"Virtual number" gets used for two very different products. One is a temporary number you rent for a single verification code. The other is a dedicated number you keep for weeks or years, with its own inbox and calling. Picking the wrong one either wastes money or leaves you locked out of an account later. Here is how to choose.
At a glance
| Temporary (Instant OTP) | Dedicated (My Numbers) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | One verification, ~20 minutes | Your term — 1 week to 12 months, renewable |
| Ownership | Shared pool, reassigned after use | Yours alone until you release it |
| Countries | 200+ | United States and Canada (self-serve) |
| SMS | One code (sometimes a second) | Unlimited inbound SMS, persistent inbox |
| Calls | No | Yes — browser calling in and out |
| Price | From about $0.15 per code | Flat term, e.g. $6.50/month or $54/year |
| Refunds | Automatic if no SMS arrives | Prepaid term; release any time |
When a temporary number is right
Choose a temporary number when the code is all you need:
- creating a test account for a one-off QA run;
- trying an app without handing over your personal SIM;
- verifying a service in a country where you don't live;
- automating signup steps in CI where every run needs a fresh identity.
The big advantages are breadth and price. You can pick from hundreds of countries and pay only when a code actually arrives.
The big limitation is that you won't get that number back. If the service later asks you to re-verify — a new device, a password reset — the number may belong to someone else. Never attach a long-lived, valuable account to a temporary number.
When a dedicated number is right
Choose a dedicated number when the number itself matters:
- a second line for a side business, marketplace listings or classified ads;
- long-running test accounts that will need logins and resets over months;
- receiving SMS from multiple services on one stable identity;
- making and taking calls from a browser without a second SIM.
A dedicated number stays yours for its whole term and renews automatically from your wallet, so it behaves like a real phone line. With OTP Bolt you also get browser calling (WebRTC — no app to install) and a full SMS history.
Cost comparison in practice
Suppose you verify three services a month:
- With temporary numbers, three codes at typical rates cost roughly $0.50–$1.50 total.
- A dedicated monthly line costs $6.50 but can receive every code from every service, plus calls, for the whole month.
So temporary numbers win for occasional, disposable verifications; dedicated numbers win as soon as you need continuity or volume on one identity.
Tips for using both together
Many teams use both products side by side:
- Use temporary numbers for broad country coverage in regression tests.
- Keep one or two dedicated numbers for the staff or test accounts that must survive between releases.
- Read both inboxes from the same OTP Bolt dashboard — or programmatically via the REST API.
Frequently asked
Can I convert a temporary number into a dedicated one? No. Temporary numbers come from a shared pool managed by our network partners and are reassigned after the rental.
What happens when I release a dedicated number? It leaves your account immediately and can be reassigned to another customer later, so make sure you've moved any accounts that rely on it.
Do dedicated numbers receive SMS from short codes? Most do, but some services refuse virtual or VoIP ranges. Test the specific service before relying on it.
Ready to choose? Start with Instant OTP for one-off codes or My Numbers for a line you keep.