Swytch vs String
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Swytch
This app provides employees with dedicated work mobile numbers, eliminating the need for separate work phones. It allows businesses to manage numbers while employees use their personal devices for seamless communication.
- Dedicated work mobile numbers
- Use personal handset
- Separate business/personal calls
- Business ownership of numbers
- No need for extra hardware
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Swytch allows businesses to provide their employees with work mobile numbers, rather than work mobile phones. *** NOTE - You must be a registered Swytch user in order to log in via the app. There is NO ABILITY to register within the app - please go to our website (https://www.swytch.com/) to register first. * No need to purchase expensive handsets that employees don’t want to carry around anyway * The business retains ownership and control of all mobile numbers provided * Employees don't have to change their personal handset, network operator, or SIM card * Separating business and personal communications on one phone has never been so easy and practical
String
Enhance customer engagement with a business SMS and voice platform. Organize your inbox, automate responses, and manage contacts efficiently. Send personalized messages to individuals or groups, and access your workflow from any device.
- Use existing or new phone numbers
- Organize inbox with sales funnel view
- Automated responses and auto-replies
- Contact management and CRM integrations
- 1-1, group, and mass messaging
- Templates and voicemail transcription
- Browser and mobile app access
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Boost your brand engagement with String’s intuitive business SMS marketing, text and voice. ANY PHONE NUMBER, EVEN LANDLINES Use your existing mobile or landline number with String. Select a new local number or upgrade to a vanity or toll free number of your choice. ORGANIZE YOUR INBOX Transform your inbox into a sales funnel or kanban board with various viewing, filtering and tagging options — Stay on top of your conversations and never miss a message again. POWERFUL MESSAGE MANAGEMENT Mark Unread and Archive — You love it for your emails, you’ll love it for your texts. STAY RESPONSIVE, 24/7 Amplify your interaction with automations and Auto-Replies — Respond to texts and missed calls on time, every time. TAP INTO ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Contact Management & Integrations — Save important contact notes directly from the message thread. Capture contacts, import from your phone or computer,, automate workflows, integrate with tools you love (like your CRM, etc). REACH THE MASSES, OR JUST ONE Conversational, Groups or Mass Messaging — Respond directly with 1-1 messaging, message with a group,r or send personalized Mass Messages to multiple people at once, individually. BUILD A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE Send promos, reminders and confirmations and never miss a lead, client or customer with Elite features like triggered Keyword Responses, and Auto-Replies. SAVE TIME Templates — No more copy-pasting the same message over and over. No time to listen to voicemail? View voicemail transcriptions in your inbox with visual voicemail. USE IT ANYWHERE Browser & Mobile Apps — Increase your workflow efficiency with access to String from your computer and mobile device. CALL FORWARDING & VOICE Separate your personal and professional calls with call forwarding and flexible voice settings. GOT QUESTIONS? Email our stellar support at support@joinstring.com. Find helpful articles, join our customer community and create tickets in our Help Center: https://help.joinstring.com/hc/en-us Terms of Service: https://www.joinstring.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.joinstring.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: String at 3.5 against Swytch's 2.7. String also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 37%) and ratings volume (62 vs 7). Swytch's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
String holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: String has 62 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of Swytch's written reviews are positive against 69% of String's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Swytch | String |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (7 ratings) | 3.5 (62 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 37.0% of reviews | 68.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 62 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 200 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Swytch | NumberBarn, LLC |
Customer experience
Swytch
String
User reviews
Swytch
From 7 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Keeps a UK number for expats
- 💡 Useful for separating personal/business lines
- 👍 Good for online shopping/avoiding spam
- 👍 Can have multiple numbers
- 👍 Good call quality (sometimes)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable connection/dropped calls
