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A professional UK business number forwarded to your mobile

Virtual landlines give your business a real 01, 02, 03 or 0800 number without a copper line, hardware or line rental. Calls ring straight through to your mobile, VoIP app or team, wherever you are.

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Live in under 2 hours Keep your existing number From GBP 10 + VAT / month

What is a virtual landline?

A virtual landline is a UK phone number that behaves like a traditional landline. Callers dial a normal 01, 02, 03 or 0800 number, but there is no physical line at your end. Every call is carried over the internet and forwarded to whichever device you want to answer it on: your mobile, a VoIP app on your laptop, a handset on your desk, or a whole team of people.

For most small UK businesses, a virtual landline replaces the old GBP 35 per month BT line entirely. You get a professional number, voicemail-to-email, call routing and the freedom to work from anywhere, without the copper, the cabling or the six-week install.

It is also the quickest way to stop giving customers your personal mobile. Your virtual landline becomes the number on your website, Google Business Profile, invoices and email signature. Personal calls carry on going to your personal number. Work life and home life stay separate.

Why UK businesses choose a virtual landline

Every benefit of a traditional landline, none of the baggage.

Professional Business Image

A 01, 02 or 03 number looks far more credible than a mobile on your website, invoices and business cards, especially when chasing bigger contracts.

No Hardware, No Line Rental

No desk phones, no engineer visits, no copper line. The number lives in the cloud and rings whatever device you have set it to forward to.

Keep Work & Personal Separate

Stop giving customers your mobile. Calls come into your business number during work hours and go to voicemail out of hours. Your personal life stays yours.

Local Presence Anywhere

Pick any UK area code, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, to look local to the area you serve, even if you are working from home the other side of the country.

Ring Any Device, Anywhere

Forward to a mobile, a VoIP app on your laptop, a desk phone, multiple devices at once, or a team in rotation. Answer on the move, in the office, or abroad.

Genuinely Low Cost

From GBP 10 per month plus VAT. No line rental, no hardware costs, and most plans include thousands of inclusive minutes to UK numbers.

How a virtual landline works

Three simple steps. No engineer, no hardware.

1

Pick your number

Choose any UK area code: 0207 London, 0161 Manchester, 03 national, 0800 freephone. Or port your existing business number across for free.

2

Tell us where to send calls

Forward to your mobile, VoIP app, desk phone, a team of devices at once, or different destinations based on time of day.

3

Start taking calls

Your number goes live in under two hours. Callers see your new business number, and you answer on whatever device you set. Voicemail handles anything you miss.

Which number type is right for your business?

We will help you pick the right prefix for the image you want to project and the market you are selling to.

01

Local numbers

Any UK town or city area code, 0161 Manchester, 0121 Birmingham, 0131 Edinburgh, 0151 Liverpool and hundreds more.

Use when you want to look local to a specific area.

02

Major city numbers

London (020), Cardiff (029), Portsmouth/Southampton (023) and other major-city codes.

Use when targeting London or regional capital markets.

03

National numbers

National non-geographic numbers charged at local rate. Recognisable, professional and included in most mobile plans.

Use when you serve the whole UK and do not want to tie yourself to one area.

0800

Freephone numbers

Free for the caller from any UK phone, including mobiles. Great for inbound sales and customer service.

Use when you want to remove the cost barrier for inbound callers.

Who uses a virtual landline?

Anyone who needs a professional number without the cost and restrictions of a traditional line.

Home-based businesses

Keep customers and family calls separate without a second SIM. Answer on your existing mobile during work hours, voicemail handles the rest.

Sole traders & freelancers

Look like an established firm from day one. A 01 or 03 number on your invoices instantly boosts trust with bigger clients.

Startups & new companies

Skip the landline install, the BT quote and the six-week lead time. Get a business number the same afternoon you register at Companies House.

Mobile-only teams

Field engineers, tradespeople and delivery drivers can share one published business number that rings whoever is on shift.

Multi-location businesses

Collect a number in every town you serve. One national team answers them all, but customers see a local number.

