CLOUD PHONE • CALLING AND MOBILITY
Toll-free number
Get an 800 number, 1800 number or other toll-free numbers from RingCentral
Written by Roman Tobe
Director, Product Marketing
Reviewed by Esther Yoon
VP, Product & Industry Marketing
Updated: 14 August 2024
The worst thing you can do as a business is to put barriers between you and your customers. Making it expensive to call you is doing just that, and is why a toll-free number can be crucial for companies that care about customer experience.
RingCentral makes it quick and easy to get toll-free numbers—be they 800 numbers, 1800 numbers, or others—that help you stay connected to your customers.
What is a toll-free number?
What are toll-free numbers exactly? Maybe you’ve come across the term before but you’re unsure of the precise toll-free number meaning, or you want to find out more about how toll-free numbers work.
A toll-free number is a phone number that’s free for callers. The person placing the call doesn’t have to pay a thing. Instead, the call is charged to the recipient or owner of that number. In other words, companies are essentially paying for customers to call them.
Using a toll-free business phone number is a great way of encouraging people to call and engage with your company, ask questions or get advice. It also boosts your business’ reputation, giving you a professional appearance and creating the impression that you are a large, national company instead of using local numbers.
800 Number vs 1800 number for business: Understanding toll-free number prefixes
When people talk about toll-free numbers, they often call them 800 numbers or 1800 numbers. So, what’s the difference? In short, there isn’t one, it’s just two ways of describing the same thing.
Like other numbers, toll-free telephone numbers have a single digit national identifier. The USA’s is “1”. What follows that initial number is a three-digit prefix. This prefix can be an area code—specific to a geographic region—or, a prefix which reveals the type of number.
There are a number of toll-free number prefixes which let people know that their calls will be free, and which are easy to remember. By far the most popular and recognizable is “800”.
In the US, then, toll-free business numbers mainly start with 1-800, where 1 is the country code and 800 is the free national prefix. If you’re calling within the USA, however, you don’t need to include the “1” country identifier at the start.
Thus, an 800 number and a 1800 number is one and the same—a US toll-free number with the most common and oldest three-digit prefix. There are other prefixes that also denote toll-free numbers, too.
Beyond 800 numbers: Other toll-free prefixes
Toll-free numbers have only existed since 1967. They were first introduced by AT&T as a way to cut down on “collect calls” which required a live operator and were, therefore, both labor- and cost-intensive.
In the early years, all toll-free numbers used the 800 prefix. As time passed, however, demand for the numbers grew and a further six prefixes have now come into use for toll-free numbers.
Today, toll-free numbers in the US may also start with 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833. 844 was the most recently released prefix, in 2017, and there are also nine further prefixes that have been reserved for use as toll-free numbers in future.
Outside of the USA, toll-free numbers are equally popular with businesses and organizations. Often, the format and prefixes of the numbers are fairly similar the world over. For example:
- Mexico uses the same 800 prefix, but with 52 as the country code.
- 0800 is the most recognizable toll-free number prefix in the UK, with 0808 close behind
- 1800 denotes toll-free numbers in Australia
- In France, it’s either 0800 or 0805
- Germany used to use 0130, but more recently switched to 0800. 0801 has also been reserved for future use.
The different types of toll-free numbers
So, you’ve got an idea of what numbers are toll-free, but there are also different types of toll-free numbers.
There are your standard toll-free numbers, which are the ones starting with the 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833 prefixes, followed by seven further digits. This is the most common type of toll-free number and offers an easy, cost-free way for customers to reach US businesses.
Vanity toll-free numbers spell out the name of your company or a keyword relevant to you, such as 1-800-FOOD. Using a custom business phone number makes it instantly recognizable, easy to remember, and helps your business stand out from the crowd.
Local toll-free numbers allow you to have a presence in a local area, using a familiar area code to create a sense of community connection while still being toll-free for callers within that region.
For businesses with an international presence, international toll-free numbers allow customers from different countries to call without incurring international charges. This means no matter where your customers are in the world, there is always a way for them to get in touch with you free of charge.
How do toll-free numbers work?
Using business toll-free numbers is a straightforward process for your customers—making a toll-free call is no different from making any other. It takes just a matter of moments and ensures that only the owner of the toll-free number is charged for the call. Let’s take a closer look at how toll-free numbers work:
Dialing the toll-free number
Just like a regular call, to make a toll-free call, all your customers have to do is dial the number on their phone or device to get started.
