SMS is not as popular as it once way, mainly due to instant messaging applications. SMS is still around, though, and people are using it. In some regions, in fact, SMS is still extremely popular. That being said, there are a ton of excellent SMS apps available in the Google Play Store, and we did our best to hand-pick the best ones.
In the list down below, you’ll find 10 SMS apps that we highlighted for you. The vast majority of these apps serve as a replacement for a default SMS app on your phone. A couple of them, on the other hand, have different purposes. For example, one of them can back up your SMS and MMS messages. The other one is an SMS scheduler, which can come in really handy.
Having said that, the vast majority of the apps do serve as a replacement for your default app, as already mentioned. Those apps are quite compelling as they either offer some special features, or offer a ton of customizability. If you don’t like your default SMS app and would like to upgrade, read on.
Top 10 best SMS Android apps 2020
Below is a quick overview of the top 10 best SMS Android apps for 2020, including any download and in-app purchase costs.
| Download Cost | In-app cost (per item) | |
| Google Messages | ✕ | ✕ |
| Textra SMS | ✕ | $4.1 |
| chomp SMS | ✕ | $1.9-$3.1 |
| Pulse SMS | ✕ | $1.1-$25 |
| Handcent Next SMS | ✕ | $8.1-$30 |
| GO SMS Pro | ✕ | $1.3-$266 |
| Mood Messenger | ✕ | $1-$14 |
| YAATA | ✕ | $1.3-$125 |
| Do It Later | ✕ | $6.5 |
| Super Backup & Restore | ✕ | $2.5 |
Top 10 best SMS Android apps 2020 downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, a suggestion for the type of user the app is best suited to, and a direct link for easy downloading.
All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Best SMS Android app for most users / RCS
Google Messages
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
(Google) Messages app is one of the most widespread SMS applications on Android. This is Google’s very own application, and it has over 3 million reviews in the Google Play Store. That being said, this is probably the best option for most people. The app doesn’t really offer that much in terms of customization, but it’s straightforward, and more importantly, it looks really nice.
The UI is pleasing to the eye, in line with the latest design guidelines from Google, of course. You can choose between light and dark modes in this application. Google Assistant is built into the application, so if you’re using it, this app is a no-brainer for you. The app also supports RCS in some regions. That list is growing, and soon it’ll serve more or less like a regular instant messaging app as well.
The app also has a built-in search functionality, which allows you to search for content and specific conversations on a per-chat basis. If RCS is supported in your region, and enabled in this app, you can send videos, pictures, and audio using this app. The app does not include ads nor in-app purchases.
Best SMS Android app for features
Textra SMS
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 4.1+
Textra SMS is a feature-packed app. This application comes with 180+ material design themes, bubble & app icon colors. There are both light and dark modes, which can be automatized as well, based on the time of day. If you like material design, this app is probably right for you. All of its customization options are basically made in that form.
Textra offers the SMS scheduler feature as well, if you need it. That goes for MMS messages as well. The quick reply SMS pop-up also brings several options, while you can stop a message while it’s in the process of sending. The app does support quick voice memos, and GIFs as well.
You can choose between 21 different text size options, to fine-tune this app to your liking. You can block specific messages or numbers via this application, and also pin some messages to the top of your list. The app also comes with a picture compression tool built-in, and much more.
Best SMS Android app for design
chomp SMS
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 4.1+
chomp SMS is one of the best-designed SMS apps in the Google Play Store. Not only that, but it brings various customization options to the table as well. This app looks very flat, it offer clean design, which is what most people prefer. It combines light and dark themes with various color accents. Yes, you can tweak those color accents if you want.
The app has a passcode lock option, along with various other privacy options. You can schedule your SMS and MMS messages using this application as well. Same as with Textra, you can stop a message while it’s sending. Pinning your favorites to the top is also possible here, even on the lock screen.
The app does offer dual SIM support, and it even offers you to tweak your LED notification light, if your phone supports it. You can alter vibration motor patterns using this application, and even change font colors. If you’d like to set a wallpaper inside this app, that is also a possibility here.
Best SMS Android app for desktop use
Pulse SMS
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: Varies with device
Pulse SMS is an extremely clean-looking SMS app for your phone. One of the main features of this app, though, is that it offers you the option to send SMS messages from your desktop computer as well. It can sync your SMS and MMS messages across devices, that includes smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.
This app also comes with really nice-looking animations, which are not too slow, by the way. Suggested smart replies are also included within conversations, and you can password-protect your conversations inside the app. GIF support is included here as well, and it’s provided by Giphy.
You can blacklist specific contacts, if you want, and the app does offer dual SIM support as well. You can delay sending a message, if you want, and automated replies are also included in the app. A powerful search tool is included in the app, while a number of additional customization options are also available.
