Textline Review and Pricing

Why We Chose Textline for Larger Businesses

As businesses grow, their communication needs become more complex. Textline was built specifically to support larger companies with layered corporate structures. For example, we like that Textline lets users create specific departmental groups like Sales and Customer Service, as well as geographic divisions like the West Coast. This setup helps businesses streamline messages to the right teams and avoid information overload.

Textline also helps tackle collaboration challenges. We appreciated its Whispers feature, which lets team members add internal notes to live chats without alerting the customer. Its routing tool ensures incoming messages are assigned quickly and logically. We especially love how easy Textline makes conversation management with one-click claims, transfers and tags. Tags are also useful for text message marketing campaigns, allowing you to label customers by product interest, location or signup date.

This intuitive platform also makes it easy to build custom workflows, such as scheduled messaging. We were especially impressed by its security focus: Textline is compliant with CCPA, System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2) and GDPR — and it’s the only fully HIPAA-compliant texting platform we found. For all these reasons, Textline is our pick for the best text messaging platform for larger businesses.

Textline’s intuitive, clean dashboard and handy mobile app are simple to use. Source: Textline

Ease of Use

No matter how you plan to use business texting, Textline makes the process painless. The platform is browser-based, so there’s no need to download software to your desktop. We like its sleek, minimalist layout, which makes it easy to find the features you need. For example, the main menu bar includes:

• Conversations: View live chats and participant details and scroll through past messages.
• Messaging tools: Access Announcements (mass texting), Scheduled Messaging, Automations, Routes, Shortcuts and Dispositions.
• Address book: A searchable contact list where you can tag customers with labels like “VIP” or “Wyoming Branch Customer.”
• Surveys: Use one of two built-in templates or create custom surveys.
• Metrics: Track key performance indicators like average response time, active agents, inbound messages and more.
• Admin (via the cog icon): Manage departments, user permissions and security settings.

Managers and representatives can easily switch between teams and we like that Textline’s interface stays consistent across roles, so managers can jump in and help without needing extra training.

Textline’s Chrome plugin is another standout feature. It lets users send texts directly from their browser without switching tabs, which is especially helpful for sales reps doing research while messaging a client.

With one-click conversation claiming and transfers, Textline makes it easy to connect with customers and collaborate with teammates. Source: Textline

Textline Features

Textline has an impressive array of features, including the following.

Departments

Textline’s “departments” structure makes team-level communication easier by letting you set up and message separate groups within your business. For example, if you have sales, support and service teams across multiple locations, you can create departments like Wyoming Sales, Connecticut Support and Boston Service Team. (Employees can belong to more than one department.)

When setting up a new department, you can assign a dedicated phone number, enable an existing landline to receive texts or use an existing Twilio or Nexmo number. You can also connect the department to your business’s Instagram or Facebook pages.

Each department functions as a distinct unit with its own contact info and, optionally, its own Facebook page. This compartmentalized setup keeps communication organized and helps ensure the right team members handle the right conversations. Employees only see the conversations in the departments they’re assigned to — and if they have access to multiple departments, switching between them is seamless. You can even set up department-specific automations and reports.

Unified Inbox

Textline’s Unified Inbox is a standout feature. From a central location, you can easily access and manage all your conversations. In addition to SMS, you can integrate Facebook and Instagram business accounts, as well as internal tools like Slack and Pipedrive. We love how simple it is to start new conversations, collaborate with team members and send files. A drop-down menu lets you switch between departments, phone numbers and channels — or view all messages in one feed. Admin controls ensure employees only see the messages meant for them.

However, we were disappointed that only Pro and Enterprise users have access to the Unified Inbox.

Enterprise-level Security

We were impressed by Textline’s focus on data protection, especially its Sensitive Data Redaction feature. This function obscures private data automatically, making it accessible only to authorized team members. This added security layer is indispensable for companies dealing with confidential data.

Other security features include the following: 

• Textline is fully compliant with CCPA regulations and extends GDPR data privacy protections to all users, not just those in Europe. 
• Textline holds European Union-United States and Swiss-US Privacy Shield certifications.
• Textline lets you choose how long you store data, with maximum limits set by plan. 
• All message traffic via the app is encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols. 
• The firm is SOC 2 Type 2-compliant.

Textline’s focus on healthcare data protection is also noteworthy. It offers comprehensive HIPAA-compliant texting plans that cover everything from patient consent to secure data storage. Note that HIPAA compliance isn’t available on the Limited plan and will increase the monthly base price on other tiers.

Collaboration Tools 

Textline has three standout collaboration tools for managing marketing campaigns and using text messaging for customer service:

• Group messaging: Add up to 10 contacts to a conversation and keep everyone’s responses in one thread. Group members can continue the chat in Slack, on their phones or on the Textline dashboard. You can also use group messaging for personalized customer outreach. Just note that group messages use three credits each, similar to multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
• Whispers: This feature lets you loop in colleagues for help during a conversation. They can view the entire thread and leave internal notes or suggestions, but the customer won’t see any Whisper messages.
• Conversation management: Managers and team members can claim, transfer and resolve conversations to streamline workflows and speed up case closures (called “dispositions” in Textline). 

