12 Best UK Virtual Phone Number Providers for Business in 2026

Every time you call a UK lead from a foreign number, you’re asking them to take a risk. Risk that it’s spam. Risk that it’s a scam. Risk that it’s “not really for them.”

The problem is, most people won’t take that risk. Instead, they’ll just ignore the call.

That wouldn’t matter much if phone were fading. But it really isn’t. YouGov found 65% of Britons tend to contact businesses by telephone¹. So if you sell to or support UK customers, voice is still part of the job.

The real bottleneck is trust. Ofcom found that 74% of people with caller display are unlikely to pick up an unknown international call, 57% won’t answer a withheld number, and around 45% avoid UK numbers they don’t recognise². So when your team calls from abroad—or from a generic-looking caller ID—you can lose the conversation before it starts.

That’s exactly where a UK virtual phone number steps in. A +44 caller ID (the code each British number starts with) removes the “foreign number” friction, and the right UK virtual number provider makes sure calls route to the right team and land in your CRM, so your UK growth doesn’t get stuck at “they didn’t pick up.”

To help you stop losing UK conversations to ignored calls and messy routing, we’ll break down the best UK virtual phone number providers for 2026, and which one fits your business and workflows best.

How We Chose the Best UK Virtual Number Providers for Business

To build this list of 12, we reviewed 25+ providers of UK virtual numbers, from lightweight virtual line tools to full UCaaS suites, contact-center platforms, and global virtual number players.

We also analysed verified user reviews (mainly from G2 and TrustPilot) to see how these tools perform in real sales and support environments.

In the end, we narrowed the shortlist of the best virtual number providers in the UK using six core criteria:

Finally, we prioritised providers that work well for scaling SMBs—fast to roll out, easy to manage, and flexible enough to scale from a handful of reps to full sales and support squads.

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In the past year alone, we published 1,000+ articles, all written and reviewed by humans, for humans, to provide reliable, data-backed insights you can trust.

Learn how we keep our content integrity and our software review methodology.

Top 12 Virtual UK Number Providers for 2026

Before we break down each provider in detail, here’s a quick side-by-side comparison table of the best UK virtual phone number providers.

It shows who each provider is best for, what UK virtual number types they offer, and how their pricing typically works.

1. CloudTalk — The Best Overall UK Virtual Phone Number Provider for Growing SMBs

Best for:

Scaling SMBs and mid-market teams (20–500 employees) expanding to the UK and scaling both sales + support, especially if you care about CRM accuracy, routing quality, and increased productivity of your human reps.

Why CloudTalk:

CloudTalk is built for the moment calling becomes a growth lever, not a mess. It’s widely recognized as the best cloud-based call center software for growing teams that treat calling as the source of revenue.

You get the UK numbers, yes (the widest selection of virtual number types on our list). But with CloudTalk, the real win is what happens after the phone rings: better routing, faster outbound, and AI that removes admin while protecting customer experience.

This means that unlike most VoIP solutions, CloudTalk is designed to scale from a few agents to multi-region or multi-country teams without forcing you into a complex platform switch later. That’s why many growing teams start with CloudTalk and stick with it as call volume increases.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What real users say:

2. Vonage — A Flexible UK Virtual Number Provider for UCaaS + APIs

Best for:

Teams that want a well-known business comms platform with room for integrations and API-driven workflows.

Why Vonage:

Vonage is often chosen when you want a “big platform” feel without going fully enterprise-heavy. It’s a common middle ground for orgs that need voice, messaging, and the option to get more technical later.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What real users say:

3. RingCentral — The Enterprise-Leaning UK Virtual Number Provider for Admin Control

Best for:

Growing teams and enterprises that need a full unified communications platform (voice, video, messaging) with advanced administration and reliability.

Why RingCentral:

If your world includes permissions, governance, and “we need this to work across departments,” RingCentral is built for just that. It’s less about scrappy speed and more about standardising communication at scale.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What real users say:

4. 3CX — The UK Virtual Number Option for PBX-Style Control

Best for:

IT-led teams that want deep control and can manage a more hands-on setup.

Why 3CX:

3CX offers a business softphone solution that appeals to builders. If you want to shape call flows, trunks, and system logic (and you’ve got the technical bench), this is a strong “own the system” route.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

5. 8×8 — The UK Virtual Number Provider for Multi-Site Operations

Best for:

8×8 is often the “we need one platform” decision. It’s a steady option when you’re juggling sites, departments, or multiple communication modes.

Why 8×8:

8×8 is a UCaaS platform for international businesses that want to align their comms across regions they operate in. It works well when you need UK numbers alongside other global markets, and you want one platform for internal and external calling.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

6. CallHippo — The Quick-Start UK Virtual Number Provider for Lean Teams

Best for:

Smaller sales teams that want to get a UK presence up quickly without heavy admin.

Why CallHippo:

CallHippo is a good choice as a fast path to numbers and basic workflows, especially if you’re trying to fix connect rates fast, without a multi-week rollout.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans)

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

7. Grasshopper — The Simplest UK Virtual Number Provider for Solopreneurs and Freelancers

Best for:

Solopreneurs and micro-businesses that want a simple UK virtual phone number solution with a number of extensions and business vs. personal separation.

Why Grasshopper:

Grasshopper is designed for simplicity. Instead of a full VoIP system for teams, it focuses on giving entrepreneurs and freelancers real UK presence with one number, extensions, voicemail, and call forwarding.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

8. Dialpad — The AI-First UK Virtual Number Provider Alternative

Best for:

Teams that value AI call transcription and want calling, meetings, and messaging in one unified tool.

