Phone number FAQs for voice and text

What's my plan?

Suite

Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus

Support with

Talk Team, Professional, or Enterprise

Use the following FAQs to help you understand more about the availability, pricing, and requirements of numbers for voice and text.

For information about Embedded voice and digital lines, see Understanding Embedded voice.

For information about SIP-IN lines, see Adding a SIP-IN line.

Are there any address requirements to set up a phone number for voice or text?

To purchase phone numbers in certain countries, you'll first need to verify your business. For a full list of requirements, see Zendesk voice and text number regulatory requirements. For more information about how to verify your business for phone number purchasing, see Verifying your business for purchasing a Zendesk phone number .

What is the pricing and availability for phone numbers?

If you're on a trial, a phone number is included. After the trial, you can purchase more numbers. You can find all the information you need about the cost of a phone number, how to port an existing number to Zendesk, and how to forward your existing number in Zendesk number availability and pricing.

How do I understand my Talk bill?

Talk is billed monthly and appears separately in your account.

Calls are charged per minute, rounded up to the nearest minute. For information about the base charge for calls and recordings, see Zendesk Talk number availability and pricing.

Calls have three components, each of which contribute toward the price you pay for the service:

1. Inbound leg: This charge is from the moment the caller hears a greeting, until the moment they hang up, and is usually the largest portion of the call cost.
2. Outbound leg: This is the part of the call where the caller is connected to an available agent. The cost of this will vary. For example, if the agent answers in a browser, it will be less expensive than if the call is forwarded to the agents phone.
3. Conference: This is the part of the call once the agent and caller are connected. There is no charge for the conference, but there is a small charge for the recording of the conference.

Can I use special phone numbers?

While you can search for specific phone numbers to purchase (see Adding Zendesk phone numbers), you cannot purchase special numbers (also known as vanity numbers). Contact Zendesk customer support if you want to purchase a special number.

What is the pricing and availability for phone numbers for text?

Text usage pricing includes phone numbers and per-message fees. There is no additional charge for end users to send text messages to your support number. They only pay any charges specified by their provider.

Text messages are charged per segment. Segments are typically 160 characters or 70 characters if you include an emoji or other non-standard character. When you send a message that exceeds these limits, you'll be charged for additional segments.

For details about the availability and pricing of phone numbers and segments for text, see Text usage pricing.

Are there any restrictions for using SMS and MMS messages?

You can communicate with end users over text. This texting occurs over SMS and MMS technology powered by Zendesk’s third party telephony service provider, Twilio. You can't use Text while you're on a trial plan.

Due to phone carrier restrictions on the use of SMS and MMS, Twilio prohibits certain use cases and content on SMS and MMS. A list of the prohibited activities and content can be found in this Twilio help center article. Use of the texting functionality is subject to Twilio’s general Acceptable Use Policy and Messaging Policy (collectively, the “Twilio Terms”).

Should Twilio report to Zendesk that a customer is allegedly violating the restrictions in the SMS Policy or Twilio Terms, Zendesk will reach out to such customers to cease the offending activity. If the customer is unable to cease such activity, Zendesk may have to restrict the offending activity on the account. This may include removing SMS functionality for the account.

If you have any questions, contact Zendesk Customer Support.