All comparisons

GBPN vs Google Voice

Free Google Voice is, in Google’s words, “for personal, consumer use.” For one person, Google’s paid plans are cheaper than GBPN. For a team sharing one business number, every person needs a Voice license and Google Workspace, and the features GBPN includes sit on Google’s top plan.

We’re GBPN, so we’re not neutral. That’s why every fact about Google Voice on this page links to its source: their own website, their help center, or public reviews. Checked October 3, 2026, at monthly prices.

Apples to apples, for 3 people

GBPN

$30

a month, taxes and fees included

Google Voice Team Premier

$115.20

a month, plus taxes and fees

Sharing one number needs Voice Standard and Workspace for every person. Automatic call recording, which GBPN includes, is only on Premier.

Need less than that? Price it for what you need

What it costs

Price it for what you actually need

Google Voice’s lowest price leaves out features most businesses use. Pick what you need, and we’ll show the cheapest Google Voice plan that has all of it.

People who answer calls or texts

Google Voice charges for each one. GBPN doesn’t.

3
What GBPN includes for $30. Untick what you don’t need.
Things Google Voice has and GBPN doesn’t. Tick any you need.

GBPN

$30

a month, whole team. Taxes and fees included.

Google Voice Team Premier

$115.20

a month: 3 × $38.40. Plus taxes and fees.

Google Voice costs $85.20 more a month. That’s $1,022.40 a year.

Google adds taxes and regulatory fees, and an E911 or 988 fee per number in some places.

Why this plan

  • Starter (1 person) or higher for call transfers, three-way calling, and support.
  • Standard (1 person) or higher for a phone menu and business hours.
  • Team Standard or higher for sharing one number and ring order.
  • Only Team Premier has automatic call recording and automatic AI call notes.

Only with GBPN

  • Dedicated onboarding: a real person sets it up with you.Google doesn’t offer setup with a person. You, or your Workspace admin, set it up.

Google Voice prices are its monthly-billing prices from its pricing page, checked October 3, 2026.

On top of Google Voice’s plan price

  • Teams: Google Workspace for every person, $8.40 a month on monthly billing ($7 with a 1-year commitment)
  • Taxes and regulatory fees, and a monthly E911 or 988 fee per number in some places
  • Moving your number out: $3
  • International calls: billed by Google’s rate card

With GBPN

  • $30 a month is the whole price: taxes and fees included.
  • No per-person pricing. Add your whole team to one number.
  • We don’t add carrier registration fees for texting to your bill.

Google Voice prices are monthly. Team plans need Google Workspace for every person; we use Workspace Business Starter at its monthly price, $8.40. Voice Starter for teams ($10 plus Workspace) can’t share one number, because ring groups start on Standard.

Beyond the price

What a pricing table won’t tell you

The things that matter on a busy day, with the proof next to each one. Click any screenshot or quote to see the original.

In Google’s own words

Free Google Voice is a personal number, not a business line.

Google describes the free plan as “for personal, consumer use.” Its rules ban bulk and automated texting, and Google can take back a free number if you don’t make calls or send texts for 3 months.

When Google reclaims a number, you “can’t get calls or texts” on it, and you have 45 days to get it back. Google’s $10 plan sells the fix in one line: “Your number will not be reclaimed due to inactivity.”

With GBPN

A GBPN number is a business line from day one, and it stays yours as long as you’re a customer.

Google Voice help: “Basic Google Voice: This no-charge plan is for personal, consumer use.”
Google Voice help center, October 3, 2026. support.google.com ↗
Google Voice policy: Google may reclaim your number if you don’t place calls or send texts for 3 months.
Google Voice acceptable use policy, October 3, 2026. support.google.com ↗
More proof (1)

“After your number is reclaimed, your messages are still in your Voice account, but you can't get calls or texts.”

When the number goes dark

If Google suspends the account, customers can’t reach you.

On June 22, 2026, a fault at Google suspended some consumer Google Voice accounts for about 5 hours. Google fixed it by “reinstating suspended accounts.” Users on r/googlevoice said texts sent to them during those hours never arrived.

