Most businesses prefer voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) platforms over landline phone systems. Not only does VoIP offer advanced features, but it can also represent significant savings by helping businesses avoid expensive installation and maintenance costs. The entry-level plans for cheap VoIP services only cost $10 to $30 per user, monthly, benefitting solopreneurs and small teams. On top of this, many provide discounts for annual billing and volume users.
In this article, we listed the best cheap VoIP services for different use cases:
- Grasshopper: Best for phone number sharing
- RingCentral: Best for call management efficiency
- Nextiva: Best for customer relationship management
- Zoom Phone: Best for regional and international calling
- Vonage: Best for network connectivity
- Dialpad: Best for artificial intelligence (AI)
- Phone.com: Best for stronger global presence
Best Cheap VoIP Service Compared
Providers | Monthly Starting Price (per User) | Key Features | FSB Rating |
---|---|---|---|
| 4.59 out of 5 | ||
| 4.56 out of 5 | ||
| 4.53 out of 5 | ||
| 4.52 out of 5 | ||
$19.99 |
| 4.45 out of 5 | |
| 4.39 out of 5 | ||
| 4.34 out of 5 | ||
Take our quiz to find out which cheap VoIP service is best for you.
Which cheap VoIP service is right for you?
Grasshopper: Best for Phone Number Sharing
What We Liked
- Flat-rate pricing, regardless of the number of users on the account
- VoIP features included in all subscription plans
- Features different kinds of virtual phone numbers
Where It Falls Behind
- Lacks call recording
- Simultaneous ringing, which is a standard feature in other VoIP solutions, cost an extra $10 a month
- Doesn’t offer robust call reporting and analytics
Grasshopper Monthly Pricing*
- True Solo: $17 for one user, one business phone number, and one extension
- Solo Plus: $34 for unlimited users and three extensions
- Partner: $56 for three business phone numbers and six extensions
- Small Business: $92 for five phone numbers and unlimited extensions
- Free trial: 7 days
*Save over 10% by paying annually. All plans include call forwarding, call transfer, incoming call control, voicemail, virtual fax, and instant response.
Grasshopper ranks at the top of our list of cheapest VoIP phone services, offering a highly accessible entry-level plan, which costs only $17. It’s further reduced to $14 when you choose the annual billing. Unlike other VoIP providers that come with one phone number per user, Grasshopper’s higher-tier packages feature multiple phone numbers, making it an ideal solution for teams sharing numbers.
Among the cheap VoIP service providers listed here, it’s the only one that doesn’t charge per user. Instead, it has a fixed rate for unlimited users, starting with the Solo Plus plan. This means as you grow your team and add more members to the VoIP phone system, you won’t have to worry about additional costs.
The best part about this cheap VoIP service is that regardless of your plan, you have access to the full range of calling and call management tools. But unfortunately, Grasshopper doesn’t have call recording. Other VoIP solutions, like RingCentral and Dialpad, feature this tool in all their subscription plans.
Grasshopper Features
- Customized greeting: Greet your customers professionally and align the phone system messaging with your brand identity using Grasshopper’s custom voice recordings.
- Voice Studio: Let experienced Grasshopper voice actors record high-quality, professional business phone greetings. Each order costs $75 and can have several scripts.
- Instant response: This feature automatically sends a message to a new client after you miss their call. Instant response lets you touch base with new prospects for better customer conversions.
RingCentral: Best for Call Management Efficiency
What We Liked
- Robust third-party integrations, connecting to over 300+ apps
- Offers desk and conference phone rentals
- Instant messaging and video conferencing are available in the entry-level plan
Where It Falls Behind
- Doesn't offer unlimited business texting
- Integrations with customer relationship management (CRM) tools are not available in the base-level package
- Users must upgrade to the highest-tier plan to unlock unlimited storage
RingCentral Monthly Pricing (per User)*
- Core: $30 for unlimited domestic calling, 100 toll-free minutes, multi-level auto-attendant, and on-demand call recording
- Advanced: $35 for 1,000 toll-free minutes, automatic and on-demand call recording, advanced call monitoring, and hot desking
- Ultra: $45 for 10,000 toll-free minutes, unlimited storage for files, messaging, and recordings, and device analytics and alerts
- Free trial: 14 days
*Save up to 33% by paying annually. Volume discounts for 50-plus users are available.
At first glance, RingCentral may not be considered as a cheap VoIP phone service since its subscription plan starts at $30 per user, which is significantly higher than other solutions. However, when you consider its range of calling and call management tools, you’ll understand the great value for money it offers. For one, it’s one of the few small business VoIP services offering a toll-free minute allowance, helping businesses tame long-distance call costs.
