OnOff
Paris, FR · 3 known investors
Onoff is a mobile app that lets users get and manage multiple phone numbers (professional, personal, e-commerce, etc.) on a single device without a second SIM card, handling calls, SMS, and contacts via VoIP or GSM. Onoff Telecom, a French ARCEP-registered telecom operator, also offers plans aimed at freelancers and independent workers as well as international connectivity at local rates.
Also known as onoff · Onoff · Onoff Numbers · Onoff Telecom
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Onoff, operated by Onoff Telecom, is a mobile application and virtual telecom operator that lets a user hold several mobile phone numbers on one smartphone without adding a SIM card or a second device. Numbers are hosted in the cloud rather than tied to a SIM, so a phone with a single SIM can place and receive calls and SMS on multiple distinct lines, and a number can be retrieved on another handset or in a web browser. The company positions the second number for separating professional and personal life, protecting privacy online, transacting with buyers when selling goods, and calling with a number from another country.
The consumer plan bundles one national mobile number, 1,000 national call minutes, 1,000 SMS/MMS, credit-based international calling, visual voicemail, an On/Off do-not-disturb mode, iOS and Android apps, call forwarding and caller-ID hiding. A Premium tier adds calling from a desktop web app, multi-device ringing, availability scheduling, call notes and AI-based screening that routes suspected spam calls, texts and voicemails to a separate inbox. Other features include contact synchronisation, virtual portability of an existing mobile number into the app, scheduled SMS, SMS to up to 20 recipients, MMS photo and video sharing, voice messages and VoIP outgoing calls; "Onoff Calls" routes calls over the handset's cellular (GSM) network for call quality. Alongside the core app, Onoff markets a plan for freelancers and independent workers from €4.92 per month, an Onoff Business offer that lets managers provision and assign professional numbers to employees, and Onoff Travel, a data eSIM for use abroad at local rates. Onoff Telecom is a telecommunications operator recognised by France's regulator ARCEP.
Founding story
Taïg Khris, a three-time world roller-skating champion and X Games winner who later worked in television, founded Onoff in 2014 with the aim of transforming telecoms. He conceived the idea while hospitalised with a broken leg, reasoning that email, photos, music and films had moved to the cloud while phone numbers remained locked to a physical SIM card. He first sought out professionals, including a former chief telecom architect at Orange, to confirm feasibility, and learned that only a licensed telecom operator can hold phone numbers. Self-taught in Photoshop from an earlier merchandising venture, he designed the app himself and used the mockups to raise a first €1 million, which funded his initial engineering team in 2014.
Business model
Onoff sells telecom subscriptions directly to end users through its mobile apps and website. Numbers and calling plans are bought as in-app subscriptions with 1-, 3- or 12-month durations, priced by the nationality or region of the number, with automatic renewal billed through the app store account; out-of-Europe calling is sold as prepaid credits. A Premium option is layered on top of the base plan for an additional monthly fee, and a separate Onoff Business product is sold to companies that need managed fleets of professional numbers for employees.
Recurring monthly or annual subscription fees per phone number or plan, in-app purchases of international calling credits, and an optional paid Premium tier; plans for independent workers start at €4.92 per month with Premium at an extra €2.99 per month.
Traction
The company reported more than 2 million app downloads and operations in more than 20 countries in mid-2018, with users approaching one billion SMS exchanged, and 45 employees at that time. By 2019 it had passed 50 employees, reached profitability with several million euros of annual revenue and 100% growth over the preceding six months. The Android app lists over 1 million downloads and a 3.6-star average from about 18,700 reviews, and numbers from more than 30 countries are offered.
Latest developments
Current site messaging promotes travel data connectivity at local rates in a few clicks, a plan for freelancers and independent workers from €4.92 per month, and a free trial of the €2.99-per-month Premium option that adds desktop calling, availability scheduling, call notes and AI-driven spam filtering. Companion apps listed by the developer include Onoff Travel (data eSIM) and Onoff Business; the Android app shows a most recent update in August 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Onoff presents itself as bridging telecom and mobile-app worlds: unlike WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which run over the internet, it routes traffic over the telephone network with real operator-issued numbers. Its 2018 virtual-portability push targeted an estimated 5 million French people holding two lines. On Google Play it sits alongside second-number and VoIP apps such as Text Me, FreeTone, KeepCalling and Bria Mobile. By 2019 the company said it had reached profitability with several million euros in annual revenue.
