Clearstream review

Clearstream is a church-focused platform for sending texts and emails to congregations, managing incoming replies and following up with members and visitors. It combines broadcast messaging with tools for ongoing conversations and automated follow-up, rather than focusing on email newsletters alone.

Churches can schedule text announcements with links, pictures or videos, and let people join a list by texting a keyword. The platform can then send an automated response. Email tools cover messages such as newsletters and volunteer reminders. Clearstream also includes a shared texting inbox for one-to-one conversations, workflows that can use conditions and menus, ministry or campus subaccounts, and mobile apps.

That mix is aimed at churches that want announcements, replies and follow-up under one roof. Subaccounts let separate ministries operate within the wider account; they are not unlimited on the listed plans.

Clearstream’s main advantage is having both outbound messaging and reply management in one service. A church can send a scheduled announcement, let recipients join a list by keyword, and use automated messages or workflows to continue the conversation. Email scheduling and the shared texting inbox cover different communication needs without requiring separate tools for each.

The plan structure also gives churches a way to scale capacity and ministry accounts as needs grow. According to the pricing page, the $35 monthly plan includes 1,000 credits, 10,000 emails, one microsite and one local phone number. The $59 plan raises those limits to 2,500 credits, 30,000 emails and three phone numbers, and includes two subaccounts. Email becomes unlimited on the $119 plan, which includes 6,000 credits and four subaccounts.

• Churches less than a year old can use the Church plant plan free while they meet that age condition.
• The pricing page lists a 30-day free trial. Annual billing is discounted 16% from the listed monthly price.
• Purchased credit packs roll over and do not expire, according to the pricing details.

The main thing to check before switching is how quickly your church will use its credits. The entry plan includes 1,000 credits per month, while the listed $5,899 plan includes 500,000. The pricing information does not publish how credits translate into individual texts or other actions, so a church cannot estimate its message volume from the credit allowance alone without clarifying that first.

There are other tier limits to account for. The $35 plan has 10,000 emails, one microsite and one local number; the $59 plan has 30,000 emails, three microsites and three local numbers. Unlimited email starts at $119 per month. Subaccounts also rise by tier, from two on the $59 plan to 35 on the $5,899 plan, so multi-campus churches may need a higher-priced tier for organizational capacity, not just messaging volume.

Extra credits cost $10 for 125, $35 for 500, $60 for 1,000, $125 for 2,500 or $425 for 10,000. Prices for the Planning Center add-on, short codes and rollover or auto-refill credits are not published.

Clearstream’s listed plans start at $35 per month, with 1,000 credits, 10,000 emails and one local phone number. The next tier is $59 per month for 2,500 credits, 30,000 emails and two subaccounts. Annual billing gets a 16% discount: those prices work out to $29.40 and $49.56 per month, respectively. The 30-day trial is separate from the free Church plant plan, which is available only while a church is less than one year old.

The bigger jumps matter: $119 buys 6,000 credits, while $229 buys 12,000; higher tiers climb to $5,899 per month for 500,000 credits. Extra credits cost $10 for 125, $35 for 500, $60 for 1,000, $125 for 2,500 or $425 for 10,000. Purchased credits roll over and do not expire. Planning Center, short-code, rollover-credit and auto-refill pricing is not published. Check your expected usage before choosing a tier; the listed plans do not offer unlimited texting.

The published Clearstream information does not specify contact-import tools, data export options, message-history portability or whether you can keep an existing phone number or short code. Confirm those details before moving lists, especially opt-in records and any workflows your team relies on. Also check how subaccounts, microsites and local numbers would map to your current setup; the pricing page lists limits for each, but that does not establish what can be transferred.

We don’t have Reddit posts or comments in the published material for this review, so we can’t responsibly say what users report as reasons for leaving. Before signing up, ask Clearstream how to export contacts, replies and consent records if you later switch, and whether cancellation affects number ownership or access to message history. If you’re leaving, document your lists, automations and number arrangements first. Migration effort and lock-in are not published on the vendor's site, so treat them as questions to resolve—not known product limitations.