Texts and your balance

Texts are the one part of messaging that costs money, so Show My Stage keeps a balance for you. Everything else, including chat, email, and in-app messages, is free on every plan.

Paid plans are starting soon. Plans, trials and the Plan & billing page described here are not switched on yet, so for now nothing is limited and you won't be charged. We'll email you before that changes.

Email invites don’t use texts

Inviting volunteers or guests by email address costs no texts, so you can do it on any plan, including Free. Only phone numbers are texted. When you add a list that has both, the emails go out free and only the phone numbers draw from your balance.

What counts as a text

A text of up to 160 characters is one text. Longer messages are split by phones into parts, and each part counts as one. A 400-character announcement is three texts to every person who receives it. Emoji and some symbols make a message use shorter parts, so they can add up faster.

Before anything is sent, we work out how many texts the whole send needs.

When you don't have enough

If your balance is short, we tell you before sending anything, show what the send needs and what you have, and offer a way to add more. We never send part of a batch and leave you to find out which people were missed. You can always choose to send by email instead.

Where texts come from

• The trial. Starting the 14-day Yearly plan trial adds a few texts to your balance so you can see messaging work. No card is needed.
• The Yearly plan. Each year includes 500 texts, and the Big Show upgrade that comes with it adds 1,000 for that show.
• Text packs. Packs of 1,000 or 5,000 are good for a year and work on any show. Buy one when you need it: the option appears the moment you try to send texts you don't have. Texts from a pack that you haven't used by the same date next year expire, and Settings › Plan & billing shows the date. When you send, texts that expire first are used first. Texts that come with your plan don't expire.

Texts from a Big Show upgrade stay with that show and aren't mixed with your main balance.

Who gets texted

Only people who agreed to be texted. When you invite people by phone number, you confirm you have their permission. Emails don’t need that step. People with an account can turn text notifications off, and then they get everything else but not a text.

When you cancel a show

Cancelling is never held up by your balance. People are texted while you have texts, and everyone else still hears about it in the app or by email. The email we send you afterwards lists anyone we couldn't text, so you can reach them another way.

Where to see your balance

Settings › Plan & billing shows how many texts you have left. The app shows it too, but texts are bought on the web.