GroupUs is launching soon — join the waitlist to be first in line.
THE GROUPME ALTERNATIVE FOR SMS

Group texting that
works for everyone.

No app. No smartphone required. GroupUs keeps every member of your group in the conversation — even the ones with a plain flip phone.

$5/month plus 1¢ per message. No contracts, cancel anytime.
Coming soon Android app with push notifications
Text CREATE and your group name to
619-369-8341
Or scroll down and we'll set it up for you.
Works on any phone
Nothing to install
Join by replying JOIN
Owner can share photos
4th Ave Bus Chat
SMS — 12 members
OK
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GroupMe ended two-way SMS texting in August 2026. Members without the app stopped getting messages — GroupUs doesn't have that problem.
How it works

Set up in three texts

No forms, no downloads. The whole product runs on plain SMS.

STEP 1

Create your group

Text CREATE and a name to . You get your group's own number back right away.

CREATE Family Chat
STEP 2

Invite people directly

Text INVITE with their number and name — they're added immediately, no code needed.

INVITE 9175551234 Grandma
STEP 3

Or share the code

Prefer people join themselves? Share your join code and have them text JOIN with it.

JOIN X7K2P9 Grandma
What to text

Every command, in one place

Send any of these to your group's number. Not sure? Just text HELP.

CREATE <name>
Start a new group — text this to 619-369-8341, not to a group number.
JOIN <code> <name>
Join a group using its join code.
INVITE <phone> <name>
Owner only — send someone a personal invite to join.
REMOVE <phone>
Owner only — remove a member from the group.
WHO
See everyone currently in the group.
MUTE
Stop your own messages from posting until you unmute.
UNMUTE
Start posting again.
BROADCAST ON / OFF
Owner only — switch the group to announcement-only (only the owner can post) or back to a regular two-way group.
RESTRICT ON / OFF
Owner only — only approved members can post; everyone else can still read. Use ALLOW / DISALLOW to manage who's approved.
ALLOW <phone>
Owner only — approve a specific member to post while RESTRICT is on.
DISALLOW <phone>
Owner only — revoke a member's posting approval.
MMS ON / OFF
Owner only — turn photo sharing on or off for this group.
USAGE
Owner only — see how many messages you’ve sent this month and what it costs so far.
ALERT EVERY <amount>
Owner only — get a text every time usage crosses another multiple of that amount (e.g. $20 alerts at $20, $40, $60…). ALERT OFF turns it off.
NAME <new name>
Owner only — rename the group.
NICKNAME <new name>
Change what shows up next to your own messages — anyone can use this on themselves.
ADMIN <phone>
Owner only — transfer ownership to an existing member. Text ADMIN CONFIRM to finish.
CLOSE
Owner only — permanently closes the group. Text CLOSE CONFIRM to finish.
LEAVE / STOP
Leave the group — stops every message from it immediately.
COMMANDS
See a quick reminder of what you can text.
Beyond texting

Still just texting — now with a home for the conversation, too

Nothing changes for anyone on SMS. But if you'd rather have a real chat screen, it's ready.

Web App Live

Sign in with your phone number at joingroupus.com/app — see the full conversation, browse your groups, and send messages from any browser.

Open the app

Android app Coming soon

A real app with push notifications, so you never miss a message even with your phone on silent. iOS is coming right after.

Always the same conversation

Texting, the web app, and the upcoming mobile app are all one thread — nobody's left out no matter how they join in.

Who it's for

Built for the people who have to reach everyone

If your group has even one person without a smartphone, GroupUs keeps them in the conversation.

Coaches & teams

Reach every parent and player, not just the ones with the app.

Congregations & institutions

Keep everyone informed — no signup required, works for any community.

Volunteer groups

Coordinate shifts and events without chasing installs.

Family & elder care

Stay connected with relatives who just want a plain phone.

Pricing

One price. You only pay for texts you actually send.

A flat monthly fee per group, plus a penny for each text delivered. The group owner is billed — members never see a charge.

$5/mo
per group
+
1¢
per person, per message
Unlimited members — no cap, no per-member fee
Your group's own dedicated phone number
No contracts, no setup fees, cancel anytime
Photos (MMS) are 3¢ per person
How a message is counted

A text message goes to each person separately — that's how SMS works, and it's what we get charged for too. So one message to a group of 10 is 10 texts.

You send1 message
Your group has10 people
Texts delivered9 (everyone but you)
That message costs9¢
Long messages count as more than one

Carriers split a text into pieces of 160 characters. A longer message goes out as several texts, and each one is billed. Two things shrink that limit to 70 characters: any emoji, and certain language characters or other non-English letters. That's a carrier rule, not ours — but it does mean those messages cost more.

"Pickup at 3pm"1 text each
A long English paragraph (300 chars)2 texts each
The same paragraph with one 👍5 texts each
200 characters of another language3 texts each

To stop one very long message running up a bill, anything over 5 texts per person is refused rather than sent — you'll get a note back and nothing is charged. Roughly 765 characters in English, or 335 with emoji or another language.

Text USAGE to your group's number any time to see exactly how many texts you've used this period and what it adds up to so far. No surprises at the end of the month.

Real monthly examples
Family chat
5 people · ~100 messages a month
$9
Carpool list
12 people · ~200 messages a month
$27
Congregation announcements
30 people · ~100 messages a month, broadcast only
$34
Big announcement list
75 people · ~60 messages a month, broadcast only
$49

Big group? Broadcast mode keeps it cheap.

Switch any group so only the owner posts and members just receive. Nobody replies, so you send far fewer messages — a 75-person announcement list often costs less than a chatty group of 10.

Text BROADCAST ON to your group's number any time to switch.

FAQ

Questions people usually ask

Does this cost my group members anything?

No. The group owner is billed for the plan — members never see a charge, and there's nothing for them to sign up for or pay.

Why did a long message cost more than a short one?

Carriers split text messages into pieces of 160 characters, and each piece is billed separately — so a long message goes out as several texts to each person. Two things cut that limit to 70 characters: using any emoji, and writing in certain language characters or a different non-English alphabet. That's how SMS works everywhere, not something specific to GroupUs, but it does mean those messages cost more. If a single message would go out as more than 5 texts per person, we refuse it and tell you rather than running up your bill — nothing is sent or charged.

Is there a message limit?

No. There's nothing to run out of and nothing that pauses. You pay $5/month for the group, plus 1¢ for each text delivered — so one message to a group of 10 costs 9¢, since it goes to the nine other people. Long messages count as more than one text each (see the question above). Text USAGE to your group's number any time to see exactly what you've used and what it adds up to so far. It's all one monthly invoice, and members are never charged directly.

Do members need to download an app?

No. GroupUs runs entirely over plain SMS. Members join by replying to a text and never need to install anything, create an account, or log in.

Can members leave or stop getting texts?

Yes, anytime — texting LEAVE removes them from the group immediately. No one is stuck receiving messages they didn't ask for.

Is there a limit on how many people can be in a group?

No cap, and no monthly fee per member. But it's worth understanding how size affects cost: since every message goes to each person separately, a bigger group means each message costs more — one message to 20 people is 19 texts, or 19¢. A big group that rarely posts can easily cost less than a small group that chats all day.

Is this hard to switch to from GroupMe?

No migration is required, but it's not automatic either — GroupMe doesn't let us import your members directly. You create your GroupUs group, then invite your existing members; each person opts in with a single reply, same as joining any new group.

Can I send photos?

The group owner can — send a photo like you would any text, and it relays to everyone the same way messages do. Other members can't send photos, only the owner, to keep things simple and predictable. No app needed to view it either way; it just arrives as a normal picture message.

What's Broadcast mode?

An announcement-only setting for a group — only the owner can post, everyone else just receives. It costs the same as a regular group, but since nobody's replying, you'll naturally send far fewer messages, so it usually works out cheaper in practice. Switch anytime by texting BROADCAST ON or BROADCAST OFF to your group's number.

Can I pay without internet access?

That's planned, but not available at launch — paying by phone call, entering your card on the keypad, no internet required. From day one, payment works online (right here on the site) or via a secure link texted to your group's number; phone-based payment is coming in a later update.

Contact

Still have a question?

Send us a note and we'll get back to you — no phone tree, no ticket number. Prefer plain email? Reach us at support@joingroupus.com.

Text CREATE and your group name to
619-369-8341
Or fill in the form below and we'll set it up for you.
Get started

Create your group

Enter your details below. We'll take you to secure checkout, then text you your group's phone number.

SMS program details

GroupUs is a group text messaging service. By texting JOIN to a group's number, you agree to receive recurring group SMS messages from that group. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies by group. Reply LEAVE at any time to stop receiving messages from a group. Reply HELP to a group's number for help. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more.