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Verified Free / Health

Is Crisis Text Line actually free?

Truly Free
How free98/100
Value9/10
How these scores work
Free Score (0–100) follows a fixed rubric: cards up front, auto-billing, hard time cutoffs, withheld core features, and paying with your data or attention all deduct points. 90–100 truly free · 70–89 free forever · 45–69 squeezed · 15–44 trial mechanics · under 15 fake or gone. Value (0–10) is editorial: real-world worth of the free offering measured against its paid equivalent. Full rubric on the methodology page.

Yes. Text HOME to 741741 in the US and you are connected to a trained volunteer crisis counsellor, free, 24 hours a day. No account, no app, nothing to install.

What it’s worth

There is no paid equivalent of a volunteer crisis counsellor at three in the morning.

What you get free

  • A trained crisis counsellor by text, 24 hours a day
  • Free on major carriers, with no account and nothing to install
  • Text rather than voice, which is the point for anyone who cannot speak freely

In practice: a real conversation with a trained person, by text, at any hour, for nothing.

Drawbacks

  • Text-based, so it moves slower than a phone call
  • Short codes and numbers differ by country
  • Conversations are logged and reviewed for training and safety

Also paywalled

  • Nothing. There is no paid tier.

Free facts

VerdictTruly Free
Card requiredNo
Auto-bills—
AccountNone
LimitsNone
The real costNothing. A text message to a short code, free on the major carriers.

The catch

The honest caveat is not about money, it is about privacy. Conversations are logged and the service has previously drawn criticism for how it handled anonymised conversation data with a commercial spin-off, a practice it ended. Nothing about that affects what it costs you. It is worth knowing if you would rather speak than type.

The smart play

  • Text, not call, is the point — it works where talking out loud is not possible
  • The number differs by country: 741741 in the US, 686868 in Canada
  • It is for any crisis, not only suicidal thoughts

Common questions

Does Crisis Text Line require a credit card?
No — Crisis Text Line does not ask for a card to use the free version. Auto-billing: —.
What are the limits of Crisis Text Line's free plan?
None. The honest caveat is not about money, it is about privacy. Conversations are logged and the service has previously drawn criticism for how it handled anonymised conversation data with a commercial spin-off, a practice it ended. Nothing about that affects what it costs you. It is worth knowing if you would rather speak than type.
How do I use Crisis Text Line without paying?
Text, not call, is the point — it works where talking out loud is not possible The number differs by country: 741741 in the US, 686868 in Canada It is for any crisis, not only suicidal thoughts
What does Crisis Text Line really cost?
Nothing. A text message to a short code, free on the major carriers.
Why is Crisis Text Line free?
Nothing. A text message to a short code, free on the major carriers. There is no paid equivalent of a volunteer crisis counsellor at three in the morning.
Is Crisis Text Line still free?
As of our October 2026 check, yes. Yes. Text HOME to 741741 in the US and you are connected to a trained volunteer crisis counsellor, free, 24 hours a day. No account, no app, nothing to install. Free tiers change without notice, which is why every page here carries the date it was checked.

More info — tap to expand

The number is not the same everywhere
741741 is the US short code. Canada's equivalent is 686868, run by Kids Help Phone despite the name serving all ages, and the UK has its own at 85258. Texting the wrong one simply does not connect, which is a bad discovery to make in a crisis — worth storing the right one now.

Checked: October 2026 · Verdict: Truly Free — no card, no account wall, no meaningful catch. use it and go.

🍁 Canada

Yes — text CONNECT to 686868, operated by Kids Help Phone and open to all ages, not only young people.

Visit Crisis Text Line →

Was this verdict right?

Free tiers change without notice. If you have just used it, you know something we don't.

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