Textline’s Whisper feature lets you loop in colleagues to provide direction and advice. Source: Textline

Workflow Automations and Shortcuts

Shortcuts and workflow automations are core elements of the Textline platform, helping users save time and respond faster to customers and colleagues. We especially liked that automations can be ordered by priority — a valuable feature when a message could trigger multiple rules.

Notable examples include the following: 

• Message routing: We like how well Textline handles message routing, although we were disappointed it isn’t available with Limited and Standard plans. Automated routing options include the following:
  • Round Robin: Cycles through agents in order.
  • Last Assigned: Assigns conversations to agents based on prior interactions.
  • Load Balanced: Assigns messages based on each agent’s current workload.
  • Agent Pool: Filters by agent availability, workload limits, technical skills, organizational roles or language proficiencies.
  • Fallbacks: If no rules apply, you can assign a default agent, route to another team or escalate to a specific user.
• Tagging automation: Smart tagging applies labels based on how conversations are resolved or when a customer subscribes — for example, by location, language or signup date. You can also trigger automations based on tags. For instance, you might tag high-priority customers as VIPs and assign a specific response when they reach out.
• Message scheduling: Message scheduling is invaluable for businesses with appointments or site visits. You can set reminders, follow-ups or promotions to go out in advance. 
• Shortcuts: We like Textline’s Shortcuts feature, which offers prewritten templates that save time while maintaining message consistency. Whether confirming an appointment or answering frequent questions, shortcuts make processes more efficient. 
• Chrome plugin: Textline’s handy Chrome plugin allows agents to interact with customers without leaving their web browser. This function is ideal for sales reps who want to look up a business-to-business client’s details on their website or LinkedIn business profile while conducting a conversation.

The Shortcuts feature allows you to respond promptly to common inquiries with prewritten templates. Source: Textline

Managerial Controls and Insights

We like that Textline makes it easy for managers and company leaders to monitor conversation activity and other metrics, including the following: 

• Speed: Monitor how quickly agents reply to and resolve conversations by analyzing Time to Respond and Time to Resolution statistics.
• Number of live clients: Check the Active Agents metric to see who’s engaging with clients and the number of new contacts agents help.
• Unresolved Conversations: The Unassigned Conversations metric shows clients awaiting a response; Contacts Waiting tells you how many unresolved conversations are underway in which the client was the last person to send a message.
• Areas for improvement: Use the Longest Wait and Unresolved Conversations metrics to identify areas where your team may be underperforming; check Resolved Conversations to see how many issues and inquiries have been successfully resolved.
• Resolution times: Use the Average Messages to Resolve metric to see how quickly your team resolves customer problems and questions.
• Volume of conversations: Check Active Conversations to see how many conversations are still live within the time frame you set; check each agent’s caseload with Assigned Conversations.
• Automation use: The Automation Sent metric shows how frequently the system sends automated responses.
• Conversation outcomes: The Dispositions metric shows every conversation’s outcome, including which issues have been resolved and which still need to be followed up.

We appreciate that filters allow you to get insights into individual team members, specific departments or your business as a whole. You can also access important marketing campaign data like replies, delivery errors and unsubscribes.

The Metrics dashboard lets you keep track of conversations, departments and individual employees. Source: Textline

Customer Communication Tools

Textline’s customer communication tools impressed us. Features include the following: 

• Announcements: Announcements are Textline’s version of bulk messages. We like that Textline makes it easy to send mass text campaigns from the platform. With a few clicks, you can compose a message and send it to entire segments of a customer database. You can choose from established lists or upload and save new contact lists. Messages can be sent immediately or scheduled for later. After your campaign goes out, Textline displays graphs and charts showing sends, deliveries, responses, opt-outs and more. This level of analysis helps marketing teams improve future campaigns for greater engagement.
• Surveys: We appreciate how well Textline’s survey feature is integrated into the platform. You can run Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys using prebuilt templates or create custom versions. Gather survey data to gauge customer sentiment or schedule surveys to send at predetermined times, such as after an issue has been resolved.
• Call forward: We liked Textline’s call forwarding features. If someone attempts to call your text number and the system recognizes it as a voice call, you can forward it to a number you select. If you have multiple departments, you can assign a different call forwarding number for each.
• Smart SMS: If your business has multiple numbers with different area codes, Textline’s Smart SMS will send messages automatically from the number located closest to each customer. We love that this feature allows businesses with one location but a large reach to offer a more local-feeling experience. 

Textline lets users send Announcements, which are mass text messages, to specific groups. Source: Textline

Textline Pricing

Each Textline service level includes a wide range of features, including announcements, conversation history, automations, message templates, automatic responses and the ability to track and analyze metrics.

