Cheaper prison calls: what actually works

Calls to a landline number cost less than half the mobile rate. The trick is getting that rate while still answering on your mobile. There are three ways. Here they are, honestly, including the problems each one can cause.

First, the one rule Prison phones cannot ring 0800 or other freephone numbers. Whatever you choose, it must give you a normal UK landline number, starting 01 or 02.

Option 1: a direct call service

This is the option most families end up happiest with. Services like Locked Talk and Phone Savvy give you a landline number that rings your mobile directly, through the normal phone network. No app. No internet.

Your phone just rings, like any other call. Nothing to open, nothing to keep running, nothing to learn.
Normal call quality, because it is a normal phone call. It works anywhere your phone works.
Set up in minutes. You get your number, it gets approved once, and that is the whole job done for the rest of the sentence.
The number is fixed to your mobile when you set it up. So when it is added to the approved list, it is simply what it is: your landline number, registered to you, that rings your phone.

Two sensible checks before choosing a supplier: some cap the minutes you can use each month, so look at the terms or FAQ page, and there is usually a small subscription, so run your own call pattern through the call cost calculator to see the saving. For a family getting regular calls, it is normally a comfortable win.

Option 2: an app-based service

Virtual landline apps do the same rate trick, but the call reaches you inside an app, over the internet. They are usually the cheapest option, and that is genuinely their strength. The difficulties are real, though:

The call depends on your internet, not your phone signal. Your phone can show full bars and take ordinary calls perfectly, while the data connection underneath is too weak to carry a call. On wifi, it depends on the wifi being good at that exact moment.
Missed calls are part of the deal. If the app is closed, crashed, or the internet dips as the call comes in, the call is gone, and they cannot ring back without spending more credit. For a family waiting all day for that call, this is the painful one.
Approval risks. Some app services hand out numbers from ranges long associated with virtual numbers, and some prisons block those ranges by default. And when an app number misbehaves, ringing oddly, going unanswered, or hitting a fault, it becomes apparent the number is not an ordinary line, and its use can be ended. See the approval section below.
Set-up is the fiddliest of the three, and the pricing takes some reading.

Best for: people who just want the cheapest possible option and are happy to put up with the difficulties to get it.

Option 3: a real landline at home

The good: if you already have a landline, it costs nothing extra to use it. Get the number approved and take the long calls at home.
The trade-offs: you have to be at home for the call. Diverting the landline to your mobile fixes that, but divert minutes can be expensive with some providers, some tariffs cap them, and a divert sends everything to your mobile, including every sales call the landline gets.
Best for: people who are usually home when the calls come anyway.

Side by side

	Direct call service	App service	Home landline
How the call reaches you	Normal phone network	Over the internet, in an app	Normal phone network
Call quality	Normal call quality	Depends on internet at that moment	Normal call quality
Missed calls	No more than any call	Likely if the app or internet is off	Only if you are out
Set-up	Minutes	Fiddly	Easy
Approval	Behaves like any landline	Blocked ranges and odd behaviour can give it away	No issues
Cost	Cheap, small subscription	Cheapest	Cheap if you have one

Getting the number approved

Whichever route you take, the person inside adds the number to their approved list like any other number, and approval takes a few days. With a direct service the number is a real UK landline registered to you and locked to your own mobile, so give it to the prison as exactly what it is: your new landline number. It looks like a landline, rings like a landline, and answers like a landline, because as far as the phone network is concerned, it is one.

This is where app numbers can come unstuck. Some come from number ranges that have traditionally been used for virtual numbers, which some prisons block on sight. And a number that rings oddly or fails when the app has trouble is a number that draws attention. If a service lets calls be bounced on to anyone, anywhere, it looks like call forwarding, and that is exactly what security teams look for. A number fixed to one mobile, yours, does not have that problem. While you wait for approval, our guide on why numbers take time to approve explains what is happening.

Is it worth it for you?

Run your own numbers in the call cost calculator. For a family getting a daily 15 minute call, the saving is around £140 a year, and that is money that stays on their canteen and phone credit instead. The fewer and shorter your calls, the smaller the saving, so check before paying any subscription.

Common questions

How do cheaper prison call services work?

Prison calls to a landline number cost 2.48p a minute against 5.5p to a mobile. These services give you a real UK landline number that connects to your normal mobile. The person inside dials the landline number, your mobile rings, you answer as always. Same call, same phones, charged at the cheap rate.

What is the best way to get cheaper prison calls?

For most families, a direct call service: a landline number that rings your mobile through the normal phone network. No app, no internet, normal call quality, and your phone just rings like any other call. Set-up takes minutes. App-based alternatives are usually cheaper on paper, but calls arrive over the internet, so missed calls and quality problems are part of the deal.

Are prison call apps any good?

They are usually the cheapest, and that is their appeal. The trade-off is that the call reaches you inside an app, over the internet. Your phone can have full signal for ordinary calls but weak signal for data, and then the call struggles or never lands. They also bring approval risks that direct services do not have. If you just want the cheapest option and can live with the rough edges, they work. Most families value the call too much to risk it.

Can prisoners call 0800 numbers?

No. Freephone 0800 and similar numbers are not allowed on prison phones. Any service built on an 0800 number will not work. You need a normal UK landline number, starting 01 or 02.

Will the prison accept the number?

A number from a direct call service is a real UK landline number registered to you and fixed to your own mobile, and it behaves exactly like a landline when called, so there is nothing unusual for the prison to notice. App-based numbers carry two risks. First, some app services hand out numbers from ranges that have traditionally been used for virtual numbers, and some prisons block those ranges as a matter of course. Second, when an app has connection trouble, the number can ring strangely, go unanswered, or return a fault message, which makes it obvious the number is not an ordinary phone line, and the prison can stop its use. Direct services do not have either problem.

Is it cheaper to just get a landline at home?

It can be, if you already pay for one and you are usually at home. But calls then only reach you at home, or you pay your phone company to divert to your mobile, and diverting everything can cost more than it saves. Check what your provider charges for divert minutes before relying on it.

What if I travel or move abroad, can they still call me?

Yes. The prison dials the same UK number as always, so as long as that number is a UK landline or UK mobile, the call still reaches you wherever you are. A cheaper calls service actually helps here: the prison call always ends at a UK landline number, and the forwarding to your phone is handled separately, so it keeps working whether you are at home or away. Watch for roaming charges to receive calls on a UK mobile abroad.