UK virtual phone numbers — buy a London, Manchester or 0800 DID
Get a real UK virtual phone number in any major city — London 020, Manchester 0161, Edinburgh 0131, Birmingham 0121 and 60+ more — plus national 0330 and toll-free 0800. Route inbound calls and SMS to any VoIP, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Phone, 3CX, FreePBX, Asterisk, AI voice agent, or browser softphone. From £0.50/month, instant activation, no contracts.
What is a UK virtual phone number?
A UK virtual phone number (also called a UK DID — Direct Inward Dialing — number) is a real, fully-functional UK telephone number that terminates over the internet to a VoIP or PBX system instead of a physical phone line. It looks identical to any other UK number to the people calling it, dials and rings exactly the same way, but the call is delivered to your phone system anywhere in the world over SIP.
You don't need to be a UK resident, register a UK address, or have any UK presence. You sign up, pay with a card, pick a number from any of 60+ UK cities (or a national 0330 / toll-free 0800 range), and the number activates in seconds. From that moment, anyone in the UK can dial it as a normal local call — and your phones (anywhere on earth) ring.
Common reasons businesses get a UK virtual phone number:
- Local presence in the UK for sales, support or marketing campaigns without opening an office.
- Trust signal for UK customers — a 020 London number on your website converts much better than +1 or +972.
- Toll-free customer support line on a 0800 / 0808 — no charge to UK callers.
- National brand presence with 0330 or 0345 numbers (geographic-rate, charged like a local call).
- Marketing campaign tracking — a unique UK number per campaign, channel, or ad.
- Move an existing UK landline to a modern VoIP system via port-in.
UK number types — local, national, toll-free, mobile
The UK numbering plan splits numbers by prefix. Each type behaves differently for the caller, has a different price for you, and serves a different business purpose. DIDHub stocks all of them.
| Prefix | Type | What it means | Caller cost | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
020, 0121, 0161 … | Geographic | Tied to a UK city. Highest local-presence value. | Standard local rate | £0.50/mo |
0330, 0333, 0345 | National non-geographic | Country-wide, no city. Charged like a normal landline call. | Same as a local call | £1.20/mo |
0800, 0808 | Toll-free (Freephone) | Caller pays nothing. You pay per inbound minute. | Free | £1.20/mo + usage |
0843, 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871 | Business / variable rate | Legacy "service" numbers — caller pays a service charge plus access charge. | Variable (regulated) | £1.50/mo |
056 | VoIP / location-independent | Specifically allocated for VoIP services. | Standard rate | £0.50/mo |
07xxx | Mobile | UK mobile numbers. Limited inventory. | Standard mobile rate | £3.00/mo |
UK cities and area codes (STD codes)
DIDHub stocks UK virtual phone numbers in 60+ cities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The most popular by far is London 020 — the highest local-presence value in Europe.
UK virtual phone number pricing
Flat monthly per-number, no contracts, no minimums. Cancel any time. Per-minute voice usage billed separately. £0 setup on standard numbers.
| Number type | Example | Monthly | Setup | Per-minute (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic local | London 020 7946 0XXX | from £0.50 | £0 | £0.003 |
| National 0330 / 0345 | 0330 808 0XXX | from £1.20 | £0 | £0.003 |
| Toll-free 0800 / 0808 | 0800 044 5XXX | from £1.20 | £0 | £0.018 |
| UK mobile | 07xx XXX XXXX | from £3.00 | £0 | £0.012 |
Outbound (2-way voice) — pair any UK number with outbound termination so calls you make from your PBX show up with the correct UK Caller ID. UK outbound starts at £0.005/min to UK landline, £0.012/min to UK mobile.
Capabilities — what UK virtual numbers can do
| Capability | 020 London | 0330 National | 0800 Toll-free | 07 Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound voice | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Outbound voice (2-way) | ✓ (as Caller ID) | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Inbound SMS | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Outbound SMS | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| MMS | ✓ (subset) | ✓ (subset) | — | ✓ |
| Fax (T.38) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Call recording | ✓ (optional) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Port-in supported | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SIP TLS + SRTP | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Compatible with any UK VoIP system
UK virtual phone numbers from DIDHub are delivered over standard SIP and work with every major business phone system, AI voice platform, and softphone. No proprietary gateway, no special hardware, no licensing.
Configure routing by pointing the UK number at your SIP URI (e.g. sip:pbx.example.co.uk) or static IP. For Teams, choose between DIDHub's managed Teams SBC-as-a-Service (no SBC to deploy) or BYO-SBC with AudioCodes / Ribbon / AnyNode. Provision in bulk via the REST API if you need 50+ UK numbers for a deployment.
UK number activation and regulation
The UK is one of the easiest countries in the world to get a virtual phone number in. No KYC, no proof of address, no UK residency, no business registration required. UK telecoms regulator Ofcom does not require end-user verification for geographic, national or toll-free number allocation.
That means: you check out, the UK number is yours, and it's live in seconds. The only gating you'll see is for high-volume bulk orders or 0800 ranges where Ofcom occasionally requires identity confirmation — DIDHub's checkout shows that requirement clearly before you pay.
Port your existing UK number to DIDHub
Already have a UK landline, 03 number, or 0800 number? Bring it to DIDHub and route it over SIP to your modern phone system. Port-in keeps your existing UK number identical — your customers never know anything changed except call quality goes up.
- Geographic numbers (020, 0161 etc.): typically 2-4 weeks to port
- National 0330 / 0345 / 0370: typically 2-3 weeks
- Toll-free 0800 / 0808: typically 3-5 weeks
- Required documents: a recent UK phone bill (within 90 days) and a Letter of Authority — DIDHub e-signs LOA for you
- Cost: £0 port-in fee on standard UK numbers
UK virtual phone number — frequently asked questions
Do I need to be in the UK to buy a UK virtual phone number?
No. Anyone, anywhere on earth, can buy a UK virtual phone number from DIDHub. Geographic UK numbers (London 020, Manchester 0161, Edinburgh 0131, etc.) carry no residency requirement at the carrier level. You sign up with a credit card, pick a number from inventory, and it activates immediately.
This makes DIDHub a popular choice for non-UK businesses — agencies in the US, SaaS companies in Israel, e-commerce stores in Australia — that want a UK presence to sell into the UK market without opening a London office.
How much does a UK virtual phone number cost?
Geographic UK numbers (any city) start from £0.50/month. National 0330 / 0345 numbers from £1.20/month. Toll-free 0800 / 0808 numbers from £1.20/month plus per-minute usage (callers don't pay; you do). UK mobile numbers from £3.00/month.
Setup fees are £0 on standard numbers. Per-minute voice usage from £0.003/min for landline destinations. No contracts, cancel any time.
020 vs 0330 vs 0800 — which UK number type should I pick?
Pick 020 (or another geographic city code) if you want maximum local-presence trust. UK customers see "020 7946…" and immediately recognise it as a London business. Best for sales, marketing, and customer-facing lines.
Pick 0330 / 0345 if you want a single nationwide number and don't want to be tied to one city. The caller pays the same as a normal landline call, so it doesn't deter callers like the legacy 0844 ranges did. Best for support hotlines and brand presence.
Pick 0800 / 0808 if you want callers to pay nothing — completely free for them. You pay an inbound per-minute rate. Best for high-trust customer-support lines and lead-gen campaigns where you don't want any caller friction.
Can I use a UK virtual number with Microsoft Teams?
Yes — UK numbers from DIDHub work with Microsoft Teams Direct Routing two ways:
1. DIDHub managed Teams SBC-as-a-Service — we run the Session Border Controller for you. No AudioCodes, Ribbon or AnyNode to deploy. You connect your Teams tenant to our managed SBC, we hand you the carrier endpoint, and your Teams users dial on UK DIDHub numbers within minutes.
2. BYO-SBC — if you already operate AudioCodes, Ribbon, AnyNode, Oracle or Sangoma, point it at DIDHub as the upstream SIP carrier.
This avoids Microsoft Calling Plans, which are bundled per-seat and limited in country coverage.
Can I send and receive SMS on a UK virtual phone number?
Yes — most UK geographic and national numbers support both inbound and outbound SMS. SMS capability is shown clearly per number in DIDHub's search before you buy. MMS is supported on a subset of UK numbers.
Inbound SMS can be forwarded to email, to an HTTPS webhook (with signed media URLs for MMS attachments), or delivered via SIP MESSAGE on systems that support it. Reply from email and we send SMS back out as the original sender.
Can I port my existing UK number to DIDHub?
Yes. UK port-in is supported for geographic landlines (020, 0161, etc.), national non-geographic (0330 / 0345 / 0370 / etc.) and toll-free (0800 / 0808). You keep your existing UK number and switch only the routing.
Typical port times: geographic 2-4 weeks; national 2-3 weeks; toll-free 3-5 weeks. You'll need a recent UK phone bill (within 90 days) and a Letter of Authority. £0 port-in fee on standard UK numbers.
Is a UK virtual phone number the same as a UK SIP trunk number?
Yes — different terms for the same thing. A "virtual phone number", "DID" (Direct Inward Dialing), and "SIP trunk number" all describe a real telephone number that's delivered to your phone system over SIP rather than a physical phone line. DIDHub uses "DID" as the technical term and "virtual phone number" as the buyer-friendly term, but they refer to the same product.
Can I use a UK virtual number for an AI voice agent (Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs, etc.)?
Yes — and it's one of the fastest-growing use cases. UK numbers from DIDHub connect with one click to all major AI voice orchestration platforms: Vapi, Retell AI, Bland AI, ElevenLabs Conversational AI, Synthflow, LiveKit Agents, Pipecat, Vocode, Cartesia and Deepgram.
Why teams use DIDHub specifically for UK AI voice deployments: sub-50ms regional ingress in London for natural-feeling realtime turns; HD codecs (G.722, Opus) end-to-end so STT models hear the caller clearly; bulk REST-API provisioning when you need to spin up 100+ UK numbers; and 2-way voice on the same DID so your agent can both answer and dial out from a UK Caller ID (UK answer rates roughly double when the caller-ID is local).
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Get your UK virtual phone number
Live UK inventory across 60+ cities — local, national, toll-free. From £0.50/month. Activated in seconds.