What is a virtual phone number?
A virtual phone number is a real number that anyone can dial, but it is not tied to a particular SIM card, handset or building. It lives on our network, and you decide where incoming calls and messages should go.
That is what lets you hold a London number while working from Tallinn, or run a single support line answered by a team spread across several countries.
How does it work?
When someone calls your virtual number, the call reaches our platform first. The platform checks the routing rule you have set up and delivers the call to the destination you chose: a mobile, a landline, a SIP app on your computer or your office phone system.
Step 1
Caller dials
Step 2
Your virtual number
+44 20 · +1 212 · +49 30
Step 3
Routing rule
who answers, and when
Because routing is just a setting, you can change it at any time. Calls can ring one destination during business hours and another after hours, fall back to a mobile when the desk phone is not answered, or go to voicemail at the weekend. The caller never notices any of this: they dial a normal number in their own country at their usual rate.
Good to know: a standard number handles one conversation at a time, so a second caller hears a busy tone. If you expect calls to overlap, choose a multichannel number, which accepts several calls on the same number simultaneously.
Virtual number vs SIM card
The easiest way to understand a virtual number is to compare it with a regular SIM card number.
| Feature | SIM card number | Virtual number |
|---|---|---|
| Linked to | A physical card in a single device | Your account, not a device |
| Where you need to be | Within the carrier’s coverage area | Anywhere with internet or a forwarding destination |
| Country of the number | Where the SIM was issued | Any country we cover |
| Who can answer | Whoever holds the phone | Anyone on your team you route the call to |
| Changing the destination | Replace the card or the device | Update a setting in your dashboard |
| Multiple numbers | One per SIM slot | As many as you need, managed in one place |
Which type of number do you need?
Not every virtual number is built for the same job, and choosing the wrong type is the most common mistake.
Looking for a number that stays with your business for years rather than one that expires? Choose a permanent local number and keep it for as long as you renew it.
What do you need to get started?
Less than you might expect:
- A destination for your calls, which can simply be your existing mobile number.
- In some countries, documents confirming the address of the business or its representative before the number can be activated.
Requirements differ by country and are shown on each country page before you place an order.
Choosing where calls and messages are delivered
A local number in the market where most of your calls come from lets customers reach you at a local rate, wherever you are based. You decide where those calls go:
- SIP: forwarding to a SIP account is free of charge.
- Mobile or landline: forward to any phone number; the applicable forwarding cost is shown on our website before you order.
- Advanced rules: for example, forward to a mobile when your main line is busy, using call forwarding.
- Voice menu: add an IVR menu so callers reach the right department on their own.
- Text messages: route SMS to your email or another number with SMS forwarding, so codes and replies reach you without keeping a dashboard open.
Virtual office for teams
When a number serves a company rather than an individual, our virtual office brings the essential features together in one package: professional call answering and routing, blacklists and whitelists, additional lines, conferencing and more. It lets your business capture every call, even when no one is at the desk, without hiring a receptionist.
Each additional feature can also be ordered on its own if you only need part of the package.
Where can you get a virtual number?
RapidNumber offers numbers in more than 100 countries and 7,000 cities. Each country page lists the available cities, the price and any documents required for activation. If you need numbers in volume, see our wholesale DID service.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an internet connection for a virtual number to work?
Only if calls are delivered to an app. If you forward the number to a regular mobile or landline, calls arrive over the normal phone network and no internet connection is needed on your side.
Can I keep my number if I move to another country?
Yes. The number belongs to your account, not to your location. You simply update the destination it forwards to.
Will callers know that it is a virtual number?
No. It looks and behaves like any other number in that country, and callers pay their usual rate to dial it.
Can I make outgoing calls as well as receive them?
Yes, by activating a SIP account on your number. Your virtual number can be shown as the caller ID where the destination country allows it. Outgoing calls are charged separately from the number rental.
Is a virtual number the same as a VoIP number?
Not exactly. VoIP refers to the technology that carries a call over the internet, while “virtual” means the number is not tied to a physical line. Most virtual numbers use VoIP at some point, but a number forwarded to a mobile completes its journey on the regular phone network. If a service rejects VoIP numbers, a non-VoIP number on a real SIM card is the right choice.
Ready to get your number?
Choose a country, pick a number type and start receiving calls.