In this article, you’ll learn how using a toll-free number affects your phone plan minutes and on-demand usage.
With Genius Phone, you can get a business phone number to call and text clients directly from Workiz. You can choose between a local number with your preferred area code or a toll-free number.
How toll-free calls affect your phone usage
Before choosing a toll-free number, it’s important to understand how it may affect your phone plan and usage costs. Toll-free calls are billed at a higher rate than local calls. How this affects your account depends on whether you're using minutes included in your phone plan or on-demand minutes.
| Usage type | Impact | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Phone plan | Uses twice the plan minutes. Each minute on a toll-free call uses 2 minutes from your plan. | A 10-minute call uses 10 plan minutes with a local number or 20 plan minutes with a toll-free number. |
| On-demand | Costs twice as much. Toll-free calls are billed at twice the per-minute rate of local calls. | A 10-minute call costs $0.50 with a local number or $1.00 with a toll-free number. |
You aren't charged both ways for the same usage. If you're using minutes included in your plan, toll-free calls use those minutes twice as fast. When usage is billed on demand, toll-free calls are billed at twice the local per-minute rate.
Why toll-free usage costs more
Toll-free calls cost more to provide than calls to local numbers because the business receiving the call covers the cost of toll-free calling. This higher cost is reflected in both your plan minute usage and on-demand rates.