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WelcoYour alerts, by text.

A Sensaphone alternative when your equipment already sends email

Welco is a Sensaphone alternative for sites whose logger, freezer monitor or building system already emails an alarm. The manager on call learns about a warming freezer at 3 AM, while the stock can still be saved. Point that email at Welco and it becomes a text. If nothing at your site can send email, a Sensaphone device fits better.

Text me my freezer alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

  • No second device to buy
  • Keep the logger you have
  • No per-user fees

Works by email with

  • Freezers & cold storage
  • Generator & power
  • HVAC & rooftop units

Compared with

  • Sensaphone

Published:

Setting up alerts with Sensaphone takes 4 steps. With Welco it takes 4.

With Sensaphone

  1. Buy a monitoring device for the site
  2. Connect sensors to the unit
  3. Pick an Ethernet or cellular plan
  4. Enter who to call, text or email

With Welco

  1. Keep the logger you already have
  2. Approve its alarm email sender
  3. Staff join by invite and reply YES
  4. Alarms arrive as texts
Animation: a Sensaphone setup and a Welco setup are built side by side.
  • Sensaphone makes monitoring hardware that calls, texts or emails when a sensor trips.
  • A reseller lists the devices from about $815 (Ethernet) to $1,735+ (cellular), plus $24.95 a month for the cellular cloud plan.
  • Welco has no sensors. It texts the alarms your existing logger or monitor emails.
  • No email-capable equipment on site? Sensaphone is the right buy.

Sensaphone or Welco: which one your site needs

Sensaphone watches the room. Welco delivers what an existing system already noticed. The top row is where Welco fits, the bottom row is where a Sensaphone device is the right buy.

  • Pick Welco if a logger already emails alarms

    MadgeTech, AVTECH Room Alert and similar loggers already send an alarm email. Buying a second box just to get a text is money spent twice.

  • Pick Welco to cover several sites at once

    Several sites can share one Welco account. A freezer in one store and a cooler in another can each text their own manager by rule.

  • Pick Welco to send nights to one phone

    Day alarms can reach the whole kitchen crew, while nights go to one manager. Set it with a time window in on-call routing.

  • Pick Sensaphone if nothing measures yet

    Welco can't read a temperature. Something has to measure it and send the email, and Sensaphone is built for sensors at the site.

  • Pick Sensaphone for sites with no reliable internet

    A remote pump house or barn may be better served by a cellular device that reports over the mobile network.

  • Pick Sensaphone if someone must get a call

    Sensaphone can call, and Welco only texts. Landlines can't receive texts. In SCADA plants, WIN-911 also places voice callouts.

A freezer alarm night, before and after Welco

When the logger only emails

  • The alarm lands in a shared inbox that nobody opens at 3 AM.
  • The first person to see it is the opener, after the stock has warmed.
  • The only fix on offer is another monitoring box and a monthly plan.

When that email reaches Welco

  • The manager on call gets the unit, the reading and the time in one text.
  • The logger stays exactly as it is. You add one more alarm contact.
  • If a text fails, a delivery report says why in plain words.

Sensaphone and Welco compared

Sensaphone prices come from a reseller listing read in October 2026. Device prices vary by model, so check before you order. Our alarm notification software comparison covers other options.

What it is

Sensaphone
Monitoring hardware, sold as made in the USA since 1985 (Sentinel, Sentry, Stratus)
Welco
An alert texting service with no device

Up-front cost

Sensaphone
About $815 for an Ethernet unit to $1,735+ for a cellular unit
Welco
No hardware and no setup fee

Monthly cost

Sensaphone
$24.95 a month for the cellular cloud plan, or $5.95 a month on Ethernet
Welco
A monthly plan. See Welco pricing

Sensors

Sensaphone
Built for sensors at the site
Welco
None. Needs a system that sends an alarm email

How people are told

Sensaphone
Phone call, text or email
Welco
Text message

If the site loses internet

Sensaphone
Cellular models report over the cellular network
Welco
The alarm email has to leave the site first

Sources: Sensaphone (read Oct 5, 2026); HomeControls: Sensaphone cloud plan listing (read Oct 5, 2026)

A walk-in freezer alarm as a text

Cloud data loggers send an alarm email when a reading crosses a limit. This one reached the on-call manager at 3:35 AM.

Alert email from alarms@logger-cloud.example.com, subject “Alarm: Walk-in Freezer 2 high temperature”. Welco trims it to one text of 99 characters: “Welco: [Walk-in Freezer 2] High temp 6.8 F, over the 0 F limit at 3:35 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Walk-in Freezer 2] High temp 6.8 F, over the 0 F limit at 3:35 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters235991 credit

Animation: the alert email "Alarm: Walk-in Freezer 2 high temperature" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Walk-in Freezer 2] High temp 6.8 F, over the 0 F limit at 3:35 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

The text keeps the unit, the reading and the time. See how freezer and cold storage alarms are set up.

Get the next freezer alarm on your phone

Verify your business, invite your freezer crew and point your logger's alarm email at Welco.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Text me my freezer alarmsBook a demo

Equipment that already emails its alarms

Each tile opens a setup page. A Sensaphone you already own can email Welco too, and other loggers are under temperature alarm text alerts. Here is how to set up MadgeTech text alerts. If your logger used a carrier address, read gateway or alert service.

Move freezer alarms to Welco texts in 15 minutes

Most loggers keep their alarm contacts in the cloud dashboard. Have that login ready.

  1. Find the alarm contacts in your logger software

    Open the alarm or notification settings. Note the address the logger sends from, often a shared vendor address.

  2. Set up Welco

    Sign up and verify your business. Your Welco address appears once the check is done.

  3. Invite the people who watch the freezers

    Send each freezer checker a join link. They enter their own mobile and reply YES before any alarm reaches them.

  4. Approve the logger and add your Welco address

    Approve the logger's sending address in Welco. Then add your Welco address as a new alarm email contact in the logger.

  5. Run a safe test

    Turn on test mode and trigger a test alarm in the logger. Check the feed, then turn test mode off.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Sensaphone device to use Welco?

No. Welco works with any equipment that can send an alarm email, such as a data logger, freezer monitor or building system. If your Sensaphone can email alarms, it can send them to Welco too. If you have no equipment that emails, you need a monitor first.

Can Welco watch a freezer temperature on its own?

No. Welco has no probes or sensors. A logger or monitor measures the temperature and sends an email when it crosses a limit. Welco turns that email into a text for the right person. Pair it with the logger you already use.

What if my remote site has no internet connection?

Then Welco is not the right fit for that site. Welco starts working when an alarm email arrives, so the email has to leave the site. A cellular monitoring device, such as a Sensaphone cellular model, reports over the mobile network instead.

Is there a monthly fee like Sensaphone's cellular plan?

Welco has no device to buy, no per-user charge and no setup fee. Sensaphone's cellular cloud plan is listed at $24.95 a month by a reseller, as of October 2026. Welco plans are monthly, in US dollars, and start after a 7-day free trial with 15 credits. See Welco pricing for plan details.

Will Welco text me when a freezer goes back to normal?

Only if your logger emails the recovery. Many loggers send a return-to-normal message after an alarm. You can let those through as texts, or add a rule that drops them so only the problem reaches a phone at night. You choose per logger.

Can one account cover freezers at several stores?

Yes. Every site's logger emails the same Welco address, and a rule per unit picks the manager to text. Many generator and transfer switch controllers email run or fail alarms, so those can share the account too. See generator and power failure alarms.

Your logger already knows. Let it text you

Point the alarm email at Welco and the person on call gets the text.

Text me my freezer alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing