How many people can you put in a group text on iPhone?

The higher rows are official, and none gives an iPhone group size. Every concrete number for iPhone comes from people describing what happened on their phone, at some point between 2021 and 2024. Those reports conflict. The same green-bubble cap shows up as 10 in one thread and 20 in another, and one user says they're in a working group of 18. That pattern fits what Apple implied in 2014: the carrier decides for MMS groups, so two iPhones on two carriers can behave differently.

The 32 for iMessage groups is the most repeated number, and it's still a report. A 2023 forum reply says "Apple says 32," but no Apple page we opened says it. The user who wrote it also said they ran out of names at 28 or 29 while testing. We haven't tested group sizes on a device ourselves, and we don't publish a number until a primary source does. How we rank sources is on how we test and source this site.

The Google Voice figure is the only exact limit in the table from an official page. It applies to Google Voice, a separate service with its own number, not to iPhone Messages. Google's page also says Voice "is not intended for bulk messaging." Other methods and their limits are compared on ways to mass text.

Mixed groups: iPhone and Android

Apple says a group goes as iMessage only "if all of the recipients are using Apple devices and iMessage is turned on." Add one Android phone and Apple says it goes as MMS or SMS, or RCS on iOS 18 and later, through your carrier. No source we opened gives a group size for that mixed case. Apple adds one more rule that limits how a mixed group can grow: you can only add someone to an existing group if they use an Apple device. To include someone on a non-Apple phone, Apple says you need to start a new group message.

Size isn't the only limit on a big group

A bigger group means more people in one shared thread. In a group iMessage or group MMS, Apple says everyone can see all responses from the group, so one "thanks!" reaches all 30 people. Only a group SMS returns each reply privately, and you can't choose that type. The full explanation is on why replies to your group text go to everyone, and the MMS switch is covered on Group Messaging and MMS Messaging on iPhone.

CTIA also notes that carriers "deploy filters and other tools that limit messaging traffic bearing the characteristics of Unwanted Messages." CTIA doesn't publish the thresholds, and neither do the carriers we checked. If some people on a big list say they never got your text, the causes are listed on why some people didn't get your text.

Send the message as separate one-to-one conversations:

1. 1Write the message once. Use a greeting you can change per person, like "Hi Sam".
2. 2In Messages, tap the compose button and add one person in To.
3. 3Paste the message, change the name, and tap Send.
4. 4Repeat for the next person, and keep track of who's done.

Each conversation has two people, so there's no group size to reach and replies come back only to you. Pasting the same text into one message with several people in To still makes a group.

Texting a lot of people for a business

CTIA treats anyone texting on behalf of a business as a "Non-Consumer" sender, even from a personal phone. That's an industry guideline, not legal advice. Get permission before you text customers, let them opt out by replying STOP, and don't use bought lists. The basics are on texting customers: consent and opt-out basics.

• An iMessage group cap. Reported as 32 in forums and one third-party test; Apple doesn't state it.
• A green-bubble group cap per carrier for iPhone. Verizon's pages state none.
• An RCS group cap on iPhone. Apple's RCS text lists features, not a size.
• What you see when you hit a cap. Forum users describe Messages refusing to add more names. Apple doesn't describe it.