Join the more than 100 million people who phone smarter, with free texting, free calling, and free nationwide coverage with TextNow!
Communication should be without limits. Stay connected to what matters most with unlimited texting and calling, without the bill. Download the TextNow app, pick a free phone number (or bring your own) with the US area code of your choice, and start calling and texting now.
Nationwide Talk & Text, Without the Phone Bill
Cut the cord from your mobile phone company! Get a TextNow SIM card to access the same nationwide network with the same coverage as the big carriers, without the bill! Now there’s a smarter way to phone, with our ad-supported, zero-cost Nationwide Talk & Text app, so you can talk and text freely from anywhere in the US.
Affordable High-Speed Data
Your phone needs can change, and TextNow has you covered. With low-cost data add-ons, you can get mobile data and go anywhere. No commitments, only pay for the data you need when you need it.
Add a Second Number to Your Phone
Need more privacy? Want to keep your personal life separate from your business? Use the TextNow calling and messaging app as free local 2nd phone number. Boost your status with your friends or mint some new ones by using a second phone number from TextNow on your favorite social apps. It’s another private phone line on your device with free calls and free text messages.
Cheap International Calling
Are your friends and family overseas? TextNow offers low-cost international calls to over 230 countries. Stay connected longer with rates starting at less than $0.01 per minute.
WiFi or Mobile Calling? Why Not Both!
Does your mobile signal need a boost? No problem! TextNow lets you use your real phone number over WiFi. Or get the same great service on our nationwide mobile network with a TextNow SIM card.
Why TextNow?
– Get a local phone number or bring your own! Area codes from most metro areas in the US available.
– Make and receive unlimited voice calls, texts and video or picture messages to the USA or Canada for free!
– Use across multiple devices – send unlimited messages and make calls on your computer or tablet, then access them from your phone while on the go!
– Discover the new way to phone with Unlimited Nationwide Talk & Text with a TextNow SIM card – starting at $0.
– Need data? Get affordable, flexible data add-ons, whenever you want.
– Call internationally with our low-cost calling options to over 230 countries.
– Voicemail transcription and conference calling.
– Turn your WiFi enabled tablets and computers into a phone.
Is TextNow free?
There are no yearly or monthly fees. Our service is ad-supported, with no cost to the user. If you don’t like ads, you can purchase a subscription to remove them. Users can access our free wireless network with a one-time purchase of a TextNow SIM card, allowing users to call and text without the need for WiFi.
Features Standard for All Users
– Passcode to keep messages safe and private
– Caller ID
– Google Smart Lock (no need to remember your password)
– Signatures: add a personalized signature to each text
– Customizable text-tones, ringtones, vibrations and backgrounds
– Quick Reply to speedily respond to friends
– A home screen widget for instant use
– Text from your computer and seamlessly synchronize with your mobile device via textnow.com
So, what are you waiting for? Download the app and get phone service without the bill with unlimited texts, voice calls and much, much more over both WiFi and wireless.
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Privacy policy: https://www.textnow.com/privacy
Terms of use: https://www.textnow.com/terms
Overall it’s a very good app. After having it for a few months I did notice a few small glitches that were happening. When I would go to clean out my text inbox not all of the threads would delete and it would say that there was an error deleting the conversations. I then would have to go and uninstall the entire app and and redownload it just to free up some space. But other than that I would definitely recommend!
Use it as my main phone number, have the locked in number for $4.99 a year which is a perfect price for what you get. Even up to $24 a year would be kind of good. If they wanted to raise it I would definety pay $12 a year. No reason to not go for it at the price of $4.99 Support is good to deal with. Ads aren’t too bad. Good amount of features for free/cheap.
This app is free and has good quality phone calls. Reliable and gets me threw the things when I can’t pay my phone bill. Although last month 8 was çharged for add free?? I didn’t ask for this and didn’t give my card info. If this is required to have.. Like a new update or something?? But I didn’t have the cash to spare when it was processed there my bank. Have reached out and reported this before and wasn’t aware it wasn’t cancelled. Other then this great app and love the visual voicemail
I paid the $0.⁹⁹ to keep my # for a year & so I can also receive any codes that have to verify anything like w/Google & etc, which I couldn’t do w/the free #. The call service can be spotty, sometimes there’s an echo, but for the most part it will do the job pretty well. I haven’t encountered any issues w/the texting part. My only complaint is that sometimes when I try to delete texts that I don’t need anymore, an error message comes up & I’m unable to delete them causing a lot of clutter 🙄😤.
