6 Best Cheap VoIP Services of 2023

The best cheap VoIP service offers unlimited domestic calls, basic call management capabilities, and virtual phone numbers—all for a cost-effective price. Its entry-level plans have a robust feature set, including call forwarding, auto-attendant, and video meetings. Other providers allow users to mix and match plans, so you only pay for what you need, benefiting businesses with low call volumes or varying needs.

Based on our evaluation, here are the best cheap VoIP services for small businesses:

• Dialpad: Best overall cheap VoIP solution with voice intelligence features and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered workspace
• 8×8: Best for its cheap VoIP plans with unlimited international calling
• Grasshopper: Suitable for teams wanting a user-friendly interface and basic calling features
• Ooma: Ideal for remote teams wanting to extend business phone system capabilities to their mobile device
• Phone.com: Best for businesses wanting metered pricing options
• Google Voice: Best low-cost VoIP service that easily connects with Google Workspace applications

Cheap VoIP Services at a Glance

Dialpad: Best Overall With AI-powered Voice Features

*Choose annual billing and save up to 30%

Dialpad is the best overall cheap VoIP business phone service thanks to its built-in AI capabilities. It’s a great option for tech-driven teams needing voice intelligence features to enhance the call and virtual meeting experience. With Dialpad AI, transcribe conversations in real time and get live speech coaching. Plus, Dialpad lets you toggle the recording and transcription feature on and off to avoid capturing confidential conversations.

One of Dialpad’s standout features is the post-call summary, which captures what was discussed in a call or meeting and sends a recap email containing the recording, transcript, and action items. For those managing a contact center team, the live call sentiment analysis helps managers easily monitor multiple calls by looking at the sentiment of a live conversation between agents and callers.

On the downside, Dialpad’s advanced AI features may be too overwhelming for those looking for a straightforward VoIP service. Grasshopper has an all-inclusive platform for managing calls and listening to voicemails. It also includes basic call management capabilities and virtual number options.

Dialpad Features

• Call flip: Move a call from your desktop to your mobile device without interrupting the conversation. Call controls are readily available once the call switches over.
• Custom interactive voice response (IVR): Design a call flow right in your dashboard. Route incoming calls to agents, voicemail, an automated menu, or prerecorded messages.
• Department lines: Assign multiple operators on each department line to ensure seamless call handling. This ensures calls are delegated and sorted efficiently.

8×8: Best for International Calling

*Save up to 23% by paying annually

8×8 is the cheapest VoIP phone service for organizations making frequent calls overseas. It supports unlimited international calls to 48 territories, making it affordable to connect with teammates and customers across geographical locations. Plus, 8×8 offers global phone number support in over 100 countries, allowing businesses to establish a local presence in areas where they don’t have a physical office.

However, with a monthly cost of $44 per user, it’s still costly to do business internationally. Fortunately, 8×8 lets you mix and match plans to reduce that cost. Subscribe to cheaper plans and combine them with the X4 package that includes international calling for users who need them. Additionally, this upper tier also unlocks contact center features such as call monitoring, supervisor analytics, and speech analytics.

8×8’s user interface (UI) is clunky and not intuitive. It lacks the ease and simplicity you get with apps like Dialpad and Grasshopper. Still, once you learn to navigate all the features, 8×8 is a powerful and fairly affordable VoIP service your business can use from its startup days all the way to enterprise.

8×8 Features

• Video conferencing: Host video meetings with up to 500 participants with no minute restrictions. Customize your virtual backgrounds, record meetings via the cloud, and protect your meetings through advanced moderator controls.
• 8×8 Work: An open communications workspace with video, chat, and business phone capabilities. Access it from your browser or download the app for your desktop and mobile device.
• Call activity analytics: A web-based tool for admins and supervisors to monitor agent performance and retrieve custom call data. It includes reporting tools for scheduling specific data to be gathered.

Grasshopper: Best for Ease of Use & Basic Call Features

*Save over 10% with annual billing

Grasshopper is our top choice for the cheapest VoIP business phone service—charging flat monthly fees for its plans instead of per-user pricing. Its modern user interface is easy to navigate and use. Plus, all plans include basic calling features, meaning you can choose the package based on your user count rather than upgrading to unlock specific features.

Another interesting feature of Grasshopper is it handles its plans differently than competitors. Instead of charging a per-user fee, Grasshopper’s pricing structure varies based on the number of extensions and phone lines needed by your business. For example, the solo plan includes one phone number and three extensions, making it suitable for freelancers and solopreneurs who don’t need numerous phone lines.

Unfortunately, Grasshopper doesn’t offer video conferencing, a standard feature most VoIP solutions provide. If your company frequently hosts video meetings with teams and clients, consider 8×8. This provider lets you host meetings for up to 500 participants, including access to video conferencing tools such as content sharing, virtual background, and cloud recordings.

Grasshopper Features

• Simultaneous call handling: Forward callers to the next available forwarding number when they reach a line that’s unavailable or currently busy. It also lets you handle multiple calls even during high call volume to prevent callers from hearing the busy signal.
• Custom greetings: Give your business a more professional appearance by playing an automatic call greeting when a customer calls. Grasshopper charges $75 if you want a professional voice actor to record your greeting.
• Call tracking metrics: Gain deeper insights into your call activity and business performance. See detailed reports on average call length, missed calls, hang-ups, and minutes used.

