Pay Tel vs InmateSales
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pay Tel
Stay connected with loved ones. Receive instant alerts for messages and notifications. Easily view your balance and add funds, or send photos to inmates in eligible correctional facilities.
- Instant message alerts
- Unread message count
- Current balance visibility
- Add funds link
- Send photos to inmates
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The Pay Tel app provides you with easy access to important functionality: Instant alerts for any notifications from Pay Tel™ or your inteleMESSAGE™ contacts. Current unread messages count indicator. Just press to open inteleMESSAGE™. Visibility to your current balance, and a link to the main PayTel.com site for Adding Funds. Send photos to inmates in eligible facilities.
InmateSales
Manage your account for inmate services, including making deposits for products and scheduling video sessions. Send emails to individuals at supported facilities. Not all services are available at every location.
- Manage InmateSales account
- Make deposits for products
- Schedule video sessions
- Send emails to inmates
- Check facility service availability
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The InmateSales mobile app allows you to manage your InmateSales account and make deposits for products at certain facilities. You can also schedule video sessions and send emails to these individuals where they are allowed at a facility. Not all facilities support all products and services that we offer.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: InmateSales at 2.4 against Pay Tel's 1.6. InmateSales also leads on review sentiment (16% vs 4%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
InmateSales holds the better App Store score, 2.4 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 126 and 185 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Pay Tel's written reviews are positive against 16% of InmateSales's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.
| Parameter | Pay Tel | InmateSales |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.6 (126 ratings) | 2.4 (185 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 3.7% of reviews | 15.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 126 | 185 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #206 | #136 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 108 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pay Tel Communications | Combined Public Communications |
Customer experience
Pay Tel
InmateSales
User reviews
Pay Tel
From 126 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📱 Enables communication with incarcerated loved ones
- 📹 Video calling functionality available
- 💬 Messaging feature when working properly
- ✅ App works smoothly after recent updates (per some users)
- 🎯 Easy to add funds/make payments
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- ❌ Messages fail to send or display
- 🔌 Constant login errors and authentication failures
- ⏱️ Extremely slow loading times
- 🔄 App randomly logs users out mid-session
InmateSales
From 185 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 👍 Grateful for connection
- 👍 Responsive and helpful
- 👍 Fast and convenient deposits
- 👍 User-friendly interface
Room to improve
- 💸 High fees
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 🐛 Calls dropping
- 🐛 Login issues
- 🐛 Account creation problems
Bugs and requests
Pay Tel
Reported bugs
21 issues- App crashes on launch or during use
- Login authentication errors persist across sessions
- Messages fail to send despite payment being deducted
- Messages don't appear in inbox despite being sent
- App logs out randomly while actively in use
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Typing causes screen to flicker and delete message content
- Blank white screens when trying to view messages
- App won't work when Wi-Fi is enabled (Error 403)
- Incorrect notification counts
- Balance doesn't update after adding funds
- Video call invitations don't pop up or display
- Call connections drop mid-conversation
- Echo/feedback during calls
- Calls ring once then hang up immediately
- Account lockout with 'phone number doesn't belong to account' error
- PIN number errors preventing login
- App won't open on certain devices (iPhone specific issues)
- Messages appear days late
- Duplicate messages being sent and charged
- App freezes when typing long messages
- Website login doesn't sync with app login
Requested features
12 requests- Improved app stability and performance optimization
- Better customer service responsiveness (live chat, phone support)
- Reduced pricing for calls and messages
- Same-day video visit scheduling
- Better message persistence (don't delete on app exit)
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Improved call quality and connection stability
- Wi-Fi compatibility fix
- Better user interface design and navigation
- Automatic message saving/drafts
- Transaction history visibility
- Refund policy for failed transactions
- Faster fund processing and balance updates
InmateSales
Reported bugs
24 issues- App crashes frequently
- Login issues
- Account creation fails
- Calls drop mid-conversation
- App logs out unexpectedly
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Emails and pictures not being sent/received
- Video calls fail to connect
- Verification links expire
- App freezes on logo screen
- Calls not ringing through
- Mutes inmate during calls
- Cannot hear inmate
- App kicks users out
- Password reset links not sent
- Error message: failed to reach contact
- Visits not logged correctly
- Chirp screen goes black
- Calls come through as normal phone calls
- Text messages not delivered
- App deletes unsaved emails
- Cannot zoom in on text
- Reloading app does not fix issues
- Verification emails not working
- App crashing after loading money
Requested features
18 requests- Add option to save email drafts
- Fix glitch with normal phone calls
- Make video visits longer
- Show phone airtime and Chirp text balance on app
- Allow larger increments for video visits and tablet time
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Make app 100% reliable
- Add more ways to create an account
- Add account reset button
- Provide FAQ page with clear pricing
- Allow users to see phone balance on app
- Fix issue with inmate not being able to use specific funds
- Allow users to check account balances
- Add ability to connect with inmate for texts
- Allow uploading pictures for emails
- Fix issue with emails/pictures not being received
- Add dark mode option
- Improve text message delivery
- Allow users to email customer service
In-app purchases
Pay Tel
No in-app purchases
InmateSales
No in-app purchases
