Compare The Best VoIP Service Providers of 2024: Pricing & Reviews

Smartphones are arguably the most relied upon and used devices nowadays. However, relying on a mobile phone number alone may not be as reliable as it is expected to be. Dropping of calls and network failures is still a matter of concern. Landlines could be used instead, but these have proven to be expensive on top of being too old school. The internet has come in to save the day for all those in search of a cheaper option to standard phone calling.

Voice-over-IP (VoIP) offers lower-cost services by utilizing the available broadband internet connection. It promises a reliable internet-based phone service and several other effective communication features. A typical VoIP platform comes with additional capabilities at a lower cost such as video conferencing, call routing and recording, mobile applications and software phones, and SMS text. For bigger corporations, VoIP providers offer top-tier, business-grade services with heavy-duty enterprise capabilities.

There is a wide variety of VoIP phone service providers out there. This article is going to look at some of the traditional VoIP service providers that began as ordinary calling services, and have gradually developed to feature more capabilities. Cloud-based services, like Skype, which started out as video conferencing services and have since brought on board some VoIP capabilities are also going to feature here. Certain VoIP providers offer their services through both physical handset routing and web-based calling while others rely on cloud-based UIs (user interfaces) and calling.

Polycom is a vendor offering various IP-based products such as phones. RingCentral, another company, collaborates with Polycom to use their handsets. The latter also provides solutions that are designed to work alongside Skype for Business. Users may be dealing with a cloud-based application or a combined software and hardware solution. VoIP services, therefore, provide an effective hybrid communication platform to keep users connected in a manner that suits them.

What is VoIP?

Since inception, voice signals have evolved a great deal to what they are today. Initially, voice signal technology involved a simple point-to-point connection between a couple of devices. As time went on, the switching concept was introduced and enabled call routing to more than two devices. This was achieved by using an operator to manually switch and connect a user’s call to an incoming line. Early forms of automatic call switching utilized electromechanical switches to link outside lines to a given handset. The advent of digital circuits brought about the capability of automating switching functions to facilitate making and receiving calls.

The exchange concept came to fruition as the telephone line numbers gradually rose, and number grouping by a local exchange or central office became a necessity. It applied the three-digit exchange number strategy, which is still being applied today right after an area code. Theoretically, with a four-digit exchange number could take up to 10,000 unique numbers between 0000 and 9999. The same principle was applied to large companies with a large number of extensions under PBX (Private Branch Exchange).

VoIP is another significant advancement as far as voice transmission over long distances is concerned. In the simplest of terms, VoIP entails encoding voice from an analog into a digital form, making it possible to be relayed over the internet. Upon reception on the opposite end, the encoded signal has to be decoded so that the recipient can be able to hear the sender’s voice. Another additional component of the VoIP technology is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is meant to handle a VoIP call setup.

The detailed information regarding SIP can be obtained from RFC 3261. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) maintains the Request For Comment (RFC) documents alongside some services and protocols that are employed on the internet today. SIP can be applied in several streaming protocols involving both video and voice. It is used to link up endpoints and initiate a session, which is bound to hold until it is disengaged.

A large number of VoIP providers integrate a cloud-based PBX as one of the components of the product they offer. This operates in the same way a typical PBX operates on-premises such that it links calls headed towards a given destination to an incoming line. The cloud-based PBX also works to dispense a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) gateway to expedite VoIP call connections to an actual phone number.

The Basics of VoIP

A VoIP user needs to meet a given threshold of downstream and upstream data throughput prerequisites to get the best quality. The user is also expected to meet a given latency threshold (the time between signal reception by a system and when it leaves a remote computer), which is usually measured in milliseconds (ms). A network can be tested to determine whether it is capable of supporting a VoIP service. RingCentral provides this service on their website.

VoIP is simple to set up for the first time. A user gets a special handset adapter unit, or box from a VoIP service provider plugs it into a power supply, an internet router, and a normal telephone handset. Alternatively, one can purchase a SIP phone, which comprises electronics that enable it to forgo the need for an adapter. However, the latter approach is becoming less common by the day.

There is a significantly huge difference in the pricing of standard landline services and VoIP services. For example, a Verizon Freedom Value plan in the New York Area that incorporates unlimited long-distance and local calling costs about $59.99 monthly depending on the bundle a user chooses. AT&T has a better offer with an AT&T U-verse Voice Unlimited Plan coming in at about $35 per month in Wisconsin. There is a catch though you must top it up with a minimum of $14.95 on a monthly internet plan.

If a user is looking at an upwards of $50 for a landline service from the Ma Bell Duopoly alone, a VoIP service can significantly slash that price. 1-VoIP Residential can cost as low as $8.97 per month. A basic Phone.com plan or a Vonage line runs at $9.99 per month. The RingCentral Standard plan comes in at $24.99. GoToConnect offers all voice features at $19.95, plus premium services targeting the corporate sector. VoIPstudio opens at a monthly low of $4.99 per user. Mitel MiCloud allows a user to select from various license levels of $29.99, $24.99, or $19.99 per user depending on the kind of features they want to have.

