This free carrier lookup shows which carrier a phone number is on today.
A carrier lookup tells you which phone company a number belongs to right now. Enter any US or Canada number and 1Lookup's free carrier lookup returns the current carrier, whether the number was ported from another carrier, and whether it is a mobile, landline or VoIP line, in seconds and without signing up.
- No signup to try
- Current carrier, after porting
- Mobile, landline or VoIP
- US and Canada numbers
Example resultThis is a real lookup we captured on 2026-08-23 for 2024561414. Run any lookup above and it is replaced with yours.
Carrier: Verizon Washington Dc- Inc.
See where the 202 area code is, its local time and its history
Need this at scale? Carrier Lookup API
Identify carrier and network type for whole lists through the API or bulk CSV.
A carrier lookup shows which network a phone number is on today.
A carrier lookup names the phone company that holds a number right now and tells you whether it is a mobile, a landline or a VoIP line. Paste a US or Canada number above and you get the carrier, the line type, the country and whether the number has been ported, free and without an account.
You can't read the carrier off the digits. FCC rules let people keep their number when they switch between wireless, landline and internet phone companies in the same area, and a simple port has to be finished within one business day. So the carrier that first received a number's prefix is often not the one serving it today. This tool reads the number's current carrier and porting record, so the carrier you see is the one the number is on now.
One number at a time is free here. To check a whole list, upload a CSV or call the 1Lookup API: each lookup costs 1 credit, about half a cent on the Starter plan, and the full record adds the operating company number (OCN), the routing number (LRN), the rate center and the Do Not Call flag.
What does a carrier lookup cost at API scale?
Free in a browser is one thing, a million numbers a month is another. Twilio charges $0.008 per request for carrier and line type as a separate billable package, and we published its full rate card alongside ours in our Twilio Lookup pricing comparison. If all you need is whether a number is VoIP, mobile or landline, use our free VoIP checker. To see the caller ID name a number shows when it calls, rather than its carrier, use our free CNAM lookup.
You can look up a phone carrier in three steps.
Enter the phone number
Type or paste any US or Canada number, with or without the +1. Spaces, dashes and brackets are fine: the tool cleans them up and checks the number is a real North American number before it runs.
We read its current carrier record
1Lookup looks the number up in live carrier and porting data to find the company that serves it now, its line type, and whether it has moved away from the carrier that first held its prefix.
Read the result
You see the carrier, line type, country and ported status in a few seconds. Need the OCN, the routing number or a whole list checked? A free trial opens the full record, the API and CSV uploads.
AT&T's and Verizon's mobile networks hold the most US phone prefixes, about 9% each.
A prefix is the three digits after the area code. NANPA, which runs the North American numbering plan, lists the company holding each of the 196,125 prefixes in service in the 50 states and DC (its file of 1 October 2026). 72% of those prefixes are pooled, which means the blocks of 1,000 numbers inside them can belong to different carriers, and any number can have been ported since. That is why a lookup beats guessing from the prefix.
| Name in NANPA's records | Who it is | Prefixes held | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC | AT&T's mobile network | 18,417 | 9.4% |
| CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS | Verizon's mobile network | 17,564 | 9.0% |
| ONVOY, LLC | A wholesale carrier that supplies numbers to VoIP and app-based phone services | 12,312 | 6.3% |
| LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC | Lumen's business and wholesale phone network | 9,050 | 4.6% |
| T-MOBILE USA, INC. | T-Mobile's mobile network | 7,016 | 3.6% |
| SOUTHWESTERN BELL | AT&T's landline company in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas | 5,973 | 3.0% |
| QWEST CORPORATION | Lumen's landline company in 14 western states | 5,604 | 2.9% |
| PAETEC ITEL, LLC | A business phone carrier owned by Windstream | 5,547 | 2.8% |
| MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC | Verizon's business phone network, from its purchase of MCI | 5,541 | 2.8% |
| PACIFIC BELL | AT&T's landline company in California | 4,893 | 2.5% |
| BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC | A carrier that supplies numbers to VoIP and app-based phone services | 4,797 | 2.4% |
| METROPCS, INC. | Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile's prepaid brand | 3,807 | 1.9% |
Many phone brands run on a bigger company's network, so the carrier shown can differ from the bill.
These brands sell service on networks they do not own. A carrier lookup names the company that holds the number on the network, which is often the network owner rather than the brand on the customer's bill. Networks as stated by each brand or its owner, October 2026.
| Brand on the bill | Network it runs on |
|---|---|
| Cricket Wireless | AT&T, which owns it |
| Metro by T-Mobile | T-Mobile, which owns it |
| Mint Mobile | T-Mobile, which owns it |
| Visible | Verizon, which owns it |
| Total Wireless | Verizon, which owns it |
| Google Fi Wireless | T-Mobile |
| Xfinity Mobile | Verizon |
| Spectrum Mobile | Verizon |
| Consumer Cellular | AT&T or T-Mobile, depending on the SIM |
| US Mobile | Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, as the customer picks |
| Tello | T-Mobile |
It shows the carrier a number is on today.
Numbers move between carriers all the time. The lookup reads the number's current carrier and porting record, so you see the company serving it now and whether it was ported, not the company that first got its prefix.
