How Many People Can Be in a Group Text?

We know that group messages on your iPhone or iPad are a great way to communicate with several people at one time, but one question remains: how many people can be on a group text? If you have mass information you want to share with your contacts, you'll want to know the iMessage group chat limit. Here are the different carriers and their various group chat limits.

How Many People Can Be in an iMessage Group Chat?

These limits are set by your cell phone carrier, so we'll reveal the limits set by the top four carriers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and UScellular. The reason for the limits (besides upselling you on premium plans) appears to be to prevent spammers from sending out mass phishing texts. We'll go over the different plans as well as the different kinds of group messages you can send.

What's a Group iMessage vs a Group MMS or Group SMS?

Group iMessage

So, what's the difference between a group iMessage, an MMS message, or a group SMS? The distinguishing feature of a group iMessage is that every member is using an Apple device. All your sent messages show up in blue bubbles, while the messages you receive are gray. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and don't use data if you're connected to a Wi-Fi network, which means people can message from a Mac or a Wi-Fi iPad. Everyone can see all the responses from every group member; share their location; and send pictures, videos, and audio messages that can include features like animations, sketches, and more. The person who starts the group iMessage can name the group message and add or remove group members, and group members can mute notifications or leave the group if it has four or more members.

Make sure to turn on iMessages on your iPhone to use this feature. For more ways to maximize your messaging, check out our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

Group MMS

If not everyone in your group chat has an iPhone, your group text will be in MMS, or multimedia messaging service, format. This type of group chat goes through cell service rather than Wi-Fi, and sent messages show up in green text bubbles. Group members can still send and receive pictures, see all responses from everyone in the group, and mute notifications. You can't leave this type of chat.

Group SMS

SMS stands for short message service, sends in green text bubbles, and also uses cellular service. You can't send photos or videos via this method. Still, one benefit is that the group message is sent as individual messages to group members, so each group member isn't notified about every reply.

What Is the Group Message Limit for Different Cell Services?

Different people have given me varying feedback on this question, and the answer seems to depend on which cell phone service provider you use. I get my phone coverage through US Cellular, and can't add more than 32 members to a group iMessages chat. Once I reach that limit, the plus sign at the upper-right corner of the screen turns from blue to gray, and I can't add any more contacts. As a side note, you probably shouldn't be adding this many people to a group text, anyway. Check out our article on texting etiquette for more tips about polite texting. Now, let's learn about other major cell service providers.

AT&T Group Message Limit

According to this article on the AT&T website, the company limits group texts to 20 members to "protect our customers from spam and/or malicious software". Some devices support up to 30 member group chats.

Verizon Group Text Limit

Verizon allows customers to make chat groups of up to 20 members at this time.

T-Mobile Group Chat Options

T-Mobile offers customers up to 100 members of a group chat with their Advanced Messaging plan.

US Cellular

UScellular offers customers two options: a 10-person limit with its basic messaging plan or a 100-person limit with the Advanced Messaging plan.