Best SMS Marketing Software for Restaurants in 2026
Five texting platforms compared for restaurants, with the real monthly cost of a 1,500-text club.
For most restaurants, start with EZ Texting: about $70 a month for a 750-guest club texted twice a month, registration included. Pick SlickText if growing the list is your bottleneck, and Textline if your hosts answer guest texts all night. Check your reservation system first: it may already send your reminders.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link ever changes a score.
5 texting platforms compared for restaurants
The "1,500 texts" column is what a 750-guest club texted twice a month costs on each platform, from official pricing pages. Conversation tools like Textline and Salesmsg are not priced for blasts, so they are marked that way.
| Best for | 1,500 texts/mo | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EZ Texting | Best overall for most restaurants | About $70 a month | 3.8/5 | Launch $25/mo with 500 credits | — | Single location, simple promos | Visit → |
| 2 | SlickText | Best for growing a text club fast | $79 for 2,000 credits | 3.8/5 | From $29/mo for 500 credits | — | Busy restaurants building a list | Visit → |
| 3 | Textline | Best for a shared front-of-house inbox | Not built for blasts | 3.8/5 | From $149/mo (3 agents) | — | Large venues, hosts and managers | Visit → |
| 4 | SimpleTexting | Best for scheduled specials and segments | About $104 a month | 3.7/5 | From $39/mo for 500 credits | — | Multi-location promos | Visit → |
| 5 | Salesmsg | Best for catering and private events | Not built for blasts | 3.7/5 | From $25/mo (500 credits, 1 seat) | — | Catering and events teams | Visit → |
Official US pricing in 2026, before taxes and some carrier fees. Credits counted for plain-text SMS.
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How we compared and scored
The pages ranking for this question today are mostly written by a vendor that puts itself first, or by list sites with no prices. None of them works out what a real restaurant text club costs per month, and few separate the three jobs a restaurant uses texting for: promos, guest conversations and catering follow-up.
We read the official pricing of each platform (plan credits, overage price, carrier and 10DLC fees, seats), their feature pages, and user feedback on review sites and forums. Then we priced one standard case: 750 subscribers texted twice a month, 1,500 texts. Every tool keeps the same five scores it has across our site, so a score never changes from one page to another.
- Value for moneyAll-in monthly cost at 1,500 texts: plan, overage credits, carrier and 10DLC fees, extra seats.25%
- Ease of useCan a manager schedule a special in five minutes between services, with no training?25%
- Features and depthKeywords, QR sign-ups, scheduling, segments, shared inbox, sequences.20%
- Customer supportHow fast help arrives when a campaign gets stuck before dinner service.15%
- IntegrationsCRM, POS, online ordering and reservation links, native or through Zapier.15%
Links to vendors never change a score.
EZ Texting
EZ Texting is the easiest way for a single restaurant to start a text club and keep the bill predictable. The Launch plan costs $25 a month ($20 billed yearly) with 500 credits, and every extra credit is $0.04. A2P 10DLC registration, the carrier paperwork every US business texter now needs, is included in the price, so you are not stuck filling out forms before your first Tuesday special goes out.
Run the numbers on a real club. With 750 subscribers and two texts a month, you send 1,500 messages: $25 for the plan, $40 for the 1,000 extra credits and $5 in telecom fees, so about $70 a month. That is the cheapest all-in figure of the five tools for this volume. The 14-day trial needs no card, which matters when the owner is the one trying it between lunch and dinner service.
Where it falls short: integrations are thin for a restaurant (no native link to your POS or reservation book), and the feature set is built for broadcasting, not for back-and-forth conversations with guests. If your staff needs to answer "can we move our 7:30 to 8?" all night, look at Textline instead.
- Launch plan at $25 a month with 500 credits
- A2P registration included
- 14-day trial without a card
- Publishes case studies from restaurants and cafes
- ✓Lowest all-in monthly cost for a 1,500-text club in our math
- ✓Simple enough for a manager to schedule specials without training
- ✓Overage credits at $0.04 keep busy months affordable
- ✗No native POS or reservation integration
- ✗Built for one-way blasts, weak for two-way guest conversations
The best starting point for a restaurant that mainly texts specials and offers: cheap at real volume, easy for staff, and no setup headaches.
SlickText
SlickText is built around list growth, which is the hard part of restaurant texting. Keywords ("text TACOS to" a number), QR codes on table tents and web sign-up forms all feed the same list, and text-to-win contests give guests a reason to join on the spot. For a restaurant that is starting from zero numbers, that toolkit is worth more than any automation.
