Want to jump straight to the answer? The best VoIP phone systems for most small businesses are Nextiva or RingCentral.
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone systems make calls over the internet instead of a traditional landline. It simplifies the phone system in a traditional office, and allows remote workers to make calls wherever they have internet access.
Top 10 Best VoIP Phone Systems in 2022
- Nextiva – Best overall (For a limited time get 25% off, plus a free phone, when you sign up using our link!)
- RingCentral – Best no-hardware solution
- Ooma – Easiest to set up for smaller businesses
- Phone.com – Most affordable VoIP system for simple needs
- Grasshopper – Best for using your personal device for business
- Vonage – Best VoIP service for specific needs
- 8×8 – Best for international calling
- GoToConnect (formerly Jive) – Best bang for your buck
- 1-VoIP – Best for switching VoIP providers to save money
- Mitel – Most scalable VoIP phone solution
Below you’ll find in-depth reviews of the services I recommend. After the reviews, there’s a buying guide that explains what I was looking for to rate the top products and the criteria you can use to assess what will work best for you.
Keep reading to find a VoIP solution that saves money and delivers a better experience for employees and clients alike.
Nextiva — Best Overall
- Starting at $14.95 per month
- Affordable to upgrade
- Unlimited calls
- Free local & toll-free number
Nextiva offers everything the modern business needs to communicate–whether employees are in the office, working from home, or on the road.
You may not know exactly what the average workday looks like a few years down the road, but it won’t matter if you go with Nextiva. This is true whether you are upgrading your phone system or starting from scratch.
And it’s very affordable compared to other highly rated providers. Unlimited phone service starts at $14.95 per month, and you can add video conferencing and text messaging for a few dollars more.
Some of the other top Nextiva features include:
- Nextiva desktop and mobile app
- Auto attendant
- Voicemail to email
- Call administration
- 24/7 customer service with every plan
You’ll be able to route calls where you want. It won’t take a tech guru to do it, either. End-users can manage most everything they need on their own. Whether its an employee setting up their voicemail forwarding, or an administrator adding a line.
The plans from Nextiva can be segmented into two main categories: small business and enterprise.
Like most VoIP phone services, the rates vary based on the number of users you have and the length of your contract. Nextiva has month-to-month and annual rates.
Overall Nextiva is easy to use and provides high-quality customer service. From small businesses to enterprises, Nextiva is a top choice to consider.
Try Nextiva for free and see if it is the best choice for your business today.
RingCentral — Best No-Hardware Solution
- Starting at $19.99 per month
- 100 toll-free minutes per month
- On-demand call recording
- Small to enterprise solutions
RingCentral has highly reliable VoIP phone service that offers great features like voicemail-to-text (available to the lowest pricing tier) and conferencing. In addition to traditional phone calls, RingCentral offers a wide range of business phone needs.
You can have access to messaging and video conferencing as well. In fact, RingCentral also ranked first on our list of the best video conferencing services.
The best part: No new hardware. To get started, you can easily use your existing phone number and phones to do calls over the Internet.
You can also access your business line from anywhere. You can use the phone service from any device. It’s probably the fastest and easiest way to get a business phone number on your current cellphone. Set up your RingCentral account and install the app:
Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one calling solution, or VoIP phones only, RingCentral has you covered.
Pricing for a phone plan starts at $29.99 per month per user. But that’s for a month-to-month contract. You can save 33% with the annual rate.
If you have 20 or more users, you’ll need to upgrade to an all-in-one plan, which starts at $24.99 per month per user with an annual contract.
RingCentral is a great VoIP solution for any business that doesn’t want to purchase new hardware.
Ooma — Easiest to Set Up for Small Businesses
- Starting at $19.95/user per month
- Keep your number
- Unlimited calling
- No contracts, cancel any time
Ooma Office is best for smaller businesses and startups. They give you the option of keeping your existing number or getting a new one.
The best part: setup is lightning fast. In fact, you can set everything up in less than 15 minutes.
Some of the top small business features of Ooma Office include:
- Mobile and Desktop Apps
- Virtual receptionist
- SMS messaging
- Spam call blocking
- Call recording
- Video conferencing
- Company directory
- Custom extensions
Ooma gives you a great rate with no long-term contract. There are two main business phone plans offered by this provider:
- Ooma Office — starting at $19.95 per month per user
- Ooma Office Pro — starting at $24.95 per month per user
The Office Pro plan is worth the extra $5. This plan comes with the most advanced features like call recording, call blocking, and voicemail transcription.
