Getting a US Number
How to search for and buy a dedicated US phone number on BubblyPhone. Filters, area codes, the purchase flow, and what happens after you claim a number.
Buying a US number on BubblyPhone takes about a minute. Here's exactly what happens when you click "Get a number" and what to expect.
Before you start
Make sure your account balance has at least $6. We charge $3 for setup plus $3 for the first month at the moment of purchase. If your balance is below $6 we'll prompt you to top up first — no number is reserved until payment goes through. See Billing, Credits & Pricing for top-up options.
Searching for a number
Open My Numbers → Get a number. You'll see four search filters:
- Area code — the 3 digits at the start of the number, like 415 (San Francisco) or 212 (New York). This is the most common way to search and gives the fastest results.
- State— pick a US state if you don't know an exact area code but want a number from somewhere in that state.
- City — type a city name. Available numbers near that city show up first.
- Contains digits — search for numbers ending in or containing specific digits (e.g., 7777 to find a vanity number).
You can combine filters or use just one. Up to 20 available numbers come back per search. If nothing matches your filters, try widening them — the most-restrictive combination (specific area code + specific city + digit pattern) often returns no results because the intersection is rare.
Popular area codes
The buy page includes one-click chips for popular cities:
- 415 — San Francisco, California
- 212 — New York, New York
- 312 — Chicago, Illinois
- 305 — Miami, Florida
- 213 — Los Angeles, California
- 202 — Washington, D.C.
- 617 — Boston, Massachusetts
- 512 — Austin, Texas
Claiming a number
When you find one you like, click "Get for $6". Here's what happens behind the scenes:
- We claim the number from our network so nobody else can take it.
- $6 is debited from your balance ($3 setup + $3 first month).
- The number is configured for inbound calls and SMS.
- You see a 60-second "Setting up your number" spinner while the network finishes provisioning.
- Once ready, we redirect you to the number's detail page.
The whole flow usually takes 10-30 seconds. In rare cases provisioning can take up to a minute. If something goes wrong after we've charged you, your money is automatically refunded.
If a number is taken
Available numbers can occasionally be claimed by someone else between the moment we showed them to you and the moment you clicked Buy. If that happens you'll see a "That number was just taken" warning, the number is removed from your results, and no money is charged. Just pick another.
After purchase
Your new number appears on My Numbers with status Active. From the detail page you can configure forwarding to your cell, upload a custom voicemail greeting, and enable push notifications. See Number settings for more.
Buying multiple numbers
You can own as many numbers as you like. Each one is billed independently — $3/month per number, charged on its own anniversary. To buy another, just go through the same flow again.