The best voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service ensures clear phone calls, offers video conferencing, and keeps teams connected with customers. Both Nextiva and Vonage provide small business phone systems at affordable prices. However, differences exist, and it’s essential to compare the solutions before making a decision.
- Nextiva: Best for small to medium-sized companies wanting a full-featured unified communications (UC) platform
- Vonage: Excellent option for small businesses looking for local international phone numbers and a UC application
Nextiva vs Vonage Overview
Starting Price | $21.95 per user, per month with annual plans | $19.99 per line, per month with monthly plans |
Mobile App | ✔ | ✔ |
Auto-attendant | ✔ | ✔ |
Toll-free Minutes | ✔ | For an additional fee |
Unlimited SMS | Yes, except for the lowest plan (Essential) | ✔ |
Voicemail | ✔ | ✔ |
More Information |
Takeaway: Although you’ll pay a bit more for Nextiva, it provides more overall functionality than Vonage. All Nextiva plans also offer a toll-free number and toll-free minutes, whereas these are only available as add-on features with Vonage. However, Vonage supplies local numbers for the U.S. and over 50 countries, so if you’re looking to expand globally, Vonage can help.
How We Evaluated Vonage vs Nextiva
Since Nextiva and Vonage offer similar features, we dug into their differences to discover the best use cases for each service. We examined calling packages, pricing, and overall ease of use.
We based our evaluation on the following criteria:
- Plan tiers and pricing
- Usability of desktop and mobile applications
- Standard calling features
- Availability of advanced features
- Free and paid integrations
- Popularity and customer ratings
- Scalability of services
While Vonage is an excellent choice for establishing a local business phone number in a non-U.S. country, Nextiva gets our vote for the best unified communications platform. Its features work well for companies of all sizes, and the plans allow you to scale your business without switching to a new provider.
When to Use Nextiva
Nextiva is a versatile unified communication and collaboration platform. If you opt for the cheapest plan, you’ll get a free local and toll-free number, 1,500 toll-free minutes, and dozens of advanced calling features. Pricing starts at $21.95 per user, per month for a prepaid 36-month agreement for five to 19 users. You can also select packages with unlimited video conferencing and up to 12,500 toll-free minutes at an affordable price.
| Nextiva Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| PROS | CONS |
| Free professionally recorded greetings | No SMS messaging on the Essential plan |
| Video calling for up to 250 participants | There is a learning curve |
| Voicemail-to-email notifications | No local international phone numbers |
Nextiva Pricing*
- Essential: $21.95 per user, per month for unlimited calling, peer-to-peer video calling, 1,500 toll-free minutes, and voice-to-email alerts
- Professional: $25.95 per user, per month for up to 250 Call Pop contacts, unlimited SMS messages, 3,000 toll-free minutes, and unlimited video calling for up to 250 participants
- Enterprise: $35.95 per user, per month for unlimited Call Pop contacts, integrations with most customer relationship manager (CRM) and customer-facing apps, 12,500 toll-free minutes, and recording for calls and video conferences
- Ultimate: $65.95 per user, per month for NextOS customer surveys, three professionally recorded greetings, 12,500 toll-free minutes, and sales productivity tools
*Plan prices are based on five to 19 users with a prepaid 36-month agreement. Volume discounts are available as you add more users.
Why Nextiva Is Better for Full-featured Unified Communications
- Professionally recorded greetings: Both Vonage and Nextiva let you record custom greetings. Nextiva takes this a step further by offering one to three free greetings recorded by a professional voice artist on its Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate plans.
- Call Pop: The Call Pop function comes on all plans, except the Essential package. It’s a standalone feature that doesn’t require integration with existing sales tools. In comparison, Vonage only offers Call Pop with Salesforce integration on its Premium and Advanced plans, which are more expensive than Nextiva’s comparable packages.
