The 5 Best Business VoIP Providers in 2023

Looking to revamp your business’s VoIP phone service? We cover the 13 best VoIP providers out there to help you pick and choose the best option.
Best for most businesses
Ring Central brand logo
RingCentral
5 out of 5 stars
5.0
Starting from
$20*
/mo
  • pro
    Wide feature range at a low cost
  • pro
    Price matching
Best for remote work
Ooma
Ooma
4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4
Starting from
$19.95**
  • pro
    Unlimited calls within North America
  • pro
    Ring groups
Best for midsize businesses
Nextiva
Nextiva
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5
Starting from
18.95**
/mo
  • pro
    Budget-friendly small-business plans
  • pro
    Multi-local scalability
Best for budgets
8 by 8 logo
8x8
4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1
Starting from
$15.00
/mo
  • pro
    Good mobile options
  • pro
    Easy-to-use interface and simple setup

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing
**With contract

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With business VoIP services, you don't have to worry about limited numbers of physical phone lines.  VoIP services offer tons of perks that small business owners love. Some of these include being able to place VoIP calls from your desktop or cell phone using your VoIP phone number. What is especially great about it, is that when you call, your business phone number will show up on caller ID instead of your cell number or whatever you are using to make that call. This goes for incoming calls as well. They will dial the VoIP number and you can answer on whichever phone you want to use.

Bottom line: We searched through the market for the top services and found the 13 best VoIP providers out there—with RingCentral at the top offering price matching and a wide feature range at a low cost.  Ooma is also great for remote workers because of its ease of use and phone system flexibility.


Best full-service VoIP provider: RingCentral

For a full-service business phone solution that also provides reliable services for your growing business, RingCentral is a great option.


Which VoIP should I use? Compare best providers

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Unlimited calling
Voicemail-to-text
Toll-free number
Video conferencing
Apps
Get started
Ring Central$20*
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Ooma$19.95**
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Nextiva$18.95**
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes
logo for 8X8$15.00
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Vonage$19.99
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing
**With contract

RingCentral: Best overall VoIP

Ring Central brand logo
RingCentral
5 out of 5 stars
5.0
Starts at
$20/mo./user*

We love that RingCentral offers such a wide range of product features. And the plans are fairly affordable, with price matching available and a generous allotment of toll-free minutes. Just look out for a so-so customer service experience.

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing

RingCentral offers a well-rounded work-from-home solution that includes integrated messaging, unlimited video conferencing, and cloud-hosted VoIP service right out of the box. The service includes a lot of features that other providers charge extra for (such as generous toll-free minutes). And small businesses don’t have to worry about whether they’re getting raked over the coals for their cloud-hosted VoIP service because RingCentral offers price matching on plans with less than 50 lines.

RingCentral VoIP plans

Plan name
Starting price (month/user)
Starting price (annual contract)
Features
Get started
Core$30$20Unlimited calls in the US and Canada, 100-person video calls, 100 toll-free minutes
Advanced$35$25Unlimited calls in the US and Canada, 1,000 toll-free minutes/mo., 100-person video conferencing
Ultra$45$3510,000 toll-free minutes, 200-person video conferencing, unlimited storage***

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Retention period applies

Another thing we love about RingCentral is its reliability. RingCentral promises a 99.999% uptime, meaning both your in-house and remote employees can rely on your VoIP system to work whenever they need it. Plus, RingCentral plans include unlimited internet faxing, phone conferencing, and video conferencing for up to 200 participants. Video meetings can even last up to 24 hours — just in case.

Here are a few other features business owners are sure to love:

  • Unlimited calls within the US and Canada
  • A toll-free or local phone number
  • Automatic call recording
  • Inbound caller ID
  • Service in 100+ countries worldwide
  • Voice menus in 10 different languages

And if you ever experience trouble with your VoIP system, RingCentral’s customer service team is available 24/7 via online chat or via phone during standard business hours. Keep in mind, though, that usually only larger enterprises get US-based support — small businesses usually get outsourced to overseas customer service representatives. If that doesn’t work for you, though, RingCentral also offers ticket service, an extensive online knowledge base, and weekly webinars to answer common questions.

Icon Quote  Dark
As a consultancy marketing business for small-business owners, part of our business is to help small-business owners set up their VoIP and local phone numbers. We used to have RingCentral, and we advised our clients to use it. RingCentral gives you a local phone number regardless of whether you are in the building or not—or even in the city. You will always have a local phone number that you can redirect to any cell phone, depending on who’s working in the company. RingCentral offers good customer service and has great flexibility, but it’s a bit expensive.
Mike Khorev
Nine Peaks Media

Ooma: Best VoIP service for remote work

Ooma
Ooma
4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4
Starts at
$19.95/mo./user

If your business has transitioned to remote work, Ooma offers affordable services that are easy to use and can easily grow with your company. While some customers have complained about dropped calls, we think Ooma’s still the ideal VoIP service for businesses working remotely.

Data as of post date.. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

With its scalable solutions, Ooma is one of our favorite small-business phone services. But Ooma’s Office and Office Pro plans also stand out as some of the best VoIP phone service offerings for businesses with remote employees.

Ooma phone systems are flexible, so you can use your office phone while working at home, place and accept work calls on your cell phone, and even use the Ooma desktop app to place calls on your computer. And Ooma’s plans stay affordable even with an upper-tier plan.

Ooma VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Ooma Office Essentials$19.95Unlimited calling in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, 3-way calling
Ooma Office Pro$24.95Call recording, enhanced call blocking, voicemail transcription
Ooma Office Pro Plus$29.95CRM integration, hot desking, call queues

Data as of post date.. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Ooma’s remote features can help your business stay up and running no matter where your employees are. For starters, Ooma’s mobile and desktop apps allow remote employees to make and receive unlimited calls within North America using your business number.

We also like Ooma’s Ring Groups feature, which lets you group extensions together in your phone system so they all ring simultaneously. Then it transfers the call to whichever employee answers first. This allows your customers to get through to a representative as quickly as possible and provides a backup in case one of your employees has to step away to deal with childcare or move the laundry along.

Businesses working remotely should keep in mind, though, that Ooma offers video conferencing only on the Ooma Office Pro and Pro Plus plans. Otherwise, you get a conference line that lets remote employees collaborate over the phone. That puts Ooma a pace behind some of the other providers on our list, but with providers like Nextiva currently offering their video collaboration tool to businesses for free, it shouldn’t be a major issue.

Nextiva: Best VoIP software for midsize businesses

Nextiva
Nextiva
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5
Starts at
$18.95/mo./user

If you operate more than one office or have employees scattered around your areas working from home, Nextiva is easy to scale without breaking your budget. However, this option may not be best for companies that need low-cost international calling features.

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Nextiva is great for midsize businesses on a budget because it delivers an impressive balance of pricing and features. Nextiva’s mobile app and desktop app allow your employees to ditch the clunky office phones of the past, and the service’s online management platform makes it easy to juggle multiple lines—even when your employees are all working from different locations.

Nextiva VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Essential$18.951,500 toll-free minutes, unlimited internet fax and voice calling
Professional$22.953,000 toll-free minutes, unlimited video conferencing, team messaging
Enterprise$32.9512,500 toll-free minutes, advanced business integrations, audio/video recording

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing

Nextiva service also provides a number of helpful features for businesses working from home. For starters, there’s the Nextiva app, which lets you use your business phone number to make calls remotely from your desktop or mobile devices. Nextiva’s team collaboration tool, Cospace, also lets your team collaborate via video chat, so you can keep everyone one the same page.

Info
Just need a video conference solution?

If you need a way to video chat with your team, but aren’t interested in a full-blown VoIP service, we have good news. Right now, Nextiva is offering video and team collaboration for an unlimited number of users—completely free. See the Nextiva website to learn more about their Video & Collaboration service.

Word to the wise, though: Nextiva’s pricing can be a little complex, so make sure you click around the website’s pricing page to find the accurate pricing for your business. The website lists the Essential plan at $18.95 per month, for example. But if you click the tiny question mark next to the price, you find out that price is only for prepaid 36-month contracts on plans with 20-99 users. If you’re a small business on a month-to-month plan, you’ll actually wind up paying $30.95 per month for the same package.

That being said, we think it’s impressive that none of Nextiva’s plans cost more than $45 per month—especially considering all the VoIP service features you get. And for businesses with remote employees, features like unlimited video conferencing (with a Professional plan or higher), screen sharing, and team messaging make it easier to get work done even when everyone’s physically distant.

8x8: Best budget buy

8 by 8 logo
8x8
4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1
Starts at
$15.00/mo./user

8x8’s claims to fame are its incredibly low pricing, cheap international calling rates, and crowdsourced customer service. This VoIP provider offers limited mobile access, but it’s a good pick for any business trying to save a buck without sacrificing quality.

