As technology advances as we move more and more aspects of our lives to the digital side, you can be certain that your business landline (if you even still have one) won’t be sticking around for much longer. That and, VoIP phone solutions – Voice Over Internet Protocol – which means making a phone call over the internet – provide some serious cost reduction for businesses, whatever the size.
In this article, we give the lowdown on the best VoIP providers out there to choose from – if you’re in any further need of convincing, just check out our in-depth reviews of each recommendation.
Vonage VoIP – Top For Flexibility
As far as we can see, Vonage is the clear winner when it comes to flexibility- a key aspect of business ownership. Because you can never quite be sure when your business will expand or rollback, you need a VoIP plan which can do the same and fit your needs.
With three price plans – Starter, Essentials and Business – this hosted solution is practically made for business seeking practicality with loads of great features – voicemail transcription, call recording, local numbers – with affordability.
Ooma VoIP – Award Winning, 5 Years Running
Starting from just $19.95 per user per month, Ooma’s proud to have been voted ‘best VoiP Provider’ by VoIP Business Choice for 5 years running.
With unlimited calls to Canada and the USA, there are also low international rates, 24/7 customer support, call transfer, custom messages and virtual extensions, alongside a host of other options.
Read our Ooma VoiP Review here
RingCentral VoIP – Premium Service at Lower Rates
Over 300,000 business internationally can’t be wrong – RingCentral really is worth your business. With their Standard plan starting from as little as $24.99 a month, with up to 25 users and 1000 toll-free minutes and a mobile app (because you never know when you’ll need to make a call on the go), this is an excellent solution for more medium-sized businesses. Small business would enjoy it too, not least for the premium-style service at a lower price – just make sure you check out all of the features on offer, as some smaller businesses might not need all of them.
Read our RingCentral VoiP Review here
Nextiva VoIP – One of the Cheapest Plans Around
With three plans on offer – the Office Pro, Office Pro Plus and Office Enterprise – you can be certain that Nextiva has something to fit your business’ needs.
Starting from just $22.95 a month, there’s a range of features on offer, from voicemail to email services, free local calls and call recording.
It’s straightforward to set up too – to that other VoIP services are tricky to set up, but this was by far one of the easiest, quickest setups we’ve seen.
Read our Nextiva VoiP Review here
Grasshopper VoIP – Good Pricing and Service
Not that you should be thinking about it, but customer service is always important with digital products, and especially when there’s a business to run – and Grasshopper’s customer service comes out top-rated pretty much every time.
With extra features including customized main greetings, call screening and mobile apps, Grasshopper is a little on the slim side – the starter ‘Solo’ plan offers 1 number and 3 extensions for $24 per month. The Partner and Small Business Plans expand on the number of lines and user available, and cost $49 and $89 respectively.
Read our Grasshopper VoiP Review here
ShoreTel VoIP – Premium Plans at Great Prices
At the flashier end of the market, ShoreTel go big and go better: with customized plans per customer, we’ve heard that a customer pays $35 a month on average to use its services.
And what services! With 90+ business level features and masses of 3rd-party app integrations, call metrics and data analysis (yes, really), this is a great choice for those looking for something a bit extra and customizable for their business.
Read our ShoreTel VoiP Review here
Jive VoIP – Setting the Standard for Standard
If you’re looking for VoIP done properly, with no frills or fuss, then Jibe is it.
We like the way they do things, charging by a batch of users (for 1-4 users is $29.95 per month, and the costs become lower the more users you have – it’s $19.95 for 50-100 users). It also comes with some nice, standard features – 3-way conferencing, fax to email transcription and call recording, alongside some great integration to various CRMs.
Read our Jive VoiP Review here
8×8 VoIP – Collaboration Made Easy
Doing things a bit differently from their competitors, 8×8 offer two price plans – Virtual Office and Virtual Office Pro, with different features available for each package, and which can be tailored to your business’ size and needs.
One thing which potential customers might find annoying – 8×8 insist you need to contact them to receive a price quote. Even though it’s as simple as making a quick phone call or filling out a super-easy and fast online form, this seeming lack of transparency might ruffle some feathers!
Read our 8×8 VoiP Review here
Bottom Line: Which Leading VoIP Provider is the Best for My Business?
Ultimately, when it comes to making a choice between the top VoiP providers, it really comes down to how many users you have, how many you think you might have, and what kind of features you’re looking for.
For smaller businesses, we recommended shopping around and really asking yourself if you need all of the features on offer – this is where a customized quote might benefit you!
For middle-sized business and bigger businesses, we recommend shopping around to see who can give you the most bang for your buck when you have a certain amount of employees.
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