job instantly, which matters on a free plan where this one waits up to 15 minutes.
5

SMS Received

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a message is received by a Virtual Mobile Number. Will also detect an email address in the message and return this in the response.”

Fires on every message that reaches one of your Kudosity virtual mobile numbers. Like its inbox cousin, it picks out any email address written in the text and passes it on.

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 keyword campaign where people text a word to your number and expect an answer straight away.
Watch out
it only covers virtual numbers; a reply that lands elsewhere will not show up here.
6

SMS Sent

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an SMS is sent. (WARNING: Do not use this trigger with the Send SMS Action for Burst SMS as this will cause a loop).”

Zapier spots each SMS that has gone out of your Kudosity account and starts the Zap with it. Useful to keep a record of outbound texts in another system.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
logging every message sent on a customer's timeline in your CRM, so support sees what was said.
Watch out
Kudosity itself warns against pairing it with Send SMS; a sent message would trigger another send, in a loop.
Actions

Kudosity actions on Zapier

Kudosity gives you 8 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add/Update Contact

Action

In Zapier“Adds or updates a contact on a Burst SMS list.”

Puts a contact on a Kudosity list, or updates them if they are already there. The mobile phone and the list are the only required fields.

When to use it
a new customer signs up in your shop, and their mobile joins the list used for delivery updates.
2

Cancel SMS

Action

In Zapier“cancel sms sent to future date or scheduled”

Cancels a message that was scheduled for a later date, using its message ID. Once it has gone out, there is nothing left to cancel.

When to use it
an appointment is cancelled in your booking tool, and the reminder already scheduled for it should never leave.
3

Delete Contact

Action

In Zapier“Delete a contact from chosen list.”

Removes a contact from the list you pick. The number must be complete and international, for example 614XXXXXXXX for an Australian mobile.

When to use it
a customer unsubscribes in your email tool and should leave the SMS list too.
Watch out
a local number without its country prefix will not match anyone.
4

Format Number

Action

In Zapier“Validate and format a given number”

Checks a phone number and rewrites it in the format Kudosity expects. You give it the number and a country, either as a two-letter code like AU, US or SG, or as a full country name.

When to use it
just before Send SMS, when numbers come from a web form where people type them any way they like.
5

Get SMS Info

Action

In Zapier“Get information about a message you have sent.”

Brings back information about a message you sent, from its message ID, which Send SMS returns, and the mobile it went to.

When to use it
a few steps after sending, to read the message back and store its details in a support ticket.
6

Get SMS Activity

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves detailed information about messages sent to a specific recipient. This included full message content including populated variables.”

Pulls the detailed record of what a given recipient received for a message, including the full text with its variables filled in. You need the numeric message ID and the recipient's mobile.

When to use it
a customer disputes what they were told, and support needs the exact text that reached them.
7

Send SMS

Action

In Zapier“Send a text message to a single mobile number.”

Sends a text to a single mobile number. One SMS holds 160 characters; longer messages are joined, up to 612 characters in total.

When to use it
a confirmation text when an order ships or a booking is made.
Watch out
the recipient must be in international format; to track a link, paste [tracked-link] in the message and the full URL in Tracked Link URL.
8

Send SMS to List

Action

In Zapier“Send SMS to a Burst SMS contact list.”

Sends one message to every contact on a Kudosity list you choose. Same length rule as Send SMS: 160 characters per part, up to 612 joined.

When to use it
a last-minute change announced to the whole list in one go.
Watch out
the list must already exist in Kudosity; the integration cannot create one.
Searches

Kudosity searches on Zapier

2 search steps look for data that already exists in Kudosity, so a later step can use it.

A search step looks up something that already exists in Kudosity, so later steps can use it. In the editor the searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Three settings decide what happens when there is not exactly one match.

1

Report on Messages Sent

Search

In Zapier“Retrieve all message reports for a given time period”

Retrieves the reports of all messages sent between a start and an end date. Both dates use the YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format in UTC.

When to use it
exporting the last 30 days of sent messages into a reporting sheet before a campaign review.
Watch out
the window cannot exceed 30 days; without dates it only returns the last 24 hours.
2

Find Contact

Search

In Zapier“Finds an existing contact in a contact list.”

