Mobile texting is ideal for quick, on-the-go messaging. But sometimes your phone is out of reach and using your computer is more convenient. The larger screen also makes it easier to multitask and attach multimedia content to your messages.
When choosing a desktop texting app, you’ll need to consider device compatibility requirements among other factors, like what business features are being offered. For example, some computer texting apps send SMS messages through Android-linked numbers only, so they won’t work with iPhones. Others work using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) softphone technology, making them great options for Android and iPhone users.
There are a ton of texting apps out there, so which one should you choose?
Here, we’ll take a closer look at the most popular options so you can decide which fits your business needs.
Comparing the best apps for texting apps from computers
Here’s how the top solutions for texting on a computer compare:
Provider | Starting price | Unlimited calling to US & Canada | SMS/MMS to US & Canada | Shared phone numbers | Additional phone numbers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OpenPhone | $15 per user per month | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $5 per number per month |
Google Voice | $16 per user per month (including required Google Workspace subscription) | Unlimited calls to Canada from the US only | US customers only | Requires upgrade (ring groups only | X |
MightyText | $7.49 per month | X | ✓ | X | X |
Google Messages | Free | X | Uses your cell phone plan | X | X |
SimpleTexting | $33.20 per month for 500 credits | X | ✓ | $20 per user per month | $10 per number per month |
Sideline | $14.49 per user per month | Requires carrier minutes | ✓ | X | $14.49 per number per month |
Viber | Free for personal use | Other Viber users only | Other Viber users only | X | X |
Mysms | Starts with a free plan | X | ✓ | X | X |
AirDroid Personal | Starts with a free plan | Requires carrier minutes | X | X | X |
SlickText | $29 per month for 500 texts | X | ✓ | X | X |
Textedly | $26 per month for 600 texts | X | ✓ | X | $15 per number per month |
Facebook Messenger | Free for personal use | Other Facebook Messenger users only | Other Facebook Messenger users only | X | X |
1. OpenPhone: The best app to text from a computer for businesses
Pros
- Unlimited calls and messages to the US and Canada
- SMS and MMS messaging available
- Shared numbers for team messaging
- Messaging automation, including auto-replies, scheduled messages, snippets, and AI-generated message responses
- Integrations with popular apps like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier
Cons
- No verification through two-factor authentication*
First up is OpenPhone, a VoIP provider built for small businesses. VoIP is fast becoming the business standard, with over 30% of businesses using the technology and more joining every day. With OpenPhone, all of your customer interactions are accessible in a single thread, which makes staying on top of your communication and collaborating on external conversations easy.
Sending text messages from your computer (SMS and MMS) from OpenPhone’s browser or desktop app is a simple process. Your OpenPhone number is also available as a second number on your smartphone, giving you two numbers on one phone (one personal number and one for work).
With text message templates, auto-replies for after hours, and automated texts via OpenPhone’s Zapier integration, you’re not limited to simple SMS texting. Sending repeat text messages is also simple.
You can even schedule text messages based on your contact’s time zone and attach photos, videos, audio, GIFs, files, and more to your texts.
In addition to the texting features listed above, you can call from your computer or smart device, record calls, create a mini customer relationship management index in your address book, and set custom business hours. Plus, the mobile and web apps are designed to be easy to use.
You can also collaborate to solve customer issues with OpenPhone’s shared phone numbers. All you need to do is invite team members to your phone number via the Admin Dashboard, which will give everyone access to the same inbox.
See how easy OpenPhone is to use — sign up for a free seven-day trial.
Key features of OpenPhone
- Unlimited SMS and MMS to the US and Canada
- Shared numbers for team messaging
- Auto-replies
- Scheduled messages
- Snippets (text message templates)
- AI-generated message responses
- International calls and texts at affordable rates
- Additional US numbers (local, toll-free, and vanity numbers) for purchase
OpenPhone pricing
OpenPhone gives your team the flexibility to scale as your business grows:
- Starter: $15 per user per month for unlimited voice calls and text messages in the US and Canada, voicemail transcriptions, shared numbers, and more
- Business: $23 per user per month for phone menus, group calls, analytics and reporting, automatic call recording, and more
- Scale: $35 per user per month for AI call tags, dedicated onboarding, and priority chat and email support
OpenPhone download links:
2. Google Voice: The best texting app for Google Workspace users
Pros
- Integrates with other Google Workspace apps
- Free plan for personal use
Cons
- Texting available in the US only
- MMS messaging has file limits
- No texting automation features
We’re biased, but once you look past OpenPhone, you’ll see that other texting apps don’t come close. One example is Google Voice.
