How to Send a Free Text Message to a Google Voice Number

You can sign up for a Google Voice number with your Google Account and send text messages in the United States for free. To sign up, navigate to the Google Voice home page, and then follow the prompts to create your account (link in Resources). Once you have a number set up, click "Text," enter the Google Voice number you want to reach, compose your message, and then click "Send."

You can use some instant messaging clients to send text messages from your computer. On Yahoo Messenger, for example, click "Actions," select "Send SMS Message," click "Other Contact," enter the number, and then follow the prompts to send the SMS message. From AIM, create a new contact and type in the Google Voice number as the contact name; you can then text from a chat window with that contact. To text with ICQ, click the "SMS" tab, enter a mobile number, compose your message, and then send it.

Many iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone apps provide free texting capabilities. To use an app, download it to your device, sign up for an account, and then send a text message to the Google Voice number. TextPlus can work on iOS, Windows Phone and Android units; imo can run on iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices; and KakaoTalk can work on iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices (links in Resources).

While many websites offer free texting, any site that requests a provider won't work with Google Voice. One site that does allow you to send free text messages to a Google Voice number is AFreeSMS (link in Resources), on which you select your continent and country before composing and sending your message. Depending on how busy the site it, however, it may be awhile before your text is delivered.