What "free" means here
The trunk is the connection between your PBX and the telephone network. Ours has no price tag. Here is exactly what you pay for and what you do not.
Always $0
- Trunk and channel fees
- Account setup and activation
- Contracts and minimums
- Cancellation fees
- TLS and SRTP encryption
- Configuration guides and phone support
What you pay
- $1.50/mo per local number, $1.00 one-time setup
- $2.00/mo per toll-free number
- $0.010/min outbound, US and Canada
- $0.009/min inbound to local numbers
- $0.020/min inbound to toll-free numbers
- $2.50/mo per number for E911 (optional)
- $5.00 per number ported in
A small business with one local number making 1,000 minutes of outbound calls pays about $11.50 a month: $1.50 for the number plus $10 of usage. There is no trunk fee on top.
Not all "free SIP trunks" are the same
Search for a free SIP trunk and you will find three kinds of offer. Only one of them carries production traffic.
Community and hobby trunks
Shared servers, 300–500 minute monthly caps, no encryption, no SLA, forum support. Fine for a home lab; not for a business line.
Trial-period trunks
Credit-based 30–90 day trials. Useful for evaluating a platform, but the "free" ends with the trial, and full pricing often adds per-channel fees, minimums and contracts.
IPComms: no trunk fee, ever
A commercial carrier that does not charge trunk or channel fees. You pay for numbers and minutes only, on the same two-PoP network, TLS/SRTP, E911 and phone support that our largest customers use.
Comparison
| Feature | IPComms | Community trunks | Trial offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Permanent | Permanent, limited | 30–90 days |
| Channel fees | $0, always | $0 | $0 during the trial, then $15–25 per channel |
| Minute limits | None; pay per minute | 300–500 per month | Credit-based |
| Concurrent calls | No per-channel fee or set count | 1–2 | Varies |
| Encryption (TLS/SRTP) | Included | Rarely | Usually |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% | None | During the trial only |
| E911 | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Support | Phone and email | Forums | Limited |
| Number porting | $5.00 per number, volume discounts for 100 or more | Not available | Available, fees apply |
What it actually costs per month
Testing
about $2per month
- 1 local number ($1.50)
- about 50 outbound minutes ($0.50)
- TLS/SRTP included
Small business
about $11.50per month
- 1 local number ($1.50)
- about 1,000 outbound minutes ($10)
- E911, encryption and support included
Contact center
about $107per month
- 3 local numbers and 1 toll-free ($6.50)
- about 10,000 outbound minutes ($100)
- plus toll-free inbound minutes at $0.020
Compare that with a provider charging $20 per channel per month: a 10-channel trunk costs $200 before the first call. Full pricing.
Included with every trunk
TLS and SRTP
Encrypted signaling and media between your PBX and IPComms, and our carrier legs are encrypted too. No add-on fee.
99.99% uptime SLA
Two points of presence with automatic failover, backed by the service level agreement.
E911
E911 with a registered dispatchable location per number. Not something a community trunk offers.
People on the phone
Support from engineers who work on SIP all day, not a forum.
Number porting
Bring your numbers from any carrier: $5.00 per number, volume discounts for 100 or more.
Any PBX
Standard SIP. Guides for Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, FreeSWITCH, Teams and more.
Who uses it
Developers and lab testing
Testing trunk integration with Asterisk, FreePBX or your own application? Request a 30-day test trunk, or sign up and add a number for $1.50.
Small businesses
Providers that charge $15–25 per channel take $100 a month from a five-channel office before a call is made. Here that $100 buys 10,000 minutes. See small business.
Contact centers
No per-channel fee means a 50-agent floor pays for minutes, not seats, with E911, encryption and failover included. Manual, human-initiated calling only; automated dialing is not permitted. See call centers.
MSPs and IT consultants
Offer trunking to clients without per-channel licensing. Per-minute billing makes cost allocation across customers simple. See partners.
Three steps to a working trunk
- Sign up. Create your account at portal.ipcomms.net. Your SIP domain and trunk credentials are generated as soon as the account is open.
- Add a number. Choose a local number for $1.50 a month or a toll-free number for $2.00. Numbers are provisioned immediately, or port the ones you have.
- Configure your PBX. Enter the credentials from the portal, or set up IP authentication. Step-by-step guides: Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, FreeSWITCH, FusionPBX.
Free SIP trunk FAQ
Is an IPComms SIP trunk really free?
The trunk itself is $0: no channel fee, no monthly trunk fee, no setup fee and no contract. You pay for phone numbers (from $1.50 a month plus a $1.00 one-time setup) and per-minute usage ($0.010 outbound, $0.009 inbound to local numbers).
How is this different from other free SIP trunk offers?
Most are hobby trunks with minute caps and no support, or 30–90 day trials that convert to per-channel pricing. IPComms is a commercial carrier that does not charge trunk or channel fees at all, with TLS/SRTP, E911, a 99.99% SLA and phone support from the first day.
Do I need a credit card to sign up?
Yes. A card on file is required to open an account, and it is charged only for the numbers you order and the minutes you use. If you want to try before committing, request a 30-day test trunk: one local number and a small calling credit, card saved but not charged until the trial ends.
How many concurrent calls can I make?
There is no per-channel fee and no set channel count. New accounts start with a fraud-protection limit that support raises on request, so tell us your expected peak. Beyond that, capacity is set by your bandwidth and your PBX. Size it with the calculator.
Does it work with Asterisk, FreePBX and 3CX?
Yes. Any SIP-compatible system works, including Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, FreeSWITCH, FusionPBX, Yeastar, Cisco CUBE and Microsoft Teams Direct Routing. Platform guides.
Is it secure?
Yes. TLS for signaling and SRTP for media between your PBX and IPComms, encrypted carrier legs, IP authentication or registration, fraud monitoring on every account, and two points of presence.
Can I port my existing phone numbers?
Yes. Porting is $5.00 per number, with volume discounts for 100 or more, and takes 3–10 business days depending on the releasing carrier. The monthly number fee starts when the port completes.
How much does a free SIP trunk cost per month?
Only what you use. One local number and 1,000 outbound minutes is about $11.50 a month: $1.50 for the number and $10 of usage. There are no trunk, channel or minimum fees on top.