TextNow offers unlimited nationwide talk and text service for $0/month. The company recently launched its free Essential Data plan, which adds free data access for must-have apps, such as Waze ...

How TextNow helped me break up with my costly mobile carrier. Free unlimited talk, text, and essential data, affordable add-on data, and zero contract. Could TextNow be for real? I took it for a spin.

TextNow: unlimited data from $0.99 @ TextNow TextNow offers unlimited nationwide talk and text service for $0/month. The service is ad-supported and doesn't include data.

The big thing to know is that phone calls and texts are handled through the TextNow app – not the native dialer or iMessage – and they work with or without Wi-Fi.

That need inspired Derek Ting to start TextNow, the only free phone service provider in America. “Our mission is to democratize phone service, to make it accessible for everyone,” Ting says.

TextNow has a free unlimited talk, text, and data plan. Here's how it works and how to sign up.