TextNow: 11 Facts To Know Before You Sign Up

1. What is TextNow?

TextNow is a prepaid cell phone carrier known as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO.

An MVNO is simply any cell phone carrier that does not operate its own cellular network.

Instead of building their own networks, MVNOs make agreements with the four big carriers to use their cellular networks for coverage.

In TextNow’s case, it uses the T-Mobile network for coverage.

If you are curious to learn more about how the agreements work between the big carriers and the small carriers, check out my article on how some cell phone plans can cost so much less than others.

2. What cell phone plans does TextNow offer?

TextNow offers the following cell phone plans to choose from:

• TextNow Month Pass: $39.99 for 10GB for 1 month data, Unlimited minutes, and Unlimited texts

• TextNow Day Pass: $4.99 for 2GB for 24 hours data, Unlimited minutes, and Unlimited texts

• TextNow 1 Hour Pass: $0.99 for 300MB for 1 hour data, Unlimited minutes, and Unlimited texts

See the full details and features of TextNow's plans below:

TextNow 1 Hour Pass



1 Line



1 Line



T-Mobile

$

1

/mo.

+tax

tax included

300MB for 1 hour

high-speed, then 512Kbps





Deprioritized



Included hotspot



Unknown video streaming



Unlimited minutes



Unlimited texts



-



Pay-per-minute int'l calls



-



-

TextNow Day Pass



1 Line



1 Line



T-Mobile

$

5

/mo.

+tax

tax included

2GB for 24 hours

high-speed, then 512Kbps





Deprioritized



Included hotspot



Unknown video streaming



Unlimited minutes



Unlimited texts



-



Pay-per-minute int'l calls



-



-

TextNow Month Pass



1 Line



1 Line



T-Mobile

$

40

/mo.

+tax

tax included

10GB for 1 month

high-speed, then 512Kbps





Deprioritized



Included hotspot



Unknown video streaming



Unlimited minutes



Unlimited texts



-



Pay-per-minute int'l calls



-



-

3. What deals, discounts, or referral programs does TextNow have?

No discounts or referral programs are available at this time.

4. Does TextNow offer family plans?

TextNow offers the following family plans to choose from:

TextNow does not offer family plans at this time. Each line you have will need its own separate account.

5. Does TextNow have plans for tablets, smartwatches, or hotspot devices?

No, TextNow does not offer plans for tablets, smartwatches, or hotspot devices.

6. How good is TextNow's coverage?

TextNow rides on the T-Mobile network for coverage, so reception in most places is pretty good.

See the full coverage details below:

Verizon coverage information

Total coverage: 67.4%
Total square miles covered: 2,246,127
Total population covered: 327 million people (98.0)%
5G coverage: 14.5%
5G square miles covered: 484,321
Population covered by 5G: 230 million people (69.0%)

The above data come from the FCC and from Verizon directly.

Check Verizon coverage in your area by using Verizon's official coverage map.

You can also check coverage using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.

Verizon coverage map — Verizon's coverage map reported by CoverageMap.com

CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of cellular coverage.

Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to participate in the project.

AT&T coverage information

Total coverage: 78.1%
Total square miles covered: 2,602,364
Total population covered: 330 million people (99.0%)
5G coverage: 43.3%
5G square miles covered: 1,444,381
Population covered by 5G: 300 million people (90.0%)

The above information comes from the FCC and from AT&T direclty.

You can check AT&T coverage in your area by using AT&T's official coverage map.

You can also check coverage by using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.

Crowd-sourced AT&T coverage map from CoverageMap.com

CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of the cellular networks.

Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to contribute to the project.

T-Mobile coverage information

Network: T-Mobile
Total coverage: 46.6%
Total square miles covered: 1,551,924
Total population covered: 330 million people (99.0%)
5G coverage: 36.0%
5G square miles covered: 1,200,851
Population covered by 5G: 326 million people (97.8%)

The above information comes from the FCC and from T-Mobile directly.

Check T-Mobile coverage in your area by using T-Mobile's official coverage map.

You can also check T-Mobile coverage by using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.

Crowd-sourced T-Mobile coverage map from CoverageMap.com

CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of cellular coverage.

You can download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to contribute to the project.

7. What features does TextNow support?

TextNow supports:

VoLTE
WiFi calling
Visual voicemail
MMS (multimedia messaging service)
Hotspot
Managing multiple lines from a single account
International calling

8. What phones work on TextNow?

Most phones that are unlocked will work on

TextNow

.

An unlocked phone means it isn't tied to any carrier, contract, or financing agreement.

Consider contacting your current carrier to see if your phone is unlocked, or what the steps are to request to have it unlocked.

You can also consider purchasing an unlocked phone below that is compatible with

TextNow

:

Shop Unlocked Phones

9. Does TextNow support international calling or data roaming?

10. What plan add-ons does TextNow offer?

No plan add-ons have been entered into our database for TextNow at this time.

TextNow: 11 Facts To Know Before You Sign Up

1. What is TextNow?

2. What cell phone plans does TextNow offer?

3. What deals, discounts, or referral programs does TextNow have?

4. Does TextNow offer family plans?

5. Does TextNow have plans for tablets, smartwatches, or hotspot devices?

6. How good is TextNow's coverage?

Verizon coverage information

AT&T coverage information

T-Mobile coverage information

7. What features does TextNow support?

8. What phones work on TextNow?

9. Does TextNow support international calling or data roaming?

10. What plan add-ons does TextNow offer?

11. How do you contact TextNow customer service?

TextNow

News

Browse All Cell Phone Plans