6 Best Cheap VoIP Service for 2018

VoIP systems allow you to make and receive calls over the internet, replacing traditional landline phones. We looked at many different VoIP service providers with low prices and no setup fees to identify the six most affordable, comparing features, number of available lines and calling options in order to find the best provider for small business.

Top 6 Cheap VoIP Services 2018

How We Evaluated Cheap VoIP Service Providers

A cheap VoIP phone service can provide the service you’ll need to support customers and run your business while keeping your monthly expenses low. When considering which providers are the least expensive, we evaluated those with a starting price of $30 or less with no setup fees. We then considered the range of available features and the overall user experience.

We also evaluated these providers on the following:

• Pricing & Service Plans: The monthly costs for each service provider and should meet our criteria, with multiple price plans to support you as your company grows.
• Calling Options: There should be multiple options for calling minutes, or unlimited calling for incoming and outgoing calls.
• Number of Lines and Extensions: A number of extensions and phone lines should be provided to allow multiple employees to stay connected.
• Auto-Attendant: A virtual receptionist is available to greet your callers and route calls.
• Setup and Ease of Use: Getting started should be simple, so should using the phone system and its features.
• Additional Features: Complimentary features offered by the cheap VoIP service.

Our recommendation for best overall cheap VoIP service is OnSIP. They’re the only provider we reviewed that offers a completely free VoIP system. You can have unlimited extensions for your business, up to 100 users with the free tier, and integrations with CRMs come standard at no additional cost.

Visit OnSIP

Best Overall Cheap VoIP Service for Small Businesses: OnSIP

OnSIP, a cloud-hosted VoIP solution, is our best overall cheap VoIP service for small businesses. It requires no equipment to configure, can be customized in a large variety of ways, and is the only VoIP provider we evaluated that provides a completely free tier for making and receiving calls over the internet. If you’re on a budget and looking for a cheap VoIP service, OnSIP’s completely free VoIP is the best choice for you.

OnSIP Pricing

OnSIP provides four pricing plans to choose from: Free, Pay-As-You-Go, Metered, and Unlimited. Pay-As-You-Go plan has a cost of $0.029 per minute and the Metered and Unlimited plans carry a cost of $8.95 and $24.95 per user, per month. All provide the ability to add on additional features as needed.

OnSIP Tiered Features

Free

OnSIP is the only VoIP provider reviewed to have a completely free option. Unlike the other plans, this plan is limited to internet calls only and doesn’t provide a phone number. However, it does include a wide range of features. The Free plan includes unlimited calling for up to 100 users, unlimited extensions, integration with Zendesk, business hour rules, and video conferencing.

Small businesses that wouldn’t be limited by only making calls over the internet would find this plan a perfect fit for their business. It’s great for keeping remote teams in touch, as all members could communicate for free with the service, and they provide a web call app that when placed on websites and blogs, allow customers to call you with the click of a button.

Pay-As-You-Go

The Pay-As-You-Go plan also has no set monthly fee, but unlike the Free tier, provides full external calling capabilities with a phone number. It includes all of the features from the Free plan along with support for unlimited users, five voicemail boxes, an auto-attendant, ring groups, a dial-by-name directory and call recording. Users pay $0.29 per minute for inbound and outbound calling.

This plan is great for the business owner with low call volumes who wants to leverage all the benefits of the Free tier and also receive calls the traditional way. However, the per-minute costs of making and receiving calls could lead to varying monthly bills, so the Unlimited plan might be a better choice.

Metered User

The Metered User option is $8.95 per month per user, plus $0.29 cents per inbound and outbound minute of calling. Users will have access to all of the features from the previous tiers as well as auto-attendant, dial-by-name directory, on-hold music channel, and call parking.

This plan is best for businesses with more than five users who all require access to the included features such as voicemail. If a business’ call volumes are relatively low, this would be one of the most affordable plans of all reviewed that includes the most features.

Unlimited User

For $24.95 per user, per month, the Unlimited User plan gets you unlimited standard calling with a virtual phone number as well as all of the features in the Metered plan. There is a five-user minimum required to use this plan, but unlike the Metered plan, Call Recording is available for all users.

Conference calling is available for an additional fee, but you’ll still get many useful features at a competitive price. If you’re looking for a cheap VoIP system with all the calling capabilities of the more well-known providers, then this is the best plan to choose.

OnSIP Setup & Ease of Use

OnSIP’s setup is incredibly easy. All you need to get started with the free plan is an email address and you’ll be guided through the setup wizard, where you enter your company details and can immediately make phone calls. The interface can be a little confusing, but the primary call management tools are easy to find and use.

