- Starting price
- $19.99/month
- Free tier
- No
- Platforms
- Windows · macOS · iPhone / Android relay
- Developer
- cdot4, LLC
- Launched
- 2019
- Updated
- Aug 16, 2026
The verdict
StraightText, formerly Porterhouse, automates one-to-one iMessage and SMS from a user’s existing phone number through a Mac or Windows app. It supports personalization, media, scheduling, CSV contacts, reports, opt-out visibility, openable files, Zapier, private replies in the normal Messages app, and NumberGuard pausing when spam risk rises. Starter is $19.99 monthly or $180 yearly; Main Course is $34.99 monthly or $315 yearly, with a seven-day trial. “Unlimited” means no software per-text fee, not unlimited safe volume: the FAQ generally discourages more than two hundred texts in twenty-four hours, carriers and Apple still govern delivery, SMS fees can apply, and the terms require prior recipient consent. Churches need a documented consent, identification, opt-out, quiet-hours, safeguarding, record, and personal-number continuity program before use.
Try StraightText ↗Opens straighttext.com
StraightText is a personal mass-texting desktop application from cdot4, LLC. It sends messages one at a time from a phone number already attached to the user’s device and Apple Messages or Android SMS path. iPhone recipients can receive blue-bubble iMessage, while Android recipients receive SMS fallback and the sender handles replies in the familiar Messages conversation.
Church use cases include welcome follow-ups, event reminders, volunteer coordination, devotionals, donation reminders, and prayer-chain communication. Merge fields personalize names, media and links can be attached, sends can be scheduled, CSV contacts imported, and Zapier can trigger workflows. Main Course also exposes reports, conversations, opt-outs, file opens, and NumberGuard.
Starter costs $19.99 monthly or $180 annually, equivalent to $15 per month. Main Course is $34.99 monthly or $315 annually, equivalent to $26.25. The seven-day trial requires no card according to the current site. Billing is in advance and generally nonrefundable, with no partial-period credits.
We reviewed the live church page, pricing, FAQ, privacy policy, terms, and faith.tools listing without sending messages or testing carrier treatment. We did not verify deliverability, spam-flag detection, Apple compatibility, Android relay behavior, encryption implementation, opt-out automation, or the provenance of church engagement testimonials.
✓ The good
- Recognizable sender - messages arrive from the church leader or ministry number people already know
- Private conversations - each recipient gets an individual thread rather than an exposed group chat
- Personalization - merge fields make small-list outreach less mechanical
- Flat software fee - there is no StraightText per-message charge inside the advertised plans
- Normal reply workflow - leaders can answer in Messages instead of another shared inbox
- Safety-oriented features - spam-risk pauses, opt-out reporting, and sending reports support better operation
- Short card-free trial - seven days permits a controlled internal test before billing
✗ Watch out
- Personal number boundary - ministry, pastoral care, employment, and private life can become one inseparable inbox
- Not high volume - the vendor itself generally recommends staying below roughly two hundred texts per day
- Consent liability - the church remains responsible for TCPA, state, carrier, quiet-hour, opt-out, and record rules
- Platform fragility - automation depends on operating systems, device pairing, carriers, and Apple or Google behavior
- Privacy policy is old - the public notice dates to November 2020 and is generic relative to the current app
- No shared pastoral inbox - one person’s device may hold prayer, health, child, donor, or counseling replies
- Unlimited is qualified - carrier filtering, rate limits, SMS charges, number reputation, and plan features remain constraints
Best for
- Pastors or ministry leaders sending relevant messages to a modest, explicitly consented relationship-based list
- Churches that need personalized visitor or volunteer follow-up rather than thousands of marketing texts
- Teams with a church-owned number, device, account, successor plan, and documented communication policy
- Organizations prepared to consult applicable law and honor opt-outs across every import and automation
Avoid if
- You need large broadcasts, shared team inboxes, short codes, formal campaign registration, advanced segmentation, or enterprise delivery reporting
- Contacts were scraped, purchased, inherited without records, or never expressly consented to the type of texts planned
- A staff member’s personal number and device would become the church’s permanent pastoral and compliance record
- The church cannot suppress opt-outs, limit frequency and hours, secure exports, manage minors, and archive required consent evidence
What StraightText is
StraightText is personal-number message automation. It is not a carrier, exemption from 10DLC or TCPA rules, guarantee of delivery, consent database, emergency notification system, protected clinical messenger, ChMS, shared pastoral inbox, child-safeguarding platform, or unlimited high-volume broadcast service.
Avoiding a lengthy 10DLC registration flow does not create permission to text. The terms require prior consent for Send All, identify TCPA, FTC, FCC, do-not-call and state obligations, prohibit unsolicited campaigns, and place legal judgment on the user.
Why texting from a real number increases both response and responsibility
A familiar number and native conversation can feel personal in a way that a short code or branded broadcast does not. Replies remain connected to an existing relationship, which can improve response for small welcome, care, and volunteer workflows.
The intimacy also changes expectations. People may reply with crisis, prayer, health, abuse, money, or family information at any hour. Set response boundaries, escalation routes, staff coverage, device ownership, retention, supervision, and an offboarding plan before inviting replies.
Individual iMessage and SMS sending: personal, not infinite
StraightText automates individual sends from the user’s own number, preserving blue-bubble iMessage where available and falling back to SMS for other recipients. Messages support names, images, files, links, and schedules.
Start with an internal test list, then a small consented group. Monitor delivery, replies, opt-outs, carrier warnings, wrong numbers, quiet hours, duplicates, and device load. Follow the vendor’s conservative daily-volume guidance rather than the unlimited label.
