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Honest comparison
Burner invented this category and still does things we do not do. Here is where each of us wins, with their prices read off their own site.
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Burner sends texts and places calls from your second number. ExpressNumber V1 only receives. If you need to reply to a marketplace buyer from the burner, that is Burner, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
A different number for the dealership, the gym and the insurance quote is how you find out who sold you. Pro carries 100 numbers for $29.99 a month, and Free gives you a real one at $0 to test the idea first.
Line by line
Their figures come off their own site, on the date printed under the table. Anything we could not confirm there is not on this page.
| Feature | ExpressNumberReceive-only, US numbers | BurnerAs published on their site |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | $0 on Free. Basic is $9.99 a month, Pro is $29.99 a month. | $7.99 a month for Standard, $12.99 for Premium, buying direct on their site. Each subscription includes one number. Burner notes that subscribing in the app stores costs about 20% more. |
| A free plan you can keep | Yes. 1 live US number, 50 forwarded minutes, no card. An unused free number is released after 90 days of no activity. | No. Free trials when they are offered. No permanent free plan. |
| Numbers on one plan | Yes. 5 or 100 numbers on one plan. Extra numbers are $1 a month on Basic, 50 cents on Pro. | Limited. Multi-line plans go up to 100 lines on iOS and 10 on Android. The web app sells 1 and 3. Those prices are not published. |
| Burn a number, take a fresh one | Yes. One tap. Forwarding stops immediately and the number sits in quarantine for 30 days before anyone else can be given it. | Yes. Burning a number is the feature Burner is named after, and it does it well. |
| Calls reach the phone you already carry | Yes. Forwarded to the mobile you verified, ringing like any other call. The caller only ever sees the burner. | Yes. Calls route to your main cell automatically, and the caller sees the Burner number. Burner does not forward to any other number. |
| Texts and calls going out | No. Receive-only in V1. Our numbers take calls and texts, they never make them, and they cannot reach 911. | Yes. Unlimited outgoing calls, texts and picture messages. |
| Runs in a plain browser | Yes. The whole product is a web dashboard. Nothing to install, on any device. | Limited. App first, on iOS and Android. There is a web app, limited to the 1 and 3 line plans. |
| Where the numbers are | Limited. US numbers only today. | Yes. US and Canadian numbers. |
Scroll the table sideways to read both columns.
Burner figures read from burnerapp.com/pricing and Burner's support centre on August 21, 2026. Prices move: check their site before you buy.
Our minutes count forwarded calls only, rounded up to the minute, and inbound texts are never billed. Past your monthly allowance, forwarded minutes are 5 cents each, capped at $50 a month on Basic and $100 on Pro.
The take
It sends texts and places calls from the second number. ExpressNumber V1 receives only, and there is no flag or plan that changes that. If outbound matters to you, this comparison is over and Burner won it.
Burner's published plans price a line at a time. Ours pool numbers: 5 on Basic at $9.99, 100 on Pro at $29.99, extras at 50 cents. That only matters if you intend to hand out a different number to every company, which is the whole idea here.
Free is one live US number with 50 forwarded minutes and no card. Put it on the next form that asks for your phone number and watch who calls it. An idle free number does get released after 90 days, so use it.
What ExpressNumber cannot do: Numbers are receive-only. You cannot call or text out from them. They cannot reach 911, and they are not a replacement for your real line. Some banks and services refuse virtual numbers, so keep your real one for those. US numbers only today. If one of those is a dealbreaker, Burner is the better buy.
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