Lead Engage vs StreetText: Which Fits Your Follow Up Boss Team? (2026)

Short answer: Lead Engage and StreetText solve different problems that overlap at texting. Lead Engage is an all-in-one marketing suite for nurturing the Follow Up Boss database you already have — $149–$399/mo (billed annually) with a shared usage wallet. StreetText is a Facebook/Instagram lead-generation platform whose texting product, Conversations, is $69/mo standalone or $49/mo as an ad-plan add-on. Buy Lead Engage to work existing leads across channels; buy StreetText to generate new leads and text them.

Full disclosure up front: we make SendMate, a third option in this market — it appears only at the end, with its own trade-offs stated plainly. Competitor figures were checked against each vendor's published pages on July 1, 2026 (Lead Engage's setup fee re-verified July 13, its texting-cadence policy July 19) and can change — confirm on their sites before you buy.

What Each Tool Is Actually Built For

Lead Engage has grown from a texting tool into an all-in-one "AI marketing engine" for Follow Up Boss users: messaging, workflow automations, chatbots, reputation management, a social planner, email, and an ad manager, with a conversational-AI agent as an optional add-on. It works the leads already in your database.

StreetText is the opposite: first a Facebook/Instagram lead-generation platform — ad plans run $79–$249/mo — with its texting product, Conversations by StreetText, sold standalone or as an ad-plan add-on, the "Julie" AI assistant included at no extra AI fee. It fills your funnel and texts the leads its ads produce.

Pricing Side by Side

	Lead Engage	StreetText
Texting entry	Messaging $149/mo (billed annually) + $99 setup	Conversations $69/mo standalone · $49/mo ad-plan add-on ($39 annual)
Included	$100/mo shared wallet credit (≈1,000 messages if SMS-only)	Julie AI texting + Follow Up Boss integration
Overage	$0.05 per 160-character segment ($0.037 on All-In-One)	Per-message rate not published
Higher tiers	Automation $249/mo · All-In-One $399/mo + $297 setup	Ad plans: Grow $79/mo, Pro $159/mo, Scale $249/mo ($59/$129/$199 annual)
Other line items	AI add-on $100/mo + $250 setup · A2P $25 + $1.65/mo · number ~$6.90/mo	$500 setup on Pro/Scale (waived on annual) · Meta ad spend billed separately

Two structural things matter. Lead Engage's included volume is a wallet, not a text bucket: the $100–$225 monthly credit is shared across SMS, MMS, calls, voicemail, email, and AI, so heavy use of any channel shrinks your texting capacity — and its advertised prices are annual-billing rates. StreetText's texting entry price is lower, but the $49/mo rate only exists on top of a $79–$249/mo ad plan, and no per-message rate is published for Conversations. Credit where due: Lead Engage offers real trials (7–14 days by plan); StreetText's standalone Conversations lists no setup fee. Full breakdowns: Lead Engage pricing, StreetText pricing, and what six Follow Up Boss texting tools actually cost in 2026.

How Each Connects to Follow Up Boss

Both are cloud services that trigger off the bracket-tag notes your Follow Up Boss Action Plans drop. Lead Engage appears in the Follow Up Boss integration directory; StreetText's Conversations includes the FUB integration with no ad plan required, and its ad plans deliver new leads straight into FUB. Both keep your contacts and conversations on their own servers.

Texting Behavior: Both Send From a New Number

Neither tool texts from your own Follow Up Boss number. Lead Engage provisions a phone line (about $6.90/mo as its own line item); StreetText's FAQ says Follow Up Boss won't allow it to port a number, so you create a new StreetText number. Pacing differs: Lead Engage's own FAQ says it currently allows one Action Plan text per day per lead — and that if a text is still held from the evening or day before, the next one in line is skipped. In StreetText's Conversations, pending automated texts stop once a lead replies.

Compliance Features

Both handle carrier registration. Lead Engage lists A2P/10DLC compliance as a separate line item ($25 one-time plus $1.65/mo), with about a three-business-day wait before texting starts. StreetText requires US senders to complete A2P/10DLC (EIN) registration on the new number, and notes delivery rates decline until it's done. The oversight defaults are opposite: Lead Engage doesn't auto-reply unless you add its $100/mo AI agent — a human stays in the loop by default — while StreetText includes Julie from the start.

The Verdict

Choose Lead Engage if:

• Your leads already live in Follow Up Boss and need working harder — messaging, automations, email, chatbots, and reputation tools in one place.
• You want drip send-timing included and AI as an optional add-on, not the default.
• You'd rather manage one vendor and one usage wallet than assemble separate tools.

Choose StreetText if:

• You need new leads, not just better follow-up — Facebook/Instagram lead generation is the product you're really buying.
• You want the lower published texting price ($69/mo standalone) with the AI assistant included.
• You want ad leads flowing straight into Follow Up Boss, with texting picking them up.

A Third Option: SendMate (Ours, With Its Own Trade-Offs)

Full disclosure — SendMate is our product, and it's deliberately narrower than both tools above. It does one job: texting your Follow Up Boss list from your own FUB number — the one your leads already know — at a flat $49/mo for Founders (the first 100 customers, rate locked; the standard Pro rate is $149/mo). No per-text fees, no shared wallet, no setup fee. A local-first desktop app for Mac and Windows, it keeps contacts and messages on your machine; replies land back in FUB.

The trade-offs, stated plainly: no ad platform — if you need lead generation, StreetText does something SendMate doesn't. No voicemail drops, no email campaigns, no conversational AI — Lead Engage's optional agent and StreetText's Julie both go further there. And because both tools trigger off bracket-tag notes, SendMate reads the notes your existing Action Plans already drop, so trying it doesn't mean rebuilding your follow-up. Deeper side-by-sides: our Lead Engage alternative and StreetText alternative pages, plus our 2026 guide to Follow Up Boss texting automation tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the price difference between Lead Engage and StreetText for texting? Lead Engage's texting starts at $149/mo (Messaging, billed annually) plus a $99 setup fee, with a $100/mo shared usage credit and $0.05-per-segment overage; higher tiers run $249–$399/mo. StreetText's Conversations is $69/mo standalone, or $49/mo added to a $79–$249/mo ad plan, with no per-message rate published.

Does Lead Engage or StreetText text from my own Follow Up Boss number? No — neither does. Lead Engage provisions its own texting line (about $6.90/mo as a separate item), and StreetText's own FAQ says Follow Up Boss won't allow porting, so you create a new StreetText number. Leads see an unfamiliar line either way. SendMate, our product, is the option that sends from your own FUB number.

Can I use StreetText's texting without buying its ad platform? Yes. Conversations by StreetText is $69/mo standalone with the Follow Up Boss integration and the Julie AI assistant included — no ad plan required. The $49/mo rate ($39 annual) only applies as an add-on to a Grow, Pro, or Scale ad plan, which run $79–$249/mo on top.

Do I have to rebuild my Action Plans if I later switch to SendMate? No. Lead Engage and StreetText both trigger their texts off bracket-tag notes that your Follow Up Boss Action Plans drop, and SendMate reads those same notes — so your triggers, timing, and templates stay exactly as they are. Cancel or pause the old tool first so leads never get double-texted.

SendMate is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by Follow Up Boss, Lead Engage, or StreetText. All competitor names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Competitor figures are as published at the time of writing and may change — always confirm current pricing on the vendor's site.