Are you looking for the best VoIP for small business? A VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is a cost-effective solution for small businesses.
And unlike the traditional phone solutions, an internet business phone system comes with a number of useful features at no additional cost.
In this article, we’ll compare the best business phone services (VoIP) and internet telephone systems to help you decide the best one for your business needs.
Quick Summary of Top VoIP Solutions and Internet Phone Services
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the VoIP systems we’ve covered in this post. Learn more about each service with the table below:
| Price | Free Trials | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nextiva | $20+/month/user | 7 day | Voice, video, text message, mobile, and web connectivity HD voice call quality Unlimited calling AI transcription |
| RingCentral | $20+/month/user | 14 days | Unlimited calling in the USA and Canada Automatic call recording Voicemail to text AI summaries and customer insights |
| Ooma Office Phone | $19.95+/month | 30 day money-back guarantee | Choice of toll free phone number Virtual receptionist Extension dialing |
| Phone.com | $15+/month per user | 30 day money-back guarantee | Voicemail Text messaging |
| Grasshopper | $14+/month | 7 days | Simultaneous call handling Voicemail |
| GoToConnect | $26+/month | 14 days | Voicemail transcription Call analytics |
| Vonage | $13.99+/month | 30 day money-back guarantee | Call forwarding Voicemail to email |
| CallHippo | $18+/month | 10 days | Call reminders CRM integrations |
| Google Voice | $10/month | No free trial for paid plans | Voice Mail to Text features Google Services integrations |
| Zoom Phone | $10+/month | n/a | Overall call management Robust security features Integration with other Zoom services |
My Favorite VoIP Phone Services
The best VoIP for small businesses depends on your specific requirements, but here are some of the options we’ve tested out.
1. Nextiva
Nextiva is one of the best and most reliable business VoIP services in the market. And you don’t need an annual contract to use their service.
They offer many powerful features like unlimited calling, auto-attendant, unlimited internet faxing, advanced call management, and more. You’ll also get a toll-free number for free with all their plans.
It comes with some automation features as well. For example, you can set up an action to occur at a specific time, or get automatic notifications when a new sale is made.
Personally, I enjoy innovative AI features like real-time transcriptions. This is great for seeing your dialog as it happens, so you don’t have to ask customers to repeat themselves and end up wasting both your time and theirs.
It’s a good example of AI features that aren’t gimmicky but add real value to teams.
The support team of Nextiva is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. You can always reach out to them in case you face any problems.
Does your business need an on-premise office phone system that works on existing handsets? Contact centers and enterprise companies often use Nextiva to transition their Avaya private branch exchange (PBX system) into a SIP trunking cloud phone system.
Nextiva isn’t perfect. While I love the user interface of the NextivaOne app, I painfully felt the lack of a search box to find a conversation.
Overall, Nextiva is suitable for startups, small businesses, and even mid-level to enterprise businesses. We can also vouch for them as we use their business phone service for our own business.
Features:
- Complete unified communication system with voice, video, text messages, mobile, and web connectivity
- Easy setup
- Reliable and trustworthy service with HD voice call quality
- Fast and knowledgeable customer support
- Unlimited calling (no per-minute charges)
- Instant conference calls (including real-time video conference calls)
- Manage voicemails from your email
- Keep your local number
- Share business phone numbers with remote teams or add extensions
- Dedicated Nextiva app to manage calls from your mobile devices, tablets, cell phone, or laptop computers
Price: The Digital plan starts from $20/month for per user.
Overall, we believe Nextiva is the best business phone service provider in the market, that’s why we use them for our business.
2. RingCentral
RingCentral is a powerful yet easy-to-use VoIP service provider. Whether you’re planning to start your business or managing large businesses, you can use their reliable, secure, and hassle-free internet phone service.
You can easily set up and activate their service within a few minutes. And you can always contact their team members for help as they offer high-quality customer service.
RingCentral comes with useful features including call monitoring, call forwarding, call routing, automatic call recording, call logs, video meetings conferencing, and screen sharing.
You can also integrate it with 3rd party apps and services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Zapier, Salesforce, Office 365, and more.
It’s exceedingly diverse in features, which can sometimes be overwhelming and make the app a bit clunky. But this isn’t a deal breaker by any means. You get used to it pretty quick.
RingCentral’s AI assistant is pretty good. It’s usually accurate at taking notes during a call and summarizing conversations.
Just like Nextiva, we can recommend you to use RingCentral for your business. The only concern is their pricing is on the higher side. However, you can use their annual plan to reduce your expenses. They also offer cloud PBX.
Features:
- Unlimited inbound and outbound phone calls in the US and CA
- Choose a toll-free or local number
- Voicemail to text feature
- Reliable cloud based phone system
- Automatic call recording
- Unlimited audio and video conferencing
- Robust API and third-party integration ecosystem
- Glip Pro team messaging is included for free which makes it easy for teams to collaborate
Price: Starting from $20/month/user. You can also pay annually and save up to 33%. You get unlimited calls in US and Canada, but international and toll-free minutes vary based on plan.
