A mass text is one message sent to many people, each of whom receives it as an ordinary text from you. The right way to send one depends almost entirely on how many people are on your list. Twenty friends, two thousand customers and two hundred thousand contacts are three different jobs, and the tool that works for one is the wrong tool for the others.
Rule of thumb: your own phone for a few dozen people, a mass texting app for hundreds to tens of thousands, and a managed SMS service once the list reaches six figures.
Mass text vs. group text
The difference matters more than it sounds. In a group text, everyone sees everyone else's number, and every reply goes to the whole group. In a mass text, each person receives the message on their own, sees only your number, and replies come back to you alone. For anything beyond a small circle of people who already know each other, a group chat is the wrong format: it exposes phone numbers and floods everyone with "reply all" messages.
How to send a mass text on iPhone
If you add several recipients to one message in the Messages app, the iPhone creates a group conversation. There is no built-in "broadcast" option that sends separately to each person. You have two practical choices.
Option 1: send separately
For a handful of people, copy your message, then start a new conversation with each person and paste it in. It is slow, but it is reliable and every reply comes back to you privately.
Option 2: use the Shortcuts app
- Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut.
- Add a Contacts action and select the people you want to text (or use Select Contacts to pick them each time you run it).
- Add Repeat with Each, so the next step runs once per contact.
- Inside the loop, add Send Message, type your text and set the recipient to the Repeat Item.
- Run the shortcut. Each contact gets an individual text, and no group thread is created.
Depending on your iOS version, the shortcut may ask you to confirm each message unless you turn off Show When Run on the Send Message action. Test it with two friends before you send to the full list.
How to send a mass text on Android
Google Messages, the default texting app on most Android phones, has a setting built for this:
- Open Messages, tap your profile picture or the menu, then Messages settings.
- Go to Advanced and then Group messaging.
- Choose Send an SMS reply to all recipients and get individual replies (mass text).
- Start a new conversation, add your recipients and send.
If RCS chats are turned on, Messages may create a chat group instead when every recipient also uses RCS. Check the conversation header before you hit send. Samsung Messages and other apps have similar options under their group messaging settings.
Where sending from your own phone stops working
Personal phone plans are built for person-to-person messaging. Carriers do not publish a fixed limit, but sending the same message to large numbers of people from a personal line looks like spam to their filters. Messages start getting blocked, and the line itself can be restricted. Your phone also gives you no opt-out handling, no delivery report and no way to schedule the send.
So if the message is for a business, or the list runs past a few dozen people, move to a proper tool.
Option 3: a mass texting app or platform
Self-serve texting platforms are the middle ground. You create an account, upload your contacts, write the message and send or schedule it from a dashboard. They typically handle opt-out keywords for you and show which messages were delivered.
- Setup. You create the account, verify your business details and get a sending number approved before your first campaign, which can take days.
- Pricing. Most platforms combine a monthly plan with a per-message charge. Free tiers are usually trials with a small number of credits.
- Effort. You set up the account, manage the numbers and run each send yourself.
Platforms are a good fit for regular, two-way texting with a list of a few hundred to tens of thousands of customers. For a single large campaign they get expensive and fiddly; our guide to sending bulk SMS to 10,000 contacts covers what changes at that scale.
Option 4: a managed mass text service
At 100,000 contacts and above, most senders don't want to learn a platform for one campaign. A managed service takes your list and your message and runs the send for you. That is what we do at Smarterblast:
- Choose a package by list size: Bronze is $449 for up to 100,000 texts, Silver $699 for up to 500,000, and Gold $999 for up to 2,000,000.
- Pay in crypto. You don't need to send your list yet.
- Upload your list and message through a private link we email you once the payment is confirmed.
- We send the campaign and email you a delivery report.
Every package carries a 70% delivery guarantee: if fewer than 70% of the valid numbers on your list are delivered, we refund the package price. See the pricing page for the cost per 1,000 texts at each size.
| Method | Best for | Cost | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your iPhone or Android | Up to a few dozen people you know | Your phone plan | Individual, if set up correctly |
| Mass texting app | Hundreds to tens of thousands, sent regularly | Monthly plan plus per-message fees | Two-way inbox |
| Managed service | 100,000 to 2,000,000+ contacts in one campaign | One price per campaign, from $449 | Reply keywords and opt-outs handled |
Before you send any mass text
- Your own list. Text people who signed up to hear from you. They read it, reply and buy; a bought list mostly opts out.
- Say who you are. Start the message with your business name, so nobody has to guess who is texting.
- Include an opt-out. End with "Reply STOP to opt out" and honour it.
- Keep it short. One message is 160 characters; our guide to writing a text blast that gets replies has examples.
- Send at the right time. During the day in the recipient's time zone, when they can act on it straight away. See the best time to send SMS marketing texts.
Sending to 100,000 or more?
Bring your list and your message. One price per campaign from $449, with a 70% delivery guarantee.
See SMS packages →Frequently Asked Questions
How do I send a mass text without creating a group chat?
On Android, Google Messages has a group messaging setting that sends an SMS to every recipient and returns replies to you individually. On iPhone there is no built-in broadcast option, so either send the message to each person separately or build a Shortcut that loops through your contacts and sends one message to each. For more than a few dozen people, use a mass texting app or a managed service, which always send individually.
Can I send a mass text for free?
From your own phone, yes, within your plan, for a small personal list. Business mass texting tools usually offer free trials with a small number of credits, but sending at any real volume costs money, because every message goes through the carrier networks.
How many people can I mass text from my phone?
Carriers do not publish a fixed number, but personal plans are meant for person-to-person messaging. Sending the same message to large numbers of people from a personal line can get messages filtered or the line restricted. Once you are past a few dozen recipients, or the message is for a business, use a texting platform or a managed service.