Looks for a contact by mobile number inside a list you name. It answers the question every SMS Zap asks sooner or later: is this person already on the list?

When to use it
before adding a contact, to avoid texting a welcome message to someone who joined months ago.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    On its default, a search that finds nothing halts the Zap and skips the steps that relied on it. Turn it on and the Zap goes on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box would turn a search into a find-or-create. Kudosity offers no such variant, so it does not appear on these two searches.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three options: keep the first match, which is the default, stop the Zap, or pass every match along at once.
When it breaks

When a Kudosity Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to Kudosity, so the trouble you will meet is the general kind. On an SMS app, though, every mistake reaches a real phone.

Most broken Kudosity Zaps fall into one of these four cases. When the cause is not obvious, the Zapier troubleshooting guide is the next stop.

  • SMS Sent plus Send SMS loops

    A Zap that sends a text from SMS Sent restarts itself with every message it sends. Kudosity warns about it, and the loop burns through your task count.

  • Past messages are never picked up

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Texts and reports from before that moment never trigger it; importing the history is a separate job.

  • A big list import gets held back

    Load a large batch of contacts at once and Contact Added can return a flood. Zapier's flood protection may hold that batch back.

  • The same text never runs twice

    On the two polling triggers, Zapier remembers what it has seen. The same message never starts the Zap a second time.
Need help

Need help automating Kudosity with Zapier?

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FAQ

Kudosity Zapier integration: frequently asked questions

01Is the Kudosity Zapier integration free?
On the Zapier side, yes: Kudosity is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan, with 100 tasks per month and unlimited Zaps. The free plan only builds two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action. Adding a second action, a filter or a search, for example formatting a number before sending, makes the Zap multi-step and requires a paid plan. You only need your own Kudosity account to connect it, nothing else on the Zapier side.
02How many tasks does a Kudosity Zap use?
One task for each action that succeeds, nothing for the rest. The trigger is free, and so is Zapier checking your inbox for new texts. A Zap that adds a contact and then sends a reply uses two tasks per inbound message. An action that fails is not counted against your plan. Keep in mind that a few apps and a few actions take more than one task when they complete. On a busy inbox, a filter in front keeps the count predictable.
03Does Kudosity trigger Zaps in real time?
Four of the six triggers do: Delivery Report Received, Link Hit, Contact Added and SMS Received are instant on every plan. SMS Received to Inbox and SMS Sent are polling triggers, checked every 15 minutes on Free, every 2 on Professional and every minute on Team and Enterprise. For inbound texts on a virtual number, build on SMS Received rather than the inbox trigger and nothing has to wait. The editor shows a lightning bolt on Zaps built on an instant trigger.
04What does it take to connect Kudosity to Zapier?
A Kudosity account and a Zapier account. On the Apps page in Zapier, click + Add connection, choose Kudosity, sign in in the tab that opens and approve the access. The account should own, or be able to edit, the lists and numbers your Zap will use. For the Contact Added trigger, also switch on Forward to URL in the AUTOMATION settings of each list you want to follow. You do this once per account, and every Zap reuses it.
05Why does a Kudosity message fail on the phone number?
Almost always because the number is not in full international format. Send SMS asks for it explicitly, and Delete Contact refuses a local number that lacks its country prefix. When numbers come from a form or a spreadsheet in local format, add Format Number before the send, with a two-letter country code such as AU, US or SG, or the full country name. That extra step makes the Zap multi-step. Then test with your own mobile first.
06What if the Kudosity action you want does not exist?
Check the 8 actions and 2 searches first: sending, cancelling, list management and message reports are covered. Creating or renaming a list is not, so lists have to be prepared in Kudosity beforehand. For anything else missing, the practical route is to chain existing steps, for example Find Contact then Add/Update Contact, or to raise the request with Kudosity. Chaining a search and an action makes the Zap multi-step, so that route needs a paid plan. Both keep the Zap within what the editor actually offers.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Kudosity?
It depends on your criteria, not on a winner. Zapier offers a ready-made Kudosity app with 16 operations and four instant triggers, so a marketing team without developers starts from something already built. Make and n8n are worth a look if your main criteria are cost per run or fine control over the logic. On those platforms, check first that a ready-made Kudosity module exists before comparing anything else. Volume, the number of steps and who maintains the Zap usually decide it.
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