Data as of 7/7/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Given all the economic uncertainty faced by small businesses today, choosing a low-cost VoIP phone service makes a lot of sense. 

Fortunately, 8x8 offers three simple, feature-loaded plans that can help you keep your expenses low while also getting all the VoIP features you need. 8x8 even offers integrations with third-party business apps like Salesforce, Zendesk, Netsuite, and Microsoft Dynamics. That way, your business can build out a complete enterprise resource planning solution that allows your inventory, accounting, point-of-sale, and customer service to work together seamlessly—all without having to shell out big money for it.

8x8 VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
8x8 Express$15.00Unlimited calling in the US and Canada, auto Attendant
X2$24.00*Unlimited calling within 14 countries, single sign-on, video meetings with up to 500 people
X4$44.00*Unlimited calling within 48 countries, operator switchboard, call analytics

Data as of post date.. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*When billed annually

All 8x8 plans include team messaging, HD video conferencing, and screen sharing, you you can easily keep all your remote team members engaged and collaborative. And contact centers that have transitioned to remote work can still enjoy features like omnichannel routing, which allows your employees to engage with customers via chat, social media, text, and phone—all in one platform.

And of course, you can’t ignore the fact that 8x8 offers full internet phone services that start at just $15 per month. The company’s introductory plan even offers an auto-attendant to help transfer calls to the appropriate extension without you needing to pay a receptionist to answer the phone—a feature other internet and phone providers don’t offer except on upper-tier plans. 

That being said, 8x8’s plan upgrades are not the cheapest on our list. But considering the number of features you get for the price, we think it’s a good value for most companies looking for a VoIP phone system that offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Vonage: Best small business VoIP provider

Vonage
Vonage
4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2
Starts at
$19.99/mo./user*

Sure, Vonage has dealt with bad press and technical issues in the past. But these days, the service’s easy setup, impressive 99.999% uptime, and scalable business phone system options make it a top-notch VoIP choice for businesses with an eye toward growth.

Data as of post date.. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Up to 99 users

As one of the earliest VoIP services on the market, Vonage is one of the most well-known PBX solutions currently available. And for good reason.

Vonage phone service can easily grow with your company, so you don’t have to worry about difficult transitions to new systems as your needs expand. Vonage integrates with everything from Salesforce to Slack, so you’re covered if your business ever outgrows its current customer relationship tools. And Vonage offers VoIP communications features that make the service easy to use even when you’re at home.

Vonage VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Mobile$19.99Team messaging, unlimited calling and texts, mobile and desktop apps
Premium$29.99Video conferencing, multi-level auto attendant, CRM integrations
Advanced$39.99Call group, visual voicemail, 15 hours of call recording

Data as of post date.. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Vonage plans offer great features for remote employees, including unlimited team messaging, unlimited calls, and unlimited business text messages on every plan. However, if video conferencing is important to your business, you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium plan.

We also like that Vonage offers 20 third-party integrations through the Vonage App Center, which is available even on the Mobile plan. This feature allows you to sync your VoIP phone system with select accounting, inventory, and CRM software so you can build out a completely interconnected business.

Furthermore, all Vonage customers get 24/7 customer support and IT solutions. Between that and all the other features included on Vonage’s basic phone system plans, it’s a great solution for small businesses that want advanced features at a budget price. And Vonage can definitely keep up when it’s time to upgrade your devices or add more lines, so your business can easily grow within your existing VoIP system.

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Other VoIP service providers for small businesses

  • Freshdesk Contact Center
  • Aircall
  • Zoom Phone
  • Intermedia Unite

Compare other VoIP providers for small business

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
$28.00**1 number, up to 3 extensions, Voicemail to Email, virtual fax
$35.00Simultaneous mobile ring, Auto Attendant, Voicemail to Email
$24.00*Fax to Email, custom greetings, custom schedules
$11.99*300 minutes/mo., unlimited extensions, call queuing, Voicemail to Email
$14.95Call queuing, call routing, supervisor dashboard
$14.97Digital call forward, auto attendant, virtual fax

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing
**With contract

Grasshopper: Best for mobile businesses

Grasshopper
Grasshopper
4 out of 5 stars
4.0
Starts at
$28.00/mo./user*

While Grasshopper may suffer from minor audio quality and transcription problems, the service is a major contender for businesses that operate from multiple locations. It’s easy to set up and easy to use, and it includes toll-free vanity numbers.

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing

Now more than ever, businesses are discovering that they don’t need their employees to work in an office environment to be successful. But Grasshopper is an especially great VoIP software for mobile businesses like food trucks and pop-up stores.

