Pricing
One balance. You pay for what they use.
No subscription, no monthly minimum, nothing that renews on its own.
$0.10
per minute of talking
$0.20–$0.40
per message, by state
No connection fees, no monthly fees.
Unused money back any time. Just email us.
Rounded up to the whole minute. A call that gets past the passphrase costs at least one. A call that never does is free.
30 minutes is the longest single call (15 in California). No monthly limit — call as often as the balance allows.
Top up $5.00 to $500.00 at a time. A call needs at least $0.30 to start.
What a call costs
Talk time is the only thing on the meter. Looking something up on the web costs nothing.
- 5 minutes
- $0.50
- 10 minutes
- $1.00
- 30 minutes
- $3.00
30 minutes is the cap on one call (15 in California). They can hang up and call straight back.
What a top-up buys
Add any amount from $5.00 to $500.00. Bigger top-ups carry a bonus, credited the moment the payment goes through. An amount in between earns the bonus of the row it has passed, so $60.00 earns the $50.00 bonus.
- $5.00
On your balance
$5.00
50 minutes
5 ten-minute calls
or about 12 messages - $10.00
On your balance
$10.00
100 minutes
10 ten-minute calls
or about 25 messages - $25.00+$1.00
On your balance
$26.00
260 minutes
26 ten-minute calls
or about 65 messages - $50.00+$3.00
On your balance
$53.00
530 minutes
53 ten-minute calls
or about 132 messages - $100.00+$10.00
On your balance
$110.00
1100 minutes
110 ten-minute calls
or about 275 messages
What a message costs
The price follows the state, because each prison system charges a different amount to carry a message.
A long reply is delivered as more than one message, and each one costs the rate here. The two messages we send to get them started — a welcome, and their number and passphrase — are free.
Washington
State prisons
$0.40
Per message
California
State prisons
$0.20
Per message
Anywhere else
Calls now · messages soon
Messages to other states are coming. You can add somebody there and call them today, and a message we cannot send is never charged. Tell us which state you need: it helps us decide which to add next.
This is not the whole cost of the call
The facility charges its own per-minute rate for the phone line itself, billed the way it always is. Kite’s charge above is on top of that, and we have no control over the other part.
Frequently asked questions
The rest are on the FAQ.
How do I know this is not a scam?
Fair question — this industry has earned it. Kite is prepaid only: nothing renews, nothing auto-charges, and you can close the account and have any unused money you paid in refunded. Saving a card costs nothing. And you can reach a person without signing in: [email protected]. We reply within 2 business days.
Is there a monthly plan?
No. Kite is prepaid only. You add money when you want to and it lasts until it is used. Nothing bills you on a schedule.
Do calls and messages come out of the same money?
Yes. Talking draws from your balance by the minute and messages draw from it one at a time — you do not buy them separately or in packs. If you support several people, the messages each one writes on the tablet are paid from their own wallet.
What happens when the balance runs out?
When the money runs out during a call, Kite says so about a minute before and then ends the call. New calls and messages wait until you add money, so it cannot run up a bill you did not fund.
Do they get warned before the money runs out?
Yes. When less than a minute of paid time is left, the assistant says so on the call. They are also told the balance and the time remaining at the start of every call, so a call ending is never a surprise.
Why does a message cost more in some states?
Because the prison system sets that price, not us. Washington charges us many times what California does to carry the same message, so it is the one that costs more. We pass that through rather than charging every family the average, and we only list a state once we have confirmed what it actually charges.
Does looking things up on the web cost extra?
No. It is free, and nothing about it appears on your balance. The only thing a call costs is the per-minute rate above.
How do I pay?
Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or your bank account through Link. A payment company handles the card, so Kite never sees or stores your card details.
Secure checkout powered by Stripe
Is there a limit on how much they can talk?
One call can run up to 30 minutes (15 in California), and they can call again straight away. There is no monthly cap — the balance is the only limit, and nothing carries over or runs out at the end of a month.
- How do I know this is not a scam?
- Fair question — this industry has earned it. Kite is prepaid only: nothing renews, nothing auto-charges, and you can close the account and have any unused money you paid in refunded. Saving a card costs nothing. And you can reach a person without signing in: [email protected]. We reply within 2 business days.
- Is there a monthly plan?
- No. Kite is prepaid only. You add money when you want to and it lasts until it is used. Nothing bills you on a schedule.
- Do calls and messages come out of the same money?
- Yes. Talking draws from your balance by the minute and messages draw from it one at a time — you do not buy them separately or in packs. If you support several people, the messages each one writes on the tablet are paid from their own wallet.
- What happens when the balance runs out?
- When the money runs out during a call, Kite says so about a minute before and then ends the call. New calls and messages wait until you add money, so it cannot run up a bill you did not fund.
- Do they get warned before the money runs out?
- Yes. When less than a minute of paid time is left, the assistant says so on the call. They are also told the balance and the time remaining at the start of every call, so a call ending is never a surprise.
- Why does a message cost more in some states?
- Because the prison system sets that price, not us. Washington charges us many times what California does to carry the same message, so it is the one that costs more. We pass that through rather than charging every family the average, and we only list a state once we have confirmed what it actually charges.
- Does looking things up on the web cost extra?
- No. It is free, and nothing about it appears on your balance. The only thing a call costs is the per-minute rate above.
- How do I pay?
- Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or your bank account through Link. A payment company handles the card, so Kite never sees or stores your card details.
Secure checkout powered by Stripe
- Is there a limit on how much they can talk?
- One call can run up to 30 minutes (15 in California), and they can call again straight away. There is no monthly cap — the balance is the only limit, and nothing carries over or runs out at the end of a month.
Give them a number of their own
No subscription, no monthly fee.