Why Dialpad:

Dialpad stands out for real-time transcription and AI insights during calls. It’s a good fit for teams that want visibility into their UK conversations and basic call analytics without running a full contact center platform.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say

9. AVOXI — The UK Virtual Number Provider for International Coverage

Best for:

Budget-conscious SMBs that need a reliable business phone system with predictable pricing and no long-term contracts.

Why AVOXI:

AVOXI specializes in inbound UK virtual numbers and call routing. It’s commonly used by companies that want enterprise-grade inbound handling without managing telecom infrastructure.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say

10. Nextiva — The Easy-Run UK Virtual Number Provider for Business Calling

Best for:

Inbound-heavy teams that need reliable UK numbers with strong routing and IVR capabilities.

Why Nextiva:

Nextiva is frequently chosen when the priority is: “make it work, make it simple, make it supportable.” It’s built for day-to-day reliability rather than niche customization.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say

11. The VoIP Shop — A UK-First Provider of UK Virtual Phone Numbers

Best for:

Businesses and teams that want a UK-based vendor feel and straightforward VoIP packages.

Why The VoIP Shop:

For some buyers, “UK vendor + UK support + simple package” is the whole job. The VoIP Shop tends to appeal to that preference.

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

12. Telecoms World — The UK Inbound-Numbers Specialist with Guided Setup

Best for:

Companies that want UK inbound numbers (like 0800 toll-free options) with a service-led onboarding style.

Why Telecoms World:

If you don’t want to self-serve everything, Telecoms World’s positioning leans more “we’ll help you get it live” than “configure it yourself.”

Types of UK virtual numbers:

Pricing (numbers & plans):

Key features for scaling teams:

Platform limitations:

What users say:

What Is a UK Virtual Phone Number?

A UK virtual phone number is a number with a UK prefix (usually +44) that isn’t tied to a physical line or a specific office address.

In practice, your virtual phone number ensures that:

What Are the Main Types of UK Virtual Numbers?

The very best UK virtual number providers like CloudTalk offer several types of UK virtual numbers:

Which Businesses Need UK Virtual Numbers?

UK virtual telephone numbers aren’t just for call centers. They’re especially important for SMBs that fall into one of the categories below.

1. Non-UK Companies Expanding into the UK

If your team is outside the UK, the local presence you get with a +44 UK number helps you:

2. Sales Teams Calling UK Prospects at Scale

If outbound sales is your core channel, virtual UK numbers help you:

3. Support and CX Teams Handling Inbound UK Calls

If customers call you for support, UK virtual numbers make it easier to:

When It’s Not the Best Idea to Use a UK Virtual Phone Number?

A UK virtual phone number is a high-ROI upgrade for most modern sales and support teams.

But in a few cases, it can add complexity instead of removing it:

1. You Need On-Prem Telecom Infrastructure

If your setup requires:

…then a cloud virtual number platform may not fit your operating model.

2. You’re Truly UK-local and Staying Tiny in Size

If you’re a very small local business with low call volume and no plans to scale, a full platform can be more than you need. A basic line-forwarding solution might be enough for now.

3. You Need Carrier-Negotiated Enterprise Contracts

Some companies need things like:

In that case, a big enterprise telecom provider (or a direct carrier contract) may fit better than an SMB-focused platform.

For everyone else (especially growing teams, remote agents, and businesses expanding across UK regions), a UK virtual phone number is one of the simplest ways to improve reach, responsiveness, and trust.

Key Considerations When Choosing Your UK Virtual Phone Number

Getting a UK virtual phone number is easy. Making it work at scale is the hard part.

Before you commit, these are the criteria that make the biggest difference in pickup rates, call handling, and total cost.

1. Your Business Size and Needs

A provider that works for a 3-person team can fall apart at 30 agents.

If you’re running 10–150 reps across sales and support, prioritise platforms that make it easy to:

2. Choosing the Right Number Type

The “best virtual number UK” depends on what you’re trying to achieve:

3. Included Features: Routing, Integrations, and Visibility

This is where you either save calls—or quietly lose them.

Look for a UK number provider with:

4. Pricing and Scalability

Are you looking for a cheap UK virtual phone number provider, or even one offering free UK virtual phone numbers?

You might find a “free” option or a very low-cost plan, but the real question is: will it still work when you scale fast?

As your team expands across countries, time zones, and call volumes, you want:

That’s why you shouldn’t choose cheap. Instead, choose the best UK virtual number providers like CloudTalk (whose pricing is still very affordable), which let you add users, numbers, or regions without rethinking your entire phone budget every quarter.

5. AI Automation for Inbound and Outbound Calls

As call volume increases, manual calling becomes harder and harder to scale. AI automation helps teams handle more calls in the UK without constantly adding new human reps.

Look for British virtual number providers that offer:

6. Number Provisioning Speed and Support

UK numbers aren’t always “instant,” and support matters most when something breaks at the worst time.

Before you commit, ask:

The Bottom Line: How to Choose the Best UK Virtual Phone Number Provider

If you’re scaling into the UK in 2026, don’t treat this as “a number decision.” Instead, look at it as a growth decision.

Because the cost of getting it wrong isn’t the subscription, but rather the conversations you never get. And if you take into account studies showing the average inbound answer rate is 37.8%³, most businesses are already bleeding calls before they reach a human.

But here’s the catch: you don’t just need the right number, you need the right provider.

The best UK business number provider gives you:

That’s why CloudTalk is the best UK virtual number provider for scaling SMBs. It gives you UK virtual numbers at just $6/month (and instant activation with zero friction), plus the routing, integrations, analytics, and AI automation you need to grow in the UK…without switching platforms again six months from now.

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