# Hellotext review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Online-store messaging on WhatsApp, SMS and Instagram, with AI agents

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Hellotext is a messaging platform for online stores. It connects to store platforms and runs ready-made playbooks such as cart recovery, back-in-stock alerts and order tracking over WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram, Messenger and webchat. Plans can be paid as a monthly fee or as a share of the sales Hellotext is credited with.

- **Category:** SMS & Chat Marketing
- **Made by:** Hellotext
- **Website:** https://www.hellotext.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you have a team: collaborators start on the Small plan.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Hellotext has a free plan, and paid plans start at $67 per month, billed yearly ($74 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Starter: no monthly fee, 5% of attributed sales, 1 WhatsApp line, 1 Instagram account, single-user workspace and 2 months of history.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $0 | No monthly fee; pays 5% of sales Hellotext is credited with. Single-user workspace, 1 WhatsApp line, basic reporting. |
| Small | $67 per month, billed yearly ($74 billed monthly) | Or 4% of attributed sales above $2K. Unlimited collaborators, 8 playbooks, 37K messages, up to 7K US SMS. |
| Grow | $269 per month, billed yearly ($299 billed monthly) | Or 3% of attributed sales above $10K. 25 playbooks, 150K AI messages, 2 custom AI agents, 2 WhatsApp lines. |
| Pro | $629 per month, billed yearly ($699 billed monthly) | Or 2.5% of attributed sales above $30K. All 38 playbooks, 350K AI messages, email and push, unlimited AI agents. |

Read from https://www.hellotext.com/pricing/us on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hellotext before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save 10% when paid yearly** (Annual discount): Hellotext's pricing page has a Paid yearly option marked 'Save 10%'. Source: https://www.hellotext.com/pricing/us

## Key features

- **Playbooks:** Prebuilt automations for cart saving, price-drop alerts, back-in-stock notices, order tracking and win-back; 38 in total, with the count rising by plan.
- **Multiple channels:** Reach shoppers on WhatsApp, Instagram DM, Messenger, webchat and SMS, with email and push on the Pro plan.
- **AI agents:** Custom AI agents answer customer questions and recommend products; Grow allows 2, and Pro unlimited with external API access.
- **Subscriber capture:** Webchat and WhatsApp widgets, popups, forms and QR codes collect SMS and WhatsApp subscribers.
- **Shared inbox:** A team inbox for selling and support, with AI assignment and reporting on Grow and above.
- **Attributed-revenue reporting:** Reports show orders credited to Hellotext using stated attribution windows of 7 days from a click and 24 hours from a delivery.

## Good for

- Online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce, VTEX or Wix that want WhatsApp and SMS follow-ups
- Small shops that prefer paying a share of sales to a fixed fee

## Worth knowing

- Starter is limited to a single-user workspace; collaborators start on the Small plan.
- WhatsApp conversation fees are Meta's and are billed to you; SMS is billed at $0.01 each in the US once the included amount is used.
- Messages beyond the plan allowance on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and webchat are billed at $2 per 1,000.
- Prices and SMS rates vary by country; the US page was read. Email and push are only on Pro.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Hellotext runs ready-made playbooks such as cart recovery over WhatsApp, SMS and Instagram. But the free plan costs 5% of attributed sales and has one user, and the paid plans start at $67 a month.

- **Value for money: C.** $67 a month on yearly billing is above the middle of the category's $36; the free plan takes 5% of sales.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A free Starter plan with no monthly fee, but it has one user, one WhatsApp line and 2 months of history.
- **Features: C.** Playbooks, an inbox and AI agents over several channels, with email and push only on Pro.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and a store connection and playbooks need setting up.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web service connecting to store platforms and WhatsApp, SMS and Instagram.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hellotext's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among SMS and chat marketing tools

- Hellotext's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 47 of the 77 other SMS and chat marketing tools we grade, and level with 20.
- It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 19 of 77) and worst on features (C, above 3).
- Its paid plans start at $67 a month, against a middle price of $36 for the category: 39 of the 50 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 6 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/chat-marketing

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Hellotext you would be making the WhatsApp Business API, which Meta opens only through approved partners. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $804 a year.

- You could make: Popups: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta opens only through approved partners.
- You could not: Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
- You could not: One mailbox that several people work at once.
- You could not: Email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox.
- You could not: A chatbot builder hooked into the messaging apps.
- You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- You could not: Hooks into the device itself: widgets.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Shopify, VTEX, WooCommerce, Wix

**Tags:** WhatsApp messaging, SMS marketing, Chatbots, AI features, Shared inbox, Marketing automation, Popups

## Alternatives

- [Postscript](https://toolgpa.com/tools/postscript): SMS and RCS marketing for Shopify stores, billed per message sent. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hellotext-vs-postscript)
- [Attentive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/attentive): SMS, email, RCS and push marketing for retail brands, sold by quote. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/attentive-vs-hellotext)
- [Recart](https://toolgpa.com/tools/recart): SMS marketing and popup list growth for Shopify stores. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hellotext-vs-recart)
- [Emotive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/emotive): SMS marketing and ad attribution for ecommerce brands. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/emotive-vs-hellotext)
- [Manychat](https://toolgpa.com/tools/manychat): Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger DM automation for creators and shops. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hellotext-vs-manychat)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://www.hellotext.com/pricing/us
- https://www.hellotext.com/pricing/my
- https://www.hellotext.com/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/hellotext
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).