In today's world, we text more than we call. That's not to say we don't call at all anymore, just that calls are more time-consuming and often inconvenient. Texting provides a quick way to relay a message without being stuck to your phone for an hour on a call.

More recently, we use messaging apps rather than SMS messaging apps because they offer more features. Messaging apps offer fun ways to customize chats among friends, schoolmates, or colleagues. These are some of the best free messaging apps for Android you can download right now.

1. Signal

If privacy is the most important thing you want out of a messaging app, you should use Signal. Signal uses end-to-end encryption to keep all your messages, pictures, videos, and calls secure. Signal's servers will never save your messages. Plus, the app is open source, which means you're free to audit the code if you know how and want to.

Any images or videos you take within the Signal app are never saved to your camera roll. Then, there are also built-in image editing features. This is great because it means you never have to leave the app and save an image to your phone to edit it through another app.

And believe it or not, all that privacy you get is completely free. There are no ads in this app, no in-app purchases, and none of your information is being sold to fund the app.

Download: Signal (Free)

2. WhatsApp

WhatsApp launched in 2009 and has grown massively in popularity since then, especially after the company added video call functionality. Although the most popular way to use WhatsApp is on your phone, you can use it on other devices as WhatsApp Web.

Messages through WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, and you can send text, voice, pictures, videos, and even documents. You can even link your existing phone number to WhatsApp and see which of your contacts are using the app. Then, you can make free domestic and international phone calls through the app using your phone's Internet connection.

However, if you're privacy-aware, do keep in mind that WhatsApp shares a lot of data with Meta.

Download: WhatsApp (Free)

3. Viber

Viber is another great free messaging app for Android users because it boasts cross-platform capabilities among a wide array of devices. You can do all the same stuff you can do with other messaging apps, like send end-to-end encrypted messages, pictures, etc., and link your existing phone number to sync your contacts.

Viber is less popular, so fewer people are on it compared to larger messaging apps like WhatsApp. That said, if you've tried out WhatsApp or you just want something less crowded, convince your friends to try out Viber. It gives you everything you need out of a good messaging app, like free long-distance calls and privacy.

Download: Viber (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. KakaoTalk

KakaoTalk is another messaging app that's easy to use and offers a lot of fun extras like emoticons, stickers, voice filters, and more. The app offers free calls, and you can send messages and multimedia.

One of the cool things about KakaoTalk is that you can set appointments within the app. Then, you can set reminders for those events so you never miss lunch with a friend or an important business meeting.

There are also open chats you can join to follow certain hashtags. KakaoTalk is popular among Korean-Americans, so you'll see a lot of Korean in the app, but if English is your only language, you can still easily navigate the app.

Download: KakaoTalk (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. Discord

Discord is most popular among the gaming community, but it's not exclusive to gamers.

With Discord, you can form different groups among your friends to chat in. Then, you can create chat and voice channels within each group. You can add as many unique channels as you want, with titles like Memes, School Stuff, and Hang Outs to keep chats separate and focused.

The voice channels are neat because anyone in the group can hop in at any time and leave easily if they want to because it's not a traditional call. You can also see which of your friends is in the voice channel before getting on.

Plus, if you're feeling creative, Discord allows you to create custom emojis to use in your chats.

Download: Discord (Free, in-app purchases available)

6. GroupMe

GroupMe is a great simple messaging chat for groups. You can have individual chats as well, but the app shines with larger groups of friends, family, classmates, or colleagues. You can share text, images, videos, GIFs, and URLs with a preview picture and title.

There's a gallery of all images and videos that have been shared in the chat so you can easily go back and find funny stuff. And for every message that is sent, you can like it with whatever icon you choose as your Like icon.

This feature comes in handy if people are trying to vote on something, like where to eat or what to do. You can type out each option and people can like whichever option they want to vote for.

Download: GroupMe (Free, in-app purchases available)

7. Telegram

If Signal doesn't appeal to you, Telegram is another great messaging app that will keep your messages secure. The app uses a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie-Hellman secure key exchange. With all of that, you can be sure your messages are private to you and whoever you're sharing them with.

Among Telegram's many useful features, its ability to sync up across platforms is top-notch. Telegram works across phones, tablets, and computers and syncs all the data between them. So if you start typing a message on your phone, you can pick up right where you left off on your computer.

Telegram also has a massive upper limit for groups. You start with 200 members, but can upgrade to a supergroup for a max of 200,000 members. Most other apps set the limit around 200 or 300 people.

Download: Telegram (Free, in-app purchases available)

8. Slack

Slack is extremely popular for businesses because of its professional interface and ability to keep conversations looking clean. It can be great for personal conversations too for those same reasons.

Although you may not need a professional-looking messaging app for your personal conversations, it can make chatting feel a lot fancier. On top of the clean layout, Slack gives you the ability to section off your topics. So if someone sends a message asking a question, people can respond directly to that message in a thread to keep the feed uncluttered.

Download: Slack (Free)

What's Your Favorite Messaging App?

All of these free messaging apps are great alternatives to your phone's built-in SMS messaging app. And to top it off, most of these can send and receive SMS messages as well if you wanted to make it your primary messaging app.

Messaging apps give you a more fun, customizable way to chat with your friends and family, whether they live near you or in another country. But if you do still prefer SMS, there are lots of great apps to choose from.