Are you looking for a second phone number, but you don’t want to get a second phone or even a second sim card? There are many free apps that give you a second phone number.
Phone number apps allow you to make calls and send texts over Wifi, eliminating the need to pay for a phone plan. In the US, phone plans are often ridiculously expensive, especially if you want unlimited talk and text.
Some of the most popular free phone number apps include TextNow, TextMe, FreeTone among others. The best free phone number app is Google Voice by a distance. Not only can you get a new number but you can port your existing number too. It also allows calling using your phone plan.
Let’s learn more about these apps.
Why Get a Free Phone Number App?
Before looking at these apps, let’s find out why you need one. There are a few reasons you might want to get a free phone app, other than making calls over Wifi and saving money by canceling your mobile phone plan.
A free phone number app is also useful if you don’t have a sim card in the first place. Perhaps you didn’t have time to go buy one, or perhaps you don’t want to spend money unnecessarily on a sim card, since you mostly use Wifi anyway.
Many people need a second phone number for business purposes. Perhaps you own a small shop or provide a service like dog walking, and you don’t want to give out your personal number in your online ads for fear of privacy violations and spam.
You can instead get a second phone line for your business. However, most business phone lines charge a monthly subscription, which you may not be able to afford if you are just starting.
Phone apps are also useful for online dating. If you like someone online, you’ll typically want to give them your number sooner or later so you can talk more.
However, it’s not always a smart idea to give out your number to strangers from the internet. You never know who might be a stalker or dangerous.
Using phone numbers from free phone apps instead can help you stay safe.
You can also use phone apps to create burner numbers, which you can use to create multiple accounts on the same website, for whatever reason. Perhaps you want to create multiple accounts on a single forum so you can use all of them to promote your website.
In any case, phone apps are useful in many ways. However, it’s not always easy to find a free phone app that offers free calling and texting.
In this article, I will include only apps that offer free calling, free texting, or both.
What makes these apps different from apps like WhatsApp is that they give you a whole new number. WhatsApp allows you to make free calls and texts over the internet, but you need to sign up with your existing number; it won’t give you a second line.
Best Free Phone Number Apps
1. Google Voice
I prefer Google Voice for a variety of reasons. First, you have the option of creating a new phone number or porting your existing number.
If you are already paying for a phone plan but can’t afford it anymore, you might be afraid of losing your number. After all, you would have to notify all of your friends and family members to delete your current number and update your contact in their phones with your new one.
Another benefit of using Google Voice is that you can sign up with your existing Gmail account, so you don’t need to create any additional accounts. You can log in to Google Voice on any device using your Google account.
In addition to the mobile phone app, you can use Google Voice on a desktop for making and receiving calls and texts.
Finally, you can route Google Voice calls to your phone line. In other words, when people call you, or you call them, you can place the calls over your existing cellular line, even if they are calling your specific Google Voice number instead of your regular number.
That allows you to set up a Google Voice number for business purposes, keeping your personal phone number private. You also won’t need to use mobile data for the calls, as you will be using minutes from your carrier phone plan.
Google Voice also offers unlimited free calls and texting in the United States, which is a lot better than many other free phone apps. That applies to calls and texts to/from Canada as well.
Calling to other countries is available as well, but it will cost you money – rates vary per country, and you will need to top up your account beforehand with a minimum of $10 in calling credits.
One additional advantage of Google Voice is that it doesn’t reassign your number after short periods of inactivity like many other free phone apps do.
One downside of Google Voice is that texting to other countries is not available. However, unlike many other free phone apps, it doesn’t annoy you with ads all the time – it is ad-free.
2. TextNow
Another top free phone app is TextNow. TextNow offers free calling and texting in the United States and Canada, using a virtual number that doesn’t require a sim card.
International calling is available too, although you will need to top up your balance first. While the app is free, it is supported by ads.
One thing that makes TextNow unique is that it offers a sim card that allows you to get free calling and texting in the United States, even when you don’t have Wifi. In other words, you can get a virtual number to make calls over Wifi, or you can get a physical sim card to make free calls over the cellular networks.
Those calls are made in the TextNow app, and you’ll have to view ads in exchange for the free cellular service. However, the only purchase you’ll need to make is the sim card, which costs just a few dollars.
