What is TextNow? A free US or Canadian number you can use in a browser

What TextNow is and what you get

TextNow gives you a free US or Canadian phone number, and you call and text ordinary numbers with it over Wi-Fi ^[1][2]. The person you call doesn't need TextNow ^[1]. The company is TextNow, Inc. of Waterloo, Ontario; in the US, its phone service comes from TextNow Inc., a Delaware corporation ^[5].

The number works in apps for Android, iPhone and iPad, Windows and macOS ^[3], and in a browser through TextNow's web messaging, which handles calls too ^[8].

TextNow also sells SIM cards and offers free eSIMs, but they only add service away from Wi-Fi; an email is enough for the free number ^[2]. Calling from a computer needs neither.

How TextNow stays free: ads and a shared number pool

In-app ads pay for the free plan ^[2], and the terms forbid blocking them ^[5]. Your number stays yours only while you use it. Numbers come from a pool: when one sits idle, TextNow takes it back and gives it to someone else ^[7]. Two weekly add-ons remove those catches for a fee.

• The first day counts. A new number not used to call or text within 24 hours of activation expires ^[6].
• No fixed idle limit. TextNow warns you before taking a number back, and a call or text once a day keeps it ^[6].
• No way back. TextNow says it can't restore a released number ^[6].
• Dormant accounts. The terms allow cancelling an account inactive for more than a year ^[5].

TextNow's blog says upgrades are bought in the iPhone or Android app and billed by the app store ^[7], which matters if you planned to use only a computer.

How to use TextNow on a computer

On a computer, TextNow runs as a Windows or Mac app or in a browser tab with nothing to install ^[3][4]. Browser calls use WebRTC, which modern browsers have built in, so the tab only needs your microphone ^[4]. The account is the harder part: when I opened TextNow's sign-up address on November 1, 2026, it redirected me to the app download page.

1. Get an account and a number. An older TextNow help article says sign-up works in the app or online, and you pick from about ten numbers in a US or Canadian area code ^[6]. Given that redirect, plan on installing the app once for this step.
2. Log in at textnow.com. The login page I opened offered Facebook, Google, Apple or email, plus a check that you are human ^[9].
3. Allow the microphone. If calling still fails, TextNow's help suggests another browser ^[4].
4. Call or answer. Dial a US or Canadian number from the tab, or answer calls to your TextNow number there ^[4].

From TextNow's support article, whose footer says © 2019 ^[4]. The newer help centre showed me an error page on November 1, 2026, so I could not confirm the list there. Brave is not mentioned.

Can you use TextNow outside the US and Canada?

Not if you live elsewhere. TextNow's terms say the service is intended for people residing in the US or Canada, ask EU and EEA residents to deactivate their accounts, and let TextNow restrict VPNs so the service is used within those regions ^[5]. So it is no free line to the US for anyone living abroad.

Calling other countries from a TextNow account

If you do live in the US or Canada, calls abroad use credit added in the app, reaching 230+ countries and destinations ^[3]. TextNow says calls to Mexico and the UK are free and others start at $0.01 a minute ^[3]. I found no statement on whether that credit works in the browser.

Options if you live elsewhere

Google Voice won't fill the gap, since it is available only in the US ^[10]; my list of Google Voice alternatives that work outside the US covers what does. For reaching US numbers from abroad, I compare free and paid web dialers in how to call the US for free from another country.

TextNow or Google Voice for a US resident?

Both give a US resident a free number and free calls to nearly all US and Canadian numbers from a browser ^[3][11]. Google Voice asks more at sign-up: a phone number for a text code and, for new numbers, an identity check ^[12][13]. TextNow asks for an email but shows ads ^[2]. Both can take back a number you leave idle ^[6][14].

Is TextNow good enough as your only phone line?

I'd treat it as a second line. TextNow's own comparison lists two cons: calls are not end-to-end encrypted, and 911 support is not guaranteed ^[1]. Its terms add that emergency calls over its VoIP service will not work in some cases, such as a power or internet outage ^[5].

In the US, TextNow may pass a 911 call to your device's own dialler or, on a device without calling, try to route it by location; in Canada, it goes to a third-party call centre that will ask for your address ^[5]. What that means on a laptop is in my guide to emergency calls from a browser.

The terms call TextNow a VoIP service and warn that your number will not necessarily match where you are ^[5]. Whether other services accept such numbers is a separate question, covered in what a VoIP number is and where it falls short.

Frequently asked questions

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