Want to jump straight to the answer? The best virtual office service for most people is Opus Virtual Offices or Alliance Virtual Offices.
For small business owners and freelancers, virtual office services offer all the advantages of renting actual office space without having to pay rent.
Virtual offices offer a professional mailing address with mail forwarding, a phone number with voicemail services and a receptionist, and usually physical office space with wi-fi for meetings and on-site work.
- $99 per month
- Great for first virtual office
- Comes with one month free
- Excellent add-ons
The Top 8 Best Virtual Office Services
- Opus Virtual Offices – Best For Beginners
- Alliance Virtual Offices – Best If You Need A Receptionist
- Davinci Virtual Office Solutions – Best For International Companies
- Regus – Most Flexible Packages
- Servcorp – Best High-End Option
- Sococo – Best Online Office Replacement
- Intelligent Office – Best If You Want A Virtual Assistant
- EOffice – Best Community Environment
Virtual office services allow you to have a physical place of business while keeping your overhead costs low and having a ton of flexibility.
We researched and tested a bunch of services to be able to narrow down the list to the eight I review on this list.
Below the reviews, check out a guide to help you select the right one for your needs that will best fit your small or online-based business.
Opus Virtual Offices — Best For Beginners
- $99 per month
- Great for first virtual office
- Comes with one month free
- Excellent add-ons
Opus Virtual Offices provides basic office solutions at an attainable price. They have over 500 locations in North America, making them accessible to business owners in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Opus’s services are simple, straightforward, and great for new business owners setting up their first virtual office. Their basic services package includes full mail and phone services plus a live receptionist during business hours.
If you’d prefer to read your messages, Opus will convert all your faxes and voice messages into emails and send them right to your inbox.
The best part? All of the above is included in a flat monthly fee of $99. No hidden fees, no extra costs.
They also offer a range of inexpensive add-ons, including texting, audio conferencing, and international call transfer. Most additional services cost only $10/month, with a couple going as high as $25/month.
And if you sign up for a year of their services, Opus will offer you one month for free.
One catch: Opus doesn’t offer any type of physical workspace. It’s virtual office services are truly virtual. This could be problematic for business owners who like to do things in person or require a physical location.
There’s also not a whole lot of room to grow. Opus offers the one basic package and its few add-ons, no higher-end packages or scale-up options, potentially making it a tougher fit for more established businesses.
But for a beginning business that does everything remotely, Opus is a solid starting point.
Alliance Virtual Offices – Best If You Need A Receptionist
- Dedicated receptionist plan
- Receptionists schedule appointments, handle calls and messages, and manages calendar
- Local or toll-free phone number costs $30 per month
- Six-month minimum contract
If having a real person answer your phone is a top priority for you, look no further than Alliance Virtual Services. Unlike many virtual office providers who treat this as an extra, Alliance has a dedicated receptionist plan included in its virtual office offerings.
Alliance receptionists work in-person at Alliance locations to answer your calls Monday through Saturday. In addition to taking messages and handling call forwarding, they’ll also schedule your appointments and manage your calendar.
The one tradeoff here is that using a local or toll-free phone number costs an extra $30/month, but since you’d pay a receptionist that much in an hour or two of work, it’s likely worthwhile.
Even better, Alliance’s packages aren’t anywhere near as pricey as you might think including a receptionist would make them. The base receptionist package, with 50 minutes of live answering time, starts at $95/month.
Alliance requires a six-month minimum contract and a $100 setup fee. They also charge extra for use of their physical spaces (starting at $10/hour).
But if a virtual office with a dedicated receptionist is important to you, they’re definitely worth checking out–especially with locations in 50 states and 42 countries.
Davinci Virtual Office Solutions — Best For International Companies
- $49-$200 per month
- Excellent for international companies
- Great in-person offerings
- Physical address with mail receipt and forwarding
Davinci Virtual Office Solutions has a broad global reach and a great global reputation. With over 5,000 locations in 45 countries (and all 50 US states), Davinci is the virtual office provider for businesses that are, or plan to be, international.
In addition to a physical address with mail receipt and forwarding, Davinci offers in-person services at each of its locations, including lobby greeters, a registered agent, and a business support center.
They also offer meeting rooms with A/V equipment, reliable wi-fi, and catering options.
Their live receptionist offerings are just as comprehensive. The basic package includes a local or toll-free number, live answering and call forwarding, voicemail management and more.
A premium package is also available offering appointment scheduling, order processing, customer care, and bilingual receptionists–essentially virtual assistant services to take administrative tasks off your plate.
Because Davinci has so many locations, pricing varies from one to the next, but basic office packages tend to run between $49-$200/month, with a six-month contract required.
