6 Best VoIP Apps for iOS, Android & Softphones in 2022

Business communication is increasingly done via software―but which apps are best? The best voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) apps not only allow you to make calls and send texts, but also support features like video conferencing, presence-supported team messaging, and extensive integrations. All this without the need for bulky desk phones, and most can be used on mobile devices. Plus, the best VoIP apps come in three flavors: softphones, iOS, and Android.

• RingCentral: Whether you need a softphone or mobile app, RingCentral serves as the best overall option for those looking to be untethered from IP and landline phones and want to offer teams the most device flexibility
• Vonage Business Communications: Best VoIP app for businesses with many iPhone users, thanks to features like Siri integration
• Nextiva: Best VoIP app for businesses with Android users who need native features like multiple file type support for short message service (SMS) text messaging
• Phone.com: Best app for VoIP users needing a computer-based softphone app with robust dialing features
• Bria Mobile: Top option for companies with an existing session initiation protocol (SIP) setup that need softphone and smartphone VoIP apps with unified communications (UC) capabilities
• Google Voice: Best VoIP app for businesses already using Google Workspace to manage day-to-day tasks that are looking for an inexpensive (or even free) VoIP calling solution

RingCentral: Best Overall VoIP App for Multi-device Support

*Pricing is based on annual payment with two to 20 users. Per-user price discounts are available with a larger number of users.

RingCentral is more than just one of the best VoIP apps—it’s one of the best business phone systems on the market today. This is thanks to the fact that it not only embraces VoIP, but unified communications (UC) as well. With a RingCentral subscription, you’re afforded unlimited calling and texting in the U.S. and Canada, and international calling is also available at a very affordable metered rate.

One of RingCentral’s more compelling features is its call flip feature. This feature works easily from app to app. If you have a call on the softphone but have to leave the office in a hurry, you instantly send the call to your smartphone without the caller noticing. The reverse is also true; if you’re on a mobile call but your battery is running low, you simply flip the call to the softphone app so that your calls are never cut short.

This feature isn’t available from VoIP app providers like Bria and Phone.com, so it’s a major consideration for businesses with on-the-go agents who may need to swap endpoints from time to time. In addition to this useful feature, as we stated in our best Android apps piece, RingCentral has the broadest range of included features. This includes call forwarding, multi-level interactive voice response (IVR), and a slew of valuable integrations.

RingCentral Features

• Various Integrations: RingCentral has more than 200 third-party integrations and the ability for developers in your information technology (IT) team to develop a custom solution using the robust application programming interface, or API.
• Built-in customizability: RingCentral’s apps allow the user to reorder tabs and personalize their experience. For example, your team members can select up to five tabs with calendar, tasks, video, or other functions. This makes the app experience very convenient for each user.
• Extended voicemail options: All versions of the RingCentral app provide multiple means to check voicemail. Listen to voicemails the standard way, use voicemail-to-text, which allows you to read through your inbox, or read using voicemail-to-email, which compiles everything into your inbox.

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Vonage Business Communications: Best VoIP App for iPhone

*Pricing is based on monthly payment for a single line. Volume discounts are available for a higher number of lines.

With Vonage Business Communications (VBC), it’s worth noting that the provider has a 99.999% uptime guarantee, which makes it equally reliable to both RingCentral and Nextiva’s service level agreements (SLAs). This is critical for businesses that may have contact center operations or for those that have agents dialing around the clock to partners and colleagues.

VBC also stands out because of how well it plays with iOS devices. The Vonage app is fully compatible with Siri, so you can use the digital assistant to manage calls.

Like RingCentral, VBC features call flip, and the provider has a competitive list of integrations to connect the app with solutions like Salesforce, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Dynamics. Also, like RingCentral, Vonage has international calling to contact partners and customers overseas easily.

Vonage Business Communications Features

• Competitive recording options: For an additional $4.99, VBC offers customers the capability to record calls. This allows businesses looking to monitor or silo customer interactions to record them for later review.
• Add-on features: In addition to basic VoIP services and app functionality, there are also add-ons like toll-free numbers, call recording, and visual voicemail.
• Siri integration: The Vonage app is capable of Siri integration so that you can have the digital assistant call anyone on your contact list.

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Nextiva: Best VoIP App for Android

*Pricing is based on annual payment with five to 19 users.

Nextiva’s app is a standout among the best VoIP apps for ease of use and features like MP3, WAV, and M4A file support when texting colleagues and customers on Android devices. Nextiva is a multi-tiered provider with four plans. While most small businesses will be happy with the Essential and Professional Plans, it’s useful to know you have options to scale upward based on business needs.

Like RingCentral, Nextiva is a good choice if you want one of the best VoIP apps for both calling and unified communications capabilities. You’re granted the ability to video call, join, or invite to conference rooms when needed. The app also has a feature called “Call from Phone,” which will send a call from your chosen device.

Nextiva also has mobile screen share. This is very useful for users who want to share things like an app or mobile web page experience that will give fellow callers an impression of how an app or page will appear on mobile screens. Unfortunately, some important integrations are locked behind more expensive tiers. For the VoIP app with the most integrations and a robust API, consider RingCentral.

Nextiva Features

• Call pop: Call pop gives your agents detailed information about every caller. It displays basic information like the number and name of the caller as well as detailed information such as the organization, whether the last interaction was positive, and survey responses. Call pop can even display the value of the account.
• Mobile screen share: Share any of your mobile tabs, even if you’re using Android’s mobile split-screen feature.
• High attendee video conferencing: Nextiva allows you to host video conferences from the app with up to 250 participants.

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Phone.com: Best VoIP App for Softphone Users

*Pricing is based on annual payment. Monthly billing is also available.

