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Send a Text Message Online Free From Your Computer

The most reliable way to send a text message online free is to use your own phone number from a computer: pair your phone once, then type and send from a browser or desktop app. Android phones work with Google Messages for web, iPhones with Messages on a Mac, and both with Phone Link on Windows.

The texts still go out through your phone and carrier, so they count against your plan like any other text. Other free methods are compared in the overview of free SMS options.

TemporarySMS doesn't send messages: it's a free service for receiving SMS online. The guide below covers ways to send texts for free. Need to receive a verification code instead? Pick a free number.

Why your own number beats a free texting site

  • The recipient knows it's you. The message lands in their existing conversation with you, not under a stranger's number.
  • Replies come back to you. Answers show up on your computer and your phone at the same time.
  • Carriers treat it as a normal text. Person-to-person texts from a regular phone line are far less likely to be filtered than messages from shared web-to-SMS numbers.
  • No new account or extra number. You use the phone and plan you already have.

The cost is whatever your plan charges for texts. Domestic texting is included in many plans, but texts to foreign numbers may not be; see free ways to message another country if that applies to you.

Android: Google Messages for web

This works when Google Messages is the default texting app on your Android phone.

  1. On your computer, open Google Messages for web in a browser. A QR code appears.
  2. On your phone, open Messages, tap your profile picture or the menu, and choose Device pairing. The wording can differ between versions.
  3. Scan the QR code. Some versions also let you pair by signing in with your Google account instead.
  4. Click Start chat, type a name or phone number, write your message and press send.

Keep the phone switched on and connected, because the computer hands each text to it to send.

iPhone: Messages on a Mac

A Mac can send iMessages by itself, but texts to Android phones (the green bubbles) have to pass through your iPhone. Text Message Forwarding connects the two.

  1. On the Mac, open Messages and sign in with the same Apple Account you use on the iPhone.
  2. On the iPhone, open Settings, go to Messages (listed under Apps in recent iOS versions), tap Text Message Forwarding and switch on your Mac.
  3. Back on the Mac, click the new message button, type the phone number and send.

Texts sent this way still come from your iPhone's number, so they look exactly like texts typed on the phone.

Windows: Phone Link for Android or iPhone

  1. Open Phone Link on your Windows PC. It comes preinstalled on recent versions of Windows. Choose Android or iPhone.
  2. For Android, install the Link to Windows app on the phone and scan the QR code shown on the PC. For iPhone, Phone Link pairs over Bluetooth.
  3. Allow the permissions it asks for, including access to your messages.
  4. Open the Messages tab, start a new message, enter the number and send.

With an iPhone, Phone Link connects over Bluetooth, so keep the phone close to the PC. Messaging is also more limited than with Android; features such as group texts or sending photos may not be available.

Unpair when you use a shared computer

Pairing is what lets you send a text message online free from a computer, but it also lets anyone sitting at that computer read and send texts as you, including the login codes that arrive on your number. After using a work, library or friend's computer:

  • In Google Messages for web, sign out, or unpair the computer from the device pairing screen on your phone.
  • On a Mac that isn't yours, switch it off under Text Message Forwarding and sign out of Messages.
  • In Phone Link, remove your phone in the app's settings, and remove the PC in Link to Windows on Android.

If you only want to read incoming texts on a computer rather than send them, see reading your own texts online.

Need to receive a code? Free numbers

Click a number to open its public inbox, enter the number on the signup form, then press Update Messages on the number's page to fetch the code.

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Questions

Yes, in the same way as texts typed on the phone, because the phone is what sends them. If your plan includes texting, there's no extra charge. Texts to foreign numbers, or sent while you're roaming, may cost extra depending on your carrier.

The option appears only after the Mac is signed in to Messages with the same Apple Account as the iPhone and iMessage is turned on. Sign in on the Mac first, then reopen the Messages settings on the iPhone; the Mac can take a moment to show up in the list.

No. The message comes from your phone number and appears in the same conversation as your other texts. Someone with an iPhone may see a message from your Mac as an iMessage if you both have iMessage turned on, which is normal.

Not with these tools, because each one relays through a paired phone. Without a phone, the realistic options are a free texting app that gives you a separate number, or an internet messaging app, though most of those ask for a phone number when you sign up.

Related guides

Get a free temporary number →

Virtual Phone number to receive sms messages online without using your real phone number

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