Are you looking for a reliable small business VoIP service provider? If yes, then look no further because we have compiled a list of the top five providers that offer affordable services.
If you run a small business, you need one of the best phone services. Increasingly, small business VoIP services are becoming popular. But, what is a VoIP? And most importantly, what are the best VoIP services for small business?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. This means that instead of using phone lines, businesses can now communicate via the Internet. The benefits of VoIP include lower costs, increased productivity, and improved customer service.
Small businesses often struggle to afford high quality telephone systems. Fortunately, VoIP has become very affordable, allowing them to get started at a reasonable price point.
In this article we have compiled a list of VoIP services best for small businesses.
What is the Best Small Business VoIP Service?
There are a number of small business VoIP services available depending on what you want to accomplish. Here is a list of the best VoIP providers for your small business to consider.
- RingCentral
- Ooma
- Nextiva
- GoTo Connect
- Freshdesk Contact Center
- Grasshopper
- CallHippo
1. RingCentral
RingCentral is one of the most popular VoIP providers out there. They offer many different packages depending on what type of business you are running. You can choose from a hosted solution, where everything is done remotely, or a self-hosted package, where you host it yourself.
There are even some add-on services like voicemail transcription and call recording. With such a wide range of choices, it can be hard to know which plan is best for you. Here we take a look at the pros and cons of each.
RingCentral offers a lot of great features for a reasonable price, including unlimited phone calls, voicemail transcription, call recording, and many others. They are a larger player, and they are growing rapidly.
Their product roadmap includes some interesting things like video conferencing, CRM integration, and even AI tools. They have a good reputation among customers for providing excellent customer support.
RingCentral Key Features
RingCentral features are designed to help businesses manage phone calls effectively. You can use them to automate tasks such as transferring calls, recording messages, and adding notes. They allow you to set up different types of call flows based on caller ID, location, or device type
RingCentral features include:
- Visual Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Manage multiple levels of IVRs with ease.
- Analytics Portal: Gain real-time insights into adoption, usage, and QoS.
- Multisite Management: Support your office locations based on their unique operational requirements.
- Multilevel IVR: Configure phone trees with an intuitive visual IVR Editor.
RingCentral VoIP Pricing
This software isn't free, but it's still very affordable at only $3.66 per month per user for 100 users. It offers some great plans with unlimited course creation except for the basic plan which offers 50 courses.
2. Ooma Office
Ooma is an affordable VoIP service for small businesses looking for features without having to upgrade to pricier plans. Among our list of the best VOIP services for homes, Ooma offers 50 standard telephone functions, a free local number, and unlimited domestic calls.
Ooma compares favorably with VoIP providers which provide international call services for those who want to expand internationally. It offers cheap international calls, with rates from 1.4 cents per minute.
Thought it has numerous features, this VoIP service lacks some popular integrations. If your business uses multiple applications, RingCentral would your best option because it integrates with over 200 different business solutions. There are several app types including Automations, Productivities, Customer Support, Healthcare, and Developer Tools.
Ooma VoIP Features
Ooma Office features include:
- Virtual Receptionist: Create up to five extensions per account.
- Voicemail transcription: Record messages and transcribe them automatically.
- Paging integration: Connect to third-party pagers like ATA, AlarmNet, and others.
- Simultaneously ring: Ring every device connected to an extension simultaneously.
Ooma VoIP Pricing
Ooma offers three pricing plans namely, essentials, office pro, and office pro plus
- The Ooma Office Essentials plan goes for $19.95/month (US) and $24.95/month (CA) and includes a user extension, a local phone number, and unlimited calling to the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
- Ooma Office Pro goes for $24.95/month (US) and $29.95/month (CA) and includes all standard Ooma Office features, plus Ooma Meetings, Call Recording, enhanced call blocking, Voicemail Transcriptions, and more advanced features.
- Ooma Office Pro Plus goes for $29.95/month (US) and $23.95/month (CA) and includes all standard Ooma Office and Ooma Office Pro features, plus Hotdesking, Call Queues, CRM integration, and more advanced features.
