Weekday
5.50p to a mobile
Every minute comes out of their account.
Guide
A virtual landline for prison calls.
A landline, with no box on the wall. It's a UK landline number that rings the phone you have. They dial a landline, so they pay the cheaper rate.
Checked against the published rates.
The rate
Same call. Two prices.
The kind of number they dial sets the rate. Their money pays for it.
Weekday
2.48p to a landline
The same money buys twice the talk.
The part that matters
Two kinds. Only one passes the call on.
Passed on
The call is forwarded
They take it, then send it to your mobile. Two lines. That's a divert. Prisons are told to restrict it.
On the phone
The number lives here
A call to it is a call to you. One line. Nothing is passed on. It isn't the kind of number the rule is about.
Why it matters
HMPPS policy tells prisons to restrict requests to add 0800 numbers and numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing services.[3, 7.9] Such numbers can be used to reach people a person in prison is barred from contacting. The same paragraph says there are exceptions. It points to a separate manual for them. We haven't been able to read it.
A forwarded number can be accepted, then pulled later. By then a family may rely on it.
What changed on 11 AugustCall forwardingGetting on their phone list
Before you pay anyone
Five things to ask.
- Is it a real 01 or 02 number?Those are landline numbers. They get the landline rate. 0800 is restricted.[3, 7.9]
- Is the call passed on?Ask. Prisons are told to restrict numbers that pass calls on.
- Is unlimited really unlimited?Or a cap, then a charge per minute.
- If the prison says no?A fresh number, or do you pay again? Ours: If the prison refuses the number, we swap it for a fresh one, free. If that's refused too, we refund you.
- Can you leave?One tap, or a term and a phone call.
What they cost
Per minute, or one price.
Minutes cost less if you talk a little. One price costs less if you talk a lot. How the number works matters more than the price.
NeatPhone, 9.6p a minute
About 6 minutes a day
Below that, their minutes cost less than £20 a month.
ringyard vs NeatPhonePrison Phone, £5.99 for 50 minutes, then 8.4p a minute
About 7 minutes a day
Below that, their minutes cost less than £20 a month.
ringyard vs Prison PhoneFoneSavvy, 8.95p a minute
About 7 minutes a day
Below that, their minutes cost less than £20 a month.
ringyard vs FoneSavvyPrison Phone, £9.59 for 100 minutes, then 8.4p a minute
About 7 minutes a day
Below that, their minutes cost less than £20 a month.
ringyard vs Prison PhoneCellphone Rocks, 5p a minute
About 13 minutes a day
Below that, their minutes cost less than £20 a month.
ringyard vs Cellphone RocksAll 4 pass the call on. Prisons are told to restrict that. Ours passes nothing on. We read their prices on their own sites, 20 August 2026 to 9 October 2026.
The cheapest way is free: a landline you already have, if someone is home when they ring. Every option, compared.
Questions
The ones people ask.
What's a virtual landline?
A UK landline number with no socket in a wall. Calls reach the phone you already have. Prisons charge by the kind of number dialled. A landline is the cheaper rate.
How does a virtual landline work for prison calls?
They ask for the number to go on their phone list. The prison checks it. They dial it and pay the landline rate. Some services then pass the call on to your mobile. ringyard doesn't. The number lives on your phone, so it rings there.
Can I get a virtual landline for prison calls free?
Usually not. Most are paid services. ringyard is £20 a month. The free way to get the landline rate is a landline you already have. That works if someone is home when they ring.
Why does a virtual landline make prison calls cheaper?
The rate is set by the number they dial. On the HMPPS rates, a weekday call to a mobile is 5.50p a minute. A weekday call to a landline is 2.48p. The same money buys twice the minutes. The saving is theirs, not yours. It stays in their account.
Are virtual landlines allowed in prison?
Each number is checked on its own. Prisons are told to restrict numbers that pass the call on. A number that lives on your phone doesn't pass it on. The policy points to exceptions in a manual we haven't been able to read.
Why did my virtual landline stop working?
A wrong digit. A check still waiting. A refusal. A move to another prison. Or a forwarded number, the kind prisons are told to restrict. What to check, in order
£20 a month. That's all.
Unlimited, on the phone you have. No app. Nothing passed on.
No term. Stop any time.
Check us
- Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework. HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, issued 11 August 2026. Read 26 August 2026. Paragraph 7.9 points to a separate operations manual for exceptions. We have not read it. Read it yourself