Suspensions also happen one at a time. Owners describe appeals that take days or get rejected, with the number cut off the whole time. And since early 2026, new Google Voice numbers can’t call or text until the owner passes a government ID check.

With GBPN

If anything goes wrong with your GBPN line, you can call a real person, weekdays 9 AM to 9 PM Pacific.

Google Workspace status: “Some consumer Google Voice users experienced account suspensions,” June 22, 2026.
Google Workspace status dashboard, June 22 to 23, 2026. google.com ↗
An r/googlevoice post: the account was suspended after three months, and the appeal was rejected.
A post on r/googlevoice, October 12, 2025. reddit.com ↗
More proof (3)

“all my clients were unable to reach me, and I discovered they had taken my phone number away.”

“Made it for work. Used it to send ONE text and 'account has been suspended'.”

“Users who request a new Google Voice number cannot send or receive messages or calls until they complete identity verification.”

Sharing one number

Google Voice charges for every person who answers.

To have several people answer one Google Voice number, you need a ring group. Ring groups start on Voice Standard, $20 a person, and Google says every member “must have a Voice license and number assigned.” Each person also needs Google Workspace, $8.40 a month on monthly billing.

That’s $28.40 a person before taxes and fees, or $85.20 a month for three people. Automatic call recording needs Voice Premier, which brings three people to $115.20 a month.

With GBPN

GBPN is $30 a month for one number your whole team shares, with taxes and fees included.

Google Workspace admin help: “Members that you add to the ring group must have a Voice license and number assigned.”
Google Workspace admin help, ring groups, October 3, 2026. knowledge.workspace.google.com ↗
Google Voice team plans: Starter $10, Standard $20, Premier $30 per user per month. Requires a Google Workspace plan billed separately.
Google Voice pricing for teams, October 3, 2026. workspace.google.com ↗
More proof (1)
Google Workspace monthly pricing: Business Starter $8.40 per user per month.
Google Workspace pricing with monthly billing, October 3, 2026. workspace.google.com ↗

Texting rules

Built for chatting with friends, not texting customers.

Google says Google Voice texting is “intended only for interactive conversations.” Texts with links, or many texts in a short time, can be blocked, and Voice “may temporarily restrict you from sending more messages.”

From January 8 to 14, 2026, Google Voice picture messages could fail to deliver, according to Google’s status page. On r/googlevoice, long-time users describe texts that never arrive, with no sign they failed.

With GBPN

GBPN gives your team one shared inbox for texts and pictures, and we don’t add carrier texting fees to your bill.

Google Voice help: messaging is intended only for interactive conversations, not bulk messaging.
Google Voice help center, October 3, 2026. support.google.com ↗
An r/googlevoice post: messages are sent and never delivered, with zero indication.
A post on r/googlevoice, October 22, 2025. reddit.com ↗
More proof (1)

“Google Voice customers may experience MMS messages not being delivered to recipients.”

Google Workspace status dashboard, January 8 to 14, 2026 · google.com ↗

Getting help

Free means a forum. Paid means your admin first.

Free Google Voice users are pointed to the Google Voice Help Community, a forum. Paid plans include 24/7 Google Voice support, which is a real plus. On a Workspace team, though, users are told to contact their Workspace administrator, and in a small business that’s usually the owner.

With GBPN

Every GBPN customer can call a real person, and gets dedicated onboarding with a real person, free.

Google Voice help: post to the help community to get answers from community members.
Google Voice help center, October 3, 2026. support.google.com ↗

Google changes things

Google shuts down products. Plan for it.

The site Killed by Google lists 308 products Google has shut down, including Hangouts, which once carried Google Voice calls. Google retired the classic Google Voice website in 2020, ended the free legacy G Suite plan for small businesses in 2022, and raised Workspace prices in 2023 and again in 2025.

Our read: Google Voice is a small product inside a very large company. That’s fine for a personal number. For the number on your truck and your Google listing, we’d want a company whose only job is that line.

