The price of a US virtual number is easy to find. What it costs you over a year depends on three more things: how long you keep it, how much you call, and how many numbers you need. Here is the TripoSIM price, what it includes, what can cost extra, and a full year worked out for three made-up users.
How much does the plan cost?
| Plan | Price | Per month | Over 12 months | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly | $100 a year | About $8.33 | $100 | Renews yearly until you cancel |
| Monthly | $12.99 a month | $12.99 | $155.88 | Renews monthly; cancel the renewal anytime |
Prices are before any local taxes, so check the total at checkout. Both plans give you the same number, minutes and app. The yearly plan costs less once you keep the number 8 months or more, and saves $55.88 over a full year, about 36%. The break-even month explained shows the arithmetic month by month.
What is included in the price?
| What you get | On both plans |
|---|---|
| A US +1 number | Chosen by state or area code, right after payment and the ID check |
| Outgoing calls | 300 minutes a month to US and Canadian numbers; they reset monthly and do not carry over |
| Incoming calls | Included, with a fair use of 300 minutes a month; above that, callers go to voicemail |
| Voicemail | Messages up to 2 minutes, up to 30 a month, kept 30 days |
| Texts | Received from US and Canadian senders; sending texts is not included |
| Verification codes | The number receives verification codes (OTP SMS) from apps, including WhatsApp |
| ID check | About 2 minutes with a photo ID and a selfie; a full refund if it fails |
| Welcome credit | $5 on the yearly plan only, for a travel eSIM or extra minutes |
TripoSIM tested 22 apps from October 3 to 18, 2026, including WhatsApp, PayPal and Wise; the list shows examples, not a limit. See the verification research for the full list.
What the price does not cover: the number cannot send texts, it cannot call 911 or any emergency service, and calls out go to US and Canadian numbers only.
What do extra minutes cost?
If you call more than 300 minutes in a month, add 100 minutes for $5 in the app. That is the only usage charge. Each outgoing call is rounded up to the next full minute; unanswered calls are free.
Top-up minutes are used after your monthly minutes, stay valid while your number is active and carry over when you renew. They are not refundable. So a top-up bought in a busy month is not wasted: the top-up minutes you do not use stay for later.
Calls people make to you do not use your outgoing minutes. They have their own fair use of 300 minutes a month. Our guide on how far 300 minutes goes helps you count your own calls.
What else should you count?
- Your internet. The number works over Wi-Fi or mobile data. If you rely on mobile data, that plan is part of the cost.
- Taxes. Prices are before local taxes.
- No refunds. Payments are not refunded, except a full refund if your ID check fails or the number is not delivered within 72 hours, or where local law requires. Buy for the time you are sure about.
- What you do not need. No SSN, no US address and no US phone number are needed to sign up.
What do free numbers cost you instead?
A free number has no fee, but you pay in other ways. Public SMS inbox sites show your codes to anyone who opens the page. Free app numbers can be taken back after a period without use. Per-code rentals give you one code and no number to come back to.
The real cost shows up later: a number linked to your email, payments or WhatsApp is lost, and so is access to the account it protects. Our guide to free vs paid US numbers compares each type, and the total cost of a second US number sets free apps, paid apps and carrier plans side by side.
What do several numbers cost?
Each number is its own plan, with its own minutes, voicemail and renewal date, so the cost is simple multiplication.
| Setup | Plans | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One number | 1 yearly | $100 a year |
| Work and personal | 2 yearly | 2 × $100 a year |
| Three online stores | 3 yearly | 3 × $100 a year |
| A main number plus a three-month project number | 1 yearly, 1 monthly for 3 months | $100 plus $38.97 |
Minutes are not shared between numbers, so count each number’s calls on its own. One person, several US numbers covers when a second number is worth it.
What does a year cost for three made-up users?
These are made-up examples, not customer results. Prices are before tax.
Ana, a student five months before she moves. She needs a US number for housing and campus calls from June to October, about 150 minutes a month. That is inside the 300 included minutes. She pays monthly for five months: $64.95. Monthly wins, because she stops before month 8.
Omar, a freelancer with US clients all year. He calls clients about 250 minutes a month and clients call him about 200 minutes a month. Both are inside the allowances. He pays yearly: $100 for the year, with the $5 welcome credit on top.
Lina, an online store owner with a busy season. For ten months she calls buyers about 120 minutes a month. In November and December she calls about 380 minutes each month, so she buys one top-up of 100 minutes in each of those months; the minutes she does not use in November carry over. On the yearly plan, her year costs $110. The same calling on the monthly plan would cost $165.88.
| User | Plan | Calling | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana | Monthly, 5 months | About 150 minutes a month | $64.95 |
| Omar | Yearly | About 250 minutes a month | $100 |
| Lina | Yearly, plus 2 top-ups | 120 minutes most months, 380 in two busy months | $110 |
Which plan should you pick?
- Under 8 months, or a trial: monthly. You can cancel the renewal anytime, and a monthly number is kept 90 days after the plan ends.
- 8 months or more: yearly. It costs less and includes the $5 welcome credit.
- More than one job for the number: one plan per number, mixed as you like.
Run your own calling pattern in the cost calculator, then compare the two plans on the plans page.