JPay vs ConnectNetwork by GTL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
JPay
Easily connect with and support incarcerated individuals. Send money, emails, photos, eCards, and videograms. Purchase tablets and fund media accounts for your contact.
- Send money to trust accounts
- Send and receive emails and photos
- Send eCards and videograms
- Purchase tablets for contacts
- Fund media accounts
- Schedule recurring money transfers
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The JPay App is the easiest way to stay connected and support your incarcerated individual. JPay allows you to quickly send money to a trust account, send and receive Emails, photos, eCards and Videograms. Purchase a tablet for your contact and fund their media account. Features: - Create your JPay account - Send money with your credit/debit card once or schedule recurring transfers - Purchase stamps for Email, Snap n’ Send® and Videograms - Send and receive Emails - Get new Email notifications - Send emails to multiple recipients - Prepay for an Email reply or transfer stamps - Attach and send photos - Send just a photo with Snap n’ Send - Send a 30 second Videogram - Setup a low stamp balance reminder - Purchase tablet fir your contact - Fund media account for tablet content - Add/edit payment options and option to save card for future - Manage your profile Service availability varies, not all services available at all facilities
ConnectNetwork by GTL
This app allows users to manage their accounts, make deposits for various services, and send messages, photos, and videos to incarcerated individuals. It offers a convenient cash payment option and enables communication with loved ones.
- Create and manage accounts
- Make payments and deposits
- Send messages, photos, and videos
- Walk-In-Retail cash payment option
- Manage inmate communication credits
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The ConnectNetwork mobile app provides quick access to our most popular services. Using the app, you can create a ConnectNetwork account, manage your account information, make deposits into various accounts, send messages, photos and videos to your loved ones, take advantage of Walk-In-Retail (Pay by cash) as an alternative to using a credit card. Our features are based on the facility. To find out which features are available to your inmate, please add them to your account. • Create and Manage your ConnectNetwork Account • Make Payments and Deposits for ConnectNetwork services, such as: o AdvancePay Phone (Prepaid Collect) o Trust Fund (Inmate Trust Account) o PIN Debit (Inmate Phone Account) o Debit Link (Inmate Account for Tablet Services) O Walk-In-Retail, a new convenient cash payment method • Messaging (Email) o View your Messaging inbox, send and compose messages, and save drafts o Use your credit or debit card to purchase Message credits o Add a photo or video attachment to your Message o Depending on the facility, send credits to receive a reply
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: JPay at none against ConnectNetwork by GTL's shown. JPay also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 323). ConnectNetwork by GTL's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 2.3 for JPay against 2.3 for ConnectNetwork by GTL. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: JPay has 13K ratings behind it against 323, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 8% of JPay's written reviews are positive against 5% of ConnectNetwork by GTL's.
JPay ships an update every 2 months, ConnectNetwork by GTL every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | JPay | ConnectNetwork by GTL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (13K ratings) — better | 2.3 (323 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 7.6% of reviews — better | 5.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 323 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #176 | #165 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | JPay LLC | Global Tel Link Corporation |
Customer experience
JPay
ConnectNetwork by GTL
User reviews
JPay
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Lightning-fast communication
- 👍 Convenient way to stay in touch
- 🤝 Helps maintain family connections
- 💡 Innovative video and photo sharing features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and glitches
- ⏱️ Delayed message delivery
- 💰 Expensive fees and stamps
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive interface
- 🚫 Unreliable service and frequent outages
ConnectNetwork by GTL
From 323 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Easy to use app
- 💰 Affordable communication option
- 🤳 Allows photo/video sharing
Room to improve
- ⚠️ Frequent app crashes
- 🕰️ Slow message delivery
- 🔒 Account login issues
- 💸 Expensive call/message fees
- 🤖 Poor customer service
Bugs and requests
JPay
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues and inability to access accounts
- Disappearing messages and photos
- Stamps not being properly deducted or credited
- Compatibility problems with newer device updates
Requested features
5 requests- Read receipts for messages
- Ability to view full message history
- Improved notification system
- Easier photo/video attachment process
- Support for more currencies and countries
ConnectNetwork by GTL
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezes when trying to send messages
- Inconsistent account balance display
- Inability to find/add incarcerated loved ones
- Frequent app crashes after updates
Requested features
4 requests- Add notification system for new messages
- Improve message delivery speed
- Allow account management features (edit profile, delete numbers)
- Reduce communication fees
In-app purchases
JPay
No in-app purchases
ConnectNetwork by GTL
No in-app purchases
