10 Best Burner Phone Number Apps (Free and Paid)

Having a burner phone or secondary number can help you sign up for various services without jeopardizing your privacy. They are a must-have on foreign trips as they can save you on roaming costs abroad. In this article, let’s look at all the easy ways to add aburner phonenumber to your smartphone using mobile apps on Android and iPhone.

1. Burner

Possibly the best-known name for virtual phone numbers. Burner offers a secondary line for calling and texting without having to pay your carrier for a second connection. It provides a disposable VOIP phone number (with a local area code) that you can use for dating, dodging salespeople, online shopping, or selling items on Craigslist.

You don’t have to carry a second device since you can call, text, and manage your contacts from within the app. You can createmultiple private phone numbers, keep them as long as you want, or ‘burn’ them anytime. Burner is free to download and comes with a 7-day trial period. It intercepts incoming calls and routes them to your cell for privacy while keeping your primary phone number anonymous. Integrations with various cloud storage services allow you to archive text messages and voicemails.

Calls made through Burner show up on your phone bill as calls between your Burner number and your personal number. The end numbers you are calling through Burner are not shown. Incoming calls show up as calls from your Burner number, and additional numbers are available through an in-app subscription. All in all, it’s one of the bestburner phonenumber apps out there.ProsConsCustom voicemail greetingCalls count against your cellular phone planEasily block contactsPricier than competitionDo not disturb modeSupport call forwarding and texting

Pricing:7-day trial, Paid plans start at $4.99/month for 1 line

2. Grasshopper

Grasshopper is another great app that adds a business line and virtual phone system to your personal phone. One of the largest companies in the enterprise virtual telephone market, Grasshopper is aimed largely at small businesses. It offers standard features like Caller ID, customautomated greetings, and multiple extensionsthat allow companies to sound more professional without spending a fortune. The Grasshopper app is available on Windows, Android, and iOS, with support available 24/7.

Grasshopper offers users a full, virtual phone system at a relatively affordable price. The app offers vanity numbers, toll-free numbers, as well as standard-issue local numbers for several cities around the US. You can alsoport an existing business or virtual numberto Grasshopper for free. Some notable features of this virtual phone number app include access to your complete call history, voicemail transcription, on-hold music, call forwarding, and more. The app also offers a 7-day trial to try it out before paying.ProsConsAvailable on desktops and mobileMore expensive than the competitionVoicemail transcriptionsNot meant for personal useMultiple extensions for each numberCustom greetingsSimultaneous call handlingVirtual fax

Pricing:7-day free trial, Plans start at $26/month billed annually

3. Hushed

Another established secondary phone number app, Hushed works much like the Burner app, but it offers burner numbers for 40 countries. That’s in addition to local numbers from over 300 area codes in the US, Canada, and the UK. The app lets youmake and receive calls and messageson your Hushed number, and your activity is kept separate from your real number from your carrier. You can get a second phone number, add different numbers, and manage multiple lines within the app.Image: Google Play Store

Hushed offers flexible short-term or long-term subscriptions, prepaid plans, or pay-as-you-go plans starting at $1.99 / month. You can access your Hushed number(s) from anywhere in the world using a WiFi/data connection. Like Burner, Hushed also lets you add custom voicemail greetings and comes with call forwarding, auto-replay, and a plethora of other features.Local calling is availableon all Hushed numbers. SMS and MMS are available in select countries. You can even opt for a 30 Day Worldwide package for International calling and SMS.

Pricing:3-day trial, Paid plans start at $1.99/month for 1 line

4. MightyCall

MightyCall is another virtual phone number app aimed at businesses, for the most part. It advertises itself as the best alternative to Grasshopper, and one quick look at its features tells you why. Like the aforementioned app, MightyCall offersvanity numbers,toll-free numbers, as well as standard local numbers. You also get multiple extension support for each number, custom automated greetings, premium (EV) SSL certificates with 256-bit encryption, and other features you have come to expect in this sector.

