10 Best Two Line Cordless Phones 2024 in the United States

Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for people to run a business out of the comfort of their own home. If you’re amongst them, and you don’t want to mix business with pleasure, a two-line cordless phone can help you with that. It will allow you to call, as well as receive calls, on two different phone lines--even though you physically have only one phone. That’s the bare essentials--but today’s phones will offer much more than that. You will also see phones with the capability of expanding to 12 or more cordless handsets, using only one physical phone jack. This will make it a nice addition to the workplace. Two-line cordless phones will also offer a number of other features that we’ve all become used to with mobile and even landline phones: storing numbers and speed dialing, three-way conference calling, caller ID, voicemail and playback of message recordings, and many other alerts and features. You’ll also find two-line cordless phones with features for the hearing-impaired, or battery-power backup, for emergency situations when you lose mains power.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a two-line cordless phone. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of two-line cordless phone,

• See useful tips about that type of two-line cordless phone,

• Read reviews of different brands of two-line cordless phones, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of two-line cordless phones, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

You’ll see a few designs of two-line cordless phones:

• With a corded handset in the base: This model will have a corded handset in the base. It gets its power from the conventional landline (the line that connects to the phone jack in the wall). You can then hook up a number of cellular phones. An example would be the Panasonic Corded 2-Handset Landline Telephone (Model No. KX-TGF352N). This has the advantage that the corded handset will always receive electricity, even in the case of a blackout where you lose electricity to your home.

Panasonic  Corded 2-Handset Landline Telephone (Model No. KX-TGF352N)

• With a cordless handset: This will have a handset with rechargeable batteries, plus a base that must be plugged into an outlet to get electricity. An example is the AT&T DECT 6.0 2-Line Expandable Cordless Phone (Model No. TL88102). The cordless handset gives you more mobility, but you have to make sure that the handset is all charged up.

AT&T DECT 6.0 2-Line Expandable Cordless Phone (Model No. TL88102)

• Expandable handsets: The beauty of some of these cordless phones is that you can hook up a number of cordless handsets, so that many can speak at once in a conference call, or as an intercom. The Uniden DECT 4096 Two-Line Cordless Phone allows you to hook up 7 cordless phones!

Uniden DECT 4096 Two-Line Cordless Phone with Handsets

Here are some of the things reviewers mentioned about two-line cordless phones:

• Better reception with cordless phone: In a number of two-line cordless phones, there will be one cordless phone and one or more cellular phones. The cordless phone will typically display better sound quality and reception than the cellular line.

• Two-line operation: As we mentioned at the outset, a two-line cordless phone will allow you to dial on one line, while you receive calls on another line. Alternatively, you can use one line as your home phone number, and the other phone line for business calls. They will also have a digital answering system, giving a voice mailbox for each line.

• Expandable: The different products featured differ in their ability to add more handsets. The AT&T DECT 6.0 2-line Expandable Cordless Phone can expand to up to 12 handsets! You’ll certainly want to look at how many lines your phone system can support.

• Phonebook: Another nice feature is the phonebook, saving useful names and numbers that you need all the time. The V-Tech 2-line Answering System has a frugal phonebook directory of 50 names and numbers. But the Panasonic KX-TG9542B 2-line phone can save up to 3000 names, that you can access via Bluetooth using your Smartphone.

• DECT 6.0: You’ll see a number of phones that state that they are “DECT 6.0 phones”. This stands for “Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications”. DECT originally was a European standard for cordless telephones. DECT 6.0 is the cordless phone standard for North America, where the wireless signal is sent at 1.9 GHz, as opposed to the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz that was prevalent until then. At this 1.9 GHz frequency, it is not expected to interfere with other wireless devices (wireless keyboards, mice, routers, or microwave ovens). However, it might not be compatible with European or South African cellular networks. So you have to make sure that your phone is compatible for the area where you live.

• Handset locator and key detector capability: Picture this: You detach the cordless phone’s receiver from the base, and walk around with it while tending to something in the house. But after a while, you forget where you left it. A nice feature of cordless phones, in general, is the handset locator. There will be a button in the base which you press, that makes the handset emit a sound so that you can locate it. Some phones will have a similar capability for your keys, in the event that you misplaced them: You can attach a detector device on your keychain, which will emit a sound when you press the appropriate button on the cordless handset. The Panasonic Cordless Landline Telephone (Model No. KX-TGF352N) has such a feature.

• Link2Cell feature: You will see several Panasonic cordless phones that have the Link2Cell feature. This feature lets you link your handset phone to your cell phone via Bluetooth. The handset will serve as your cellular phone if, for instance, your cellular phone needs to be recharged. Some models will allow you to use your handset phone for as many as 4 cellular phones at once!

• Other desirable features: There are many other desirable features that these phones sport--depending on your preferences:

  • Talking caller ID: Caller ID displays the name and number of who is calling. But this goes one better: It will tell you who is calling, with a voice message that you can hear across the room! You’ll know whether to walk to pick up the call--or to run!

  • Blocking numbers: If there are certain nuisance numbers that you want to avoid, many phones also feature a call block, which will prevent the call from going through, or from leaving a voice message.

  • Speed dialing: If there are certain numbers that you call all the time, there are speed dialing features. They let you assign a number to the phone numbers, so that you can call with the press of a single button. Panasonic’s phones will allow up to 22 numbers that you can speed dial.

• VTech--was founded by Allan Wong and Stephen Leung in 1976 as "Video Technology Ltd." They rapidly expanded to many other areas, including phones for private consumers and for businesses, baby monitors and other baby products, wireless monitoring systems, and more. Their monitoring systems include cameras and telephones.

• Panasonic--is a multinational electronics corporation, originally founded as the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company in Osaka, Japan in 1918. They are famous for making electronics and home appliances.  They make cameras and camcorders, microwave ovens and other kitchen appliances, telephones, and other appliances for the home and office, such as fax machines, printers and scanners, vacuum cleaners, irons, and more. They make a series of corded and cordless phones as well.

• AT&T--is a telecommunications company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It was founded as “American Telephone & Telegraph” in 1885. Besides providing phone and Internet service, they also make cordless and cellular phones, televisions, and more.  

• Uniden--is a wireless communications company that was founded in 1966 by Hidero Fujimoto under the name "Uni Electronics Corporation". Its headquarters is in Tokyo, Japan. They originally manufactured citizen-band radios and other radio communication devices, but now they have expanded to making digital cordless phones, radio transmitters and receivers, wireless network and GPS products.