- 🐛 Messages not coming through/delayed
- 🐛 App crashes/quirky after updates
- 🐛 Difficult to cancel contract
- 🐛 Poor audio quality/can't hear others
String
From 62 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Organizes texts like email
- 🚀 Efficient for business communication
- 💡 Automates common questions
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 👍 Great for small businesses
Room to improve
- 🐛 Mobile app is buggy
- 🐛 Website loads to white screen
- 🐛 App loads messages out of order
- 🐛 Threads don't load
- 🐛 Incorrect contact loading
Bugs and requests
Swytch
Reported bugs
58 issues- Intermittent connection
- Account locked for no reason
- Connection drops randomly
- App is quirky and unreliable after updates
- Cannot search for app on iPhone
Show 53 moreShow fewer
- Calls are clumsy
- Missed notifications for messages and calls
- No connection most of the time
- Messages not coming through
- Cannot make an account
- App deletes messages
- Bad audio quality
- Delays in messages and calls
- No visibility on consumption
- Cannot see account balance on the app
- App is getting slower and flakier
- Billing issues
- Security concerns
- App is unreliable
- Cannot get the app to open
- No indication of missed calls
- Callers unable to leave voice message
- Messages don't appear unless it's a fresh install
- Cannot call or text
- Customer service doesn't reply
- Constantly missing phone calls
- Messages haven't updated in the app
- Cannot add credit or change billing details
- No help number
- App is unreliable
- Expensive
- Issues with text messaging (notification but no content)
- Difficult to stop subscription or delete account
- Cannot add alternative number
- Cannot register new users
- App crashes
- Hidden costs
- App is expensive
- Inbound calls go to VM if app is in background
- Need to constantly wake the app
- Voicemail is only 20 seconds
- Cannot add numbers to contacts
- Cannot use another app when in a call
- UK number purchase rate is high
- Voicemail could be better
- Option to route incoming calls through main ringer needed
- App crashes when trying to open FAQ
- PIN is rejected
- Cannot sign back in after signing out
- Support is non-existent
- PIN never works
- Email invalid message during registration
- PIN activation message never arrived
- App keeps crashing
- Cannot play sound through headphones or phone (switches to speaker)
- Voicemail cuts off
- Cannot make calls unless using speaker
- No promo for free UK number with credits
Requested features
21 requests- Allow deletion of numbers
- Improve notification reliability
- Fix app crashing after updates
- Provide clear call rates and line rentals
- Allow managing credit top-ups in the app
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- Allow setting up temporary numbers
- Option to divert notifications
- Add numbers to phone contacts
- Improve voicemail length and functionality
- Allow listening to voicemails not in speaker mode
- Fix calls disconnecting when switching apps
- Provide breakdown of charges
- Display account balance in app
- Improve app speed and responsiveness
- Fix issues with new updates
- Make cancellation process easier
- Allow registration for new users
- Fix issues with PIN codes
- Improve customer support response times
- Reduce number purchase rates
- Allow calls/texts when other apps are open
String
Reported bugs
22 issues- Calls drop within seconds
- Line cuts out completely
- Website loads to a white screen
- App loads message threads out of order
- Tapping into a thread does not load any part of the conversation
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Sending a message in the thread works, but the thread doesn’t load
- Tapping a thread loads an entirely different number/contact at the top
- Push notification badges don’t clear
- Text threads are slow to update and sometimes show off screen
- No where to sign up on the app
- Lost account after uninstall/reinstall
- No one to talk to for support
- iTunes account debited without loading sign-in page
- Stuck on unpaid account, cannot log out
- Missed calls do not show up on the main log panel
- Voicemails will not play in app
- No iPad App
- Web app directs back to mobile app
- No attention to detail in integrations
- Phone number picker is super limited
- No filtering by numbers
- Requires payment to see the app
Requested features
18 requests- Improve mobile app stability
- Fix website loading issues
- Ensure message threads load correctly
- Improve contact loading accuracy
- Fix push notification badge issues
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Improve text thread update speed
- Enhance call stability
- Improve customer support responsiveness
- Provide in-app sign-up
- Allow account recovery
- Offer refunds
- Implement missed call notifications
- Ensure missed calls appear in logs
- Enable voicemail playback in app
- Develop an iPad app
- Improve sign-up process
- Add more phone number filtering options
- Integrate with CRM software like HubSpot
In-app purchases
Swytch
No in-app purchases
String
No in-app purchases
