The Real Cost of Staying in Touch at Montana State Prison: Calls, Messages, and Video
Staying connected with someone at Montana State Prison means navigating a mix of free weekly allowances and pay-per-use charges. Here's how costs break down so you can plan ahead.
Montana State Prison offers two weekly freebies that help stretch your budget: one free phone call and one free 10-minute video visit per inmate, per week. Once those are used up, additional time costs money. Your total bill depends on how often you talk and which options you choose.
Note: Tablet access can be turned off without warning for security reasons, sometimes for hours to days. The facility also asks the public not to call to ask whether tablets are currently available.
Text messaging through the tablet costs 25 cents per message (or per minute, as the rate is listed). Budget for that 25-cent charge each time a message goes out - the "per minute" wording reflects how the platform measures certain activity.
Two different video costs apply here. Video messages - recorded clips delivered through the tablet - run 35 cents per minute. Video visitation is separate: inmates get one free 10-minute session each week, then pay 25 cents per minute for any additional time.
Photo attachments sent through the tablet are listed at 25 cents per minute. That "per minute" unit is unusual for photos, so check your account activity to see how charges actually appear.
Phone calls are the cheapest option per minute once the weekly freebie is used. After that one free call each week, additional time runs 6 cents per minute.
Quick clarification: “Video messages” (35¢/minute) and “video visitation time” (25¢/minute after the free 10 minutes) are priced differently because they’re different services. Texts and photo attachments are also listed with their own per-message/per-minute rates.
- Price out extra video visitation time - After the free 10-minute video visit, an additional 10 minutes of video visitation costs 10 × $0.25 = $2.50.
- Compare that to a video message of the same length - A 10-minute video message costs 10 × $0.35 = $3.50, which is $1.00 more than 10 extra minutes of video visitation.
An easy way to budget: figure out your weekly habits, then multiply by four. Say you use the free weekly phone call but want 100 extra paid phone minutes across the month - that's 100 × $0.06 = $6.00. Add 40 paid video visitation minutes beyond the free weekly sessions, and you're looking at 40 × $0.25 = $10.00. Messaging adds up faster: 40 texts at 25 cents each totals $10.00, and a few longer video messages can climb quickly at 35 cents per minute. These are the Montana DOC-published rates for the vendor service, so your actual total depends on how you use each option.
- ✓ Build in some flexibility for tablet outages, since service can be shut off for security reasons without warning.
- ✓ Plan around how video visits actually happen: the inmate initiates the video visit by connecting their tablet to a docking station in their unit.
- ✓ Don’t count on scheduling a video visit online, since online scheduling is no longer available.
Questions about charges, account issues, or tablet problems? Start with GettingOut customer support. Call 1-866-516-0115 or visit the GettingOut Help page online for troubleshooting.
Heads up: Don’t create a GettingOut account until you receive an email invitation from the inmate. Tablet communication is initiated by the inmate, and the invitation is what triggers the account setup process.
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