Pricing is clean. Plans run from $29 for 500 credits to $319 for 10,000, carrier fees are passed through without a markup, and paying yearly gives you two months free. Our 1,500-text club fits the $79 plan with 2,000 credits, leaving room for a holiday push. Unused credits roll over for one month on monthly billing and for a year on annual billing, which helps a seasonal patio restaurant.
The limit: like EZ Texting, it does not plug natively into restaurant POS or reservation systems, and support is not its strongest point. At the same volume it costs a little more than EZ Texting, so pick it when list growth, not price, is your bottleneck.
- Keywords, QR codes and web forms feeding one list
- Text-to-win contests to get sign-ups at the table
- Carrier fees passed through at no markup
- Credit rollover: 1 month monthly, 1 year annual
- ✓Best toolkit to grow a list from walk-in guests
- ✓Transparent plans from $29 to $319 a month
- ✓Two months free on yearly billing
- ✗No native POS or reservation link
- ✗A bit more than EZ Texting for the same 1,500 texts
Pick SlickText when your list is the problem: it gives you the most ways to turn a busy dining room into subscribers.
Textline
Textline is not a promo tool. It is a shared inbox for guest conversations, and in a busy restaurant that is a different job: late-arrival texts, party-size changes, allergy questions, private-event inquiries. Several staff members see the same threads, leave internal notes and avoid the classic double answer from the host stand and the manager's phone. It is also the easiest tool of the five to learn.
The catch is the price. Essentials starts at $149 a month for three agents, and incoming messages are billed too, which few tools in this market do. Add $15 a month for 10DLC registration and the real bill for a small team lands well above the headline. For a neighborhood spot texting specials, that is far too much.
Use it if conversation is the job: a large venue, a group with a central reservations desk, or a restaurant that sells a lot of private dining. Pair it with a cheaper broadcast tool if you also run a text club.
- Shared inbox with internal notes for hosts and managers
- Easiest to learn of the five (4.6 for ease of use)
- Saved replies for late arrivals and party changes
- ✓No more double answers between the host stand and the office
- ✓Clear thread history for private-event inquiries
- ✓Staff pick it up quickly
- ✗From $149 a month before you send a single blast
- ✗Incoming texts billed, and 10DLC adds $15 a month
The right tool for a big front-of-house team that talks with guests all night; the wrong one for a small restaurant sending specials.
SimpleTexting
SimpleTexting is the most polished campaign tool here. Scheduling, segments, keywords and drip sequences are easy to set up, so a group can line up the Tuesday lunch special for each location a month ahead and send each list only what applies to it.
It costs more at restaurant volume. The $39 plan (billed yearly) includes 500 credits, extra credits are $0.055, and a local number adds $10 a month. Our 1,500-text club comes to roughly $104 a month plus carrier fees, about $34 more than EZ Texting. Food photos hurt the most: an MMS uses three credits, so one picture blast to 750 people burns 2,250 credits.
Choose it if you run several locations and care about clean segmentation more than the last dollar. Keep photo texts for big moments and send the weekly special as plain text.
- Scheduling and segments by location or daypart
- Keywords and drip sequences
- Local number available, carrier fees passed through
- ✓Easy to plan a month of specials in one sitting
- ✓Clean segmentation for multi-location groups
- ✓Strong ease-of-use score (4.5)
- ✗Pricier than EZ Texting at 1,500 texts a month
- ✗MMS at 3 credits makes food photos expensive
A strong pick for groups that plan promos ahead by location; single restaurants will pay less elsewhere for the same texts.
Salesmsg
Salesmsg is a sales texting tool, and in a restaurant that means catering and private events. It plugs two-way texting into CRMs like HubSpot, so the events manager can send a quote, follow up after a tasting and keep every message attached to the lead. That is the best integration depth of the five tools.
For promos it is the wrong fit. Starter costs $25 a month for 500 credits and one seat; Professional is $49 for 1,000. Each extra seat is $10, a monthly 10DLC fee of $1.50 to $10 applies, and carrier surcharges come on top. A host and a manager both needing access already means paying for a second seat.
Use it alongside a broadcast tool if catering is a real revenue line. A restaurant without an events pipeline does not need it.
