Free Business Phone Numbers and Trials
Which services give a startup a business phone number for free or on a free trial today, how long the trial runs and what it covers, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Phone providers change their trials and number rules from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you print a number on your site.
Services that give a startup a business phone number for free or on a trial today include TextNow (Free talk and text, paid for by ads), JustCall (14-day free trial), CloudTalk (14-day free trial), Dialpad (14-day free trial of Dialpad Connect), and RingCentral (14-day free trial). Each of the 9 free offers below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, the kind of number you get, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
A business number keeps your personal phone off the website and lets a small team share calls and texts. Free business numbers are rare, but most business phone systems start with a free trial long enough to set one up and try it.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free number can carry ads, a trial can last 7 or 14 days, and some offers cover only certain countries or need a contract. Each service below shows what is free, its main limit, the kind of number you get, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which services we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which services are listed or where.
Phone numbers with a free plan
Services that give a number for free, with the limits they state.
- 1
TextNow
A free second number for side work or a business line
TextNow's Free plan gives free 5G talk and text paid for by ads, with a free local number or your own. Its Plus plan is $18.99 a month.
- First paid plan
- Plus: $18.99 a month (source: textnow.com)
Business phone systems with a free trial
Phone systems for a team, with a free trial before a paid plan.
- 1
JustCall
Small teams that want to test calls and texts free
A 14-day trial with no credit card required, and two phone numbers free with each account. Access stops when the trial ends, and the Team plan is $29 per user a month billed annually.
- What's free
- 14-day free trial (source: justcall.io)
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: justcall.io)
- 2
CloudTalk
Teams that want a no-card trial with AI voice agents
A 14-day trial you can start without a credit card, with local and toll-free numbers worldwide and 50 AI Voice Agent minutes included in the trial.
- What's free
- 14-day free trial (source: cloudtalk.io)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: cloudtalk.io)
- 3
Dialpad
Teams that want a 14-day test of Dialpad Connect
Dialpad Connect free for 14 days, with local numbers in over 50 countries. The Standard plan is $15 a user a month.
- First paid plan
- Standard: $15 a user a month (source: dialpad.com)
Start free at DialpadTerms read on dialpad.com on Dialpad: the free allowance and how to start Dialpad for Startups: what startups get - 4
RingCentral
Teams of up to five users testing a full phone system
A 14-day free trial for new subscribers, limited to five users and two desktop phones. The Core plan is $20 a user a month billed annually.
- What's free
- 14-day free trial (source: ringcentral.com)
Start free at RingCentralTerms read on ringcentral.com on RingCentral: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Quo
Small teams that want one number per user, risk-free
A 7-day risk-free trial, with one new or ported local or toll-free number per user. The Starter plan is $19 a user a month.
- What's free
- 7-day free trial (source: quo.com)
- Main limit
- 7 days, cancel anytime (source: quo.com)
- First paid plan
- Starter: $19 a user a month (source: quo.com)
- 6
Grasshopper
US and Canada businesses that need a toll-free number
Try Grasshopper free for 7 days, and pick a toll-free, vanity or local number. The service is only available in the USA and Canada, and plans start as low as $14 a month.
- What's free
- 7-day free trial (source: grasshopper.com)
- First paid plan
- From $14 a month (source: grasshopper.com)
Start free at GrasshopperTerms read on grasshopper.com on Grasshopper: the free allowance and how to start - 7
Aircall
Teams that want to test a phone and AI agents first
Aircall offers free access to test the platform before committing, with 100 AI Voice Agent minutes for new accounts and one local or toll-free number per plan. Essentials is $30 per license a month.
- First paid plan
- Essentials: from $30 a license a month (source: aircall.io)
Start free at AircallTerms read on aircall.io on Aircall: the free allowance and how to start Aircall for Startups: what startups get - 8
Nextiva
Businesses under 200 people switching from another provider
Businesses with fewer than 200 employees can get up to 12 months free when they switch, with proof of a current contract required. The NEXT Core plan is $15 a user a month.
- First paid plan
- NEXT Core: $15 a user a month (source: nextiva.com)
Phone and calling startup programs
Programs from phone and calling companies that give startups discounts on paid plans.
Also useful for founders
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers business phone number services a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each service's terms. Every term comes from the service's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A short trial, personal-use rules or a limited set of countries can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these services pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a service appears, and no service pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Can I get a business phone number for free?
Free options are limited. By the terms each provider states, TextNow offers free talk and text paid for by ads, while business phone systems such as Quo, Dialpad, RingCentral and JustCall start with a free trial instead of a free plan.
How long are business phone free trials?
Quo and Grasshopper offer 7-day free trials, while JustCall, CloudTalk, Dialpad and RingCentral offer 14 days. Nextiva says you can get up to 12 months free when you switch from a current contract.
How much does a business phone number cost after the trial?
By each provider's own pricing, Grasshopper starts from $14 a month, Dialpad Standard costs $15 a user a month, Quo Starter $19 a user a month, and RingCentral Core $20 a user a month, billed annually.
Does Grasshopper work outside the US?
Grasshopper's page says it serves the USA and Canada only.
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