- Call recording: Video conference and call recording come standard on Enterprise and Ultimate plans, or it’s available as an add-on service. You’ll pay $5 to $10 per user, per month to record calls and meetings. In contrast, Vonage only offers 15 on-demand hours of call recording on its Advanced plan or as an add-on. You’ll pay $4.99 per extension, per month or $49.99 per month for companywide recording.
When to Use Vonage
Vonage provides an affordable small business VoIP service with unified communication features. The plans are similar to Nextiva in price and features, but you’ll get unlimited SMS messaging on Vonage’s cheapest plan. Nextiva doesn’t offer text messaging on its lowest plan tier. The big difference between the two companies stems from their phone number options. Whereas Nextiva gives you a toll-free number, Vonage doesn’t. Instead, you can pick a local number in the U.S. or from over 50 international locations. Pricing for Vonage starts at $19.99 per line, per month for one to four users.
| Vonage Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| PROS | CONS |
| 14-day free trial | Add-on features can be expensive |
| Inexpensive starter plan | Unclear plan comparisons on the website |
| Business phone numbers in over 50 countries | Fewer advanced features than competitors |
Vonage Pricing*
- Mobile: $19.99 per line, per month for unlimited calls, unlimited SMS and team messaging, and over 50 standard features
- Premium: $29.99 per line, per month for integrations with Zoho, Bullhorn, Google, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and several other CRMs
- Advanced: $39.99 per line, per month for call groups, up to 15 hours of on-demand call recording, and visual voicemail
*Plan pricing is based on one to four users, but Vonage provides volume-based discounts when adding five or more users.
Why Vonage Is Better for Establishing an International Presence
- World phone numbers: With Vonage, you can connect your international employees and companies to your phone services. Vonage offers international toll-free numbers and local numbers in over 50 countries.
- Integrations: Vonage offers more than 20 third-party integrations on its cheapest plan, including Microsoft and Google integrations. Nextiva only connects to Microsoft Outlook and Google Contacts on its lowest-price package.
- Training sessions: Although Vonage and Nextiva provide plenty of self-help services and comprehensive knowledge bases, Vonage goes a step further with customer training sessions. You can register for upcoming webinars covering topics such as the administrative side, end-user support, mobile app features, and integrations.
Nextiva vs Vonage: Which Is Better Overall for Small Businesses?
Nextiva and Vonage are both well-known VoIP phone providers that have been in business for more than a decade. We prefer Nextiva because it offers more features, toll-free minutes, and super-transparent plan options, making it easy to select the best package for your company. However, some of Vonage’s plans are more affordable than Nextiva’s and can fully support remote staff and customers living in countries outside of the U.S.
All Vonage and Nextiva plans come with:
- Unlimited team messaging: Keep teams connected and avoid missed messages by using one platform for instant messaging. Both Nextiva and Vonage give users access to team messaging features, although Nextiva also includes peer-to-peer video calling.
- Virtual receptionist: Having an auto-attendant to route calls correctly is essential to today’s small businesses. You can set up automated call routing on Nextiva and Vonage plans. Plus, both providers offer a multilevel attendant on all plans except the lowest-priced package.
- Customer support options: Nextiva provides 24/7 customer support on all plans, except the entry-level package. Vonage offers 24/7 support, except for phone services, which are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Eastern Time and Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. You also can contact the providers via email or online chat.
Check out other affordable VoIP phone options that would work best for small businesses by reading our Top 6 Cheap VoIP Services article.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I keep my phone number if I switch to VoIP?
Yes, most VoIP providers allow you to keep your existing phone number and make it easy to transfer it to your new service. Nextiva and RingCentral don’t charge a fee for number porting and offer clear instructions. While Vonage lets you port numbers, it’s unclear if there’s a charge for this service.
How much is VoIP monthly?
VoIP calling plans range from $10 to over $65 per user, per month. Your cost depends on the number of users and package features. Furthermore, many VoIP providers offer volume-based discounts and extra savings when you pay annually.