Routing the call
Calls will be routed through the local telephone network where the SMS/800 (Service Management System) database will identify the responsible toll-free number providers.
Forwarding to the destination
Once the carrier has been identified, the system will then forward the call to the relevant phone line provided by the business that owns the toll-free number. This can be a landline, mobile phone, or VoIP line, depending on the setup chosen by the business.
Taking the call
Your customer’s toll-free call is then connected to you and you can carry out your conversation.
Benefits of a toll-free number for business
If you’re wondering if you should get a toll-free number, you’ll want to learn more about the many benefits it brings to your business. To help you make a decision, we’ve put together a list of the key advantages below:
There’s no denying that companies with toll-free numbers appear more credible and trustworthy.
At a basic level, the fact that you’re offering free, accessible customer service will reassure customers that they’re not being scammed. It will give them the knowledge and comfort they need to invest in your company.
On a psychological level, too, toll-free and especially 800 numbers for business help create an even greater sense of credibility.
While a toll-free number is more accessible today, in years gone by they were typically only owned and operated by the largest organizations. Having one, therefore, can still instill a sense of scale and trustworthiness in the minds of your customers.
Using may give you a sense of familiarity and a local presence, but it can put off customers calling from outside that area. A 1800 number for business doesn’t have that limitation.
Rather, a toll-free national or international number gives your callers peace of mind that you are an established business, and they won’t have to worry about any international call charges.
Being able to create this professional image is an important benefit no matter what size business you are, and gives you credibility as you start to scale up.
Beyond this, it’s also possible to use local toll-free numbers to specifically target new audiences in certain areas. If you get a virtual local toll-free number from a VoIP provider like RingCentral, you can build a local presence in areas where you don’t have a physical premises and make it free for customers in those areas to call you.
All of the above are general benefits of any toll-free number. Many modern businesses choose to set up and use virtual toll-free numbers offered by VoIP providers like RingCentral.
These virtual toll-free numbers offer a few notable further advantages:
Greater flexibility
With a virtual toll-free number, you can receive calls on almost any device that can connect to the internet. No longer are toll-free calls from your customers only able to be answered in the office. You can pick them up on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, and more.
Cost-efficiency
By setting up a toll-free number, you’re committing to shouldering the cost of calls so your customers don’t have to. That doesn’t mean, however, that you want to pay more than you have to.
VoIP providers can include a number of toll-free call minutes as part of an affordable monthly subscription. Even if you do choose to add additional numbers or a greater number of minutes, charges are usually more reasonable than with a traditional phone system.
How to get a toll-free number
Now you’ve got the answer to “what is a toll-free number?”, your next question is likely to be “how to get a toll-free number for my business?”. There are a few steps involved if you want to get a toll-free number for business inquiries, so let’s take a look at what you need to do:
Responsible Organizations manage the assignment, distribution, and routing of toll-free numbers.
Research toll-free number providers and ensure they are certified Responsible Organizations, making sure they meet your needs in terms of features, pricing, scalability, customer service, and so on. They should be able to answer any questions you may have about how to get a toll-free number for your business.
Now you’re signed up with a Responsible Organization, it’s time to choose your toll-free number. Your initial instinct may be that you want an 800 number for business use, but don’t neglect the other prefixes. They may not be quite as recognizable but there are generally more of them to go around.
Providers may offer a selection of standard toll-free numbers, or you can work with them on a custom vanity number aligned to your business’ branding. The best toll-free number service for small businesses will make sure you’re happy with the number before setting it up.
As soon as you’ve got the right number for you, the Responsible Organization will reserve the selected number with the SMS/800 Toll-Free Number Registry and ensure the number can only be used by your business.
Once the Responsible Organization has activated your toll-free number, you can start testing and checking that any call routing, transfers and other features are working correctly.
If everything is working as it should, now is the time to go live and wait for the calls to roll in!
Your toll-free number provider should help you manage the line long-term by updating call routing as needed, ensuring compliance with the FCC, adding new features, and whatever else you need.
The above are the steps to take to get a new toll-free number. What if, though, you’ve already got a 1800 number for business use and want to keep it but change your phone provider?
Fortunately, FCC rules mean toll-free numbers have to be portable. That means you can move numbers from one Responsible Organization to another, if desired.
You can port any toll-free number into RingCentral, but it is advisable to check any agreements with your current provider first.
RingCentral makes getting toll-free numbers easy
Wondering how to get a toll-free number for your business with the minimum of fuss. RingCentral’s got you covered. When you sign up, you get a virtual number free of charge as part of your subscription, and can choose a toll-free alternative if you like.