Phone.com’s softphone app is called Communicator. It’s a robust and feature-rich VoIP app for businesses looking to retire their IP phones in favor of software-based dialing. It’s important to note that Communicator’s Mac desktop version has a few more on-screen features, while on Windows, you can access all available features under the “More Call options” drop-down menu.

This softphone app stands out because of its ease of use. Like Nextiva, Phone.com goes out of its way to make the experience intuitive. Hotkeys can easily access various calling features, so dialing can be done almost entirely without a mouse.

Additionally, features like auto-answer make using the software easy and serves as a simplified call automation tool that’s invaluable to call centers. The app also works with multiple phone numbers, so users are able to determine the purpose of a call as it comes in. There’s also an integrated address book in the application.

Phone.com Features

• Follow Me: The Follow Me feature makes call forwarding easy. When you’re consistently on the move, the system will ring your numbers in a designated order so that you won’t miss important calls when you’re out.
• HD voice: Phone.com offers superior sound quality when making inbound and outbound calls, which is critical to providing positive caller and customer experiences.
• Native integrations: By default, Phone.com has integrations with Zapier, Zoho, and PieSync, and has an open API for your IT team to develop software connections.

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Bria Mobile: Best VoIP App for Businesses With SIP Infrastructure

*Pricing is based on an annual payment plan.

Not everyone needs a full-fledged VoIP service when they are looking for a VoIP app. With Bria Mobile, you’re able to use your own SIP-based calling system while using your Android or iOS smartphone. This even works when you’re using SIP-based small business VoIP services, so if your provider doesn’t have an application, you still have options. In addition, the base tier is completely free, so it’s very budget-friendly for small businesses using a SIP server looking to save some cash.

In addition to the calling features, Bria Mobile offers some UC support as well. With any of the applications, you’re able to transmit HD video at 720p. Calls also utilize HD audio codecs like G.722 and SILK, so you can expect sound to be crystal-clear when making audio calls. The softphone and smartphone app also allows for application switching; even when in the background, you’ll be able to field incoming calls while using other apps.

Bria Mobile Features

• Custom ringtones: You can make incoming calls from select contacts more recognizable by assigning them specific ringtones.
• Real-time network quality indicators: Since Bria Mobile is dependent on an external VoIP service, the company provides a network indicator to determine call quality beforehand.
• Device support: Bria natively supports various devices, including wired headsets, headphones, and Bluetooth audio devices.

Google Voice: Best VoIP App for Google Workspace Users

*Pricing is based on monthly billing.

Google Voice is a simple and easy solution for VoIP calling, especially for those using the Google Workplace app ecosystem. In many situations, the app is included by default, so there’s no need to download it, and you can dial from within your browser. If you wish to use the app on your smartphone, the app is often pre-installed so that you can begin making calls immediately.

In fact, anyone familiar with Google’s well-known interface should have no problem making calls from the Google Voice VoIP app. Accessing the web-based app is done from any Google page, including Gmail and the Google search window. In addition to basic calling, business users have access to visual voicemail and call management features.

The service itself isn’t the most robust feature-wise, and the SLA only covers a relatively paltry 99.9% uptime. Features like call logging are notably missing, but for basic solopreneur use, the service is very useful—and affordable.

Google Voice is very inexpensive; in fact, the service is free for personal use by individuals. Pricing for professional users begins at just $10 per user, per month, which is very reasonable compared to providers like RingCentral or Nextiva, which start at almost double this monthly cost.

Google Voice Features

• Call recording: Even the free version of Google Voice has a call recording feature that allows you to review and monitor customer calls after you’ve made them. This is useful for teams working on improving customer management skills.
• Free usage: For freelancers and solopreneurs looking to save cash, Google Voice’s personal plan provides a free VoIP solution to contact clients and customers. While it’s a bit bare-bones, it’s a way to use a free local number as a second phone number to separate your private and business calls and texts.
• Desk phone support: Even though Google Voice is a virtual phone system that works best via an app, it does support some desk phone models, such as the Polycom VVX 150 OBi Edition.

How We Evaluated the Best VoIP Apps

Since all of these VoIP calling and communications solutions are software-based, it was critical that we took a deep look at the entire list of primary and ancillary features offered by each app. For the most part, users will be using these applications to contact customers and keep in touch with colleagues, so it’s essential to look at how well each performs in this regard.

Out of all of the applications we reviewed, we found that RingCentral has the most competitive and consistent experience when looking at both softphone and smartphone apps. You’ll also notice it was the winner in each of our articles comparing iPhone, Android, and softphone solutions, so there’s significant consistency there.

RingCentral’s VoIP app stands out for its robust integration features, extensive calling and unified communications (UC) capabilities, customizability, and a call flip feature that makes it very easy to swap between devices. Check out this affordable service for yourself risk-free using the convenient 15-day trial to better understand all that’s available.

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To understand how we evaluated each app on this list of the best VoIP apps for softphones, iOS or iPhone, and Android devices, here’s a breakdown. Click on the tabs below for more details about our criteria:

Bottom Line

Whether you need a softphone, iOS or Android app, or all of the above, finding a robust VoIP app is critical for businesses looking to shed the binding nature of physical desk phones. Finding the best VoIP apps for your team is critical, especially for businesses with a distributed or remote-hybrid workforce. With an app, your employees can call from their homes and teleconference with colleagues via video or voice.

Out of all available options across platforms, RingCentral wins out for our purposes, but all of the other apps featured here also provide strong user experiences. If you need to quickly shift from device to device and need UC features and uptime reliability, RingCentral wins out as the best overall pick. Schedule a time and date for RingCentral to reach you using the form below.