Ooma: Best for Remote & Distributed Teams

Ooma is one of the cheapest VoIP services for remote and distributed teams looking for additional mobility features like ring groups and multi-device ring. These tools allow users to transform their mobile devices into an extension of their business phone systems. For instance, call flip allows users to move an ongoing call between devices without interrupting the conversation.

If you have international calling needs but don’t need the advanced features offered by 8×8, Ooma is your next best option. It provides affordable rates for international calling, starting at only 1.4 cents per minute.

While Ooma lets users choose between a local and a toll-free on its base plan, it doesn’t offer vanity and international numbers. In this case, check out Phone.com, which offers international numbers for as low as $4.99 to $14.99 per month, while monthly charges for vanity numbers start at $9.99.

Ooma Features

• Extension monitoring: Monitor the status of a user’s extension and perform a variety of actions with a single click. Users can view an extension’s status, transfer a call to the extension, speed dial the extension, and answer an incoming call to the monitored extension.
• Virtual receptionist: Route calls to specific extensions or ring groups and create custom messages with business information. It also lets you set up menu options for different languages and modes for business hours.
• Dynamic caller ID: Customize your caller ID before making outgoing calls. This is particularly useful for businesses sharing a receptionist for multiple departments or executives.

Phone.com: Best for Mix & Match Plans

*Save up to 20% with annual prepayment and get volume discounts when adding five, 10, or 25 users.

Phone.com is our recommended cheap VoIP phone service for mix-and-match plan options. Choose from a mix of metered and unlimited plans to ensure your business only pays for what it needs. The entry-level Basic Users plan includes 500 pooled minutes and 1,000 pooled text segments, making it the perfect option for organizations with low call volume.

All Phone.com plans come with 50 standard voice features, such as call routing, custom greetings, automated menus, voice tagging, and even customer relationship manager (CRM) integrations. Purchase add-ons on an a la carte basis to avoid paying for features you don’t need. Add-ons include a live receptionist, international calling, call recording, and additional phone numbers.

Navigating Phone.com’s user interface requires a steep learning curve because it looks dated and difficult to navigate. Businesses new to VoIP systems will appreciate Grasshopper’s clean design and easy-to-navigate menus or Dialpad’s modern yet simple user interface (UI).

Phone.com Features

• Dial-by-name directory: An automated attendant allows callers to enter the first or last name of the person they’re trying to reach through their dial pad. Users can record their names through flexible customization.
• Virtual extensions: Set up multiple extensions to route incoming calls to different departments and employees. You may direct callers to your voicemail, mobile device, or desk phone.
• Schedules: Route incoming calls to different menus, numbers, extensions, and greetings based on the time and day the call comes through. For example, calls ringing outside your business hours go directly to voicemail or another extension.

Google Voice: Best for Google Workspace Users

Google Voice is the best cheap business VoIP phone service for those actively using Google Workspace applications. It integrates seamlessly with Gmail, Calendar, Meet, and Drive to streamline workflow with your VoIP service. Its user interface has a familiar look and user-friendly feel, making it easy for Google users to get up and running in no time.

Google Voice supports various Polycom desk phones, allowing you to send and receive calls over the internet using your existing hardware. Unfortunately, this feature is locked behind the Standard plan, so you’ll need to upgrade to take advantage of it.

Google Voice’s price and reliability compete well with other cheap VoIP services, but it falls behind when it comes to features. Although it has a multi-level auto-attendant, it lacks advanced call handling features offered by other providers like Phone.com and 8×8.

Google Voice Features

• Multi-level auto-attendant: In the auto-attendant section, users are able to add greetings, set up call handling rules, and customize working hours.
• Voicemail transcription: If you don’t have the time to listen to long voicemails, this feature will create a transcript when a caller leaves a voice message to your Google Voice number.
• Data reporting: Review Google Voice activities in your organization, including the details, costs, and duration of texts and calls.

How We Evaluated the Best Cheap VoIP Service

Cost is our primary consideration in choosing the cheapest VoIP phone service. While other business phone systems like RingCentral and Nextiva have more extensive features, they demand more costly per-user monthly subscriptions. With this, we looked at dozens of VoIP services offering the most affordable fees and narrowed the list down based on general features, ease of use, and value for money.

Learn how we evaluated the best cheap VoIP phone services by clicking on the tabs below:

Bottom Line

While VoIP is cheaper than traditional phones, the cost can still add up depending on the features your business needs as well as the number of users who will use it. However, the best option doesn’t always mean getting the cheapest service. It’s all about striking a balance between value and affordability.

Based on our research, Dialpad is the best all-around solution for businesses wanting AI capabilities to understand customer needs and ensure efficient handling of calls. With monthly plans starting at $15 per user (billed annually), you get a full-featured phone system, video meeting capabilities, and voice intelligence features. Sign up for its 14-day free trial or get in touch with its sales team.

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