Communication is an essential part of doing business online, from the simplest calls and text messages to large-scale video conferences involving dozens or even hundreds of people. Unfortunately, most of the free communication apps most of us use every day aren’t really built for anything other than simple messaging and therefore aren’t up to meeting the demands of modern companies.
Contents
- RingCentral
- Ooma Office
- Intermedia Unite
- 8×8 X Series
- Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan
That’s why any small business looking to streamline its operations in the digital age should invest in a more comprehensive Voice over Internet Protocol (better known as a VoIP) service. But if you don’t even know where to start with this, don’t fret. We’ve got everything you need to know about the best VoIP services for small businesses to set you and your burgeoning enterprise sailing in the right direction.
RingCentral
- Cloud or Integrated Phone: Both
- Clients Supported: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
- Cost: From $20/month per user
- Users: 20 on Essentials tier, unlimited for higher tiers
- Third-party integrations: Yes
- Free trial: Yes, plus free video messaging plan
RingCentral has stood at the top of our list of the best VoIP services for years now for a laundry list of reasons. It’s easy to set up and use, it offers competitive pricing and very flexible packages that you can tailor to your specific needs, and — perhaps most importantly — its VoIP services are fast and reliable.
RingCentral’s core VoIP product is its MVP (or messaging, video, and phone) plans, of which there are four. The Essentials plan includes calls, SMS messaging, voicemail (and voicemail-to-text), team messaging, and document sharing, Upgraded tiers add more features such as audio and video conferencing, integrations with third-party workflow and e-commerce apps, advanced call handling functions, call analytics, and more. Which plan you choose depends entirely on the size and needs of your business.
The RingCentral pricing model is very reasonable and it’s easy to tailor your package to your specific requirements. Pricing ranges from $20 to $70 per user per month, with the price decreasing as your number of users increases (you also save more by paying annually instead of monthly). If you want to give it a spin, there’s a free trial available as well as a totally free RingCentral Video plan that offers basic video calling. That’s a great way to acquaint yourself with the service before committing to a plan.
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Ooma Office
- Cloud or Integrated Phone: Both
- Clients Supported: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
- Cost: From $20/month per user
- Users: Unlimited
- Third-party integrations: Yes, with Enterprise plans
- Free trial: No
Ooma is another one of the best VoIP services for small businesses thanks to its flexibility and scaled service options. In fact, you don’t even need a monthly plan to use Ooma Office — you can start with just one of its VoIP phones and use it to make calls with your existing internet service. Of course, if you want a more comprehensive VoIP package, then Ooma offers that, too (along with plenty of extras).
There are two VoIP services for small businesses: Ooma Office and Ooma Office Pro. Both offer the standard internet-connected phone and messaging services, with the Office Pro plan adding some additional features like video conferencing, dedicated desktop software, call recording, and voicemail transcription, among others. Plans start at $20 per user per month for the Ooma Office plan or $5 more for the Office Pro tier
There are Enterprise plans available as well, which include extras like third-party app integrations. These are generally designed for larger companies and high-volume call environments such as call centers, but one of the great things about Ooma is its flexibility — if there are features you want in the higher tiers, you can get a custom quote from Ooma. There’s no free trial, unfortunately, but you do get a free consultation to help you decide if Ooma is right for your small business.
Intermedia Unite
- Cloud or Integrated Phone: Both
- Clients Supported: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
- Cost: From $28/month per user
- Users: Up to 200
- Third-party integrations: Yes
- Free trial: No
With one of the largest sets of features, Intermedia Unite is easily one of the best VoIP for small businesses that are looking for a truly professional-grade setup. Intermedia Unite offers both integrated VoIP handset phones as well as desktop and mobile apps for cloud use, giving you a full suite of communication, project coordination, and customer service functions.
Like Ooma, Intermedia offers two VoIP plans under its Unite umbrella. The Unite Pro tier provides all the essentials for small businesses: Calling, texting, call recording, voicemail transcription, team messaging, cloud file backup and sharing, audio and video conferences (including transcriptions and unlimited recordings), to name just a handful of features. The Unite Enterprise adds a few extras like an exchange mailbox and integration with e-commerce apps such as Salesforce.
One great thing about Intermedia Unite is that, while it’s a little more expensive than other VoIP services, you get more for your money — even the Unite Pro plan includes extended third-party software integrations and advanced analytics, which are typically premium upgrades from other companies. Baseline pricing starts at $28 per user per month, but for the best quote, you’ll have to contact Intermedia directly to get the best package tailored to your small business.
8×8 X Series
8×8
- Cloud or Integrated Phone: Both
- Clients Supported: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
- Cost: From $15/month per user
- Users: Up to 10 on Express tier, unlimited on higher tiers
- Third-party integrations: Yes (some only available with upgraded plans)
- Free trial: Yes, for Express plan
Another one of the best VoIP services for small businesses is 8×8, which offers perhaps the widest range of packages in its X Series service plans. The basics 8×8 Express package is purpose-made for small business communications. It offers all the essentials for up to 10 users, including call handling, voice and video messaging, voicemail, and an auto-attendant, and it does it all seamlessly in one app (although it works with many physical VoIP phones as well).
Above that, there are five X Series packages — X2, X4, X6, X8, and X10 — which add advanced functions like video conferences, integration with popular third-party software like Microsoft 365 and Slack, advanced call monitoring, call and speech analytics, and more. With six packages to choose from, 8×8 has a lot to offer, although most small to mid-sized companies will be served best by the Express, X2, and X4 plans. The X2 tier also unlocks unlimited international calling to 14 countries, while the X4 plan offers unlimited voice calls to 48 countries.
This is one of the cheaper VoIP services for small businesses, too, starting at $15 per user per month for the Express tier. The 8×8 X2 plan is arguably the best bet for small businesses, as it unlocks some nice advanced features and third-party app integrations for only $24 per user per month.
Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan
- Cloud or Integrated Phone: Cloud
- Clients Supported: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
- Cost: From $15/month per user (in addition to base Microsoft 365 subscription)
- Users: 300; 5 devices per user
- Third-party integrations: Yes
- Free trial: Yes
Microsoft Office is a trademark everybody recognizes, although the company recently rebranded it to Microsoft 365. Despite the name change, it’s still the same great enterprise software suite we all know, and it’s kept up to date with the latest in cloud software technology. Many are also familiar with the newer Microsoft Teams service, and maybe you already use this yourself. That has been increasingly integrated into the 365 app ecosystem, and now you can get a dedicated VoIP service in the Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan (formerly Microsoft 365 Business Voice) as an optional add-on to your Microsoft 365 subscription.
This is a good option for small businesses that already use or are planning to use Microsoft 365, and it precludes you from having to seek out a separate VoIP provider that you can integrate with 365 apps. Although most of the best VoIP services for small businesses can work with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and other third-party software, that functionality is typically locked behind upgraded tiers. The Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan could be a more economical alternative depending on what your needs are.
Note that, like Microsoft Teams, the Phone with Calling Plan is entirely cloud-based. It works on Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS, so you can install and use it on your computers and mobile devices (and you’re not forced into using Windows to do it, either). It offers streamlined audio and video calls, conferences for up to 300 people, and team messaging and file sharing, along with advanced features like call transfer, auto attendants, and call queues. Each user gets 3,000 minutes per month in the U.S. and Canada. It’s a little more limited than full-service VoIP packages, but it’s a cheaper alternative for those looking for a simpler software-based solution. The Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan costs $15 per user per month on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription.