Numberbarn Reviews

Numberbarn

10

User Reviews

2.8/5

Average Rating

70%

Recommended

Total:

10

5-Star:

3

4-Star:

1

3-Star:

1

2-Star:

1

1-Star:

4

Number Barn Reviews by WhichVoIP.com

Number Barn has a slightly different business model from other VoIP companies. It provides the capability to park or forward anywhere from one to several phone numbers at a low cost, allowing a business or individual peace of mind knowing a phone number is safely stored, even if not in use.

In this Number Barn review we will highlight the pros and cons of the underlying service followed by user reviews from actual users.

The Good

The focus of the Number Barn service revolves around the ability to store phone numbers at a low price. This is particularly useful if you have very few calls but do not want to give up the phone number, as perhaps you have had it for many years. Parking or forwarding the number ensures callers can still reach you. Should you choose a new provider later, simply port the number over to the new company.

Starting at $2 per month per number, you can port a toll-free or local number (either Canadian or US, with some exceptions in parts of Alaska and Hawaii) to the Park Plan. This plan provides a message for inbound callers indicating the number is parked with NumberBarn or a custom 30-second message can be recorded by the user. The Forward Plan at $6 per month adds more features such as a voicemail forwarding option that sends the message directly to your email as a WAV attachment, SMS to email, an optional auto attendant, 300 minutes for outbound/inbound calling and incoming caller ID. The Unlimited Plan at $19 per month offers virtually the same options as the Forward Plan plus unlimited calling, capped at a reasonable 2500 minutes per month. All services require a $5 setup fee and allow for additional outbound calling at $0.03 per minute.

Users can control their account via an online control panel. Here the user can upload a 30 second custom message as a WAV or MP3, to a phone number of their choice. You can also change other account parameters such as the email associated with a phone number. It is also possible to upgrade or downgrade service at any time with no additional fee.

Each tier of service requires a one-time setup fee of $5 per number. However, if selecting the Park Plan, this fee is waived when making a lump sum to cover the entire year. All plans can be paid monthly where no term commitment is required, meaning service may be canceled at any time.

The Number Barn App can be used on your smartphone, enabling you to make and receive calls for that phone number. The advantage here is that you make outgoing calls from the App using the caller ID of your phone number rather than your smartphone number.

NumberBarn offers a tool on its website that allows you to verify that your phone number can be ported over to its service. This is a neat tool that we wish other providers would offer. It appears Number Barn is partnered with Bandwidth.com for back-end number porting and routes.

The Bad

The Number Barn service is very limited in capabilities compared to the vast majority of providers in the VoIP market. The service essentially behaves as a relay point for one (or several) phone numbers not requiring a full-fledged phone service. With that said, it is ideal for those who simply want to retain an old phone number or field calls from a number with a low call volume.

In order to forward a number to another line, this requires some form of active service, for example a cell phone plan. It is possible to make a call from this phone number but the number of free minutes are limited to a the plan allotment where any overage will run $0.03 per minute up to a maximum of 1000 minutes (or $30.) In most cases, the $19 unlimited plan would likely be better spent with another service provider offering more features and at a lower price point.

The Bottom Line

  • Call parking service starting at $2 per month per number.
  • Additional service tiers at $6 and $19 provide 300 and unlimited outbound/inbound-forwarding minutes, respectively.
  • All plans bill on a month-to-month basis and may be cancelled at any time.
  • To forward a number, the Forward Plan ($6 per month) is required otherwise, the lesser, Park Plan ($2 a month) simply plays a recorded message.
  • Any additional call time over a plan’s minute allotment bills as a flat $0.03 per minute.

Overall Thoughts

Not everybody requires an elaborate phone system to meet their calling needs. The service from NumberBarn, though simple, is quite effective for a scenario many have encountered at some point when dropping a provider. Often, you may want to keep a number but are not ready to transfer it to another provider or pay a pricey premium with the current company to park the number.

The primary focus is call parking and forwarding, so if any additional expectations exist, a potential subscriber should look elsewhere for a more advanced feature set. If simply looking to park a number and occasionally field an incoming call for a mostly inactive number, the $6 Forward Plan is an ideal option. Note that when porting a number to Number Barn, the process follows the LNP (local number portability) standard all service providers utilize so make sure not to cancel the old service prior to completion of a number port!

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