The OnSIP Dashboard and online interface for managing your account.

What OnSIP Is Missing

Conference calling, which is an important feature and included at no cost with most other providers, is available at an additional cost with OnSIP. Although the completely free option allows for unlimited communication with other internet phone systems, it would have been great to have a virtual phone number that can be used to make and receive calls to other numbers.

What Users Think About OnSIP

Customers are pleased with the reliability and quality of the calling provided by OnSIP, as well as the straightforward setup. Some were disappointed with the pricing structure and that certain features, which are standard with other providers, cost extra to add on.

Where to Find OnSIP

Getting started with OnSIP‘s cheap VoIP phone service is easy. They provide a 30-day free trial of all apps and features, regardless of the plan selected, and you sign up online or by contacting their sales team. Start your free trial by using the button below.

Visit OnSIP

Best Cheap VoIP Service with Basic Functions: Google Voice

Google Voice is a virtual phone number system that allows you to obtain a free number that can be used with all of your phones. It provides a simple set of controls for forwarding calls to any number you choose, transcribing messages, and unlimited calls. This is the best for the solopreneur who needs a free business phone number to separate their personal calls from their business calls without other features.

Google Voice Pricing

Google Voice gives a free second number for making and receiving calls. Unlimited calls and texts can be sent and received to anyone in the U.S. for free through your computer. Calls made with your mobile phone rely on your phone’s calling plan, and rates for international calls start at $0.01 per minute.

Google Voice Features

Google Voice provides standard call routing and call forwarding options. You can send and receive SMS messages, add multiple phone numbers to your account for forwarding, define which number your calls should be forwarded to, the call forwarding times, and have voice messages transcribed into readable texts.

Google Voice’s specific features include:

Call Handling & Management

Google Voice matches your incoming calls and texts with your contact list, so you can know who is calling. It also features screening features that allow you to hear the caller’s name and choose to either answer the call or send it to voicemail.

Call Recording

Google Voice provides call recording at no additional cost, unlike OnSIP, Grasshopper, and most other VoIP providers. This feature is limited to only incoming calls, but with the click of a button, after the call has been answered, you can record the call and have the recording saved to your account.

Voicemail to Email/Text

Another feature provided by Google Voice at no additional cost is voicemail transcription. All received voice messages are automatically transcribed into readable texts and sent to you as both an email alert and a text message.

Google Voice Setup & Ease of Use

Google Voice’s setup is by far one of the easiest setups of any phone system. With a Google account, you simply visit the Google Voice page and you can choose a number in any area code. Once your phones are linked, you can easily link your contacts and send direct or group messages through the web interface or through the mobile app.

What Google Voice Is Missing

Google Voice lacks many of the features that are standard with virtual phone and VoIP systems. It works as a great call forwarding solution, but features such as user extensions or even the ability to send or receive faxes would be nice additions. Another item missing is customer support. There is no customer support department for Google Voice and if you have any issues, you’ll have to rely on forums and information available on the internet for help.

What Users Think About Google Voice

Entrepreneurs who are happy with Google Voice were satisfied with the routing features, screening and voicemail transcription. However, some users experienced difficulties porting a phone number to and from Google Voice, while others were unhappy with the lack of customer support.

Where to Find Google Voice

Getting set up with Google Voice‘s cheap VoIP phone service is fairly simple. All that’s needed is a Gmail account and you’ll be able to choose a virtual number. Google Voice provides some pre-selected numbers or you can choose to port your own mobile number.

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Best Cheap VoIP Service for Multi-Use Phones: Grasshopper

Grasshopper is an easy to use, feature-rich, and cheap VoIP phone service. It requires no hardware to set up, is offered in affordable pricing tiers, and has excellent 24/7 customer support. The price starts at just $29 per month with no per user pricing and in addition to the high customizability, this is the best choice for the solopreneur who wants an affordable way to switch between a business and personal number on their mobile phone.

Grasshopper Pricing

Grasshopper provides an inexpensive starter plan with the Solo for $29 per month. There are no fees for additional users and all plans include unlimited calling and all features. The Partner and Small Business plans are available for $49 and $89 per month and there is a $25 setup fee that is waived during promotions.

The details about Grasshoppers tiers include:

• Solo: $29/month for one number and three call forwarding extensions
• Partner: $49/month for three numbers and six call forwarding extensions
• Small Business: $89/month for five numbers and unlimited call forwarding extensions

Grasshopper Features

One of Grasshopper’s strengths is that with all plans, you get access to all the features and offerings of the system: custom greetings, voicemail transcriptions, an auto-attendant and more. Even a toll-free vanity number is included and can be selected when you set up your account.

