Mass Text Service for Churches: Six Options, What They Cost and Which Fits

What a church needs from a mass text service

A mass text service for churches sends one message to everyone who opted in, without putting the congregation into a group chat where every reply reaches everybody. Typical jobs are service-time changes, event reminders, volunteer rotas, weather cancellations and short devotionals. The best mass texting service for a church is the one that matches its size and how often it texts, so this page compares six on published prices instead of naming one winner.

This is different from group text messaging on a phone. In a phone group chat, members see each other's replies. A broadcast service keeps replies private: TXT180's features page says a reply to a group message is seen only in the sender's inbox. The difference is explained in group chat or broadcast.

Six mass text services for churches and their entry prices

A worked example: 200 people, one text a week

A list of 200 people texted four times a month uses 800 credits. On each vendor's published monthly prices, that month costs:

• TXT180: $39.95 on the 1,000-credit plan, or $29.95 a month if billed annually.
• EZ Texting Launch: $25, plus the $5 fee, plus 300 extra credits at $0.04 ($12), which is $42.
• Flocknote Starter: $42 if the church has 101 to 200 members in total.
• Textedly Bronze and SlickText: $49 each for 1,000 texts. SlickText adds carrier fees.
• SimpleTexting: $49, or $59 with a local number, before the 15% church discount and carrier fees. With a toll-free number and the discount it is $41.65 before carrier fees.

TXT180 is lowest at this volume: $1.70 below SimpleTexting's lowest case and $2.05 below EZ Texting and Flocknote. Double the frequency to two texts a week and the picture changes: TXT180 needs the 2,000-credit plan at $69.95 while Flocknote stays at $42, because its texts are unlimited. To run your own numbers, use the credit budget guide.

Which TXT180 features serve a church

TXT180's home page lists daily devotionals among its common uses and quotes a church customer. The features that matter for church work are:

• Groups that people can join directly, each with its own automatic reply, so youth, choir and volunteers can be separate lists.
• A scheduler for daily, weekly or monthly sends.
• Saved templates for repeated notices.
• A 15-day trial with 50 messages and no card, enough to test with a leadership team.

One limitation matters here. TXT180 does texting only. A church that also wants email newsletters, event signups and online giving in one login should look at Flocknote against TXT180. TXT180's terms also say it is not to be used as an emergency alert system.

Which service to choose by type of church

• A church plant or small congregation of 40 members or fewer: Flocknote Starter, at no charge at that size.
• A mid-sized church that texts a few times a month and already has email and giving tools: TXT180.
• A church that texts more than once a week: Flocknote, since the price does not rise with volume.
• A church office with three staff sharing replies: SimpleTexting, with the 15% discount on monthly plans.
• A church that wants a giving link in its texts without changing giving provider: EZ Texting.

Whichever you choose, only text people who agreed to it. The consent readiness guide covers what to record.