The 13 Best Business VoIP Providers in 2021: Ring Central, Nextiva, Grasshopper, and More

RingCental offers a well-rounded work-from-home solution that includes integrated messaging, unlimited videoconferencing, 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.

Another thing we love about RingCentral is its reliability. RingCentral promises a 99.999% uptime, meaning both your in-house and at-home employees can rely on your VoIP system to work whenever they need it. Plus, RingCentral plans include unlimited internet faxing, phone conferencing, and videoconferencing for up to 100 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
• 2,500 toll-free monthly minutes
• 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.

With its affordable pricing and 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 at-home 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’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 videoconferencing only on the Ooma Office Pro plan. Otherwise, you get a conference line that lets at-home 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 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 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.

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 $17.95 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 100 or more 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 at-home employees, features like unlimited videoconferencing (with a Professional plan or higher), screen sharing, and team messaging make it easier to get work done even when everyone’s physically distant.

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 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.

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.

All 8x8 plans include team messaging, HD videoconferencing, and screen sharing, you you can easily keep all your at-home 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 $12 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.

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 plans offer great features for at-home employees, including unlimited team messaging, unlimited calls, and unlimited business text messages on every plan. However, if videoconferencing 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.

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

Unfortunately, that reliability doesn’t exactly come cheap. Verizon’s Business Digital Voice VoIP plans start relatively high, and if you need more lines, you’ll need to call and get a quote to get exact pricing. It’s a sliding-scale illusion that would end up costing about the same no matter the number of people in your enterprise. But Verizon isn’t a budget choice for small businesses: it’s a reliability choice.

If you’re located in one of the 21 states 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 at-home 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 99.95%. 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 the upper-tier plans should be attractive to medium and larger outfits that demand reliable uptime, or at least prefer an all-in-one telecom provider.

GoToConnect has nearly as many glowing critical 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.

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
• Unlimited call queues

In addition, GoToConnect plans deliver unlimited videoconferencing 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 25 countries—though you’ll have to pay a $19.99 setup fee, plus an additional monthly fee of anywhere from $5.99 to $23.99 a month (depending on the country where the number is located).

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.

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.

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
• Videoconferencing
• Voicemail to Email (as audio file)
• Voicemail to Text
• Fax to Text (as PDF)

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Just how crucial is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in 2021? 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.^2,3

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.

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.