For small businesses looking for an all-in-one solution, you can use Ooma to build your own system from scratch. This will include hardware, separate conference phones, physical fax machine (if you like it old school), Wi-Fi phones, IP phones, and base stations. They’ll also give you the ability to equip remote workers by giving them access to office systems from home.
If you are looking for a business phone system that expands with you as your team grows, Ooma Office is a top choice for you to consider.
Phone.com — Most Affordable for Simple Needs
- Starting at $9.99 per month
- 50+ standard features included
- E911 dialing options
- Premium feature add-ons
Phone.com offers a budget friendly VoIP phone service.
In fact, they have some of the most cost-effective VoIP phone plans on the market today. Yes, they have very competitive prices, but the key to saving big is in the licensing.
With Phone.com, you can buy each employee the type of service they need–most other VoIP providers make you select a single plan across your organization.
Because of this, you can get cheap licenses for people who don’t use the phone a lot, and more expensive ones for people that need unlimited calling and advanced features.
There are definitely cheaper plans offered elsewhere, but none that I would recommend. Phone.com is the one I’d point to if your budget is tight but you still want great service.
Here’s a brief overview of the pay-per-minute plans and pricing. All rates are for annual contracts.
Basic — $10.39 per month
- 300 minutes per month
- Unlimited user extensions
- 1 local or toll-free number
- 2,000 SMS messages
- 40+ standard features
Plus — $15.99 per month
- Unlimited calling
- Unlimited user extensions
- 2 local or toll-free numbers
- 3,000 SMS messages
- Automated voicemail to text
- Premium hold music
Pro — $23.99 per month
- Unlimited calling
- Unlimited user extensions
- 3 local or toll-free numbers
- Unlimited SMS messages
- 300 call recording minutes
- Call analytics
- HD video conferencing
While the plans are affordable, there are some notable restrictions, especially with the Basic plan.
Most of the important limits are sketched out above–the important thing to remember with Phone.com is that you can mix and match plans. With most other VoIP services, you have to get the same plan for all your employees.
So if you have some folks that are on the phone all the time, get them a Plus plan, or a Pro plan if they need recording and analytics. For everyone else that just needs a way to be reachable, the Basic plan is fine.
Start saving today by mixing and matching with Phone.com. Say goodbye to paying for bundled features and unlimited minutes people aren’t using. Get in touch with Phone.com today.
Grasshopper — Best for Using Your Personal Device
- Starting at $26 per month
- VoIP and Wifi calling
- No calling limits
- 24/7 live support
Grasshopper will be a top choice to consider if you’re frequently on the go.
Lots of VoIP phone services have a mobile app, but Grasshopper really stands out from the crowd. You’ll be able to use Grasshopper with your existing phone; no additional devices are required.
The setup process is extremely simple.
Just choose the app (Grasshopper or Grasshopper Connect) based on your business needs. Then select a number (toll-free, vanity, local, current number) and download the app. Then you can start calling and texting using your number right away.
You can try using Grasshopper for free with a 7-day trial. No credit card required.
Assuming you’re happy with the service (which I’m sure you will), here’s an overview of the paid plans and pricing:
Grasshopper Solo
- $29 per month ($26 with annual contract)
- 1 number
- 3 extensions
Grasshopper Partner
- $49 per month ($44 with annual contract)
- 3 numbers
- 6 extensions
Grasshopper Small Business
- $89 per month ($80 with annual contract)
- 5 numbers
- Unlimited extensions
Grasshopper Connect
- $39 per month ($35 with annual contract)
- 1 number
- Email, text, and phone integration
As you can see, the Grasshopper plans are perfect for smaller organizations, startups, and solo entrepreneurs. The fact that you can sign up and use your VoIP phone service without any additional hardware is a huge bonus. Plus, conference call services for up to 10 people are free.
Get started with Grasshopper now.
Vonage — Best for Specific VoIP Needs
- 50+ communication features
- Compatible with Vonage Meetings
- Simple to set up and scale
- Wide range of packages
Vonage stands out for their stellar flexibility and product offerings. They offer a wide range of communication packages, including:
- Business phone systems
- Office phone systems
- Contact center solutions
- Mobility
- Conferencing
- Marketing automation
- Phones, accessories, and other hardware
It’s easy to include them in your existing infrastructure too. Vonage integrates with popular tools and technology like G Suite, Salesforce, Office 365, Slack, and HubSpot.