Since it’s owned by Google, you’d expect Google Voice to tout lots of sophisticated features and integrations, but that’s not the case. The Gmail parent company may have other priorities and hasn’t invested the time and resources into creating a fully functional computer texting app.
Sure, you can send SMS messages with Google Voice. However, the free version of Google Voice has texting limits that vary from account to account, making it impossible to know how many texts you can send before Google assumes it’s spam and locks your account. If you’re using Google Voice as your business texting app, there’s also nothing to help streamline the process. Any text messages you send through Google Voice end up in a separate inbox from your calls and voice messages. You’d be better off opting for a VoIP solution or texting-only app.
Want to integrate with your current tech stack to automate repetitive tasks? You can’t with Google Voice since it only integrates with Google apps and not external tools like HubSpot, Zapier, and Salesforce.
Another issue with Google Voice for texting is its MMS features are limited. You can only send .jpg, .png, and .gif files on Google Voice, and there are file size limits for each format.
Google Voice also doesn’t offer automation for its texting service. Want auto-replies or scheduled messages? You’ll have to go somewhere else. Plus, you won’t be able to send text messages from a toll-free number since Google Voice doesn’t offer them.
The platform is also more expensive than other VoIP providers when you factor in the workspace subscription, making it not the best value for money.
Key features of Google Voice
- Custom greetings
- Unlimited text messaging in the US
- Integrations with Google Workspace apps
- Call routing
- Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
Google Voice pricing
You need to pay for two subscriptions to access Google Voice paid plans. The first is at least $6 per user per month to unlock Google Workspace. The second is one of these three pricing plans:
- Starter: $10 per user per month for calls to the US and Canada, unlimited text messaging in the US, integrations with Google Workspace, and more
- Standard: $20 per user per month to unlock on-demand call recordings, ring groups, phone menus, and more
- Premier: $30 per user per month to unlock automatic call recordings, advanced reporting, and more
Google Voice download links:
3. MightyText: The best texting app for your existing cell number
Pros
- Receive and reply to messages over email
- Phone notifications delivered to your computer
Cons
- Available only for Android phones
- No texting automation features
- No team messaging features
Sometimes you need a texting app optimized just for you. MightyText offers a functional, frills-free texting app on top of your existing cell phone number. The paid version is one of the cheaper options on the market. Setup can be a pain, though — you’ll need to adjust your browser settings in order to receive notifications. The process involves altering security settings or installing third-party browser add-ons for each device.
The MightyText desktop app must use your existing Android phone number. So if you’re Team Apple, you might need to look at another solution.
With MightyText, your phone has to be switched on and connected to WiFi or data to receive and send texts from your computer. If you can’t charge your phone, you might run into trouble when trying to respond to customers. Texting is also only available so you won’t be able to call from your PC or any browser.
The free plan leaves much to be desired since it only lets you send 15 messages per month. You also can’t store your messages for longer than 60 days unless you upgrade to the Pro plan.
Key features of MightyText
- Schedule messages
- Text via email
- Message templates
- Send MMS and SMS from your computer
- Send bulk SMS
MightyText pricing
MightyText offers two versions of its app to users:
- Free: $0 per month for basic features, including call notifications, scheduled messages, phone battery alerts, message templates, texting via email, and more
- MightyText Pro: $7.49 per month for a MightyText experience without ads, no sending limits, 100 GB of photo/video storage, and more
MightyText download links:
4. Google Messages: The best free app to text from your computer
Pros
- Free to use with an existing phone
- End-to-end encryption
Cons
- Only available for Android phones
- No texting automation features
- No team messaging features
Google Voice isn’t the only Google service you can use to text from your computer. Google Messages is a free alternative that uses your existing number to send messages to your contacts. All conversations are encrypted end-to-end, so your conversations will remain private.
With Google messages, you can send custom emojis and three-second animated videos, or ‘selfie GIFs.’ However, the platform has reliability issues that may disrupt how your customers see these features in your messages.
While Google Messages is free to use, it comes with drawbacks you should think about if you’re considering it as your texting app. First, it’s only available on the web and on Android, so you won’t be able to use it if you’re an iOS user. It isn’t designed to support a business messaging experience, which means it doesn’t offer advanced texting features like auto-replies, snippets, or shared numbers.
Google Messages users have complained about issues with the group messaging feature. For example, people using Android devices received messages outside of the group chat. They also report not being able to receive text message notifications.
