· 8 min read
The Best Second Phone Number Apps in 2026, Compared Honestly
A second phone number app gives you a real, dialable number that lives in an app instead of on a SIM card. You keep your personal number for people you trust, and hand out the second one everywhere else: marketplace listings, dating profiles, business cards, signup forms. When the second number outlives its usefulness, you replace it, and your real number never entered circulation.
The apps that do this look similar on the surface and differ enormously in the details: whether services accept the number for verification, what happens to it when you stop paying, and whether you can ever take it with you. This guide compares the seven worth considering and, more importantly, the questions to ask before you commit to any of them.
Why people get a second number
Four situations cover most of it. Selling online: Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and classifieds mean strangers calling you, and a second number keeps your real one out of their contacts. Dating: same logic, with higher stakes; you can share a number early without sharing a permanent line to your life. A work line without a work phone: freelancers and small businesses want customer calls ringing separately, with their own voicemail and hours, on the phone already in their pocket. Signup hygiene: every form that demands a phone number is future spam, and a dedicated number quarantines it. If your need is only receiving one-off verification texts, a full second-number app may be overkill; our guide to temporary phone numbers covers the lighter-weight option.
How we picked
Every app here gives you a real number that can call and text (receive-only services don't qualify), runs on both iOS and Android, has survived long enough to trust with a number you'll print on things, and states its pricing model plainly. We note VoIP-acceptance honestly for each: all app numbers are VoIP numbers, and some services reject VoIP ranges for verification, a limitation of the category rather than any single app. Our guide to receiving SMS online explains why that blocking exists.
1. Google Voice
The default answer for anyone in the US who wants a free second line. You get a real US number that calls, texts, and voicemails through the app or browser, with transcription included. Its limits define it: US-only signup, one number per account, and Google reclaims numbers after extended inactivity. It's also the least "second number" of these apps in spirit, since it wants to integrate with your Google identity rather than wall itself off from it.
Where it wins: free, reliable infrastructure, browser access, voicemail transcription. Where it hurts: US-only, single number, reclamation policy, no anonymity from Google itself. Pricing: free for personal use. Best for: a permanent free second line for US users who want function over privacy.
2. Burner
The category-namer, built around the idea that numbers are disposable. Creating and destroying ("burning") numbers is the core loop, so it's the natural pick for short-lived use: a listing, a trip, a project. Subscriptions get you longer-lived lines, but the product's soul is the quick single-purpose number.
Where it wins: fastest create-and-destroy flow, multiple simultaneous numbers, clean separation from your identity. Where it hurts: subscription pricing for what casual users might need rarely, and burned numbers are genuinely gone. Pricing: subscription, with short trial lines. Best for: selling online and any use where the number should expire with the errand.
3. Hushed
Burner's closest competitor, usually the value pick. Numbers in the US, Canada, and UK, with prepaid and pay-as-you-go options that suit occasional use better than a rolling subscription. International number availability makes it interesting if your second number needs a different country attached; pair it with our country dialing guides if you're picking a foreign number deliberately.
Where it wins: prepaid options for light use, non-US numbers, one-time-purchase lines. Where it hurts: call quality reports vary more than the majors, and support is thinner. Pricing: prepaid packages and subscriptions. Best for: occasional users who resent subscriptions, and anyone needing a UK or Canadian line.
4. Sideline
Positioned as the work line: your second number gets business features like auto-replies, scheduled availability, and team sharing. It leans on carrier-grade calling rather than pure VoIP where it can, which helps reliability on weak data connections.
Where it wins: business texting features, solid call reliability, feels like a phone line rather than an app trick. Where it hurts: US-focused, subscription-only, overkill for casual privacy use. Pricing: per-line subscription. Best for: solo businesses that want a professional line on a personal phone.
5. OpenPhone
The step up when the second number is really a business phone system in waiting. Shared inboxes, contact notes, integrations, and multiple numbers per workspace. It's a team product that happens to work fine for one person, and it's the natural graduation path when a Sideline-style line starts needing collaborators.
Where it wins: real business features, clean apps, scales from one person to a team. Where it hurts: costs more than personal-tier apps, and setup assumes business intent. Pricing: per-seat subscription. Best for: small businesses that will eventually have more than one person answering.