Like many other VoIP phone services, Grasshopper offers iOS and Android apps that allow you to make and receive business calls on your cell phone. But unlike the competition, it allows you to customize call forwarding rules for each phone extension on your plan. That way, each of your employees or business locations can manage calls in whatever way works best for them.

Grasshopper VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Solo$28.00*1 number, up to 3 extensions, Voicemail to Email, virtual fax
Partner$46.00*3 numbers, up to 6 extensions, Voicemail to Email, virtual fax
Small Business$80.00*5 numbers, unlimited extensions, Voicemail to Email, virtual fax

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With annual billing

Grasshopper is great for small businesses, so why didn’t we name it our top small-business phone service? To be honest, we think Grasshopper is a little expensive compared to other options on the table. Grasshopper plans start at $26 per month (assuming you sign up for annual billing), which is pretty pricey considering you get only one business phone number with up to three extensions.

Grasshopper also offers fewer unified communications features than other PBX solutions. You also have to provide your own devices. That’s not a big deal if your employees are all working from home and using their cell phones or desktop phones to place calls. But it may pose a problem if you need to upgrade your office’s old analog phones.

Oh, and Grasshopper only offers service to businesses in the US and Canada.

On the upside, though, Grasshopper offers the same features across all its plans. Unlike other business VoIP solutions, you don’t have to upgrade your plan just to get business texting (for example). That means your business can enjoy the same high-end VoIP phone system features as a large company, even if you have only a couple of lines.

Money
Special offer alert

Right now, Grasshopper is offering $75 off when you sign up for a 12-month prepaid plan. That way, you don’t have to break the bank to stay connected. See Grasshopper’s home page for more details.

Verizon VoIP: Most reliable

Verizon
Verizon VoIP
Starts at
$35.00/mo./user*

Verizon is definitely one of the most expensive VoIP options on our list. But given the company’s reputation for reliable mobile solutions and full-service fiber-optic connections, it may be worth the extra cost for some businesses (assuming you live in an area with Verizon’s fiber-optic options, of course).

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With two-year contract

Verizon’s mobile solutions and ultra-fast fiber-optic internet connections (named Fios) have made the company the current gold standard when it comes to reliable telecommunications. And frankly, Verizon doesn’t disappoint when it comes to its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) VoIP service.

Verizon’s appeal ultimately comes down to its reliability. The telecommunications giant offers both fiber-optic and DSL connections nationwide. And say what you want about Verizon’s customer service—the company is one of the few internet and phone providers with a reputation for maintaining a state-of-the-art network with few to no dropped calls on its internet phone

Verizon VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Business Digital Voice (1-10 lines)$35.00*Unlimited nationwide calling, 45+ call management features, secure VoIP network

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*With two-year contract

Unfortunately, that reliability doesn’t exactly come cheap. Verizon’s Business Digital Voice VoIP plan starts relatively high, and if you need more than 5 lines, you'll need to call them for additional information. Keep in mind that Verizon isn’t a budget choice for small businesses: it’s a reliability choice.

If you’re located in one of the 8 states (plus Washington, DC) that currently enjoy Verizon Fios service—which are mostly in the northeast—you’ll have access to one of the fastest internet connections available, which is perfect for VoIP. If your remote employees don’t have Verizon Fios internet or your business is in DSL-only country, the speed will be slower, but uptime is still guaranteed at 99.9%. Either internet option will support steady VoIP service, and if your business is more medium-sized than small, Verizon could add up to a better value in the long run (especially if you’re in Fios territory).

Since Verizon is a massive company, customer service ratings are in line with what you’d usually read in the comments section—meaning, people are far more motivated to complain than praise. Navigating Verizon’s bundling plans for businesses may be like a choose-your-own-adventure odyssey, but its support lines are segregated well, with separate contacts for small, medium, and larger businesses. Verizon also offers competitive SLAs (service level agreements) for quality and service and 24/7 VoIP phone services support via phone, email, and tickets.

Verizon Business Digital Voice isn’t necessarily budget friendly for a smaller business, but it should be attractive to medium and larger outfits that demand reliable uptime, or at least prefer an all-in-one telecom provider.

GoToConnect: Best feature-rich VoIP

Go To Connect Logo
GoTo Connect
Starts at
$24.00/mo./user

GoToConnect offers all its features on every plan—the only difference is the number of users you get. That makes it easy to choose a feature-rich plan that’s easily customized to suit your business needs.

