Tired Of Google Messages? These 4 Texting Apps Might Be Better For You

Google Messages is the texting app that comes pre-installed on all new Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones. It surpassed one billion active users way back in 2023 and has over 10 billion downloads on the Google Play Store as of this writing. It sees widespread use, but many users complain about inconsistent experiences, poor spam filtering, and a lack of availability for the RCS messaging standard.

If you're tired of using Google Messages, there are several texting apps that are actually better in terms of usability and customizability. Considering that Samsung is phasing out its own proprietary messaging app in July 2026, a huge number of Android users will soon be left with Google Messages as their only default option. Even the most reliable phone carriers, like AT&T, stopped supporting their own texting apps years ago as well. Avoid being pushed into the Google Messages monopoly by checking out these four SMS-enabled alternatives instead.

Pulse SMS is a texting app that prides itself on seamless syncing across devices. You can switch between the phone, tablet, and web versions of the application and pick up a conversation no matter where you are. With password-protected cloud backups, migrating your message history to a new device is quick and easy compared to competing apps. Users also enjoy the customizable interface that gives Pulse a modern, organized feel.

Security experts warn that you should actually stop using SMS messaging on Android because SMS communication is not encrypted. Cybercriminals can intercept messages and hack into personal accounts by exploiting SMS-based two-factor authentication. Like all SMS-enabled apps on this list, Pulse is no exception to cyber risks. Pulse attempts to get around this by storing conversations with end-to-end encryption, but there's no way to stop malicious parties from intercepting SMS messages in transit. Users also report that monetization became more aggressive in the Pulse app after an acquisition by Maple Media, though Pulse SMS still holds a solid 3.6-star rating on the Google Play store.

Chomp SMS is an extremely customizable messaging app. You can personalize your colors, font styles, wallpapers, and ringtones to be as classy or as whimsical as you please. Optimize Chomp even more with scheduled messages, block lists, pinned texts, and other options that streamline your communications. It's an app that prioritizes fun, and as such, it comes with a huge selection of emojis and emoji styles. The developers at Delicious also promise that "all Chomp features are free forever." There are "occasional" ads, but these are permanently removable with a single in-app transaction.

Reviews have described Chomp as having a steep learning curve. It's quite feature-rich and customizable for a texting app, but this can make it needlessly complex if you just want a straightforward way to communicate. Unlike some "all-in-one" messaging apps, Chomp lacks seamless integration with a large variety of other apps and services. However, Chomp does have full compatibility with a selection of third-party services, namely Pushbullet, MightyText, and Android Auto.

Handcent Next SMS is another customization-heavy messaging app, but with an AI-powered twist. The in-app AI can extract text from images, provide a summary of conversations, and generate an advanced grammar check. Handcent also uses AI to help overcome some of the inherent security issues of SMS by detecting sensitive information and suggesting ways to mask your personal info. You can access the messenger from most devices, including PCs and tablets, and all versions of the app undergo an anti-virus security scan after each update for added security.

The Handcent Next SMS app has received some criticism for requesting as many as 118 permissions from the devices it's installed on, though. This, coupled with a focus on AI feature integration, may be a worthy cause for concern if you feel like AI is frying your brain and compromising your privacy. With over one million downloads and a 4.4-star rating on Google Play, though, it appears that the vast majority of users have yet to experience a dealbreaker moment with Handcent's use of AI.

Textra SMS boasts faster performance, greater customizability, and a wider variety of features compared to stock texting apps. It's a messenger designed specifically to replace default options like Google Messages, making it one of the best Android apps not available on Windows. Textra is published by Delicious, the same team behind Chomp SMS, and follows the same "all features are free forever" philosophy with in-app advertisements or a one-time Pro purchase. What sets Textra apart is its focus on optimizing particularly for the mobile platform.

The same thing that works as Textra's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Being a mobile-first application means that there's no desktop version or web sync feature. Something like Chomp SMS or another alternative with a web browser version might be preferable if you need something that works across all of your devices. Like all SMS-based texting apps, Textra also suffers from the same potential security issues stemming from a lack of encryption.

Google Messages uses the RCS messaging standard, allowing you to transmit higher-quality images and video compared to SMS messaging. RCS is also more private and more secure. However, the SMS standard is more widely supported across the globe and does not require an internet connection or mobile data plan to send and receive messages. When selecting messaging apps that might be better than Google Messages, we only chose SMS-compatible apps that can give you the functions and utility that Google Messages lacks.

Our list exclusively contains apps with Google Play ratings above 3.5 stars and more than 50,000 user reviews overall. We also only picked apps that received updates within the last six months as of the time of writing. Whichever texting app you pick from this list, you can be sure that it receives regular support from its developers.