ParakeetInmate, powered by InmateDB, has three plans: Texting at $9.99 a month, Texting + AI at $14.99 a month, and Full Access at $19.99 a month. Every new account starts with a 3-day free trial, so you can see how the setup works before you pay anything. The difference between the plans comes down to two things: whether other people can text your loved one first, and how many extras ride along with the messages.
Below is what each plan actually changes for your family, in the order most people should consider them.
The $9.99 Texting plan: one conversation, started from inside
This is the entry plan, and it covers the core thing most families want: back-and-forth texting with someone in federal prison. Your loved one sends a message from a TRULINCS terminal, it goes out from a shared number, and you reply from your normal texting app like any other text. No app required on your end.
The catch is in that word shared. On this plan, the shared number can only carry a reply once the inmate has texted you first. In practice that means your loved one opens the thread. If you want to send something at 7 a.m. before they get to a terminal, you wait until they reach out. For a lot of families that is fine, because the rhythm of the day already belongs to the facility schedule.
This plan fits you if:
- You are setting this up for the first time and want the lowest monthly cost while you learn the routine.
- One family member will do most of the replying.
- You mostly respond to messages rather than start them.
It does not fit well if several relatives want to text independently, or if you want to send a message on your own schedule. That is the gap the other two plans fill.
The $14.99 Texting + AI plan: the same texting, plus things to talk about
Everything in the $9.99 plan is here, and the shared-number rule is the same. What you add is a set of tools on the inmate side: AI chat with ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok, plus news, sports, weather and trivia apps.
That sounds like a novelty until you have sat through a few weeks of short messages. Conversation inside is thin. The days repeat. Having weather for your town, a score from last night, or a question to ask an AI gives your loved one something new to write about, and gives you something to answer. Families who use this plan tend to describe it as a way to keep the thread from going quiet.
This plan fits you if:
- You are already texting regularly and the messages have gotten short.
- Your loved one is curious about the AI tools and will actually use them.
- You want more to talk about without paying for a personal number you do not need.
If your loved one is not interested in news, sports or AI, skip this one. Paying $5 more a month for apps nobody opens is just $5 more a month.
The $19.99 Full Access plan: a number anyone can text first
This is the plan that changes the direction of the conversation. Full Access gives your loved one a personal phone number, and anyone can text that number first. No waiting for them to open the thread. You can send a message in the morning and it is there when they next get to a terminal.
Full Access also adds email and more than 15 additional apps. For families spread across several phones, this is usually the plan that makes the whole thing work, because a personal number is easier to hand out and easier for multiple people to use. If you are weighing the two number types, our guide to shared number versus personal number walks through the trade-offs in detail.
This plan fits you if:
- More than one person will be texting, and you do not want to coordinate who replies.
- You want to send messages on your schedule, not only after theirs arrive.
- You want email in the same place as texting.
It is the most expensive plan, and it is worth it mainly for that ability to start a conversation. If one person handles all the messaging and always replies to incoming texts, the $9.99 plan does the same job for less.
What you actually do to get started, on any plan
- Find your loved one on InmateDB by name or BOP register number. If you do not have the number, it looks like 12345-678 and you can find it with the BOP inmate locator on bop.gov.
- Start the 3-day free trial or pick a plan.
- Your loved one adds one InmateDB contact in TRULINCS. This is the step that stalls most first-timers, because it happens on their end and you cannot do it for them.
- After that, they text by putting a phone number in the subject line and the message in the body.
One thing to check before you pay for anything: ParakeetInmate, powered by InmateDB, works with federal Bureau of Prisons facilities that use CorrLinks, which is about 93% of federal facilities. It does not work in state prisons or county jails. If your loved one is not in the BOP system, none of these plans will reach them, and our honest breakdown of where ParakeetInmate works and where it stops will save you the subscription.
The first-week snags, and the fix for each
The most common problem is silence after setup. Usually the TRULINCS contact was never added, or was added with a typo. Ask your loved one to confirm the contact is there before you assume the plan is broken.
The second is confusion about replies on the $9.99 and $14.99 plans. If you try to text first and nothing goes through, that is the shared number working as designed, not an error. Either reply to their last message or move up to Full Access.
The third is timing. How quickly your loved one sees a reply depends on when they can get to a TRULINCS terminal, and that varies by facility and by the day. Do not read a quiet stretch as a problem with your account.
Also worth knowing: facility staff can monitor messages. Write accordingly, and keep anything sensitive for a phone call or a visit.
Other things the account covers
Photos and letters are separate from the monthly plans and priced on their own. You upload up to 10 photos per order, and standard or glossy prints are printed and mailed to the facility. Letters can be typed or uploaded online, printed and mailed, at $1.49 for the first page and $0.30 for each page after. If you are planning to lean on either, price out a month of real use before you commit, because a weekly letter adds up faster than the subscription does.
Quick answers
Can I try it before choosing a plan?
Yes. New accounts get a 3-day free trial. Use it to confirm the TRULINCS contact is set up and that messages actually move in both directions. Our guide to what to test during the 3-day trial lists the checks worth doing before the trial ends.
Can I change plans later?
Start on the plan that matches how you text now, then move up if you find yourself wanting to send messages first or add family members. The $9.99 plan is a reasonable place to begin because it costs the least while you learn the routine.
Does the plan work if my loved one is in a state prison?
No. This service covers federal Bureau of Prisons facilities that use CorrLinks. For state or county facilities, check with the facility directly about what messaging options they allow.
If you are ready to see which plan fits, start by finding your loved one’s listing and checking that their facility is covered. Find your loved one and the setup will tell you the rest.