Lanren Receiver vs SMS Forwarder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Lanren Receiver
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Lanren Receiver lets you receive in real time the sms messages, system notifications, low battery alerts, missed call reminders, and other notifications forwarded from the Lanaren App installed on your other phone. Key Features: 1. Receive forwarded SMS messages in real time from the Lanren App on your other phone, including: * Message content * Time received * Which phone the message came from * Contact name * Contact phone number 2. Automatic notification list updates whenever a new message is received, with no manual refresh required. 3. Support for Select All, Mark as Read, and Mark as Unread operations. 4. Configurable message retention period to control how long messages are stored. 5. Batch selection support for managing multiple messages at once.
SMS Forwarder
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Never miss a text again! SMS Forwarder automatically forwards every SMS you receive to email, Telegram, WhatsApp, your favorite messaging platform - or straight to your own API. No manual copying, no missed messages. Built on Apple Shortcuts, SMS Forwarder runs as a native iOS automation. The moment an SMS arrives on your iPhone, the shortcut triggers, applies your forwarding rules, and routes the message to your chosen destination. Once it's configured, it runs hands-free! FORWARD YOUR SMS TO: Email - receive every text directly in your inbox, automatically Telegram - route messages to yourself or a group via a dedicated Telegram bot LINE - receive your SMS on LINE via the SMS Forwarder official account WhatsApp - forward texts to a WhatsApp contact or number of your choice Slack - pipe incoming SMS into any Slack channel, instantly Discord - deliver texts straight to a Discord channel Microsoft Teams - send incoming SMS to a Microsoft Teams channel via webhook Custom API - NEW! Send every incoming SMS as a JSON POST to any HTTPS endpoint you control - your server, your automations, your rules KEY FEATURES: Custom API destination - each text is delivered to your endpoint as a clean JSON POST, ready to parse and automate Forwarding rules - create rules that map specific senders or keywords to specific destinations Privacy-first design - all processing happens by encryption Built-in test message flow - verify your setup works before relying on it In-app Shortcuts onboarding - a step-by-step walkthrough gets you configured in under 5 minutes Native Apple approach - works entirely through Apple Shortcuts, using iOS the way it was designed Personalized experience - Personalize your SMS forwarding experience for your own needs Keyword filtering - Add filtering keywords to only forward messages that are necessary HOW IT WORKS: Install SMS Forwarder and open the app Follow the in-app guide to set up an Apple Shortcuts automation on your iPhone Add a forwarding rule - choose your destination (email, Telegram, LINE, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams or your own API) and set any filters Send a test SMS to confirm everything is working Most users are fully set up in under 5 minutes. PERFECT FOR: Travelers, expats and dual-SIM users - land abroad, switch to a travel eSIM, and still see every text sent to your main number: OTPs, bank alerts and delivery updates follow you on any device, in any country Developers and technical teams - point the Custom API destination at your own REST endpoint and every SMS arrives as structured JSON - trigger pipelines, log messages, feed bots, or integrate with internal tools Business owners and solopreneurs - receive client texts in Slack, Teams or email so nothing slips through while you're heads-down Anyone managing OTPs and 2FA codes - auto forward verification codes to email or Telegram so they're always within reach Frequent SMS forwarders - stop copy-pasting texts manually; let the automation handle it every time SMS backup - Backup and save all your important SMS messages in your email or desired destination PRIVACY: SMS Forwarder uses Apple Shortcuts to access your incoming SMS details so you have the control on which SMS messages will be forwarded. The app or the whole automation flow does not store your message content - what you forward goes directly from SMS Forwarder to your chosen destination in an encrypted flow. Terms of Service: https://ayazmon.github.io/SMS-Forwarder/terms_of_service/ Privacy Policy: https://ayazmon.github.io/SMS-Forwarder/privacy_policy/ EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lanren Receiver at none against SMS Forwarder's 3. SMS Forwarder's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SMS Forwarder sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Lanren Receiver asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lanren Receiver ships an update every 10 days, SMS Forwarder every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and August 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lanren Receiver | SMS Forwarder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 4 days โ better |
| Ads | Yes | No โ better |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ๅ ็ง ๆ | Mehmed Ihsan Kahramanoglu |
In-app purchases
Lanren Receiver
No in-app purchases
SMS Forwarder
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly$49.991 Year
- Lifetime$149.99
Questions
Is Lanren Receiver free?
Is SMS Forwarder free?
Do Lanren Receiver or SMS Forwarder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lanren Receiver or SMS Forwarder?
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