More importantly, most of the advanced VoIP tools are already included in its entry-level plan: interactive voice response (IVR) system, incoming caller ID, call queues, on-demand call recording, and receptionist console. For only $30 per user, per month, you’re able to access these important features. Given its rich feature set, RingCentral is high up on this list of the cheapest VoIP business phone services.
The downside of choosing RingCentral is that it doesn’t offer unlimited texting, like Grasshopper and Vonage. You only have a specific number of short messaging service (SMS) credits per user a month.
RingCentral Features
- Conversational AI: This feature helps your team improve performance with artificial intelligence (AI) highlights that identify pain points and best practices. It combines machine learning with natural learning processing (NLP) for high-quality chatbots, sentiment analysis, and proactive customer service.
- Extensive integrations: End app switching by connecting the phone system to different platforms. Choose among the 300-plus tools available in its app gallery. Some of the top RingCentral integrations include Salesforce, Slack, Dropbox, and Google Workspace.
- Multi-level IVR: Configure your phone tree menus with RingCentral’s interactive voice response (IVR) editor. A carefully planned IVR system allows customers to access basic information and self-service options, even when your team is unavailable. Customize up to 250 voice menus and submenus per RingCentral account.
Nextiva: Best for Customer Relationship Management
What We Liked
- Free number porting, allowing businesses to keep existing phone numbers
- Maximum of 12,500 toll-free minutes
- All subscription plans have video conference recording
Where It Falls Behind
- Call recording is locked behind the most expensive plan
- Video calls and meetings only last up to 45 minutes
- Third-party integrations are limited to 20+ apps only
Nextiva Monthly Pricing*
- Essential: $30.95 per user for unlimited domestic calling, high-definition voice, auto-attendant, threaded conversations, and call log reports
- Professional: $35.95 per user for multi-level auto-attendant, unlimited conference calls for up to 40 participants, voicemail-to-SMS notifications, and integrations with CRM tools
- Enterprise: $45.95 per user for unlimited conference calls for unlimited participants, call recording, and voicemail transcription
*Pay only $23.95, $27.95, or $37.95 for the tiered subscriptions when you choose annual billing. Volume discounts are available for more than four users.
Similar to RingCentral, Nextiva may not seem the cheapest VoIP service given its $30.95 per user, per month base-level plan. But when you consider the features included in its packages, you’ll discover that you get more bang for your buck. Aside from the excellent call management tools, Nextiva features sales tools that help agents close deals efficiently.
It has a built-in, customizable sales pipeline, allowing users to monitor sales activities. The automations feature programmatically delivers messages to customers and adds appropriate tasks to sales stages. See comprehensive customer profiles, containing information about lead source, sales stage, and account value. Given these valuable sales tools, complementing the call management features, Nextiva makes it to our list of top cheap VoIP services.
Unfortunately, Nextiva’s video calling and meetings have a limited duration of up to 45 minutes only. In contrast, RingCentral allows you to host meetings for up to 24 hours.
Nextiva Features
- Call screening: Filter incoming calls to enable agents to focus on legitimate, important customer inquiries. Enable anonymous or selective call rejection.
- Call transfer: Move active phone calls to the right agent and resolve customer concerns faster. The cold transfer option lets you transfer calls without speaking to the next agent, while warm transfer requires you to give a heads-up to the service representative.
- Call recording: Keep a record of all phone conversations and use it to resolve disputes and train new agents. Nextiva offers the option to pause and resume call recording while on a live call.
Zoom Phone: Best for Regional & International Calling
What We Liked
- Most affordable entry-level plan of other options listed in this article
- Offers cheap unlimited international calls
- All call management features are included in all subscription packages
Where It Falls Behind
- Call queue analytics requires an extra fee
- Lacks virtual fax, a default feature in most VoIP platforms
- Inaccurate voicemail transcriptions
Zoom Phone Monthly Pricing (per User)*
- U.S. and Canada Metered: $10 for metered outbound calling, unlimited auto-attendants, automatic call distribution, call monitoring, and call recording
- U.S. and Canada Unlimited: $15 for unlimited outbound calling and the optional add-on of unlimited calling to 19 countries
- Global Select: $20 for unlimited regional calling in one of the 48 countries and territories supported and the optional add-on of unlimited calling to 19 countries
*Annual payment is also available
Among the listed software solutions here, Zoom Phone is the cheapest VoIP phone service, with an entry-level plan priced at $10 per user, monthly. But on top of the affordable package, Zoom Phone makes calling customers in international locations easier.
Its highest-tier plan, which only costs $20 per user, per month, allows unlimited domestic calling within one of the 48 countries supported, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Japan. At the same time, you’ll be able to secure unlimited international calls to 19 countries, including New Zealand, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.
While Zoom Phone has the lowest monthly subscription plan among the listed cheapest VoIP services, it doesn’t have a built-in virtual fax. If your business frequently sends documents to partners and customers, go for other VoIP solutions offering internet fax, like Grasshopper and RingCentral.