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

GoToConnect has nearly as many glowing reviews as the Radiohead discography, minus the pretentious lyricism. GoToConnect has established a positive industry reputation since its launch as Jive in 2006, thanks mostly to its interface simplicity, focus on small businesses, and large array of telephone features that are available to all pricing tiers.

GoToConnect VoIP plans

Plan
Starting price (per mo. per user)
Features
Get started
Basic$24.00Up to 20 users, video meetings with up to 4 participants, toll-free numbers, basic integrations
Standard$29.00Unlimited users and auto attendants, conferencing with up to 150 participants, CRM integrations

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

All these tiers deliver top-notch phone service features, which include the following perks:

  • Call routing
  • Caller ID
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Custom hold music
  • International calling
  • Advanced ring strategies
  • Call queues

In addition, GoToConnect plans deliver unlimited video conferencing for up to 250 participants. That makes company-wide meetings a lot easier while your employees are based from home. Plus, GoToConnect offers virtual international numbers in more than 50 countries—though you’ll have to pay a $19.99 setup fee, plus a charge per minute for the basic plan (you won't have to pay this in the upper tier plans if it's one of the 50 countries).

We also like that GoToConnect’s phone systems are easy to set up and come with US-based 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support (with specific help for small businesses, large businesses, government agencies, and education clients). Overall, it’s a simple and feature-loaded VoIP phone system that works for all kinds of businesses.

3 more VoIP providers reviewed by Business.org:

Curious to find out more about the small business phone systems near you? Answer a few questions to find out more about the options in your area.

Phone.com Logo
Cheapest plans
Phone.com offers super inexpensive Voice over IP plans, starting at just $11.99 per month per user (with an annual plan). Its 500-minute-per-month Base plan makes it the perfect small-business VoIP phone service.
fusion connect logo
Best customer service
Fusion Connect provides reliable unified communications systems for customer service–oriented businesses. Fusion Connect’s PBX solutions start at $14.95 per month per user—not too shabby considering you get over 50 communications features as part of your plan.
1 VoIP Brand Logo
Most flexible
1-VoIP provides VoIP software for businesses on a budget. Customers get full VoIP features, pay-per-minute calls, and the flexibility to use your existing devices, starting at $14.97 per month per line. Just don’t expect a lot of integration with your CRM.

Best VoIP for Small Business FAQ

Since VoIP is a relatively new technology that differs from traditional copper-line telephone systems, there may be a bit of a learning curve before you dive into adopting it for your business. Here are a few elemental points to get started.

RingCentral has the best VoIP due to it's fair pricing and wide range of features. It also offers price matching for plans with less than 50 lines—making it even more affordable. 

Yes, VoIP is good for small business. It is an easily scalable, cost-effective way to communicate.

A VoIP phone number is just like a regular telephone number, but it’s assigned to a user rather than a specific physical phone line.

When landline providers set up your telephone system, they map your new number to the physical copper connections that are hardwired into your home. But with VoIP phone systems, your number is assigned to your internet phone services account. That allows you to access your VoIP phone number (and make VoIP phone calls) from any device with an internet connection. That gives you the flexibility to use your VoIP phone number at home, in the office, or even from your smartphone.

If you’ll be switching to a VoIP business system, will you want to keep your current phone number? Most VoIP services offer number porting, which lets you transfer—or port—your number to a new service. Check for number porting in a VoIP service’s features; some will apply it for free, while others may charge a one-time fee.

A SIP (session initiation protocol) trunk carries voice, data, and video through a “trunk” that replaces copper telephone connections through the conventional PSTN (public switched telephone network), consolidating phone and internet service into a single digital line.

In plain English, SIP trunking allows you to physically disconnect from your phone company, opening the door for digital, internet-powered options (read: VoIP). And unlike hardwired telephone lines, digital lines allow you to scale your phone solutions as your business grows.

A private branch exchange (PBX) is the closed telephone network within a business, which employees share for outbound, inbound, and interoffice phone calls. VoIP systems manage PBXs off-site through cloud PBX hosting, eliminating the need for costly (and space-hogging) on-premise equipment and maintenance.

BYOD stands for bring your own device. This term refers to employees conducting company business on personal laptops, tablets, and phones instead of on company-owned gear. Most VoIP companies offer BYOD features and solutions within their plans, either included or at additional cost. However, extra IT security layers and company guidelines for BYOD are on you.

