**Dingtone vs TextNow: Second Numbers and Credit Systems** > Both give a second number and low-cost international calls. TextNow is ad-supported with a US focus; Dingtone runs a credit system that can be earned as well as… Source: https://telvio.app/vs/dingtone-vs-textnow/ · updated: 2026-09-04 1. [Home](https://telvio.app/) 2. [Compare apps](https://telvio.app/vs/) 3. Dingtone vs TextNow Compare apps # Dingtone vs TextNow Two second-number apps that also sell international calling. The difference that matters is how each one wants to be paid. vs **Both assign you a number and both dial real phone numbers.** TextNow's free domestic tier is funded by advertising within its coverage area, and it also sells cellular plans. Dingtone is freemium with an in-app credit system, offers free calls between Dingtone users, and bills per minute for outbound calls to phones. Neither publishes a clear public rate table for international destinations — both direct you into the app to see prices — and neither publishes a clear answer on credit expiry. If knowing what a call costs before installing matters to you, that is a point against both, and a reason to look at services that publish a rate sheet. ## Side by side Pick what you care about and the differences reorder. Calling a real phoneWhat it costsWhat they ask of meMy devices Show everything Dingtone TextNow Calls a phone number Yes Yes Billing unit Per minute Per minute Connection fee Not published None Credit expiry Not published Not published Subscription Yes Yes Account required Required Required Platforms iOS, Android iOS, Android, Web Service status Operating Operating 2 of 8 fields differ; 5 are the same. ## How to read this comparison Work down in this order and most comparisons resolve in under a minute. First, can it reach the number you actually need — a service that only calls its own users is not a cheaper version of one that dials a landline, it is a different thing. Second, what are the billing terms: the unit a call is measured in, and whether a fixed fee is added to each one. Third, what happens to money you do not spend. The per-minute rate is deliberately not the first question here, and it is the only question most comparisons ask. At the same advertised rate, a service that rounds every call up to a whole minute and adds a per-call fee can cost close to double another on the short calls that make up most people's actual usage. The rate is the number that gets compared because it is the number that gets published. ## Where they actually differ ### Connection fee Dingtone: Not published. TextNow: None. A connection fee is a fixed amount added to every call regardless of length, which makes it proportionally largest on the short calls a per-minute comparison makes look cheapest. Ten one-minute calls with a five-cent fee cost fifty cents more than the headline implies; one ten-minute call costs five. ### Platforms Dingtone runs on iOS, Android. TextNow runs on iOS, Android, Web. This decides more comparisons than it ought to: a service that is excellent and unavailable on the device in your hand is not a candidate at all, and a desktop client matters more than it sounds when the alternative is holding a phone against your ear for an hour. ## Where they are the same - Calls a phone number: both dials real phone numbers. - Billing unit: both per minute. - Credit expiry: both not published. - Subscription: both offers a subscription. - Account required: both account required. ## What each one is ### Dingtone Dingtone is a second‑number VoIP app that provides free and low‑cost calling and texting via assigned virtual numbers, including international calling over Wi‑Fi or mobile data. ### TextNow TextNow is a VoIP‑based mobile app and service that provides users with a second phone number for free calling and texting over Wi‑Fi or cellular data in supported regions, plus low‑cost international calling. ## How each one bills you ### As published by Dingtone - per minute for most outbound calls; some free destinations via credits. - Users earn and purchase credits, but public FAQ pages do not state a firm expiration policy for unused credits. ### As published by TextNow - per minute for international calls. - none mentioned; pricing pages focus on per‑minute international rates. - International calling is pay‑per‑minute billed against user account balance or payment method; no fixed credit expiry is documented in app‑store descriptions. - $0 (ad‑supported free tier); optional paid plans vary. ## What each one asks of you ### As published by Dingtone Users must install the app on iOS or Android and create a Dingtone account; the service can assign a second phone number without changing SIM cards. ### As published by TextNow Users create a TextNow account, typically with email, log in via the app, and receive a TextNow number; some features require SIM activation in supported countries. ## Plans, where each one sells them ### As published by Dingtone Offers free calling and texting funded by ads and in‑app credits, plus paid subscriptions or credit purchases for premium numbers and additional minutes. ### As published by TextNow Core VoIP service with a second number and unlimited ad‑supported calling and texting is free; paid wireless plans add cellular data and ad‑free experiences, while international calls are billed at low per‑minute rates. ## Published rates The corridor prices each provider published at the time of the research. An empty list means the provider does not publish its rates outside its own app, which is itself worth knowing before you top up. ### Dingtone - **United States, landline:** Often free or low‑cost depending on in‑app offers and credit usage; explicit per‑minute tariff not published on marketing pages. - **United States, mobile:** Similar to landline: free or low‑cost via credits; no public per‑minute tariff listed. Source, as recorded: Dingtone FAQ and Play Store descriptions; detailed rate tables are shown in‑app rather than on the public website. ### TextNow - **United States, landline:** Included as free in unlimited domestic calling on supported plans within coverage area. - **United States, mobile:** Included as free in unlimited domestic calling on supported plans within coverage area. Source, as recorded: TextNow app descriptions and support explain that international calls