A VoIP + CRM service designed for small businesses, MightyCall offers slightly more affordable rates than Grasshopper. Prices start at $29.99/ month inclusive of taxes, while for $49.99 flat, the company offers five virtual numbers (local or toll-free) with unlimited users. Of course, MightyCall also has a 7-day trial period that lets you try its service before you pay up. Meanwhile, other features of this virtual phone number app include conference calling, call queue,voicemail transcriptions, webphone, softphone & desk phone support, social media tracking, international calls, and more.ProsConsCall recording supportCalls count against your cellular phone plan voice allowanceVoicemail transcriptionPricier than competitionMake and receive calls from PC using a softphoneAffordable than Grasshopper

Pricing:7-day free trial, paid plans start at $29.99/month

5. Line2

Unlike the other apps on this list, Line2 is a business-oriented service that offers additional features for enterprise users. Extra features includeconference calls, auto-attendants, and toll-free numbers for global customers. The app offers unlimited VoIP calls and texts across the United States and Canada. Users also get free calls and messaging with other Line2 users. There’s also an auto-attendant feature that allows users to guide their customers to the right call queues like sales and support. You also get on-hold music and pre-recorded call greetings.

Line2 is a cross-platform app that works across mobile (Android, iOS) and desktops (Windows, Mac). It enables users to set upmultiple business lineson their existing phones and gain essential business features without buying new hardware. It also lets you add, remove, or change a business line by simply contacting the support team. Users also get screening and blocking options for each call.

Overall, Line2 is one of the best burner phone number apps to keep your business and personal communications separate. It also eliminates the need to purchase and carry a second mobile phone.ProsConsDedicated plans for business useExpensiveSupports cellular voice, Wi-Fi, and dataAlso available on desktop (Windows and Mac)

Pricing:Starts at $14.99/month

6. CoverMe

CoverMe is one of the best, most privacy-oriented burner phone number apps you can use. It differentiates itself from competitors by providing features likedisappearing messages, encrypted messages, anonymous SMS, etc. It also lets you hide text messages, private call logs, and personal contacts with a shake-to-lock feature. Yeah, you simply shake the phone to lock your private messages away from prying eyes. Everything is end-to-end encrypted on CoverMe, claims the company.

CoverMe Private Messenger provides you with a US or Canadian phone number to hide your primary number for anonymous texts and voice calls. It offerssecondary phone numbers with various area codes, perfect for business, online dating apps, and any other scenarios for enhanced privacy. It lets you make secure, anonymous phone calls to the US, Canada, and China with a disposable second phone line over the Internet (VoIP). The best part is that your call logs won’t show up on your phone bill. You can also change the disposable phone number at any time, making this one of the best burner phone number apps on this list.

Pricing:7-day trial, Paid plans start at $7.99/month or $28.99/6-months

7. Dingtone

The next app on the list is called Dingtone. The interface is simple, actionable, and easy to use. Dingtone is a freevirtual phone number app and offers super affordable in-app purchases too starting from as low as $1.99 per month. You can create afree US burner phone numberwith this application.

International calls and texts are free for the most part, bringing support to over 230 countries to the table. However, to bring the best out of the app, you will need to purchase one of the premium plans. Even more affordable than the competition.

In addition, you can alsorecord your calls and mail themover for safekeeping. Bonus features also include call forwarding, Walkie Talkie mode, call block, voicemail, and more. There are a whole lot of features than what meets the eye. Overall, this indeed is easily one of the best burner number apps for your Android or iOS device.ProsConsCan be used for freeCall quality is averagePaid plans are affordableFaces connection issues at timesIntegration with Google Calendar and Google Meet24×7 supportCall forwarding

Pricing:Free, Paid plans start from $1.99/month

8. Cloud SIM

One of the newer burner phone number apps, Cloud SIM, allows you to create and add multiple phone numbers to your smartphone. You can haveup to 4 extra numbersfrom the UK, Poland, Canada, France, and the US. With Cloud SIM, you can make or receive international phone calls to and from mobiles and landlines. The app lets you choose your connection type and set up your calls over a GSM network or the Internet. It ensures you never have to worry about bad reception or call drops.

