# Tel vs autoforward

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tel at none against autoforward's 2. Tel also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and device support (3 vs 1). autoforward's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (21 vs 1). On price, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. autoforward sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Tel asks for nothing beyond the download.

Tel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: autoforward has 21 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Tel ships an update every 9 months, autoforward fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tel | autoforward |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tel-a-friend-sms/id1565980625/reviews)** | [4.7 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autoforward-forward-sms/id6745516888/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **21** |
| Positive reviews | — | 94.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 55 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Textable](https://appshunter.io/developer/1395042035) | [above the fold GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1083656339) |

## What reviewers say

### Tel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tel-a-friend-sms/id1565980625)

Communicate with customers using your business phone number for texts and picture messages across the continental US. Access your conversations from multiple devices, including computers, and allow team members to share a single business number for seamless customer interaction.

**Highlights:** Use business number for texts, Send/receive picture messages, Multi-device access, Browser access on computers, Shared team number

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### autoforward

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autoforward-forward-sms/id6745516888)

Automatically forward incoming SMS messages from your iPhone to an email address or another phone number. Never miss important alerts like two-factor authentication codes or delivery updates.

**Highlights:** SMS to Email Forwarding, SMS to SMS Forwarding, Reliable Message Delivery, Forward 2FA Codes, Forward Delivery Updates, Free to Use

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Yearly | $24.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tel free?

Tel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is autoforward free?

autoforward is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Tel or autoforward?

Tel is rated higher. Tel averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while autoforward averages 4.7 from 21 ratings.

### Do Tel or autoforward have ads?

Neither Tel nor autoforward shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Tel or autoforward?

Tel ships an update every 9 months, and autoforward fortnightly. Most recently, Tel was updated on November 3, 2026 and autoforward on November 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*