How to get a second phone number without a new SIM

Why people keep a second number

Most people who want a second number are not trying to hide anything. They simply don’t want one number to connect every part of their life. The number you give to a marketplace buyer, a delivery app or a dating match ends up in databases you will never see — and it is often the same number your bank uses to send you security codes.

A second number lets you draw a clear line:

• Work and personal. Clients get one number, family and friends get the other, and you decide when each one rings.
• Selling and buying online. Classifieds, rentals and marketplaces expose your number to strangers. Give them a number you can keep — or let go of.
• Accounts and 2FA. A number used only for sign-ups and account recovery is much harder to target than the one printed on your business card.
• Travel and moving abroad. Keep a number in the country you left while you use a local SIM where you live now.

Your options, compared

There are four common ways to add a number. They differ less in price than in what they ask from you in return.

Option	What you need	Calls and texts	Watch out for
Second SIM or eSIM	A compatible phone, a carrier plan, often an ID check	Both ways	Tied to one device and to your identity
Second-number apps such as Hushed, Burner and MySudo	An app store account, usually a bank card	Both ways, often in a few countries only	Numbers can be reclaimed if you stop using them
Business VoIP	Company details, a card, often per-user pricing	Both ways	Paperwork and monthly seats
Online numbers (Numonym)	A browser and some crypto	Both ways, in the browser or in any SIP app	Some services refuse VoIP numbers — check the line type

The first three options work well for many people. They just don’t fit when the point is to keep your name, your bank card and your SIM out of the picture.

How an online second number works

An online number lives with the provider instead of on a SIM card. Calls and texts reach it over the internet, and you choose where they show up:

• In your browser. Open your account in any browser to answer calls, read texts and reply.
• In a SIP app. Scan a QR code with Linphone, Groundwire or Zoiper and the number rings on your phone like a normal line. See how to set up a SIP app.
• Where you already read your messages. Forward texts to Telegram, to PGP-encrypted email, to a webhook, to XMPP or to Matrix.

Because nothing is installed on a SIM, your main number and your phone stay exactly as they are. You don’t even need a second phone: a laptop is enough to use the second number.

Verification codes are spotted automatically in the inbox and shown with a one-tap copy button. If a service reads its code out loud in a phone call, voicemail is transcribed and the code is detected there too.

Choosing the right number

Every number on Numonym shows its line type and its capabilities before you pay. Two kinds cover every need:

• Mobile — a real carrier mobile line, not VoIP. The best choice when the number will receive sign-up and security codes, because many apps check the line type before sending one. See mobile numbers.
• Local and national — a city number, or a nationwide one where the country has them, for calls with customers, clients and buyers at a lower price. Texts depend on the number. See local and national numbers.

Pick the country by who will call you, not by where you live. Two details are worth knowing:

• Some countries hide or block their own numbers when a call starts abroad — UK, French, German and Spanish numbers, for example. The number card tells you whether people will see your number when you call them.
• In the United States, outgoing texts are for conversations between people. Bulk or automated texting is not possible.

Set it up in five steps

1. Search. Type a country, a city or an area code on the numbers page.
2. Check the card. Line type, calls and texts in each direction, short codes, and whether your caller ID shows when you call from abroad.
3. Create your account. Ten seconds, no personal details: a random 16-digit account number and a password. Add a passkey or a 2FA app to protect it.
4. Pay in crypto. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, USDT (TRC-20) or Solana, from $30 — with a bonus of up to +50% from $100. Prices are fixed in dollars.
5. Choose where it rings. The browser, a SIP app, forwarding — or all of them at once.

Every number is in stock and live the moment it’s paid. If you want the details of each step, here is how it works.

Keep it for as long as you need

A second number becomes valuable once people and services know it. Losing it by accident is the real risk, so check how a provider handles renewals before you commit.

• You can rent for 1, 3, 12 or 24 months, and your price stays the same for as long as you keep the number.
• Reminders arrive well before the renewal date. If you miss it, you still have 30 days to renew at the normal price, with no reactivation fee.
• A released number goes into quarantine first. It is never handed straight to someone else.
• Transfers and port-outs need your PIN and your 2FA — not even our support team can move your number.
• If a number doesn’t work for what you bought it for, you can swap it for free within 72 hours.

More on this in how we keep your number yours.