Best SMS Android app for theming
Handcent Next SMS
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: Varies with device
If theming is your thing, then Handcent SMS is a great option. This app brings a ton of theming options, along with various other customization options. In terms of various settings that you can change within an SMS app, Handcent is one of those that offers the most. Despite that, however, the app works great, and it looks great as well.
This app also offers cloud backups, and it allows you to text from your computer, similar to Pulse. You can choose between a ton of different themes, and backgrounds, and even set some custom ones. Vibration motor patterns can be chosen inside the app, and you can even affect the LED notification light if you want.
This app also allows you to choose a custom ringtone for your SMS messages, and change text fonts. The app comes with its own theme store, where you can browse through a ton of different options. A pop-up SMS option is available, or you can simply keep your SMS messages in the notification shade with a quick reply option. Wear OS support is included, and so on.
Best SMS Android app for customization
GO SMS Pro
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 4.0+
If customization is your thing, then Go SMS Pro is a great option. This application is packed with features, and it comes with a ton of different themes that you can see. You can turn your conversations into huge, see-through bubbles with purple tints, for example… as you can see down below.
There are hundreds of personalized themes and lovely stickers included in this app, and that is constantly increasing. You can encrypt messages and protect your privacy within this app, and also pin some conversations to the top of the list. The pop-up option is also available, which will present you with a pop-up window once a new message arrives.
Dual SIM support is included here, and you can also delay sending some messages, if you want. You can set an avatar for specific contacts if you want, and also block some numbers if that’s what you want. Some additional features are available for paid consumers, by the way, such as all paid themes, unlimited cloud storage, and so on.
Best SMS Android app for animated emojis
Mood Messenger
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 4.1+
Mood Messenger is one of the most customizable SMS apps in the Google Play Store. It provides you with the typing indicator feature, and a real-time caller ID as well. The app looks really great as well. The UI is quite minimal, and everything is well balanced in terms of the design.
This app offers its own set of animated emojis, and over 100 themes are at your disposal. If you don’t like the default light theme, you can always switch to the dark theme in this app. You can change text fonts in this application, and also increase / decrease text size, so that it suits your needs.
You can alter the shapes and colors of chat bubbles, and also enjoy group conversations as well. Mood Messenger offers chat encryption for its premium users, while you can also hide conversations if you want. You can simply set a password for some of them, and there you go. Dual SIM support is enabled, and much more.
Best SMS Android app for simplicity
YAATA
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 5.0+
YAATA may not be as popular as some other apps on this list, but it’s a great SMS app none the less. It’s really simple to use, and its design is also quite nice. The UI is pleasing to the eye, and quite clean-looking. You can choose between light and dark themes in this application, which seems to be a must-have feature these days.
This app is extremely small, it weighs under 4MB, and it is feature-rich despite its simplicity and size. It offers complete multimedia support, you can send audio, pictures, videos, VCards, and GIFs. Group chats are enabled, and you can also enable delivery reports, if you want. The ‘Send Delay’ option is also included.
The ‘Archive’ option is also a part of the pack here, and various options for customizing chat bubbles. You also get the option to use backup and restore features. There are a number of additional features included as ‘Premium’, paid offerings. Features such as night mode, auto forwards, message scheduling, auto responder, and so on.
Best SMS Android app for message scheduling
Do It Later
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 4.4+
If your SMS app of preference does not have a message automation option, well, that’s where Do It Later comes in. This is not an SMS app replacement, but an app that will bring one special feature to your SMS app of choice. This app allows you to schedule text messages to be sent later.
This app is not limited to SMS and MMS messages either. You can use it to schedule your emails, social media posts, and so on. It even allows you to auto reply to calls and incoming messages. The app’s design is really nice as well. The UI is clean, and it’s eye-pleasing, for the most part.
This app allows you to repeat sending messages / tasks hourly, daily, weekly, monthly… and a custom time period option is also available. The ‘Smart Reply’ option allows you to set your own replies, and a text-to-speech option is also available. There’s a lot this app can do, without being limited to SMS and MMS messages.
Best SMS Android app for SMS backup / restore
Super Backup & Restore
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: Varies with device
Super Backup & Restore is one of the most powerful SMS backup and restore apps in the Google Play Store. This app is not exactly limited to SMS and MMS messages either, it offers so much more than that. It allows you to backup your applications, contacts, text messages, call history, bookmarks, and calendar.
You can choose whether to upload all of those to an SD card, Gmail, or Google Drive. This app will essentially make sure that the vast majority of important info that you have on your phone doesn’t get lost along the way. You can even schedule automatic backups so that you don’t have to think about it.
The ‘Boost Phone’ option is also included in the app, and that is something you’d usually find in a cache cleaner app. The UI of this application is extremely simplistic, and we don’t really have an objection to that. All focus is on the backup / restore options that the app provides, as it should be.