--- title: "NumberBurn vs TextNow" url: "https://numberburn.com/compare/textnow.md" canonical_url: "https://numberburn.com/compare/textnow" last_updated: "2026-10-23" type: "guide" summary: "NumberBurn against TextNow: monthly price, numbers included, trial and how each handles calls and texts, checked 2026-10-18." related: ["https://numberburn.com/compare/burner.md", "https://numberburn.com/compare/hushed.md", "https://numberburn.com/compare/google-voice.md", "https://numberburn.com/compare/textnow/pricing.md"] --- # NumberBurn vs TextNow NumberBurn against TextNow: monthly price, numbers included, trial and how each handles calls and texts, checked 2026-10-18. 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. ## 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](https://www.textnow.com/wireless), [TextNow blog: upgrades explained](https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-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](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](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](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](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](https://www.textnow.com/wireless), read 2026-10-18. ## TextNow promo code and savings We read [TextNow wireless plans page](https://www.textnow.com/wireless), [TextNow blog: upgrades explained](https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-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](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](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](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](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](https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained), read 2026-10-18 | ## Keep comparing Other comparisons: [NumberBurn vs Burner](https://numberburn.com/compare/burner.md), [NumberBurn vs Hushed](https://numberburn.com/compare/hushed.md), [NumberBurn vs Google Voice](https://numberburn.com/compare/google-voice.md). On TextNow: [TextNow pricing](https://numberburn.com/compare/textnow/pricing.md). ## Where these facts come from - [TextNow wireless plans page](https://www.textnow.com/wireless), read 2026-10-18 - [TextNow blog: upgrades explained](https://www.textnow.com/blog/flexible-add-ons-from-textnow-explained), read 2026-10-18 > **About the names on this page:** The name TextNow appears on this page to point at that product. NumberBurn is not connected to TextNow, and nothing of its logo or branding is reproduced. ## 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. Spot something wrong or out of date? Write to hello@meralume.com and we will review it. ## Related - [NumberBurn vs Burner](https://numberburn.com/compare/burner.md) - [NumberBurn vs Hushed](https://numberburn.com/compare/hushed.md) - [NumberBurn vs Google Voice](https://numberburn.com/compare/google-voice.md) - [NumberBurn vs TextNow pricing](https://numberburn.com/compare/textnow/pricing.md)