ArticleMMS vs. RCS: What Fundraisers Need to Know About the Future of Mobile Messaging
Broadcast mobile messaging is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your peer-to-peer (P2P) participants. Whether you’re recruiting past participants, coaching your fundraisers, or sending a last-minute event reminder, the right messaging format can help you cut through the noise and drive action.
With Apple’s announcement that they would begin supporting RCS on devices with iOS 18 or higher, organizations now have two mobile messaging formats—MMS and RCS—to choose from. While they might sound similar, they offer very different capabilities and user experiences. Here’s what you need to know.
MMS: The Old Standard
What it is:
MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It’s the older sibling of SMS (text-only messages), allowing you to send images, GIFs, audio, and longer text messages. If you’ve ever received a photo or video in a text thread, you’ve seen MMS in action.
Key Benefits for Fundraising:
- Broad Compatibility – Works across nearly all smartphones and carriers without any special apps or settings.
- Rich Media Support – Supports sending images, GIFs, and videos up to 1 MB
- Familiar to Recipients – Smartphone users are used to communicating with friends, families, and brands they trust via MMS, making it a solid choice to support your program.
Limitations:
- File Size Caps – Images and videos are limited to 1MB and may need to be compressed, impacting quality.
- Limited Interactivity – MMS is mostly one-way; you can’t embed interactive buttons or advanced functionality.
- Sent from an unknown number – MMS is sent from a numeric short code or 10-digit long code phone number unknown to the recipient, which may spark distrust.
- Limited performance tracking – Once a message is sent via MMS, there’s no way to know how many messages were opened or read. Embedding tracking in URLs or using unique short URLs can allow senders to see who has clicked a link from an MMS message.
RCS: The Next Generation of Messaging
What it is:
RCS stands for Rich Communication Services. Think of it as “MMS 2.0”—a messaging standard that brings app-like functionality directly into your phone’s native messaging app.
Key Benefits for Fundraising:
- Trusted, Branded Sender – Messages are sent from your brand, and includes your organization’s name, logo, and verified sender badge for trust and recognition.
- High-Quality Media – Send crisp images and videos up to 10MB without compression issues.
- CTA Buttons – Include tappable buttons like “Register Now,” “Get the App,” or “Check Your Progress” along with your message – no more text links!
- Engagement Tracking – See how many messages are delivered, read, and clicked.
- Higher Response Rates – Messages sent via RCS are seeing up to 4x higher response rates than MMS/SMS.
Limitations:
- Supported Devices – Previously limited mostly to newer Android devices with Google Messages, RCS is now supported on iPhones running iOS 18 or higher, creating a much wider audience reach. However, users with older phones may not be able to receive RCS Messages. In these cases, Nuclavis Mobile Messaging will re-send the message as MMS.
- Carrier Support – While the majority of mobile carriers support RCS messages, there are some who do not yet support RCS. In these cases, Nuclavis Mobile Messaging will fallback to sending messages via MMS.
- Requires Internet Connection – Messages are sent over mobile data or Wi-Fi.
- Approval time: You must apply for brand verification from messaging providers, carriers, and Google before you can begin sending RCS messages, which can add lead time.
Why Nuclavis Mobile Messaging Uses Both
At Nuclavis, we believe in meeting your fundraisers where they are. That’s why Nuclavis Mobile Messaging supports broadcast MMS, RCS, and SMS—so you can deliver the richest, most effective message in the format their device supports.
If your participant’s phone and carrier allow RCS, they’ll enjoy an interactive, branded experience—whether they’re on Android or an iPhone with iOS 18 or higher. If not, they’ll still get an engaging MMS with your key message, links, and media. Either way, your campaign benefits from higher visibility and stronger calls-to-action.
| Feature | RCS | MMS |
|---|---|---|
| Multimedia Integration | Rich images, up to 10 MB videos, carousels, button CTA | URL CTA and 1 MB image support |
| Branding & Identity | Verified sender with branded logo | Sender is a toll-free # |
| Fundraising Program Targeting | Automatic across hundreds or thousands of events | Automatic across hundreds or thousands of events |
| Dynamic Scheduling & Segmenting | Trigger based personalized messages based on event attributes or fundraising milestones | Trigger based personalized messages based on event attributes or fundraising milestones |
| Real-time tracking + ROI Model | Engagement & "read" receipts + source code conversion tracking | Source code conversion tracking |
Bottom line:
- Use RCS to create interactive, branded, high-quality experiences on the growing number of devices and carriers that support it.
- Fall back to MMS to ensure everyone receives your message, regardless of their device or carrier.
The future of messaging is about choice and capability—and with Nuclavis, you don’t have to choose between reach and innovation.
Ready to learn more about Nuclavis Mobile Messaging? Let us know!