Zoom Phone Features
- Call barge: Join live conversations between an agent and a customer and help service representatives address inquiries faster. Zoom Phone has other call monitoring tools, such as whisper and takeover.
- Shared line appearance: Executives have the option to delegate calls to other employees and let them handle inquiries. This helps leaders focus better on more complex tasks and still ensure that customer communications are handled properly.
- Hot desking: Use any phone in your system and access your unique profile and settings. With this feature, employees are able to work wherever they feel comfortable.
Vonage: Best for Network Connectivity
What We Liked
- Offers 99.999% uptime guarantee
- Includes 40+ default features in subscription plans
- Base-level package includes unlimited texting
Where It Falls Behind
- Connects with only 20+ third-party apps
- Voicemail transcription is locked behind the most expensive plan
- Call queue costs $250 per month for unlimited use
Vonage Monthly Pricing (per User)*
- Mobile: $19.99 for unlimited calls in the United States (U.S.), Canada, and Mexico, unlimited SMS, access to the Vonage App Center, and unlimited team messaging
- Premium: $29.99 for virtual receptionist, unlimited video meetings for a maximum of 200 participants, and analytics and reporting
- Advanced: $39.99 for on-demand call recording, call group, voicemail transcription, and single sign-on
*Volume discounts are available for more than four users.
Vonage is an inexpensive VoIP phone service that offers software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) in its default features. SD-WAN is a technology that automatically prioritizes communications traffic, ensuring high-quality voice and video calls.
Aside from ensuring a high quality of service, Vonage’s Smart WAN helps companies do away with complex, costly network infrastructures. Since the technology optimizes network traffic, small businesses can settle with less expensive broadband plans, which offer multiplied cost savings in the long run.
The best part about this affordable VoIP service is that its subscription plans include 40-plus default unified communications tools. The downside is that you must pay extra fees on top of the monthly subscription plan for some call management features, like call recording and call queues. These are standard tools in other VoIP solutions like RingCentral.
Vonage Features
- Call park: Put calls on hold and let your colleagues pick them up. While the call is parked, you’ll be able to continue making and receiving calls and use other VoIP features.
- Call flip: Gain greater flexibility and switch between devices while on an active call. Add up to five devices to multiple extensions.
- Call rerouting: Vonage automatically directs inbound calls to a preconfigured backup phone number in the event of a power outage. This ensures you don’t miss any important messages from clients.
Dialpad: Best for Artificial Intelligence (AI)
What We Liked
- Offers 100% uptime guarantee
- Call queue prioritization allows businesses to instantly attend to emergency calls
- Almost all video conferencing features are offered in all subscription plans
Where It Falls Behind
- Phone extensions are locked behind the highest-tier plan
- Limited number of video meeting participants
- Meeting transcriptions are only available as an add-on feature
Dialpad Monthly Pricing (per User)*
- Standard: $23 for multi-level auto-attendant, custom call routing, three-way calling, and call recording
- Pro: $35 for hold queues, international SMS, integration with CRM tools, and quality-of-service reports
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for phone extensions, integration with single sign-on solutions, and service level agreement (SLA)
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pay only $15 and $25 on Standard and Pro plans, respectively, when you choose annual billing.
Dialpad is another low-cost VoIP phone service that is particularly ideal for call center teams wanting to enhance productivity through AI. For only $23 per user, monthly, you’ll tap into different AI technologies, including automated speech recognition, natural language processing, and semantic search. Automated speech recognition is applied to active calls, with the system transcribing the dialogues between call participants in real time.
Natural language processing powers live sentiment analysis, helping managers and agents gauge customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, semantic search speeds up the retrieval of relevant information. For these robust AI tools available at an affordable subscription plan, Dialpad earns a spot in our list of cheap VoIP phone services.
Unfortunately, Dialpad limits its video meeting participants to 10 only. If you often host big virtual discussions, consider RingCentral instead, which offers a large meeting add-on that accommodates up to 500 attendees.
Dialpad Features
- Custom call routing: Set call distribution rules to manage inbound calls more efficiently. Dialpad supports fixed order, round-robin, skills-based, and longest idle routing methods.
- Message threading: Start mini discussions within group chats to keep track of different topics. To start a thread, hover over the particular message and select the “Reply in thread” icon from the options.
- International SMS: Build and maintain rapport with overseas clients by sending them text messages. Dialpad supports international SMS to over 150 territories.
