TextNow: Call + Text Unlimited

Review by eFreeware

Phone bills have a way of growing without much to show for it. If what you mostly do is call and text, paying a monthly carrier fee for a line you barely use can feel like poor value, and adding a second number for work or for selling online usually means another bill on top. TextNow is built around that gap, offering a phone number and the calling and texting that go with it at no monthly cost.

It comes from TextNow, Inc. The app is free to install and carries ads, with in-app purchases available. It has been on Google Play since September 2012, has passed 100 million installs, and holds a 4.6 average from roughly 1.66 million ratings, which is a lot of feedback for any communication app to accumulate.

A number that costs nothing each month

The core offer is straightforward. You get a free local phone number, or you can keep the number you already have, and you can call and text across the US and Canada without a monthly charge. The developer describes the free tier as permanent rather than a trial or a limited-time promotion, with unlimited talk and text running on a nationwide 5G network.

Two ways of using it are described. The first is as a Wi-Fi calling and texting app. The second is activating TextNow Wireless on a phone you already own, which lets calls and texts work away from Wi-Fi. That second route uses an eSIM, and the developer says activation is instant and requires no new device.

The part that makes the free tier possible is advertising. TextNow says it works with brands to cover the cost of your service, which is why the app shows ads. The developer's position is that these do not interrupt what you are doing. If you would rather not see them, the Plus and Unlimited plans remove ads as part of their feature set. I would treat the free tier as the product and the paid plans as an upgrade path rather than the other way around.

Second lines, international calls and the extras

The app is pitched as a second phone line. That covers a work number kept apart from your personal one, a line for a side business where clients and customers need to reach you, or simply a number you hand out to new contacts without giving away the one you have had for years.

International calling is the other headline feature. International calling starts under a cent per minute, with over 230 countries covered and Mexico and Canada free. That is a meaningful difference from paying a carrier's international add-on, and it means you do not need to install a separate app just to call family abroad.

The everyday features are the sort you would expect from a messaging app. There is voicemail-to-text transcription so you can read a message instead of listening to it, conference calling, caller ID, a passcode for keeping conversations private, customizable ringtones, text tones, vibrations and backgrounds, a quick reply option, and a home screen widget. Texting also works from a computer through textnow.com, with messages synchronized between the browser and your phone, and the app can run on a tablet as well. Taken together, that is a fuller set of tools than the free price would suggest.

What the app asks of you

The requirements are modest. You need a phone that can run the app, and service away from Wi-Fi requires a device that supports eSIM activation.

The costs sit in two places. The free plan runs at $0 per month for unlimited talk and text on the nationwide 5G network, with ads funding it. Data beyond that is where money comes in: the Plus plan covers unlimited talk, text and data with the exception of media streaming and gaming, and the Unlimited plan covers talk, text and data without that exception. Both remove ads. You can switch plans inside the app at any time and cancel without fees, so the commitment can be as short as you want.

International rates are separate from the plans and start below a cent per minute. If you call abroad regularly, that is a running cost worth keeping in mind, even though it is far below what a traditional carrier would charge for the same calls.

Getting the most from a free line

The sensible way to start is with the free plan and the Wi-Fi side of the app, because that combination costs nothing and covers messaging, calls to the US and Canada, and the voicemail and caller ID features. If you find that coverage away from Wi-Fi matters more than you expected, activating the eSIM on your existing phone is the next step, and the data plans sit above that if you want streaming and gaming included.

The second-line use is worth thinking through before you commit a number to it. A number you give to clients, buyers or new acquaintances is one you may want to keep separate from your personal line for a long time, so it is worth choosing the area code deliberately when you set it up, since codes are available across most US metro areas. If you plan to text from a computer as well, the same conversations follow you between devices, which suits anyone who spends part of the day at a desk.

For international calling, the free calls to Mexico and Canada make those destinations the obvious starting point, and the per-minute rates to other countries are low enough that occasional calls are unlikely to add up to much. Frequent callers should check the rate for their specific destination rather than assuming a single figure applies everywhere.

One practical note on the paid side: the Plus plan excludes media streaming and gaming from its data, so if those are part of how you use a phone, the Unlimited plan is the one that matches. The developer's own framing is that you pay for what you use, and the ability to change plans in the app supports that.

A quiet update, and what it tells you

The most recent release, version 26.40.1.0 in early October 2026, is described as behind-the-scenes work to keep the app running smoothly rather than a feature drop.

For anyone weighing whether to install, a maintenance release is a mild positive signal.

A free number for the right kind of caller

TextNow makes most sense for people who want a working phone number without a monthly bill attached to it. That includes anyone who needs a second line for work or selling, people who call family in Mexico or Canada often, and anyone whose calling and texting happens mostly over Wi-Fi and who would rather not pay a carrier for the privilege. The 4.6 average across a very large number of ratings suggests the model works for a lot of them.

The trade-offs are the usual ones for a free ad-supported service. Ads fund the free tier, and removing them means moving to one of the paid plans. Data beyond talk and text is a paid feature, with the Plus plan excluding streaming and gaming. International calls outside Mexico and Canada carry per-minute rates. None of that is hidden, but it does mean the free service is free in a specific sense: talk and text yes, data no.

If your needs are talk, text, a number of your own and the option to add data when you want it, this is a well-established app. Install it, take the free number, and let your usage decide whether a plan is worth adding.

What's new in version 26.40.1.0

**Version 26.40.1.0** [October 6, 2026] Nothing new and shiny to show off this time around, we did some quiet work behind the curtain to keep TextNow running smoothly for you. Enjoying TextNow? Drop us a quick review, it helps us keep things humming along for you.