But those basic packages don’t include the live receptionist services, there are upcharges on some other services (again, depending on the location), and the first contract includes a setup fee of $150-$200, which few other virtual offices charge.
Are those extra costs deal-breakers? For an established international business owner who wants a physical office location with a wide range of services, probably not. But they do add to the bottom line.
Regus – Most Flexible Packages
- Starts at $37 per month
- Flexible plans are great for scaling
- Physical and virtual working spaces
- Physical address with mail handling and forwarding
Regus isn’t just a virtual office space company, they’re also an actual office space company. So if you’re looking for a provider that prioritizes physical locations, Regus is a good bet. They have over 1,000 offices in the US, and 2,000 more across 150 other countries.
In addition to virtual office services, Regus offers an office membership (starting at $207/month) and a co-working membership (starting at $93/month). Both memberships have 5-day, 10-day, and unlimited-day office access options.
Regus also has rooms available for rent (starting at $19/hour) for everything from interviews to training sessions to board meetings to full-on events.
For virtual office services, Regus has three packages. Their basic package (starting at $37/month) has a physical address with mail handling and forwarding. Mid-level (from $150/month) adds on access to their business lounge and a local phone number with receptionist answering services.
Top-end (from $207/month, basically their physical office membership) adds daily use of a meeting room and 5 days access to an office or desk space. Note that these prices are based on a 24-month contract, and will vary from location to location.
The flexibility of these plans is a plus for businesses just starting up or moving into a new area, as they can easily start out with only the physical address and uplevel later.
The steep price jumps between the plans may be a lot to swallow, though. It’s also worth noting that Regus has had some billing issues that have led to recent low reviews on Trustpilot and similar sites.
Servcorp — Best High-End Option
- Starts at $100 per month
- High-end, world-class offices
- Receptionist for calls
- Personal assistant, great Wi-Fi, and networking community
Servcorp offers the most premium services and benefits of any provider on this list.
Their virtual office package includes all the address, mail, and phone services you’d expect from a virtual office (including a receptionist for calls). But that’s just the beginning.
It also includes three hours free daily access to co-working spaces, 8 hours monthly access to private offices or boardrooms, a personal assistant, top-end wi-fi with the option to have a unique personal login and password, and direct access to Servcorp’s business networking community. That’s a lot of benefits that most of the others on this list don’t provide.
Servcorp also offers a payment option no one else does: the ability to pay one month at a time. For companies with temporary needs or who aren’t ready for a two-year contract yet, this is a huge help.
The tradeoffs for Servcorp come in price and location. They’re the most expensive provider on this list by a wide margin, with their virtual office package (containing everything listed above) coming in around $700/month.
They do have lower-level packages starting around $100/month for more basic services, though, so beginner businesses don’t have to completely avoid them.
They also only have nine locations that offer virtual office services, across four US cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Houston. They get around this somewhat by including access to meeting rooms and private offices in any of their 150 other global locations, but that still makes using them more difficult (and potentially confusing) for businesses in other cities or countries.
Still, if you want the best perks and are willing to pay for them, Servcorp might be a great option for you.
Sococo — Best Online Office Replacement
- Starts at $13.49 per month
- Virtual office that looks like a real office
- Integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex
- No physical space
If you run a business where your employees need to interact with each other every day, but can’t actually get them in the same physical place (thanks, 2021), then what you need is a virtual office that acts like a real office. And that’s what Sococo provides.
Sococo creates an online office space that mimics a real office, complete with a digital floor plan and decor options.
Your employees will be able to interact with each other, co-work, give presentations, share documents, and collaborate–all as though they were in the same actual office. Users can even see the availability of their co-workers and “knock” on their virtual doors to start a meeting or ask a question.
To make all this workable, Sococo integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex, has tools for text, voice, and visual connections, and includes apps for both iOS and Android.
Sococo’s pricing is also different–rather than paying for a package of services, you pay for their entire suite based on how many users you’ll have. For 10+ users, you’ll pay $13.49/mo for each; for 100+, $24.99/mo for each. This dynamic pricing will be a plus for small businesses that need daily in-person interaction.
The tradeoff is that Sococo provides no physical space whatsoever–not even a physical address and mail forwarding. So while it is clearly a virtual office provider, its definition of “virtual office” is somewhat different than those of the others on this list.
If all you need is a mailing address and a receptionist, Sococo won’t be for you, but if you need to reproduce your office environment online, it just might be a lifesaver.
Intelligent Office — Best If You Want A Virtual Assistant
- Provides a virtual assistant
- Handles administrative tasks like onboarding and travel planning
- Offices in 20 US states and 3 Canadian provinces
- Free quote
For many business owners, there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. A virtual assistant (VA) or executive assistant (EA) can help by taking a wide range of administrative tasks off your hands so you can focus on running your business.