Numbers live in the cloud instead of on a SIM, so a single-SIM phone can run several lines and a number can be recovered on another device or used from a web browser; traffic can run over the mobile network rather than only over the internet, which the company links to call quality via "Onoff Calls". Onoff Telecom is itself an ARCEP-recognised operator with international licences and patented technology, enabling number issuance in more than 30 countries and virtual portability of existing numbers.
Technology
Phone numbers are dematerialised and hosted in the cloud rather than on a SIM card, so they can be used from any smartphone, any SIM or a web browser. Calls can be routed over VoIP or over the handset's cellular network via the "Onoff Calls" mechanism. The company describes the underlying technology as patented and says it has filed innovative patents and holds licences internationally; it built its operator capability by first subleasing access from a French technical operator before pursuing an MVNO model. Premium includes AI analysis of calls, texts and voicemails from unknown numbers for spam detection.
Go-to-market
Self-service acquisition through the App Store, Google Play and the company website, with a free Premium trial and a partner programme. After its 2018 financing the company said it would invest heavily in marketing and R&D, and in 2019 the founder described recruiting a sales force to sell the product and launching a business offer distributed to employees via a download link.
Consumers wanting to separate personal, professional, e-commerce or family lines, or to hold a number from another country; freelancers and independent workers; travellers needing local-rate connectivity; and companies buying professional numbers for their employees through Onoff Business.
Geography
Headquarters at 26 Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle, 75010 Paris, France, with a second location at Viru Väljak 2, Tallinn, Estonia; staff were described as split between Paris and Tallinn. The service operated in more than 20 countries as of 2018 and offers numbers from more than 30 countries, with international calling and local-rate travel data.
History
Founded in 2014 in Paris, Onoff launched an app for cloud-hosted second numbers and raised €4 million in 2015. In 2016 it added virtual portability, allowing a SIM-based number to be moved into the app and used from any foreign SIM at local rates. In June 2018 it raised €10 million from Idinvest Partners, OneRagtime, Breega, Meusinvest and LeanSquare, launched unlimited Europe calling plans and a desktop/tablet version, and signalled a business edition. By 2019 the company employed more than 50 people between Paris and Tallinn, had raised €20 million in total — €10 million from roughly 130 private shareholders from the founder's circle and €10 million from investment funds — reached profitability, launched Onoff Business for fleet management of numbers, and planned cheaper international calling and phone-switchboard offers. Its current line-up also includes a freelancer plan, Premium features with AI spam filtering, and an eSIM travel data product.
Risks & controversies
Public Google Play reviews report problems including calls failing to connect on marginal signal, an audible delay when answering, price increases, the absence of number portability for US numbers, and cases of users unable to place calls or send texts after paying. The developer also states it cannot guarantee that its numbers will systematically work with SMS-based verification services. A commenter on press coverage questioned the differentiation of the service versus Skype's multi-country numbers.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsTaïg Khris was elected for a two-year term to the board of France Digitale, the French association of digital entrepreneurs and investors.
A second offer for companies lets managers manage fleets of numbers and assign them to employees, who receive a download link to the Onoff Business app.
The Paris-based company closed a €10 million round with Idinvest Partners, OneRagtime, Breega and Belgian funds Meusinvest and LeanSquare, to be invested in marketing and R&D.
The 2018 financing accompanied new plans with unlimited calls to Europe (mobile and landline) and a version adapted to computers and tablets.
Two years after launch, Onoff added virtual number portability, letting users transfer a SIM-based number into the app and use it from any foreign SIM at local rates.
Taïg Khris designed the app himself and used the prototype mockups to raise an initial €1 million, which funded his first engineering team in 2014.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- OnOffonoff.app · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does OnOff do?
- Onoff is a French cloud-telecom operator whose app gives smartphone users additional phone numbers without a second SIM card.
- Who are OnOff's investors?
- OnOff's investors include Bootstrap Europe, OneRagtime.
- Where is OnOff headquartered?
- OnOff is headquartered in Paris, FR.