If you’re looking for a way to bring your text conversations to your computer, Google Messages is a good place to get started. But if you’re looking for a solution for business conversations, you might want to consider another VoIP app for Android devices.
Key features of Google Messages
- Free to use
- End-to-end encryption
- Group chats available
- Star messages
- Suggested replies
Google Messages pricing
Google Messages is free to use.
Google Messages download links:
5. SimpleTexting: The best texting app for SMS marketing
Pros
- SMS marketing tools like opt-in forms and drip campaigns
- Shared numbers for team messaging
Cons
- Slow and buggy (user feedback)
- Text-based pricing gets expensive
- Complicated integrations
SimpleTexting is a business texting platform that helps small businesses execute SMS marketing campaigns and facilitate sales conversations over text.
What makes SimpleTexting unique is it can be used for both marketing and sales. Features like drip campaigns, segmentation, and opt-in forms help you collect customer data and deploy SMS marketing campaigns. Two-way messaging and shared numbers help your sales team nurture leads and close deals.
However, multiple reviewers on G2 have complained that SimpleTexting can be slow and buggy.
On the pricing side, SimpleTexting is one of the more expensive options on this list. Pricing starts at $33.20 for 500 texts per month (500 credits). Keep in mind it will cost you one credit to send an SMS and three credits to send an MMS. If you go over your monthly credits and still need to send text messages, you’ll need to buy additional credits, which cost $0.055 each. If you have more than three team members, you’ll have to pay an extra $20 per month per user since each SimpleTexting plan only has three user seats.
If you aren’t a business that needs SMS marketing tools, SimpleTexting likely isn’t for you.
Key features of SimpleTexting
- Auto-replies and drip campaigns
- AI Assist message generator
- Free SMS replies and incoming messages
- Mass texting
- API access
SimpleTexting pricing
Here’s how much you can expect to pay for a team of four users sending up to 500 texts per month:
- Plan cost: $33.20 per month (billed annually)
- User cost: $20 per month (billed annually)
- Total cost: $53.20 per month (billed annually)
SimpleTexting download links:
6. Sideline: The best texting app for essential business needs
Pros
- Unlimited SMS and MMS messaging
- Auto-replies and branded messages available
Cons
- Poor customer service
- No shared or additional numbers
- No Integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, or HubSpot
If you’re looking for a business phone number that’s separate from your personal number, Sideline could be a good option. It offers a second phone line with unlimited SMS and MMS messaging, auto-replies, branded messages, voicemail transcription, and more.
Sideline is great for a one-person business, but if you want to grow your team, it will probably fall short. New Sideline customers don’t have access to team sharing features, so you can’t collaborate on conversations with your customers.
Sideline has also been criticized for having poor customer service, with some users complaining it can take days to get a response from support. You won’t have access to toll-free numbers, and it doesn’t have end-to-end encryption to keep your text messages private.
Want to schedule text messages to send them at a time your customers will appreciate? You can’t with Sideline since it doesn’t offer scheduling features. Plus, once you create a group text, you can’t add or remove contacts.
While its Voicemail to Text feature automatically transcribes voicemails to text messages, it’s only available in English, which might not be what you’re looking for if your business offers multilingual support.
Ultimately, Sideline is great as a second phone number for essential business needs. But for growing businesses, it could be worth investing in a more scalable business phone and texting solution.
Key features of Sideline
- Auto-replies
- Group messaging
- Unlimited SMS and MMS messaging
- Number porting
- Record professional voicemail greetings
Sideline pricing
Sideline plans give you two options:
- Sideline Standard: $14.49 per month for unlimited SMS and MMS messaging, auto-replies, group messaging, branded messages, and more
- Sideline Enterprise: $14.49 per month (billed monthly) for adding up to 200 numbers on your account, auto-attendants, and more
Sideline download links:
7. Viber: The best texting app for free texting
Pros
- Send voice messages
- Send files and photos
Cons
- Have to pay to call anyone outside the Viber network
- Ads at the end of video calls
- Lack of people who use the app
Viber is a free calling and messaging app available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux. It lets you record and send voice and video messages to customers, which is useful if you need to provide video support in your texts.
Have you ever sent a message to a customer by mistake? With Viber you can edit or delete seen messages, preventing customers from getting confused if you send the wrong message. Plus, you can set up disappearing messages, which helps declutter communication channels.
However, Viber comes with drawbacks. You can’t collaborate with team members since it doesn’t offer shared numbers. Plus, you can only call and text other Viber users unless you upgrade to Viber Out, which costs $5.99 per month.
