Congratulations, entrepreneur–you’ve got a great idea, and you’re eager to get your exciting new small business going. One of the first things that separates a real business from a side project is a dedicated business phone number to use instead of your own personal one. So how do you get one?
There are a lot of options! Whether you’re a fly-by-night solo operation or a burgeoning team, we’ll help you find the right kind of business phone number for your particular needs.
Traditional carrier business plans
Assuming you already use a traditional cellular service provider, the most obvious option might be to go through them for a new business line. All major carriers offer various business plans that are essentially the same as their other products, but with discounted rates the more lines you bundle in, along with additional business-friendly services like cloud storage and international data.
Here are the options from the big three carriers:
AT&T Business Unlimited
$30-55 per month per line (with at least six lines)
AT&T offers four tiers of business plans: Business Unlimited Standard, Advanced, Premium 2.0, and Premium 2.0 with Turbo. All plans offer unlimited talk, text, and data (though the Standard plan may throttle data after 75GB, while the others will not), 5G, security, at least 5GB of mobile hotspot data, and standard definition video streaming. Higher tiers offer more data, higher- quality video streaming, and additional services like Latin American roaming, free international passes, and “Turbo” priority network connectivity.
T-Mobile Business Unlimited
$21-45 per month per line (with at least six lines)
T-Mobile likewise offers four tiers of business plans, sharing the same root name as AT&T’s plans: Business Unlimited Select, Advanced, Ultimate, and Edge. All plans offer at least unlimited text and talk, 50GB data (and 5GB in Mexico and Canada), 5GB hotspot data, scam shield, and secure Wi-Fi. Higher-tier plans include more data (unlimited in the top two tiers), improved scam protection, in-flight Wi-Fi, and satellite internet.
Verizon My Biz Plan
$29-71 per month per line (with at least five lines)
Verizon is a little different from its peers in that it offers a single plan with a la carte features that you add-on, instead of structured tiers. Every My Biz Plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data, 5GB mobile hotspot data, call filter, as well as Canada and Mexico talk/text/data. On top of that for $5-16 each per line you can add on premium network access, Google Workspace with Gemini AI, international connectivity, discounted long-distance calling by region, more mobile hotspot data, and unlimited cloud storage.
VoIP business plans
Many VoIP providers (voice over IP, meaning phone service that uses internet data instead of the traditional landline or mobile phone networks) also offer a range of business-oriented plans. Besides being less expensive, these have an advantage over traditional phone company business plans in that they don’t require new dedicated phone hardware, but can be used with existing phones and computers through apps and web access. They also tend to offer additional features like call-forwarding, video meetings, and now various AI integrations.
Here are some popular options:
Google Voice
$10-30 per month per user
Google Voice offers three business tiers: Starter, Standard, and Premier, at $10, $20, and $30 per user, respectively. Starter supports up to 10 users, and the other tiers are uncapped. All plans include unlimited calling in the US, Canada, and most European countries, unlimited texting in the US, mobile and web apps, voicemail transcription, and integration with the whole suite of Google products (Calendar, Meet, Mail, etc., which is a big upside if you already use the Google productivity suite for the rest of your business). Higher tiers add features like a multi-level auto-attendant, ring groups, desk phone support, and advanced reporting.
Dialpad
$15+ per month per user
Dialpad offers three tiers of business plan: Standard, Pro, and Enterprise, at $15 and $25 per month per user for Standard and Pro, and Enterprise rates are unlisted, encouraging you to talk to sales. Every plan includes the features you’d expect: phone and text messaging, meetings, call and voicemail transcription, security, support, and at least three ring groups. Higher tiers offer more ring groups, more API integrations with common business software like Slack and Salesforce, and more dedicated customer support.
RingCentral
$20-45 per month per user
RingCentral offers three tiers: Core, Advanced, and Ultra, with up to a 33% discount if you pay annually instead of monthly. Every plan includes: unlimited domestic calling, business SMS and MMS, call menu, HD video meetings, Google and Microsoft integrations, single sign-on security, shared voicemail, real-time QoS (Quality of Service) analytics, and APIs. Higher-tier plans add auto call recording, multiple sites, more analytics and reporting, bigger meetings, unlimited internet fax, and CRM integrations. All tiers also offer AI assistants and receptionists as add-ons.
OpenPhone
$15-47 per month per user
OpenPhone offers three tiers: Starter, Business, and Scale, with discounts for annual payment instead of monthly. All tiers include: one phone number per user, US and Canada calling and messaging, voicemail transcripts, API, and email ticket support. Higher tiers add features like AI call summaries, transcripts, and tagging, group calling, transfers, custom ring orders, phone menus, analytics, call recording, and more dedicated live support.
NumberBarn Business Line
$9.99 per month plus $4.95 per additional user
NumberBarn Business Line offers a fixed base rate that includes one number and admin user, with the ability to add on additional numbers, admin users, or team users. All plans include call forwarding to any US or Canadian number, downloadable voicemail to email, voicemail transcription, advanced auto-attendant menus, scheduled call-routing, call logs, ring groups and outbound/inbound caller ID to delineate when you are making or receiving calls from your business or personal number on the same phone.
For an additional $1 a month per user, you can add basic text functionality to the NumberBarn mobile app so you and your team members can stay connected via text messaging as well. (This differs from business SMS marketing texting – for that you could consider adding on hosted business marketing text messaging through NumberBarn’s sister company, String).
You can either port in numbers that you already have or search NumberBarn’s extensive inventory of available phone numbers, including vanity numbers that spell something relevant to your business. There’s no need for additional devices; access features via your browser or NumberBarn’s mobile app.
Vanity business number
Maybe all that sounds overwhelming for the scale of your business project, and you just want a single, memorable, dedicated number for your new business, separate from your personal one, but maybe still using your everyday personal cell phone.
For that, you can simply purchase a new number (including a vanity number, meaning one that spells something or has a memorable pattern) and have it forwarded to your existing phone. NumberBarn’s marketplace of over 48 million available numbers starting at $5 surely has the perfect vanity number for your small business.
NumberBarn call forwarding plans
$6.99-19.99 per month per number
If you find all the above options just a little too much for your new venture right now, the simplest and fastest way to get a business number up and running is to search for a number in the NumberBarn marketplace labeled “Get It Now.” Checkout is easy, and once you’ve purchased it, you can go into your account straightaway and add the phone number you want to forward to.
Once you’ve purchased your number, you can set up a call forwarding plan for $6.99 per month for 600 minutes, or $19.99 for unlimited. And you can easily scale up as your business grows by upgrading to NumberBarn Business Line at any time with one click in your account.
Pro tip: If you’re a solopreneur and plan to only forward your new business number to one phone number (likely your own in this case), but you want advanced menu functionality and unlimited minutes, you can opt for NumberBarn Business Line for a mid-range price point of $9.99 per month.
All forwarding plans include number security, call logs and call blocking, outbound calling, basic auto-attendant and call menus, voicemail to email, voicemail transcription, and easy online management.