3. Nextiva
Nextiva is a cloud-based business phone system that helps companies communicate better by offering a variety of collaboration tools, task management features, and automation capabilities.
At its basic plan, even though the user has access to its team collaboration tool, they don't get any additional features. It is a free online workspace that allows companies to manage their business communications and collaborate using different types of software, including tasks, calendars, and sharing files.
One of Nextiva’s biggest drawbacks is that it doesn’t support voice calls and video conferences on its entry level plan. If you need this feature, we recommend GoTo Connect, which offers robust video conferencing features for small businesses. For its basic plan, the service offers text messaging, voice calling, and 4-person video calls for up to 40 minutes per month.
Nextiva offers professional voice over recording and all you need to do is provide the script and Nextiva will handle your request for you.
Nextiva VoIP Features
- Call Pop allows you to see how previous customers feel about your company. You can use it to find out why people are calling your phone number, what problems they're having, and what questions they have. This helps you understand your customers' needs better and improve your product offerings.
- Automated workflows help you answer customer inquiries faster. With automated workflows, you can set up rules that automate tasks such as sending emails, automatically creating notes, and scheduling follow-up calls. These workflows make sure that every inquiry gets answered promptly, without requiring manual intervention.
- Customer journey maps show where each customer goes through your sales process in the Nextiva CRM. They include information about the type of contact, whether the call was scheduled or self-initiated, and the reason for the call. Use these maps to learn more about your customers and identify opportunities to increase conversion rates.
Nextiva VoIP Pricing
If you're looking for a solution for your business communications you can choose from their 3three pricing plans, you will of course save when you opt for an annual plan.
- Their Essential plan goes for $21.95 per user per month when you choose an annual plan which saves you up to 27%. This plan gives you Unlimited voice & video calling, Voicemail, Toll-free numbers, Outlook/Google Contacts Integrations and Unlimited internet fax.
- The Professional plan goes for $25.95 per user per month when you choose an annual plan which saves you up 23%. This plan gives you everything in Essential, plus: unlimited conference calls, 40 participants, unlimited video conferencing, up to 250 participants, screen sharing, auto attendant (multi-level), Mobile and Desktop SMS/MMS, Salesforce/HubSpot Integrations and 1 Professionally Recorded Greeting.
- The Enterprise plan goes for $35.95 per user per month when you choose an annual plan saving you 18%. The Enterprise plan gives you everything in Professional, plus: unlimited participants on voice & video conferencing, call recording, unlimited video conference recording, voicemail transcription, Microsoft Teams/Custom Integrations, Single Sign On and 3 Professionally Recorded Greetings.
Request a Demo to get a feel of this VoIP service,
4. GoTo Connect
GoTo Connect offers robust fully featured video conferencing capabilities, including HD quality, low latency, and high reliability. This makes it ideal for small businesses looking to cut down on travel costs while still maintaining a professional image. In addition to providing excellent customer support, GoTo Connect provides free 24/7 technical assistance via live chat, phone calls, email, and online helpdesk.
The basic package includes unlimited calling minutes, voicemail transcription, and up to 10 simultaneous conference rooms. Customers can upgrade to premium accounts for extra features such as priority technical support, custom branding, and priority access to sales and marketing teams.
While GoTo Connect has an impressive unified communication system, it still lacks some key features compared to RingCentral like integrations. We think RingCentral is one of the best call management solutions available for small business owners because of its powerful analytics capabilities, popular integrations, and call-handing features.
GoTo Connect Features
- Screen Sharing: GoTo Meeting allows meeting participants to share their screen from their desktops or mobiles devices. The drawing tools allow you to edit, modify, highlight, and mark up documents in real time.
- Customized call flows: The drag-and drop interface makes editing, updating, and changing calls easy. You can create multiple auto-attendant greetings for different callers and track which ones get routed to which extension or department.
- Custom auto-attendants: With GoTo Connect, record unlimited custom voice recordings and voicemails for use with any IVR system. It’s useful for sharing important updates and keeping callers interested while they wait in a line.
