Google Voice gives landlords a free second number for calls and texts, and Google's paid standalone plans cost $10 or $20 a month. It keeps your cell private, but messages aren't tied to tenants or units, free numbers can be reclaimed after inactivity, and every reply is manual. Landlord-specific texting lines fill those gaps.
Google Voice is a reasonable free starting point for a landlord with a few units. It gives you a second number for calls and texts that works from an app on your existing phone, so your personal cell stays private. Its limits show up as you grow: messages aren't connected to tenants or units, free numbers can be reclaimed if they go unused, and every reply comes from you.
Prices and plan details below come from Google's own help and pricing pages as of October 2026. Google changes these from time to time, so confirm on Google's site before you sign up.
What Google Voice includes
Google now sells Voice three ways. Which one applies to you depends on whether you use a personal Gmail account or a Google Workspace business account.
| Plan | Price | Who it's for | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Voice (free) | $0 | Personal Google accounts in the US | Calls, texts, forwarding to linked phones, voicemail transcripts, mobile apps |
| Voice Starter (standalone) | $10 a month | One user with a personal Gmail account in the US | Adds three-way calling, call transfer, call recording, desk phone support, 911 support |
| Voice Standard (standalone) | $20 a month | One user with a personal Gmail account in the US | Everything in Starter plus auto attendants that route incoming calls |
| Voice for Google Workspace | $10, $20, or $30 per user a month | Businesses on a paid Workspace plan | Multiple users; ring groups on Standard and up; Workspace billed separately |
The standalone paid plans don't require a Workspace subscription, according to Google's help center. They are limited to one Voice number per Gmail account.
When you set up the free version, you choose a number by searching a city or area code. Google Voice doesn't offer 1-800 numbers.
What Google Voice does well for landlords
It keeps your cell private. Tenants get a number you can mute, change, or stop using without touching your personal line.
It costs nothing to start. For one to five units with occasional texts, the free plan covers the basics.
It works on your phone and computer. You can answer texts from the mobile app or a browser, which helps when you are typing out repair details or move-out instructions.
Voicemail is transcribed. You can read a tenant's voicemail as text, which is faster than listening while you are on a job site.
It forwards calls to phones you link. If a co-owner or family member helps with emergencies, calls can ring on another linked phone.
Where it falls short for a rental business
Messages aren't tied to tenants, units, or leases
Google Voice organizes conversations by contact. It doesn't know which unit a tenant lives in, what their lease says, or what they owe. When you need the history behind a deposit deduction or a repair dispute, you search your inbox and piece it together yourself.
Free numbers can be reclaimed
Google's help center says Voice reclaims a number if there is no activity on it. You get a warning first, and calls, texts, or listening to voicemail count as activity. After the reclaim date, you have 45 days to get the number back.
For a landlord with long-term tenants who rarely text, a quiet stretch is plausible. Losing the number means every tenant, vendor, and lease document points to a number you no longer control. According to 9to5Google's coverage of the paid plans, numbers on the $10 Starter plan are not reclaimed for inactivity, which is one reason to consider paying.
It's attached to your personal Google account
The free and standalone plans run on a personal Gmail account. Google's terms describe free Google Voice as a consumer offering and the paid personal plans as being for business use. If you rely on the free plan for your rentals, read the terms and decide whether the paid plan fits better.
Because the number lives in your personal account, moving it later (to a new phone system, a buyer, or a manager) takes planning.
No help with triage or follow-up
Google's help pages describe auto attendants that route incoming calls on the Standard plan. They don't describe automatic replies to texts, so plan on answering each tenant text yourself. Google Voice also won't create a maintenance ticket, check a lease, or contact a plumber. Those steps stay in your head or your notes app.
It isn't built for announcements
Google's Voice acceptable use policy restricts sending messages in bulk and sending commercial or promotional messages to a large number of people. For a building-wide notice like a water shutoff, use email or a tool built for broadcasts.
How to set up Google Voice well
If Google Voice fits your portfolio today, a few habits make it work better:
- Pick a local area code so tenants recognize the number.
- Record a voicemail greeting with your hours and emergency instructions. For example: "You've reached [Name] for [Property]. I return calls between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. For fire or a gas smell, leave the building and call 911 or the gas company first."
- Turn on notifications for texts and calls, and let the number break through Do Not Disturb for emergencies if your phone allows it.
- Keep the number active. Send or receive at least occasional texts or calls, and act on any reclaim warning right away.
- Name contacts by unit, such as "Maria Lopez, 412 Oak #2," so you can search by address.
- Save important threads to each tenant's file as you go: repair approvals, payment arrangements, and move-out dates.
Our guide to setting up a business number for texting tenants covers hours, emergency rules, and texting consent in more detail.
Alternatives to Google Voice
A second line from your carrier
A second SIM or eSIM gives you a standard mobile number on your existing phone. It avoids reclaim risk, but it has the same gap: no link between messages and tenants.
Business texting and VoIP apps
Business phone apps offer numbers with shared inboxes, scheduled texts, and auto-replies. Compare features and per-message costs for your unit count. Business texting through these apps in the US generally requires carrier registration (A2P 10DLC), which can take several business days.
A landlord-specific line like Rentra's
Rentra gives each landlord a dedicated SMS number. You pick the area code, and a card on file is needed to claim it. Conversations are filed so you can find them by tenant, phone number, or property.
In Autopilot Advanced mode, the AI behind the number answers tenant questions from the lease and rent ledger, triages maintenance requests (it can analyze photos tenants text in), detects emergencies, and texts your vendors. Repairs aren't booked until you approve them. For announcements, you can send broadcasts by email, text, or both. See the Tenant SMS Concierge page and communications features.
Rentra costs $5 per unit per month with a $25 minimum, and you can start a 14-day trial without a card. Claiming the SMS number needs a card on file. Details are on the pricing page.
Which option fits your portfolio
- One to three units, few texts: free Google Voice works if you keep the number active and save important threads.
- You want call features and protection from reclaim: Google's $10 Starter plan is a modest upgrade.
- You want texts tied to tenants, leases, and repairs: a landlord-specific line saves the manual record keeping.
Whatever you choose, give tenants clear wording from the start. Our landlord text message templates cover move-in, rent, maintenance, and move-out.