This app has so many ads, with almost all of them advertising the option to buy “Ad Free+” which removes the ads. There aren’t even ads for other companies. And in the text area, there’s always ads that come right over the messages I send, and the message I send is displayed over the ad, making it hard to read. I do have to give it some credit though, you get your own number, and can even text people who don’t have the app. The SIM card is “free” but you have to pay shipping.
This app listens to your content and bombards you with ads ,which is fine if you are not concerned about those things. However,the glitches are increasing and I can’t even x out of playing ads ,it hangs up on people continually,and there’s no way to scroll and screenshot history as it will send you back to recent,so if you want to refer to saved threads it’s impossible to view again. If you get pics, it auto deletes so you must screenshot and save bc it will save stickers ,but delete memories.
It’s ok-great depending on if I’m using WiFi or data. If I’m using WiFi I don’t receive any calls (no ring) or text notifications until I go into the app and look; also the phone calls are distorted and get dropped at least 98% of the time on Wi-Fi; However, when using data, I get phone calls with a notification (ringing) and text notifications with no problem, and the call sound and transmission situation is better from what I can recall. I’ve used it for many years and I depend on it.👌😎👍
Good for basically free service. I live in an area with limited cell phone services but have wifi available at home and often where I don’t have standard service availability. Being able to make and receive phone calls reliably is very comforting. Text now did eventually request a small fee to keep the phone number I was assigned once a year. In my opinion there are too many ads that interfere with the app itself and using it. That is why I gave them only 4 stars.
I really have no issues. At times I’ve had a few issues answering calls. If I’m on another site such as Facebook or Googling something and a call comes through, I have to tap on answer a few times before it finally answers and at times I lost calls due to Adds getting in the way. There are way to many Adds. But overall for an App such as this one you get what you need, calls and textes. What else can you expect for free.
Textnow is poorly optimized, crashes often, and has an unreasonable amount of ads. Worst of all, I won’t receive about half of my text messages or pictures until several minutes or even hours after they’re sent to me. I’ve been using the app for multiple months, through many updates, and these issues have been ongoing since the start. Except for the ads, they’ve gotten much worse.
You can’t receive one time pin’s unless you get the Pro version. Ads play at really inconvenient times. Like when you get off a call, it will play an ad for up to 30 seconds before you can hang up. It has plenty of glitches too. Especially with ads. Some times you won’t get a notification for a text or a call. You also can’t use the number they assign you to sign up for anything because whatever you’re signing up for knows you aren’t using an actual carrier.
I’m experiencing some weird stuff as if it’s been hacked or taken over somehow. Texts are changing right in front of my eyes! The words have changed how they look, with a black border but blank inside. There’s no way to change it through the app. It’s weird for sure. Is TextNow compromised, running in the background of a phishing expedition? I’m hoping the app is secure, as it’s a wonderful thing to have when your broke!!!
Works great! The only complaint is the ads.. for the price, it is definitely worth it to have a phone number that can be used anywhere, not just where Wi-Fi is available. The free version has to have Wi-Fi to use but for a small very acceptable fee, you can use it anywhere and it gives you mobile data plan! This is second to none for a app to use besides my main phone service carrier. I rely on this if my service laps and cancels due to non-payment. All around great app and premium is ad free..
Update: here’s a great feature they just added: pop up ads after every call! But wait there’s more! If you accidentally tap the ad it downloads automatically. There are two things you’d expect from a phone app: answering incoming calls and hanging up when the call is over. This app does neither well. Sometimes it won’t hang up at all. Tried updating the app, reinstalling, rebooting phone. Still happening. This is on top of the invasive ads and the poor reception/echoing on the other end.
I would rate TextNow a 3.8 of it was possible. It’s one of, if not, the best free calling/texting apps I’ve tried. My two major issues with the app are the large quantity of ads and the speed at which the app operates(which can be a snails pace alot of times). However I could pay a small monthly fee to rid the app of all it’s ads. So other than the few complaints the features of the app are amazing. Especially being able to sync your service carriers messages and contacts seamlessly to the app.
