Toll free numbers are not just for the Fortune 500 sized businesses anymore! Thanks to the ease of getting a toll free number set up, it's becoming more common not only for a small business to utilize a toll free line, but also for the average family to get their own toll free number. Having a personal toll free number allows friends and family to call you from out of town without paying long distance fees or running up their cell phone – and you only pay a few pennies per minute when you use the line.



It used to be toll free phone numbers required extensive equipment installed and an expensive monthly bill in addition to a pay-per-minute fee for all calls coming or going. Reserving a number was a timely process, and scheduling the installation often a chore because it would interrupt the operation of the business while the service was being set up. As recently as a few years ago, only big businesses could afford to have a toll free number because of the expense – and the calls could only be received in the location that the equipment was set up in.

Today, toll free numbers have gone “virtual”, enabling anyone who wants one to set up a toll free number for their home or business. There is no requirement to have any special equipment installed as calls coming into a virtual toll free line are forwarded to the phone of your choice. Receive calls on your home line, your cell phone, or your regular business line any time you want – and you can even set it up so your incoming toll free calls are forwarded to wherever you are at that time, meaning you never miss a call with a “follow me call forwarding” feature. You can set up a list of your numbers and what order to forward the calls until they find you!

Monthly service plans for virtual toll free numbers are as low as $2 per month, and the calling minutes with many providers of virtual toll free numbers can be prepaid, which means you will never be surprised with a high phone bill. Unlike cell phone plans that do not allow you to roll over unused minutes, the minutes you purchase for use with your toll free line are yours until they are used, even if you don't use them all in the month you buy them.

Using a toll free line at home is a bit like having a calling card for your family and friends who are outside your local calling area, only easier since you won't have to reload cards or mail them out: just give out your 800, 866, 877 or 888 number and let them use it whenever they wish to call you.

Thanks to the ease of setting up and the affordability of using a virtual toll free number, no family should be without their own line. Forget paying monthly service plans for long distance and give out a toll free number to friends and family instead.