How much does a virtual landline cost in the UK?

How much does a virtual landline cost?

For a new business or sole trader, a virtual landline in the UK usually falls between £5 and £15 per user per month. The exact figure depends on the provider, the features you switch on, and how many people are on the account. A single freelancer wanting one number and an app to take calls tends to sit near the bottom of that range. A growing team that wants call menus, recording or extra numbers sits nearer the top.

The reason it is priced per user, not per line, is that there are no physical lines involved. A virtual landline lives in the cloud, and each person who needs to make and take calls is one "user". That keeps the cost predictable: you pay for the people who actually use it, and you add or remove users as the business changes rather than paying for a fixed bank of lines.

It helps to compare that with the old way of doing things. A traditional business line came with monthly line rental, per-minute call charges, an installation fee and sometimes an engineer visit. A virtual landline rolls a number, the calls and the features into one small monthly fee instead. For most new businesses, that works out cheaper and far simpler. We have kept the figures above as a general UK market range rather than specific provider prices, so use them to set expectations and check each provider's published plan for the real number.

What is included in the price?

The headline monthly fee usually covers more than just a number. On a typical UK virtual landline plan, you can expect the following to be included as standard, with no separate charge.

Included as standard	What it means for you
A UK business number	A local 01 or 02, national 03, or sometimes an 0800 number to give out instead of your personal mobile.
Inclusive UK calls	Calls to UK landlines and mobiles are normally bundled in, so you are not billed per minute.
Mobile app and browser softphone	Take calls on your existing phone or a computer, with no extra handset or SIM.
Voicemail-to-email	Missed calls and messages land in your inbox so nothing slips through.
Basic call routing	Business hours, a greeting and forwarding, so the number behaves like a proper company line.
Free number porting	Move an existing number you already advertise across to the new system, usually at no cost.

Because there is no physical line, the things that used to cost money on a landline (rental, installation, hardware) simply are not there. That is a big part of why the monthly figure looks low compared with a traditional business phone bill. The main thing to watch is that "inclusive UK calls" and "free porting" really are included on the plan you choose, since a small number of cheaper plans hold some of these back as paid extras.

Virtual landline cost by setup size

The total you pay scales with how many people use it, so it is easiest to think in terms of your setup. The table below shows rough monthly costs using the £5 to £15 per user market range, so you can see where you are likely to land. These are illustrative UK market figures, not specific provider or Voxora prices.

Setup	Users	Typical monthly cost	Who it suits
Single number / sole trader	1	Around £5 to £15	Freelancers, tradespeople and brand-new businesses replacing a personal mobile
Small team	2 to 5	Around £10 to £75	A founder plus a few staff or partners sharing calls and a call menu
Growing team	6 to 10	Around £30 to £150	Established small businesses wanting ring groups, recording and reporting

Two things keep these numbers honest. First, you only pay for users who need their own login and calling, not for everyone in the company, so a five-person business where only two people take calls pays for two. Second, the per-user price often drops a little as you add more users, and some providers discount further for paying annually. For your exact monthly figure, the cleanest approach is to count the people who genuinely need a phone and check the provider's published per-user price.

What can cost extra?

The base plan covers most needs, but a few things sit outside the standard monthly fee. None are compulsory, and knowing them upfront stops any surprises on your first bill.

The most common extras are 0800 freephone inbound minutes. With an 0800 number the call is free for the customer, which means you, the business, pay for the inbound minutes. That is worth it for a sales or helpline number, but it is a running cost a local 03 or 01 number does not have. Next are premium or gold numbers, the memorable repeating-digit numbers some businesses want, which often carry a one-off or monthly premium over a standard number. International and premium-rate calls are charged on top of your inclusive UK minutes. Extra phone numbers beyond the one included usually cost a small amount each. Finally, optional add-ons such as call recording, AI call transcription or an AI receptionist may sit on a higher tier or as a paid feature.

The practical takeaway is to map your needs before you compare prices. If you simply want a professional number on your phone with voicemail and business hours, you will stay at the low end. If you want freephone, several numbers and recording, build those into the comparison so you are pricing like for like.

Is it cheaper than a business mobile or landline?

For most new businesses, yes, on both counts. Against a second business mobile, a virtual landline wins because it rings on the phone you already own, through an app. There is no second handset to buy, no extra SIM, and no separate mobile contract, yet you still keep your personal number private. You get a professional 01, 03 or 0800 number for a few pounds a month rather than the cost of a whole extra phone plan.

Against a traditional landline, the gap is even clearer. A physical business line came with monthly line rental on top of call charges, plus installation and possibly an engineer. A virtual landline has no line rental, no install fee and no hardware, and UK calls are normally included rather than metered. On top of the cost, the old copper network is being switched off on 31 January 2027, so a new physical line would be money spent on something with a short life. A virtual landline already runs on the internet-based technology that replaces it.

How to keep the cost down

A virtual landline is already low cost, but a few simple choices keep it that way as you grow. Pay per user for the people who genuinely need to make and take calls, rather than buying a large bundle you will not fill. Start with a single number and add more only when there is a real reason, since each extra number is a small recurring cost. If you do not need freephone, choose a local or 03 number rather than an 0800, so you avoid paying for inbound minutes.

Beyond that, check whether paying annually earns a discount, and only switch on paid add-ons like call recording or AI features when they clearly earn their keep. The smartest move is to use a free trial first, so you put real calls through the system on your own phone and confirm that what is included covers what you actually do before you commit. That way you pay for exactly the setup you use, and nothing you do not.