Free virtual numbers are shared public inboxes: free and no sign-up needed, but anyone can read your code and popular services often block them. Paid virtual numbers cost credits and are issued for one service, and the code isn't posted on a public page.
Free or paid, in plain terms
Both kinds receive an SMS code on a number that isn't your personal one, so your real number stays off the form. Where they part ways is privacy, how often the code actually arrives, and price.
Free numbers can disappear without warning, and paid activation numbers on Virtual Number are valid for 20 minutes after activation, so either way you get one verification out of a number.
Side by side
| Free public number | Paid activation (Virtual Number app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Credits, bought in the app |
| Account needed | No | Yes, Google or email sign-in |
| Who can see the code | Anyone who opens the inbox | Shown in your app, not on a public page |
| Chosen by | Country | Country and the service you're verifying |
| How long it works | Until it's taken off the list | 20 minutes from activation |
| If no code comes | Try another number | Tap Cancel Order on the activation screen |
| Availability | Countries and numbers change, often daily | Sometimes no number is available for your country and service |
| Best for | Throwaway sign-ups and tests | When free numbers fail, or the code matters |
Privacy, delivery and cost
Who reads your code
Older messages stay visible in a free inbox, so you'll scroll past other people's texts, and they'll see yours. Find your code by its sender and arrival time. If that code could let someone into your account, a stranger could use it before you do.
Whether the code arrives
Shared numbers get used for lots of sign-ups, so busy services often stop sending to them. You'll sometimes go through several free numbers before one works. A paid activation gives you a number for the service you choose, but there's still no promise: the service decides where it sends codes.
When credits are worth it
Start free. Try two or three free numbers from different countries, and if they all come back empty, that's the moment credits make sense. If no number is available for your country and service, try another country. Once you have a number, request the code straight away, because the 20-minute window starts at activation.
Which one for which sign-up
- Pick a free number for a quick test, a coupon or an app you'll probably delete. If the first number fails, try two or three more.
- Pick a paid activation when free numbers keep failing for a service, or when you don't want the code on a public page.
- Use your own SIM for banking, your main email, work and anything you'd need to recover later. A number that's gone next week can't receive a reset code, as temporary phone numbers for verification explains.
Codes not showing up on any number? Work through why verification codes don't arrive.
How Virtual Number handles both
The website gives you free public numbers by country with no sign-up. You copy a number, then read its inbox in the browser. The list changes often, so check today's free numbers when you need one.
The Android and iOS app has the same free numbers and adds paid activations. Sign in, buy credits, then choose a country and service to get a number. Copy it (with or without the country code), enter it where the code is requested and ask for the code straight away, since the number is valid for 20 minutes. Tap Check for SMS until the code appears, then Complete Order. Past activations stay listed in the app.
First time? How to receive SMS online covers the steps.
Start with the free option. Pick a free number and see if your code comes through.