Phone validation · Cheapest phone validation API
Pricing comparison
The cheapest phone validation API with risk checks included.
Every competitor price is the vendor's own list price for a monthly plan, read 3 November 2026. Telesign does not publish prices.
20,000 checks
$49.99/mo
$0.0025 per extra check. 100 checks a month free, no credit card.
No credit card required.
Phone validation API pricing for a full lookup.
A full lookup returns validity, line type, carrier and a risk signal that is priced into the base price. Costs are for 10,000 and 100,000 checks in a month.
| Provider | Free tier | Monthly floor | 10,000 | 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trueguard Custom plan from 500,000 | 100 a month, no card | $49.99 Standard | $49.99 | $249.99 |
| Abstract Professional 100K priced on the 150K tier (no 100K tier). Risk only on Professional. Overage not public | 100 a month | $19 | $69 | $499 |
| Twilio, North America Line Type Intelligence $0.008. SMS Pumping Risk free in North America | Formatting and validation free | None | $80 | $800 |
| Trestle $0.015 includes Phone Activity Score. Spam Check +$0.005: $200 / $2,000 | Free trial, size not listed | None listed | $150 | $1,500 |
| Twilio, outside North America $0.008 + $0.025 SMS Pumping Risk | Formatting and validation free | None | $330 | $3,300 |
| IPQS SMB Basic 10,000; SMB+ stops at 75,000. Overage not public | 1,000 a month, shared across IP, email and phone | $139.99 | $599.99 | Contact sales |
| Telesign Talk to sales | Free trial with test credits | Not public | Not public | Not public |
These are list prices before any negotiated discount. Only APIs that return validity, line type, carrier and a risk signal are in this table, so every row buys the same data. Twilio is split into North America and the rest of the world, because SMS Pumping Risk is free only in North America. Twilio says enterprise accounts can negotiate committed-use contracts. We re-check the prices every quarter.
Format and carrier lookups are a different product.
Veriphone, Numverify, NumLookupAPI, ClearoutPhone, Telnyx, Vonage Identity Insights and Messente sell number format, line type or carrier lookups. None of them lists a risk field on its pricing page or docs, as of 3 November 2026. They return less data per call, so a price per check does not compare to a full lookup. If you add a separate risk check to one of them, you pay two vendors for one signup. The table below shows which fields each base price includes.
What the base price includes.
| Provider | Validity | Line type | VoIP split | Carrier | Porting | Risk signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trueguard | Yes | Yes, 15 types | Fixed and non-fixed | Original carrier; current carrier for +1 numbers | +1 numbers | Disposable now and before, range risk, SMS destination risk (country level), STIR/SHAKEN (US), block age (US and Canada) |
| Twilio | Free | $0.008 (Line Type Intelligence) | Fixed and non-fixed (in Line Type Intelligence) | In Line Type Intelligence | Not listed | SMS pumping risk, $0.025 outside North America, free in North America |
| Abstract Professional | Yes | Yes | is_voip flag | Yes | Not listed | Phone risk (Professional only) |
| IPQS | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | fraud_score |
| Trestle | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Phone Activity Score; Spam Check +$0.005 |
| Veriphone | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Current carrier lookup costs 10 credits | Not listed |
| Numverify | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| NumLookupAPI | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| ClearoutPhone | Yes | Up to 5 credits | Not listed | Up to 5 credits | Not listed | Not listed |
| Telnyx | Not listed | Not priced | Not listed | MCC/MNC $0.0025 | LRN $0.0015 | Not priced |
| Vonage Identity Insights | Format free | Not priced | Not listed | $0.00117 original, $0.00819 current | Not listed | SIM swap, price varies by country |
| Messente | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
Not listed means the vendor's pricing page or docs did not list it on 3 November 2026. Telesign is left out because it does not publish its fields or prices.
One request returns every field.
The Trueguard call that the full lookup price buys, in Node.js.
const res = await fetch("https://api.trueguard.io/v2/phone/validation", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"X-API-KEY": process.env.TRUEGUARD_KEY,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({ phone: "+14159929960" })
});
console.log(await res.json());Coming from Twilio? Read the Twilio Lookup migration guide. Every field is in the phone validation API documentation.
Validation, OTP verification and HLR are three different bills.
Validation
Verification
HLR or Line Status
If you only need formatting and a numbering-plan check, the open-source libphonenumber-js library does it offline for free. Trueguard uses it too. The library does not give you porting, disposable history or range risk.
Which one should you pick?
Choose Trueguard
You need line type, VoIP split and a risk signal in every response.
You want a known bill at each step: $49.99, then $0.0025 per check.
Receive-SMS and disposable numbers reach your signup form.
You want to start on 100 free checks a month without a card.
Pick someone else if
Format, line type and carrier are enough. Veriphone and Numverify return those without risk fields.
You need to know a line is in service. Twilio Line Status does that.
You only need US porting. Telnyx LRN is $0.0015 a query.
You already send SMS through Twilio and want one invoice.
The three Trueguard plans.
No credit multipliers, and overage at the same rate as the plan.
Frequently asked questions
Something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
What is the cheapest phone validation API?
For a full lookup with validity, line type, carrier and a risk signal, Trueguard has the lowest published price: $249.99 for 100,000 checks, against Abstract Professional at $499 (priced on its 150,000 tier), Twilio in North America at $800 and Trestle at $1,500. APIs such as Veriphone and Numverify return only format, line type and carrier, and list no risk field, so they are a different product. Prices were read on 3 November 2026.
How much does phone validation cost per lookup?
For a full lookup with a risk signal, from about $0.0025 a check (Trueguard at 100,000 checks) to $0.033 (Twilio outside North America with Line Type Intelligence and SMS Pumping Risk). Twilio in North America is $0.008 and Trestle is $0.015. Lookups that return only format and carrier cost less per call because they return less data.
Is Twilio Lookup free, and why does line type cost extra?
Formatting and validation are free. Twilio prices each data package separately: Line Type Intelligence is $0.008 a request, and SMS Pumping Risk is $0.025 a request outside North America and free inside it. So a full lookup is $0.008 in North America and $0.033 elsewhere.
What is the cheapest way to tell VoIP from landline?
Look for an API that splits fixed and non-fixed VoIP. Veriphone and Numverify return a line type but do not list that split. Twilio Line Type Intelligence and Trueguard both split fixed and non-fixed VoIP, at $0.008 a lookup and $49.99 for 20,000 checks.
Do I pay for invalid or failed lookups?
At Trueguard, a number that comes back invalid counts as one check. A request we reject with a 400 error, for example a missing phone field, does not count. Veriphone charges 1 credit for a current-carrier lookup that does not resolve. The other pricing pages did not say, as of 3 November 2026.
What is the difference between phone validation and phone verification?
Validation checks the number's data without contacting the owner. Verification sends a one-time code and confirms that the person has the phone.
Can a phone validation API tell if a number is active?
Trueguard cannot. It does no HLR lookup and does not contact the network. A valid result means the number matches the numbering plan and range data. Twilio Line Status ($0.007 a request) and NumLookupAPI HLR (21 requests a lookup) query the network.
Why do some phone validation APIs cost less than Trueguard?
They return less data. Veriphone, Numverify and NumLookupAPI return format, line type and carrier, and none lists a risk field on its pricing page, as of 3 November 2026. Trueguard returns those fields plus disposable history, range risk and SMS destination risk, and for US numbers STIR/SHAKEN and block age, in the same price.
Price your own volume on 100 free checks.
No card. Send numbers you already have and compare the fields you get back before you pay anyone.
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