The pros: I do the paid version. Super great with no ads. Love the fact I ca have a separate business number without having to have a second phone. The cons: Lately it will not let me delete messages I do not need. Tech support (customer service) sucks. All they can say is uninstall the app and reinstall after going on the desktop. What is the point of an app if you have to use the web site version? It is super annoying to have to uninstall, reinstall, then grant permissions all over again.
Been using it for ages. Was amazing to have the option to have free wifi calling and texting and then on top of that either get a SIM card for $4.99 or they’re usually offered to you for as little as .99cents or often for free! And their nationwide service for just talk and text is still free after you activate ur sim card! However I took off 1 ☆ for issues w/ Offline service not working after following installation directions. After new SIM I think it works but have bad service so hard to tell!
works great. I think now you have to pay monthly to get “activation” texts, meaning the texts that come to enable verification or 2 factor authentication from other apps and services. not sure if that was true before or if it’s new, but I did run into that a couple days ago. still, seems to work fine for calls, texts, and voice-mails free of charge.
The ads in the text sms window deselect the text field when typing. You typ an entire message, just to look up, and see nothing was inputted, due to the ad. Also, it waits until you are going to exit certain things, and pushes an ad where the X was, to make you click it. They also took away 2FA sms as a free feature, so you can’t really use it as your only puone number. Been using them for a long time, and these changes have ruined the experience. Used to be awesome, now it’s just annoying.
The app works well but it doesn’t allow you to send any pictures. You could only receive pictures from other people, am not sure why that is. That can be very disappointing sometimes. Won’t let you delete numbers you have dialed or old messages. It’s always saying there is an error; try again later. ughhhhh!!! I pay to do certain stuff, but it still won’t let me…
Great theme and UI. Terrible amount of ads. Too expensive to remove the ads or lock in your number. I think it should be free to keep your number for the first year and from there if you don’t use it, it’s released to the available numbers list. Ads should not appear after a phone call. It’s also annoying with the ‘x’ to close the ads showing in multiple places and only one closes the ad, the others click the ad to open your browser and go to such website in the ad.
This is the worst free messaging app I’ve used. Being unable to send links because it’s “a form of marketing” ??? I’m trying to send directions to family members. Them trying to act like its justifiable and no notice of this change is wrong. I was able to send links last year and its suddenly against terms? The ads would be fine if they didn’t pop up at inconvenient times. The support for this app is also garbage.
I hate that the texts, call history and phone messages are all mixed. You can’t see Just your text messages, or JUST your phone messages. Every call coming in, going out and every message (text or voice) is mixed together. It’s impossible to to find anything. Also I can’t delete old calls to eliminate some of the junk in order to find my messages easier.
I’ve used this app for years and had little issues. Now the adds automatically download the apps being advertised. Crazy annoying and will be 1 star till it changes. Edit: if I could give them 0 stars I would. Just got banned for violating their terms of service. I have no clue what I did and I’ve had the same account for nearly 5 years. I even paid for the service at one point. It just locked me out and didn’t provide any feedback as to what happened. This company is TERRIBLE!!!!!!!
It’s free and it does work technically, however you get what you pay for. Received texts sometimes come in very slow, phone calls are choppy, and the app crashes frequently. However, like I said, it’s free. If you’re going to use this for business, I’d be careful, if you’re using it as a reliable phone source where you need your Communications on time, again I’d be careful.
This app used to work great but now no matter what type of how good of a connection I have it never loads my messages or calls. It just stays on the blank loading screen with the little circle going around. Even if i force stop it and reopen the app nothing happens. I’ve tried reporting this to them numerous times and they don’t seem to care or want to fix the issues so they basically refuse to run a functioning app anymore.
It’s the best FREE Unlimited phone app that works on WiFi. It’s actually 100% FREE! You don’t have to watch videos or install games to build up air time like many others. it does have ads but they gotta get paid. I’ve tried out a lot of FREE text and phone apps and in my opinion TextNow is the one I always go back to. I’ve been using this app for 5-6 years now. it works very well and you don’t need to have a working cellular service or number for it to work like many other apps require.
