Local or toll-free, which one should you go for?
There are several things to keep in mind when making the choice. We'll break them down here.
First, what's a toll-free number?
A toll-free number is a number with 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, or 888 area code that can be dialed without incurring long distance charges. Toll-free numbers we offer at OpenPhone are North American. This means that callers from the US and Canada won't incur any long distance charges when calling the toll-free number. Callers from outside of the US and Canada would incur long distance charges based on their local carrier.
Why pick a local number:
- Local numbers are great for establishing presence in the area you serve. This is the best choice for service-based businesses with the majority of customers in a specific state or province.
- Local numbers are better suited for outgoing calls. When you make a lot of outgoing calls, local numbers are perceived as more trustworthy compared to toll-free numbers due to increased number of spam calls
- Local numbers support picture messaging (MMS), toll-free don't
Why pick a toll-free number:
- Ensure your callers from across the US and Canada never pay long distance charges. This is especially important if your main use case is customer support.
- Appear bigger and more established.
- Establish nationwide presence, appealing more to customers from across Canada and the US
Hard choice? Good news, you can have both!
How to add a second number to your OpenPhone account
Get a local and a toll-free number in your OpenPhone app and never look back 😄