How to get rid of your phone bill

Fact: When TextNow was started over 13 years ago, it was because our founders were annoyed at how expensive it was to call and text.

Fast forward to today and the cost of calling and texting is still too high: the average cell phone bill costs Americans $127.37 per month, according to data from CNBC. That’s not family pricing either, that’s for one line.

That’s not right.

TextNow wants to help you get rid of your phone bill. We offer free wireless phone service with no catches or contracts. Our smarter way to phone gives you all the calling and texting you could want to any phone number in an app. And when you combine our app with a TextNow SIM Card for only 99¢, you get connected to the nation's largest 5G/4G network. That's right, you get the same coverage as the big carriers starting at $0/month with TextNow. That's how you get rid of your phone bill, for good.

We consider that to be the bar every other cell phone carrier has to get under to give you a better offer. We got rid of the things you don't like about your wireless carrier, and kept the stuff that matters, focusing on making sure you can reliably talk and text as much as you want – for free.

How the heck is TextNow able to offer free wireless phone service? What’s the catch? Are there hidden fees or contracts? Is it really free? These are great questions, and we have answers you'll love:

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How TextNow keeps phone service free

Our free wireless service is supported by unobtrusive in-app ads. Our advertisers pay, so you never have to. And once you pay the one-time fee to connect to the nation's largest 5G/4G network, you're in complete control of your phone service with our flexible add-ons. You can purchase add-ons to remove ads, lock-in your phone number, or to add high-speed data to your account. These are always optional. When we say free, we mean it.

What's the catch?

There's no catch with TextNow, just think of it as a modern way to pay: view unobtrusive ads in our app and you never have a phone bill.

Does TextNow have hidden fees or contracts?

No.

Like you, hidden fees infuriate us. (To be fair, fees infuriate everybody, except the companies that rake in money from them.) The FCC refers to the practice of big wireless stuffing your bill with fees as “cramming.” They even wrote a whole article about it, where they warn consumers to watch out for:

• Charges for services that are explained on your telephone bill in general terms such as "service fee," "service charge," "other fees," "voicemail," "mail server," "calling plan" and "membership."
• Charges that are added to your telephone bill every month without a clear explanation of the services provided – such as a "monthly fee" or "minimum monthly usage fee."
• Charges for specific services or products you may not have authorized, like ringtones, cell phone wallpaper, or "premium" text messages about sports scores, celebrity gossip, flirting tips or daily horoscopes.

TextNow has none of that. In fact, we don’t even charge taxes.

Unlike literally every other wireless phone provider, the price we advertise is what you pay. Period.

There’s one more big wireless practice we can’t stand: Contracts. Let’s take an example of a popular wireless phone provider that claims to have a plan for just $15/month. And it might be, at first.

But to get this price, you have to buy three months of service ahead of time. After that, you have to sign a yearly contract to keep that rate. What if you only need another three months of service? Surprise! That’s more expensive. Shocking, right?

By comparison, not only does TextNow start at $0/month (which if our math checks out, is 15 dollars less than $15), but there are no contracts.

Let’s repeat that: TextNow has no contracts. Ever. Month-to-month flexibility is just one reason why TextNow customers call us a lifesaver.

Use our app how you need it, add flexible add-ons when you need them, and drop them when you don't. With TextNow, it's that easy to get the wireless phone service you deserve. (And to save that $15 for your next movie ticket.)