CallataGuidesGet a local business phone number in Albany, NY
Albany's area codes, prefixes and carriers from NANPA records, and how to put a Albany number in front of your customers.
- Area code
- 518 / 838
- Exchanges
- 229NANPA-assigned
- Carriers
- 49
- Population
- 101,317Census 2024 est.
Area codes in Albany
Albany, in Albany County, New York, had a Census-estimated population of 101,317 in July 2024. NANPA lists 229 exchanges for its rate center across 2 area codes; 518 has the most (200, 87%). 518 is part of an overlay with 838, so a new local number in Albany may carry any of those codes depending on which have numbers available. Albany is in the Eastern time zone.
According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 518 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as ten digits (area code plus number).
Phone carriers in Albany
49 carriers hold the 229 exchanges assigned to Albany's rate center. Verizon New York, INC. has the most, with 51. 161 of them are pooled codes, which the holder shares with other carriers in blocks of 1,000 numbers. Holding a code means NANPA assigned that block of numbers to the carrier for this rate center; individual numbers may since have been ported elsewhere.
| Carrier (NANPA operating company) | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon New York, INC. | 51 | 22% |
| Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless - NY | 44 | 19% |
| New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - DC | 19 | 8.3% |
| Metropcs, INC. | 16 | 7.0% |
| Paetec Itel, LLC | 13 | 5.7% |
| Onvoy, Llc- NY | 9 | 3.9% |
| TC Systems, INC. - NY | 8 | 3.5% |
| Omnipoint Communications, INC. - NY | 7 | 3.1% |
| Level 3 Communications, LLC - NY | 5 | 2.2% |
| Level 3 Telecom of New York, LP - NY | 5 | 2.2% |
| TVC Albany, INC. d/b/a Firstlight Fiber | 4 | 1.7% |
| Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - NY | 3 | 1.3% |
Carrier names are the operating company (OCN) names on NANPA's utilized central office code file dated 10/01/2026. A carrier holding a code may port numbers to other carriers.
Exchanges (NPA-NXX) assigned in Albany
These are the central office codes NANPA records for Albany. A caller seeing one of them recognizes a local number. The earliest assignment date recorded in the file for these codes is 2001. 23 of the 229 were assigned in 2020 or later.
| Area code | Prefixes (NXX) |
|---|---|
| 518 | 207, 209, 210, 221, 225, 227, 229, 242, 248, 253, 256, 257, 258, 259, 262, 264, 265, 269, 275, 281, 292, 300, 301, 312, 320, 322, 330, 331, 337, 339, 340, 343, 349, 360, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 375, 376, 378, 380, 390, 391, 396, 402, 407, 408, 410, 414, 416, 417, 419, 421, 422, 423, 424, 426, 427, 428, 429, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 449, 451, 453, 454, 455, 457, 458, 459, 461, 462, 463, 465, 466, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 482, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 491, 495, 496, 505, 506, 512, 514, 518, 522, 525, 526, 527, 528, 530, 533, 540, 542, 545, 549, 560, 573, 577, 588, 591, 596, 598, 599, 603, 605, 606, 614, 616, 618, 621, 626, 641, 646, 649, 650, 669, 689, 694, 701, 703, 704, 708, 727, 728, 729, 730, 763, 764, 772, 776, 779, 788, 795, 801, 807, 810, 813, 815, 816, 817, 818, 852, 857, 858, 859, 860, 870, 888, 894, 898, 903, 912, 915, 917, 918, 925, 928, 935, 937, 941, 944, 948, 949, 956, 971, 977, 992 |
| 838 | 200, 202, 207, 212, 216, 217, 218, 221, 250, 261, 265, 267, 280, 284, 291, 292, 295, 301, 304, 312, 333, 433, 839, 880, 895, 900, 910, 934, 988 |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file.
When Albany's exchanges were assigned
Assignment dates show when each block of Albany numbers was added to the local supply.
| Decade assigned | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37 | 38% |
| 2010s | 37 | 38% |
| 2020s | 23 | 24% |
Assignment dates as recorded in NANPA's utilized code file; codes without a recorded date are excluded.
How local numbers work in Albany
Phone numbers are tied to a rate center, the local calling area used to decide whether a call is local or toll. Albany's numbers are rated to the ALBANY rate center in NANPA's records. A business number from one of the prefixes above shows up on customers' phones as a Albany number.
New local numbers are drawn from carrier inventory, so the exact 518 numbers available change over time; porting an existing number is free.
The local business market
Albany is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY metro area, home to 913,000 people in 2024. County Business Patterns counted 21,425 business establishments in the Albany, NY metro area in 2023, employing 362,110 people. The largest sectors by establishment count are retail trade (2,879), professional, scientific, and technical services (2,576), and health care and social assistance (2,450).
| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | 803 | 13,920 | 17.3 |
| Limited-service restaurants | 751 | 9,774 | 13.0 |
| Residential remodelers | 478 | 1,411 | 3.0 |
| Physician practices | 451 | 8,922 | 19.8 |
| Law offices | 439 | 3,232 | 7.4 |
| Landscaping services | 386 | 1,473 | 3.8 |
| Dental offices | 317 | 2,653 | 8.4 |
| Insurance agencies and brokerages | 295 | 1,945 | 6.6 |
Selected small-business industries (six-digit NAICS) covered by these guides. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
Business phone service in Albany
Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.
If you already have a number in Albany, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.
Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.
The comparison below uses 17 users, the rounded average establishment size in the Albany, NY metro area. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $424.15 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $510.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. On Callata the same 17 people cost $339.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.
| Provider (plan) | Pricing basis | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callata (Callata Office) | $99 incl. 5 users, $20 per extra user | $339.00 | $4,068.00 |
| Quo (Starter) | $19.00 per user | $323.00 | $3,876.00 |
| Nextiva (Core) | $23.00 per user | $391.00 | $4,692.00 |
| Ooma (Office Pro) | $24.95 per user | $424.15 | $5,089.80 |
| Dialpad (Standard) | $27.00 per user | $459.00 | $5,508.00 |
| RingCentral (RingEX Core) | $30.00 per user | $510.00 | $6,120.00 |
Competitor prices are each vendor's published month-to-month list price per user for its lowest plan that includes business calling and texting, checked September 28, 2026: Quo Starter $19, Nextiva Core $23, Ooma Office Pro $24.95 (Essentials excludes texting; one-time $29.95 activation not included), Dialpad Standard $27, RingCentral RingEX Core $30 ($20 billed annually). Prices exclude taxes and fees and may change; annual contracts lower some competitors' prices.
Frequently asked questions
What area code is Albany, NY?
Albany has exchanges in 518 and 838; 518 has the most.
How many phone companies have exchanges in Albany?
49, holding 229 exchanges between them, according to NANPA's 10/01/2026 file.
Can I keep my existing Albany business number?
Yes. Porting an existing number to Callata is free. Texting from it starts after carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee.
How much is a business phone line in Albany?
Callata is $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user, with up to 3 local numbers; 17 users come to $339.00 a month. For comparison, 17 users on RingCentral RingEX Core list at $510.00 a month (checked September 28, 2026).