8 Best SMS Marketing Software for Churches in 2026

Textedly suits a church because the list grows from a keyword and the price stays flat. Basic costs $29 a month for 500 messages, or 600 messages billed annually, and every plan includes all features: two-way texting, MMS, text-to-pay, review requests and AI writing help. Members text a word from the bulletin to join, and the pastor can send a service reminder or a prayer request in minutes.

The catch is the surcharge. Every account pays an $8 a month telecom surcharge, so the real entry cost is $37 a month, not $29. Extra texts cost $30 for 500, and extra teammates cost $10 a month each. There is also no free plan, only a 14-day trial with 50 messages, so a church cannot run a small list free here.

SlickText suits a church with a team of volunteers. It starts at $29 a month for 500 credits, and every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited contacts, rollover credits, all automation features and every integration. The pastor, the admin and a volunteer can share one account, and unused credits roll over to the next month, so a quiet summer banks credit for a busy Christmas season.

The catch is that SlickText is SMS-only, with no email channel in the same account, and MMS costs 3 credits per message, so a photo from an event burns credits fast. Carrier fees sit on top of the plan price. A church that also sends a weekly email newsletter will need a second tool for that job.

SimpleTexting suits a church that wants every feature on every plan with no tier puzzle. It starts at $39 a month for 500 credits with a local number included, and the plan covers automations, API access, AI writing help and unlimited keywords. Three user seats are included, so the pastor, the admin and a volunteer can share the account, and unused credits roll over for one month.

The catch is the price for a small congregation. At $39 a month, it costs more than EZ Texting or Textedly for the same 500 messages, and extra credits cost 5.5 cents each. Carrier fees of about $0.0025 per message sit on top, plus a $4 one-time carrier registration fee. A church sending under 300 texts a month pays more here than on a pay-as-you-go tool.

EZ Texting is the cheapest monthly SMS plan for a church. Launch costs $25 a month, or $20 a month billed annually, for 500 credits with a local number included. Setup is short, the interface is plain, and a keyword can sit in the bulletin from day one, so members can join while they sit in the pews.

The catch is the fees around the headline price. Launch adds a $5 a month telecom fee, so the real cost is $30 a month, MMS costs 3 credits per message, and extra users cost $10 a month each. A church that sends event photos will burn through 500 credits fast. At $30 a month all-in, it ties SlickText at $29 a month, so compare the extras, not the headline.

Twilio suits a church with a technical volunteer who wants the lowest per-message price. It charges $0.0083 per US SMS segment, with no monthly fee and volume discounts at scale, so a church that sends 500 texts a month pays about $4.15 in message fees, plus carrier fees and a $1.15 a month number rent. A custom flow can text the congregation from the church's own member list.

The catch is that Twilio is an API, not a ready tool. It has no campaign builder, no list management, no opt-out handling and no templates, so the volunteer builds all of that itself. Compliance and 10DLC registration are also the church's job. A church without a technical volunteer should pick Textedly or SlickText instead.

Sakari suits a church that already runs a CRM and wants texts tied to member records. It starts at $25 a month with about $0.0304 per US segment, and it links natively to HubSpot, Pipedrive and ActiveCampaign, so a member record change can trigger a welcome text without a third-party app. Unlimited users and contacts sit on every plan, and unused credits roll over for 90 days.

The catch is the per-segment rate. At about $0.0304 per segment, Sakari costs three to four times what Twilio charges per message, so a church that texts its whole congregation weekly pays more here than on a flat plan. MMS costs $0.02 extra per message and works only in the US and Canada, and most churches will not use the CRM links at all.

TextMagic suits a church that texts rarely, such as a monthly event notice or a holiday service update. It charges $0.049 per SMS in the US on a pay-as-you-go basis, with credits that never expire, so a church that sends 100 texts a month pays about $5. Two-way chat and scheduling are included, which covers replies to a service notice.

The catch is the number rent. A virtual number costs $10 a month, and 10DLC campaign registration costs another $10 a month, so the real floor is about $20 a month before you send a text. There are also few church templates and no keyword tools built for bulletins, so a church that texts weekly will outgrow it fast.

Brevo suits a church that sends email most weeks and texts only now and then. Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails, and the free plan sends 300 emails a day. SMS credits are sold separately on a pay-as-you-go basis, so a church that texts only for a special event or a service change pays only for the messages it sends.

The catch is that SMS is a side channel here. The SMS tools are thinner than on a dedicated SMS platform, with fewer templates and no SMS-first automation library. Automation and A/B testing also need Standard at $18 a month, and the Brevo logo stays on Starter emails unless you pay for removal. It is cheap because SMS is not the focus.