How to Get a Toll-Free Vanity Phone Number for Your Business

Get the right toll-free vanity phone number for your business.

Are you looking for a way to make your business phone number more memorable and professional? A vanity toll-free number may be the perfect solution. In this blog post, we’ll explain what vanity toll-free numbers are and how you can get one for your business.

We’ll also provide some helpful tips on how to get a new number to promote your brand and make it easier for your consumers to call your business.

What is a vanity phone number?

A vanity phone number is a customized phone number that is memorable and easier to dial. Vanity phone numbers can spell a memorable brand, service, or important phrase. Examples include 1-833-YOUR-SOURCE, 1-800-FLOWERS, or 1-855-GOT-VANITY.

Vanity phone numbers can also be repeating digits that are much easier to dial. Examples include 1-888-888-8888 or even 1-888-788-0123. In either case, the vanity phone numbers use a toll-free prefix (800, 833, 888, etc) so that callers can dial without worrying about the cost of the call.

Every vanity phone number sold is actually leased in the United States and Canada (nobody can own vanity phone numbers). The last important element of a vanity phone number is the geographic areas where callers will be routed to your phone number.

Grab our guide on what are vanity phone numbers below.

What is the most memorable vanity phone number?

Memory is tricky. Do you remember phone numbers or do you just go to your phone’s contact to find the right number? The most memorable vanity phone number is going to be a number that is something you can say aloud.

A memorable phone number requires the person to remember it. So it’s not going to be complicated. You might even add a jingle or a rhyme when you promote your number so people do remember it. Letters tend to be remembered better than numbers. A shorter is often easier to remember than a longer length phone number. We have additional information on the vanity number components that matter most you can grab here.

What is an easy dial phone number?

Easy to dial means that you are moving around on the dial pad less. An easy-dial phone number might also repeat the digits. Easy-to-dial vanity numbers are most often repeaters. Examples of repeaters are 222-3333, 123-4567, 623-4040, and so on.

They are repeating the same digit or a combination of digits over and over again in a pattern. That repetition makes the number easy to dial. You want to make it easy for your callers to call your business. The easier it is to dial your company the better off you will be. We’ve written a previous article on 4 questions to ask before choosing the perfect vanity number here.

Why should a business get a vanity phone number?

Vanity phone numbers have many use cases that make them extremely valuable. A toll-free vanity phone number can be a great way for businesses to make their phone number more memorable and professional.

When a phone number is part of your business’s operations you should consider the value of making that number into a vanity phone number. Vanity numbers instill trust in the caller that your brand is reputable. Vanity numbers help promote your brand and make it easier for your consumers to call your business.

Once you are saved in their phone you can rest assured that they will be calling your business repeatedly in the future. We’ve also got a previous blog article that focused on the stats behind why a vanity phone number will boost your brand and ROI here.

Where to get a vanity phone number?

There are a lot of vanity phone number providers out there. Most vanity phone number providers pair their services with different capabilities. For example, CallSource primarily leases vanity phone numbers to businesses- this means our offered capabilities are best for businesses.

Other vanity phone number providers offer capabilities for individuals (not businesses). CallSource keeps an updated inventory of vanity phone numbers that are clean (not used for spam) which you can use to search for a number.

If you want to get a vanity phone number- start by searching for an available number, prefix, and length of the number in a vanity phone number search tool like ours here.

The best vanity number providers?

There are so many ways to utilize a phone number. Every provider of vanity numbers are different. You don’t need all the features you just need the features and capabilities that will benefit you. Don’t get a feature you will never use. When you evaluate the best provider you should carefully consider the following:

Availability (inventory, geographic coverage, lease or release)
Price (base cost, usage costs like per call or per minute rates, user costs, fees)
Capabilities (sms or texting, platform, spam protection, routing, call treatments)
Support (speed, person vs bot, local vs international, knowledge)
Experience (are their numbers clean and not used for spam, have they done this a long time?)

Without further ado, here is a list of the vanity number providers we hear about the most (other than ourselves) with a few positive reviews about them:

800.com – a positive review from g2.com says, “A simple process for an otherwise difficult task!”
Grasshopper.com – a positive review from g2.com says, “So simple to work with”
Numberbarn.com – a positive review from trustpilot.com says, “Always happy doing service with numberbarn”
PhoneNumberExpert.com – a positive review from trustpilot.com says, “Impressed by this company”

How can you get a free vanity phone number?

