Comparison

TextNow vs iTel Mobile Dialer.

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TextNow

This app provides free nationwide calling and texting with unlimited talk and text on a 5G network. It offers a free local phone number or allows you to keep your own, with flexible data options and low-cost international calling. Enjoy a phone service without bills, contracts, or hidden fees.

Highlights
  • Free unlimited talk and text
  • Nationwide 5G network coverage
  • Free local phone number
  • Flexible data plans
  • Low-cost international calling
  • Second phone line functionality
  • Voicemail-to-text transcription
Features
Read full description

Call and text for free with TextNow, the free phone service with over 100 million users. Get nationwide coverage with unlimited talk and text on 5G—starting at $0/month. Your phone service should work on your terms. No phone bill, no fixed contracts, no hidden fees. What makes us different? • No phone bill, no fixed contracts, and no hidden fees • Get a free local phone number or keep your own for a private second line or business use • Flexible data options: choose the plan that fits your life, and change it anytime • Low-cost international calling to 230+ countries FREE TALK & TEXT NATIONWIDE: NO PHONE BILL, NO FIXED CONTRACTS Stay connected with the TextNow free Wi-Fi calling and texting app, or activate TextNow Wireless on your existing phone to freely call and text without connecting to Wi-Fi. Get started instantly—no new device needed. FREE PLAN Unlimited talk and text on a nationwide 5G network — at $0/month, month after month. Not a trial. Not an introductory offer. Just free phone service, done differently. Activate our eSIM on your phone instantly with no commitments and no hidden fees. DATA PLANS: FLEXIBLE & ON YOUR TERMS Only pay for the data you use with no long-term contracts or commitments. We're the only provider with truly flexible data options. • Free Plan: Unlimited talk and text on nationwide 5G. Included monthly for $0. • Plus Plan: Unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data—except media streaming & gaming. No ads. • Unlimited Plan: Unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data. No ads. Change your plan anytime in the app. Cancel anytime. No runaround, no fees. Pay what you want, or not at all. SECOND PHONE NUMBER: FOR PRIVATE CALLING & TEXTING, A SEPARATE BUSINESS LINE, & MORE Use the TextNow app as a free second phone line. Perfect for a 2nd line, business phone, side hustles, or personal use. Free calls and texts without an extra phone bill. INTERNATIONAL CALLING: LOW-COST ACROSS 230+ COUNTRIES Have friends and family overseas? TextNow offers free calls to Mexico and Canada with low-cost international calls to 230+ countries, with rates starting at less than $0.01 per minute. WHY TEXTNOW? • Call and text for free immediately when you download the TextNow app—no bill, no fees • Activate on your existing phone and talk and text on a nationwide 5G network without Wi-Fi • Get a local phone number or keep your existing number. Area codes available across most metro areas in the US • Free voice calls, direct or SMS messages, picture and video messaging to the US or Canada • Flexible data options—only pay when you want it • Use on multiple devices including your computer or tablet and effortlessly access calls and texts whenever you need them • Low-cost international calls across 230+ countries • Voicemail-to-text audio transcription and conference calling HOW IS TEXTNOW FREE? There are no yearly or monthly fees to use TextNow. We partner with brands to pay for your phone service (so you don't have to) through in-app ads. Ads won't interrupt your experience. If you don't want ads, upgrade to the Plus Plan or Unlimited Plan to remove them. MORE FEATURES STANDARD FOR ALL USERS • Passcode for safe and private texting and calling • Caller ID • Customizable free text tones, call tones, ringtones, vibrations, and phone backgrounds • Quick Reply to speedily respond to friends • A home screen widget for instant use • Text from your computer and seamlessly synchronize with your mobile device via textnow.com Download the app and take control of your phone service, starting today. Follow us on social for the latest news and offers: • TikTok — @textnow • Facebook — @textnow • Instagram — @textnow • Twitter/X — @TextNow Privacy policy: https://www.textnow.com/privacy Terms of use: https://www.textnow.com/terms

About

iTel Mobile Dialer.

This app enables VoIP calls and SMS over data networks like 3G/4G and WiFi. It also offers cross-platform instant messaging and simplified calling card usage. Users need an operator code from a VoIP service provider to use its features.

