The best texting app for Catholic parishes depends on one question: do your parishioners need to download anything? If you want Catholic content inside an app (daily readings, prayers, the bulletin), myParish is built for that. If you want free email and texting for a small parish with a diocese-friendly setup, Flocknote is the default for a reason. If you want plain text messages that land on every phone, including the flip phone your 80-year-old lector carries, with RSVPs, giving and voice calls in one flat plan, that's what I built Evant to do.

That's the answer. Below is how the four options I'd actually consider for a parish stack up in November 2026, and where each one wins.

I'm Mike, the founder of Evant. So yes, I have a horse in this race. I'll tell you where the other horses are faster.

What does a parish need from a texting app?

A parish is not a megachurch with a comms team. It's usually a pastor, a parish secretary, a DRE, and a lot of volunteers who'd rather not learn new software. Here's what matters most:

• Reach the older parishioners. The 7:30am Mass crowd. Many of them won't install an app. Some don't have a smartphone at all.
• Handle schedule changes fast. Snow cancels the vigil Mass. A funeral moves confession times. You need one text, out in a minute.
• Split by group. Religious ed parents, Knights of Columbus, the altar guild, the fish fry crew. They don't all need the same message.
• Get answers back. Headcounts for the Christmas Masses. Volunteers for Holy Week. Replies, not just broadcasts.
• Not blow the budget. Parish budgets are tight. Surprise overage bills are worse than a high price you can plan for.

Keep that list in mind. Each tool below is great at some of it.

Best texting app for Catholic parishes: the comparison

Pricing and features checked November 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page. Prices change, so check before you commit.

Flocknote: the parish default, and free if you're tiny

Flocknote's pricing page lists a Starter plan with unlimited standard texting and unlimited email. It's free for life up to 40 members, and the price climbs with your member count after that. The Complete plan adds $75 a month on top and brings text-to-join keywords, donor management and registrations. Dioceses get custom Enterprise pricing.

Here's where Flocknote wins. Unlimited texting means nobody on staff is counting credits. And if your diocese already runs on it, staying put is the easy call. I'd tell you that even if you never sign up for Evant.

Here's my issue with it. Pricing by member count means your bill grows as your parish list grows. A parish with a big registration list pays for every name on it. I go deeper on this in Evant vs Flocknote, and there's a wider list in my Flocknote alternatives roundup.

myParish: best if you want a Catholic app

myParish from Diocesan is a different animal. It's a parish app with daily Mass readings, a prayer library, the bulletin, a calendar and giving. It sends push notifications, and it can send SMS too. Plans are $59 a month, or $79 for Enhanced, which is the one with SMS. Text credits are bought separately. All plans have a one-time $50 setup fee.

If you want parishioners opening a Catholic app every morning for the readings, nothing else on this list does that. It's the most Catholic tool here. Plain and simple.

The catch is the app. Push notifications only reach people who installed it and left notifications on. The parishioners you most need to reach are often the ones who never will.

Text In Church: solid texting, credit math

Text In Church lists Core, Plus and Suite plans, each with 1.25K credits a month, plus a custom Large Church plan. One credit is one text up to 160 characters. A picture text is 3 credits. Go over and it's 3 cents per credit.

For a parish, the credit math is the thing to watch. One Christmas reminder to 900 families is 900 credits. Send two that week and you're already over. I broke down the numbers in Text In Church pricing 2026.

Evant: plain texts that reach every parishioner

I built Evant for groups where not everyone has an iPhone. Shuls with kosher phones. Parishes with a lot of grandparents. Here's what you get, starting at $20 a month:

• Texts that land on every phone. Basic, flip, smartphone. No app to download.
• Two-way texting, so parishioners can just reply.
• Text-to-RSVP. "Reply YES for the 4pm Christmas Eve Mass." That's it. No form. No link. No login.
• Voice calls on every plan at 1.5¢ a minute, for the parishioners with a landline and nothing else.
• A customizable Stripe donation page for every customer at no extra charge. Send a text. They tap the link. They give. Done.
• Keyword triggers, scheduled and targeted messages, event check-ins, CRM integration and analytics.
• Free email, a dedicated 10-digit number, and we handle your A2P 10DLC registration for you.

Where Evant loses: there's no daily readings feed, no prayer library, no diocese-wide rollout plan. If that's what you need, pick myParish or Flocknote. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

A parish week, texted

To make it concrete, here's what a normal stretch looks like this time of year. December 8 is the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation in the US. In 2026 it lands on a Tuesday, which people forget.

• Sun, Dec 6: "Tuesday is the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation. Masses at 7am, noon and 7pm."
• Mon, Dec 7: Voice call to parishioners without a cell phone, same message.
• Thu, Dec 10: To religious ed parents only: "Reply YES if your child will be in the Christmas pageant."
• Thu, Dec 17: "Which Christmas Mass will you attend? Reply 4, 6, 10 or MIDNIGHT." Now you know where to put the extra ushers.

Four texts. Different groups. Real answers back. I have a whole set of copy-ready Christmas texts in my Christmas church text message templates post, and they work fine for a parish. For getting people to opt in, print a QR code from our free SMS link generator in the bulletin.

One rule whatever tool you pick: only text people who said yes, and honor STOP right away. The CTIA messaging principles are what the carriers hold everyone to.

Questions parish staff ask

Is Flocknote free for parishes?

Flocknote's Starter plan is free for up to 40 members. Above that, the price goes up with your member count. The Complete plan adds $75 a month on top of the member-count price.

Can parishioners get texts without downloading an app?

Yes, with any tool that sends standard SMS. Evant and Text In Church send regular text messages. myParish is app-first and offers SMS on its $79 Enhanced plan, with credits bought separately.

How do we reach older parishioners who don't text?

Use voice calls. Evant includes voice calls on every plan at 1.5¢ a minute, so the same announcement can go out as a text and a phone call.

What does church texting cost per month?

It ranges from free (Flocknote, up to 40 members) to $59 to $79 a month for myParish, to credit-based tiers for Text In Church. Evant starts at $20 a month.

So which texting app should your parish pick?

If your diocese already uses Flocknote and you're happy, stay. If you want a Catholic app for daily readings and prayer, get myParish. If you want texts that reach every parishioner on every phone, with replies, RSVPs, giving and phone calls in one plan, try Evant. It's simple enough that a 5 year old could use it. I know because I am very simple myself.

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