My Numbers Billing & Lifecycle
How the $3/month recurring billing works, low-balance warning emails, the 7-day grace period when a charge fails, and what happens if you do not top up in time.
Each dedicated US number costs $3/month, billed automatically from your BubblyPhone balance. Here's exactly when charges happen, what warnings to expect if your balance runs low, and what happens if you don't top up in time.
When you're charged
- Day 0 (purchase): $6 is debited — $3 setup fee + $3 for the first month. Your number is active immediately.
- Day 30 (and every 30 days after): $3 is debited automatically for the next month. You receive a receipt email.
Each number is billed independently. If you own three numbers, you're billed $9/month total — but each charge happens on its own anniversary, not all on the 1st of the month.
Low-balance warnings
If your balance is below $3 as the next billing date approaches, you'll get email reminders so you have time to top up:
- 7 days before renewal — first warning email
- 3 days before renewal — second reminder
- 1 day before renewal — final reminder
Each email tells you exactly which number is at risk and how much you need to top up. They only fire if your balance is below $3 — if you're comfortably funded, you hear nothing.
If billing fails
On the renewal date, if your balance is below $3, the charge fails. We don't release the number immediately — you enter a 7-day grace period:
- The number stays fully functional during grace — you can still receive calls and SMS
- You receive an email immediately telling you the charge failed and you have 7 days
- You receive reminder emails on grace day 3 and 6
- If you top up at any point during grace, the charge re-runs and the number returns to normal
Topping up clears grace immediately
If you top up during the grace period, your number reactivates within seconds — we automatically retry the failed charge. You'll receive a "Number saved" confirmation email. The next billing date moves forward 30 days from the successful retry.
If you don't top up
After 7 days in grace without enough balance, the number is automatically released. You receive a final email confirming release. The number returns to our pool and can be claimed by anyone — you may not be able to get the same number again. To get a new number, you'd go through the buying flow again.
Releasing a number on purpose
If you no longer want the number, you can release it manually:
- Go to My Numbers, click the number you want to release.
- Scroll to the bottom of the detail page to the red Release this number card.
- Click Release number, then confirm.
Manual release takes effect immediately. The number returns to our pool and you stop being billed. There's no refund for the partial month already paid — whatever's already been charged stays charged. You won't be billed again on the next anniversary.
Usage costs: calls & texts
The $3 setup fee and $3/month are just for the number itself. Everything you do with it is funded from the same single prepaid balance:
- Outbound calls — billed at our standard per-minute rates (see Billing).
- Inbound calls — a small per-minute fee when the call is answered, whether in your web dialer or after forwarding to your cell.
- Forward leg to your cell — when forwarding is on, the leg to your cell is billed at that destination's per-minute rate. An international mobile costs more than a US one.
- Receiving a text — a small per-message fee, from $0.01.
- Sending a text (US & Canada) — per message; longer texts use multiple segments, each billed. You aren't charged if a message can't be sent.
Every call and text appears in Billing & Activity. See Receiving Calls and Sending & Receiving Text Messages for details.