Businesses expanding into the UK

Overseas companies can get a UK phone presence in minutes without opening a UK office or running a physical line.

Virtual landline vs traditional landline vs business VoIP

If you are deciding between them, here is how they stack up side by side.

Virtual landlineTraditional landlineBusiness VoIP
Monthly cost (from)GBP 10GBP 25-50GBP 20 per user
Hardware requiredNoneHandset + lineHandset or app
Install lead timeSame day2-6 weeksSame day
Works from anywhereYesNoYes
Keep existing numberYes (porting)YesYes
Supports team extensionsBasic (hunt groups)No (single line)Full system
OFCOM regulatedYesYesYes

Prices are typical UK market ranges. Your quote will depend on number type, call volume and provider.

Virtual landline FAQs

The questions UK businesses ask us most often.

What is a virtual landline?+
A virtual landline is a real UK phone number (starting 01, 02, 03 or 0800) that isn't tied to a physical phone line. Calls are routed over the internet and forwarded to any device you choose — your mobile, a VoIP app on your laptop, a desk handset, or a call centre. You keep a professional business number without needing cabling, hardware or line rental.
Is a virtual landline the same as VoIP?+
They're related but not identical. VoIP (Voice over IP) is the technology that carries the call over the internet. A virtual landline is the service you buy on top of VoIP — a dedicated business number forwarded to wherever you want to answer it. If you just need one number forwarded to a mobile, a virtual landline is enough. If you need a full cloud phone system with extensions, call queues and team presence, you want business VoIP.
How much does a virtual landline cost in the UK?+
Plans start from GBP 10 per month plus VAT for a single number with inclusive minutes. 0800 and 03 numbers can cost a little more. Compare The Networks finds the best combination of number type, call plan and provider for your usage, and most customers save 20-40% versus going direct.
Can I keep my existing business number?+
Yes. If you already have a UK landline number, it can be ported across to a virtual landline service in most cases. Porting usually takes 7-14 working days and is free with most providers. Once the number is ported, your old line can be cancelled, so no more line rental.
Can I get a local 01 number for a town I do not have an office in?+
Yes. One of the main reasons businesses use virtual landlines is to establish a local presence in a town or city without renting premises. You can pick any 01 or 02 area code (London 0203/0207/0208, Manchester 0161, Birmingham 0121, Edinburgh 0131 and so on) and have the number ring through to your existing mobile or office.
What happens if I miss a call?+
Every virtual landline comes with voicemail as standard. Messages can be emailed to you as an audio file or transcribed to text. You can also set up hunt groups (ring multiple numbers in sequence), time-of-day routing (send out-of-hours calls to voicemail or a different team) and even record calls for quality and training purposes.
Does a virtual landline work with mobile signal?+
Yes. Calls are delivered over whatever network your forwarding device uses. If you forward to a mobile, calls go over your normal 4G/5G or Wi-Fi calling. If you forward to a VoIP app, they go over broadband or mobile data. This means you can answer your business number anywhere you have signal, including abroad, without international roaming fees.
Is a virtual landline GDPR-safe for business calls?+
Yes, provided you use it properly. All reputable UK providers are OFCOM-regulated and handle call data in line with GDPR. You stay compliant by using a business number rather than a personal mobile for customer contact (which keeps customer data off personal devices), and by choosing a provider that offers EU-hosted call recording if you record calls.
Can I have multiple people answering the same number?+
Yes. A virtual landline can ring multiple devices at once (simultaneous ring), round-robin between a team (hunt group), or route based on time of day or menu selection (IVR). This is a key reason small teams use virtual landlines instead of single-device mobiles.
How quickly can I get set up?+
Brand new numbers are usually live within 1-2 hours of ordering. Number porting from an existing provider takes 7-14 working days. Either way, you can start taking calls on a temporary number immediately and swap it over once porting completes.

More from Compare The Networks

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Keep Your Business Number

Porting a number to a new provider: how it works, how long it takes, what to watch for.

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Get your UK virtual landline today

Tell us what you need and we will come back with a shortlist of OFCOM-regulated providers, real prices and a recommendation, usually within a working day.

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