One of the major downsides of TextNow, though, is that it reassigns numbers a little too quickly, in my opinion. It won’t give a specific time frame, although it recommends that you make a call or text every two days.
Not only that, but incoming calls and texts do not count, which makes things even worse, especially if you use that second number on an advert or so people can contact you about your side business selling stuff on Craigslist.
Despite that, the free cellular phone plan catapults it to the top of the list.
Also Read: Best Fake Number Apps
3. TextMe
Another popular phone app is TextMe, which offers free calling and texting within the United States and Canada. It also supports free texting to Latin America, subject to fair use policy.
It also supports picture messaging, even allowing you to send Dropbox photos via SMS. Another advantage of TextMe is that it allows you to manage multiple numbers from a single account.
Not only that, but you can even get an international number from another country if you have friends in that country and want to text them for free, even if they don’t have the TextMe app. For example, you can get a UK number and text your UK friends, even if they have dumb phones.
TextMe also supports multiple devices, allowing you to log into your TextMe account from your desktop. It’s also available as an Amazon app.
4. FreeTone
Another free texting and calling app, owned by TextMe, is FreeTone. It offers free calling and texting in the United States, and it also offers free texting to over 40 countries – a big plus.
Those countries include countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as Dominica, Brazil, and Mexico. However, texting to those countries is subject to a fair use policy, which was designed to prevent abuse of the network and losses on the part of the FreeTone.
You can call or text any landline or mobile number, with no limitations and no need to top up credits – ever. You can also send MMS messages.
However, some limitations apply. For example, Hawaii and Alaska are not included in the free US + Canada bundle.
5. Dingtone
Dingtone allows you to make free calls and texts to the US and Canada over Wifi. You’ll get a real second number.
One advantage of Digntone is that it allows you to manage multiple numbers on a single device, which is useful if you have several businesses. In addition to a US number, you can get a phone number from Australia, the UK, and other countries, allowing you to make local calls and texts to those countries.
You can also make calls from your US number to international numbers, but additional charges may apply – you’ll have to top up your credits first. Rates vary from one country to another.
However, Dingtone allows you to earn free credits by completing tasks such as checking in every day and inviting friends. You can use your free credits to make free international calls.
Another way Dingtone users can call internationally is by calling other friends who are using Dingtone in other countries. If both of you have Dingtone, calls will always be free!
There are some downsides, though. For example, you can’t port your existing number to Dingtone.
6. Talkatone
Talkatone is a free phone app that gives you a free phone number that you can use to make free calls and send free texts to other US numbers. You can make unlimited texts to US numbers for free, whether you are in the United States or traveling abroad.
International calling is available as well, but you’ll have to buy credits. Rates vary based on destination.
One cool thing about Talkatone is that it offers an unlimited international calling subscription bundle, which allows unlimited international calls to select countries. They include various countries in Europe, the Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.
However, limitations may apply. For example, you may only be able to call numbers with certain prefixes.
You can see a full list of included destinations here.
The international calling subscription makes sense if you have to make frequent calls to several countries, and those countries are on the list I just linked to. Otherwise, it may be cheaper to simply top up credits and use them for individual calls.
7. textPlus
textPlus, also spelled text+, is a mobile app that offers a free US phone number with free texts to US numbers. You can also call any other textPlus user for free.
Calling costs extra, but rates start at just 2 cents per minute. In addition, you can sign up for different subscriptions, such as unlimited calls to US and Canadian numbers for a small amount.
Alternatively, you can earn free credits by watching videos or completing tasks.
You can sign up for a textPlus account using just a username or password, though you can also add your email address for account recovery and security.
textPlus allows you to keep your free number for as long as you want, but you need to be active at least once every 30 days. Alternatively, you can pay to keep your number for the full year, even if you are inactive for months at a time.
8. TextFree
Another app offering a free US phone number is TextFree. Texting is free – unlimited – to other US numbers.
Calling costs extra, but minutes are affordable, with many plans available. Buying large amounts of minutes in bulk will help you save money, but you can also buy small amounts of minutes for a small price.
You can also earn calling minutes for free by watching videos or completing offers. Usually, watching one short video of around 30 seconds long will earn you one calling minute.
Finally, if you want to call other people for free, you can encourage them to download the TextFree app, as calls to other TextFree numbers are always free. You can also call toll-free numbers (area codes 800, 855, 866, 877, and 888) without deducting from your minutes.