VoIP services are not only better than the conventional phone line services regarding pricing but also offer additional features on top of what the latter offers. For example, Vonage, Mitel MiCloud Office, and Phone.com provide iOS and Android mobile applications that serve as extensions to your primary phone, and improved functionality customized for new phone operating systems. GoToConnect provides a browser-based click to call function on Google Chrome and features such as drag and drop dial plan editing. RingCentral brings on board other important features such as role-based access control, auto-receptionist, team collaboration and call screening.

Skype For Business and the standard Skype are best known when it comes to video calling. However, they also feature elementary telephone system capabilities. They also provide call routing, text messaging, speed dial, and other powerful features such as the Skype Translator. Phone hunt is another outstanding feature that rings several applications or phones until one is picked up or forwards the call to voicemail dependent on what the user prefers. Additional features include call waiting, three-way calling, and call blocking.

Skype also offers an online chatting platform that has proven to be effective, and it is constantly being augmented with new emoji-like stickers to make it more interactive. The chat platform also comes with a wide array of bots that a user can choose from. These bots represent an automated helpdesk experience for users to transact with services and brands in a natural language even though it is with a preprogrammed machine.

Another vital VoIP feature that is worth mentioning is E911. The reaching of emergency services through VoIP was not possible a while back due to platform differences. However, the industry advanced, and a solution was found in the shape of Enhanced 911 (E911). When a user signs up for a VoIP service, such as Vonage, they are required to give a specific address for 911 related services. Doing this puts up E911, which enables an emergency operator to locate the origin of a call, and in turn, ensures timely dispatch of first responders. As a failsafe, VoIP services allow the user to enter another number to forward calls to in the event of an unreliable internet connection to ensure a response to the emergency is provided. VoIP service also serves as an integral building block of a unified communications solution.

Business VoIP Services

Business VoIP services as might be expected offer more additional capabilities, serving as PBXs. They allow businesses to maintain a professional appearance as far as telephoning is concerned about offering features like conference call bridges, call recording, call routing, and automated attendants. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems substitute the necessity of an operator to forward calls to individuals or departments using dial by name. When it comes to customer support, call queues supplemented by hold music and wait times are employed to make the customer experience better.

Most modern phones come with an integrated contacts feature that facilitates directly dialing from an entry by a user. This plays a key role as far as time-saving is concerned for business customers and works with most business VoIP services. Integration with some of the most used services such as Microsoft Office 365 (goes for $5 at Microsoft) and Gmail comes with an extra level of support. RingCentral Office provides these integrations including several other popular services, such as Zendesk, which goes for $5 at Zendesk among others.

Business VoIP also extends its services to other areas; for example, it deals with the ever-growing number of mobile employees who employ the use of softphones for receiving and sending calls from mobile devices as well as a laptop. With a cloud-based PBX solution in place, a VoIP user can have employees in different geographical locations to put in place different time zones. This renders it possible to support longer business hours to serve a user’s entire customer base. Most of these business offerings feature call routing capabilities according to the time zone and the time of day.

Switching a call from a desktop line to a mobile device and the latter to the earlier has also become a possibility. Business products typically come with certain pricing levels depending on the number of lines required, with prices ranging from around $20 per line for big corporations to $35 per line if it is for small groups. Users can pay for some extra features like cloud business services integration such as Salesforce which goes for $25. Nevertheless, products, such as VoIPstudio and Mitel MiCloud Office, come with Salesforce integration and other CRM platforms ingrained.

If you have an on-premise PBX at your office, you can use it as long as you have service from a SIP trunk provider.

Mobile VoIP and Softphones

Using a software-based VoIP PC client (softphone) or using a mobile VoIP client goes a long way in significantly cutting down costs that are incurred by a user’s mobile plan or landline calls. The PC and mobile clients are software applications that employ a similar working principle to a physical VoIP phone. Nevertheless, with a VoIP service, all a user needs to build a telephone is all on their computer: a speaker, a network connection, and a dialer. Considering the rest of the things that computers and mobile devices are capable of, softphones and mobile VoIP applications can bring a variety of never-seen-before possibilities that shakes up a user’s telecommunication experience.

Many VoIP service providers, chiefly those selling some business solution, nowadays have both a softphone application and mobile application specially designed for the most common mobile operating systems: Android, Windows 10 Mobile, and Apple iOS. If a provider has the mentioned options available, a user can easily download them and try them out. Both mobile VoIP clients and softphones are bound to bring significant benefits to users plus new functionalities that cannot be found through the usual mobile phone and desktop experience.

