Every business owner deserves a business phone number for the sole purpose of business. This adds a level of credibility to the hustle.
Instead of calling your local phone company to get a business phone number, there are ways you can have access to free business phone numbers.
In this article put together by The Wealth Circle, we’ll list the top free business phone number apps for startups and full-blown businesses. Carefully read through!
Why Do I Need A Free Business Phone Number?
Using your private number for business doesn’t always fit in well as it limits your privacy. To that end, having a free business phone number adds to your credibility and keeps your private phone number private.
Additionally, the use of wired phones for your business will be a huge expense, so, there’s a need to get a business phone number that’ll help you save more money. In this age of the internet, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and free virtual phone numbers are the ways to cut communication costs.
Getting a business phone number is costs lesser than the traditional services and does not require costly on-site equipment. Additionally, cloud-based virtual phone numbers make it easier than VoIP to establish local, toll-free, or vanity phone numbers or transfer existing numbers to a new service.
Furthermore, using a free business phone number gives your business an independent business air of credibility.
If your customers are local, it will be much easier to get a business number that is absolutely free -if your customer base is international, you can often get a toll-free number. Additionally, you can get a vanity number with your business name like 1-800-DRESS-COOL, all you need to do is pay a one-time activation fee.
If you need more advanced capabilities, such as multiple extensions, a live receptionist, or conference calls, you can also get a desk phone but you may have to pay extra for these features.
Even though you have a free phone number, you might have to pay for additional services including:
- Auto Attendant
- Live Receptionist
- Voicemail to Email
- Multiple extensions or phone numbers
- Additional minutes
Most free business phone numbers only come with a limited amount of minutes. For example, you might only be able to have 300 to 500 free minutes per month. That’s about 25 minutes a day you can use on a free plan. If you need to share those minutes with other associates, you may need to upgrade to a paid plan to avoid any overage charges.
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How Can I Maximize Free Business Phone Number?
For every business, keeping expenses at the barest minimum is ideal, regardless of your company size.
As we go on to list the top free business phone numbers, you will have several different options to get a free business phone number, but each option is a better option for different businesses.
Is it Better to get a Local Phone Number or Toll-Free Number?
It all depends on the nature of your business. If you cater to local customers, you might want to go for a local phone number which always comes for free. This doesn’t mean that a local phone number can’t reach international customers.
To get a toll-free number, you can normally pick a randomly assigned number for free. If you want a vanity number, like 123-FAST, you will probably have to pay a one-time activation fee.
Should I Go For A Cell Phone or Desk Phone?
The choice of whether to get a cell phone or a desk phone is always a matter of intentionality and choice. Let’s say you’re looking to keep costs at the barest minimum, having your current cell phone for personal and business calls will be ideal. All you need to do is download an app to make outbound business calls.
For more advanced capabilities, you can always go for a desk phone or have a separate business-only cell phone. You can find free business call services like FreedomPop which gives you a free cell phone along with a 100% free monthly cell phone plan.
In a few lines to come, we’ll list the top 10 free business number apps with varying options you can choose from.
How Can I Get A Free Business Number?
You can get a free business number via a number of apps that’ll be listed below. These lines offer users the opportunity to get a local number or a toll-free number.
Depending on the service provider, you can either have the incoming calls forwarded to your personal cell phone. Or, you can also use your computer or desk phone to receive calls or make outbound calls too.
Top Free Business Phone Number Apps
Here’s our best pick of free business phone number apps:
#10 FreedomPop
FreedomPop is king when it comes to free business numbers. It offers unlimited WiFi calling, unlimited iMessage, and RCS over WiFi. Additionally, it allows native cellular voice and text, international calls, visual voicemail, VoLTe, and more.
It uses the Sprint carrier network for voice, text, and LTE data. As stated earlier, to get access to free calls, all you need to do is connect to a public WiFi network instead of cellular towers.
If you need extra business phone services, FreedomPop offers added services.
Lastly, FreedomPop a great app that gives that side hustle or business service of yours a professional outlook.
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#9 eVoice
This unique communication system allows mobile professionals, home office workers, small businesses, and independent entrepreneurs to sound more professional and function more productively. To get started, all you need to do is select a phone number for your business and start receiving calls within minutes. There are thousands of area codes to choose from!
The service includes a free local or toll-free number to subscribers in the United States and Canada. This system keeps you connected to customers from wherever you are. There is no hardware, setup, or contract to deal with.
While your eVoice phone number is free, you can opt for higher features for a price after a 30-day free trial. You can have your own Auto Attendant answer your calls with a professionally recorded greeting. Advanced Call Routing also lets you set rules online for where to send your calls.
