The best apps to text employees in 2026

Third-party prices reflect each company’s published pricing as of October 2026 and change often — check their sites before deciding.

Airhorn — best for staff announcements over plain SMS

Our tool, built for one job: one message from a manager to a roster of employees, delivered as individual texts. Employees opt in by replying YES and need no app. Replies never go to the group, and on the Plus plan they land in a private inbox. It does nothing else — no scheduling, no time clock, no marketing.

Choose it if you have 10–100 hourly employees and messages that have to land: call-outs, closures, schedule changes. Skip it if you want team chat, or you’re texting customers.

A plain group text — best for very small teams

Free, instant, and everyone knows how it works. Under about eight people the reply-all noise is tolerable. Past that, people start muting it. The limits of iPhone group texts.

WhatsApp — best free option if your team is already on it

Admin controls, announcement-only groups, Broadcast lists, and free international messages. The hurdle is that everyone needs the app and an account. Where it breaks down for work.

GroupMe — best for a social team chat

Free, and people without the app can take part by SMS. It’s a group chat, though, so announcements get buried under conversation. Airhorn vs GroupMe.

Text-Em-All — best if you need voice calls too

A broadcast service that does both texts and recorded voice calls, with pay-as-you-go credits or monthly plans priced by group size. It’s a strong option, especially for groups above 100 or teams where some people respond better to a call. How it compares.

Scheduling apps — best if you need scheduling anyway

Homebase, 7shifts, When I Work, and Sling all include team messaging next to scheduling and time clocks. If you’re paying for one, use its messaging first. The weak spot is that messages arrive as in-app notifications, which only reach people who installed the app and kept notifications on. Texting vs scheduling apps.

Connecteam — best all-in-one employee app

Chat, announcements, checklists, training, scheduling, and time tracking in one app, free for up to 10 users. Great if you want a full internal app and your team will use it; heavy if you just need to send a text. How it compares.

SimpleTexting and EZ Texting — best for texting customers

Full SMS marketing platforms: keywords, campaigns, segmentation, analytics. If any of your texting goes to customers, these are the right category. For a staff list of fifteen, you’re paying for machinery you won’t use. SimpleTexting · EZ Texting.

How to choose

• Under 8 people: a group text. Don’t pay for anything.
• Already paying for scheduling: use its messaging, and check how many people actually have notifications on.
• Everyone’s on WhatsApp: a Broadcast list.
• 10–100 staff, messages that must land, no app: an SMS broadcast tool like Airhorn.
• Need voice calls, or 100+ people: Text-Em-All.
• Texting customers: an SMS marketing platform.