TextNow
TextNow helps its users stay connected by providing them with a free, unlimited text and calling app that is fit for every budget - even $0.
Cost / License
- Freemium (Subscription)
- Proprietary
Application type
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
Features
- SMS Messaging
- Dedicated phone number
- VoiP Calls
- Bluetooth Support
- Dark Mode
- Video Calling
TextNow News & Activities
Recent News
Recent activities
Codessender added TextNow as alternative to Codessender- LegitSMS reviewed TextNow
TextNow used to be great, but in 2025, it's useless for verification. Big platforms like WhatsApp and Tinder now detect them as VoIP and block them.
seomode-co added TextNow as alternative to SMS Activate- Francewhoa liked TextNow
- Read-Create-Motivate liked TextNow
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What is TextNow?
TextNow helps its users stay connected by providing them with a free, unlimited text and calling app that is fit for every budget - even $0.
Local & Custom Phone number Give your friends your very own phone number they can call!
Unlimited Text & Picture Messaging You can send as many text messages as you want to US & Canada - FREE!
Unlimited Calling to USA and Canada Make unlimited free phone calls to any phone number in the US & Canada!
Cheap International Calling Add money or earn free money by completing offers to your account and make low-cost international calls
TextNow information
Developed by
TextNow Inc. Licensing
Proprietary and Freemium product.Pricing
Subscription ranging between $3 and $40 per month + free version with limited functionality.Rating
Average rating of 2.5Alternatives
25 alternatives listedSupported Languages
- English
- French
- Spanish
Comments and Reviews
I used TextNow for years because it is free, but I have become much more privacy-oriented lately and it simply doesn't cut it. It is plainly obvious that TextNow doesn't care to support privacy and is likely data-harvesting you. Just try using it through a VPN; you'll be greeted with constant annoyances in one form or another.
The better alternative: JMP.chat, even though it isn't free. You get what you pay for!
TextNow used to be great, but in 2025, it's useless for verification. Big platforms like WhatsApp and Tinder now detect them as VoIP and block them.
The app didn't work with VPN. I had to disable VPN in order to use it at all. Otherwise I got error messages.
Same here. I switched over to JMP.chat for this reason as well as the all-around privacy it offers.
Perfect candidate for r/assholedesign As of 2020 it is impossible to sign up unless you link a Google, Facebook or Apple account. No other options are provided :(
I was able to sign up with email today!
It does the job better than other free VoIP options. However, they will reassign your number if you forget to send messages from it for a while, which is fair, but if you had used this as your main number for some time, there's a good chance it's the recovery number on some account you forgot the password to (as is my case a number of times). That's a pain.