As mentioned earlier, VoIP is entirely reliant on a high-speed internet connection—and is also entirely at the mercy of power outages. Telephone lines may be archaic, but they still work in a blackout—internet equipment and connections, not so much. If your business requires 24/7 uptime, make sure backup power sources are in place.

Unlike traditional telephone lines, VoIP numbers can’t be traced by 911 operators. This doesn’t mean you’d be helpless in case of a natural disaster or Sasquatch attack, however. Upon initial setup at a location, you simply need to enter your info manually through the system’s E911 (Enhanced 911) feature, which will attach a physical address to your VoIP number.

Just as a smartphone can do more than a landline phone, a VoIP phone system for business can perform all the expected tasks of standard business phone plans and then some. They’re a great choice for small businesses that need full functionality, and the VoIP systems we’ve reviewed include most, if not all, of the following features:

  • Web-based system administration
  • Mobile management (iOS and Android)
  • Automated attendant
  • Hold music
  • Call forwarding
  • Conference bridging
  • Conference calling
  • Caller ID
  • Call blocking
  • Call waiting
  • Call transferring
  • Find Me/Follow Me
  • Ring groups
  • One-line sharing on multiple phones/devices
  • Video conferencing
  • Voicemail to Email (as audio file)
  • Voicemail to Text
  • Fax to Text (as PDF)

The takeaway: The Best VoIP providers

Landline providers are almost a thing of the past—like it or not, VoIP systems may soon be your only business phone choice. Moreover, VoIP phone systems may be the best method to adjust to an increasingly home-based work environment.

Fortunately, you have plenty of VoIP home phone and business telephone systems to choose from, with more digital features and affordable pricing than ever before. Even so, it’s an increasingly competitive market, so don’t sell yourself short—do your homework before settling on a small-business VoIP system.

Not convinced VoIP is right for your business? Check out our guide to how VoIP differs from other options, or click over to our summary of the different types of phone systems for business.


How VoIP delivers for small business owners

Just how crucial is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in 2023? According to small-business owners, very—and getting more and more important all the time.

That’s good news for the VoIP industry, which saw an 8.3% growth in 2020 amid stay-at-home orders and public health concerns.1 That growth should continue, and multiple studies project that the VoIP industry will earn a US market revenue of at least USD $55 billion in 2025.2

Based on a survey conducted by Business.org, predictions of the VoIP industry’s continued expansion are right on track. Per our survey results, over 64% of surveyed small businesses added VoIP services during the pandemic. And a full 85% of surveyed business owners said VoIP kept their teams more connected throughout 2020.

Our survey results

So apart from the fact that business owners in 2020 switched to or added VoIP in increasing numbers, what else did we learn? For one, more small-business owners with one business location added VoIP this year than businesses with multiple locations—61% of respondents had businesses with one location while 39% had businesses multiple locations.

survey for switching to voip

Additionally, surveyed business owners value VoIP for more than its connectivity:

  • 84% said VoIP saves their business money
  • 87% said VoIP improves their ability to offer better customer service
  • 50% said they chose VoIP to help increase worker productivity

And our survey respondents also have a few concerns about the future of VoIP:

  • 54.5% said they worried about AI chatbots using VoIP
  • 60.5% said they worried about increased spam calls related to VoIP
Concerns of voip

VoIP will remain crucial in the post-pandemic business world

VoIP is an essential part of an ever-increasing number of businesses. And with global 5G availability on the horizon, VoIP is perfectly positioned to become the next multi-billion-dollar industry. We’re interested to see whether the VoIP industry hits that number in 2025—or, thanks to the new work-from-home norm, much sooner. 


Methodology

We partnered with Pollfish to conduct an anonymous survey of 650 small-business owners who currently use VoIP. Business.org analyzed the results and compiled this report. To learn more about Pollfish and how it organically finds respondents, check out its methodology.

Related content

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Sources:

  1. IBISWorld, “VoIP Industry in the US,” January 26, 2022. Accessed May 3, 2023.
  2. Global Market Insights, “VoIP Market Size Forecast 2019-2025 | Industry Share Analysis Report,” April 2021. Accessed May 3, 2023.
Courtenay Stevens
Written by
Courtenay Stevens
Courtenay cut her teeth (and occasionally her tongue) on the world of business when she was eight years old, licking envelopes to help her dad mail calendars to his clients. Ever since, she has fostered a passion for entrepreneurship, which makes small business one of her favorite topics to write about. When Courtenay isn’t writing, she enjoys podcasting about pop culture and attempting to keep up with her hellspawn (aka children).
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