CSV, Zapier, reports, and NumberGuard: automation needs suppression
Main Course adds bulk import, one-click automation, Zapier triggers, detailed send and conversation exports, file-open visibility, opt-out reporting, and automated pauses when the number may be spam-flagged.
Every import should include source, timestamp, wording, purpose, number owner, age handling, and revocation. Sync a master suppression list before every send and after every reply; an automation must never resurrect a person who opted out elsewhere.
Native replies: excellent continuity, weak organizational separation
Recipients answer the same thread and the leader sees replies in the Mac or iPhone Messages app. That avoids another login and can make follow-up feel natural.
Use a church-owned number and managed device whenever possible. Establish who may read, respond, export, or delete; prohibit confidential child or counseling detail by text; and make urgent-care limits clear because the inbox is not continuously monitored.
Pricing
Seven-day trial
Free
All features are advertised for seven days without a credit card; confirm conversion and cancellation in the app.
Starter
$19.99/month
Core personalized one-to-one sending, contacts, media, and support; $180 annually, equivalent to $15 monthly.
Main Course
$34.99/month
Adds CSV, automated sending, NumberGuard, reports, conversations and opt-outs, file analytics, Zapier, and priority support.
Annual Main Course
$315/year
A 25% discount, equivalent to $26.25 monthly; prepaid terms are generally nonrefundable.
Starter is $19.99 month to month or $180 prepaid annually, saving 25%. It excludes CSV import and one-click automated bulk sending shown under Main Course.
Main Course is $34.99 monthly or $315 annually and is the relevant plan for a church managing imports, reports, opt-outs, automations, and spam-risk controls.
The trial lasts seven days with all features and no card advertised. Test only internal or specially consented numbers rather than treating a trial as permission to contact the full directory.
Terms say advance subscription fees are nonrefundable, with no credits for partial periods, and taxes are extra. Carrier SMS fees, devices, phone plans, staff time, compliance, and Zapier are separate.
Where StraightText falls behind
Replace the November 2020 privacy notice with an app-specific map of contacts, message content, files, replies, opt-outs, logs, encryption, vendors, retention, deletion, exports, and mobile or desktop access.
Publish an explicit consent and opt-out workflow, including keyword handling, master suppression, proof export, wrong-number treatment, quiet hours, minors, and automated-trigger safeguards.
Clarify Apple, Android, carrier, personal-use, automation, rate, and anti-spam dependencies instead of letting unlimited imply unconstrained use.
Add true organization-owned numbers, role-based team inboxes, audit logs, coverage schedules, offboarding, retention policy, and pastoral safeguarding controls.
Substantiate security claims with architecture, encryption scope, key management, vulnerability process, independent testing, breach notice, and subprocessor disclosure.
StraightText vs. Clearstream vs. Text In Church
StraightText emphasizes personal-number iMessage and small-list authenticity at a low flat fee. Clearstream and Text In Church are more conventional church messaging platforms with shared teams, dedicated numbers, campaigns, groups, workflows, and organization-level reporting, usually with message allowances and higher prices.
Choose StraightText for one leader and a modest relationship-based list when the phone-number boundary is deliberate. Choose a church messaging platform for multiple staff, larger broadcasts, shared records, formal opt-out infrastructure, and continuity independent of one person’s device.
Do not compare only monthly price or blue bubbles. Compare consent evidence, team roles, number ownership, opt-out behavior, carrier registration, throughput, emergency limits, archives, integrations, safeguarding, and staff departure.
The bottom line
StraightText can make small-scale church texting feel appropriately personal, and its price is attractive for leaders who already live in Messages. The current site is more candid about volume than the unlimited headline: this is not intended for thousands of daily texts. Use it only with explicit consent, a church-owned number and device, documented opt-out suppression, modest frequency, pastoral response boundaries, and a legal review appropriate to the church’s jurisdiction. If those controls feel too heavy for one person’s inbox, choose a shared organizational messaging platform instead.
Alternatives to StraightText
ClearstreamChurch-focused texting with shared organizational workflows, dedicated numbers, and mature group messaging.
Text In ChurchVisitor follow-up and church communication automation designed around teams and repeatable workflows.
FlocknoteIntegrated church email and texting with member groups and organization-level administration.Planning Center PeopleContact and workflow context for churches already standardized on Planning Center, with messaging limits to compare.Manual one-to-one textingNo automation cost and lower volume risk, but weak scale, consent records, continuity, and team visibility.Frequently asked questions
How much does StraightText cost?
Starter is $19.99 monthly or $180 yearly. Main Course is $34.99 monthly or $315 yearly. Taxes and possible carrier SMS charges are separate.
Does StraightText have a free trial?
Yes. The current site advertises seven days with all features and no credit card.
Are texts really unlimited?
StraightText does not charge per text, but its FAQ generally discourages more than about 200 in 24 hours, and carriers, platforms, plans, and phone fees still impose limits.
Do I need 10DLC registration?
The product advertises no lengthy 10DLC approval because it uses an existing number. That does not waive consent, TCPA, carrier, state, or anti-spam obligations.
Can I text people from the church directory?
Only when the church has valid prior consent for that type of message and maintains proof and opt-out suppression. Directory membership alone should not be assumed to equal marketing consent.
Where do replies go?
Replies appear in the normal Messages workflow on the connected Mac or phone, so the number owner must have clear response, privacy, supervision, retention, and offboarding rules.
Does StraightText work on Windows?
The site advertises both Mac and Windows desktop apps. The underlying phone and messaging workflow differs, so test the exact device combination before purchase.
Sources & further reading
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