Ooma vs Google Voice: Which Is Better for Your Small Business in 2021?

Ooma and Google Voice offer great call quality, an auto-attendant, voicemail, and SMS messaging. However, Google Voice works as a call forwarding service and requires you to have an existing phone line. In comparison, Ooma is a complete business phone system and costs more.

• Ooma: Best for small and medium-sized businesses wanting a traditional business phone system with simple to understand pricing and advanced features, such as transfer music and call flip
• Google Voice: Best for solopreneurs and very small teams who have access to existing alternative phone lines, such as a personal mobile phone, and are on a budget

Ooma vs Google Voice at a Glance

Takeaway: Google Voice can’t eliminate your current phone bill, but it gives you a professional virtual number and basic business features and functionality. Ooma delivers enhanced features, like high definition (HD) voice calling, and supports Polycom phones, making it a better business phone system for a small-to-medium-sized company wanting to replace a landline. Moreover, Ooma offers more flexibility for growth, with advanced VoIP software features not found with Google Voice.

How We Evaluated Ooma vs Google Voice

Google Voice is a virtual phone service, which sends calls to your mobile device or desk phone via an existing number. Ooma is a complete voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) solution that can replace your current landline. This means that while Ooma and Google Voice are both business phone systems, they require different equipment to work. They also have different feature sets. Therefore, we evaluated each phone system’s best use case in addition to its functionality to determine the best overall value.

We considered the following criteria for our review:

• Customer support options
• Advanced business features
• Cost of paid service tiers
• Variety of account types
• User interface
• Availability of emergency service
• Mobile phone applications
• Customer reviews and ratings

Although Google Voice provides VoIP phone service for users in the United States and international locations, Ooma offers a complete office setup, including VoIP software, phones, and customer support. For companies wanting a solution that’ll fit their growing business, Ooma is the better option.

When to Use Ooma

Ooma provides a range of plans suited for nearly every business case. Work-from-home business owners can take advantage of the free plan by plugging in the Ooma Telo to a USB port. Or you can use softphones, Polycom phones, or mobile devices with business plans. Plus, Ooma offers enterprise-level plans perfect for building a customer support team. With Ooma, you can grow your business without switching providers, making it best for small-to-medium-sized companies wanting a scalable business phone system.

Ooma Pros & Cons

Ooma Pricing

• Ooma Basic: Free to use with the one-time purchase of an Ooma Telo device, starting at $99 for an online call log, Amazon Echo integration, and free U.S. calling
• Premier Plan: $9.99 per month plus a one-time Ooma Telo device purchase for a free second phone number, three-way conferencing, and call forwarding
• Ooma Office: $19.95 per user, per month for unlimited domestic calls and SMS messaging, auto-attendant, ring groups, voicemail, and call flip
• Ooma Office Pro: $24.95 per user, per month to add video conferencing, enhanced call blocking, voicemail transcription, and call recording
• Ooma Enterprise: $27.99 per user, per month for advanced integrations, SIP trunking, barge and whisper features, and a service level agreement (SLA)*
• Ooma Enterprise Call Center: $49.99 per user, per month for an interactive voice response (IVR) graphic editor, time-of-day routing, and advanced call analytics*

*Enterprise plans require a contract.

Why Ooma Is Better for Growing Companies

• Scalable plans: Although Google Voice is suitable for small businesses, Ooma provides plans that grow with your company. Ooma’s Office plan comes with 35 features, and each tier adds advanced tools.
• Integrations: Ooma Enterprise is an affordable plan offering custom customer relationship management (CRM) and productivity software integrations. You can connect Salesforce, Dropbox, and more to track conversations with customers easily.
• Customer support: Compared to Google Voice, Ooma is the clear winner in the customer service department. The company offers 24/7 support via online chat, or you can contact the company via email or telephone.

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When to Use Google Voice

If you’re a solopreneur or have a team with five or fewer users, Google Voice is a good option. Unlike Ooma, Google Voice offers an entirely free plan without a hardware purchase. Plus, you’ll get cheaper international calling rates with Google Voice. The VoIP service provides similar features to Ooma, but if your business grows, you’ll need to switch providers.

