NumberBurn vs TextNow
TextNow gives away a local number with ads on its Free plan, and its wireless page speaks of one number. NumberBurn is a paid service with no ads: Basic holds 5 numbers and Pro holds 100. Basic at $9.99 a month costs about half of TextNow Plus at $18.99 a month, the cheapest ad-free monthly plan on its wireless page. The two do different jobs, so count the numbers you need before you compare the prices.
- $1 for a 7-day trial. When the 7 days end, your card is charged $9.99 for the first month, and the plan renews at $9.99 every month until you cancel.
- If the trial's allowance runs out first, use pauses and nothing more is charged until the 7 days end or you start the plan yourself.
- Extra minutes, numbers and burns go on the same monthly bill.
- Cancel any time with our ready-made cancel email. No reason needed. The plan runs to the end of the paid month, then your numbers are burned into a 30-day quarantine.
- Your first paid month can be refunded within 7 days of paying it. Write to hello@numberburn.com to ask.
Checked 2026-10-18. Prices move.
Where NumberBurn does better
- Every NumberBurn plan holds several numbers: 5 on Basic and 100 on Pro.
- A number is dropped with one tap, forwarding ends immediately, and the number stays out of the pool for 30 days.
- Calls ring your own mobile phone, so no calling app is needed.
- No ads, on the trial or on any plan.
Feature by feature
| NumberBurn | TextNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Yes. Basic is $9.99 a month and Pro is $29.99 a month. | Partly. Free with ads, or $18.99 a month for Plus, or $4.99 a week (about $21.62 a month) when billed weekly. |
| A trial before paying | Yes. A 7-day trial holds 1 number and 100 forwarded minutes. | Partly. The plans page offers a free tier with ads and names no timed trial. |
| Numbers a plan includes | Yes. Basic includes 5 numbers and Pro includes 100. | Partly. The plans page speaks of one free local number and states no count for the paid plans. |
| Throwing a number away | Yes. One tap ends forwarding immediately, and the number is held back for 30 days. | Partly. The upgrades post says TextNow can reclaim an idle number and hand it to someone else; the pages read describe no step for giving a number up yourself. |
| Calls reach the phone you already own | Yes. Calls ring your own confirmed mobile phone, with no extra upgrade. | Partly. Forwarding calls to another phone is listed with the $6.99 a week Ad-Free+ upgrade. |
| Works without installing an app | Yes. Texts are read in a browser inbox and calls ring your own phone. | Partly. The page tells people to download the app to pick a number, even for Wi-Fi calling, and its header also links to Web Messaging. |
| Where numbers come from | Yes. US numbers only, chosen from the supported area codes. | Partly. A free local number, or a number you bring over; the pages read show no area code picker. |
| The number stays yours | Yes. A number stays yours while the plan is paid, until you burn it. | Partly. A number that sits unused can be removed and given to someone else, unless you pay $1.99 a week to lock it. |
| Free of ads | Yes. NumberBurn shows no ads on the trial or on any plan. | Partly. The Free plan is funded by the ads in the app; Plus and Unlimited remove them. |
| Verification codes by text | Partly. Any text lands in the web inbox, though some banks and apps refuse virtual numbers. |
Checked 2026-10-18 against TextNow wireless plans page, TextNow blog: upgrades explained. Prices move, so confirm on TextNow's own page before you buy. On NumberBurn only forwarded calls count toward minutes, each call rounded up to a whole minute, and incoming texts cost nothing. Each minute beyond the plan's allowance is 5 cents, with a ceiling of $50 a month on Basic and $100 on Pro.
Different jobs
TextNow is an app first. A person installs it, picks a free local number, and texts and calls inside it, with ads paying for the Free plan. That suits someone who wants a second line to live in on one device.
NumberBurn is a number to hand out and throw away. Calls forward to your own phone, texts show in a browser inbox, and Basic keeps 5 numbers ready so each listing, site or stranger can get its own.
The two overlap only when a person wants one extra number for a short stretch. If you need the number to last for years and to send replies, TextNow is built for that. If you want a number you can drop in one tap, NumberBurn is. NumberBurn numbers receive only and cannot dial out or reach 911.
Limits TextNow documents
Unused free numbers are reassigned
TextNow keeps a pool of numbers, so a free number that sends no texts and makes no calls for a while can be taken from the account and handed to another person. Source: https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained, read 2026-10-18.
NumberBurn. A NumberBurn number stays on your account until you burn it or the plan ends.
Locking a number costs extra
Keeping a number safe from removal is a paid upgrade at $1.99 a week, or it can be bought with Rewards points. Source: https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained, read 2026-10-18.
Shared photos and video can be recycled
Without the Ad-Free+ upgrade, photos and videos sent in the app are recycled after 30 days. Source: https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained, read 2026-10-18.
NumberBurn. NumberBurn also clears texts and their files after 30 days.
Upgrades are billed and refunded by the app store
Paid upgrades are in-app purchases, so cancelling and refunds follow the rules of the Apple or Google store rather than TextNow. Source: https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained, read 2026-10-18.
The Free plan has a small data allowance
The disclosure label for the Free plan lists 550 MB of data and typical download speeds of 1 to 5 Mbps. Source: https://www.textnow.com/wireless, read 2026-10-18.
TextNow promo code and savings
We read TextNow wireless plans page, TextNow blog: upgrades explained on 2026-10-18. None of them shows a discount code, so we list none.
| Saving | What it is | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | The Free plan costs $0 a month and carries ads in the app. | https://www.textnow.com/wireless, read 2026-10-18 |
| Weekly billing | Plus and Unlimited each offer a weekly payment option: $4.99 for Plus and $8.99 for Unlimited, in place of one monthly charge. | https://www.textnow.com/wireless, read 2026-10-18 |
| Day passes | A day pass buys 24 hours of unlimited data for $1.99 on Plus or $2.99 on Unlimited, and never renews by itself. | https://www.textnow.com/wireless, read 2026-10-18 |
| eSIM at no charge | The page says the eSIM itself costs nothing and has no activation fee, while a physical SIM is a one-time purchase. | https://www.textnow.com/wireless, read 2026-10-18 |
| Rewards points | Points earned in the app can be spent on some upgrades, such as Lock In Number and voicemail transcription, but not on Ad-Free+. | https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained, read 2026-10-18 |
Keep comparing
Other comparisons: NumberBurn vs Burner, NumberBurn vs Hushed, NumberBurn vs Google Voice. On TextNow: TextNow pricing.
Where these facts come from
- TextNow wireless plans pageread 2026-10-18
- TextNow blog: upgrades explainedread 2026-10-18
Questions
Is TextNow cheaper than NumberBurn?
TextNow has a free tier funded by ads, so for one ad-supported number it costs nothing. Its cheapest ad-free monthly plan is $18.99, and Basic is $9.99 for 5 numbers. Checked 2026-10-18; prices move.
Does TextNow show ads?
The wireless page says ads fund the Free plan, and that Plus and Unlimited have none. The blog also lists Ad-Free+ at $6.99 a week. NumberBurn has no ads.
Can I keep a TextNow number?
The upgrades article says a number with no activity can be removed and reassigned. Lock In Number at $1.99 a week prevents that, and Ad-Free+ includes it. A NumberBurn number stays yours until you burn it.
Can I send texts or make calls from a NumberBurn number?
No. NumberBurn numbers are receive-only, cannot place calls or send texts, and cannot reach 911.
Hand out a number, not yours
Pick an area code, label the number, and burn it when you are done.
See pricingSpot something wrong or out of date? Write to hello@meralume.com and we will review it.