Can I have more than one Google Voice number on my phone?

Need more than one number for your growing business or side hustle? You’re not alone. So, how many Google Voice numbers can you actually have? Can you get multiple, or is one the limit?

The answer isn’t as simple as you might hope. While it’s possible to have more than one Google Voice number, the free version won’t cut it. 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.

Why you need more than one Google Voice number

If you’re a solopreneur or starting a new business, one Google Voice number might feel like all you need. But once your business scales further, you may need more.

Here are a few signs it’s time to have more than one Google Voice number:

1. You need different numbers for different departments. When all your calls and texts go to the same number, your calls may not efficiently reach team members who can properly answer a caller’s questions.
2. You want to keep work separate from everything else. When personal and business calls go to the same number, customer messages get buried between texts from family and friends. A dedicated business number keeps work calls, voicemails, and texts in a separate place so you don’t miss any important communication — personal or professional.
3. You’re expanding to more than one location. A separate number for each location makes your business feel more local and established. It also builds trust with local customers, increasing the chances they’ll answer your call when they recognize the area code.

How to have multiple Google Voice numbers

As a rule, the free version of Google Voice only allows you to have one number associated with your account. However, there are several ways to have more than one Google Voice number:

• Option 1: Use Google Voice and GFiber (also known as Google Fiber) — Best for individuals. You can get a phone number with GFiber (starting at $10 per month) and add it to your Google Voice account.
• Option 2: Use Google Voice for Google Workspace — Best for business owners. Sign up for a paid Google Voice account and a paid Google Workspace account (starting at $17 per month) to get multiple numbers on the same account.
• Option 3: Create multiple Google Voice accounts — Workaround to create multiple free Google Voice accounts, each with its own number, then link them back to your personal phone.
• Best alternative option: Use Quo — For a more comprehensive and effective business phone solution, Quo is the best alternative to Google Voice.

Keep reading to learn more about how to set these up.

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Option 1: Use Google Voice and GFiber

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

1. Create your free Google Voice number.
2. Set up your GFiber number, which starts at $10 per month.

3. Within 90 days of setting up your new phone number on GFiber, head back to Google Voice and select Legacy Google Voice from the Menu.
4. Locate the Settings menu at the top right and tap Settings.
5. From the Phones tab of your Legacy Google Voice settings, tap Make permanent next to the GV number you originally created.
6. 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’ll have already paid a fee.

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

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:

Lack of business features

Google Voice and GFiber aren’t designed for businesses. Google Voice only offers basic calling, texting, and voicemail, and GFiber Phone is intended as a home phone service —  it lacks CRM integrations, advanced texting options, collaboration features, and call recording.

Secondary number can’t send outbound calls or texts

Another 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.

Limited availability

While Google Voice is widely available, GFiber 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 can’t get a Canadian phone number.

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

Option 2: Use Google Voice for Google Workspace

If you want to have more than one Google Voice number — without subscribing to GFiber 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 GFiber 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

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

Key features locked behind higher-tier plans

You might expect business phone features like Google Voice’s ring groups and call recording to come standard with any VoIP service. Unfortunately, Google Voice doesn’t offer these features on its base plan — you’ll have to upgrade to access them.

Even if you upgrade, the VoIP provider lacks many of the features you need from a modern business phone system, like a Google Voice AI agent and AI call tags.

Lack of integrations

Want your business phone system to save your team time with CRM or VoIP integrations? You’ll have to look elsewhere. Google Voice doesn’t offer any integrations apart from Google apps like Google Calendar and Google Meet. For example, you can’t automatically log call activity under the right contact in your CRM, like HubSpot or Salesforce — and there’s no Google Voice API to build your own custom workflows. 

No way to save time texting

Google doesn’t have features like auto-replies, snippets, or scheduled messages. You also can’t text from a phone number that has an enabled auto-attendant in Google Voice. Other business phone options offer these and other ways to take more work off your team’s plate. 

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 prevent customers from calling your business. You also can’t buy a vanity number (like 1-800-FLOWERS), making it harder to have a memorable business phone number.

Limited collaboration features

Google Voice shared phone numbers don’t support texting, making it impossible for teams to split responsibility for incoming text messages on a specific number. Google Voice also 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 connected. 

No way to fix caller ID

If your Google Voice caller ID name is showing up incorrectly, Google Voice doesn’t offer a way to change it. You can only change the phone number that appears — not the name.

More expensive than a dedicated phone solution

Google forces businesses that want a Voice subscription to also subscribe to Google Workspace, which means you’re paying extra each month.

Google Voice’s pricing starts at $10 per user per month. On top of that, you have to pay at least $7 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.

No desktop app

Google Voice doesn’t offer a desktop app, so you’ll have to keep it open in your browser. That might be fine if you’re only using it occasionally. But if you’re running a professional business with a lot of calls coming in, it’s easy to miss customer conversations, especially when you’re switching between tabs and apps all day.

Customer conversations are stored in separate folders

Customer conversation history in Google Voice, including all calls, texts, and voicemails, live in different folders. This means you can’t see full conversations in one thread, making it harder to understand the full context or get up to speed. For example, you might respond to a text asking about a delayed order without realizing the customer already left a voicemail asking to cancel it.

Option 3: Create multiple Google Voice accounts

Disclaimer: This method is not officially supported by Google. While it currently works, Google could change its policies at any time, potentially disabling your access to multiple accounts.

It’s possible to link two separate Google-Voice-for-personal-use accounts to the same cell phone number — without using call forwarding, which is normally restricted for multiple Google Voice numbers. Instead, each number is verified separately during setup, allowing them to coexist on the same device. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Create two separate Google Voice accounts, each with its own Google Voice phone number.
2. Remove any existing numbers linked in Google Voice settings (if you previously linked your cell).
3. Manually link your cell number to both Google Voice accounts, one at a time, using the New linked number option.
4. When prompted, click Send code for verification.
5. Enter the verification code and select Verify.
6. Repeat the process for the second Google Voice account.

While this workaround allows you to have more than one Google Voice number, it comes with serious downsides that make it impractical for business owners:

Manual account switching

You’ll need to log in and out of different Google accounts to manage calls and messages, which can be frustrating and inefficient. You may also miss calls — and potential customers — if you’re logged into one account and a call comes through on the other. 

Risk of account suspension

Google may flag or disable accounts using this method at any time, cutting off your access to Google Voice and disrupting your business communications.

Even if you manage to set up multiple numbers in your Google Voice account, Google Voice’s cons far outweigh its pros. You should consider getting a dedicated business phone solution instead. 

Get more than one business phone number with the best Google Voice alternative: Quo 

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.

Quo 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 a Quo 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.

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

Here’s why Quo 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 by tagging them in internal threads.
3. Use local or toll-free numbers or both: Unlike Google Voice, you can use local and toll-free numbers on Quo. 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 through the Quo API. Or use our Zapier and Make integrations to connect with any other app in your stack. 
5. Set the right expectations for customers after hours: Quo lets you set business hours so 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 Quo’s AI-generated call summaries and transcripts for quick updates on customer interactions. Take insights a step further with call tagging, which automatically tags calls based on sentiment, topic, or urgency.
7. Answer calls automatically, no human receptionist needed: Quo’s AI agent, Sona, can greet callers, answer questions, take messages, and log everything for your team. That way, your team has the full context to follow up without needing to be on every call.

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

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