Top 10 Android Apps for Text Messages in 2025

Google Messages is Google's official app for texting (SMS, MMS) and the next generation of messaging, RCS. It aims to provide a simple, helpful, and rich communication experience. If your carrier supports it, RCS brings features like high-resolution photo and video sharing, typing indicators, read receipts, and dynamic group chats, even with iPhone users.

Beyond basic texting, Google Messages incorporates AI-powered features like Magic Compose to help craft messages and offers end-to-end encryption for one-on-one RCS conversations between Google Messages users, ensuring your private chats stay private. The app also boasts robust spam protection to filter out unwanted texts. You can personalize conversations with custom chat bubble colors and access it across multiple devices, including your phone, tablet, computer, and Wear OS smartwatch, making it a versatile communication hub.

Messenger SMS is a feature-rich alternative to your stock Android messaging app, designed for users who crave customization and a wide array of expressive tools. It focuses on providing a personalized texting experience with countless emojis, themes, fonts, wallpapers, and ringtones, allowing you to tailor the app's look and feel to your exact preferences.

Key functionalities include a private box to encrypt messages and hide conversations, an SMS blocker to keep spam at bay, and options to backup and restore your messages to the cloud. This app also supports animated GIFs and emoji art, making conversations more engaging. It aims to be more than just a texting app, offering features like caller ID, quick reply pop-ups, and even a driving mode with auto-reply to minimize distractions. If you're looking for an SMS/MMS app that you can truly make your own, Messenger SMS offers a compelling suite of options.

TextNow offers a unique proposition: a free phone number (or the ability to use your existing one with their service) for unlimited calling and texting in the US and Canada, primarily over Wi-Fi. It's an excellent option for those looking to reduce their phone bill, need a second line for privacy or business, or want to use a tablet as a phone. TextNow provides its service by partnering with brands, displaying in-app ads to cover costs, though ad-free subscriptions are available.

Beyond free talk and text, TextNow also includes a 'Free Essential Data' feature with their SIM card, allowing access to crucial apps like email, maps, and rideshare services even without a full data plan. For more comprehensive internet access, they offer flexible and affordable hourly, daily, and monthly data plans. The app supports voicemail-to-text transcription and conference calling, making it a robust communication tool.

textPlus is another popular app providing a free second phone number for unlimited texting (SMS/MMS) and calling, primarily within the US and to Canada. It's a great solution for individuals who want to keep their primary number private, need an extra line for business, or wish to save on mobile plan costs. The service is ad-supported, with an option to purchase a subscription to remove ads or earn credits to do so.

This app allows you to turn a tablet into a fully functional phone for texting and calling over Wi-Fi. It offers features like group messaging, toll-free calling from anywhere in the world (with Wi-Fi), and cloud hosting to access your chat history across devices. For international communication, textPlus provides low-cost calling options. It's designed to be a versatile alternative to traditional mobile services, especially for those who rely heavily on Wi-Fi.

Text Me provides users with a real US or Canadian phone number for free texting (SMS, MMS) and calling, functioning as a comprehensive communication app. It's designed for those who need a secondary line, want anonymous texting/calling capabilities, or wish to communicate freely over Wi-Fi without relying on a cellular plan. The app supports group chats, picture messaging, and even video calls.

Text Me emphasizes flexibility with features like call forwarding, customizable voicemail greetings, and various privacy options like passcode protection for messages. International calling is also available, either by earning free credits or purchasing them. This app positions itself as a strong alternative to traditional mobile services, particularly for users with Wi-Fi access who want to manage multiple numbers or reduce calling and texting costs.

LINE is a globally popular communication app that offers free messages, voice calls, and video calls. It's known for its vast collection of expressive stickers and emojis, allowing users to personalize their chats in unique ways. Beyond basic messaging, LINE provides features like 'Keep Memo,' a personal chatroom for storing notes, photos, and videos, and 'Letter Sealing' for end-to-end encryption of messages, call history, and location information.

LINE aims to be a comprehensive platform, offering a 'Home' screen for easy access to friends, birthdays, the sticker shop, and various other services. It supports seamless connection across mobile, Wear OS, and PC, ensuring you can stay in touch regardless of your device. While it's a full-fledged social communication tool, its core messaging capabilities are robust, making it a strong contender for users looking for an all-in-one app.

WAMR is a utility app designed to address a common frustration: deleted messages. It works by monitoring your notifications from chat apps and creating a backup of incoming messages. If a sender deletes a message before you've seen it, WAMR notifies you and attempts to recover the deleted text and media attachments (photos, videos, voice notes, GIFs, stickers) from its backup. This allows you to see what was sent, even if it was quickly retracted.

An interesting side-effect of its notification-based system is that you can read messages through WAMR without triggering 'read receipts' (blue checks) in the original messaging app, offering a degree of privacy. However, WAMR's effectiveness depends on notifications being enabled for your messaging apps and the app not being restricted by battery optimization settings. It cannot recover messages deleted before it was installed or media that wasn't fully downloaded.

The Messenger for Messages aims to be an all-in-one communication hub. Its primary function is to provide quick access to popular messenger and social media applications from a single interface, potentially saving device memory by consolidating access to web-browsing versions of these apps. Alongside this aggregation feature, the app itself offers communication tools like unlimited text, voice, and video calling, including group video chats for up to 8 people.

A unique feature is the 'Chat Mask,' which allows users to obscure their chat screen in public for enhanced privacy, and this mask can reportedly be used over any app. It also includes a real-time Caller ID feature to identify unknown numbers and spam callers. This app could appeal to users who frequently switch between multiple messaging platforms and are looking for a centralized dashboard with added communication perks.

While not a traditional text messaging app for sending and receiving messages, PixelLab is a powerful tool for creating content for your messages. It allows users to easily add stylish text, 3D text, shapes, and stickers to their images. This can be incredibly useful for making custom memes, announcements, personalized image messages, or graphic quotes to share via your preferred messaging app.

PixelLab offers a clean interface and a wide selection of presets, fonts, and customization options. You can work with text effects like shadow, stroke, reflection, and emboss, and set text to various fill options including colors, gradients, or image textures. It also allows importing your own images, drawing, changing backgrounds, and even includes features like background removal (e.g., green screen) and perspective editing. If you often create visual content to enhance your text conversations, PixelLab is a feature-rich editor.

Phonto is another excellent app dedicated to adding text to your photos, similar in purpose to PixelLab but with its own unique appeal, often praised for its simplicity. It provides a straightforward way to overlay text on images, making it perfect for creating personalized pictures, social media posts, or shareable quotes. With over 200 fonts available and the ability to install custom fonts, your typographic creativity isn't limited.

The app allows for extensive text customization: changeable text size, color, shadow, rotation, stroke color/width, background color, letter spacing, and line spacing. It also offers blend modes for more artistic effects. Phonto is ideal for users who want a focused, easy-to-use tool for enhancing their images with text before sharing them through messaging apps or social media. An ad-free option is available for purchase.