The current subscription levels are as follows:

Additional pricing considerations include the following: 

• Annual discount: Textline offers a 20 percent discount for annual payments. 
• Additional phone numbers: Additional phone numbers cost $9.99 per month but aren’t available to Limited users. 
• Web chatbot add-on: The optional web chatbot is available for $29.99 per month.
• Texting costs: Text messages are not included in the above plans and must be purchased separately. There’s a minimum of 500 credits, priced at 3 cents each. If you exceed your balance, backup credits are automatically added at 4 cents per credit. We like that unused credits, including backup credits, roll over and never expire.
• Phone numbers: Users can choose a toll-free or 10-Digit Long Code (10 DLC) number. Textline can also enable texting on existing landlines or certain VoIP numbers. There’s a $15 monthly fee for 10DLC numbers.
• Free trial: Textline offers a free trial with no credit card required. However, due to text messaging laws, you’ll only be able to text your own number during the trial.

Textline’s higher-tier plans include access to standard and specialized integrations. Source: Textline

Implementation and Onboarding

We were happy to see that setting up Textline is straightforward. Here’s how it works:

1. Create a user account.
2. Choose the phone number you want to use to text customers — a new 10DLC or toll-free number, an existing number or one linked to your Twilio account.
3. If you select a new 10DLC number, enter your preferred area code and Textline will assign you a number with that code.
4. After logging in, create the appropriate departments for your company. 
5. Allocate agents to specific departments. (You can assign agents to more than one.) 
6. Upload your contact lists, such as customer and prospect databases and confirm you have permission to message them.
7. Group your agents into teams based on criteria like language or skill set.

If you prefer to use existing phone numbers, Textline can help you text-enable them and add SMS functionality to your landline numbers.

Customer Support

• Channels: Textline’s customer service team is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. You can open a support ticket, send an email or call or text to speak with an agent. Customers on the Pro and Enterprise plans benefit from priority support and a dedicated Success Manager. However, we were disappointed by Textline’s limited support hours — especially for larger businesses with multiple locations that might need help outside of regular business times. Some competitors offer extended support, including weekends.
• Online resources: We like Textline’s extensive online knowledge base, which features around 200 articles covering all aspects of using the platform. We love that many include clear, step-by-step instructions. There are also multiple video tutorials and an informative blog with additional tips and insights. 

Limitations

Textline has many excellent upsides, but we did identify some limitations: 

• No short code: We were surprised that a messaging platform geared toward larger businesses doesn’t provide short code numbers. Almost all of the platforms we reviewed offer this option. However, Textline can text-enable a short code you already own.
• Limited integrations: Textline’s integrations were a bit disappointing. Its 20 or so prebuilt integrations may not be enough for larger businesses that want seamless connections with other business software. While the API and webhooks are great, pairing Textline with your systems will almost certainly require a developer. We were especially disappointed that integrations and API access are limited to premium plans. Read our review of Podium if you’re interested in a platform with robust integrations — it offers more than 200 across five major industries.
• Limited tier is limited: Textline’s Limited pricing tier lives up to its name. Its narrow feature set is surprising for a vendor targeting larger businesses. You only get three agent seats and one department and the plan lacks many of the features that make Textline stand out, including HIPAA compliance, conversation routing, time-based automations, surveys and the unified inbox. It also caps conversation history at 90 days. The pricing is competitive, but most larger businesses will likely require a higher-tier plan.
• Minimal omnichannel options: Most large businesses need a true omnichannel presence to meet client communication needs. We were disappointed that Textline only combines SMS with web chat, Instagram and Facebook and that these features are restricted to the highest-tier plans.
• Separate messaging fees: Textline plans don’t include any message credits. While the per-message cost is competitive, businesses focused on bulk marketing campaigns may find better value in platforms that don’t charge separately for messages. 
• Paid-for inbound messages: Many competing platforms don’t charge for incoming texts. With Textline, you’ll pay for each inbound SMS or MMS. Read our review of EZ Texting to learn about a platform that includes unlimited two-way texting and free incoming messages.
• Lack of artificial intelligence (AI) features: Textline offers advanced tools while staying user-friendly, so we were surprised that AI hasn’t been incorporated yet. Many competitors now offer AI-driven tools like content suggestions, smart routing or predictive analytics. 

Methodology

We analyzed and evaluated multiple text messaging services to identify the best solutions available. Our in-depth review process included evaluating each solution’s ease of use, features, pricing, customer support and integrations. When looking for the best text messaging service for larger businesses specifically, we prioritized customer and in-house communication tools, managerial controls, collaboration functions and security. 

Bottom Line

We recommend Textline for …

• Multisite or multidepartment businesses that want a streamlined, manageable texting platform focused on team collaboration.
• Companies running text message marketing campaigns that want deeper analytics and insight into campaign performance.
• Businesses that prioritize privacy and require HIPAA-compliant communication.

We don’t recommend Textline for …

• Businesses that text infrequently or only message limited groups and don’t need in-depth reporting.
• Companies on a tight budget, as more affordable alternatives are available.
• Firms that rely heavily on MMS marketing, since Textline has potential capacity limitations.
  Businesses with high inbound SMS/MMS volumes, as Textline charges for incoming messages.

Tom Anziano contributed to this review.