Phone.com: Best for Stronger Global Presence
What We Liked
- Unlimited calling minutes and video meeting duration
- Allows international calling for low rates
- All plans include 24/7 customer support
Where It Falls Behind
- Native integrations are limited to four third-party apps
- Only allows 10 video meeting participants in the entry-level plan
- Call recording requires an extra fee for Basic and Plus plan subscribers
Phone.com Monthly Pricing*
- Basic: $14.99 for 500 pooled minutes, call forwarding, call transfer, and video conferencing for a maximum of 10 participants
- Plus: $21.99 for unlimited calling minutes, voicemail transcription, video meeting recording, and whiteboard
- Pro: $31.99 for third-party integrations, breakout rooms in video meetings, and live video streaming
- Free trial: 30-day money-back guarantee
*Save 15% when you pay annually. Volume discounts for more than four users are available.
Phone.com is a cheap VoIP business phone service that is most suitable for companies expanding their global presence. It offers local phone numbers in over 50 countries for only $4.99 per month, the typical rate for local phone numbers. On top of that, the vendor provides huge discounts when you buy in bulk. Fifty-plus phone numbers cost $2.99 per number a month, while 100-plus phone numbers are priced at just $1.99 monthly.
While Phone.com is the best cheap VoIP phone service for strengthening local presence overseas, it only natively integrates with four third-party apps. If you rely heavily on customer relationship management (CRM) tools, the limited integration may be a deal-breaker for you. Go for RingCentral instead, which connects with over 300 apps.
Phone.com Features
- Livestreaming of video meetings: Reach more audiences and stakeholders by broadcasting video conferencing sessions on YouTube. Take advantage of the branded meeting rooms and personalized greetings to reflect your unique brand identity on livestreams.
- International calling: Maximize Phone.com’s low rates for calling customers in select countries. Pay local fees for outgoing calls to landline numbers in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.
- Virtual fax: Send and receive important documents through the phone system’s virtual fax feature. Note that only dedicated numbers are able to receive inbound messages and that the maximum attachment is 200 pages long, under 10MB in size.
How We Evaluated the Best Cheap VoIP Service
To assess cheap VoIP services providers, we considered the factors most businesses look for when comparing software solutions. The rubric primarily includes pricing elements, such as the cost of entry-level plans and discounts. At the same time, we looked at call management capabilities, platform user-friendliness, and customer support.
Learn how we evaluated the best cheap VoIP services by clicking on the tabs below:
30% of Overall Score
We determined affordability by checking the cost of the base-level subscription package and comparing it to the typical market rate. We considered how much the cheapest plan will be when discounts are applied. Those with free trials and discounts for annual billing and volume users earned more points.
20% of Overall Score
We examined the availability of unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada, video and audio conferencing, and uptime guarantee, giving more points to providers with a 99.999% or above service level agreement (SLA). We also favored those offering a mobile app.
15% of Overall Score
We considered international calling and virtual numbers in our evaluation of niche features. Those with a robust IVR system and a wide range of integrations got more points.
10% of Overall Score
We evaluated ease of use by understanding the learning curve involved in setting up and operating the platform. We favored providers with an intuitive interface that helps navigate the VoIP phone easily.
10% of Overall Score
We checked if providers offer various communication channels for support, namely phone, live chat, and email. Since businesses need timely advice on issues, we favored those offering assistance 24/7.
15% of Overall Score
Our expert score includes standout features, value for money, and ease of use. We referred to third-party review websites to gauge the popularity of each provider among business professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. Google Voice is a free VoIP solution offering a virtual phone number, unlimited calling to the U.S., and unlimited texting within the U.S. for solopreneurs. Ooma Home’s Basic plan is likewise free of monthly charges. You only have to pay a one-time fee of $99.99 for the Telo device, an analog telephone adapter (ATA). With the Basic plan, you’re able to access domestic calling, call waiting, and call logs.
Yes, you can use an analog phone to place and receive calls via the internet, as long as you use an ATA. If you’re interested in the top devices in the market, check out our buyer’s guide on the best ATA devices.
Yes, VoIP is more affordable than a landline primarily because it doesn’t require the installation of copper wires. It uses an internet connection, which most modern businesses already use. When you scale communications, you don’t need to shell out a huge amount of money for dedicated lines.
Moreover, in VoIP, you do away with buying hardware devices. By installing your provider’s softphone app on your computer or mobile phone, those devices can already make and accept VoIP calls. That said, take advantage of the cost savings and maximize them further by choosing a cheap VoIP service for business. Learn more about the pros and cons of VoIP and landline here.
Bottom Line
Cloud-based VoIP services offer significant savings, as they allow businesses to eliminate expensive equipment costs. As a business grows its operations and caters to global audiences or an expanded client base, it can save more with VoIP providers’ low international calling rates and toll-free minute allowance included in subscription plans. However, not all providers are created equal.
Among the top cheap business VoIP phone services we reviewed, Grasshopper stands out as the best, as it offers a flat rate for unlimited users and multiple phone numbers and extensions. Even without upgrading to the higher-tier subscription plans, you can access the full suite of VoIP tools the provider offers. Sign up for Grasshopper’s seven-day free trial today.