Grasshopper vs TwinPhone 2026 — Forwarding vs Direct VoIP

Grasshopper, now owned by GoTo, has been a popular virtual phone number provider since 2003. The value proposition is straightforward: get a professional business number (toll-free or local US/CA) and have calls forwarded to your personal cell phone or landline. When you call out through the Grasshopper app, your business number shows as the caller ID instead of your personal number.

Plans range from $14/month (True Solo — 1 number, 1 extension) to $80/month (Small Business — 5 numbers, unlimited extensions). All plans include voicemail transcription, custom greetings, business texting, call forwarding to multiple numbers, and a basic mobile/desktop app.

Grasshopper excels at one specific job: giving freelancers, sole proprietors, and small businesses a professional phone presence without a second phone. A real estate agent can have a dedicated business number that rings their personal cell. A startup founder can set up an auto-attendant that says "Press 1 for sales, 2 for support" — even if both extensions ring the same phone.

Here is what Grasshopper does not do: it does not make calls over the internet. When someone calls your Grasshopper number, the service forwards that call to your regular phone line, which means the call uses your cell plan minutes. When you call out, the Grasshopper app connects through your carrier. Audio quality depends entirely on your cell signal, not your internet connection. There is no VoIP involved — Grasshopper is a routing layer on top of traditional phone service.

This architecture has consequences. International outbound calling is not supported — Grasshopper numbers cannot dial international destinations. Inbound international calls technically work (anyone can call a US number), but the forwarding charges can get expensive if your phone is on a carrier that charges for incoming minutes. Virtual numbers are limited to the US and Canada — no option for a UK, German, or Japanese number. And because calls travel through your carrier, encryption depends on whatever your cell provider offers, which is usually minimal.

TwinPhone is a true VoIP service. Calls travel over the internet from end to end — your browser connects to TwinPhone's servers, which connect to the destination phone network. No cell minutes consumed, no carrier dependency, no hardware.

This means you can call from anywhere with an internet connection: a laptop at home, a phone on airport Wi-Fi, a tablet at a coworking space in Lisbon. You are not tethered to a cell plan or a geographic location. Every call is encrypted with TLS (signaling) and SRTP (media), regardless of your device or network.

Virtual numbers are available in the US and Canada starting at $3.19/month. A freelance designer in New York can have a London number for UK clients, a Paris number for French clients, and a Mumbai number for Indian clients — all ringing in the same browser window. Grasshopper simply cannot do this. For a deep dive on setting up international virtual numbers, read our guide to getting a virtual number abroad.

TwinPhone uses a pay-as-you-go model billed per minute, with the exact per-minute rate shown before every call connects. No monthly subscription, no plan tiers, no seat fees, no connection fees, and no hidden charges. You pay for the calls you make at published rates starting from $0.02/min. If you need to understand how virtual phone numbers work more broadly, our virtual phone number guide covers the basics.

This is the most important distinction and the one most comparison sites gloss over.

Grasshopper is a forwarding service. It receives incoming calls on your virtual number and forwards them to a real phone line. When you make outbound calls, the Grasshopper app initiates the call through your cell carrier and spoofs the caller ID. The actual audio travels over the phone network (PSTN), not the internet. You need an active cell plan with minutes. If your carrier charges for incoming calls, those charges apply. International outbound is not supported.

TwinPhone is a VoIP service. Calls are placed and received entirely over the internet. Your browser connects directly to TwinPhone's infrastructure, which routes the call to the destination. No cell plan minutes are used. You can call internationally to 145+ destinations. Billing is per minute, with the exact per-minute rate shown before every call connects — no connection fees and no hidden charges. Encryption is applied in transit (TLS for signalling, SRTP for audio) from your browser.

Why does this matter practically?

