Can I Have More Than One Google Voice Number On My Phone?

If your business is expanding or you want to offer clients different numbers for different locations or departments, you might wonder: How many Google Voice numbers can I have? Can I have multiple Google Voice numbers, or is one the max?

The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think (or hope). You can have more than one Google Voice number — but not using the free service consumers know best. You’ll have to jump through some hoops to set up multiple numbers. We’ll go over your options and then provide a better alternative for business use.

Option 1: Use Google Voice and Google Fiber Phone

While you can’t have two free Google Voice numbers, you can get a second phone number through Google Fiber Phone, a VoIP phone service that’s designed to replace landlines. To get one number each on Google Fiber and Voice, you’ll have to follow a somewhat complex setup process:

1. Create your free Google Voice number on voice.google.com.

2. Set up your Google Fiber Phone number, which starts at $10 per month.

3. Within 90 days of setting up your new phone number on Google Fiber, head back to Google Voice and select Legacy Google Voice from the menu.

4. From the Phones tab of your Legacy Google Voice settings, tap Make permanent next to the GV number you originally created.

5. Follow the instructions on your screen to confirm and pay a one-time $20 porting-in fee. The only exception to this fee is if you previously ported an existing phone number to use as your GV number, as you would have already paid a fee.

Once you complete these steps, you can make and receive calls and text messages with your Google Fiber phone number with the Google Voice app or using an existing desk phone.

Your old number — the one you created directly through Google Voice — will be accessible as a secondary phone number for iPhone or Android through Legacy Google Voice with limited GV features.

Why this option doesn’t work for businesses

While this option offers you a handy workaround to add a second number to your Google Voice account, it can’t serve as a useful business phone number. Here’s why:

1. Lack of business features: Google Voice and Google Fiber aren’t designed for businesses. Google Voice only offers basic calling, texting, and voicemail, and Google Fiber Phone is intended as a home phone service —  it lacks CRM integrations, advanced texting options, collaboration features, and call recording.
   
   One more drawback: managing numbers across both services requires designating one as your secondary number, which means you can’t use your second number to make outbound calls or texts.
2. Limited availability: While Google Voice is pretty widely available, Google Fiber is only available in a handful of cities — mainly large metro areas like San Francisco, Nashville, and Chicago. And these only include US cities; you won’t be able to get a Canadian phone number.

Don’t live in one of Google Fiber’s service areas? You’re out of luck when it comes to using this workaround to access more than one number on Google Voice’s free platform.

Option 2: Use Google Voice for Google Workspace

If you want to access more than one Google Voice number — without subscribing to Fiber or hopping between multiple GV accounts — you’ll need to subscribe to Google Voice for Google Workspace. This paid service is a business phone system, which means you can get multiple numbers and more work phone features than with a free Voice account or Google Fiber Phone.

With Google Voice for Google Workspace, you’ll get access to the following business phone features:

• Unlimited calls to the US and Canada
• Unlimited text messaging in the US (Available to US customers only)
• Integrations with Google Calendar and Google Meet
• Voicemail transcription
• Call forwarding

Why this option doesn’t work for businesses

Even though this option is better for businesses compared to Google Fiber, it doesn’t hold up when you compare it to other VoIP phone service providers. Here’s why:

1. Key features locked behind higher-tier plans: You might expect business phone features like call recording and ring groups to come standard with any VoIP service. Unfortunately, Google Voice doesn’t offer these features in its base plan — you’ll have to upgrade to get access to them. 

2. Lack of integrations: Want your business phone system to save time for your team with CRM or VoIP integrations? You’ll have to look elsewhere. Google Voice doesn’t offer any integrations apart from basic Google Calendar and Meet connections. 

3. No way to save time texting: Google doesn’t have features like auto-replies, snippets, or scheduled messages. Other business phone options offer these and other ways to take more work off your team’s plate. 

4. No toll-free numbers: If you’re a business that operates nationwide, you’ll need a toll-free number to offer support to customers.Unfortunately, Google Voice doesn’t offer them, which might affect how customers perceive your brand. 

5. Limited collaboration features: Google Voice doesn’t let teammates use tags or mentions in customer conversations or let them directly message each other, which means you need another tool to stay aligned. 
6. More expensive than a dedicated phone solution: Google forces businesses that want a Voice subscription to subscribe to Google Workspace as well, which means you’re paying extra each month beyond Voice.
   
   Google Voice’s pricing starts at $10 per user per month. On top of that, you have to pay at least $6 per user per month for Google Workspace. And if you upgrade to Google Voice’s more expensive plans to get features like call recording, the bills quickly add up. 

The better, more affordable Google Voice alternative: OpenPhone 

It’s clear that Google Voice won’t cut it for your business, regardless of how many numbers you try to use with it. 

Wondering if there’s a better alternative? Meet OpenPhone.

OpenPhone is the top remote phone system according to thousands of small business owners on G2. It enables remote employees to manage business communications from anywhere with an internet connection. 

When you sign up for an OpenPhone account, you can choose a local or toll-free US or Canadian number. Each user on your plan comes with one phone number, with additional numbers available for $5 each per month. 

OpenPhone allows unlimited phone calls and messages within the US and Canada. And you can easily use OpenPhone on any device, including Mac, Windows, Android, and iPhone, or through the web app.

Here’s why OpenPhone is a better alternative to Google Voice:

1. Shared numbers on every plan: Share access to incoming calls and messages, ideal for coverage during absences or team collaboration.
2. Collaborate easily with your team: Provide the best customer experience possible by looping in colleagues via tagging them in internal threads.
3. Use local or toll-free numbers or both: Unlike Google Voice, you can use both local and toll-free numbers on OpenPhone. Add as many numbers as you need.
4. Save time for your team with integrations: Send call and message data to your CRM with our native HubSpot and Salesforce integrations, or use our Zapier integration to connect with any other app in your stack. 
5. Set the right expectations for customers after hours: OpenPhone lets you set business hours so that you can send a custom voicemail or auto-reply to customers when they try to reach you when you’re unavailable.
6. Quickly get up to speed with summaries: Use OpenPhone’s AI-generated call summaries and transcriptions for quick updates on customer interactions.

Ready to try OpenPhone? Sign up for a seven-day free trial.

Words by Nikhil Venkatesa

Nikhil is a Content Producer at OpenPhone. In his free time, he loves writing screenplays and watching obscure films on The Criterion Channel.