I think this is a great app. I’ve tried other ones and this was the only one that provided a number and the signal worked well enough to make/receive calls. I like that it can integrate your contacts, gives you a voicemail, you can choose your number, and the application itself functions like it should for people like me that doesn’t get good signal. This is a great back up to have or just to use all around. Would recommend this app.
Used to a 5 star app. But lately since the last two updates my texts will show up in the notification bar but when u go to open them they aren’t there. It takes about half hour for them to finally show up. I also can’t make it receive calls. If I call out it just ends and kicks me back. An incoming call with show but there is no way to answer it. The answer but is no longer there.
I have messages that are embedded. I’ve tried to delete them, but keep getting an error message that says, “Error while trying to delete conversations, please try again…..’ I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the app many times and still cannot delete old text messages. I keep the app updated as well, but the system still won’t allow me to delete some of the messages.
I’m happy to say calls are sounding good again, loud and clear, and the SIM has been working without the random interruptions of the past. Elastic calls are still troubling slow, when transitioning between WiFi and cell, but at least the calls are not dropping, which is a huge improvement. Elastic calls have worked faster in the past. I thank TextNow to continue to offer this amazing product.
App was rated 5 stars before but now I am giving it a 3. I have not been able to delete more than one message at a time and they sometimes reappear shortly afterward. Also I have a paid subscription but are still getting ads and support is not available most of the time. I have had the app over 4 years with no major problems until this year (2022). I may be forced to terminate my subscription if their services don’t improve soon.
I’m not quite sure what exactly seemed to happen lately, but the texting has become unreliable. Other messages come in fine, but I’m told people I’m replying to are only getting every other message, or sometimes very very late. I’m quite confused since have been paying and using this so long. Wondering what happened that the performance seemed to dip abruptly. It’s odd. Hoping it’s just temporary. I’m not thrilled at having to change to something else. Happy holidays regardless 🙂
Every once In while I have issues with calls coming through, but overall for a free app it works really well. It’s a shame you can’t buy a plan with mobile data included so I didn’t have to rely on wifi In order to use the app. I’m thankful either way though, atleast I have a way to communicate without having mobile data.
Thumb’s up 5 stars only thing you have to have really good WiFi an your phone has to have good connection with. If not your calls will drop an your message won’t be sent an you won’t recognize it until you actually click on app an see it doesn’t give a notification if something like that accurs bad about the app. You can set your own ringtones, an notification sounds, an walloper. You get too choose your own numbers 80% of the time, also you can except a free Sim card in the mail with free Min’s
Quick reply doesn’t seem to work at all. It never sends the message. I have to manually go back into the app and press send. Incoming calls don’t function properly. When I try to answer a call, it immediately hangs up or it won’t let me answer at all. I have to constantly close the app, go back to the app inorder to be able to answer a call. This app just gets terrible after each update. I liked it better when it was in it’s early stages. Like from 2013.
I had to edit my review, normally it’s 5 stars all day long! However, the last month or so I’ve been unable to complete an out going call. Also, when answering a received call the person calling cannot hear a word I say. Text works great 100% of the time, but when a phone call is a must this app has become extremely unreliable. Though I really do feel like I shouldn’t be complaining about a free app with free service, I do wish I could make and receive phone calls again.
I am experiencing a problem where I can not see text messages that were sent too me. I can see them when they pop up in my notifications bar. When I click the notification and go into the app I cannot see the message that was sent. My wife is experiencing the same issue on IOS. She has an IPhone XS Max. I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. Please fix this issue. I’m going to have to switch from text now. I thought cutting Metro By T Mobile would save us some money, but I’m going back. Ridiculous.
Great free app but only problems I have had is once every so often when the ads pop up this app freezes and I have to close it all the way out and open the app back up and then it continues to work just fine, only happens to me like once every few weeks to a month and it’s really not a big deal because it is simply corrected in a few short seconds but it’s just enough for me to give this app a 4 ⭐ rating instead of a complete 5, once this tiny error is fixed I’ll be more then happy change it ☺️
It was OK at first. If you use this as a backup number, you better text someone from time to time. They will change your number if you let a couple months go by we without using it. They will also disable your account with no clear answer what policy you violated and take months to fix the problem with no updates along the way. Sometimes it doesn’t work with services that text you to confirm your numbers. It doesn’t really let you have separate contacts from actual phone