SMS messages were extremely popular back in the day, but that’s no longer the case. People still send them, but most of them opted for one of the messaging platforms that require an internet connection, like WhatsApp, Viber, or (Facebook) Messenger, to name a few.
We’ve already listed our picks for the best messaging apps (in general), not long ago, and will now do the same for SMS applications. Some of you are still sending SMS messages, whether occasionally, or frequently, as they’re still a solid form of communication for which you don’t need to be connected to the Internet. Down below, you will find our 10 favorite SMS application, and they’re not listed in any specific order.
Just to be clear, we did not include applications like (Facebook) Messenger which have SMS functionality, as that is its secondary functionality. Here you’ll find 10 apps that focus solely on SMS messages, most of them are fully-fledged SMS app replacement apps, while a couple of them have a slightly different purpose. Read on if you’re interested.
Textra SMS
Textra has been around for a long time, and is definitely one of the most popular SMS apps in the Play Store. This app is fully compatible with Pushbullet, MightyText, Wear OS, and Android Auto, while it offers plenty of customizability as well. You can choose between 180+ themes, bubble, and app icon colors. Dark and night modes are included in the application, while a pop-up feature is also available here.
Pulse SMS
Pulse SMS is yet another really popular, and extremely compelling full-fledged SMS app. It has rather fluid animations, some customizability options, and it supports private conversations. You can blacklist people directly from the app, while it supports dual SIM smartphones. Gesture navigation is built in here, to a degree, and the design of the app is quite nice as well, not to mention that automatic message backup and restore feature is also available here.
chomp SMS
chomp SMS is a really clean, and functional SMS application. The app supports password protection, while it also has some additional privacy featured. You can schedule SMS sending with this app, while the SMS backup option is also included. Blacklisting feature is available as well, and the app supports dual SIM phones. There are a number of additional features included here, while the app is compatible with Yappy, Pushbullet, and MightyText.
SMS Backup & Restore
Just in case you need a separate app for backing up and restoring SMS messages, this one works really well. Some SMS applications have that functionality built in, but most do not, which is where apps like this one come in handy. The app is pretty straightforward, it can backup and both your SMS / MMS messages and call logs, so that you can restore them on a new phone or something of the sort.
SMS Backup & Restore (Play Store)
Messages
Messages is Google’s very own application for sending SMS and MMS messages, while it also supports chat (RCS), but you need to be on a compatible network for that to work. The app is well designed, it’s clean, and in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines, which is to be expected considering it’s Google’s app. The app doesn’t have as many features as some other apps from this list, but it’s still quite compelling and extremely functional.
Mood Messenger
Mood Messenger is yet another alternative for your default SMS & MMS application. The app sports a clean design, and it allows you to customize pretty much everything inside it. You can even customize this app per contact, if you want. You can choose between over 100 themes, set any background you want, while the app supports dark mode as well. Get control over LED notification light, sounds, vibration, and so on.
GO SMS Pro
GO SMS Pro is a feature-packed application, in fact, it may offer too many features for some. The app is packed with themes, stickers, while it supports dual SIM smartphones. This application also comes with a pop-up window feature, allows you to block a certain phone number, and it even has the delay sending option. It also offers a cloud backup storage for your messages, and so on.
Handcent Next SMS
Handcent SMS has been around for a long, long time, it was one of the first popular SMS app replacement applications in the Play Store, and it has come a long way since then. This app allows you to text from your PC, it comes with full Wear OS support, and it also offers cloud backup. A pop-up window feature is included in the app, while you’re also getting some theming options here.
Handcent Next SMS (Play Store)
YAATA
YAATA is an SMS app with a really small footprint. This app weighs less than 3MB, and yet it packs in quite a few features on the inside. Group chats are supported, same goes for delivery report, and SMS sending delay. You can also schedule SMS messages here, and flip on the switch to enable the dark mode, but those are paid features. The list of paid features is actually quite long, and if you’re willing to go down that road, you’ll really enjoy this application.
Do It Later
If your SMS app of choice does not support SMS scheduling, we have a solution for that. Do It Later app schedules SMS messages, emails, Twitter, posts, and even calls, and it does that incredibly well. Let’s focus on SMS messages, though. You can literally get this app to schedule SMS messages whenever you want, at various time intervals, and you can keep that going or as long as you like. The app will notify you every time it successfully sends a message.