Features:
#8 FreedomVoice
You get a 30-day free trial with FreedomVoice but you have the option of getting a vanity business phone number instead of a randomly assigned toll-free or local phone number. For a vanity number, you will need to pay a one-time $30 activation fee.
On FreedmVoice you can get your own 800 number or easy cloud-hosted virtual phone service to add instant credibility and grow your business.
With every plan, you can also enjoy these features:
#7 Google Voice
Google voice is a free virtual phone number that works on a mobile device or landline for business calls and voicemail.
To have access to a local free business number, you need to create a business Gmail account.
Best suited for self-employed workers, it includes a small set of basic call management features. This includes voicemail, call forwarding, call block, and text messaging with no monthly fee.
Google Voice also has a screening feature that welcomes callers and prompts them to say their name before the call rings through to your phone.
This enables you to hear their name and answer the call directly, send the call to voicemail for later or send it to voicemail and listen in without the caller knowing.
If you have the Google Voice app, you can access your business phone number from anywhere.
Once your devices are linked, you can receive calls and SMS messages and reply to messages from either the phone or the internet. Voicemails are automatically transcribed moments after each call, and you’ll receive notifications of missed calls and messages through email and SMS.
You can use the Google Voice app to make free phone calls and texts on the following devices:
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#6 iNum
iNum is an amazing free business phone number app. It is most suitable for international business calls.
On iNum, you’ll be assigned a phone number with an (883) global country code for voice calls and SMS communication. Currently, your iNum can be called for free with various networks including phone.com and other free international phone call apps.
In other words, your iNum can be reached for free from any part of the world making it one of the cheapest ways to connect with international business clients.
To get numbers, on iNum, you need to go through the service providers that are listed on iNum website. All you need to do is contact one of the service providers to obtain a free SIP account with free calls to other iNum numbers.
#5 Callcentric
Another free business phone number app is Callcentric. They offer a $1.00 dollar unlimited plan per month that allows the user to pick a business phone number from any of the following states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
You can make free outgoing calls to other Callcentric customers and VoIP networks. For non-Callcentric phone calls, you can pay by the minute or monthly plans start at $1.95 for 120 minutes for outbound calls to Canada, the United States, and Puerto Rico.
This plan helps reduce the amount of money spent on business calls.
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#4 Phonebooth
Phonebooth is one of the best VoIP providers, providing phone systems & phone service for small businesses.
Phonebooth offers cost-effective, full-featured VoIP phone systems exclusively for businesses. As one of the largest and fastest-growing telecommunications providers in the U.S., Phonebooth believes in unlimited, no-nonsense simplified business communication solutions.
They have their personal network like a traditional phone company which aids the passage of cost savings to you.
This service isn’t completely free as you pay $20 per month for each user. You get two free business phone numbers and the monthly fee pays for the following unlimited amenities:
- Nationwide local and long-distance
- Auto attendants
- Voicemail transcriptions
- Groups
- Group conferences (Two free bridges)
Lastly, Phonebooth doesn’t charge setup fees and you can cancel anytime.
#3 Nextiva
Nextiva is the top virtual business phone number service provider on the market. They make it easy to manage your business phone number using their app on your desktop/laptop computer, mobile phone, tablets, or desk phone.
You can even keep your local number and use it with Nextiva to get HD voice calling over VoIP. They also allow you to get virtual business phone numbers for different geographic locations.
Nextiva has the following set of features:
To get started, you need to pay $20.95/month.
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#2 Grasshopper
Grasshopper provides an easy virtual phone number service for that side hustle of yours or a small business. It comes with a mobile app that allows you to manage your business phone system on any device and from any location.
Grasshopper works with your existing phone so, there’s no need to buy any additional phones or equipment.
They offer virtual business numbers, local numbers, vanity numbers, and 800 and 833 toll-free numbers to choose from.
Grasshopper fuses all essential features in one package with call forwarding, voice mail, business texting, business VoIP and WiFi calling, automated greeting, and more.
To get started, you need to pay $26 per month for 1 number and 3 extensions.
#1 Freshworks
Freshworks Sprout makes it possible to build a global brand from a single location and ensure your customers receive the same personal touch as a local partner through instant communication.
They offer local numbers, number porting, call masking, vanity numbers, and international numbers.
With Freshworks sprout, you can easily manage corporate communication and set up a smooth call handling call process.
For startups using Sprout there are no charges to be paid.
Final Thoughts
For every business, keeping expenses at the barest minimum is ideal, regardless of your company size. So, with the aforementioned free business phone number apps, you’ll be able to cut costs and also add a sense of prestige to your business through the unrivaled top-notch communication channel.
Better business communication also means better customer satisfaction. If the communication channel is poor, the performance of the company in terms of services is likely to toe that part.
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