use low‑cost per‑minute rates displayed in‑app; detailed country table not public on marketing pages. ## What each one does ### Dingtone - Provides a second phone number without requiring an additional SIM card. - Enables free calls and texts between Dingtone users and low‑cost calls to regular phone numbers. - Supports Wi‑Fi calling for domestic and international calls. - Offers local and international phone numbers in various countries. - Includes voicemail, caller ID, and text messaging features. - Uses ad‑supported and credit‑earning mechanisms (such as offers) to subsidise free calling. - Available on smartphones and tablets running iOS or Android. - Markets crystal‑clear voice quality over data networks. ### TextNow - Provides a secondary phone number with unlimited calling and texting within coverage regions on the free tier, funded by ads. - Offers paid wireless plans with 5G data and hotspot options in supported countries. - Supports Wi‑Fi calling and texting from multiple devices, including phones and computers. - Includes voicemail, conference calling, and voicemail‑to‑text transcription features. - International calls are supported to more than 230 countries at low per‑minute rates. - Uses VoIP, so calls and texts travel over data instead of traditional cellular voice channels for the app‑based usage. - Ad‑supported model allows domestic calling without monthly service fees. - Apps available on Android, iOS, and web/desktop. ## What users complain about ### Dingtone - Reviews mention occasional call quality problems and latency, particularly on low‑bandwidth networks. - Some users report aggressive advertising and the need to complete offers to earn sufficient credits for free calling. - Complaints include dropped calls and issues receiving verification messages for some online services when using Dingtone numbers. ### TextNow - User reviews complain about call quality and dropped calls on unstable Wi‑Fi or weak data connections. - Some reviewers report issues with number recycling and losing TextNow numbers after periods of inactivity. - There are complaints about in‑app advertising volume and its impact on user experience in the free tier. ## About each company | Founded | — | 2009 (TextNow service launched around 2009). | | --- | --- | --- | | Headquarters | — | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (TextNow, Inc.). | | Users | More than 30 million users worldwide according to Dingtone FAQ. | Over 100 million users mentioned in Google Play description. | | Store rating | — | 4.6 (Google Play lists around 100M+ downloads with ratings in the mid‑4 range). | | Minimum purchase | — | $0 (ad‑supported free tier); optional paid plans vary. | Website: [Dingtone](https://www.dingtone.me) [TextNow](https://www.textnow.com) ## If neither of them fits Both of the services above bill per minute or cannot dial a phone at all. If what you need is to call an ordinary number and pay only for the seconds you talk, that is what we publish — and the same nine fields are in the table above, in the first row, marked as ours. Rates from $0.03 a minute across 41 destinations, billed per second with no connection fee and credit that does not expire. [What Telvio does and does not do](https://telvio.app/why-telvio/) ## Sources and dates Every value on this page is quoted from the provider's own published material, gathered in a structured research pass on 2026-03-18. Where a provider published no answer, the page says so rather than estimating. Nothing here is a review: call quality, reliability and support are not assessed, because they cannot be established from published material. ## Bottom line Both give you a second number and both dial real phone numbers. Both bill per minute rather than per second. TextNow's free tier is ad-supported and US-focused; Dingtone uses an in-app credit system with free Dingtone-to-Dingtone calling. Neither publishes international rates publicly and neither states a clear credit expiry policy. That is worth weighing before topping up either. ## Frequently asked questions Can Dingtone call a landline or mobile number? Yes. Dingtone dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything. Can TextNow call a landline or mobile number? Yes. TextNow dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything. Does Dingtone charge a connection fee? Dingtone publishes no answer. As of the March 2026 research it could not be confirmed either way, which is itself worth knowing before topping up. Does TextNow charge a connection fee? No separate connection fee is published for TextNow, so the cost of a call is the per-minute rate applied to the billed time. Does unused credit expire on Dingtone or TextNow? Credit on Dingtone has no published expiry policy, so it could not be confirmed. Credit on TextNow has no published expiry policy, so it could not be confirmed. Expiry costs most when you top up in large amounts and call infrequently. Which is cheaper for short calls, Dingtone or TextNow? Neither publishes per-country rates in a form that allows a like-for-like table, so the comparison rests on billing terms. Dingtone bills per minute, TextNow bills per minute. On calls of under a minute the billing unit and any per-call fee change the total more than the headline rate does. Do Dingtone and TextNow require an account? Dingtone: Account required. TextNow: Account required. Every service in this comparison set except one requires you to identify yourself before you can call. Which devices do Dingtone and TextNow run on? Dingtone runs on iOS, Android. TextNow runs on iOS, Android, Web. These are the platforms each provider publishes. ## Other comparisons - [Google Voice vs TextNow](https://telvio.app/vs/google-voice-vs-textnow/) - [magicJack vs Vonage](https://telvio.app/vs/magicjack-vs-vonage/) - [Boss Revolution vs Rebtel](https://telvio.app/vs/boss-revolution-vs-rebtel/) - [KeepCalling vs Rebtel](https://telvio.app/vs/keepcalling-vs-rebtel/) - [Rebtel vs Talk360](https://telvio.app/vs/rebtel-vs-talk360/) - [Rebtel vs Yolla](https://telvio.app/vs/rebtel-vs-yolla/) [Back to the full matrix →](https://telvio.app/vs/) --- HTML version: https://telvio.app/vs/dingtone-vs-textnow/ Structured data for this site: https://telvio.app/api/v1/openapi.json · https://telvio.app/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0).