Google Voice vs TextNow
The two apps people compare when they want a second US phone number without paying for a second line. Both give you one; what they want from you in exchange differs.
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Both issue a real US number that can receive calls and texts, which is what separates them from every messenger. Google Voice needs a Google account and its personal service is effectively US-only. TextNow assigns a number after an email sign-up, funds the free tier with advertising, and also sells cellular plans with a SIM.
For international calling they are similar in shape and both bill per minute. Google Voice publishes per-minute rates with no separate connection fee; TextNow's international rates are shown in the app rather than on a public table, which is a real transparency difference when you are trying to compare before committing. TextNow's free domestic calling is ad-supported and limited to its coverage area.
Side by side
Pick what you care about and the differences reorder.
0 of 8 fields differ; 6 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 are the same
- Calls a phone number: both dials real phone numbers.
- Billing unit: both per minute.
- Connection fee: both none.
- Credit expiry: both not published.
- Subscription: both offers a subscription.
- Account required: both account required.
What each one is
Google Voice
Google Voice provides a cloud‑based phone number for calling, SMS, and voicemail, supporting domestic and international calls from web and mobile apps, primarily for US personal accounts and Google Workspace users in select markets.
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 Google Voice
- per minute for paid destinations.
- none (Google documentation describes per‑minute rates without separate connection fees).
- Support pages describe a maximum balance of $70.00 and adding credit for international calls, but do not explicitly document a fixed expiry period for unused credit.
- $10 credit or subscription (business plans) depending on use; personal users can buy smaller call credit amounts.
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 Google Voice
Requires a personal Google account in the US or a supported Google Workspace account; sign‑up and number provisioning are limited to certain countries.
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 Google Voice
Business offerings have Starter ($10/user/month), Standard ($20/user/month), and Premier ($30/user/month) plans with unlimited domestic calling; personal users can use a free tier plus paid per‑minute international calling credit.
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.
Google Voice
- United States, landline: Most calls from US Google Voice numbers to US landlines are free; some destinations cost $0.01/min.
- United States, mobile: Most calls from US Google Voice numbers to US mobiles are free; some special destinations cost $0.01/min.
Source, as recorded: Google Voice Help: Buy credit to make calls / calling rates lookup; detailed per‑country tables are accessed through an interactive tool.
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
Google Voice
- Offers a single Google Voice number for calling, SMS, and voicemail across multiple devices.
- Supports domestic and international calling from apps and the web.
- Personal accounts in the US can place free calls to most US and Canada numbers, with per‑minute tariffs for international destinations.
- Business tiers integrate with Google Workspace and provide admin features, call routing, auto‑attendants, and reporting.
- Allows purchasing call credit for long‑distance and international calls without subscribing to a business plan.
- Provides Chrome extension and web interfaces for click‑to‑call from the browser.
- Syncs call history, voicemail, and messages across web and mobile apps.
- US‑only availability for personal sign‑ups is explicitly noted in app descriptions.
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
Google Voice
- Business‑plan analyses highlight that unlimited international calling is only available as an add‑on and that international rates can be higher than some specialist VoIP providers.
- Reviewers note limited availability for personal accounts outside the US and select Workspace markets, which restricts adoption.
- Some small‑business users criticise the lack of certain advanced call‑centre features compared with dedicated cloud‑PBX competitors.
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 (relaunch of GrandCentral as Google Voice). | 2009 (TextNow service launched around 2009). |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California, United States (Google / Alphabet HQ). | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (TextNow, Inc.). |
| Users | — | Over 100 million users mentioned in Google Play description. |
| Store rating | 4.6 (third‑party APK listing aggregate rating). | 4.6 (Google Play lists around 100M+ downloads with ratings in the mid‑4 range). |
| Minimum purchase | $10 credit or subscription (business plans) depending on use; personal users can buy smaller call credit amounts. | $0 (ad‑supported free tier); optional paid plans vary. |
Website: Google Voice TextNow
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 doSources 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 free US phone number that receives calls and texts, which messengers do not.
Google Voice requires a Google account and is effectively US-only for personal use; it publishes per-minute international rates with no separate connection fee. TextNow is ad-supported, assigns a number after email sign-up, and shows international rates only in the app.
Both are shaped around a US number. If you need to call abroad rather than to be reachable in the US, a prepaid calling app compares better.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google Voice call a landline or mobile number?
Yes. Google Voice 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 Google Voice charge a connection fee?
No separate connection fee is published for Google Voice, so the cost of a call is the per-minute rate applied to the billed time.
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 Google Voice or TextNow?
Credit on Google Voice 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, Google Voice or TextNow?
Neither publishes per-country rates in a form that allows a like-for-like table, so the comparison rests on billing terms. Google Voice 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 Google Voice and TextNow require an account?
Google Voice: 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 Google Voice and TextNow run on?
Google Voice runs on iOS, Android, Web. TextNow runs on iOS, Android, Web. These are the platforms each provider publishes.
