Freephone numbers
0808 Numbers
0808 numbers are freephone, exactly like 0800: free to call from every UK landline and every UK mobile, with the organisation you are calling paying for the call. If you need a freephone number for your business, ONSIM supplies them on your mobile from £10/user/month + VAT.
0808 vs 0800: any difference?
For the caller, none at all. Both ranges are UK freephone with identical Ofcom rules: free from all UK landlines and mobiles since 2015, business pays for inbound calls, no access charge, no use of your inclusive minutes. 0808 simply opened up when 0800 stock began to run short, the same way 0330 and 0333 sit alongside each other in the 03 range.
One quirk worth knowing: parts of the 0808 80x block are reserved for helplines. Calls there are free and treated confidentially on bills, which is why so many charity and support lines start 0808 80.
"Are 0808 numbers free?" The short answer
Yes, from every UK landline and mobile, contract or pay-as-you-go. The doubt lingers from before July 2015, when mobile networks could and did charge for freephone calls. Ofcom ended that: since then a 0808 call cannot cost you anything, cannot use your minutes and cannot carry an access charge.
Calling from abroad is the exception: freephone status only applies within the UK, and international carriers may charge. To check what any UK number costs from your provider, use the free UK call cost checker, or look up any number format with the UK phone number checker.
A freephone number for your business, on your mobile
Freephone works differently from other business numbers: because the call is free for your caller, you pay a pence-per-minute rate for the calls you receive, on top of the plan. That is true with every provider - someone has to fund the free call. With ONSIM, the number lives on a Landline SIM from £10/user/month + VAT, ringing natively on your existing phone with no app and no VoIP, and outbound calls can display your freephone number. The exact per-minute rate and 0808 availability are confirmed at quote stage.
Not sure freephone is right for you? Calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers are included in ONSIM plans with no inbound charge, and an 0330 or 0333 number is effectively free for callers with inclusive minutes. The 0800 numbers page covers the freephone trade-offs in full, and the free business number chooser will point you at the right range in under a minute.
0808 number FAQs
Common questions about 0808 numbers, what they cost and who uses them.