TextBehind vs VisiTel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TextBehind
Easily connect with incarcerated individuals through text messages, photos, and custom greeting cards. Receive unlimited electronic replies directly to your phone and email, eliminating the need for traditional mail services.
- Text messages with photos
- Custom greeting cards
- Electronic money orders
- Unlimited inmate reply letters
- Secure communication service
- Convenient and affordable
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TextBehind® connects you with every inmate across America using text messages with photos, custom greeting cards and electronic money orders. Unlimited inmate reply letters will be electronically delivered right to your smart phone and email address wherever you are in the world. This reply service is absolutely FREE and UNLIMITED. TextBehind® is a secure nationwide communication service for families, friends and TextPals (pen pals) to consistently stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones conveniently and affordably. - No more buying envelopes, stamps, paper, print photos or visit the post office and photo print shops. - No visits to money order shops or to hand-write letters by hand.
VisiTel
Connect with incarcerated loved ones through convenient video calls from home. Schedule and receive virtual visits after obtaining approval from the detention center. Not all facilities offer this service, so check local policies.
- Place video calls to detainees
- Receive video calls from home
- Requires detention center approval
- Account creation via website
- Customer support available
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The VisiTel mobile app allows you to place video calls to detainees in jail. You can place and receive video calls from the comfort of your own home. Approvals for your video visitation is required by the detention center. Not all detention centers support video visitation. Please contact your detention center for policies and procedures for video visitation. Please create an account by visiting https://secure.visitel.us. For help call setting up your account please call our help center at (972) 239-2182.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: TextBehind at 89% against VisiTel's 33%. TextBehind also leads on rating (4.2 vs 2.9) and ratings volume (466 vs 29). VisiTel's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
TextBehind holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TextBehind has 466 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of TextBehind's written reviews are positive against 33% of VisiTel's.
TextBehind ships an update monthly, VisiTel every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TextBehind | VisiTel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (466 ratings) — better | 2.9 (29 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.2% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 466 — better | 29 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TextBehind, Inc | Manit Chanthavong |
Customer experience
TextBehind
VisiTel
Bugs and requests
TextBehind
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login/account issues
- Problems with facility information and updates
Requested features
3 requests- More up-to-date greeting card options
- Ability to create custom greeting cards
- Faster processing and delivery times
VisiTel
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
TextBehind
No in-app purchases
VisiTel
No in-app purchases