Google Voice Pros & Cons

Google Voice Pricing

• Free Google Voice: It’s free to make and receive calls and text messages, get a local business telephone number, link devices, and set up voicemail
• Google Voice Starter: $10 per user, per month for unlimited U.S. calling and texting, voicemail transcripts, an SLA, and integrations with Google products
• Google Voice Standard: $20 per user, per month for an auto-attendant, desk phone compatibility, ring groups, and eDiscovery for calls, text messages, and voicemail
• Google Voice Premier: $30 per user, per month for unlimited international locations, and you can export data to BigQuery to audit call logs and usage reports

Why Google Voice Is Better for Small Teams & Solopreneurs

• International options: Google Premier supports international business locations and offers cheaper international calling than Ooma. For example, it’ll cost you 2.9 cents to call India using Ooma versus Google Voice’s rate of 1 cent.
• Multiline use: With Google Voice, you can send multiple phone lines to your Google number, including personal or business lines. This functionality allows you to answer calls from a desktop, mobile phone, or any internet-connected device.
• Advanced features: All Google Voice plans come standard with call recording and voicemail transcription, whereas these features are only available on higher service tiers with Ooma. Plus, paying Google Workspace users can access Voice within Gmail.

To learn more about Google Voice and how your business can benefit from it, check out our Google Voice review.

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Ooma vs Google Voice: Which Is Better Overall for Small Businesses?

If your team is small or has international locations, Google Voice provides the right amount of features to handle inbound and outbound calling with ease. However, there’s not much room for growth, and you may prefer a Google Voice alternative. In comparison, Ooma delivers feature-rich plans suitable for small businesses or large enterprises. If price is your main concern, the $10 per user, per month price for the Google Voice Starter plan can’t be beaten, but you’re limited to 10 users. Ooma is our preferred choice due to its scalability, better customer support options, and overall ease of use.

All paid Ooma and Google Voice plans offer business features, such as:

• Telephone number: Select a local or toll-free business number with Ooma or a local phone number for Google Voice. You can use the number as your main business line to place and receive calls and text messages.
• Unlimited calling: Both VoIP phone services provide unlimited domestic calling and support pay-per-minute international calls, along with excellent call quality. Plus, you can make emergency calls using your desktop app, browser, or another internet-connected device.
• Mobile apps: Ooma and Google Voice feature intuitive mobile apps that work on iOS and Android phones. Users give the apps high ratings for ease of use and overall functionality.

For companies where affordability is a huge concern, you can find more VoIP solutions in our Top 6 Cheap VoIP Services article.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I use VoIP services without a credit card?

You can use VoIP technology from Google without a credit card, but you’ll need to add a payment method for paid plans. Ooma also offers free service, but you must purchase a device that plugs into your USB port and will need a payment method to make the purchase.

Can I add click-to-call from my website with Google or Ooma?

Services, such as Ooma, magicJack, and Google Voice, don’t support the click-to-call feature on websites. However, providers like RingCentral and Nextiva offer this option so that you can add a button on your website, blog, or email signature, making it easier for customers to access your company while increasing conversions.

Do Google Voice & Ooma have free trials?

Google Voice doesn’t offer a free trial for its business plans, but you can use the free service to get a general idea of how it works. Ooma only provides a free trial of its Premier plan. However, all Ooma packages feature a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Bottom Line

For people with a high-speed internet connection, Google Voice and Ooma provide a budget-friendly phone service for businesses. Each offers a free plan, mobile application, and a business phone number. You can set up voicemail, view call logs, and forward calls to various devices and extensions. Moreover, both companies are well-known brands in the VoIP technology space.

However, Ooma is the clear winner of the two because it can grow with your small business. You can start for free, move up to the Office plan with 35 features, then graduate to an enterprise package that’s packed with advanced tools. Plus, the customer support options for Ooma exceed Google’s bare-bones offering. If you’re ready to upgrade your business phone system, check out Ooma.