If you want access to business features, you’ll need to sign up for Viber for Business. It lets you send traditional SMS, place ads on Viber, and set up chatbots, but it doesn’t offer enterprise-level features like a dedicated account manager.
Key features of Viber
- Send stickers and GIFs
- Group chats
- Mobile and desktop apps
- Disappearing messages
- Record video messages
Viber pricing
Viber for personal use:
- Free for personal use
- Rates vary by country to call non-Viber users
Viber for business:
- Companies pay only for the messages that are delivered to customers. The rate and minimum fee you’ll pay depends on your phone number’s country code.
Viber download links:
8. Mysms: The best texting app for synchronous communication across all devices
Pros
- Customize the app’s colors
- Free messages to Mysms users
Cons
- Ad-free texting on your computer requires upgrade
- Support response within 24 hours on business days requires upgrade
- No shared numbers
Mysms is a messaging app that’s been on the market for over 10 years. It’s compatible with almost every device, including Windows, Mac, Android, tablet, and web browser.
While Mysms offers a free plan that comes with basic texting features, your customers will see advertisements displayed on the texts you send them, which can cause your business to seem unprofessional.
Many of the business features Mysms offers require you to upgrade. For example, you need to upgrade to get text messages on your computer, backup and restore your texts, and have access to your full message history with customers.
Key features of Mysms
- Mirror your SMS to another phone
- Export your entire SMS inbox
- Store to Evernote, Dropbox, and Google Drive
- Forward messages to your email account
Mysms pricing
- Basic: $0 per user per month for sending texts on phones, tablets, and computers
- Premium: $9.99 per user per year for free text messaging, SMS scheduler, faster support, archive messages, and more
Mysms download links:
9. AirDroid Personal: The best texting app for remotely controlling Android devices
Pros
- Free trial
- File transfer
Cons
- Doesn’t support MMS
- Files attached to SMS are only available for one week
- Can’t delete SMS
AirDroid specializes in mobile device management and has millions of users worldwide. It offers a suite of tools that includes AirDroid Personal, which provides features that let you send and receive text messages from your Android phone on your PC and iPhone. It also comes with a desktop app you can use.
AirDroid lets you import customer contact lists, which saves you time from manually entering your contacts one by one.
With AirDroid, you can send group SMS to customers, like texts about promotions and events. However, you can’t send MMS, which means your customers won’t be able to receive any multimedia content from your business. Although you can attach files to a text message, your customers only have one week to view them.
Key features of AirDroid Personal
- Syncs with your phone
- Group messaging
- Message notifications
- Manage WhatsApp messages
- Desktop app
AirDroid Personal pricing
AirDroid Personal offers a free plan and a premium plan (billed monthly, quarterly, or yearly). Here are the features you can expect to get on both:
- Free: $0 per user per month for connecting up to two Android devices (unlimited iOS devices), send up to 30MB per file over remote networks, and more
- Premium: $2.50 per user per year for connecting up to three Android devices (can be increased to 10), no ads, and more
AirDroid download links:
10. SlickText: The best texting app for marketing campaigns
Pros
- Text to join your SMS lists
- Mass text messaging
Cons
- Can’t send the same text to multiple groups
- Expensive if you need to send a lot of texts
SlickText is a messaging marketing software that offers different solutions, like SMS automation, mass text messaging, and business text messaging.
The software lets you text customers one-on-one via SMS, which is ideal for personalized communication and providing customers with individual support. Plus, you can send group messages, and they can reply to you in a separate chat.
While SlickText does let you send international text messages, you need to contact its sales department to find out the rates. Its pricing plans are based on how many texts you send a month, which can get costly if you have a team that sends a lot of texts to customers.
Key features of SlickText
- Send MMS
- Drip campaigns
- Schedule texts
- Contact segmentation
- Analytics and tracking
SlickText pricing
SlickText’s pricing model is mainly based on how many texts you send a month and the number of text words you can choose (text words allow people to opt into your SMS marketing list by texting a keyword to your number).
Let’s take a look at a few of the software pricing plans:
- $29 per month for 500 messages and 2 text keywords
- $49 per month for 1,000 messages and 4 text keywords
- $79 per month for 2,000 messages and 6 text keywords
- $139 per month for 3,600 messages and 8 text keywords, plus automated workflows, and one-on-one onboarding
- $189 per month for 5,000 messages and 14 text keywords, plus automated workflows, and one-on-one onboarding
SlickText download links:
11. Textedly: The best texting app for basic text messaging needs
Pros
- Private sticky notes for internal communication
- Omnichannel inbox that includes SMS and messaging apps
Cons
- Free plan only lets you send 50 text messages
- Text-to-pay payments require upgrade to the Plus plan
- You can’t downgrade your plan
Textedly is a text message marketing platform with an omnichannel inbox that keeps all your SMS, emails, and messaging apps in one place. This means you won’t have to spend time switching between different channels to keep up with customer conversations.