Grasshopper’s notable features include:

Automated Attendant

Grasshopper provides an automated attendant that answers all your calls and forwards them to your defined extensions. It’s easy to use, and you can set up either departments or individual employees as extensions. When you perform the latter, your employees’ names are set up in the dial-by-name directory, allowing your callers to reach them by name.

Voicemail to Email/Text

When a voice message is left on your Grasshopper system, the message is sent to you as an audio file in an email message. If you have the softphone mobile app installed, you can retrieve a transcribed copy of the message, and easily manage your messages without having to dial into a voicemail system.

Softphone/Mobile App

The Grasshopper mobile app is where the product truly shines and why Grasshopper is our top recommended softphone provider. The mobile app, which is available for Apple and Android phones, gives you full control of your account through your phone. Making and receiving calls, configuring extensions, and SMS messages can all be performed with a few simple clicks from the palm of your hand.

Additional Features

Grasshopper gives you complete control over how your calls are routed, and you can define the time of day for call forwarding. Also available are caller ID customization, where you can customize how your caller ID is displayed to your callers, and inbound faxing that allows you to receive faxes and PDF documents.

Grasshopper Setup & Ease of Use

Grasshopper has an amazingly easy setup process that allows you to begin using your new number and virtual phone system as soon as your account is set up. You can manage all features of the service through the mobile app. The online web portal isn’t overwhelming with too many options, and all the actions you’ll need to take, such as configuring your greetings, can be easily found.

What Grasshopper Is Missing

Creating and managing customized greetings with Grasshopper can be a little confusing, as the feature setup isn’t quite as fluid as other setup processes. The service is still just a call forwarding system like Google Voice, so it doesn’t support desk phones or more robust features that you’ll find with VoIP providers, like call recording.

What Users Think About Grasshopper

Solopreneurs and business owners using Grasshopper enjoyed the quick and easy setup, the vanity phone number options available, and how simple it is to manage a business line and a personal line on the same device with the mobile app installed. They’re also happy with the 24/7 customer support offered. For a more in-depth summary of feedback provided by business owners, check out our user reviews of Grasshopper.

Where to Find Grasshopper

Grasshopper‘s cheap VoIP phone service can be easily purchased from their website, and they offer a 30-day money back guarantee on the service. There are no contracts to use the system, no per user, per month fees and plans can be canceled at any time. Get started with Grasshopper by using the button below.

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Best Cheap VoIP Service for International Calling: 8×8 Virtual Office

8×8 Virtual Office is a VoIP phone system best known for their unlimited international calling. Along with a complete set of VoIP phone system features such as an auto-attendant and call recording, you can make unlimited calls to anywhere from 14 to 42 countries, depending on the plan. Their prices start at $25 per user, per month, and this is the best choice if you intend to serve international clients with your business and services.

8×8 Virtual Office Pricing

8×8 Virtual Office provides three economical pricing tiers: X2, X5, and X8, which are $25, to $35, and $55 per user, per month, respectively. All plans include the auto-attendant, integrations with Salesforce, and unlimited calling to a number of countries based on the plan selected.

8×8 Virtual Office Tiered Features

X2

8×8 Virtual Office starter package is the X2. This plan costs $25 per user, per month, and provides all standard calling features such as voicemail, call queuing and unlimited calling for 14 different countries. Media storage of 1GB is also provided, along with audio/video conferencing for up to five participants, unlimited faxing and an unlimited number of phone lines.

This is a great option for the cost-conscious business owner who needs to be able to service and reach international clients. It’s a cost-friendly choice over most VoIP providers like Nextiva, and includes the most necessary features without breaking the bank.

X5

The X5 package costs $35 per month and includes everything in the X2 package plus unlimited calling to a total of 32 countries, an additional 4GB of media storage, conference calling for up to 25 participants and an operator switchboard. Unlike the X2, call recording is available with this tier, but it carries an additional fee of $10 per user, per month.

The addition of the operator switchboard will help your growing business display a more professional appearance. So, if you’re growing internationally and looking for a cheap VoIP to keep your teams and communication synchronized, this package will certainly get the job done.

X8

The X8 package costs $55 per user, per month. It includes all of the features in the X5 package, plus unlimited calling for a total of 46 countries and support conference calling for up to 50 participants. Unlike the X2 or the X5, this package provides virtual contact center features and a virtual office supervisor that automatically monitors calls with your customers.

Analytics and reports about your calling data are available with this tier, and you get even more built-in storage. This package is best for more established businesses with an international reach needing the advanced contact center features such as call monitoring to service all countries in which it does business.