Highlights
  • VoIP Calls & SMSs
  • Cross-platform Instant Messaging
  • Automated Calling Card usage
  • Mobile Top Up facility
  • Easy Sign Up with Mobile Number
  • Buddy List creation
Features
Read full description

iTel Mobile Dialer Express is a mobile app for iPhone and other smartphones, offering a range of functionalities like VoIP Calls & SMSs, cross-OS Instant Messaging, automated Calling Card usage and much more from data enabled mobile phones (3G/4G or WiFi). For using this app, end users will need an Operator Code, which they can obtain from a VoIP Service Provider. While Service Providers can use this White Label Platform to offer Mobile VoIP services in their own brand. Features: 1 VoIP Calls & SMSs via Wifi, 3G / 4G, edge or UMTS. 2 Cross-platform Instant Messaging – an iPhone user can chat with other platform’s users. 3 Easy Sign Up with Mobile Number as user ID & automatic Buddy List creation with facility to invite phonebook contacts to install the app. 4 Easy Calling Card usage – No need to dial Access Number, PIN or even Destination Number for making calls. 5 Facility to enable Mobile Top Up. For Service Providers iTel Mobile Dialer Express is available in all major OS Platforms and you can fully customised & brand it as per your requirements. For a free trial: 1.Register for a free Demo, with details of your softswitch(IP, Port) & we will send you a Demo Operator Code for testing the app on your own softswitch. For End Users You will be prompted for the following while starting the app: 1.Operator Code – Collect Operator Code from your VoIP service provider. If the Service Provider is using REVE platform, he will be able to provide a valid Operator Code. For assistance on finding a Service Provider please email us. 2.Mobile Number – to be entered with country code. 3.Password – Received via SMS / IVR after entering your mobile number.

Screenshots

TextNow4 screens
iTel Mobile Dialer.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TextNow at 4.8 against iTel Mobile Dialer.'s 3.6. TextNow also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (929K vs 356). iTel Mobile Dialer.'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TextNow sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. iTel Mobile Dialer. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TextNow holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TextNow has 929K ratings behind it against 356, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of TextNow's written reviews are positive against 26% of iTel Mobile Dialer.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TextNow ships an update every 6 days, iTel Mobile Dialer. every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
TextNow versus iTel Mobile Dialer.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextNowiTel Mobile Dialer.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (929K ratings) — better3.6 (356 ratings)
Positive reviews38.0% of reviews — better26.0% of reviews
Number of ratings929K — better356
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#9 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size409 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTextNow, Inc.REVE Systems (S) Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

TextNow

All ratings928,245 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews3,511 reviews
Positive38.0%
Neutral6.6%
Negative55.4%

iTel Mobile Dialer.

All ratings344 ratings
Positive63.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative29.7%
Written reviews204 reviews
Positive26.0%
Neutral16.2%
Negative57.8%

User reviews

TextNow

From 929K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Free service
  • 🔒 Ability to keep number
  • 👍 Convenient for secondary number
  • 👍 Works on multiple devices
  • 👍 Easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes
  • 🐛 Unreliable call/text delivery
  • 🐛 Slow and laggy performance
  • 🔍 Lack of customer support
  • 💸 Expensive subscription

iTel Mobile Dialer.

From 356 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good app
  • 🚀 Calls to India are perfect
  • 💡 Great application and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Not working, keeps crashing
  • 🐛 Disconnects calls automatically
  • 🐛 Bluetooth not working properly
  • 🐛 Sound quality issues
  • 🐛 Registration problems

Bugs and requests

TextNow

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Random numbers calling/texting users
  • Disappearing messages and call history
  • Inability to receive verification codes
  • Accounts being locked out for no reason

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to block entire area codes
  • Notification for read messages
  • Improved call quality
  • Better integration with other apps

iTel Mobile Dialer.

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Stuck on initializing
  • Calls not connecting
  • Frequent call drops
  • Compatibility issues with iPhone 4s and older devices
  • Crashes on iOS 6 and 10

Requested features

4 requests
  • Support for MMS
  • Bluetooth headphone support
  • Dark mode
  • Better call quality

In-app purchases

10 purchases

TextNow

Subscriptions9
  • Lock Your Number for 1 Week$1.997 Days
  • Lock Number 1 Week7 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Premium Subscription$2.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Plus7 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Premium Number 1 Year$4.991 Year
  • Lock Your Number for 1 Year$4.991 Year
  • Premium Number 1 Month$4.991 Month
  • Ad Free+$6.997 Days
  • Ad Free+ & 14-day free trial14 Days trial$9.991 Month
One-time1
  • $4.99 in International Calling Credit$4.99
None

iTel Mobile Dialer.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TextNow free?
TextNow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iTel Mobile Dialer. free?
iTel Mobile Dialer. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TextNow or iTel Mobile Dialer.?
TextNow is rated higher. TextNow averages 4.8 out of 5 from 929K ratings, while iTel Mobile Dialer. averages 3.6 from 356 ratings.
Do TextNow or iTel Mobile Dialer. have ads?
Both TextNow and iTel Mobile Dialer. show ads.
Which is updated more often, TextNow or iTel Mobile Dialer.?
TextNow ships an update every 6 days, and iTel Mobile Dialer. every 2 months. Most recently, TextNow was updated on November 13, 2026 and iTel Mobile Dialer. on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons