Best VoIP App for Business: Top 13 Options in 2024

There’s a reason a growing number of businesses use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to manage business communications. Between cost effectiveness, scalability, and features that go far beyond phone calls, VoIP apps are a clear winner for keeping up with clients.

The real question is which provider is best for your business? We did the heavy lifting so you can make an informed decision.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about the 13 best VoIP apps, including their prices, features, and limitations. We also explain how to choose the best platform so you can scale your business with fewer growing pains.

Comparing the 13 best VoIP apps

Here’s how the 13 best VoIP apps compare:

Provider	Starting price	Unlimited calling to US & Canada	SMS/MMS to US & Canada	Shared phone numbers	Additional phone numbers
OpenPhone	$15 per user per month	✓	✓	✓	$5 per number per month
Google Voice	$10 per user per month (plus $6 per month for a Google Workspace)	Unlimited calls to Canada from the US only	US customers only	Requires upgrade (ring groups only)	X
Aircall	$30 per user per month	✓	✓	✓	$6 per number per month
Dialpad	$15 per user per month	✓	X	✓	$5 per number per month for local numbers, $15 per number per month for international and toll-free numbers
Grasshopper	$14 per month	✓	Local numbers only	X	$9 per number per month
Zoiper Softphone	Free for personal use	Requires upgrade	Requires upgrade	Requires a VoIP provider or PBX	Requires a VoIP provider or PBX
Ooma	$19.95 per user per month	✓	Requires upgrade	✓	Starts at $9.99 per number per month
Vonage	$13.99 per user per month (1-year contract)	✓	✓	Requires upgrade or $4.99 add-on for each call group	Starts at $4.99 per number per month
RingCentral	$20 per user per month	✓	25 messages per user per month	✓	$4.99 per number per month
Nextiva	$18.95 per user per month	✓	X	✓	Requires the purchase of an additional user seat
Skype	Free for personal use	Other Skype users only	Other Skype users only	X	X
Viber	Free for personal use	Other Viber users only	Other Viber users only	X	X
WhatsApp	Free for personal use	Other WhatsApp users only	Other WhatsApp users only	X	X

Keep reading for the breakdown of each app’s pros, cons, and key features.

Pros

• Unlimited calls to Canada and the US
• Shared numbers
• AI action items, call summaries, and instant transcripts
• Quick context in a single-view inbox
• 5,000 third-party app integrations

Cons

• No verification through two-factor authentication*

*Nearly all virtual phone numbers share this problem. For safety reasons, companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google rarely let you authenticate accounts through a virtual phone number.

OpenPhone is a VoIP phone system focused on startups, small businesses, and individuals. Our intuitive platform makes it easy to manage conversations and build better relationships with your customers.

With OpenPhone, you can make unlimited VoIP calls and send SMS and MMS messages to anyone in the US or Canada. You can also collaborate with your team using shared phone numbers, which helps everyone on your team split responsibility for incoming calls.

OpenPhone was designed to grow alongside your business. You can put unlimited users on any plan — you’re not forced to upgrade to a higher-tier plan due to your team being large. You also get one free local or toll-free number for every new member on your plan. Since these numbers work on almost any device, you (and your team) can work from anywhere with an internet connection.

OpenPhone makes automating and integrating with your tech stack simple, efficient, and straightforward. You can connect with thousands of apps and set up Zapier workflows to send appointment reminders, automate emails, and push customer data to your CRM.

The cherry on top is our hassle-free platform: it takes just 15 minutes to sign up for an account. We also make it easy to port in existing numbers so you can get up and running without confusing your customers.

Want to see why thousands of users have rated OpenPhone the #1 small business platform? You can confirm OpenPhone is a fit for your team by signing up for a free seven-day trial.

Key features of OpenPhone

• Text messages (SMS and MMS) to the US and Canada
• Send scheduled messages, snippets, and auto-replies to streamline texting
• AI call summaries and action items
• Local or toll-free numbers
• VoIP call forwarding
• Call recording
• IVR (auto-attendant)
• Shared phone numbers and group messaging
• Voicemail transcriptions
• Integrations for email, CRM, Slack, and Zapier

OpenPhone pricing

OpenPhone offers three different plans that scale as your business does. You only need to upgrade when you’re ready for more — there are no intro prices and no hidden fees.

• Starter: $15 per user per month for calls and texts in the US and Canada, desktop and mobile apps (both Google Play and the App Store), internal threads and mentions, and more
• Business: $23 per user per month for analytics, call transfers, AI call transcriptions, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations, and more
• Enterprise: Custom price for audit logs, priority support, and a dedicated account manager

2. Google Voice: Best for Google Workspace users

Pros

• Free plan for personal use
• Integrations with G-Suite tools

Cons

• No toll-free numbers
• No auto-replies
• No third-party integrations

You’re probably familiar with Google Voice: it’s a simple VoIP phone system offering plans for personal and business use. However, the free personal plan supports just one phone number and one user. If you plan on reaching customers effectively, you’ll need Google Voice for business.

There’s not much to get excited about with Google Voice for business. The base plan comes with voicemail transcriptions, texts in the US and Canada, and integrations with other Google tools (like Calendar and Meet). Unfortunately, it’s missing critical features modern businesses need. You won’t have access to toll-free numbers, auto-replies, or external integrations like Zapier or Slack.

Because Google Voice is such a large platform, it’s often slow to innovate. Case in point: the last major update to Google Voice was back in 2016. You’ll be waiting for a while to see any new or exciting features.

Pricing is another major limitation. Google Voice’s business plans look inexpensive at first, but it’s a different story once you add up the Google Workspace subscription. Unless you’re already a subscriber, you’ll pay at least $6 extra per user per month. This means the cheapest price you’ll pay is $16 per user per month, which adds up quickly for a growing team.

Key features of Google Voice

• Unlimited domestic calls and text messages
• Support for desk phones (requires upgrade)
• Voicemail transcriptions
• Google Workspace integrations

Google Voice pricing

• Starter: $10 per user per month for unlimited domestic calls, voicemail transcriptions, and more
• Standard: $20 per user per month for multi-level auto attendants, ring groups, and desk phone support
• Premier: $30 per user per month for advanced reporting via BigQuery

Don’t forget to add $6 per user per month to every plan for the Google Workspace subscription.

3. Aircall: Best for international numbers

Pros

• International numbers in 100+ countries
• Unlimited international calls (requires upgrade)

Cons

• User minimums
• Expensive add-ons
• Limited SMS/MMS features

Aircall offers cloud phone software designed for businesses with a global presence. You can purchase local numbers in more than 100 countries, and if you upgrade to the highest tier, you’ll unlock unlimited international calls.

But if you’re not expanding in overseas markets, Aircall might not make sense for your business.

For example:

• Every Aircall plan requires you to have three or more users, which means the base plan actually costs $90 per month.
• Analytics+ is a pricey add-on, starting at $15 per license per month.
• You won’t have access to international texting outside the UK, Australia, and France. You’re also limited to 4,000 outbound messages per user per month. MMS is restricted to the US and Canada, meaning you won’t be able to send photos, videos, and other files elsewhere. 

Aircall’s high upfront costs are a dealbreaker for most small businesses. Even with its high price, it lacks essential features most businesses need to grow.

Learn more about the platform and other Aircall alternatives here.

Key features of Aircall

• WiFi calls
• Video conferencing
• Unlimited international calls
• IVR
• Call recording
• Dedicated account manager (requires upgrade)
• Salesforce integration (requires upgrade)

Aircall pricing

• Essentials (three-license minimum: $30 per license per month for unlimited calls within the US and Canada, call recording, click-to-dial, SMS, and IVR
• Professional (three-license minimum): $50 per license per month for mandatory call tagging, call monitoring, advanced analytics, and a Salesforce integration

Custom (25-license minimum): Custom quote for unlimited international calls, custom onboarding, and analytics

4. Dialpad: Best for AI features

Pros

• AI features on every plan
• Free AI video meetings plan

Cons

• User minimums for Pro and Enterprise plans
• International texts and auto-replies require an upgrade
• Toll-free numbers require an add-on
• SMS is limited to 250 messages per month

Among the best VoIP apps, Dialpad is geared toward sales teams with features like conference calls and the ability to toggle calls between devices. They also offer performance-enhancing tools like AI speech coaching, which can help agents communicate more effectively with customers.

Dialpad’s call quality is usually excellent, and its prices are fairly competitive at first glance. However, Dialpad has ways of making you pay more. For instance, you’ll pay separately for toll-free numbers even after an upgrade ($15 per number per month). You also can’t send international texts or set up auto-replies unless you upgrade.

The most frustrating aspect? Limited texts per user. No matter how much you upgrade, you can only send 250 messages per user per month (which is around eight texts per day).

Key features of Dialpad

• AI features on every plan
• IVR
• Call recording
• Google Workspace and Office 365 integrations
• Analytics
• Voicemail transcriptions

Dialpad pricing

• Standard: $15 per user per month for team messaging, visual voicemail, texting (SMS and MMS), and more
• Pro: $25 per user per month for 24/7 customer support, integrations with popular CRMs, access to a multi-level auto-attendant, and more

Enterprise: Custom quote for unlimited ring groups, guaranteed uptime, and unlimited office locations

5. Grasshopper: Best for phone number extensions

Pros

• Access to phone number extensions
• Unlimited users on every plan

Cons

• Expensive additional numbers
• No call recordings
• No third-party integrations

Grasshopper was designed to serve micro businesses like solopreneurs and small teams. Each plan comes with unlimited business calling and texting, as well as phone number extensions, so you can forward callers to a number of your choice.

Where Grasshopper falls short is with scaling your business. The True Solo plan only allows for a single user, phone number, and extension. Want to buy an additional phone number? You’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan first. And even if you do upgrade, additional numbers cost $9 per number per month — much higher than comparable VoIP platforms.

There are also several features you’ll never get with Grasshopper, like call recordings, integrations, and call transcriptions. This may be an obstacle as your business grows and you need additional headroom for business phone features.

Key features of Grasshopper

• Free calls and texts in the continental US (not Hawaii or Alaska)
• Call forwarding 
• Voicemail transcriptions
• Custom greetings

Grasshopper pricing

• True Solo: $14 per month for one user, one number, and one extension
• Solo Plus: $25 per month for unlimited users, one number, and three extensions
• Small Business: $55 per month for unlimited users, four numbers, and unlimited extensions

6. Zoiper Softphone: Best for PBX systems

Pros

• Add VoIP to your PBX system
• Free plan for personal users

Cons

• Free plan is limited to two calls per day
• Clunky, dated interface
• Steep learning curve
• Unreliable call quality

Zoiper Softphone is a VoIP solution that sets up a virtual phone number independently from your existing service provider. If you manage a SIP-based PBX system, for example, you can use Zoiper’s software development kit (SDK) to integrate with your existing hardware.

There are two different categories of Zoiper Softphone: a free version for personal use and a paid version for business use. We’re only focusing on the business plan here, which is known as Zoiper 5 PRO.

With Zoiper 5 PRO, you’ll have access to features like HD calls, call transfers, conference calls, and message encryption. However, you’ll also have to deal with a clunky, outdated interface. Some reviewers say it’s reminiscent of the MP3 player WINamp.

Even if you can get past Zoiper’s unintuitive interface, you’ll still have to put up with its extremely limited features. For example, the free version doesn’t provide more than two free calls per day. You also won’t have access to mission-critical features like SMS, voicemail, and instant contact adding without upgrading. 

Key features of Zoiper Softphone

• Auto-answering
• Call recording

• Call provisioning
• CRM integrations (requires upgrade)
• SMS (requires upgrade)

Zoiper Softphone pricing

Zoiper Softphone is free for personal use.

The business plan, Zoiper 5 PRO, costs $49.95 per license for teams of one to 99 users. This is a one-time purchase. You may get a volume discount for a team of 100 users or more.

You’ll also unlock the following features with Zoiper 5 PRO:

• Click-to-dial
• CRM integrations
• Desk phone support
• SMS
• Video calling
• More than two voice calls

7. Ooma: Best for overhead paging

Pros

• Plenty of features for physical offices
• Desk phone support

Cons

• Limited SMS features
• Desktop app calling features require an upgrade
• CRM integrations require an upgrade to the most expensive plan

Like Google Voice, Ooma is an older VoIP system serving businesses with physical offices. Each plan comes with intercom support, overhead paging, analog fax machine support, and similar features.

A few features serve modern businesses, including a virtual receptionist, call recording, and voice-to-text transcriptions. But Ooma’s most essential features require an upgrade. Text messaging, call recording, and voicemail transcriptions require the Pro plan, which starts at $24.95 per user per month.

Even if you do upgrade for texting, be prepared for its limitations. You only get 250 free messages per user per month on the Pro plan and 1,000 free messages per user per month on the Pro Plus plan. Every additional message comes with an undisclosed upcharge, which means you’ll have to contact sales for a quote.

Still think Ooma could work for your business? Keep in mind that features like video conferencing and the desktop app are only available on the Pro plan ($24.95 per user per month). Many comparable VoIP solutions offer these features on their basic plan at a more competitive price.

To summarize: Ooma’s base plan isn’t enough for most small businesses. If you’re looking for a VoIP app that can scale alongside your business, you may want to look for an Ooma alternative.

Key features of Ooma

• Mobile app
• Call forwarding
• One virtual fax number
• Voicemail
• Call logs

Ooma pricing

• Essentials: $19.95 per user per month for ring groups, virtual receptionists, email audio attachments, and more
• Pro: $24.95 per user per month for video conferencing, SMS support, the desktop app (with calling enabled), caller ID, and more
• Pro Plus: $29.95 per user per month for call queuing, hotdesking, HubSpot integration, and more

8. Vonage: Best for API

Pros

• API available
• Team messaging features

Cons

• No free trial
• Essential features require costly add-ons
• One-year contract required for new accounts

Vonage is one of the earliest companies to offer VoIP phone systems to small businesses. It offers the tried-and-true essential features you need in a business phone system, like calling support, mobile and desktop apps, and SMS/MMS support. If you’re looking for more ways to improve communications, there’s a customizable API so you can build a solution of your own.

But while Vonage comes with lots of bells and whistles, many of its best features come with hidden fees. Here are some features (or add-ons, as Vonage calls them) that cost extra:

• Automatic call recording: $49.99 per month
• Toll-free numbers: $39.99 per month
• Conference bridge: $15.99 per month

The costs can pile up quickly with Vonage’s already-expensive base plan. If you’re a smaller business, you might want to look for something more affordable.

Key features of Vonage

• Unlimited calling and SMS messages to US and Canadian numbers

• APIs for business communications
• Mobile and desktop apps

• Unlimited team messaging
• Call recording (only on the top-tier plan)

Vonage pricing

Vonage charges customers according to the number of users on their team. The more users you have, the less you pay. The fewer users you have, the more you pay.

Here’s what annual prices look like for teams of one to four users:

• Mobile: $13.99 per line per month for SMS and MMS, voicemail, and unlimited domestic calling
• Premium: $20.99 per line per month for team messaging, single sign-on, third-party integrations, and more
• Advanced: $27.99 per line per month for visual voicemail, call groups, and call recording (15 hours on-demand per month)

Keep in mind Vonage doesn’t offer a free trial. Plus, new accounts are required to sign up for a one-year contract. If Vonage isn’t a good fit, you won’t be able to cancel until the year is up.

9. RingCentral: Best for desk phone rentals

Pros

• Desk phone rental options
• Unified communications

Cons

• Limited SMS
• Limited toll-free minutes
• Limited storage space for conversation history

RingCentral is a leading VoIP service that offers standard and advanced features to enterprise users. If you own a brick-and-mortar business and aren’t ready to give up your landline, you can rent a VoIP-compatible desk phone directly from RingCentral.

While you could argue RingCentral is a ‘feature-rich’ platform, it limits its features to force you to upgrade. For example, the base plan only comes with:

• 100 pooled toll-free minutes per month
• 25 texts per user per month
• Limited storage for team messaging and call recordings

You’ll have to upgrade to the Ultra plan — nearly twice the cost of the base plan — for 10,000 pooled toll-free minutes, 200 texts per month, and unlimited storage for call recordings and files. This is still nowhere near enough for growing businesses.

If you want more room to grow, try a RingCentral alternative.

Key features of RingCentral

• Unlimited calling and SMS
• Voicemail-to-text transcriptions
• Integrations for Slack and CRMs
• VoIP apps for PC, Mac, Android, iOS, and web

RingCentral pricing

• Core: $20 per user per month for visual voicemail, IVR, API access, and more
• Advanced: $25 per user per month for automatic call recording, unlimited internet fax, call monitoring, and more
• Ultra: $35 per user per month for device analytics, unlimited storage, and more

10. Nextiva: Best for enterprise integrations

Pros

• Integrates with Microsoft and Oracle platforms
• Remote device management tools

Cons

• Limited toll-free minutes
• SMS requires upgrade
• Essential features missing from the base plan

Nextiva has grown to be one of the most widely used VoIP systems for contact centers and enterprise companies. Its Microsoft and Oracle integrations can help larger businesses keep their tech stacks connected.

But despite this, Nextiva still lags behind many of its competitors. It also locks must-have features behind pricey paywalls.

Just take a look:

• Essential features like call recording and voicemail transcription require an upgrade, which makes them too expensive for small businesses and pushes many teams to Nextiva alternatives.
• The base plan comes with 1,500 toll-free minutes per user per month, which equals just 50 minutes per day.
• SMS and MMS require the Professional plan ($22.95 per user per month).

If you’re an enterprise user and don’t mind spending more on a VoIP phone system, Nextiva may be a fit. But if you’re looking for a cost-effective system that’s easy to scale, Nextiva isn’t the best option.

Key features of Nextiva

• Unlimited voice and video calls

• Auto-attendant
• Caller ID
• Mobile and desktop apps
• Internet fax

Nextiva pricing

• Essential: $18.95 per user per month for calling, internet fax, voicemail, and some integrations (Microsoft and Google)
• Professional: $22.95 per user per month for texting, screen sharing, voicemail transcriptions, conference calling with 40 participants, and CRM integrations (Salesforce and HubSpot)
• Enterprise: $32.95 per user per month for unlimited recording (video conferencing and phone calls)

3 free (or almost free) VoIP apps

On a tight budget?

These apps may not support your business needs, but they’re still an initial option if you need a low-cost VoIP solution.

11. Skype: Best for video calling

Skype can seem like a decent free option for a startup. You can use this platform to manage video calls, voice calls, and SMS in a single app.

However, Skype lacks essential features most businesses require:

• You can’t make domestic calls to non-Skype users in the US without subscribing to their paid plan
• It’s not possible to send an MMS message outside the Skype network
• Skype lacks basic calling features like scheduled text messages

12. Viber: Best for free texting

Viber is a free VoIP app that’s not as popular in the US as it is in other parts of the world. You can make voice and video calls from almost any device and OS, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. 

You’ll have basic access to features like:

• Voice and video calls (including to international numbers)
• Group chats and calls
• Disappearing messages
• Stickers

Just keep in mind Viber doesn’t offer any other business-oriented features. You won’t have access to shared phone numbers, third-party integrations, or automated replies.

13. WhatsApp: Best for reaching international contacts

WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular VoIPs, with over two billion users in more than 180 countries. Its biggest claim to fame is free SMS. If you and your contacts have WhatsApp, texting won’t cost a dime.

If you plan on contacting customers for business purposes, you’ll have to sign up for WhatsApp for Business. Unfortunately, this comes with several limitations:

• You only get 1,000 free service conversations per month
• You’re charged for every conversation (aka message) in a 24-hour period
• You can’t store additional context on your business contacts

The kicker? WhatsApp doesn’t offer any price plans or upgrades. This means you’ll never have access to ‘real’ business features like call recording, shared phone numbers, or round-robin call queues.

How we ranked the best VoIP apps

We used a three-step process to rank the best VoIP service providers.

First, we analyzed all 13 apps with four criteria: functionality, cost-effectiveness, customer support, and call quality. 

Then, we looked at user reviews to better understand how each provider stacks up.

Finally, we put this data to the test by trialing all 13 platforms. We combined our findings with the rest of our research to create the product ranking you see above.

What exactly is a VoIP app?

A VoIP app is a software application that lets you call and text customers via an internet connection. Your VoIP provider will give you a unique phone number you can use from your computer and/or mobile device.

How to choose the best VoIP app for business

Investing in a VoIP system modernizes your business communications.

That said, not all platforms are equally useful.

Here are six things to look for while narrowing down your shortlist:

1. Multiple ways to streamline communication. The best VoIP apps offer features that streamline your everyday business communication. The best providers integrate with Zapier to automate parts of the communication process and pull client data from your CRM, eliminating the need to recreate data from scratch. They also offer time-saving features like snippets so you can respond to clients and team members quickly.

2. Access to cost-effective plans. You want to maximize value from each dollar invested in your business phone system. For this, you’ll need a system that’s low-cost and offers all the features your team needs. You’ll do your bottom line a favor and enable your business to communicate more effectively.

3. Compatibility with multiple devices. The best VoIP apps for iPhone, Android, and your computer are available across all your devices. Whether you’re working from a laptop or taking calls on your smartphone, you’ll have the flexibility to work wherever you want.

4. Ways to keep your personal number private. Using a personal phone number for business isn’t a good idea (unless you don’t mind receiving client calls outside of business hours). VoIP systems offer tools like an away voicemail greeting, so when clients call outside of business hours, they’ll hear a greeting before landing in your voicemail. 

5. Options to scale as your team grows. VoIP solutions should charge the same price per user, regardless of your team’s size. It should also be easy to add new numbers as you grow. Remember: you don’t need physical hardware to get a virtual phone number.

6. No limits on essential features. Your VoIP phone service should offer all the basic features — including unlimited calling, SMS/MMS, and call recording — on the base plan. There shouldn’t be arbitrary limits requiring you to upgrade, like ‘limited’ storage and pooled toll-free minutes.

OpenPhone: The best VoIP app for small businesses

Small businesses need a VoIP service that won’t break the bank but still offers business-specific features. That’s where OpenPhone comes in.

With OpenPhone, you’ll have access to features that help you follow up with every lead, capture and retain communication histories, and enable integrations with existing tools in your tech stack. We are a reliable and collaborative communication platform offering everything needed to get work done together.

Curious to see how we can transform your business?

Sign up for OpenPhone’s seven-day free trial today.

VoIP app FAQs