Is there such a thing as a free business phone number?
Summary
Not one that lasts. A number that can call and take calls from regular phones almost always costs something, and the "free" offers are either time-limited trials or $0 plans that still charge for the number. Trials run from seven days to a month, which is long enough to judge call quality and the apps but rarely long enough to test everything you would rely on.
What a $0 plan includes
CallHippo lists its Basic plan at $0 per user per month, billed annually. It comes with voicemail, business hours per number, SMS and MMS, and desktop and mobile apps. The first line on the card reads "Pay Only for Numbers," and calling minutes (1,000 within the US and Canada) start one tier up, on Starter. The plan is free; the number on it is not.
| Provider and plan | Free for | Then | What that costs | Checked | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CallHippo Basic | 6 months | Starter | $19.00 a seat a month, on annual billing | checked 2026-09-05 | Check current plans |
A free plan is not a free phone system. Numbers, calling minutes and taxes are charged separately, and the last column is the published price of the plan you move to, not the bill.
The trials, side by side
- Quo: 7 days. Cancel anytime, and Quo says "we'll even remind you." Afterward, Starter is $15 a month billed annually or $19 monthly.
- Grasshopper: 7 days, no credit card required.
- CallHippo: 10 days, no credit card needed.
- Dialpad: 14 days. Connect Standard is then $15 a month billed annually or $27 monthly.
- RingCentral RingEX: 14 days, new subscribers only, up to 20 phone lines. SMS is not available during the trial, and trial hardware must go back within 21 days of canceling to avoid hardware charges.
- Microsoft Teams Phone Standard: one month. Calling regular phone numbers needs a calling plan, Operator Connect or Direct Routing added on.
The gaps matter as much as the length. A team that lives on texting cannot test that on RingCentral before paying, and a Teams Phone trial without a calling plan never touches the public phone network.
Can you take the number with you?
If you pick up a number during a trial and later switch providers, porting is the question. Under FCC rules, interconnected VoIP providers must carry out a valid porting request "without unreasonable delay or unreasonable procedures." The FCC also notes that companies may charge to port a number.
When the move goes the other way, from an existing line into a new service, the FCC's advice is not to terminate the old service before the new one is running. Testing on a temporary number and porting the real one only after you have signed up for a paid plan keeps to that order.
Sources
- callhippo.com/pricing
- quo.com/pricing
- grasshopper.com/pricing
- dialpad.com/llm-info
- ringcentral.com/office/plansandpricing.html
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone
- fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers
- ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-52/subpart-C/section-52.34
Related on this site
- Why does the cheapest VoIP plan so often cost more than it looks?
- What a 1-800 vanity number costs to set up
- Is moving your number to a new provider free?
- The price of a second number, provider by provider
- How much does a toll-free number cost a small business each month?
- Which business phone systems have a free trial, and what do you pay once it ends?
- Is a VoIP number or a virtual number any different from a regular phone number?
- Can you keep your business phone number when you switch providers?
- Do you need to register before texting customers from a business number?
- What does a year of business phone service cost for a 10-person team?
- Compare every US plan at your team size
- Seat cost calculator
Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.