Remember that receiving calls is also free. To save money, call your friend and ask them to call you back immediately, so you don’t use up your minutes.
Since texting is always free, you can also text your friend and ask them to call you without ever purchasing any minutes from TextFree.
International calling is available, but only to four countries:
- Canada
- Mexico
- India
- Singapore
If you have calling minutes, you can call those countries using your minutes without paying extra. You can’t yet call other countries, but people in other countries can call you.
What about international texting? One of the big advantages of TextFree is that it offers international texting, which many other free phone apps do not.
Free international texting is available to around 35 countries, mostly countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, you can receive texts from any country.
MMS messages are only supported when texting a US number, though. You can see the full list of international texting destinations here.
In addition to the Android and iOS apps, TextFree is available via the web version on desktops.
9. TalkU
If you are a US resident and register on TalkU for the first time, you will get a free US virtual phone number. You can then use that number to call and text other TalkU users, anywhere in the world, for free.
You can also call and text regular numbers from non-TalkU users, but it will cost you credits. You can buy credits or earn them for free by inviting friends to TalkU, checking in every day, watching videos, and completing offers.
Not only that, but you can also call numbers from over 200 countries, though rates vary.
You will need a real phone number to sign up for TalkU, though, so you can verify your account using an SMS activation code. That way, you can find your contacts on TalkU; you can also connect your Facebook account to find your Facebook friends.
You can’t port your existing number to TalkU, but you can port out your TalkU number. You can keep your TalkU number as long as you are active at least once a month.
One cool feature is the ability to turn your phone into a digital walkie-talkie. If you and your friend both have TalkU, you can communicate with each other instantly by just pressing a button and talking – no need to make calls.
10. Nextplus (Android/iOS)
Nextplus, owned by textPlus, is a free phone number app for Android and iOS. It allows you to get a free US phone number and text other US numbers for free – unlimited texts are allowed.
It also allows you to call mobile numbers and landlines at affordable rates. Nextplus is supported by ads, but you can remove them by paying a little extra.
One cool Nextplus feature is the ability to see which of your Nextplus friends are online.
11. Text: Call & Text Unlimited (Android)
Text is an app that offers free unlimited texting and calling to any US number. You can make voice calls or send voice, picture, and text messages to any mobile number in the United States at no charge.
You can also get multiple phone numbers in the same account, including numbers from different countries, like the UK and Australia.
Your friend doesn’t need to have the app for you to call or text them, but if they do have the app, they can also video call you using your username. It’s just one more way of staying connected!
You can make calls over the cellular networks to ensure voice quality.
12. FastCall (Android)
FastCall is a free app that allows you to make global phone calls by earning free credits. By signing up, you will instantly get 2,000 credits for free.
You can use those credits to make calls and set your phone number. You can also earn additional credits by watching a video (usually worth 50-100 credits), inviting friends (worth 5,000 credits per friend), checking in every day, and completing tasks.
When you make a call, the app will display how many credits you have left and how many minutes you have remaining.
13. TextMe Up
TextMe Up, owned by TextMe, is a separate app you can use to get a free mobile phone number. It offers a free US number and unlimited free texting to US numbers.
It also includes free texting to users in 40+ other countries, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
TextMe Up is accessible not only from the mobile app but also from the web, allowing you to sync your account and access your messages from any device.
If your friend has the app as well, you can make voice calls and video calls for free. Otherwise, you have to pay to make phone calls to regular, non-TextMe Up numbers.
You can also get unlimited calls to the US at a small amount. Pricing is subject to change, so check in-app rates for updated pricing information.
One cool feature of TextMe Up is the ability to manage multiple numbers from a single account. You can create and burn numbers as you wish, allowing you to remain anonymous on dating apps or other online forums.
You can even get free numbers from other countries, like the UK and France.
However, you can only access free texting to US numbers if you are in the US or Canada.
Wrapping It Up
To me, Google Voice stands out. It gives you a free second number that you can use for unlimited free calling and texting to other US numbers.
You can port your existing number or get a new number, and you can make calls over Wifi or by using your cellular plan’s minutes.
In addition, you can sync Google Voice on multiple devices, including phones, tablets, and desktops.
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