What Is Textstr?
Textstr is a business texting service for the US and Canada. It text-enables the landline or toll-free number a business already advertises, so customers can text that number. Each text arrives as an email in the inbox the business chooses, someone hits reply, and the answer goes back to the customer as a text from the business number. Nobody installs an app, and voice calls keep working as before. It costs $200 a month for unlimited users and unlimited messages, with no contract.
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Textstr in one line
Customers text your number. You answer from email.
Nothing to install, nothing ported, and voice calls keep working.
The short version
What it is
A texting service that works on the number a business already has, and delivers texts to email.
Who it is for
Any business whose customers try to text the number on its sign, website, invoices or Google listing: contractors, clinics, salons, shops, offices and dealerships.
What it costs
$200 a month, one plan, unlimited users and messages, no contract. Nothing is charged until the number is live.
Where it works
The United States and Canada. Canadian numbers usually go live the same day; US numbers usually take a few business days while carriers register them.
How it works
Sign up with the number you already have
The business signs up at app.textstr.com/signup with the number customers already call.
The number is text-enabled
Voice is untouched. The number simply gains the ability to send and receive texts.
A text arrives as email
A customer texts the number. The text lands in the inbox the business picked, with any photo attached.
The reply goes back as a text
Someone replies to the email. The customer receives it as a text from the business number, in the same thread.
What it does
- Text-enables an existing landline or toll-free number, or provides a new number if you want one
- Delivers each text as an email, and sends email replies back as texts
- Gives each department its own inbox, so sales, service or reception each see their own texts
- Sends and receives pictures (MMS)
- Auto-replies and keyword routing
- Outbound texts to customers
- A website chat widget where the conversation continues by text after the visitor leaves the page
- Review requests by text for Google and Facebook, sent the same way to every customer
- Lead export to CRMs in ADF format
What it is not
Textstr is built for two-way conversations on the number a business already advertises. It is not designed around marketing blasts to a subscriber list, it does not take payments, and it is not a phone system. If your main need is one of those, a tool built for it will serve you better, and many businesses keep that tool and add Textstr so customer texts reach a person.
The record so far
Textstr has been running since 2014. It has handled more than 230,000 messages, more than 50,000 different phone numbers have texted a business through it, and about three quarters of the replies businesses send are written in email.
Compared with other texting tools
If you are weighing Textstr against a better-known name, these pages set out the differences using each company's own published information: SimpleTexting alternative, EZ Texting alternative, Podium alternative and TextMagic alternative.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Textstr?
Textstr is a business texting service that text-enables a company's existing landline or toll-free number. Customer texts arrive as email, and replies from email go back to the customer as texts.
How much does Textstr cost?
$200 a month for unlimited users and unlimited messages, with no contract. Nothing is charged until the number is live for texting.
Is there a free trial?
No. Instead, nothing is charged at signup. The first $200 is charged on the day your number goes live, and then monthly from that day. You can cancel at any time.
Do staff need to install an app?
No. Texts arrive as email, and replying to the email sends the text. Anyone who can read the inbox can answer.
Can I keep my current business phone number?
Yes. Textstr text-enables the number you already advertise. Calls keep working, and nothing is ported away from your phone provider.
Which countries does Textstr support?
The United States and Canada.
How long does setup take?
Canadian numbers usually go live the same day. US numbers usually take a few business days while carriers register the number for business texting.
Who makes Textstr?
Textstr Mobile Solutions, based in Lacey, Washington. It has been running since 2014.