Comparison

Text Free vs Receive SMS

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

Head to head
About

Text Free

Get a free, personalized local phone number for unlimited calling and texting. Share photos, videos, GIFs, and more. Customize tones and wallpapers for a unique experience. Upgrade for ad-free use and verification codes.

Highlights
  • Free local phone number
  • Unlimited calling and texting
  • Send photos, videos, and GIFs
  • Group messaging
  • Custom ring and text tones
  • Auto-Reply feature
  • Available on multiple devices
Features
Read full description

TextFree is the first—and still the best—free phone number app. Join the hundreds of millions of people who use TextFree for free, unlimited calling and texting. TextFree is easy to use and boasts a list of features you won’t get from other apps. Choose a local phone number with unlimited calling and texting. Send photos, videos, GIFs, audio messages, emojis, and PDFs. Custom ring and text tones make it easy to identify when your TextFree number is ringing, and custom wallpapers let you personalize your experience. Need more features? Upgrade to TextFree Plus to remove ads and get unlimited access to verification codes for online accounts. You’ll also lock in your number so it won’t change or expire while you’re subscribed—unless you choose to change it yourself. TEXTFREE FEATURES - Select a free phone number with an area code of your choice - Choose from a bank of custom number combinations - Unlimited calls & texts let you communicate for free over WiFi - Share photos, videos, and GIF messages - Send and receive audio messages, emojis, and PDFs - Use group texting to stay in touch with friends and family - Automatically respond to calls and texts with Auto-Reply - Assign custom ring and text tones to your TextFree number - Personalize your experience with custom wallpapers - No phone? No problem—get TextFree on your iPod, iPad, or computer. - Access 24/7 Customer Support TEXTFREE PLUS FEATURES - All standard TextFree features, plus… - Unlock verification shortcodes to validate online accounts and apps - Enjoy an ad-free experience - Reserve your phone number to prevent it from expiring - Change your phone number as often as needed - Silence spam & send it to voicemail FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Is TextFree really free? Yes—your number, texting, and calling are all free. TextFree is ad-supported, which is how we're able to offer it at no cost, but if you'd rather go ad-free (and get more features), TextFree Plus has you covered. Does TextFree give you a real phone number? A TextFree number is a dialable U.S. or Canadian phone number with its own area code. It runs over Wi-Fi or data rather than a traditional carrier plan, but works just like one for texting and calling. Does TextFree work without a phone plan? Yes. TextFree runs on Wi-Fi or mobile data—no carrier required. As long as you have an internet connection, you're good to go. Is TextFree private and secure? TextFree doesn't sell or share your information with third parties or use your messages to train AI models. Our servers are encrypted to keep your data secure. For full details, see our privacy policy. Who is TextFree for? TextFree is for anyone who needs a phone number without the cost or commitment of a carrier plan—plus anyone who wants a second number for side hustles, online marketplaces, or anywhere they'd rather not share their real digits. Do I need to provide a government-issued ID to create a TextFree account? No. You do not need to submit a government-issued ID to sign up for TextFree. To create an account, you'll need to verify your email address or sign in using a supported Google or Apple account. Download TextFree today and try it! LEGAL © 2026 Pinger, Inc. All rights reserved. The TextFree name, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Pinger, Inc. or related entities. Terms of Service: https://www.pinger.com/privacy-policy/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://www.pinger.com/privacy-policy/ Subscriptions are automatically billed monthly or annually to your iTunes Account and auto-renew unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payments are charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. You can turn off auto-renew or manage subscriptions in your iTunes & App Store account settings. Cancellations take effect at the end of the active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period (where available) is forfeited when purchasing a subscription.

About

Receive SMS

Receive SMS messages online using real SIMs and dynamic sender IDs to protect your personal number. Get instant SMS delivery and temporary email addresses for anonymous online access.

