Toll-free numbers for serious senders
The ideal phone number choice for text messaging in the US, with high throughput and a programmatic verification process.
What are toll-free phone numbers?
A toll-free number is a 10-digit phone number with an 800-style prefix. Customers remember it. Carriers trust it. And it’s registered to your brand for text messaging, voice calling, or both.
How to use toll-free numbers
Alerts and notifications
When it matters, send it toll-free. Deliver reminders, confirmations, and updates at scale. Luma Health handles appointment confirmations, reminders, and more communications seamlessly for 7M+ patients.
Toll-free number features
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High-throughput
Start at 3 messages per second (MPS) and scale up to 150+ MPS with high-throughput toll-free.
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One number, two channels
Toll-free numbers do double duty: phone calls and text messaging, with the same 10DLC-powered voice flexibility.
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Delivery receipts
See when messages hit the handset, not just the carrier. More transparency, better optimization, fewer question marks.
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Bring your own number
Use an existing toll-free number (or your vanity pick like 1-800-FLOWERS) into a line that handles calls and texts.
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Fast-track onboarding
Verify toll-free numbers in minutes with Twilio’s API or Console to start sending without the slowdown.
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An all-purpose number
Toll-free works across alerts, 2FA, customer support, promotions, password resets, and practically every other use case.
The oh-so-many benefits of toll-free SMS texting
Start sending sooner
Provision toll-free numbers and expedite the onboarding and compliance process through Twilio’s API and console solutions.
Scale with confidence
Twilio powers toll-free messaging at scale across 180+ countries with the largest verified inventory (65K+ prefixes) and unmatched global reach.
Only pay for what you send
No contracts, no hidden fees. Start small, scale big, and unlock discounts as your volume grows with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Getting started with toll-free numbers
Buy a toll-free number
Sign up for a Twilio account to get started. You can instantly purchase a toll-free number in the Twilio Console or through the REST API. Or, port in a toll-free number you already own and enable it for text messages.
Become the brand your customers remember
Secure a verified, branded toll-free number and deliver consistent experiences across SMS and voice. Trust your messages to land on time, on brand, and right in front of your customers.
FAQs about toll-free number messaging
A toll-free number is a 10-digit telephone number. They are characterized by a preassigned 3-digit prefix, like 877, in place of an area code and are free of charge for the calling party.
Historically, toll-free numbers were used by businesses that wanted to assume the full cost of having a customer reach out to them.
But today’s toll-free numbers function a lot differently than the 1-800 numbers businesses used 10 years ago. They aren’t limited to hotlines for placing orders. In the US and Canada, they are enabled for both calling and texting, so they serve as dynamic customer communications channels.
Yes, toll-free numbers in the US and Canada are text-enabled so they can send and receive text messages just like a short code or long code.
You can have an existing toll-free number text-enabled so you can keep the same number your customers already know.
Toll-free texting works just like business messaging to any other number type, like short codes or long codes.
Customers can receive and reply to toll-free messages about appointment reminders, offers, and customer support.
It’s easy to verify a toll-free number with Twilio. After buying a toll-free number or porting in an existing toll-free number, you can choose to verify your number through the Messaging Compliance API or Console.
This requires you to create a Customer Profile with business, contact, and location information along with your messaging use case and submit it for review.
All toll-free numbers in the US and Canada need to be verified for transparency with the carriers, compliance, and optimal delivery.
Toll-free numbers differ from A2P 10DLC numbers in a few ways:
- Twilio can verify toll-free numbers in house. 10DLC numbers require secondary vetting from an external registration group, which can increase time-to-market
- 10DLC numbers have a local prefix for the area code, while toll-free numbers have a preassigned prefix like 833,888,855, etc.
- Toll-free messaging shows delivery receipts at the customer handset level, while 10DLC shows delivery receipts at the carrier level, giving businesses more transparency into their messaging performance and optimization.