Getting a pay-per-call number today typically means either setting up a traditional 900 number through a premium-rate service provider or using a modern platform that handles per-minute billing for you. The path you choose depends on whether you need a dedicated phone line that charges callers automatically or simply want to get paid for phone consultations.
What a Pay-Per-Call Number Actually Does
A pay-per-call number charges the person calling rather than the person answering. The most familiar version is the 900 number, where charges appear directly on the caller’s phone bill. The caller dials in, hears a pricing disclosure, and gets billed a flat fee or a per-minute rate for the duration of the call. These numbers have been used for decades for everything from psychic hotlines to tech support lines to legal advice services.
Today, “pay per call” also refers to a broader category of setups where callers pay for your time on the phone, even if the billing happens through a credit card or app rather than the phone bill itself. Both approaches work, but they involve different providers, costs, and levels of complexity.
Setting Up a Traditional 900 Number
To get a 900 number, you need to work with a premium-rate service provider (sometimes called an information provider or service bureau). These companies handle the technical infrastructure: they provision the 900 number, connect it to a carrier, manage the per-minute or per-call billing, and deposit your share of the revenue after taking their cut.
The general process looks like this:
- Choose a service bureau. Search for “900 number service providers” or “premium rate number providers.” Several companies specialize in this space. Compare their setup fees, monthly minimums, revenue splits, and the per-minute rates they allow you to charge.
- Apply and verify your business. You will need to provide your business name, tax ID or EIN, contact information, industry details, and your estimated call volume. Providers typically run a credit check on the business owner and may request financial statements, since they need confidence you can handle potential chargebacks or billing disputes.
- Set your pricing structure. You choose whether callers pay a flat fee per call or a per-minute rate. Common per-minute rates range from $1 to $10 or more depending on the niche, though your service bureau will have guidelines on what the carrier network supports.
- Record your preamble. Federal rules require that before any charges begin, callers hear a brief recorded message disclosing the cost of the call and giving them a chance to hang up without being billed. This is not optional.
- Route calls to your team. You can forward 900 number calls to a regular phone line, a call center, or an interactive voice response (IVR) system. The service bureau handles the billing side; you handle the content.
Setup fees vary widely. Some providers charge a few hundred dollars upfront plus a monthly service fee, while others take a percentage of each call’s revenue (often 30% to 50%) instead of charging fixed fees. Revenue is typically paid out monthly, sometimes with a 30 to 60 day delay to account for billing disputes.
Federal Rules You Need to Follow
The FTC’s 900 Number Rule and related FCC regulations impose specific requirements on anyone operating a pay-per-call service. Under FCC rules, any interstate pay-per-call service must use a number beginning with the 900 access code, not a standard local or toll-free number.
Every advertisement for your 900 number must clearly disclose the cost of the call. If your service involves sweepstakes, games of chance, or information about a federal program you don’t officially represent, additional disclosures are required in your ads. Ads targeting children under 12 are flatly prohibited, and services aimed at anyone under 18 carry extra disclosure obligations.
On the billing side, the entity handling your billing must respond to customer billing error notices in writing within 40 days. If a customer contacts the wrong billing entity by mistake, that company has 15 days to either forward the complaint or provide the customer with the correct contact information. These consumer protection rules exist because charges appear on phone bills, and carriers take compliance seriously.
Modern Alternatives to 900 Numbers
For many people searching “how to get a pay per call number,” a traditional 900 number is more infrastructure than they need. If you are a consultant, coach, expert, or professional who simply wants to charge for phone time, several platforms handle the billing, scheduling, and payment processing without requiring you to set up a premium-rate phone line.
Clarity.fm is one of the most popular options for business consultations. It connects entrepreneurs with experts for paid audio calls billed by the minute. You set your per-minute rate, callers book time with you, and the platform processes the payment. There is no 900 number involved. The caller pays by credit card, and you receive your earnings minus the platform’s fee.
JustAnswer takes a different approach, connecting users with verified experts across legal, automotive, medical, financial, and IT categories. Experts answer questions through a combination of subscription and pay-per-question pricing. If your expertise fits one of their categories, you apply to join their network rather than setting up your own phone line.
Coach.me focuses on habit-based life and performance coaching, offering affordable micro-coaching packages where clients pay for structured sessions. BetterHelp and Talkspace serve licensed therapists and counselors with subscription models that include audio sessions. These are more specialized, but they illustrate how broad the paid-call ecosystem has become.
Beyond these dedicated platforms, you can also create your own pay-per-call setup using general tools. Services like Calendly or Acuity paired with Stripe or PayPal let you require payment before booking a phone call. You set a price per session, the client pays online, and you call them at the scheduled time. This gives you full control over pricing and branding without sharing revenue with a specialized platform.
Pay-Per-Call in Affiliate Marketing
There is another meaning of “pay per call” that comes up frequently: performance marketing networks where advertisers pay affiliates for generating inbound phone calls. In this model, you are not the expert answering the phone. Instead, you drive calls to a business (an insurance company, a law firm, a home services provider) and earn a bounty for each qualified call.
Networks like Ringba, Invoca, and others provide tracking numbers that route calls to advertisers while recording call duration and quality. Payouts range from a few dollars per call for simple leads to $100 or more for high-value verticals like insurance or legal services. If this is what you are looking for, you sign up with a pay-per-call network, choose offers to promote, receive a unique tracking phone number, and drive traffic to it through ads, landing pages, or content marketing.
Choosing the Right Approach
Your best option depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want callers billed directly on their phone bill with no credit card required, a 900 number through a service bureau is the only route, and it comes with real regulatory obligations and setup costs. If you are a professional selling your expertise by the minute or by the session, a platform like Clarity.fm or a simple booking-plus-payment tool gets you started in a day with zero infrastructure. And if you want to earn commissions by sending phone calls to other businesses, a pay-per-call affiliate network is the right fit.
For most individuals and small businesses, the platform or DIY booking approach offers the fastest path with the least overhead. You avoid carrier negotiations, FTC compliance burdens, and revenue-share agreements with service bureaus. You can always scale into more complex setups later if call volume justifies it.