It tells you whether a number is mobile, landline or VoIP.
Line type decides whether a text can arrive and which calling rules apply, so it comes back with every lookup, free.
It covers US and Canada numbers.
Enter any North American number. Results cover the mobile networks, local phone companies, cable providers and the VoIP carriers behind app-based numbers.
Nobody is told that you looked.
The lookup reads carrier records only. No call or text goes to the number, so its owner never sees that it was checked.
A free trial opens the full record and bulk checks.
Through the API or a CSV upload, every number comes back with its OCN, routing number (LRN), rate center and Do Not Call flag, at 1 credit a lookup.
Who uses this tool
SMS senders use it to stop texting landlines.
A text sent to a landline is wasted, along with the credit it cost. Checking line type and carrier first lets you send texts to mobiles and route the rest to calls or email.
Sales teams use it to clean lead lists.
A quick carrier check flags landlines and VoIP numbers before a list goes into a calling or texting campaign, so reps spend their time on numbers that can answer.
Developers use it to check numbers at signup.
The same check runs through the 1Lookup API inside a signup form, CRM or checkout, so an unexpected line type or carrier is caught before the number is saved.
Support teams use it to explain delivery problems.
When a customer's texts or calls behave oddly, the current carrier and ported status often explain why, for example a number that has moved to a different network.
Frequently asked questions
How can I find out what carrier a phone number belongs to?
Enter the number in the box above. The free lookup returns the carrier the number is on today, whether it was ported, its line type and its country in a few seconds. You can't tell from the digits alone, because people keep their number when they switch carriers.
Is there a free carrier lookup?
Yes, this one. Single lookups are free with no account, up to a small daily limit per visitor. To check a whole list, the 1Lookup API and CSV upload cost 1 credit a number, about half a cent on the Starter plan, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.
What is a carrier lookup?
A carrier lookup identifies the phone company a number belongs to. It returns the carrier name, whether the line is mobile, landline or VoIP, the country, and whether the number has been ported away from the carrier that first held its prefix.
How do I find out who my own phone carrier is?
Your bill names it, and so does your phone: on an iPhone, open Settings, then General, then About; on most Android phones, look under Settings, then About phone. You can also enter your own number above to see the carrier it is on.
Why doesn't the carrier match the company on the phone bill?
Many phone brands run on a bigger company's network. Mint Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile run on T-Mobile, Cricket runs on AT&T, and Visible and Total Wireless run on Verizon, so a lookup often names the network rather than the brand. The legal names look odd too: Cellco Partnership is Verizon Wireless, and New Cingular Wireless PCS is AT&T's mobile network.
Can a carrier lookup tell if a number has been ported?
Yes. Porting moves a number to a new carrier while it keeps the same digits. The result has a Ported field, and the carrier it shows is the one the number is on now, not the one that first held its prefix.
Does it work for landline and VoIP numbers?
Yes. Each result labels the number as mobile, landline or VoIP. That matters for texting, because landlines usually can't receive texts, and for spotting VoIP numbers in a list.
Does a carrier lookup show who owns the number?
No. A carrier lookup names the phone company, not the person or business using the number. To see a listed owner where a public record exists, use our free reverse phone lookup.
Will the person know I looked up their number?
No. The lookup reads carrier records only. Nothing is sent to the number, so it doesn't ring, get a text or show the check anywhere its owner can see.
Is a carrier lookup the same as an HLR lookup?
No. A carrier lookup reads carrier and porting records to name the carrier and line type. An HLR lookup asks the mobile network itself whether a phone is switched on and reachable right now. Use our free HLR lookup for that check.
Can I look up carriers in bulk?
Yes. The free tool checks one number at a time. With a 1Lookup account you can upload a CSV of numbers or call the API, and every row comes back with the carrier, line type and ported status at 1 credit a number.
What extra data do I get with a 1Lookup account?
The full record for each number: the operating company number (OCN) that identifies the carrier, the routing number (LRN) that calls are sent to, the rate center, and whether the number is on the Do Not Call list. For mobiles, the HLR lookup adds live status and the MCC and MNC network codes.
What's the difference between the free carrier lookup and the API?
The free lookup checks one number in your browser at no cost. The carrier lookup API runs the same check from your own software, so signups, CRM records and whole lists are checked automatically, at 1 credit a number. You can try it with a 7-day free trial.
The first three digits of a US number tell you where it was assigned.
Every area code has its own page with the places it covers, the local time there, and what to do when a call from it looks spoofed. These are the codes people look up most.
- 213Los Angeles
- 646New York City
- 917New York City
- 202Washington
- 404Atlanta
- 702Las Vegas
- 786Miami
- 415San Francisco
- 206Seattle
- 954Fort Lauderdale
- 323Los Angeles
- 929New York City
New area codes catch people out, because a number from one looks unfamiliar even when it is local. These are the newest working codes.
- 465New York, since Jun 2026
- 483Alabama, since Feb 2026
- 471Mississippi, since Jan 2026
- 679Michigan, since Nov 2025
- 457Louisiana, since Sep 2025
- 729Tennessee, since Sep 2025