8 Ways to Send a Text From Your Computer

Technically, all you need to text your customers is a phone and data plan.  

But using a keyboard the size of a business card all day can result in killer hand cramps. That’s why many entrepreneurs and marketers prefer to text customers and run SMS campaigns from a computer.

Let’s look at the easiest ways to send and receive texts from your computer.

8 ways to send a text from your computer:

1. Send a Text From an Online Texting Platform
2. Text From Your Mac With Messages
3. Send a Text With Messages by Google
4. Text From a Computer With Google Voice
5. Send a Text on a PC with Microsoft’s Phone Link App and Windows
6. Text From a Computer via Email
7. Send a Text Using Your Wireless Carrier’s Website
8. Text From a Computer Using Free SMS Websites

1. Send a Text From an Online Texting Platform

You can use a computer texting app like SimpleTexting to send text messages from a computer to one or more phone numbers. This is convenient if you want to mass text your clients or want to respond to text message conversations quickly.

What you’ll need:

• Paid SimpleTexting plan (you can sign up for a free 14-day trial first) 
• Computer (Mac or PC)

How it works:

1. Once you’re logged in to your SimpleTexting account, click on the Inbox tab in the left-hand menu. Then click on New.

2. Choose who you want to text. You can enter a phone number directly or import a contact list.
3. Type your message in the “Message” field, click the Send SMS button to send your text immediately, or choose the clock icon to schedule your message.

No matter which business texting platform you use, make sure it has two-way texting and mass texting (since some of the options on this list only let you send one text at a time).

2. Text From Your Mac With Messages

If you’re an iPhone user, you can easily text your clients from a Mac computer.

What you’ll need: 

• iPhone
• Apple ID
• Mac computer or laptop that’s connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data

How it works: While the Messages app on your computer lets you send and receive iMessages (blue texts) automatically, you can enable all SMS and MMS messages (blue and green texts) by:

1. Opening the Settings app on your iPhone and navigating to Messages.
2. Tapping Text Message Forwarding and selecting your Mac.

After opening the Messages app on your Mac and signing in with your Apple ID, you’ll:

1. Click on the New Message button at the top of the app. 
2. Enter the name, email, or number of the contact you want to text. You can also click the plus symbol in the “To” field to add a contact.
3. Type your message in the compose field at the bottom of the app and press Enter on your keyboard.

3. Send a Text With Messages by Google

Have an Android phone? Text customers from your computer using Google’s browser-based Messages app.  

What you’ll need: 

• Android phone with a Wi-Fi or data connection
• Latest version of the Messages mobile app
• Computer with a Wi-Fi connection
• Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge web browser

How it works: 

1. Open the Messages app on your Android phone and tap Device Pairing.
2. On your computer, open Messages for web in your browser.
3. Use your phone to scan the QR code on your computer screen. You should now be able to send and receive text messages on your computer. 

4. Text From a Computer With Google Voice

Sending texts with Google Voice is an acceptable option if you’re specifically looking to have one-on-one text conversations using your computer. Just don’t use it for bulk text messages or your account could be suspended.

What you’ll need:

• Google Voice account (free or business plan)
• Computer with Wi-Fi or cellular data

How it works: 

1. After creating a Google Voice account, go to your dashboard and open the Messages tab.
2. Click on “Send a new message” in the top left corner and enter your contact’s phone number in the “To” field.
3. Compose your message and click on the send button to the right, or hit the Enter button on your keyboard.

5. Send a Text on a PC with Microsoft’s Phone Link App and Windows

Microsoft also offers a convenient way to text from a computer with their Phone Link app.

What you’ll need:

• Link to Windows app on your Android or Apple device
• PC that’s connected to the same network as your phone
• Microsoft account

How it works:

1. Connect your phone and PC using the QR code in the Link to Windows or Phone Link app.
2. Open the Phone Link app on your PC, and click Messages.
3. Choose New Message to start a new conversation.
4. Type in the name or number of the contact you’re trying to reach and select the contact.
5. Write out your message and send it.

6. Text From A Computer via Email

As long as you have an email address and know the phone service provider of the contact, you can send a text through email.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open a new email.
2. In the “To” line, type your contact’s 10-digit phone number.
3. Combine their 10-digit number with the applicable service carrier domain (see the chart below).
4. Type your message and click send. When a user responds, their text will appear in your email inbox.

Here are the codes from some popular wireless carriers:

In the end, it will end up looking a little something like this:

7. Send a Text Using Your Wireless Carrier’s Website

Did you know some major wireless service providers allow you to text directly from their website? 

Carriers like Verizon and AT&T have online portals that make sending texts to other users in your network and receiving text messages right from your laptop easy.

What you’ll need:

• Mobile phone plan with SMS services
• Computer or laptop

How it works: If you navigate to your user account on your carrier’s site (like your “My Verizon” or “My AT&T” page), you can send and receive texts from other users on the same carrier. 

Some carriers even have a desktop app like T-Mobile’s DIGITS that you can download to make the process faster.

8. Text From a Computer Using Free SMS Websites

There are also a number of websites out there that will let you send SMS messages for free.

Sites like OpenTextingOnline and Text’em allow you to send text messages directly from their website to recipients with a cell phone at no charge.

A word of caution: These websites do come with some limitations. OpenTextingOnline, for example, does not support group messages, and Text’em requires the sender to have an email account if they want to receive replies.

All that to say, do some research on your free SMS site to make sure it has all the features you need. And, as with anything free, read some reviews to make sure the site is secure and spam-free.

Sending Texts From a Computer FAQs

Start Texting From a Computer Today

Year after year, texting grows in popularity. It’s only natural that the ways to send and receive these messages grow and change as well. 

Texting from your computer is especially helpful for businesses who want to do more than just send the occasional message, whether that means managing opt-in methods, organizing contacts, or scheduling texts in advance. 

Want to try streamlined business texting for yourself? Try out SimpleTexting for 14 days, totally free.

This piece was originally published August 23, 2019. It was refreshed June 16, 2023. Meghan Tocci and Dani Henion contributed to this piece.