Texting Free: 5 Top Apps for 2024 + FAQ

November 2, 2023 | By Sam Pelton
Cartoon representation of people texting and a price tag of $0

Looking for how you can go about texting free – no mobile plan needed?

You’ve come to the right place!

Below you’ll find a list of apps you can use for texting free, as well as some details about how texting free works, and some answers to frequently asked questions.

(Note that this list isn’t including free messaging apps that require the recipient to also have the app, such as Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram.)

Here Are 5 Top Apps for Texting Free

There are a few different options for texting free. Here are some of them…

Google Voice

Google voice logo

Google Voice connects to your Google account, allowing you to engage in free calls and texts for personal use. (For a business line the smallest plan is $10/month).

Note that if you send too many texts in a short period of time to a large number of people, your Google Voice number may get blocked since it is only meant for interactive conversations, and some have reported bugs.

Text Free

Text free logo

Text Free is an app that allows you to send texts for free over the internet.

It’s free because it’s paid for by ads, and you can pay a premium to remove the ads.

Users also broadly give it good ratings, although some have reported bugs and a lack of reliability.

TextNow

Text now logo

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TextNow is another app that allows you unlimited texting and calling with ads, similar to Text Free, and like Text Free, you can remove the ads by paying a premium.

It has overwhelmingly positive reviews, though as with any free option, there are bound to be some hiccups here and there.

Text’em

Text em logo

Text’em is an example that’s a bit different from the previously mentioned apps because it’s simply a web page that allows you to send a one-time message for free.

You just enter in your message, the recipient’s phone number, and the recipient’s mobile carrier on the page and you can submit your free message.

One downside is that you’ll need to know the recipient’s phone carrier, but you can easily look this up using online carrier lookup tools.

This type of sending method isn’t a long-term solution but can be good if you just need to send a single message.

SMS Platforms

Screenshot of Mobile Text Alerts send a message page

In contrast to the above options, SMS platforms aren’t usually permanently free. However, they typically come with a free trial option that allows you to send several messages for a period of time and explore how the service works.

During that free trial period, you can test sending messages and evaluate if it’s something that would be beneficial for you to use to its fullest extent.

There are several benefits of using SMS platforms:

  • You can send text messages on a greater scale, since the free options mentioned above are only intended for small-scale messaging
  • You get robust support to help with whatever questions or issues you might run into
  • You get access to full and robust features like scheduling, automation, AI tools, and reporting on your messages

SMS platforms are ideal for those who need to send text messages outside of normal day-to-day personal usage—for example, for marketing, customer service, mass group updates, event reminders, appointment notices, or similar use cases.

Mobile Text Alerts is an SMS platform that you can try for free for 14 days. Get 50 free messages now to try it out for yourself.

Here’s What You Get with Apps That Offer Texting Free…

With a free texting app, you’ll likely find that the following is true…

  • You’ll need an internet connection, since these apps use internet rather than using wireless carrier networks to send messages
  • You may only be able to send within the continental United States (plus Alaska and Hawaii)
  • Your app may have required ads (this isn’t true for Google Voice)
  • Your texting capabilities are limited to primarily 1-on-1 or small group conversations

With an SMS platform some of your options open up a bit…

  • You do still need an internet connection
  • Some SMS platforms, such as Mobile Text Alerts, allow international texting as an add-on
  • There are no required ads
  • Texting capabilities include both 1-on-1 conversations as well as mass texting to large numbers of people

Texting Free FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding texting free.

Can You Text Free Internationally?

At this time most free texting apps only enable free texting within the United States.

However, there are some options for free one-time texts, such as AFreeSMS and Globfone. (Be cautious about giving out personal information to these types of sites.)

What Free Texting App Is the Best?

As far as full texting apps that are completely free for an unlimited period of time, Text Free and Google Voice seem to be the most widely used free texting apps.

Of course, anytime you have a free product there’s almost always going to be a suboptimal experience to some extent, so we would recommend using a paid service such as Mobile Text Alerts.

Are Free Texting Apps Anonymous?

Yes, most free texting apps would use a virtual phone number rather than your own personal phone number and would therefore be anonymous.

That being said, generally speaking any online activity you do could potentially be traced back to you.

Are Free Texting Apps Like Text Free Really Free?

Yes, they are free but may have ads or limited functionality. For full functionality or to remove ads you may need to pay a premium.

How Do Free Texting Apps Work?

Free texting apps work by using your Wi-Fi or data connection to process messages, rather than using a mobile carrier network.

They have ways to support themselves financially, such as ads or paid options with more features.

Start Texting Free

To sum up, there are several ways to send texts for free.

Now that you’re more aware of the options available to you, you can start texting free now using the app of your choice.

Try the Mobile Text Alerts SMS platform now and get 50 free messages for 14 days!

Get a Free 14-Day Trial Account

Start sending mass text messages to your entire list today!

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