TextMe

What TextMe does

TextMe, Inc. is a privately held San Francisco-based mobile communications company founded in March 2011 by Co-CEO Christophe and CTO Edouard. The company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing apps — TextMe, TextMe Up, FreeTone, TopTopUp, and Simkarma — delivering free SMS, voice, video calling, and mobile data across iOS, Android, Android Wear, and Amazon Fire platforms. Its underlying technology stack is a VOIP-based communication platform with virtual phone number provisioning, in-app purchase infrastructure, a virtual currency system, and sponsored-data mechanics. International coverage extends to 100+ countries for voice and SMS, with dedicated sub-brands for US/Canada (FreeTone) and India (Simkarma).

The business model is a freemium, advertising-supported sponsored communication framework. Core SMS, voice, and video are free to consumers; monetization comes from native advertising (live since 2014 and showcased by Yahoo as a case study), a premium subscription tier introduced in 2019 with introductory pricing, in-app purchases and virtual currency used to buy data packages and features, and recurring data plans on iOS starting in 2020. The customer base is horizontal — individual consumers globally — with particular traction among cost-sensitive users and a privacy-conscious segment that uses multi-number support to separate personal, professional, and dating communications. Distribution is entirely product-led, through the major app stores and organic social channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok).

The company is founder-owned and bootstrapped, with no disclosed venture funding rounds, acquisitions, or subsidiaries. The team comprises roughly 30 people across engineering, product, design, ad operations, customer support, marketing, and finance. Compliance posture includes GDPR (2018) and CCPA (2019) certifications, supporting continued operation in regulated markets.

Name

TextMe

Legal name

TextMe, Inc.

Website

https://textmeinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TextMe, Inc. is a privately held San Francisco company founded in 2011 that builds free mobile communication apps — TextMe, TextMe Up, FreeTone, TopTopUp, and Simkarma — offering SMS, voice, video calling, and mobile data to individual consumers across 100+ countries, monetized via advertising, in-app purchases, and a premium subscription tier.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Communication Apps

NAICS

Telecommunications (517), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171)

SIC

Telegraph & Other Message Communications (4822), Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Messaging Apps (BPAMACAA)

Keywords

• Mobile messaging apps
• VoIP calling service
• Free SMS messaging
• Video calling apps
• Sponsored communication platform

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Native ads served on both iOS and Android versions of apps, live since 2014. Yahoo! showcased TextMe as a case study for native ads implementation.
2. Premium Subscription: Premium subscription tier with intro pricing launched in 2019, offering enhanced features to paying users.
3. In-App Purchases / Virtual Currency: Virtual currency system allows users to purchase data packages and in-app items. New in-app purchase UX deployed in 2017. Data reward system with in-app purchases introduced 2016.
4. Data Plans: Data plans offered on iOS starting 2020.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TextMe, Inc. develops and operates a portfolio of free mobile communication applications—TextMe, TextMe Up, FreeTone, TopTopUp, and Simkarma—available on iOS, Android, Android Wear, Kindle Fire, and the web. The apps provide SMS text messaging, voice calling, video calling, virtual phone numbers, mobile top-up to 100+ countries, and ad-sponsored mobile data, all funded through native advertising, in-app virtual currency purchases, and a Premium subscription tier.

Product overview

TextMe is a portfolio of mobile communication apps built around the core concept of sponsored free communication — providing free texting, voice/video calls, and mobile data funded through advertising and optional premium subscriptions. The product lineup centers on three flagship apps: TextMe (the original free messaging app offering a phone number for texting and calls on iOS and Android), TextMe Up (a multi-number app letting users hold multiple phone numbers across mobile, tablet, and computer), and FreeTone (a US/Canada-specific free calling and texting app). Supporting products include TopTopUp (free mobile airtime top-up to 100+ countries, replacing the earlier RechargeMe brand) and Simkarma (a mobile data rewards app in India). Premium subscription features and ad-free experiences are available as paid upgrades across the portfolio. Key platform capabilities include voicemail transcription, robocall blocking, phone number lookup, WiFi hotspot access, and data plans — all delivered through native apps for iOS, Android, and Android Wear, with an Amazon Fire tablet version also available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TextMe: Get a new phone number and start texting and making calls for free.
• TextMe Up
• FreeTone
• TopTopUp
• Simkarma