Highlights
  • Receive SMS online
  • Hide personal phone number
  • Instant SMS delivery
  • Temporary email addresses
  • Fake identity generator
  • SSN validator
Features
Read full description

"Receive SMS - Multiple SIM"" is a free service for receive SMS messages online, based on REAL SIM and shows you the exact information received by the modem with Dynamic Sender ID. On this app you can check if you receive SMS on different routes, or if you receive using the Dynamic Sender ID feature. *** Hide your Personal Phone Number *** Today, Many websites, apps and services require phone number verification for you to start using them which may risk your phone number to be published or shared with third-parties and used to spam you with unwanted advertisements and ads. for this reason you can use "Receive SMS - Temp Number" to hide your own phone number by providing one of our phone numbers listed and gain access to the website, app or service you want without being at the risk of providing sensitive information about you to untrusted or foggy parties. *** Fast & Instant SMS receive *** As soon as the service, website or app send you the SMS it'll be available almost instantly or within seconds and you can check the SMS content easily. * Fake Identity Generator (name set, address, gender, county, extra info) * SSN Validator *** WHAT IS Temp-Mail? *** Temp Mail: is a must-have service that generates a disposable email address designed to replace your original one. Temporary Mail, or simply TMail (also known as disposable mail, temp mail, temporary email, fake mail, ten minutes mail, etc.), is a must-have service that generates a disposable email address designed to replace your original one. It expires after two days and allows you to stay anonymous online while getting unwanted emails on a temporary email address that disappears after a while. In general, using TMail is a perfect way to protect your primary mailbox from worthless spam. *** HOW DOES IT WORK? *** Here you can get a randomly generated email address and even rename it for free. Just copy it to the clipboard and paste whenever you need it for registration. Then automatically will refresh when receive a reply. Please pay attention that you can receive emails with the generated email, not send them. Received messages will be kept only for 48 hours. *** IS Temp Mail ANONYMOUS? *** TMail is the best way to protect your data because the site or app doesn't require any personal details to generate temp mail.

Screenshots

Text Free4 screens
Receive SMS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Text Free at 605K against Receive SMS's 1.1K. Text Free also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). Receive SMS's advantage is review sentiment (40% vs 28%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Text Free sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Receive SMS sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Text Free holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Text Free has 605K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of Text Free's written reviews are positive against 40% of Receive SMS's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Text Free ships an update every 9 days, Receive SMS every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Text Free versus Receive SMS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText FreeReceive SMS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (605K ratings) — better4.4 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews40.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings605K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size219 MB56 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPinger, Inc.Ayoub El Omrani

Customer experience

Text Free

All ratings604,928 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews1,287 reviews
Positive28.2%
Neutral8.2%
Negative63.6%

Receive SMS

All ratings1,147 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative54.3%

User reviews

Text Free

From 605K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works great
  • 👍 Convenient to use
  • 💡 Helpful for international calls/texts
  • 👍 Reliable service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy, freezes, and crashes
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 💸 Paid subscription required for full functionality
  • 📢 Excessive, intrusive ads
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with number sharing

Receive SMS

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good app
  • 💡 Useful for getting codes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Numbers don't work
  • 🐛 Can't receive messages
  • 🔋 Bloated with ads
  • 💰 Forces you to pay

Bugs and requests

Text Free

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Outgoing texts not working
  • Number changing/expiring unexpectedly
  • Inability to disable notifications
  • Verification codes not working

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Group messaging capability
  • Improved call quality and reliability
  • Better account management and number retention

Receive SMS

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Numbers are invalid
  • Verification codes not received
  • App crashes and freezes

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add chat functionality
  • Improve verification process

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Text Free

Subscriptions8
  • Remove Ads$2.991 Month
  • Voicemail to Text$2.991 Month
  • Text Free Plan Weekly7 Days trial$4.997 Days
Show 5 more
  • Text Free Plus Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Text Free Plus$9.991 Month
  • Text Free Plan$9.991 Month
  • Text Free Plus Half Yearly$39.996 Months
  • Text Free Plus Yearly$69.991 Year
One-time3
  • 100 minutes$1.99
  • 400 minutes$9.99
  • 1000 minutes$18.99
1 purchases

Receive SMS

One-time1
  • Premium Version$12.99

Questions

Is Text Free free?
Text Free is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Receive SMS free?
Receive SMS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Text Free or Receive SMS?
Text Free is rated higher. Text Free averages 4.7 out of 5 from 605K ratings, while Receive SMS averages 4.4 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Text Free or Receive SMS have ads?
Both Text Free and Receive SMS show ads.
Which is updated more often, Text Free or Receive SMS?
Text Free ships an update every 9 days, and Receive SMS every 3 weeks. Most recently, Text Free was updated on September 27, 2026 and Receive SMS on September 25, 2026.

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