Remindly and SimpleTexting solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $34, the other is a subscription at $29+/mo run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| Remindly | SimpleTexting | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $34 once | $29+/mo |
| Cost after 1 year | $34 + your SMS fees | $348+ |
| 500 appts/mo SMS cost | ~$4 (your Twilio bill) | Included, then overage |
| Two-way confirm (C/R) | Yes | Yes |
| No-show analytics | Yes — per weekday and hour | No |
| Quiet hours | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted / your data | Yes — SQLite, your box | No |
| API keys | Yours (BYO) | Theirs |
What Remindly does well
- Appointments — Manual entry or CSV import with per-row validation and error reporting.
- Reminder rules — Any offset like 24h, 2h or 15min, by SMS or email, with per-rule templates and merge fields.
- Two-way confirm — Clients reply C to confirm or R to reschedule via the Twilio inbound webhook, with confirmed / pending / no-reply status.
- STOP/START opt-out — Compliant by design — STOP blocks all future sends to that number and is logged, START re-subscribes.
What SimpleTexting still does better
There's a real reason SimpleTexting costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on SimpleTexting's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $29+/mo for a job your own hardware can do, Remindly pays for itself and then some: remindly costs about one month of SimpleTexting once — after year one you pay only the SMS fees you were already going to pay anyway.
Try Remindly — $34, once
Self-hosted appointment reminder tool that sends SMS and email through your own Twilio and SMTP.