Another unique standout of Vonage is that the company offers industry-specific solutions as well as services based on business needs. For example, they have tools for accounting, law firms, healthcare, retail, real estate, and more.
The company also has tools for things like reducing communication costs, starting a call center, recording employee calls, or connecting virtual teams.
For VoIP phone plans, Vonage has three main plans; Mobile, Premium, and Advanced.
The rates vary based on how many lines you need, so there’s a wide range of prices offered. To give you some perspective, here are the rates of each plan for businesses who need 20+ lines:
- Mobile — $14.99 per month per line
- Premium — $24.99 per month per line
- Advanced — $34.99 per month per line
If you need four lines or less, those rates would jump to $19.99, $29.99, and $39.99, respectively.
Based on the pricing structure and wide range of product offerings, Vonage is the perfect VoIP phone solution for growing businesses.
8×8 — Best for International Calling
- Starts at $12 per month per user
- Unlimited US & Canada calls
- International calling capabilities
- All-in-one communications
8×8 offers a wide range of phone services, including VoIP phones, contact centers, and video conferencing.
If you’re a small and medium-sized organizations that need international calling capabilities, 8×8 is a great choice for you.
Here’s an overview of the small business pricing plans for all-in-one communications.
8×8 Express — $12 per month per user
- Unlimited calling in the US and Canada
- Auto attendant
- HD secure voice
- Voicemail
- Team messaging
- HD audio and video meetings with screen sharing
- Mobile and desktop apps
X Series X2 — $25 per month per user
- Unlimited calling within 14 countries
- Advanced caller ID, call forwarding, and call queues
- Voicemail transcription
- Single sign on and CRM integration
- Call recording
- Unlimited Internet fax
- Cross-platform team messaging
X Series X4 — $45 per month per user
- Unlimited calling within 47 countries
- All X2 features
- Operator switchboard
- Analytics and call quality reporting
X Series X6 — $115 per month user
- Unlimited calling within 47 countries
- 4,000 minutes of contact center calling zone within 47 countries
- Skills-based routing
- Interactive voice response
- Queued and web callback
- Post call surveys
- Native CRM
- Contact center reports and analytics
If your organization has more than 100 users, you can contact the 8×8 sales team for a quote on an enterprise VoIP phone solution.
GoToConnect (formerly Jive) — Most Affordable VoIP Service with Great Features and Tools
- Lots of all-inclusive features
- Call recording & monitoring
- Custom greeting & hold music
- Auto attendants
Acquired by GoToConnect, Jive is an affordable VoIP phone service with arguably the most extensive feature list on the market today. It’s tough to get Jive’s offerings at a better price point elsewhere.
The platform has solutions for small businesses, mid-market, and enterprise, as well as products for voice, video, contact centers, and more.
But for now, we’ll just stick to the VoIP phone features:
- Auto attendants
- Custom greetings
- Time-baed routing
- Virtual fax
- Voicemail to email
- Fax to email
- Hold music
- Call recording
- Call queues
- Call analytics
- Desktop integration
- Conference bridge
The list is seemingly a mile long. In fact, there are over 80 different VoIP phone service features available with Jive. The best part? Features are all-inclusive with all Jive plans.
Pricing is based on the number of users you have, and ranges between $19.95 and $29.95 per month, per user. No long-term contracts or annual commitments. All plans are available month-to-month.
If you need a phone plan with 100+ users, contact GoToConnect for a custom quote.
1-VoIP — Best for Switching to Save Money
- 40+ standard features
- Pay for what you use plans
- Cost-effective & flexible
- No long-term contracts
>> Compare Quotes
1-VoIP is a great option if you want a good VoIP service while saving money.
In fact, business customers switching to 1-VoIP save 53% on average compared to their current plan, which makes this provider one of the most cost-effective options on the list.
Some of the top 1-VoIP business features include:
- Call recording
- Hold music
- Virtual fax
- Auto attendant
- Hours of operation
- Queues
- Extension transfers
While 1-VoIP does have some traditional plans, I’d recommend the metered pricing option. This will be the best choice for businesses that only want to pay for what they use.
If you’re a low-volume caller, the base rate is $14.97 per month for each extension. From there, you’ll pay just $0.02 per minute.
