Why settle for an ancient, analog PBX? The top voice over IP (VoIP) services we’ve tested deliver enterprise-grade phone system features for a small-business-friendly price.
Cloud-based voice over IP (VoIP) has long been the go-to solution for business telephony. But that doesn’t mean choosing the right VoIP service is easy. Modern VoIP systems offer not just voice calling but also sophisticated call management, text chat, and video conferencing. Moreover, the AI explosion has increased the competition between VoIP vendors to a fever pitch. If you want to set up a basic business calling system, we’re here to help. We’ve been testing VoIP services for more than a decade and can guide you in the right direction. Our Editors’ Choice winners, Intermedia Unite, RingCentral RingEX, and Zoom Phone, are good places to start, but there are plenty of other worthwhile options. Read on for our evaluations of the leading business VoIP services and what to consider before you choose one.
RingCentral RingEX is a powerful VoIP solution for companies of all sizes. Standout features include AI call summaries and transcriptions, high-quality video meetings, and a wealth of integrations. We also like the streamlined admin setup.Why We Picked It
RingEX supports more integrations than most VoIP services. Moreover, its AI-based summaries and transcriptions help streamline communication.
Price and support: The base Core plan costs $20 per user per month (billed annually). It supports unlimited domestic calling, text messaging, and video chats for up to 100 people. This tier includes AI call summaries and transcriptions. More expensive plans unlock additional AI features, more text message sends and toll-free call minutes, and unlimited faxing. You can get help via chat, email, and phone.
Platforms and ease of use: RingEX is accessible in a browser and offers apps for all popular desktop (macOS and Windows) and mobile (Android and iOS) platforms. The interface is straightforward and prioritizes texting and video chats over phone calls.
Desk phone support and integrations: Unlike many VoIP products, RingEX supports dozens of desktop phones from brands like Cisco, Poly, and Yealink. It offers an outstanding number of integrations across the communication, CRM, and productivity categories.
Call quality and reliability: Voice calls sounded pristine in our tests, and video meetings looked outstanding. We didn’t experience any dropped calls or problems with distortion.
AI features: RingEX has reliable AI features. For example, you can get accurate summaries and transcriptions of audio and video calls, both of which help increase productivity. The only missing feature is AI-based sentiment analysis.
Admin features and analytics: Whether it’s adding users, assigning roles, or checking analytics, RingEX makes the process straightforward, even if you don’t have a strong technical background. As for analytics, RingEX logs calls and keeps track of quality metrics.
Privacy and security: RingEX supports multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. Its security and privacy policy is extensive.Who It’s For
Integration-dependent businesses: With its extensive support for integrations, RingEX is ideal for customer service, sales, or tech support teams who need to easily connect it to other software solutions that are vital to workflows.
Remote workers: The RingEX mobile apps enable fluid business communication from wherever you are. Starting a call or a video meeting is intuitive, and the audio and video quality are outstanding.
Intermedia Unite is an approachable VoIP service that enables smooth business communication. A powerful AI chatbot lets you ask questions during voice or video calls to help you research issues. Finally, extensive and intuitive admin settings let you set things up exactly how you want.Why We Picked It
Unite doesn’t require vast technical knowledge to use; we appreciate its painless and quick process. Additionally, its powerful AI chatbot lets you do research in real time.
Price and support: The starting Pro plan costs $27.99 per user per month. Apart from unlimited domestic and international calling, this tier gets you 50GB of storage per person, an AI chat assistant, business texting, and video meetings that can include up to 100 people. Higher-end plans increase the storage and video meeting limits. Support is available by email, chat, or phone; it was outstanding in testing.
Platforms and ease of use: Unite supports all major desktop (macOS and Windows) and mobile (Android and iOS) platforms; it’s also available in a web browser. The interface is intuitive across all devices, but we wish there were an easier way to add contacts that didn’t involve syncing via the mobile app.
Desk phone support and integrations: The product works with the Intermedia desk phone models, as well as those from Poly and Yealink. You can also connect a select few third-party apps to Unite, such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Salesforce.
Call quality and reliability: In our tests, calls sounded clear and distortion-free. Unite didn’t drop any calls or otherwise exhibit any problems with video chats.
AI features: The standout feature here is Unite’s AI chatbot, which you can use to get answers to detailed technical questions and research a topic (or even a person) during a call. It also uses AI to generate summaries of call and video meeting recordings and action items from video conversations.
Admin features and analytics: Because Intermedia Unite makes its admin features easy to grasp, you don’t need extensive technical expertise to add users, adjust roles, and tweak security settings.
Privacy and security: Unite offers both multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. The product’s security and privacy policy is highly detailed.Who It’s For
Microsoft Teams users: Intermedia offers a special Microsoft Teams edition of Unite that seamlessly integrates with that communication platform. It essentially handles the calling aspects and leaves the chat, file syncing, or meeting abilities to Teams.
SMBs and startups: Unite is Ideal for smaller companies without a dedicated IT staff because of its intuitive app interfaces. The company can set you up with first-party desk phones and make its admin functions simple to configure.
Zoom Phone is a cost-effective VoIP service with a straightforward interface. Its unique AI feature tells you who spoke the most or asked the most questions during a call. To expand its meeting capabilities, you can also get Zoom Phone in a bundle with the excellent video conferencing solution.Why We Picked It
Zoom Phone stands out first and foremost for its affordability. It also performed reliably in testing and has a few genuinely useful AI features that we haven’t encountered elsewhere. Furthermore, the setup process is simple, and the apps are easy to navigate.
Price and support: Plans start at $10 per user per month for a calling plan, but you have to pay a per-minute charge at that level. We recommend the US and Canada Regional Unlimited plan ($15 per user per month), which unlocks unlimited calling in the US and Canada and gets you 50 fax pages to send or receive within the two countries. The service’s 24×7 tech support is excellent; other support options vary based on your plan.
Platforms and ease of use: Zoom Phone can be downloaded on all popular desktop (macOS, Linux, and Windows) and mobile (Android and iOS) platforms or used from within a browser. The full-featured mobile apps are especially outstanding and make it simple to conduct phone calls.
Desk phone support and integrations: In terms of desk phones, Zoom Phone supports a broad range of brands, including AudioCodes, Avaya, Cisco, Grandstream, Poly, and Yealink. The service is a top pick for integrations; it works with more than 170 third-party apps across the CRM, collaboration, messaging, and productivity categories.
Call quality and reliability: The audio quality of voice calls via Zoom Phone was consistently outstanding in testing, and the service didn’t drop any calls.
AI features: No other VoIP solution we tested offers as much AI call analysis. As mentioned, Zoom Phone can tell you who spoke the most and asked the most questions during a meeting. Otherwise, you get standard AI-based note-taking, summarization, and transcription abilities.
Admin features and analytics: Zoom Phone is easy to configure on the surface, and most admin settings are obvious. But once you dig deeper, you will encounter more complex options for configuring call routing and the like. Some analytics features require additional add-ons.
Privacy and security: Zoom Phone maintains a clear and thorough security and privacy policy page. The product supports end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication.Who It’s For
Cost-conscious businesses: Zoom Phone is seriously inexpensive, even after you factor in the price of the unlimited calling plan. Pricing is per user, so you need only pay for the employees who need calling capabilities.
Zoom users: If your team already uses Zoom Workplace for collaborative meetings, then it makes a lot of sense to turn to Zoom Phone for your telephony needs. The products share an interface and work smoothly together.
If you need a clear and intuitive app that gets you chatting and video conferencing quickly, Vonage Business Communications is a good option. It offered excellent call quality in testing, and its analytics reports are easy to grasp. The service’s starting costs are reasonable, too.Why We Picked It
Vonage Business Communications is a reliable solution for streamlining business communications. The attractive user interfaces, decent video conferencing abilities, and straightforward admin features are all highlights.
Price and support: The entry-level Mobile plan costs $13.99 per user per month (billed annually). This tier gets you unlimited domestic calling, along with SMS and MMS messaging and a virtual receptionist. More expensive plans unlock support for desk phones, integrations, team messaging, and video conferencing. Call handling and faxing features cost extra. Help is available via chat, phone (extended North American business hours), and support tickets.
Platforms and ease of use: In addition to using it on the web, you can download Vonage Business Communications on all major desktop (macOS and Windows) and mobile (Android and iOS) platforms. The interface is colorful and almost fun to use.
Desk phone support and integrations: Vonage supports several desk phone models from brands such as Cisco, Poly, and Yealink, but we recommend checking your specific model. Integration options are varied, and some cost extra to use.
Call quality and reliability: The audio and video quality of calls during our testing was top-notch. We didn’t encounter issues with digital hiss, distortion, or the like.
AI features: Vonage doesn’t offer many AI features, but you can pay extra for an automated virtual assistant that manages and routes calls.
Admin features and analytics: The admin portal suits even non-technical users. This section is just as straightforward as the rest of the interface. Analytics are also easy to find. It’s simple to easily generate call quality reports for meetings and phone calls, for example.
Privacy and security: Vonage’s security and privacy policy is robust. The product supports both multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption.Who It’s For
Analytic checkers: Vonage Business Communications’s easy-to-find but powerful analytics make it easy to check data points related to call quality and total call times.
VoIP beginners: Because the main user interface and the admin portal are so accessible, you should feel comfortable using Vonage Business Communications no matter your level of expertise. It really doesn’t require much of a learning curve.
You might not be familiar with 8×8’s VoIP solution, but it offers AI-based call sentiment detection (at an extra cost) and call quality analytics in a straightforward interface. The extremely affordable base tier is also worth a look if you solely want calling capabilities.Why We Picked It
8×8 Work deserves credit for its advanced AI features that can gauge the tone of a call and help you draft messages. It performed reliably in testing and doesn’t make its admin functions more complicated than they need to be.
Price and support: The basic X1 plan costs $15 per month per user.
