TextMagic Alternative: Textstr Compared
If you are looking for a TextMagic alternative, the deciding question is usually which number customers will text. TextMagic is a prepaid business messaging platform: you rent a texting number or port a virtual one, and pay per message. Textstr text-enables the landline or toll-free number you already advertise, so customers text the number they already have. Both let staff answer from email. Textstr is one flat plan at $200 a month with unlimited users and messages.
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Where the answer happens
Same customer text, two ways to answer it
Details about TextMagic come from its own published pages, linked below. Check them before deciding, as they can change.
Textstr and TextMagic at a glance
Price
Textstr: $200 a month, unlimited users and messages, no contract. TextMagic: prepaid, with outbound SMS to the US and Canada at $0.049 per message and a texting number at $10 a month (the first month free), according to TextMagic's pricing page.
Your existing number
Textstr text-enables your existing landline or toll-free number, with voice calls untouched. TextMagic says you can port "local virtual U.S. and Canadian numbers" and that it "accepts only full porting" (TextMagic porting FAQ); we did not find landline text-enabling on its site.
Where staff answer
Both work from email. TextMagic's email to SMS lets you receive replies as email and "respond either directly from your inbox or via the SMS Chat page" (email to SMS). With Textstr, email is the whole interface: every text arrives as email and every reply goes back as a text.
Users
Both offer unlimited users. TextMagic lists "Unlimited users" as included (pricing).
Built for
TextMagic describes itself as "Business text messaging for marketing and communications" (textmagic.com), including mass texting and email campaigns. Textstr is built for customers texting your existing number and staff answering.
When TextMagic is the better choice
If you are happy to give customers a new number, send modest volumes, or need to text outside the US and Canada, TextMagic's pay-as-you-go pricing will usually cost less than $200 a month. It also offers marketing campaign and email tools that Textstr does not.
When Textstr is the better choice
- The number customers already have is a landline or toll-free number, and you do not want to print a new one
- Voice calls must keep working on that number exactly as they do
- You want a fixed monthly cost rather than a prepaid balance
- Customers text in more than you text out, and you want every one answered
What switching looks like
Sign up at app.textstr.com/signup with the number your customers already call. Nothing is charged until it is live for texting: usually the same day in Canada, and a few business days in the US. See pricing and what Textstr is.
TextMagic details were read from textmagic.com on 18 October 2026 and can change, so check their current pages. TextMagic is a trademark of its owner; Textstr is not affiliated with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a TextMagic alternative that works with my existing landline?
Textstr text-enables the landline or toll-free number you already advertise. Customers text that number, the text arrives as email, and your reply goes back as a text.
Is Textstr cheaper than TextMagic?
For low volumes, usually not: TextMagic charges $0.049 per outbound text in the US and Canada plus $10 a month per number. Textstr is a flat $200 a month with unlimited messages and users.
Can I reply to texts from email with Textstr?
Yes. Replying from email is how Textstr works. Every text arrives as an email, and your reply is sent back as a text from your business number.
Does Textstr work outside the US and Canada?
No. Textstr serves businesses with US and Canadian numbers.