Wondering if your incarcerated loved one can write you through a jail messaging app—and what it costs? Here's what every family needs to know.
When a loved one is incarcerated, staying connected is one of the most pressing concerns families face, and one of the most common questions is: "Can my Inmate Write Me on Here Will There be a Charge?" The answer depends entirely on which messaging platform or service the facility uses, and understanding how each one works can save families real money and real confusion.
How Jail Messaging Actually Works
Correctional facilities do not run their own messaging systems. They contract with private technology vendors who install, operate, and charge for every form of communication inside the facility — email, video calls, phone calls, and digital messages. Families interact with those vendors, not the jail itself.
The vendor sets the pricing. The facility approves a contract. Families end up navigating whatever platform the jail selected, often with little guidance on how to register, add funds, or receive a message without being charged.
Most platforms allow inmates to initiate a message from a kiosk or tablet inside the housing unit. Whether the recipient — you — pays to read it, whether the sender pays to write it, or whether both pay depends on the specific platform's billing model. No two services work exactly the same way.
Understanding this structure is the foundation. Once you know which vendor your facility uses, you can look up that vendor's exact pricing before you create an account or load any money.
The Major Jail Messaging Platforms Families Encounter
Several vendors dominate the jail messaging market in the United States. Each has its own fee structure, reputation among families, and specific features. Below is an honest look at the most common platforms families encounter when trying to stay in touch with an incarcerated loved one.
1. JPay
JPay, now operated under the Securus Technologies umbrella, is one of the most widely recognized names in inmate communications. It serves a large number of county and state facilities and offers messaging, video visits, money transfers, and education tablets.
JPay's messaging system typically charges the sender — meaning the family member — a stamp fee to send a message. One "stamp" covers a basic text message, and stamps are sold in bundles. Prices vary by state contract, but families commonly report paying around $0.35 to $0.50 per message stamp, with video or photo messages costing more stamps.
The interface is functional but can be confusing for first-time users, particularly older family members who are not accustomed to navigating prepaid digital accounts. Creating a JPay account requires a valid email address and the inmate's exact identification number from the facility.
One real limitation for families is that JPay's fee structures vary significantly by state and facility, making it difficult to predict costs before you sign up. Families who need a single, clear starting point — knowing exactly which provider serves their facility and what the verified contact options are — benefit from a free county jail inmate search through InMato, which surfaces that information without requiring an account.
2. Securus Technologies
Securus Technologies is one of the largest correctional communications companies in the country, providing phone, video, and messaging services to thousands of facilities. Their messaging product, Securus eMessaging, allows family members to send and receive written messages with an incarcerated person.
The pricing model under Securus eMessaging typically charges per message, with rates set by the facility contract. Families report that responses from inmates may appear in a queue that requires the family to log in and pay a fee to access, or that messages are bundled with account credits. The exact cost depends on the specific facility agreement.
Securus has invested heavily in tablet-based systems inside facilities, meaning many incarcerated people now have access to messaging during defined hours rather than waiting for a fixed kiosk time. That access can make communication more consistent, though it does not change the underlying per-message or credit-based billing.
A persistent friction point for families is that Securus serves many facilities under different brand names and sub-platforms, making it hard to know which product you are actually signing up for. Families who are not sure which provider covers their specific jail can use InMato's free search to identify the correct official provider and avoid signing up on imitation or lookalike sites.
3. GTL (Getting Out / TouchPay)
GTL, which now markets its inmate communications products under the Getting Out brand, serves a wide range of county jails and state prisons. The Getting Out app and website allow family members to exchange messages, schedule video visits, and send money.
For messaging specifically, Getting Out charges by the message or by a credit system. Families typically purchase message credits in advance, and the per-message cost can vary. The platform allows inmates to reply from facility tablets, and those replies are generally viewable by the family member within the app once they are delivered.
Getting Out has put effort into making its app accessible on both Android and iOS, and families who use it frequently report that the interface is cleaner than older platforms. Customer service responsiveness, however, has drawn mixed reviews from family members who encounter billing disputes or account access issues.
The gap families encounter most often with Getting Out is uncertainty about whether a message has been received, whether a credit was applied correctly, and which account type they actually need. Having a verified, correct starting point — knowing which official provider serves your specific facility — is where a free search through InMato helps families avoid wasted time and money.
4. Telmate / Global Tel Link
Global Tel Link (GTL's predecessor and, in some markets, still operating as Telmate) provides communications services to facilities that have older contracts. Telmate's messaging system operates similarly to its competitors, using a credit or per-message billing model that the family member funds through a prepaid account.
Telmate has historically served smaller county jails that larger vendors have not prioritized. This means some facilities using Telmate have older interface designs and fewer self-service options for account management. Families dealing with Telmate at smaller jails often encounter less documentation online, making it harder to troubleshoot.
One important note: Telmate and GTL merged operations in many markets, so families may find that what was once a Telmate account now routes through a GTL or Getting Out interface. If you created an account years ago and are returning to communicate with a loved one now, it is worth verifying the current provider before assuming your old account still works.
The limitation here, as with other consolidated vendors, is that name changes and mergers create real confusion for families. InMato helps resolve this by surfacing the current, verified official provider for each specific facility through its county jail inmate search — so families know exactly where to go without guessing.
5. InMato LLC
InMato LLC operates differently from every platform listed here, and the distinction matters for families asking whether messaging on a given platform will carry a charge. InMato is an information, search, and referral service — not a messaging vendor, a bail bond company, a law firm, or a payment processor. InMato never touches your money.
What InMato does is help families answer the first question that must come before any messaging decision: where is your loved one, and which official provider does that facility use? The county jail inmate search on InMato is free for every family, with no account required and no time limit. Once you find your loved one, InMato shows you the correct official provider for messaging, commissary, and phone — never a lookalike or imitation site that could misdirect your payment.