8×8 Virtual Office Setup & Ease of Use

Since 8×8 Virtual Office is a cloud-based VoIP system, no special equipment or wiring is needed to use the service. Like most other providers, the entire system is controlled through the online portal, but assigning employee phone numbers, extensions, and setting up the automated attendant can all be completed easily.

What 8×8 Virtual Office Is Missing

A potential drawback to using 8×8 Virtual Office is the customer support. While they offer round-the-clock support, there will be times when the support representative will be in another country. Another is the lack of volume discounts. 8×8 Virtual Office doesn’t provide volume discounts like Nextiva or RingCentral. So as your business grows, there won’t be any savings with the phone system as you add additional users.

What Users Think About 8×8 Virtual Office

Business owners have found 8×8 Virtual Office to be a budget-friendly phone system for making calls to international customers and vendors. Others are pleased with the 24/7 support, but some had issues with the lack of volume discounts. You can get a more in-depth overview of users’ experiences with 8×8 Virtual Office by reading our user reviews of 8×8.

Where to Find 8×8 Virtual Office

You can sign up for 8×8 Virtual Office‘s cheap VoIP phone service by contacting their sales team through their toll-free number for a custom quote or using the online form on their website. Get started with 8×8 Virtual Office by using the button below.

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Best Cheap VoIP Service with Volume Discounts: Vonage

Vonage is another VoIP provider that is best known for its flexible plans and low prices that start at $19.99 per user, per month. They provide features that you can expect, such as an auto-attendant and video conferencing, and they allow you to adjust your plan, adding and subtracting features for each user to get the price that is just right for you. This is the best choice if you’re looking for a cheap VoIP with the flexibility to modify your features and price for each individual user.

Vonage Pricing

Vonage’s pricing is set up in three different plans. The Mobile, Premium, and Advanced range from $19.99 to $39.99 per user, per month, with a 14-day free trial to try the service. Volume discounts are available depending on the number of users, so the more users you have, the more you can save.

Vonage Tiered Features

Mobile

Vonage’s starter package is the Mobile plan. This plan costs $19.99 per user, per month and provides access to the auto-attendant, the softphone mobile app and over 40 features that include conference calls and call logs. Volume discounts are available with this plan, so if you have between five and 19 users, the cost goes down to $17.99, and if you have between 20 and 99 users, the price goes down further to $14.99 per user, per month.

This plan is perfect if you’re a startup with remote teams that don’t work out of a physical office. Unlike the Premium or Advanced plans, this plan doesn’t support video conferencing or file sharing, but it’s still a great cheap VoIP plan.

Premium

The next tier Vonage offers is the Premium, which starts at $29.99 per user, per month. This plan includes all of the features of the Mobile plan with the added ability to integrate with multiple CRMs and a multi-level auto-attendant. Other features available with this plan include video conferencing, chat, and file sharing for up to 100 users. If you have five to 19 users, this plan will cost $27.99 per user and $24.99 per user if you have between 20 and 99 users.

This plan is tailored more towards small and medium-sized businesses that work out of a more traditional office space. As teams grow, better internal communication is required to keep things running smoothly, and Vonage offers this capability with their Amazon Chime partnership.

Advanced

The Advanced package is Vonage’s most expensive tier, starting at $39.99 per user, per month. For this price, you’ll get everything included in the previous two plans as well as 15 hours a month of call recording, visual voicemail, and an Orange-Glove setup. The Orange-Glove setup provides you with a dedicated team to help you and your users get setup. The cost drops to $37.99 per user if you have five to 19 users, and $34.99 per user if you have between 20 and 99 users.

This plan would be a great option for larger teams based in a traditional office that aren’t as confident in their technical skills. Switching systems can be difficult for any business, but with a larger team of employees, having a dedicated onboarding team can make the transition and setup seamless.

Vonage Setup & Ease of Use

Vonage is a cloud-based VoIP system and like other providers, no equipment is required to get started with the service. It has a clean and intuitive user interface and the softphone mobile apps provide a natural experience for making and managing calls. With any IP phones or connected devices, Vonage will regularly check the status to ensure those devices are working properly, and automatically routes calls to a different device or number if a malfunction occurs.

What Vonage Is Missing

There are a few downsides to using Vonage. The ability to add, remove features and change the pricing for each individual user can lead to prices being much higher than the standard tiered pricing. Another surprising item lacking is 24/7 customer support. Vonage’s customer support staff are only available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, with limited support available on the weekends.

What Users Think About Vonage

Users found Vonage to be easy to set up and the interface pleasant to use. Despite an overall good reputation, some other users were disappointed with the customer service wait times and the inability to cancel services online. For a more comprehensive summary of users’ experience with the provider, read our user reviews of Vonage.

