By Hiroshi Tanaka · How-to writer · 2026-09-01 · 6 min read
If you are in Iraq and you need a US number, the reason is usually one of three. You sell something and your customers are abroad, so a US line looks more established than a local one. You freelance for clients in the US or Europe who expect a familiar number. Or you simply need to receive an OTP — a one-time code — from an overseas service that won't accept an Iraqi number. Whatever brought you here, the goal is the same: a working US number, for as little money as possible.
Let me be methodical about it. First I'll explain why the free apps everyone recommends will not open for you in Iraq. Then I'll show you the cheapest option that actually works, and how to set it up step by step.
This is the part that wastes people's time. You read a blog post written for an American audience, it tells you to download a free app, and the app quietly refuses to work the moment it sees you are in Iraq. Here is the honest picture.
People try to force these open with a VPN. Sometimes a number appears, then it can't receive the WhatsApp code, or the account is flagged and wiped a week later. That is not a foundation for a business. Skip it.
| G100 | Google Voice | TextNow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works from Iraq? | Yes — sign up from anywhere | No — not available | No — US/Canada sign-up only |
| Price | $1.95/month, no contract | Free (but not reachable here) | Free (but not reachable here) |
| WhatsApp-ready? | Yes — receives the verification code | N/A — no number to use | N/A — no number to use |
| Receive OTP? | Yes — codes land in your inbox | N/A — no number to use | N/A — no number to use |
Notice the pattern. The "free" apps cost nothing because you can't actually use them from Iraq. A number that costs under two dollars a month but works is cheaper, in every way that matters, than a free one that never appears.
G100 is a US-registered app that sells dedicated US, Canada and Puerto Rico numbers. You can buy one from anywhere in the world — Iraq included — with no KYC and no documents. The price is a flat $1.95 per month per number, paid from a pay-as-you-go wallet in USD through Stripe. There is no contract, so if you stop needing it you stop paying.
The number works in your browser and in the mobile app. It receives SMS and OTP codes, which is exactly what you need for WhatsApp verification and for signing up to overseas services that send a one-time code. You can also make and receive calls at $0.03 per minute.
One honest heads-up, because you should know before you pay: right now G100 numbers receive SMS and OTP — that part works today. Sending your own outbound SMS from the number is not switched on yet; it arrives after US 10DLC verification clears. So for receiving codes, verifying WhatsApp, and taking calls, you are fully covered. If sending plain text messages yourself is essential to your plan, know that one piece is still on the way.
To register WhatsApp Business you need a number that can receive the verification code. Meta sends it by SMS, and it must land somewhere you can read it. Meta does the verifying — the number just has to catch the code. A G100 US or Canada number does exactly that, from Iraq, with no VPN tricks.
That's the whole process. You now have a WhatsApp Business account on a proper US number, and your personal line stays private.
If your reason is freelance clients rather than WhatsApp, the same number does the job. Put it on your profile, your invoices, your email signature — a US contact number reassures a client in New York or London who has never met you. And when a foreign platform insists on texting a one-time code to a US number before it will let you register, this number receives it. Open the inbox, read the code, done.
If you later grow into a team answering the same line, or you want to send broadcasts to a customer list, G100 also offers the official WhatsApp Business Cloud API as a $10/month add-on. Start with the phone app; upgrade only when you genuinely need it.
A G100 US number is a flat $1.95 per month with no contract. You can buy and activate it from anywhere in Iraq — Baghdad, Basra, Erbil or elsewhere — with no KYC and no documents. You pay from a pay-as-you-go wallet in USD through Stripe.
Generally no. Google Voice is not available in Iraq, so you cannot get a number. TextNow only allows sign-ups from the United States and Canada, so registration is blocked from an Iraqi connection. Hushed and Vyke are paid and region-limited. This is why a low-cost number that actually opens from Iraq is worth more than a free one you can't reach.
Yes. G100 numbers receive SMS and OTP codes, which land in your G100 inbox at app.g100.us. That covers WhatsApp verification and most sign-up codes from overseas services. Sending your own outbound SMS is not switched on yet — that comes after US 10DLC verification — but receiving OTP works today.
Yes. Meta lets you register WhatsApp Business on any number that can receive the verification code. A G100 US or Canada number receives that SMS code — or a voice call reading it out — so you can verify while sitting in Iraq. Meta does the verifying; the number just has to catch the code.
No. G100 does not ask for KYC or documents to get a US, Canada or Puerto Rico number. You sign up, pick a number, fund your wallet and activate. That is the whole process.
Stop wrestling with apps that were never meant to open in Iraq. Get a US number that works, for $1.95/month, at app.g100.us, and see the full breakdown on the pricing page.
Works from Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, anywhere. No contract, no KYC. Receives your WhatsApp code and OTPs straight to your inbox.
Get your number →