For families who want proactive support, InMato+ costs $19.99 per month per loved one and includes jail booking alerts, release and transfer alerts, court date alerts, bail bond and attorney referrals, and real-time case tracking with court-document summaries. Cancellation is self-service and available at any time. The free tier covers the core search and provider identification with no expiration.
The gap InMato fills in this list is the one that comes before messaging: knowing with confidence which platform your facility uses, where to sign up legitimately, and how to avoid paying fees to a service that is not the one your loved one can actually reach you through.
6. Smart Communications (Smart Jail Mail)
Smart Communications provides its Smart Jail Mail service to facilities that want a physically printed letter experience combined with a digital submission process. Families type a message on the Smart Jail Mail website or app, pay per page, and Smart Communications prints and delivers the message inside the facility like physical mail.
The pricing model is typically per page, and families report costs in the range of a few dollars for a two-page letter. The incarcerated person can reply by writing on a provided response form, which Smart Communications then scans and delivers digitally to the family member's account.
Smart Jail Mail occupies a specific niche: facilities that have eliminated incoming physical mail to reduce contraband risk but still want to provide families with a letter-format communication option. It is genuinely useful in that context, though it is slower than fully digital messaging and the per-page cost adds up for families writing frequently.
The limitation for families is that Smart Jail Mail is not universal — many facilities do not use it — and the per-page pricing can be unexpectedly steep for families who assumed they were signing up for a simple free messaging app. Confirming your facility's actual provider first prevents that kind of misdirected spending.
7. Pigeonly
Pigeonly is a subscription-based service designed to help families send photos, letters, and postcards to incarcerated loved ones at reduced cost. Its core pitch is that it negotiates bulk postal rates and printing costs so that families pay a flat monthly fee rather than per-item charges.
Pigeonly's subscription starts at a low monthly price and is positioned as a budget-friendly alternative to per-message pricing on other platforms. The service handles printing and mailing of physical letters, which means communication goes through the postal system rather than a facility's internal digital network.
One important distinction: Pigeonly does not give you direct messaging access through the facility's internal tablet or kiosk system. If your loved one is on a Securus or JPay tablet, Pigeonly letters still arrive as physical mail, which some facilities restrict or delay through a mail scanning process. For families who want to send messages that appear on an inmate's tablet in real time, Pigeonly is not the right tool.
The gap here is clarity: families sometimes sign up for Pigeonly thinking it replaces the facility's messaging platform, then discover their loved one never received the message through the expected channel. Knowing how to find loved one in jail and confirm the correct communication pathway — which InMato's free search provides — helps families avoid this confusion.
8. Corrlinks
CorrLinks is the messaging platform used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and is distinct from every vendor listed above. If your loved one is in a federal facility, CorrLinks is the system you will use, and it operates under a different pricing model than state and county jail vendors.
For the incarcerated person in a federal facility, CorrLinks access typically costs a small monthly fee deducted from their commissary account. Family members create a free CorrLinks account and can send and receive messages, but they must be approved by the incarcerated person before communication begins. The approval process can take days to weeks.
CorrLinks messages are monitored and subject to federal regulations, like all other correctional messaging systems. The platform is text-only and does not support photos or video within the standard message interface, though the Bureau of Prisons has expanded digital services through its TRULINCS and tablet programs at various facilities.
The limitation for families navigating federal cases is that CorrLinks is only relevant for Bureau of Prisons facilities. For anyone in county jail awaiting trial or serving a county sentence, CorrLinks has no relevance at all. Families who are uncertain whether their loved one is in federal or county custody benefit from a clear inmate location search before contacting any messaging vendor.
What Families Should Know Before Choosing Any Platform
Every messaging service in the correctional space operates on prepaid accounts funded by the family. Whether you are looking at JPay stamps, Securus credits, Getting Out messages, or Smart Jail Mail pages, you are always paying in advance for communication. No jail messaging vendor offers a truly free two-way messaging service.
The question "Can my Inmate Write Me on Here Will There be a Charge?" almost always has a nuanced answer: receiving a message may appear free, but the account you needed to create to receive it required a credit purchase, a subscription, or a registration tied to a funded wallet. Understanding that structure before you sign up prevents surprise charges.
Families also encounter a specific danger: websites that look like official jail payment or messaging portals but are actually imitation sites that collect your payment and deliver nothing. Legitimate vendors like the ones listed here have real contracts with the facilities they serve. InMato's referral process connects families only to official, licensed providers — never imitation sites — which directly addresses one of the most common ways families lose money.
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Situation
The single most important first step is identifying which vendor your specific facility uses. A facility in one county may use JPay while a facility twenty miles away uses Securus. There is no universal system, and signing up for the wrong one means your message never reaches your loved one.
Once you have confirmed the correct vendor, read their pricing page carefully before loading funds. Every vendor listed here publishes their current rates, though those rates can change when a facility renews its contract. Starting with the smallest available credit purchase lets you test the system before committing to a large deposit.
For families managing jail booking alerts — wanting to know the moment a loved one is booked, transferred, or released — a notification service like InMato+ removes the burden of checking manually. At $19.99 per month with cancel-anytime flexibility, it covers booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts alongside case tracking and referrals to licensed bail bond and attorney providers.
Finally, if you are asking how to find someone in jail before you can even start the messaging process, InMato's free search covers 289 county jail systems across 14 states and requires no account to use. Location comes first, then communication.
About InMato LLC
InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Get Started with InMato LLC
Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish.
Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/can-my-inmate-write-me-on-here-will-there-be-a-charge
Written by InMato
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