The platform lets you assign conversations to specific teammates, which can be helpful if they have the expertise to solve a customer’s request. You can also schedule messages, use emojis, and set up auto-replies to send to your customers.
Textedly comes with drawbacks that may make you reconsider choosing the platform. For example, every plan has text messaging limits starting at just 600 messages for $26 per month. . Plus, once you choose your plan, you can’t downgrade until your subscription term ends.
Key features of Textedly
- Unified inbox that supports Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and more
- Third-party integrations
- Add additional teammates to your inbox
- Include payment links in texts
- Full message history
Textedly pricing
Textedly’s pricing model is primarily based on how many texts you send a month. Let’s take a look at the first four pricing plans:
- Free: $0 per month for 50 messages, one user seat, picture messaging, and more
- Basic: $26 per month for 600 messages, one keyword, and all of the features in the free plan
- Bronze: $38 per month for 1,200 messages, one keyword, and all of the features in the Basic plan
- Plus: $69 per month for 2,400 text messages, two keywords, text-to-pay payments, Google Business reviews, and premium support
Textedly download links:
- Textedly doesn’t have a mobile app
12. Facebook Messenger: The best texting app for direct texts from a Facebook Page
Pros
- Easy to use
- Send photos and videos
Cons
- No contact notes
- No internal team messaging
- Can’t message customers who don’t have a Facebook account
Most people are familiar with Facebook Messenger, the messaging app that lets you chat with other Facebook users without having to use your personal phone number.
With Facebook Messenger, you can save replies to use when customers ask you common questions, which is helpful for you to respond to customers quickly.
Facebook Messenger also lets you set up customer greetings to appear when someone messages your Facebook Business Page, which provides a friendly touch. However, Facebook Messenger doesn’t offer business features like internal threads, which means you can’t tag team members on certain conversations to work together.
Key features of Facebook Messenger
- Group chats
- Community chats
- Notifications
- Unsend messages
- Suggested responses
Facebook Messenger pricing
- Free with a Facebook account
Facebook Messenger download links:
How we chose the best apps to text from a computer
Thinking about what matters in a desktop texting app? Here’s how we chose the providers in this list:
- Functionality: How many features will you get from each app? Does it include auto-replies, group messaging, and scheduled texts? More importantly, does their basic plan have everything you need to get started? Rather than focusing on premium add-ons, dial in on platforms with the greatest number of features at the lowest possible price.
- Price: What’s the full cost of each texting app? Does the platform charge hefty fees or hidden costs? Is the pricing based on the number of messages, users, or some other metric? Keep in mind that while budgets matter, so does the power of your dollar.
- Accessibility: Where is the app available? Is it a desktop texting app that’s also available on mobile? Can both iOS and Android users access it? This is important to consider since some texting apps prioritize one operating system over another.
- Support: Will you have access to a help center or customer support? Your team should find answers to their questions fast — without wasting time on slow customer support calls. The texting apps on this list factor in ease of support and customer service availability.
- Quality: Can your business expect 100% message deliverability? What about deliverability for MMS messages? The platform you choose should provide an outstanding message experience to customers and team members. Without reliable service quality, your company’s professionalism and reputation may suffer.
Send your first message with OpenPhone today
Once you try OpenPhone, it’ll be difficult to imagine working with any other calling or VoIP texting app. The desktop version of our VoIP phone service hosts one of the best messaging apps, making OpenPhone a leader among the best apps to text from a computer. Additionally, our helpful customer service team and constant new feature releases give us the ability to scale alongside your business.
Sign up for your free trial today to see if OpenPhone is a fit for your growing business.
FAQs
With iPhones and Macs, you can use iMessage to send messages from your computer. With Androids, you can use Google Messages.
If you want to send a business text with your computer, you may want to consider a VoIP provider like OpenPhone that has business messaging features.
Yes, you can! The same app you use to send text messages on your computer should also be able to receive them.
Google Messages is a free Android texting app for existing phone numbers that can be used on computers. iMessage is also free to use if you have an existing phone plan and a Mac.
With OpenPhone, you can send texts from your Windows computer to your iPhone in minutes. Simply create an account to get started.