With GBPN

GBPN is family owned, self-funded since 2017, and business phone lines are the whole business.

In their own words

What Google Voice customers say on r/googlevoice

r/googlevoice is run by users, not by Google, so posts aren’t filtered by the company. Most people there use Google Voice as a personal number. The business problems show up anyway: suspensions, lost texts, and spam calls that Google won’t label.

Read r/googlevoice yourself ↗

Ratings elsewhere, October 3, 2026

Apple App Store

4.3 / 5

about 62,000 ratings

Google Play

4.2 / 5

about 372,000 reviews

Most Google Voice reviews are positive, and plenty of customers love the app. The themes below come from the rest.

Suspensions

Accounts cut off, sometimes after years, with appeals that take days.

“I've had my number for 10 years and I just got suspended.”

“I was in total panic. My number is my primary number that I have it for many years.”

Google Voice user, during the June 22 suspensions · reddit.com ↗

“They should have at least sent an email.”

Texts that never arrive

Messages that look sent but don’t reach the other person.

“There is zero indication that the message is lost unless I have a conversation with the recipient”

“It's a dagger into this service. It's unusable!”

Spam calls

Waves of spoofed calls that Google Voice doesn’t mark as spam.

“I've gotten 15 so far today, and the day is only halfway over”

Owner using Google Voice for a side business · reddit.com ↗

“It's been going on for months and Google voice just will not mark any of them as spam”

To be fair

  • Google Voice is free or cheap, and millions of people use it happily: it’s rated about 4.3 on the App Store and 4.2 on Google Play.
  • Paid plans include 24/7 support and aren’t reclaimed for inactivity.
  • Most r/googlevoice posts are about personal use. Read a few pages and judge for yourself.

Don’t take our word for it.

Read r/googlevoice yourself ↗

Sorted by New, so you see what it’s like this week. Read a few pages.

Every feature, plan by plan The full side-by-side table: GBPN and every Google Voice plan, including where Google Voice is better.
  • ✓Has it
  • ◐Partly, limited, or costs extra
  • ✕Doesn’t have it
GBPN · $30/mo Free · $0/userStarter (1 person) · $10/userStandard (1 person) · $20/userTeam Standard · $28.4/userTeam Premier · $38.4/user Made for Has it: Small businesses Doesn’t have it: “Personal, consumer use,” in Google’s words Has it: Business use by one person Has it: Business use by one person Has it: Teams on Google Workspace Has it: Teams on Google Workspace Sharing one number Has it: Your whole team, no extra cost Doesn’t have it: One person Doesn’t have it: One person Doesn’t have it: One person Partly: Ring groups; every member pays for Voice and Workspace Partly: Ring groups; every member pays for Voice and Workspace Keeping your number Has it: Yours as long as you’re a customer Partly: Can be reclaimed after 3 months without use Has it: Not reclaimed for inactivity Has it: Not reclaimed for inactivity Has it: Not reclaimed for inactivity Has it: Not reclaimed for inactivity Support Has it: Call a real person, weekdays 9 AM to 9 PM Pacific, or text or chat Partly: Community forum Has it: 24/7 Google Voice support Has it: 24/7 Google Voice support Has it: 24/7 support, through your Workspace admin Has it: 24/7 support, through your Workspace admin Onboarding Has it: Dedicated onboarding for every customer, free Doesn’t have it: Do it yourself Doesn’t have it: Do it yourself Doesn’t have it: Do it yourself Doesn’t have it: Your Workspace admin sets it up Doesn’t have it: Your Workspace admin sets it up Phone menu and business hours Has it: Included Doesn’t have it: Not included Doesn’t have it: Not included Has it: Auto attendant included Has it: Auto attendant included Has it: Auto attendant included Call recording Has it: Automatic, kept until you delete it Partly: Incoming calls, when you press 4 Partly: When you choose to record Partly: When you choose to record Partly: When you choose to record Has it: Automatic AI call summaries Has it: Every recorded call Doesn’t have it: Not included Doesn’t have it: Not included Partly: Gemini notes, turned on per call Partly: Gemini notes, turned on per call Has it: Automatic AI notes Texting Has it: Shared team inbox, texts and pictures Partly: US numbers only; “intended only for interactive conversations” Partly: US numbers only; links can be blocked Partly: US numbers only; links can be blocked Partly: US numbers only; links can be blocked Partly: US numbers only; links can be blocked Price $30 a month for the whole team, taxes and fees included Free $10 a month $20 a month $28.40 per person a month $38.40 per person a month Getting started Has it: Pick a number and start calling; a person helps you set up Partly: New numbers need a government ID check first Partly: New numbers need a government ID check first Partly: New numbers need a government ID check first Has it: Set up by your Workspace admin Has it: Set up by your Workspace admin Group texts Doesn’t have it: Not available Has it: Up to 8 people Has it: Up to 8 people Has it: Up to 8 people Has it: Up to 8 people Has it: Up to 8 people Desk phones Doesn’t have it: Not available Doesn’t have it: Not available Has it: Supported Has it: Supported Has it: Supported Has it: Supported Google Workspace Doesn’t have it: Works alongside any email and calendar Doesn’t have it: Not included Doesn’t have it: Not included Doesn’t have it: Not included Has it: Included: Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet Has it: Included: Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet

Swipe the table sideways to see every plan.

Google Voice is the better choice if…

  • You’re one person who needs a second number, and the lowest price matters most
  • Your business already runs on Google Workspace
  • You want 24/7 support from Google, desk phones, or group texts
  • You need local numbers in other countries

GBPN is the better choice if…

  • Your team shares one number: GBPN is one price for everyone
  • You want a business line, not a personal account that can be suspended or reclaimed
  • You want call recording and AI summaries of every call without the top plan
  • You want dedicated onboarding and a real person to call
  • You want missed callers to get a text, and a team inbox that tracks follow-ups
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Switching

Moving from Google Voice to GBPN

Keep your Google Voice number. Unlock it in Google Voice (Google charges $3), and we move it to GBPN for free, usually in 7 to 10 business days. You keep taking calls the whole time.

How keeping your number works

GBPN vs Google Voice questions

Can I use free Google Voice for my business?

Google describes free Google Voice as “for personal, consumer use,” its rules ban bulk or automated texting, help is a community forum, and Google can reclaim a free number after 3 months without calls or texts. For business, Google sells paid plans from $10 a month for one person, and teams also need Google Workspace.

How much does Google Voice cost for a team sharing one number?

Sharing one number needs a ring group, which needs Voice Standard ($20 per person) plus Google Workspace ($8.40 per person on monthly billing) for every member: $85.20 a month for three people, plus taxes and fees. Automatic call recording needs Voice Premier, $38.40 per person with Workspace. GBPN is $30 a month for the whole team, taxes and fees included.

Is GBPN cheaper than Google Voice?

For one person, no: Google Voice is free, or $10 to $20 a month. For a team sharing one number, yes: GBPN is $30 a month flat, and Google charges every person for Voice and Workspace.

Can Google suspend my Google Voice number?

Yes. Google’s rules let it limit or end access, and on June 22, 2026, a Google fault suspended some consumer Google Voice accounts for about 5 hours. While an account is suspended, calls and texts don’t reach you.

Can I move my Google Voice number to GBPN?

Yes. Unlock the number in Google Voice (Google charges $3), then we move it to GBPN for free, usually in 7 to 10 business days.

How we made this page

  • We compare monthly-billing prices for everyone, because that’s what you pay if you don’t commit to a year.
  • The top of the page compares GBPN with the Google Voice plan that includes what GBPN includes, not Google Voice’s cheapest plan.
  • Every Google Voice fact links to its source. Quotes are short and unedited, and we leave out customers’ usernames.
  • We say where Google Voice is better. If you need those things, choose Google Voice.
  • Prices and plans change. See something out of date? Email support@gbpn.com and we’ll fix it.

Sources, checked October 3, 2026

A simpler business line than Google Voice.

One flat price for your whole team, set up for you by a real person you can call. Keep your current number for free.

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