Cheapest Business Phone Number Options (2026)

Short answer: For one person, the cheapest business numbers are Google Voice Basic (free, with limits), Line2's basic second number ($9.99 per month or $7.99 billed annually), Google Voice Starter ($10), Grasshopper True Solo ($14 billed annually), Sideline ($14.49) and Quo Starter ($15 annually, $19 monthly). For a team, per-plan options win: Grasshopper Solo Plus ($25 billed annually for unlimited users on one number) and Talkroute Pro ($59 for up to 10 users). Callata ($99 for up to five users, then $20 per user) is not the cheapest team option, but bundles shared texting, recording with AI summaries and AI agents.

Disclosure: published by Callata. Prices come from each vendor's pricing or help page, checked October 1, 2026, and exclude taxes and fees.

Cheapest for one person

Option	Monthly price	Annual equivalent	What you get	Catch
Google Voice Basic	$0	$0	One number on your devices, domestic calling and texting	Needs an existing mobile number; no paid support
CallHippo Basic	$0/user + numbers and usage	Varies	Voicemail, click-to-dial, business hours, SMS/MMS	You pay per number and per use
Line2 basic second number	$9.99	$7.99/mo billed annually	Private second number	Business features on Starter and up
Google Voice Starter (individual)	$10	$120/yr	Support, recording, transfers, no inactivity reclaim	Auto attendant needs Standard ($20)
Grasshopper True Solo	$14 billed annually	$168/yr	Number, extension, greeting, forwarding	Texting: $19.50 registration + $1.50/mo
Sideline	$14.49	$129.99/yr	Unlimited messaging, carrier-network calls	One person per account
Line2 Starter	$15.99	$13.75/mo billed annually	Local or toll-free, unlimited US/CA calls and texts	Recording on Business ($25.99)
Quo Starter	$19	$15/mo billed annually	Number, calls, texts, voicemail transcripts, AI agent	Texting: $19.50 + $1.50-$3/mo
Phone.com Basic	$18	$15/mo billed annually	Unlimited minutes, auto attendant, video, fax	No texting on Basic
Talkroute Basic	$19	Annual discount available	1 user, 1 number, 500 texts, unlimited US/CA minutes	No phone menu on Basic

Cheapest for a team

Per-user pricing multiplies by headcount, so the cheapest single line is rarely the cheapest team system.

Option	Pricing model	3 people	6 people	10 people
Grasshopper Solo Plus / Small Business (annual billing)	Per plan, unlimited users	$25	$25 or $55	$55
Talkroute Plus / Pro	Per plan, user limits	$39	$54 (Plus + 3 users at $5)	$59 (Pro)
Callata	$99 for 5 users, then $20/user	$99	$119	$199
Zoom Phone + Workplace Basic (monthly)	Per user	$54	$108	$180
Quo Starter (monthly)	Per user	$57	$114	$190
Google Voice Starter + Workspace Business Starter	Per user	$51	$102	$170
Phone.com Plus (monthly)	Per user	$81	$162	$270

These options are not equal. Grasshopper is a virtual number that forwards calls to cell phones; Talkroute adds texting allowances, menus and (on Pro) recording; Callata adds a shared texting inbox, recording with AI summaries, voicemail triage and optional AI agents. On price alone, Callata costs more than every per-user option in the table except Phone.com Plus at each team size shown. Choose the cheapest one that does what you need.

Hidden costs to budget for

• Texting registration. US carriers require 10DLC registration for business texting from local numbers. Published fees include $19.50 one-time (Grasshopper, Quo, Spruce) plus monthly fees on some services, and $49 one-time on Callata.
• Taxes and regulatory fees. Almost every provider adds them on top of plan prices.
• Extra numbers. Examples: $9 per month on Grasshopper, $5 on Zoom Phone, $5 on Talkroute.
• Add-ons. Call recording ($8 per month on Phone.com Basic and Plus), AI receptionists and SMS bundles.
• Activation fees. Ooma Office lists a one-time $29.95 activation fee.

Cheapest option by must-have feature

Sometimes one feature decides the choice. Here is the lowest published price we found for each, on monthly billing unless noted:

Must-have feature	Cheapest option found	Price
Any business number	Google Voice Basic	$0
Paid support	Google Voice Starter	$10/mo
Toll-free number	Line2 basic second number (local or toll-free)	$9.99/mo
Call recording (one person)	Google Voice Starter	$10/mo
Auto attendant (phone menu)	Phone.com Basic	$18/user
Texting with an AI agent included	Quo Starter	$19/user
Shared number for several people	Grasshopper Solo Plus	$25/mo billed annually
Recording for a team of up to 10	Talkroute Pro	$59/mo
Shared texting inbox, recording with AI summaries and AI agents on one plan	Callata	$99/mo for up to 5 users

Prices change often, and plans differ in limits, so treat this as a starting shortlist and check each vendor's current page before buying.

Free vs cheap: what you give up

Free tiers are useful for testing an idea, but they come with trade-offs:

1. Support. Free plans rarely include business support.
2. Ownership. A free number tied to a personal account can be hard to transfer to a business.
3. Protection. Google notes that paid Starter numbers will not be reclaimed for inactivity.
4. Features. Recording, menus and transcription usually sit on paid plans.

If customers will rely on the number, a $10 to $20 paid plan is cheap insurance.

How to pick the cheapest option that works

Situation	Cheapest sensible choice
Testing an idea alone	Google Voice Basic
Solo, need support and recording	Google Voice Starter ($10)
Solo, want a toll-free number	Line2 Starter ($15.99)
Solo, text-heavy	Sideline or Quo Starter
2-3 people sharing one number, calls forwarded	Grasshopper Solo Plus
Up to 10 people, want texting and menus	Talkroute Plus or Pro
Team that wants shared texting, recording with AI summaries and AI agents on one plan	Callata ($99 for up to 5 users)

Monthly vs annual: when the discount is worth it

Several of the cheapest options quote annual prices: Grasshopper's plans are billed annually, and Line2, Quo and Phone.com all discount annual billing (Line2 saves about 14% on business plans, Quo Starter drops from $19 to $15, Phone.com saves 17%). For a solo business that is sure it will keep the number for a year, annual billing is an easy saving. For a new venture still testing demand, a monthly plan costs a little more but lets you stop paying the month you stop needing it. Many providers also offer money-back windows (Line2 and Phone.com list 30 days), which lowers the risk of trying an annual plan.

Where Callata fits

Callata is not the cheapest number for one person, and it is not the cheapest team system either. At $99 per month for up to five users, plus $20 per additional user, it costs more than every solo option above and more than basic per-user plans like Zoom Phone, Quo Starter and Google Voice at the team sizes shown. What the price buys is a fuller system on one plan: five users included, up to three local numbers, unlimited inbound calling and 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user per month (then $0.01 per minute), a shared texting inbox, call recording with AI summaries, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, business-hours routing and E911. Optional AI agents cost $0.25 per minute. See Callata vs Google Voice and Callata vs Grasshopper.

Related: the best business phone for solo founders and business phone systems without per-user pricing.

Try Callata

If your team has outgrown single-line apps, Callata gives your team calling, shared texting, recording with AI summaries and transcribed voicemail for $99 per month with five users included and $20 per additional user. Create your Callata account.