What does call forwarding to a mobile cost?
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The problem is rarely switching it on — it is the forwarding leg. As long as call diversion stays active, the call from your own line to the destination number is charged to you like an ordinary outgoing call, at your provider’s rates. And if the destination is a mobile, it is charged exactly like a call to a mobile. Some plans cover it for free, others do not.
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Who pays for what
Every forwarded call really has two legs. The first is paid by the customer: they call your number and are charged whatever they would have been charged anyway — in fact, they never find out that their call was forwarded. The second leg, though — the call from your own line to the forwarding number — is on you.
This is not a quirk of one particular provider; it is the general rule. OTE’s fixed-line price list spells it out: the cost of forwarding falls on whoever set up the forwarding. Likewise, Nova states for its fixed-line telephony that the service has no monthly fee, but the call to the forwarding number itself may be charged.
How the forwarding leg is charged
Like a normal outgoing call from your line to the destination number, at your price list’s rates. If, for example, you forward from a landline to a mobile, you will be charged for a landline-to-mobile call — which costs something different from a call to a landline. The cost is set by the destination, not the origin. Tellingly, OTE offers forwarding to a landline on its own network within the same exchange completely free, while forwarding to a mobile is charged as normal. If, however, you forward because nobody is free to pick up, it is worth seeing how a phone system for your office can answer in your place.
Of course, talk-time bundles change the picture. If your plan includes free minutes to mobiles, the forwarding may draw on those — so, in practice, forwarding costs you nothing at all until they run out. But it is also possible that it is charged outside the bundle. Because the companies do not all word it the same way in their contracts, we cannot give you a standard price here: there simply isn’t one. If you forward to a service that answers on your behalf, forwarding is only one part of the bill; the subscription is the other, so compare phone answering prices.
Where to check it for your own line
In three places. In your provider’s app — MyCOSMOTE, My Vodafone or the Nova app — where you can see your plan in detail. In the official price list on the company’s website. And, of course, on your bill: there the forwarding leg appears exactly like any other outgoing call you made.
If you would rather talk to customer service, make sure you ask the right questions. Instead of asking a general “how much does forwarding cost”, ask three specific things: how forwarding to a mobile is charged on your own plan, whether that charge is deducted from your free minutes, and whether the forwarding service itself carries any fixed fee.
How to avoid surprises
- Prefer conditional forwarding. Unconditional forwarding forwards every call — so it charges you for every call, too. Forwarding when you don’t answer or when the line is busy, on the other hand, forwards only the calls you would otherwise have lost for good.
- Check what you already have switched on. The status codes *#21# and *#61# show you on screen, straight away, whether a forwarding is active and where it is sending your calls — including any you don’t even remember setting up.
- Cancel whatever you don’t need. The code ##002# clears all forwarding in a single step. Our detailed guide on how to turn off call forwarding also has all the relevant codes.
- Set it up correctly from the start. All the activation codes — *21*, *61*, *67*, *62* — along with the steps for each provider, are gathered in our guide on how to set up call forwarding.
Forwarding is the cheap part
Whatever your price list says, forwarding a call simply costs as much as an ordinary call. A missed call, however, has an entirely different cost: the customer who cannot reach you will rarely call back — they will simply go elsewhere. For a business that lives on appointments, the real loss is not the few cents that forwarding costs, but the value of the call that was lost. Put your own figures into the missed calls calculator to see exactly what that means in euros.
That is why the point is not only what forwarding costs, but what happens at the other end of the line. If you forward to a phone that also goes unanswered, you are merely moving the problem elsewhere — and paying for it on top. Forwarding to a line that always answers, on the other hand, changes the picture completely: the same forwarding cost now buys you a call that was answered and, quite possibly, a booked appointment. That is exactly what we are building at Parousa — an AI receptionist that answers flawlessly in Greek, takes messages and books appointments, without you having to change anything at all on your line. And if you are wondering whether you should simply hire someone to answer the phone, see how a receptionist’s salary compares with the cost of a digital assistant.
Frequently asked questions
Does the person calling me pay anything extra when I have forwarding on?
No. The customer calling your number is charged exactly what they would have been charged for that call anyway. The second leg — the call from your own line to the forwarding number — is charged to you alone; the person calling you neither sees it nor pays for it.
Am I charged anything when forwarding is active but nobody calls?
The charge for forwarding a call only arises when someone calls you — if the phone doesn’t ring, you pay absolutely nothing for it. As for whether the service itself has a fixed fee, take a look at your provider’s price list. Nova, for example, states clearly that there is no monthly fee on fixed-line telephony, while OTE offers the forwarding service completely free.
Does the forwarded leg count against my plan’s minutes?
That depends purely on your contract. On some plans, the forwarding time is deducted from the free talk minutes you already have. On others, it is charged outside the bundle. There is no general rule, so the best thing is to ask your provider specifically about forwarding, and not about the cost of outgoing calls in general.
Does unconditional forwarding cost more than forwarding when I don’t answer?
The way you are charged is exactly the same — you pay the forwarding cost for each individual call. The difference is in how many calls end up being forwarded: unconditional forwarding sends all of your calls elsewhere without exception, while conditional forwarding forwards only those you didn’t manage to answer or that found you already on the line. Put simply: fewer forwarded calls mean a smaller bill.
Is the cost of forwarding worth it?
If someone answers at the other end of the line, then usually yes: forwarding simply costs as much as a call, whereas a missed call from a customer can cost you a whole appointment. But if you forward to a phone that also goes unanswered, then in practice you are just paying to move the problem elsewhere. You can work it out precisely with your own numbers in the missed calls calculator.
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