3. Ooma Office Phone
Ooma Office Phone is a popular small business VOIP phone provider that has affordable 1-800 toll free phone numbers. When you sign up, they’ll pre-select a toll-free phone number for you, but you always have the option to choose a new one. It’s great because you can add a free number to any of their plans.
It’s well-loved because of its ease of use. Plus, you can get some great features with Ooma like on-hold music for call queues, a virtual receptionist, extension dialing, mobile phone apps, and more.
Price: Ooma has plans starting at $19.95/month. Their Pro plan costs $24.95 per month and comes with additional features like video conferencing, call recording, and more.
4. Phone.com
Asking yourself which is the cheapest VoIP provider?
Phone.com is one of the most affordable VoIP services for small businesses and one of the all-around best VoIP phone service. It offers different features like call forwarding, call waiting service, caller ID, voicemail, text messaging, and more.
You’ll also get at least one local or toll-free number with all their plans. This is very useful for your business as customers can contact you at no cost to them.
Do you want to learn about the demographics, social profile, etc of your customers? You can easily do that by taking a look at the caller analytics.
Phone.com is a cost-effective service with their plans starting from $15 per month per user. However, there is a limit of 500 minutes with their basic plan. You need to upgrade to a higher plan to increase that limit.
Price: Starting from $15 per month and comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.
5. Grasshopper
Grasshopper is one of the best internet phone servicse and virtual phone systems in the market. And you can use their service if you’re an established small business owner or just starting out.
It comes with the most essential calling features including incoming call control, call transfers, custom greeting, simultaneous call handling, VoIP calling, and voicemail with all their plans.
To make outgoing calls, you can use their mobile or desktop apps. And there is no restriction on the number of minutes that you can use, unlike Phone.com.
Price: Starting from $14 per month. It also offers a free trial to test its service.
6. GoToConnect
GoToConnect, formerly Jive, is a popular business VoIP provider for small businesses. They offer unlimited calls, unlimited extensions, and a free local or toll-free business phone number.
Their business phone service comes with over 100 powerful features including conference calling, voicemail transcription, international calling, team messaging, auto attendant, call forwarding, audio conferencing, call analytics, music on hold, unlimited call queues, and more.
Since GoToConnect is part of the larger GoTo family brands, they also have seamless integrations with their webinar software, GoToWebinar along with hundreds of other integrations like G Suite, Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce, and more.
Price: Starting from $26 per month.
7. Vonage
Vonage is a plug and play VoIP service for small businesses. You just need a high-speed internet connection to start using their service.
It offers unlimited calling and SMS service in the US and Canada. Plus, you can easily link your business phone number to your mobile device with the help of their Android or iOS app. There’s also a Microsoft Teams integration.
Vonage also comes with 40+ standard VoIP features including call screening, do not disturb, caller ID, call forwarding, voicemail to email, call blocking, and file sharing. They even have call center support.
However, you should note that their basic plan comes with limited features. So you need to upgrade to a higher plan to get all the advanced phone features.
Price: Starting from $13.99 per month per line. The pricing varies with number of people in your team.
8. CallHippo
CallHippo is another great virtual phone system on our list. It comes with standard features like call hold, contact management, welcome message, call reminder, and more.
It comes with a free plan with limited features and is suitable for entrepreneurs and startups. However, you can always upgrade to their higher plan to use the premium features.
You can also integrate CallHippo to different services including Pipedrive, Slack, Zoho CRM, Hubspot, Zapier, and Zendesk to enhance its functionality with a CRM integration or other web apps.
Price: Pricing starts at $18 per month.
9. Google Voice
Google Voice is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service offered by Google. It is known for its integration of traditional telephony and modern web technologies.
Designed to streamline communication, it allows users to link their existing phone numbers to a single Google Voice number.
One of its notable functions is the advanced call management system, which includes call screening, blocking, and routing options.
The best part of all: Google Voice can be used for free if you need it for Personal Use. Meanwhile, there are plans available for Business Use as well.
Price: Pricing starts at $10 per user per month.
10. Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone supports both domestic and international calling, providing flexibility and convenience for global business communications.
The service also shines in its integration with other Zoom modules, such as Zoom Meetings and Zoom Chat.
Lastly, Zoom Phone’s administrative controls and analytics stand out, offering businesses detailed insights into usage patterns and call quality.
We recommend it to any person or business looking for a budget-friendly solution to handle their phone management.
Price: Pricing starts at $10 per month per user.
Which Is the Best VoIP and Internet Phone System for You?
After comparing the above services, we can conclude that Nextiva is the best VoIP phone service for small businesses and startups.
They offer amazing features that are useful for most businesses. Also, you don’t need any annual contracts for using their service.
RingCentral is another internet phone system that we can highly recommend. However, Nextiva has a slight edge over RingCentral, thanks to its cheaper pricing plans.
Not quite ready to get VoIP for your small business yet? Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions about VoIP for small businesses.
VoIP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Is VoIP?
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology allows you to make or receive calls using the internet, instead of traditional phone lines.
VoIP, also known as an internet phone system, converts the sound of your voice into a digital signal that can be sent over the internet much like any other data.
Why Is VoIP Useful for Your Business?
