By Emma Wilson · Reviews · 2026-09-05 · 8 min read
Here's the thing nobody warns you about Google Voice: it's genuinely good, and most people reading this can't use it. Setup is US-only. Try to create one from Lagos, Karachi, Dubai or Manila and the number never appears — Google just doesn't offer it to you. So the real question isn't "what's better than Google Voice," it's "what actually works from where I live?"
I spent a couple of weeks signing up for the usual suspects from a laptop, sometimes on purpose from the wrong country, to see which ones let a non-US person get a working number at all. Below is what survived.
Three tests, in this order of importance:
Availability outside the US carried the most weight, because it's the wall everything else runs into first. On to the picks.
Why it wins: it clears all three tests at once — cheap, WhatsApp-ready, and you can buy it from anywhere. That combination is rarer than the number of "second phone number" apps out there would suggest.
G100 is a US-registered app that gives you a dedicated US or Canada number for a flat $1.95/month. No annual lock-in, billing is pay-as-you-go in USD through Stripe, and calls run $0.03/min. The number receives SMS and OTP codes, which is the part that makes WhatsApp verification actually work — I registered WhatsApp Business on a G100 number without living in the US, and that's precisely what Google Voice won't allow. There's no KYC wall, and you can buy from any country. Everything runs in the browser and a mobile app. If you later want the full official WhatsApp Business Cloud API with a shared inbox and broadcasts, that's an optional $10/month add-on.
Two fair caveats. G100 is newer and smaller than the household names, so you're betting on a younger product. And outbound SMS sending isn't live yet — you can receive texts and OTPs and make calls today, but you can't blast texts out. If mass texting is the whole job, this isn't your tool.
Why it's here: it's the thing everything else is measured against, and for a US resident it's hard to beat free.
A free US number tied to your Google account, rock-solid for calls and texts, no monthly bill. If you live in the US, start here — I won't pretend a paid line beats free for a solo user with a US address. But the front door is the whole story: you can't set one up from India, Nigeria, Pakistan or most of Africa and the Gulf, and the workarounds people trade online are fragile. For an international reader, that ends it.
Why it's here: free, ad-supported, and dependable for casual calls and texts.
TextNow hands out free US and Canada numbers without asking for a card, and it's been around long enough to trust for a throwaway or light second line. Same wall as Google Voice, though — sign-up is North America only, so it's out for anyone registering from elsewhere.
Why it's here: a paid app built around not giving out your real number.
Hushed offers US, Canada and UK numbers on paid plans, aimed at people who want a disposable line for classifieds, dating or a short-term project. It's honest about what it is — a burner tool, not a permanent business identity — so don't build a customer-facing brand on a number you plan to throw away.
Why it's here: a clean app-based second line with more country choices than most.
Vyke offers second numbers across a wider spread — US, UK, France, Canada, Netherlands and Poland — on paid plans. If your goal is keeping work and personal separate on one phone, and you like picking from a few countries, it's a sensible option. It's built as a personal second line rather than a WhatsApp-first business setup, so weigh that against what you're after.
Why it's here: because someone always recommends it, and it deserves an honest note.
You can rent a raw number from a platform like Twilio and wire up your own calling and messaging. Cheap per number, endlessly flexible — and firmly built for developers. You're assembling the thing, not opening an app and sending a text. If you're not technical, skip it. I'm not quoting a price because it depends entirely on how you configure it, and I'd rather not invent one.
Why it's here: sometimes the answer isn't a US number at all.
If you only need a working second line for calls and texts in your own country, a local SIM or a carrier's second-number add-on can be the simplest, cheapest route — no apps, no signup gymnastics. It just won't give you a US identity or, usually, a clean WhatsApp Business US number, so it only fits when "must be American" isn't part of your requirement.
| Alternative | WhatsApp-ready? | Available outside US? | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G100 | Yes | Yes — buy from anywhere | $1.95/mo flat + pay-as-you-go | Global users & WhatsApp Business |
| Google Voice | Region-locked at signup | No — US-only to set up | Free | People already in the US |
| TextNow | Region-locked at signup | No — North America only | Free | Free casual/burner line |
| Hushed | Varies by number type | Varies | Paid plans | Privacy / burner numbers |
| Vyke | Varies by number type | Varies | Paid plans | Simple second-number app |
| Twilio-style | Depends on your build | Signup in many countries | Depends on config | Developers |
| Local telecom | Usually not a US number | Yes — it's local | Varies by carrier | Local second line |
Your location decides most of it. In the US and happy with free? Google Voice, then TextNow as backup. Chasing privacy for a short project? Hushed. Want a clean second line with country options? Vyke. Comfortable writing code? A Twilio-style number gives you total control. Just need a local line? Your own carrier is fine.
But the moment you're outside the US, or WhatsApp Business is the reason you started reading, the shortlist collapses — most of these lock you out at signup or aren't WhatsApp-ready. That's why G100 leads for that specific use case: cheap, WhatsApp-ready, and you can actually buy it from where you are. Go in knowing outbound SMS isn't live there yet, and if bulk texting is your core need, pick a tool built for it.
Google Voice is built as a US-only service. Setup expects a US address and a US phone to verify against, so from most of Asia, Africa and the Gulf the number simply isn't offered to you. That's the single reason most people go looking for an alternative in the first place.
G100. Its dedicated US or Canada numbers receive the SMS or voice code Meta sends, so WhatsApp Business verifies on them, and you can buy one from any country with no KYC. Whatever you choose, test that the number receives the code before you build on it.
TextNow is free and ad-supported, but sign-up is North America only, so it doesn't help if you're abroad. If you're outside the US and need to actually complete signup, G100 is the cheapest paid option available worldwide, at a flat $1.95/month with pay-as-you-go calls.
Not yet. On G100 today you can receive SMS and OTP codes, make and take calls, and run WhatsApp Business. Outbound SMS sending isn't live at the time of writing, so if bulk texting is your main job, choose a provider built for that instead.
Flat $1.95/mo, no contract, buy from any country. Calls & WhatsApp Business in one app.
Get your number →