Intelligent Office is the virtual office provider that also provides VAs. Their VAs handle everything from receptionist services to client onboarding to travel reservations.
Called Intelligent Assistants, these VAs are an integral part of Intelligent Office’s packages. Each package begins with an interview to determine your needs and pain points, the challenges and goals of your business, and your to-do list, so the VA can immediately get started clearing your decks for you.
The biggest downside to Intelligent Office is location. IO has offices in only 20 US states and three Canadian provinces, so international businesses might want to look elsewhere.
They also have the least transparent website of any on this list, with no packages or pricing listed. Instead, they offer a free quote service with no obligation to buy.
EOffice — Best Community Environment
- Great environment for community building
- First co-working space to offer open-plan workspace in in London, England
- Locations in 60 countries
- Full package is $400 per month
EOffice prides itself on its community environment.
The first co-working space to provide open-plan workspaces in London, it blends solid virtual office offerings with bespoke working environments designed to make each member feel productive, creative, and happy.
They also have an active, welcoming network that each user gets access to, including regular community and networking events. Startup owners and workers will find a lot here, as EOffice has connections with more than a dozen mentorship companies and angel investors who offer their guidance to EOffice members.
With locations in 60 countries, EOffice is another great virtual office provider for international businesses, though it only has locations in 11 US Cities.
Their virtual office packages focus on the basics: a professional business address and phone answering services, and they’re somewhat pricier than others on this list. The full package, including access to their co-working spaces, is close to $400/month.
They also offer an eCard membership option just for co-working, which gets you access to their community portal and one day pass per month (among other perks) starting at $39.75/mo.
But all their packages do include full access to the community, the ability to use any of their 250+ workspaces worldwide, and several other perks. So if you want a strong community aspect with your virtual office services, EOffice will be up your alley.
How To Find The Best Virtual Office For You
Now let’s look at the best virtual office services for different situations. As I noted earlier, what makes a virtual office right for you will largely depend on your individual needs. But there are a few factors to consider when comparing them against each other.
Best Virtual Office For Customizable Packages
Since individual needs and fit are so important, let’s start there. Your ability to customize packages to your own needs, or at least to choose between multiple levels or options depending on those needs, will likely determine whether you can work with a provider or not.
Customizability allows you to pick the services you need and ignore the ones you don’t, which can save you money. It also allows you to start where you are and grow or scale up at your own pace, which not only saves money but removes pressure to grow too fast.
And having multiple options to choose between gives you flexibility to start using a virtual office provider at any point in your business journey, rather than having to be a beginner or a veteran, a big company or a small one.
The virtual offices that provide the best customizability and flexibility are:
Best Virtual Offices For Specificity
On the other hand, if you know exactly where you are and exactly what you want, having a wider variety of options or a strong ability to customize might not be necessary for you. This is especially true for businesses that are just getting started, that want one particular perk or benefit above all, or that value a tangential yet important factor like community.
The virtual offices that provide the best specific services are:
Best Virtual Offices For Location
While any virtual office provider can technically provide services from anywhere, the more locations one has, the more accessible they will be–especially if you want to use their physical office space as well as their virtual services.
International presence or strategy also matters here. If you’re not in the US, or you want to grow your business internationally, having access to locations in other countries will be vital for you.
The virtual offices with the most locations (in the US and worldwide) are:
Best-Priced Virtual Office Services
The caveat with pricing for virtual office solutions is that the amount you pay determines the features and benefits you get.
Buying a lower-level package may only get you a few basic features, such as an address with mail forwarding but nothing else, while buying a comprehensive package will nearly always come with a premium price tag.
Some of the cheapest providers can also become the most expensive once you move up the ladder to their most comprehensive packages.
So I evaluated the best-priced virtual office services as the ones that offer the most benefits at each of three price levels: basic, mid-level, and premium.
Best basic offering: Opus Virtual Offices (base offer, $99/mo)
Best mid-level offering: Regus (office membership, $207/mo)
Best premium offering: Servcorp (full virtual office suite, $700/mo)
- $99 per month
- Great for first virtual office
- Comes with one month free
- Excellent add-ons
The Best Virtual Office Services in Summary
Opus Virtual Offices, Regus, Intelligent Office, and Davinci are the best virtual office services on the market. Finding the best option for you and your business depends on what you’re looking for.
Some virtual offices are better for mail forwarding and virtual assistants, while others are better for co-working spaces at multiple locations. Regardless of your unique needs, you can use this guide to find the best virtual office for you.
from Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/ylXUn34
via IFTTT
