Vanity phone numbers are a great way to market your brand and encourage customer calls by making your business number more memorable—examples such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK, 1-800-FLOWERS and JG Wentworth’s famous 877-CASH-NOW show how recognizable vanity numbers are.
Here’s everything you need to know about vanity phone numbers and how to get one.
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What Is a Vanity Phone Number?
A vanity phone number uses the number’s digits to spell out a word or phrase such as the company’s name or an associated term. This makes the business phone number easier to market and easier for customers to recognize. For example, in vanity numbers such as 1-877-KARS-4-KIDS and 1-800-CONTACTS, the easy-to-remember slogan or company name boosts brand recognition.
Vanity numbers are usually toll-free, but this isn’t always the case.
How To Get a Vanity Phone Number for Your Small Business
Most cloud-based voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) systems make it easy to get vanity phone numbers for your business directly from the admin portal. They typically cost around $5 monthly, in addition to the provider’s monthly VoIP service subscription, which can range from $15 to $30 monthly per user.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to get a vanity phone number:
1. Choose a VoIP Provider
If you currently use a landline or don’t have a business phone system, I recommend trying out a cloud-based VoIP phone system to get vanity numbers. Most VoIP providers offer a wide selection of vanity numbers, enabling you to easily and quickly assign them to users on the account.
VoIP is entirely cloud-based and requires just a smartphone or computer, so you don’t need to purchase any new hardware. A VoIP subscription typically costs around $20 monthly per user for unlimited calling. Some of the most cost-effective providers for vanity numbers include RingCentral, OpenPhone, Grasshopper and Dialpad.
2. Search for and Choose a Vanity Number
When signing up for a VoIP phone system, some providers let you choose a vanity phone number in lieu of a regular virtual business number. In this case, the setup process guides you through searching and choosing a vanity number from any available 10-digit codes.
However many providers reserve vanity numbers as an add-on and only give you a regular DID number when signing up. In this case, your administrator can search and purchase vanity numbers from the admin portal for around $5 monthly per number.
Many VoIP phone systems let you choose a vanity number when signing up, substituting it for your regular virtual number.
3. Assign the Number to a User
Once you’ve purchased a vanity number, you can use the admin portal to assign it to any user on your account. Once assigned, the number is available to make and receive calls immediately. Agents can place calls directly from their dashboard on mobile or computer, and you can switch each number’s assigned user at any time.
If you plan to use your vanity number mainly for customer-service use cases, you can assign it to an IVR menu that automatically greets inbound callers. IVR menus give customers dial-pad options to indicate which user or department they’d like to reach, streamlining your customer support system.
Once you’ve added a vanity number, you can assign it to any users on your account from the admin portal.
Best Providers for a Vanity Number
Generally, cloud-based VoIP providers are the best option for getting a vanity number because of their variety and simple sign-up process. Considering the price, number selection and overall value, I recommend RingCentral, Dialpad, Grasshopper and OpenPhone as the best VoIP providers for a vanity phone number.
RingCentral
One of our top-rated VoIP systems, RingCentral offers the ability to add a vanity phone number to your cloud-based phone service. Existing customers must pay a one-time $30 fee and a setup fee of $4.99 monthly per vanity number.
However, RingCentral allows new users to choose from a local phone number, toll-free or vanity number included with their account. Starting at $30 monthly per user, RingCentral is pricier than other VoIP platforms, but it offers a great phone system and multichannel team collaboration features.
Learn more: Read our full RingCentral review.
Dialpad
Dialpad offers vanity phone numbers as part of its plans—including on its cheapest Standard plan, which costs $27 per user per month when billed monthly. Beyond vanity numbers, Dialpad’s VoIP plans include some of the most advanced features we’ve found, including real-time analytics and AI call transcription.
Learn more: Read our full Dialpad review.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper is a cost-effective and user-friendly VoIP phone system that allows you to choose between a toll-free, vanity or local number as your primary phone number when signing up. The provider’s cloud phone service starts at $18 monthly, while higher-tier plans add extensions that let you share numbers between multiple users.
Learn more: Read our full Grasshopper review.
OpenPhone
OpenPhone is a low-cost VoIP service with plans starting at $19 monthly per user. You can substitute a vanity number for a local phone number and include it with your monthly rate or add vanity numbers for $5 each per month.
OpenPhone offers unique value with its number-sharing capabilities, enabling multiple teammates to call and send texts from the same number. Users can also handle multiple numbers simultaneously, jumping between them with one click. This means your users can manage regular and vanity numbers, and you can split a vanity number between multiple users.
Learn more: Read our full OpenPhone review.
Benefits of a Vanity Phone Number
A vanity phone number can help set your business apart from competitors for a number of reasons. We’re highlighting two of the key factors.
Built-In Marketing
Some of the most successful vanity phone numbers are those that the average person can recite from memory, making this tool so valuable when marketing your company.
If you can think of a vanity phone number that conveys your business—either by name or by industry—you can more easily market your company in distributable materials. Adding your vanity phone number to a billboard or a flyer will help someone remember your brand in a snappy way.
Boost Memorability
Speaking of helping potential or previous customers remember your phone number, a vanity phone number helps folks remember how to contact you, even if a significant amount of time has passed. This competitive advantage will help to set you apart from other businesses with a generic phone number.
Case in point: You’re more likely to remember 1-800-FLOWERS than 1-800-356-9377.
Featured Partners
1
Zoom
$10 per user per month, $15 unlimited calling
U.S. and Canada
Unlimited in the U.S. and Canada
2
Intermedia Unite
$27.99 per user
Voice, SMS, Team chat, Video meetings
33 countries, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Hong Kong, Italy and India
3
Vonage
$19.95 per user, per month
Yes
Yes
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I need a vanity phone number for my small business?
No, opting for a vanity phone number for your business is not required. But the benefits of having one—from marketing benefits to brand recognition—can go a long way toward making your business a staple in the minds of your customers.
Are there any drawbacks to having a vanity phone number?
While having a vanity phone number is generally a positive for your business, a few drawbacks include the additional cost of adding a vanity number to your phone service or VoIP provider, the potential difficulty for customers to remember how to spell your number, customers misdialing your number and another company selecting a vanity number very similar to yours.
What’s a local vanity phone number?
If you’re looking to target your business’s local market with your vanity phone number, it’s often possible to use your area code, depending on your provider. Not only will your business be more recognizable with a catchy vanity number, but the local area code will also help to build customer trust.