Vanity phone numbers are leased and a monthly fee is required to maintain control of the phone number. Due to the way that phone numbers are handled in the United States and Canada a free vanity phone number does not exist.

There might be ways to acquire a vanity phone number where there are minimal or no monthly fees but you will usually end up paying more in usage. Carriers and other phone networks across the country charge rates that are passed down to the consumer when calls occur.

Given all of these costs, fees, and usage amounts a totally free vanity phone number is very unlikely to exist. You can however find an affordable vanity phone number.

How to pick the right prefix for a vanity phone number?

When picking a vanity phone number you should consider the prefix. A vanity phone number prefix is the first few digits of a vanity phone number.

The prefixes are generally toll-free (if they are 8XX) and allow callers to dial without worrying about the cost of the call. Prefixes that are not always toll-free are those with local area codes. The most popular prefix is 1-800 for vanity phone numbers.

However, any 8XX prefix that contains the vanity phone number you want can be very valuable.

Why use a toll-free number?

A toll-free number tells the caller they will not be charged for the call. That matters when a consumer is considering calling your business.

Do they want to incur charges and fees just to call your business? Most often no. So make it easier for them. The best way to make it easy for callers is to have all of your inbound phone lines be toll-free numbers.

Go with a toll-free number even if you are uncertain how many calls you would get. You can always adjust the package later. A toll-free number is usually the preference for any business but especially for a toll-free vanity number.

What are the toll-free vanity phone number prefixes?

The following are the toll-free vanity phone number prefixes:

1-800 – the most popular toll-free prefix for vanity phone numbers.
1-833 – the newest toll-free prefix with lots of vanity phone number combinations available.
1-844
1-855
1-866
1-877
1-888 – a common prefix selection for repeater vanity phone numbers.

It should be explained here again that vanity phone number prefixes are not necessarily better or worse. If you find a prefix with the spelling or repeating digits you want it can be very valuable regardless of the prefix. The prefix is of subjective value.

What is the best length for a vanity phone number?

When it comes to the best length for a vanity phone number, it really depends on what the business is looking for. Generally, shorter numbers are more memorable and easier to dial, but longer numbers can have a more professional sound.

If the business is looking for something that is easy to remember and stands out from the competition, a shorter number would be ideal. However, if the business wants to make a strong impression and has the budget to spare, then a long number with more digits would be perfect.

Ultimately, it’s up to the business to decide what length of number works best for them.

What is the most common length for a vanity phone number?

When you want to get a vanity phone number the length of the number matters. The most common length for a vanity phone number is 7 digits or 7 characters (this does not include the prefix). An example is 1-8XX-123-4567 (with the numbers after the prefix counting the number of digits).

When a longer vanity phone number length is used it is common to see 8+ digits or 8+ characters utilized. An example is 1-833-YOUR-SOURCE (4 digits then 6 digits = 10 total digits used in the vanity phone number). Again, the preference is up to the brand and what they want the phone number to convey.

In many phone systems, it is worth mentioning that only the first 7 digits are needed to connect the call. The most memorable vanity phone numbers are going to be easy to spell, easy to write down, and easy to dial.

Once you’ve gotten into someone’s phone as a saved contact your hardest work is behind you. Business phone numbers stored in someone’s phone make it easy to dial the phone number of the caller.

How do I get a specific vanity phone number?

Our experience with vanity phone numbers over the decades has given us insight into how best to select a specific vanity phone number. We have worked with thousands of businesses to help them find the best vanity phone number for their needs.

In order to find the right vanity phone number you should also be using a vanity phone number search tool. That way you can look up your searches and queries to see if those vanity phone numbers are available.

Get a custom vanity phone number for your business, to promote your product or services, and to stand out. Any custom phone numbers are considered vanity lines. We have put together a quick 1-sheet on the best ways to make a vanity phone number sticky that could help you search.

How to search for a vanity phone number?

Searching for a vanity phone number should always include the words or digits you are looking for. We recommend keeping the prefixes option open and narrowing that down later.