Cloud SIM comes with a number of noteworthy features, including personalized voicemails on each profile and the ability to customize each profile to your liking. You can also decide when you are available or away, thanks to the ‘Do not Disturb’ feature.

Overall, it is one of the best apps for virtual phone numbers, whether you are selling an item online or meeting clients and signing up for a dating service. You can even create an international number for when you are traveling or chatting with friends overseas.ProsConsAffordable pay-as-you-go plansCalls count against your cellular phone plan voice allowanceDedicated voicemail for each separate numberInternational callingDo Not Disturb feature

Pricing:Starts at 1.2¢/minute for voice calls and 5¢/message for texts

9. 2ndLine

Like Line2, 2ndLine is also a full-featured business phone app that offers a burner phone number. It offers an ad-supported free numberwith local calling and texting, but the paid version removes the ads and offers premium features. The free version of 2ndLine will recycle your number after a period of inactivity.

With 2ndLine, you can download the app, pick a virtual phone number, and immediately accessunlimited calling and textingfrom an additional line on your phone. Available in the US and Canada, the app offers unlimited local talk and text services, as well as affordable rates for international connections.

Unlike most of the other apps on this list, 2ndLine isavailable only on Android, with no word on the availability of an iOS version. 2ndLine is a VoIP service that uses your data or Wi-Fi connection instead of your cellular network to provide you with an additional line. Calls and texts made or received using 2ndLine do not show up on your device’s regular phone bill. The service also offers voicemail that shows up in your conversations as an audio file. You can click ‘Play’ to playback your voicemail messages.ProsCalls and texts don’t show up on the phone billFree version availableOnly available on AndroidCalls and texts don’t show up on phone billCalls and texts don’t show up on the phone billCall-forwarding supportOn-device voicemailVoicemail transcription

Pricing:Free; Paid plans start at $2.49

10. Google Voice

Moving on, we have Google Voice. It is one of the oldest virtual phone number apps that has been around for the better part of the last decade. Google Voice is a virtual telephone service that offers voicemail, text, and voice messaging. It works on both smartphones and computers and syncs across all your devices.

Google Voice numbers work on smartphones and the web, so you can place and receive calls from anywhere. The service offers a truckload of features, including voicemail transcription,AI-powered spam blocking, call forwarding, and more.

Google Voice provides advanced voicemail transcriptions that you can read in the app or have them sent to your email. You can also use the service to make international calls at competitive rates without paying extra for international calls. However, calls made using Google Voice for Android can also be placed through a Google Voice access number, which uses your carrier’s cellular network. Hence, it counts against your voice allowance as well. Google Voice is currently only available in the US, while Google Voice for Google Workspace can be accessed in select countries.ProsConsVoicemail transcriptionExpensivePBX configurationCalls count against cellular voice allowanceIntegration with Google Calendar and Google Meet24×7 supportCall forwarding

Pricing:Starts at $10 per user per month

Realistically, you cannot go wrong with any of the apps mentioned in the list. Just make sure you carefully read the list of all the features, and settle with the one that suits your needs the best. If we still had to pick, Burner and Grasshopper are great services, but you won’t have any issues with Dingtone, Hushed, or MightyCall.

Do you know of any other Burner phone number apps that you think are worth including? Let us know in the comments below.

Abubakar Mohammed

Abubakar covers Tech on Beebom. Hailing from a Computer Science background, the start of his love for Tech dates back to 2011, when he was gifted a Dell Inspiron 5100. When he’s not covering Tech, you’ll find him binge-watching anime and Tech content on YouTube, hunting heads in competitive FPS games, or exploring Teyvat in Genshin Impact. He has previously worked for leading publications such as Fossbytes, How-To Geek, and Android Police.

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