Choosing a virtual phone number provider can be a daunting task. There are so many service providers that exist in today’s market. This guide helps you navigate the best virtual phone number providers in 2024.
What is the Best Virtual Phone Number Service
Virtual phone numbers (also called hosted phone numbers) are telephone numbers that route calls over the internet; that is “virtually.” VoIP services make a lot of sense for small and medium sized businesses. In fact, studies show that more than 30% of all businesses worldwide are using some type of virtual number service.
It can help businesses reduce telephony costs while scaling their communication systems. There are so many options available today that can expand the capabilities of any business phone system.
What Are the Types of Virtual Phone Numbers?
There are several different types of virtual phone numbers available from providers in 2024. We consider the most common types:
- Local phone numbers: assigned to specific states or cities within a country
- Toll free numbers: assigned to specific countries with a designated prefix; charges the receiver instead of the caller
- International toll free numbers (ITFN): toll free numbers for international countries; best for businesses with global offices
Hosted phone number services are typically made possible through international call forwarding. This enables providers to offer number originations in a certain country while they forward calls to other countries worldwide.
Key Factors Considered in Our Evaluation
The most important things to consider when choosing a virtual phone number provider are service, quality, and reliability. First off, we recommend choosing a provider that has been in business for more than ten years. It is also important to choose a provider with an outstanding reputation for call-quality and customer support.
We evaluated the best virtual phone number providers based on more than twenty different factors. Here are some of the many factors that we considered in our evaluation:
- Pricing: this includes the total pricing for virtual phone number service. We consider whether their plans are priced monthly or annually and whether services are billed annually versus monthly. Some virtual number providers also charge per user. Also, setup costs were taken into consideration.
- Convenience: it is important to choose a provider that offers convenient ways to get numbers and manage your services.
- Ease of Use: we always recommend choosing companies that have an easy to use control panel to manage service features.
- Service Features: IVR is essential in today’s business environment.
- Customer Support: service and support should be a company’s top priority.
- Reputation: we checked the Better Business Bureau for complaints against companies in our list.
Who are the Best Virtual Phone Number Providers?
We have put together a list of 9 virtual phone number providers for your convenience based on features offered, variety of plans, set-up/cancellation options, etc.
*Note: Prices and information about the providers mentioned here are current and subject to changes.
1. Global Call Forwarding
Features:
- Variety of hosted phone numbers: toll free (160+ countries), local, ITFN, UIFN, vanity
- Mobile accessible numbers
- SMS-enables numbers
- Unlimited extensions for different departments
- SIP trunking and VoIP phone systems
- Call forwarding options
- Outbound calling (customizable caller ID function)
- Call recording (inbound and outbound)
- Customizable IVR systems
Cost: Global Call Forwarding offers 5 different virtual number plans based on business needs: $12.95/mo, $23.95/mo, $78.95/mo, $158.95/mo, $248.95/mo
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contract: No; cancel anytime
Free trial: 7-day free trial for business accounts
2. Jive Communications
Popular Features:
- Call management tools
- Call blocking
- Custom schedules
- Find Me/Follow Me feature
- Integrations
- Unlimited SMS and messaging
Cost: Contact a Jive representative
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No; cancel anytime
Free trial: First month free
3. Talkroute
Popular Features:
- Toll free, local, vanity numbers
- Outbound calls
- Interactive voice response (IVR)
- Call Logs and Reports
- Single and multi-digit extensions
Cost: Talkroute offers 4 different virtual number plans: $19/mo, $39/mo, $59/mo, and $99/mo.
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No; cancel anytime
Free trial: Yes, 7-day trial
4. Vonage
Popular Features:
- Call screening
- Do Not Disturb function
- Call monitoring
- Voicemail (transcript form)
- Integrations: Salesforce and Zoho
Cost: Vonage offers three virtual phone number plans: $19.99/mo/line, $29.99/mo/line, and $39.99/mo/line.
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No; cancel anytime
Free trial: 14-day free trial
5. CallHippo
Popular Features:
- Local, toll free, and vanity numbers
- Call conferencing
- Call queuing and barging
- Smart call forwarding
- Simultaneous ringing
- Call recording
- Analytics and reports
Cost: CallHippo offers 4 virtual business number plans: $18/user/mo, $24/user/mo, $40/user/mo, and customized solutions with features of all the previous plans.
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No; cancel anytime
Free trial: No
6. RingCentral
Popular Features:
- Unlimited calling
- Call recording
- Voicemail-to-text
- Analytics and reports
- Flip calls between devices
- Call screening
Cost: RingCentral has 4 virtual phone number plans: $29.99/user/mo, $34.99/user/mo, $44.99/user/mo, and $59/99/user/mo.
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No, cancel anytime
Free trial: Yes
7. OnSIP
Popular Features:
- Unlimited voice and video calling
- Call recording
- Website chat
- Inbound bridge
- Voicemail boxes
- Polycom phones included
Cost: OnSIP has 2 virtual business number plans: $18.95/user/mo and $49.95/mo for each account + 2.9¢ per minute.
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: N/a
Free trial: Yes, 30-day
8. Phone.com
Popular Features:
- International, toll free, and local numbers
- Call routing
- Unlimited extensions
- Texting services
- Call management tools (call transfer and forwarding options)
- CRM integration
- Voice tagging
- Ring-ready phones
Cost: Phone.com offers 3 pay-per-minute virtual number plans: $12.99/mo, $19.99/mo, and $39.99/mo. They also offer 3 unlimited plans: $29.99/mo, $37.99/mo, and $49.99/mo.
Set-up fees: N/a
Long-term contracts: N/a
Free trial: No, 30-day money back guarantee
9. Nextiva
Popular Features:
- Unlimited calling
- Unlimited video conferencing
- Call recording
- SMS
- Mobile VoIP app
Cost: Nextiva offers two virtual phone number plans: $20/user/mo and $27/user/mo
Set-up fees: No
Long-term contracts: No
Free trial: Yes
Get Virtual Phone Numbers From a Trusted Provider
We can help you get virtual numbers most suitable for your business needs. For an efficient and reliable virtual phone system, consider virtual phone number provider Global Call Forwarding. To learn more, speak to an expert at 1 (888) 908 6171 today!