Many small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups use VoIP services for their businesses because it typically comes with extra features and can cost less than a traditional business phone service.
Internet business phone systems are the best business phones because they offer features beyond just calling.
These services can come with features like caller ID, call forwarding, call management, voicemail, call waiting, conferencing, video calls, and more. And you don’t need to pay anything for these features, unlike the traditional phone system.
But VoIP technology isn’t perfect – let’s take a look at some pros and cons before you decide on a service.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of using VoIP?
Some of the benefits of using a business VoIP system are:
- Flexibility: You can make or receive phone calls using your computer, mobile apps, and VoIP devices (great for remote companies or traveling entrepreneurs)
- Scalability: Internet business phone systems are scalable without having to buy more phone lines or hardware
- Scalability: Internet business phone systems are scalable without having to buy more phone lines or hardware
- Data: You can track and analyze the business calls to improve your workflow
- Price: They’re cost-effective for small businesses and startups
If internet phone systems are so great, what’s the downside? VoIP isn’t the best business phone system for everyone – here are a few possible disadvantages to consider:
- You need a good internet connection to make calls. If your connection is always cutting out or going down, VoIP may not be a good choice.
- No location tracking for emergency calls. Traditional phone systems will give your location to emergency services automatically, but VoIP can’t do that.
Is VoIP Worth It for Small Businesses?
VoIP is a great option for small businesses because unlike with traditional business phone systems, you don’t have to set up complicated equipment or have an IT staff to manage it.
This makes it a lot more accessible for businesses on a budget. To set up VoIP business phone service, all you need is a reliable internet connection with good bandwidth.
How Do I Choose a Good VoIP Provider?
The 3 main things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider are features, your budget, and reliability.
If you need features like video conferencing or SMS messaging, you’ll want to make sure the provider you choose supports those options. It’s also important to consider if you can afford the provider you want to use.
And lastly, you’ll want to make sure your calls will actually go through and that you won’t miss calls from clients or customers. Checking 3rd party reviews for the VoIP provider you’re considering is a smart move.
How Much Is VoIP Monthly?
Typically, VoIP plans start at around $20 per month per user for basic plans. Pricing can go up to about $50/month if you’re looking at plans with a lot of advanced features.
Both Nextiva and RingCentral actually offers free trial, so you can try it out before you buy.
Is VoIP Cheaper Than a Landline?
Yes, usually VoIP business phone services are much cheaper than desk phones with landlines. Business landlines often charge setup fees of around $100, and monthly fees can be as high as $100 per line.
Extra features like intercom, call transfer, and more can all cost extra. Plus, you don’t get VoIP-only features like call analytics, voicemail to text, video conferencing, and more.
What Is Needed to Set up VoIP?
You’ll need to have a reliable high-speed broadband Internet connection in order to use the business communications power of VoIP. If you prefer, you can connect your VoIP devices via Ethernet for a better connection.
You’ll also need a VoIP phone, or an app if you want to use it on your smartphone. Not all VoIP providers offer an app, so make sure the service you choose is compatible with your existing phone if you don’t want to buy a new one.
Can I Keep My Landline Number with VoIP?
Yes, you can keep your local landline phone number with VoIP. Nextiva, for example, allows you to port your numbers into their service so you can keep the same phone number.
Can VoIP Providers Be Hacked?
Yes, like any cloud technology, it’s possible for VoIP to be hacked. That’s one reason why it’s so important to go with a reliable, reputable provider.
Watch out for signs like irregular phone bills, suspicious internet redirects or antivirus messages, or automatically activated microphones and webcams.
The business phone services that we mentioned in our list go above and beyond to ensure their platform is 100% secure.
How Reliable Is VoIP as a Business Phone System?
Reliable VoIP phone systems have over 99.99% uptime, including the services listed above. Keep in mind that VoIP relies on your internet connection, so if your internet unstable, then your phone lines will be too.
Although most cloud-based business phone services have improved their technology to require very low internet bandwidth speed.
Which Is the Best Business Phone Service in the Market?
Our pick for the top 3 best business phone services and VoIP provider would be Nextiva, RingCentral, and Ooma.
Next, Make a Request a Call Back Form
After you’ve signed up for a VoIP service, it’s a good idea to allow your customers to easily make a call back request. With WPForms, you can make a request a call back form so your customers can easily get in touch with you.
If you are wondering how you can create a free professional email address for your business, then you may want to check out our step-by-step guide on how to set up a free business email address in 5 minutes.
You might also want to check out our article on the best WordPress automation plugins, which can assist you in managing your WordPress site more efficiently.
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Nice article, good summary of some of the best services. Another one to consider is CallCentric.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the positive feedback and for the suggestion! I’m glad you found the article helpful. 🙂
Good article, another to consider is VitalPBX
Nowadays, everyone is discussing Powerful VoIP Solutions (cloud-communications) as it making ripples in the communication industry.
All things considered, a portion of the individuals are hesitant to redesign their conventional telephone system to VoIP as they get familiar with the advances they grow up with.
What about Monster viop
Hi John! I’m sorry, but we don’t currently have any details regarding Monster VOIP, but I can take your interest in it as a suggestion for a future article or future update of this one 🙂