For example, looking at softphones, they allow a user’s employees to receive and make calls on any associated telecommunication applications from any location besides using their primary office line. This is crucial where an employee’s productivity is concerned; for instance, in case an employee is out of office, probably even out of the country, they can take client calls, log into conference calls and even deal with customer service requests via a helpdesk application, similar to when they are in the office. All these can be done while connected to a free public internet connection or a low-cost internet connection, eliminating additional costs associated with standard telephone calling. Softphones also integrate with other office communication avenues to give a seamless user experience. For instance, a softphone can merge a telephone exchange with screen sharing and text chat. This means an interaction between a couple of employees can easily add more parties, support private text chatting as the conversation goes on, and even expand into a collision where the group exchanges data, screens, and files through clicks only without reserved lines or preparations.

Mobile VoIP clients employ the same working principle of softphones and are optimized for mobile operating systems and use in mobile circumstances, meaning they are engineered to shift between different wireless and cell connections instantly easily. Just like in softphones, this means that organizations using mobile clients can let their employees utilize the cheapest wireless connection available around them. They also enable the employees to make use of the organization’s phone system on their devices, denoting that if an organization has bought into RingCentral, its employees can download its mobile client onto their phones, log in with the necessary credentials and start calling under their basic office lines and rates with minimal involvement of the organization’s IT Department.

Mobile VoIP applications and softphones have additional benefits, which can be described as evolutionary in the name of integration. The initial implementations of the two was simple, a software picture of a phone featuring all the expected clickable buttons and new buttons for new features. This is, however, changing as the voice is being embedded into other back-end applications, especially those that seek to make interaction with customers better in areas such as customer relationship management (CRM), helpdesk and email marketing. In most of these applications, a softphone’s capacity simply comes across as its features. A VoIP service provider dispatches the features, but they show up as part of the application that they are using.

On the other hand, forthcoming VoIP providers, such as DialPad ($15), are looking to convert their softphones into platforms that control integration into various applications for a user or can transform into a more basic softphone formation if necessary. Concisely, one of the most outstanding features of a VoIP service is pulling the telephone into the software realm, and this fact translates to infinite possibilities in expanding, integrating, and optimizing telecommunication experiences.

If you want VoIP for your home, check out our residential VoIP providers guide.

The Internet Can Become a Landline

Any mobile user can certainly pull through with a mobile line as the only telephone option, but landline services still hold onto their advantages such as an always-stable signal and always being powered up without the constant worry of running out of power. The landline services and VoIP services are also always characterized by a reliable and clearer sound delivery at all times. Therefore, the benefits of these services are bound to attract any frequent mobile with minimal chance of despondency.

However, any aspiring user of VoIP services needs to understand that signing onto a VoIP phone service puts them at the mercy of their internet service provider. Any negative fluctuation in the internet connection translates to the same for the phone service. Despite the fact that technological advancement has greatly dealt with this concern, it should be considered before making a final decision. Activities, such as streaming of videos and heavy online gaming, take up large volumes of bandwidth and would negatively impact on the voice quality of VoIP services.

Voice-over-IP services have proven to be capable of saving businesses and homes a lot of money over traditional telephone carriers. They can supplement a smartphone, especially if one does not want to pay for landlines, which can be quite expensive. A brief look at the several VoIP service providers, most of which have been mentioned here, is bound to take anyone to the next level as far as communication is concerned. You can use the Wirefly speed test to check and see if your current internet connection can support VoIP. If it can't browse our selection of Internet providers to find a new one with faster speeds.

For anyone out to find a scalable and efficacious way to have their office or small to midsize business (SMB) equipped with state of the art connectivity and communication capacities, some of or one of the VoIP services mentioned within this article may be able to offer the right mix of features and pricing to suit their communication needs. Below is a quick recap of the mentioned VoIP service providers.

Featured VoIP Providers

RingCentral Office, which goes for a fee of $19.99 per month per user targeting businesses. At a premium price of $34.99 per month, it offers additional features such as call recording and caller identification. Vonage is a simple VoIP service with excellent call quality and costs $25.99 per month, which is cheaper compared to traditional carriers but a bit expensive relative to its VoIP counterparts. There is a business option, which starts at $19.99.

Mitel MiCloud Office also starts at $19.99 and is mobile bent with many possible integrations and a flexible, but relatively high pricing. Phone.com is a VoIP service designed specifically for SMBs and is very affordable costing $9.99. GoToConnect also targets SMBs, offering them cloud-based telephony and other advanced calling capabilities at $29.95.

VoIPStudio targets users who make many international calls and costs only $4.99. Skype for Business is quite cheap at $2.00 and specializes in web conferencing, video calling and chat clients. 1-VoIP Residential is quite basic, offering cloud-based VoIP services meant for homes at only $8.97.