Make a list of your brand terms, keywords, products, services, taglines, and even the common phrases used by your brand. Do the research as well to make sure that your number does not spell something undesirable.

Incorporating both numbers and letters into your vanity phone number can also help you get a great vanity phone number (for example: 4-VANITY).

Recommended terms when searching for a vanity number:

Get / Got / Go
Save / Free / Big / Less
For / 4
Call / Ring / Dial / Ask
Your / UR / Me / My / U
Fast / Now / Here
Mr / Dr
Local
Job / Car / Rate / Fix
Safe
Top / Best
New / Try
Yes / No
CA / NY / FL / TX (state abbreviations)
Find / Pain / Look / See
### (for repeaters use a repeating digit like 222, 333, etc)

Those are some great ideas to pair with your brand terms to help you search for the best vanity phone number. Many vanity phone numbers have utilized those words to build a custom phone number.

How to get your vanity number?

Once you’ve picked out your vanity phone number:

The vanity phone number makes sense to your goals.
The prefix, length, and alternative spellings are compelling.
The vanity phone number is available (if it is not you could still acquire it depending on the provider).

The next step is to select the geographic coverage and then get a vanity number. In some cases, there is the negotiation and for some providers, it’s priced to go.

What is the geographic coverage for vanity numbers?

The geographic coverage for vanity numbers defines the area where callers will reach your business when they call. For example, if you pay for statewide geographic coverage for you toll-free vanity phone number then when a caller in that state calls they will be routed to your business automatically (the phone will ring your business).

However, if someone from outside the state calls your toll-free vanity phone number then that call will route somewhere else (not to your business). Generally, greater coverage means a slightly higher rate and less coverage means a slightly lower rate.

Local phone numbers with local prefixes are available but vary in availability. We recommend you ask your vanity phone number provider if they have a number available as a local phone number.

What to know before you lease a vanity number?

You should have a plan for using the vanity number. You should know where you will use the vanity number and how you will promote the vanity number. You might also consider getting multiple vanity numbers.

Toll-free vanity numbers are similar to domain names in that you can hold on to the leases to make sure that your competition does not scoop them up. In some cases if you already lease custom vanity numbers you can do number porting.

Number porting is when you move a number from one provider to another provider. You cannot always port vanity lines but it is worth asking. We have a quick facts guide on vanity phone numbers you can grab here.

Making sure the toll-free number works as intended

We also recommend you look at a phone dial pad and see how easy it is to dial that phone number. Telephone numbers can be dialed by pressing each digit (even the longer vanity numbers).

Some business phone systems and mobile phones will only need you to enter the first 7 digits of the vanity number to work.

Tracking your calls from the vanity numbers

Depending on the provider you should be able to track calls made to your vanity numbers. Vanity numbers are not like regular phone numbers or call tracking lines.

You might publish vanity numbers in a variety of marketing locations. You might only publish a vanity number in one location. However, if you use toll-free vanity numbers you should remember to check in on the usage.

Tracking how many calls you are getting, how many minutes the calls go (durations), and the types of calls you get are important. You should also consider listening to an important call recording or voicemail from time to time.

All of these help you to maximize all of your toll-free numbers and ensure your vanity number is being used properly.

Routing calls with your vanity line

Once you’ve got your vanity line you can route the calls to any destination telephone number you want. That can be a business number, a business phone system, or even a mobile phone.

You can add an interactive voice response or IVR (example: press 1 for sales, 2 for support) if you want to give options. Inbound calls to your vanity line can reach any business numbers you want with call treatments.

Where to promote vanity numbers?

There are a variety of places where you can promote your vanity number as a business.

Some businesses choose to promote their vanity number on their website. This can be done through a banner or by including the phone number prominently on the website. Some businesses also choose to promote their vanity number through print materials such as brochures, business cards, and flyers. We’ve seen a rise in vanity numbers printed on vehicles.

Another great place to promote your vanity number is on radio and television commercials. You can also use billboards to promote your vanity number. Finally, you can distribute stickers or magnets with your vanity number to customers and potential customers. Consider your locations carefully and whether or not toll-free phone numbers are best. We have put together a very handy guide on where to advertise your vanity phone numbers you can grab here.