The package comes with all features included. Best part: There are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees either — so you can quit if there are ever any issues.
Mitel — Most Scalable VoIP Phone Solution
- Starting at $20.99 per month
- Industry leader in reliability
- Runs on Google Cloud
- Unlimited minutes
>> Compare Quotes
Mitel offers a VoIP phone service that runs on Google Cloud. So you know that you’re getting support from an industry leader in reliability, scalability, and security.
It has a modern interface that’s extremely easy to use. You’ll benefit from real-time management and a seamless experience across all of your devices.
Mitel is an all-in-one solution for communication, collaboration, and contact center services. It’s used by well-known names like Netflix, Smile Doctors, and Rewards Network.
Here’s a brief overview of the plans and pricing:
Essentials — Starting at $20.99 per month per user
- Unlimited minutes
- 8-party audio conferencing
- Instant messaging
- Mobile apps
- Outlook and G Suite integration
Premier — Starting at $26.59 per month per user
- Unlimited minutes
- 25-party audio conferencing
- Salesforce CRM integration
- Voicemail transcription
- On-demand call recording
Elite — Starting at $38.49 per month per user
- Unlimited minutes
- 100-party audio conferencing
- Constant call recording
- Archiving
- Operator
As you can see, Mitel has the ability to meet the needs of multiple business types and sizes. It’s a top solution for anyone who wants to take advantage of Google’s Cloud reliability.
What Is a VoIP Phone System?
VoIP stands for “voice over Internet protocol.” Instead of a traditional phone line, VoIP systems use the internet.
Incoming calls from a non-VoIP number can be converted to a VoIP line. You’ll receive calls from anyone regardless of their phone system.
VoIP phone systems have been growing in popularity for businesses over the past few years. That’s because these services are simple, cost-effective, and offer complete flexibility.
How to Choose the Best VOIP Phone Service For Your Business
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Now that you’ve had a chance to see some of the top VoIP phone services on the market today, it’s time to choose one for your business.
This is the methodology that we used to narrow our options. We recommend that you do the same for your business.
Hardware Requirements
Not every VoIP phone service is created equally. Some will allow you to use your existing hardware, while others will require you to get specific devices.
There are even VoIP business plans with no hardware requirements. You can simply make and receive calls directly from the mobile app.
It all depends on the needs of your business. A solo entrepreneur and an enterprise-grade calling center will obviously have different hardware preferences.
For example, if you work alone, you might get by fine with a cheap headset. If your salespeople are making sales calls in the same room all day, quality noise-cancelling headsets are a must.
If you have a lot of phone system hardware you want to keep using (or phase out over time), I recommend working with a provider like RingCentral, Nextiva, or Mitel who can offer the full range of services you’ll need. They have years of experience integrating cloud technology with older phone systems.
Pricing
For the most part, VoIP business plans are priced based on the number of users or lines you have. The more lines you need, the lower the per-user cost will be.
Some services charge you per-user, some give you unlimited minutes, and others provide minute restrictions based on your plan.
It’s important that you find a price point that’s within your budget, while still meeting your needs. If you’re a low-volume caller that only makes and receives two or three calls per day, you probably won’t need an unlimited plan.
You should also consider the length of your contract. Some companies force you to sign an annual contract to get the best rate, while others bill month-to-month.
Setup and Ease of Use
In theory, VoIP phone services are supposed to be easier than a traditional business landline. So avoid companies that have a lengthy setup process and complex functionality.
You can usually request a demo or free trial to test out a service before you commit.
See what the company’s existing customers say about the products and services by reading third-party reviews.
Features
It’s easy to get drawn toward a VoIP phone service with an extensive feature list. But with that said, you might not need every feature under the sun.
While some of these will definitely be useful, think about which ones you actually want or need. There’s no reason to pay extra for features you’ll never use. Feature lists are always a top selling point, but focus in on the features that will help your business.
Some services provide features all-inclusive, and others offer features based on your package.
The Top VoIP Providers and Phone Services in Summary
In our research, Nextiva, Ooma, and RingCentral stand out as the best VoIP phone systems . But the other recommendations reviewed in this guide offer great perks for businesses with specific needs.
The best VoIP phone systems are flexible enough to accommodate conference calls, video calls, and even call center solutions. There’s a lot you can do, and it’s all going to cost less than paying for a landline.
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