Where to Find Vonage

Vonage offers a 14-day free trial for any of their plans. You can sign up directly on their website and get started instantly, or call their sales team to have any questions answered and get assistance with the setup process. Get started with Vonage by using the button below.

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Best Cheap VoIP Service with Flexible Pricing Plans: Phone.com

Phone.com is an affordable, easy-to-use VoIP solution that provides an extensive list of features and customizable pricing. Pricing tiers start at $12.99 per user, per month and can be selected on a pay-per-minute or unlimited calling basis, so you can lower your startup costs to only use what you need. Along with being our best vanity phone number provider, they are a great choice if you’re looking for complete customization of the cost of your plan.

Phone.com Pricing

Phone.com has three plans, Base, Plus and Pro, and allows you to pay-per-minute or choose unlimited calling. The Base is $22.99 per user, the Plus is $24.99 per user, and the Pro is $27.99 per user, per month, and you can save up to 30 percent with the pay-per-minute option.

Phone.com’s specific pricing details include:

• Base: $12.99/month for 300 calling minutes, $22.99 for unlimited
• Plus: $19.99/month for 500 calling minutes, $24.99 for unlimited
• Pro: $39.99/month for 1,000 calling minutes, $27.99 for unlimited

Phone.com Features

For the entrepreneur looking for a cheap VoIP system, Phone.com provides the standard set of features that you come to expect with any of the larger providers like Nextiva or RingCentral. Conference calling, on-hold music, a dial-by-name directory, faxing capabilities and a softphone mobile app are among the features Phone.com provides.

Phone.com’s features also include:

Automated Attendant

The automated attendant provides an automated menu that greets your callers and provides basic information about your business, such as hours of operation. The auto-attendant can be customized with your own greetings and on-hold music, and it also includes a dial-by-name directory that prompts the callers to search by first or last name for different employee extensions.

Mobile App/Softphone

Phone.com’s app, named Communicator, is their desktop softphone app that allows you to manage your account without logging into the web interface. You can either make and receive calls through the desktop app or download the mobile app on your Apple or Android device. With the mobile app, you’ll have all the same features as the desktop app and online portal right in the palm of your hand.

Voicemail to Email/Text

Every voice message you receive is automatically saved and sent to you as an email message with an audio attachment. For an additional fee, you can add the voicemail transcription feature, which will automatically transcribe your voicemails into readable text messages. An added feature that we didn’t see with other providers is the availability of human transcription, where your messages are converted by a real-live person, instead of an automated system.

Additional Features

Phone.com’s conferencing capabilities allow phone conferences with up to 200 callers, and you can hold video conferences for up to 25 callers. Sending and receiving SMS messages is also available, along with call recording and integration with popular CRMs. Most of these additional features carry an additional fee and might not be the best to add if you wish to keep Phone.com’s costs as low as they are.

Phone.com Setup & Ease of Use

Phone.com has an impressive self-service platform. As soon as your signup is complete, your phone number is provided and you can begin using the system. With a few simple clicks, you can route calls and manage other features or even purchase adapters that allow you to use your current phones.

What Phone.com Is Missing

Phone.com’s flexibility to customize your plan with additional features can either be good or bad, depending on your needs. If you’re looking for a cheap VoIP with a complete set of features, the additional cost for features like voicemail transcription or call recording can raise the price of using the system beyond what your budget might allow.

What Users Think About Phone.com

Business owners have enjoyed the ability to customize their plans with Phone.com as needed, and they also love the ability to reduce their monthly costs by choosing the pay-per-minute plan over the unlimited calling plan. Some found the added cost for features to be more of a burden and desired a more complete set of features with the packages. To see more about what users think of the system, check out our user reviews of Phone.com.

Where to Find Phone.com

You can sign up for Phone.com‘s cheap VoIP phone service using their website. The simplified signup process will have you using your new phone system in just a few short steps, and you can use the system with confidence, as they provide a 30-day money back guarantee. Get started by using the button below.

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Bottom Line

VoIP systems have become the standard method for establishing a phone system for businesses. With costs much lower than traditional phone systems, the market is quickly becoming rich with providers that offer a cheap VoIP system that isn’t light on features and functionality.

As there are many great providers with affordable options to choose from, we highly recommend OnSIP as the best cheap VoIP system. Its free calling tier rivals all other VoIP providers with the number of features and users allowed, and although the free tier only allows for internet calling, you can easily upgrade to the unlimited calling for less than the cost of other VoIP providers. Get started for free with OnSIP by clicking the button below.

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