Four routes still get you free, or nearly free, home phone service in 2026:

  • Google Voice (personal): a free US number with unlimited US calling and texting. No 911.
  • TextNow: a free number with unlimited talk and text, paid for by ads, with a free SIM option on nationwide 5G.
  • Ooma Basic: free unlimited US calling with real 911, after roughly $100 of hardware and $6 to $9 per month in taxes and fees.
  • App-to-app calling: FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams Free cost nothing between users of the same app.

Each one gives something up. The details below decide which fits your house.

What Changed Since Skype

For two decades the default answer to "free home phone" was Skype. Microsoft retired it on May 5, 2025, and pointed users to Microsoft Teams Free, which handles app-to-app calls but cannot dial regular phone numbers. Microsoft also removed the 60 Skype minutes bundled with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family in March 2026. If your free calling setup dates from the Skype era, it is gone, and the replacements work differently. Our Skype retirement guide covers what happened to leftover Skype Credit and Skype Numbers.

Google Voice: Free US Number, No 911

Google Voice's free personal tier gives you one US phone number, unlimited calls and texts within the US, voicemail transcription, and apps for the web, Android, and iPhone. You need an existing US number to verify the account at signup.

The limitation is emergency calling: the free tier cannot dial 911, per Google's emergency calling documentation. If Voice would be your only home line, that gap is serious. Google's paid standalone plans, new in 2026 at $10 and $20 per month, add 911 along with call recording and desk phone support. Our Google Voice pricing guide has the full plan breakdown.

TextNow: Free Calling Paid For by Ads

TextNow gives you a free US number with unlimited talk and text, funded by in-app ads. It works over Wi-Fi on any phone or tablet, and a free TextNow SIM extends it to nationwide 5G when you leave the house. Dialing 911 in the TextNow app hands the call to your phone's native dialer, so keep it on a device that has cellular service. Since July 30, 2026, the SIM works in the US only; outside the country TextNow falls back to Wi-Fi.

Ooma Basic: Free Service, Not Free of Fees

Ooma Basic is the closest thing here to a landline replacement. A Telo box, around $100, connects your existing home handsets to your internet, and the Basic plan charges nothing for unlimited US calling. You still pay monthly taxes and regulatory fees, roughly $6 to $9 depending on your zip code, and part of that funds real 911 service with your street address on file. For a household that wants a handset in the kitchen and working emergency dialing, this is the sturdiest option on the list.

App-to-App Calling Covers More Than You Think

Most personal calls no longer touch a phone number. FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Meet, and Teams Free all place unlimited voice and video calls between their own users, and quality over decent internet beats a landline. If everyone you call is family on the same app, one of these is a complete answer at no cost. The gap is reaching businesses, schools, and anyone at an ordinary number, which still takes one of the services above.

Setting Up Free VoIP at Home

Every option here runs on your internet connection, so the setup checklist is the same:

  • Check your internet first. A voice call uses under 100 Kbps, so any broadband plan has headroom; call quality problems almost always trace to Wi-Fi, not bandwidth.
  • Wire what you can. An Ooma Telo or a desk phone plugged into the router by ethernet skips Wi-Fi problems entirely.
  • Test 911 behavior before you need it. Know which of your services reaches emergency dispatch, and from which device.
  • Port carefully. Moving a long-held home number to a free service can be hard to reverse, so confirm porting rules before canceling the old line.

When Free Stops Being the Right Answer

Free services come with no support line; when something breaks, the fix lives in a help forum. That trade is fine for a household phone. It stops making sense when the "home phone" is really a business line: clients calling the number, a number staff share, or an office that needs dependable 911. That is business VoIP territory, where plans such as Google Voice Starter begin at $10 per user per month.

ETTE does not sell home phone service. We set up and manage business phone systems, mostly Microsoft Teams Phone, for nonprofits and small businesses. If your home office has outgrown a free number, our guide to business VoIP and Teams Phone in Washington, DC explains what changes when the phone becomes mission-critical.