- Two-way texting inside HubSpot and other CRMs
- Sequences to follow up catering quotes
- Best integrations of the five (4.3)
- ✓Keeps every catering conversation tied to the lead
- ✓Low entry price for one events manager
- ✓Automated follow-ups after a tasting or quote
- ✗One seat on Starter, $10 for each extra
- ✗Not designed for promo blasts to a text club
Worth it only if catering or private events bring in real money; for specials and offers, the first two tools do the job for less.
Which texting tool fits your kind of restaurant
Restaurant texts expire fast: a lunch special is worthless by 3 pm. Your list is small, and part of your texting is conversation, not promotion. Here is the right tool for each situation. For a general view beyond restaurants, see our SMS marketing platform ranking.
Neighborhood restaurant, one location
EZ Texting. About $70 a month for 1,500 texts on Launch, with registration included and a 14-day trial without a card.
New restaurant with no list yet
SlickText. Keywords, table-tent QR codes and text-to-win contests turn walk-ins into subscribers. The $79 plan covers 2,000 credits a month.
Restaurant group with several locations
SimpleTexting, for scheduling and segments by location. Expect around $104 a month at 1,500 texts plus carrier fees, more as the list grows.
Large venue with a busy host stand
Textline. A shared inbox ends double answers on late arrivals and party changes. Budget $149 a month plus 10DLC.
Restaurant with catering or private dining
Salesmsg next to your CRM, for quotes and follow-ups. Keep a broadcast tool for the text club.
Seasonal or patio-driven restaurant
Look at credit rollover. SlickText keeps unused credits for a year on annual billing; plans that reset every month waste your quiet season.
- Check whether your reservation system already sends reminders before paying for them twice.
- Price your real volume: subscribers × texts per month, then overage, carrier and 10DLC fees.
- Count the seats you need: host stand, manager, events lead.
- Keep weekly specials under 160 characters and plain text; save photos for big moments.
- Collect written consent for promos separately from reservation numbers.
- Put a keyword or QR code where guests wait: table tent, receipt, takeout bag.
- Use the free trial to send one real special and one real reminder before you commit.
- Compare with your POS: our restaurant POS ranking lists which ones handle guest marketing.
Restaurant texting FAQ
What is the best SMS marketing software for restaurants in 2026?
For most single restaurants, EZ Texting: $25 a month with 500 credits, A2P registration included, and the lowest all-in cost in our 1,500-text math. SlickText is the better pick if growing the list is your main problem. Textline fits big front-of-house teams that answer guest texts all night, and Salesmsg fits catering pipelines.
How much does restaurant text marketing cost per month?
For a 750-subscriber club texted twice a month (1,500 texts), expect about $70 on EZ Texting, $79 on SlickText and around $104 on SimpleTexting, plus carrier fees on some plans. The number of subscribers and photo texts move the bill more than the plan name does.
Do I need 10DLC registration to text my restaurant guests?
Yes, if you send business texts from a regular 10-digit number in the US. Carriers expect every brand and campaign to be registered, or messages get filtered. EZ Texting includes A2P registration; Textline and Salesmsg charge a monthly 10DLC fee, so add it to your budget.
Can I text guests who booked a table without asking first?
A reservation reminder about the booking they made is not a promo. Marketing texts are different: under the TCPA you need the guest's prior express written consent before you send specials or offers. Add a separate, unchecked box on your booking form for promos rather than reusing reservation numbers.
Why are food photo texts so expensive?
Because MMS costs more than SMS. On SimpleTexting a picture message uses three credits, so a photo special to 750 guests burns 2,250 credits instead of 750. Send the weekly special as plain text and save photos for openings, new menus and holidays.
Does my reservation system already send text reminders?
Often, yes. Most reservation platforms send confirmation and reminder texts on their own. Check its settings before buying a second tool for reminders, and use the SMS tool for what the reservation system does not do: specials, slow-night offers and list growth. Our reservation software ranking compares those modules.
How do I build a text list for my restaurant?
Ask when guests are happy and holding their phones: a QR code on the table tent, a keyword on the receipt, a sign-up box on the online ordering page. Give a concrete reason to join, like a free appetizer on the next visit. Contests and keywords, which SlickText handles well, grow a list faster than a sign-up form alone.
Is SMS better than email for restaurants?
For anything time-sensitive, yes: a lunch special or a table that just opened up is worthless if it is read that night. Email is still better and cheaper for full menus, photos and monthly news. See our email marketing ranking for restaurants for that side.