• Cost structure: Grasshopper costs $14-80/month plus your cell plan cost. TwinPhone has no monthly fee — you pay only for calls. If you make few calls, TwinPhone costs almost nothing. Grasshopper's $14 minimum applies whether you make zero calls or a hundred.
• International calling: Grasshopper cannot make international calls. Period. TwinPhone was built for it.
• Location independence: Grasshopper forwards to a specific phone number tied to a carrier. TwinPhone works from any browser anywhere in the world.
• Call quality control: Grasshopper's quality depends on your cell signal. TwinPhone's depends on your internet connection. In most modern environments, internet connections are more reliable and higher bandwidth than cell signals — especially indoors.
• Encryption: Grasshopper calls are only as encrypted as your carrier makes them (usually not very). TwinPhone encrypts every call with TLS + SRTP regardless of the network.

Neither approach is universally better. If you want a business number that rings your existing phone with zero learning curve and you only operate in the US, Grasshopper's forwarding model is beautifully simple. If you need flexibility, international reach, or independence from a cell carrier, VoIP is the right architecture.

Grasshopper's pricing is subscription-based:

• True Solo: $14/mo — 1 number, 1 extension
• Solo Plus: $25/mo — 1 number, 3 extensions
• Partner: $44/mo — 3 numbers, 6 extensions
• Small Business: $80/mo — 5 numbers, unlimited extensions

Remember: these prices are on top of your existing cell phone plan, since Grasshopper forwards calls to your carrier. If your cell plan costs $50/month, your total phone cost is $64-130/month.

TwinPhone's pricing is pay-as-you-go:

• No monthly base fee
• Calls from $0.02/min (billed per minute, rate shown before each call)
• Virtual numbers from $3.19/mo per number
• Start from $10

For a solopreneur who makes 200 minutes of calls per month (all domestic):

• Grasshopper True Solo: $14/mo + cell plan
• TwinPhone: 200 min x $0.02 = $4.00/mo + optional virtual number $3.19 = $5.60/mo (no cell plan needed for calls)

For a small team of 3 who need separate numbers:

• Grasshopper Partner: $44/mo + 3 cell plans
• TwinPhone: 3 virtual numbers x $3.19 = $4.80/mo + call costs

The cost gap widens significantly if any international calling is involved, since Grasshopper cannot make international calls at any price. You would need a second service alongside Grasshopper for international destinations. TwinPhone handles both domestic and international in one place. For a broader view of VoIP pricing for virtual numbers, see our Vonage vs TwinPhone comparison.

Grasshopper is well-suited for a specific profile:

• US-based freelancers and sole proprietors who want to separate business and personal calls on one phone. The professional greeting, business caller ID, and voicemail transcription make a solo operation feel like a larger company.
• Small businesses that want a simple auto-attendant. "Press 1 for sales, 2 for support" is easy to set up and does not require any technical knowledge.
• People who prefer receiving calls on their existing phone. No new apps to learn, no browser to keep open. Your phone rings like it always has — just with a different number showing.
• Teams that never make international calls. If every call you make is within the US and Canada, Grasshopper covers your needs.

Grasshopper's limitation is also its strength: by staying simple and focused on call forwarding, it avoids the complexity of full VoIP systems. There is almost nothing to configure, nothing to troubleshoot, and nothing that depends on your internet quality.

TwinPhone fits a broader and more internationally-oriented audience:

• Anyone who calls internationally. This is the clearest differentiator. If you dial numbers outside the US, Grasshopper cannot help you — TwinPhone can, at rates from $0.02/min.
• People who want virtual numbers in countries outside the US. Grasshopper offers US and Canada only. TwinPhone offers US and Canada numbers today with more countries rolling out. If your clients, family, or business contacts are in Europe, Asia, Latin America, or Africa, TwinPhone lets you show a local number.
• Digital nomads and travelers. TwinPhone works from any browser on any internet connection worldwide. No cell plan needed, no forwarding complications when you change countries.
• Cost-conscious users who make few calls. With no monthly minimum, TwinPhone costs nothing when you are not calling. Grasshopper charges $14+/month regardless of usage.
• Privacy-focused users. TwinPhone's transport-layer TLS + SRTP encryption does not depend on your carrier's security practices. Grasshopper calls are only as secure as the underlying phone network.

If you want both a professional US number and international calling, you could use Grasshopper for the auto-attendant features and TwinPhone for international outbound — but at that point, a single TwinPhone virtual number handles both scenarios at a lower total cost.