GoTo Connect Pricing
- Basic starts from $27.00/ user per month and offers simplified business phone system with basic meeting features
- Standard plan starts from $32.00/ user per month and gives you fully-featured phone, chat, and video conferencing system.
- The Premium plan goes for $43.00/ user per month and offers the features in the standard plan plus support center and advanced features
Request a Demo to get a feel of this VoIP service or get a quote ,
What Is a VoIP Phone System?
A traditional telephone system uses wires connecting each person's handset to a central office switchboard. All calls are routed through the switchboard, where operators handle incoming calls and route them to the correct destination. Businesses use this type of phone system because it provides high reliability and low cost.
VoIP systems operate differently. Instead of being connected directly to a central office, phones are connected to a computer network called the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Calls are transmitted over the PSTN using digital technology rather than analog signals. This makes VoIP phones less reliable than traditional telephones.
However, VoIP systems offer many advantages such as lower long distance rates, easy mobility, centralized management, and greater scalability. They're often used by small businesses and home offices.
Is VoIP good for Small Businesses?
Many people use VoIP because it is cheaper than traditional phone lines. However, there are many reasons why small businesses should consider switching to VoIP too.
Here are some of the advantages of VoIP:
- Save Money - VoIP can save you hundreds of dollars per month. You don't have to pay for long distance charges, local taxes, equipment rental fees, etc.
- Make Business Easier - Running a small business can be difficult enough without having to worry about making sure everything works correctly. With small business VoIP solutions, you no longer have to worry about setting up complicated networks or dealing with technical issues.
- Reduce Costs - If you're paying monthly bills for things like long distance costs, you'll want to reduce those expenses. Using VoIP eliminates most of those costs.
- Improve Customer Service - When customers call your office, they often find themselves waiting on hold for several minutes while someone tries to connect them with another person. VoIP lets customers talk directly to whoever they need to speak with.
- Increase Productivity - Employees can work remotely and still communicate effectively with each other. They can even work together on projects from different locations.
- Expand Your Network - Most companies offer employees discounts on calling cards, so they can easily place calls from anywhere in the world. By offering VoIP, you give your employees access to a larger network of potential clients.
What's the Advantage of a VoIP Phone System?
A VoIP phone system is much cheaper than the traditional PBX phone system you might find in an office building. But what does it mean for you?
What are some advantages of a cloud-based VoIP phone system over a traditional PBX phone? Let’s take a look at both options and see how they stack up.
Traditional PBX phones are very expensive. They usually cost thousands of dollars. And while there are some less expensive models out there, those typically don't include all the bells and whistles. You'll pay extra for things like call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, conference calling, etc.
VoIP phone systems, however, are far more affordable. Some even come free with unlimited calls. These types of VoIP phone systems are also known as SIP Trunking. While most people think of SIP trunking as being used for businesses, it can actually work just fine for residential use too.
So why do we say that VoIP phone systems are more affordable? Because they're based in the cloud. This means you won't need to buy a physical device. Instead, you'll connect to the Internet and access the software via your web browser. There are no monthly fees either. All of this makes a VoIP phone system ideal for small businesses.
The biggest advantage of a VoIP phone system is that it allows you to make cheap international calls. With a traditional PBX phone, you'd have to pay per minute to place calls outside of North America. But with a VoIP phone system, you can make international calls without paying anything extra. Plus, you can add international numbers directly into your account.
In Summary: Small Business VoIP Services
As technology progresses and remote work is becoming more of a norm, more companies are recognizing how much money they can save by switching to VoIP services.
With cloud based VoIP, you don't have to worry about expensive landline phones, long distance fees, or even having a physical office anymore. You just pay one monthly fee and enjoy unlimited calling anywhere in the world.
And thanks to VoIP services like RingCentral, it's easy to set up and manage calls without needing to know anything about tech.
Frequently Asked Questions: Small Business VoIP
What is iThemes Security Pro?
VoIP refers to voice over IP, or the ability to use the internet to send and receive audio data. Instead of calling someone directly, you call a number assigned to a computer, which converts your speech into digital information. Then, the computer sends the information across the internet to another computer where it is converted back into sound. You can think of it as sending a text message over the internet.