Products and services

• TextMe The flagship free messaging and calling app that assigns users a free phone number for texting and voice/video calls. Available on iOS, Android, and web; first launched on iOS in May 2011 and became the first app to offer SMS, rich messaging, voice and video calling on both iOS and Android in 2012.
• TextMe Up A multi-number communication app that lets users hold multiple phone numbers (e.g., a separate number for online dating) across mobile, tablet, and computer, expanding the TextMe concept to users who need more than one number.
• FreeTone A free calling and texting app specifically for calls and SMS to phone numbers in the US and Canada; first app on both iOS and Android to offer completely free SMS and voice calls to any US/Canada number.
• TopTopUp A mobile top-up service that lets users send mobile airtime credit to mobile numbers in more than 100 countries for free; replaced the earlier RechargeMe brand in 2015.
• Simkarma A mobile data rewards app launched in India in April 2016 that allows users to earn free mobile internet across all Indian operators, with data packages redeemable using a virtual currency earned through in-app engagement.
• TextMe Premium A paid subscription tier offering enhanced features and an ad-free experience across the TextMe, TextMe Up, and FreeTone apps; introduced with introductory pricing in 2019.

Quantifiable outcome

• Expanded to 100+ countries for voice and SMS
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Android AutocoreTechnology or IntegrationTextMe named among 30 app partners for Android Auto in 2015, enabling integration with the Android Auto platform for in-car messaging and calling.
• YahoominorOthersYahoo! showcased TextMe as a case study for native ads in 2015, demonstrating successful implementation of native advertising within the app ecosystem.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TextNow: TextNow offers free texting and calling via virtual phone numbers on iOS and Android, monetized through ads and premium plans — directly mirroring TextMe's core TextMe and FreeTone products and freemium-plus-ads model.
• Talkatone: Talkatone provides free texting, calling and a free US phone number via VOIP on mobile, with freemium and ad-supported monetization — closely comparable to TextMe's flagship offering.
• Hushed: Hushed specializes in temporary/disposable second phone numbers for privacy, calling and texting — directly comparable to TextMe Up's multi-number, privacy-focused positioning.
• Pinger (TextFree): Pinger's TextFree app provides free SMS and phone numbers on iOS and Android with ad-supported and subscription tiers, making it a direct functional competitor to TextMe and FreeTone.
• 2ndLine: 2ndLine offers a second phone number for free calls and texts in the US and Canada on mobile devices, competing head-to-head with FreeTone's value proposition.

Emerging players

• Line: Line provides free messaging, voice/video calls and various monetization features (stickers, payments), with strong adoption in parts of Asia — partially overlapping TextMe's global messaging and sponsored-data positioning.
• Signal: Signal provides free secure messaging and voice/video calls with strong privacy positioning, emerging as a growing alternative to mainstream messaging apps and a competitive threat to TextMe's privacy-conscious user segment.

Broad incumbents

• Skype (Microsoft): Skype offers free VOIP calls and messaging internationally on mobile and desktop, competing with TextMe's free international voice and SMS service across iOS and Android.
• WhatsApp: WhatsApp dominates free consumer messaging globally on iOS and Android, competing with TextMe's free messaging and voice/video calling for the same consumer base.
• Google Voice: Google Voice is Google's broad incumbent offering free US phone numbers, voicemail transcription, and call/sms features across web and mobile, overlapping with TextMe's numbered calling and voicemail transcription capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/textmeinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/textmeinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/textme-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/textmeapp
• TikToktiktok.com/@textmeapp_us

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TextMe