6. TextNow
The free option with the visible trade-off: ads pay for your number. As a second number for low-stakes use it's hard to argue with free, but the number recycling that funds the free tier means a line can be reassigned after inactivity, and TextNow ranges are among the most widely blocked for verification because free numbers attract abuse. Our TextNow alternatives guide covers the escape routes when those limits bite.
Where it wins: genuinely free, unlimited US/Canada calling and texting. Where it hurts: ads, aggressive number recycling, frequent verification rejection. Pricing: free with ads; paid tiers remove ads and add stability. Best for: low-stakes second numbers where free matters more than reliability.
7. Line2
A long-running second-line service that sits between the personal apps and the business systems: a clean second number with calling, texting, and voicemail, without the disposal features of Burner or the team features of OpenPhone. Its pitch is being a normal, boring, stable phone line.
Where it wins: simplicity, stability, no feature clutter. Where it hurts: little reason to pick it over rivals on price or features alone; it wins on temperament. Pricing: subscription. Best for: people who want exactly one extra line, permanently, with nothing clever about it.
What to check before you commit
Four questions separate a good choice from a locked-in regret:
- Will services accept it for verification? All of these are VoIP numbers, and banks, government portals, and some platforms reject VoIP ranges outright. If receiving verification codes is the main job, test with the specific services you care about during a trial period, and read our guide to free virtual phone numbers for which number types get accepted where.
- What happens when you stop paying? Most apps reclaim the number quickly after a lapsed subscription, and reclaimed numbers get reassigned. Any account still tied to that number for two-factor authentication becomes someone else's to receive codes for.
- Can you port the number out? Porting support is the difference between renting and owning. If the number will appear on business cards or listings, confirm the app supports porting to another provider before you print anything.
- How long do you actually need it? A number for one marketplace sale and a number for a five-year side business are different products. Disposable-first apps (Burner, Hushed) and permanence-first apps (Google Voice, OpenPhone, Line2) sit at opposite ends, and picking the wrong end costs you either money or continuity.
At a glance
| App | Free tier | Multiple numbers | Non-US numbers | Porting out | Personality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Voice | Yes | No | No | Yes | Permanent free line |
| Burner | Trial | Yes | No | Limited | Disposable-first |
| Hushed | Trial | Yes | US/CA/UK | Limited | Prepaid value |
| Sideline | No | Per line | No | Yes | Work line |
| OpenPhone | No | Yes | US/CA | Yes | Business system |
| TextNow | Yes | No | No | Limited | Free with ads |
| Line2 | No | Per line | No | Yes | Stable and plain |
How to choose by use case
Selling something this week: Burner or Hushed; the number should die with the listing. Dating: Burner or Hushed for the same reason, with the option to keep the line if things go well. Free permanent second line (US): Google Voice, accepting the reclamation rules. A business line: Sideline to start, OpenPhone when someone else needs to answer too. Tightest budget: TextNow, for anything where a recycled number wouldn't hurt you. And if what you really need is to make cheap calls rather than own a number, a different tool fits better: see how to call from your computer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a second phone number app for bank verification? Often not. Banks are the strictest category for VoIP rejection, and even apps whose numbers usually pass verification can fail with specific banks. Keep banking tied to your real carrier number.
Do second number apps work without a SIM card? Yes for the app's own number: calls and texts run over the internet, so a WiFi-only device works. Most apps still require an existing real number or email at signup for account verification.
What happens to my second number if I delete the app? Deleting the app doesn't cancel the subscription or release the number, but letting the subscription lapse does. The number returns to the pool and is eventually reassigned, along with anything still pointing at it.
Can I have two numbers on one phone without an app? Yes, with dual SIM or eSIM: a second real carrier line on the same phone. It costs more than an app but gives you a real mobile number that passes every verification check. The app route wins on price and disposability; the eSIM route wins on acceptance.
Are second phone number apps anonymous? Not against the provider or a legal request: the company knows who you are from payment and signup data. They're private in the practical sense that strangers, marketplaces, and databases only ever see the second number.