What’s more, it couldn’t be simpler to add extra RingCentral toll-free numbers too. All you need to do is:
- Head to your RingCentral online account, got to the Home Page > Phone Number > Add Number
- Under Number Type choose the Toll-Free Number option, select from the available numbers listed, and select Add Numbers and then Next.
- Decide how to assign the number, with options including assigning it to as a company number or to a specific extension.
- Review the details of the transaction, click the checkbox to acknowledge and authorize any charges, and then select Next.
It’s as easy as that.
RingCentral offers a variety of toll-free numbers so customers can phone your business free of charge.
You can choose the instantly recognizable 800 number prefix or choose from 888, 877, 866, 855, and 844 numbers. You can also create a custom vanity phone number to reinforce your company branding. Vanity numbers often spell out words, such as 1-800-GREAT-BIZ, making them easier for you and your customers to remember.
RingCentral numbers are competitively priced, so you can use them for all of your business needs. Minute bundles range from 1,000- to 100,000-minute sets to satisfy even the highest-volume users. Additional minutes are available for automatic purchase.
Why choose RingCentral as your toll-free number service:
When you sign up with RingCentral you get a lot more than just the best toll-free number service. RingEX is a holistic unified communications solution that can help you boost productivity across your teams and which works seamlessly with RingCX, an omnichannel contact center solution.
That said, RingCentral still excels as a toll-free number provider, too:
- Choose a unique phone number from RingCentral's large inventory or create your own custom vanity 1800 number.
- Reinforce brand recognition with 800-number services. Make it easier for prospects and customers to remember your company phone number.
- Increase marketing effectiveness by adding an easy-to-recall vanity 1800 number on billboards and online advertising.
- Your vanity number can be used for both voice calls and faxing.
- Gain national reach with 800 numbers to instantly expand your business with minimal additional overhead.
- Reduce sales barriers by offering toll-free service—prospects and customers can call your company from anywhere in North America without incurring toll charges.
- Assign a dedicated 800 number for the duration of a marketing campaign, so target customers can reach you directly and you can better track campaign success.
- Never miss an important customer call. You can route calls to your numbers anywhere in the world at any time. When you’re traveling, you can set answering rules to send calls to your smartphone, any office location, or even several devices at once.
Toll-free numbers FAQs:
Yes, you can make calls to anywhere in the world. You can also forward your calls to any international number. Callers located outside of North America cannot call you using your toll-free numbers.
Your RingCentral service plan bundles a set number of 1800 minutes in your RingCentral account. If you exceed your bundle limit, additional minutes can be purchased automatically. You can always change your bundle quantity to meet your business requirements.
Customers are never charged when using a 1800 number from anywhere in North America. The owner of the number bears the cost of the call.
No. There's no charge when you choose to display your company name and phone number as your caller ID.
Yes. You can easily and seamlessly transfer a toll-free number you already own to your RingCentral account. RingCentral has provisioning relationships with many major telephony companies. As a RingCentral customer, you can go online and start the transfer yourself, or we can walk through the process together.
You can search for an available 800 vanity number from our large inventory of numbers. When you find the one you want, you can request it from RingCentral. There’s a setup fee for each vanity number.
Yes. As long as you have paid for at least one month of RingCentral service, you can do a number transfer. To transfer your number away from RingCentral, you will need to have your new service provider initiate the number-porting process. Your RingCentral account must be active when the transfer request comes from your new provider.
Yes, you can use your toll-free numbers for texting. However, in order to do so, they must be “verified”. Fortunately, you can complete toll-free number verification for SMS free of charge and in only about 15 minutes.
The verification process simply entails providing some basic information, including a contact name, legal company name, and other straightforward details. Your toll-free number remains active and usable for calls throughout the verification process.
In a nutshell, for customers, a toll-free number means they can call you without getting charged for the call. You shoulder any costs for the inbound calls to the toll-free number instead.
So, it means that your business appears—and is— more accessible to your customers. That’s likely to improve your brand image and encourage a higher number of interactions with both existing and potential customers.
When you sign up to a RingCentral RingEX plan, you get one dedicated phone number for calls, texts, and more at no additional charge. If you want to add additional toll-free numbers, you can do so for an affordable $4.99 per month per number.
You get a bundle of toll-free minutes as part of each RingEX plan, too—100 for the Core plan, 1000 for Advanced, and 10,000 for Ultra. These are pooled across the account regardless of the number of toll-free numbers you have. You can, however, purchase additional minutes as and when required.