The essential business phone system buyer’s guide for 2023

Customers have a plethora of ways to contact your business today — from Instagram and Twitter DMs to chatbots and emails. However, the preferred method of contacting customer service is still over the phone — 72% of consumers reach out for help there — making a business phone system, by far, the most important line of communication between companies and their customers.

If you’ve looked into setting up a business phone, you’ve seen there are hundreds of options. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you. In this guide, we’ll explore the existing business phone landscape, dive into the costs associated with setting up a business line, and suggest a few contenders. Let’s dive in.

The business phone landscape

Before we explore the many business phone providers and feature to choose from, let’s start with some basics: the three main types of business phones available to you.

1. Desk phones

In the past, desk phones were often the default phone solution for businesses. However, personal cell phone ownership began to outpace landline usage over seven years ago. Businesses today are quickly following the same trajectory.

Small businesses that do opt for desk phones can expect upfront costs between $50 and $300 for each phone. That price increases for medium and large businesses.

2. Mobile phones

Many organizations choose to equip their employees with cell phones as their business phones — either letting employees use their own devices or getting them set up with company-issued devices. Each option has its pros and cons. For instance, a company-issued device can run you $1,234 per employee. Yikes! But before you think allowing staff to bring their own device is the way to go, make sure to have a rock-solid policy in place. 

Check out our article on letting your team bring their own devices vs company-issued ones for more considerations.    

3. Virtual numbers

A virtual phone number — also known as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) number — is a phone number that’s accessed via an internet connection, rather than a network connection.

Virtual numbers don’t require the use of a landline or cell tower to work, and they aren’t tied to a specific device. Instead, virtual numbers can be accessed from anywhere, on any device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) with an internet connection — whether that internet comes from a hardwired line, WiFi, or a data plan.

Virtual numbers are increasingly emerging as a popular option for businesses since they’re extremely cost-effective and easy to roll out to remote employees. And as you’ll learn in the next section, they also offer unique features that make it easy to set up, scale, and streamline your business communication. 

How much should I expect to pay for a business phone system?

If you opt for a desk phone system, there are a few costs that you should take into account. According to HomeAdvisor, the average upfront cost of installing a desk phone system ranges between $4,000 and $7,200. If you choose to install your own computer network to host your phone system on-site, you can expect to pay installation fees that range between $410 and $6,000. 

Month to month you can expect to pay your phone provider a subscription fee of $15 to $40 per user per month for hosting.

Now, what about other options? 

If you decide to provide your team with company-issued smartphones, you can expect to pay an average of $652 per year per employee. With a BYOD program, most companies reimburse each employee between $31 and $50 a month instead.

But for a virtual phone system, you can expect to pay anywhere between $10 and $40 per user per month. Generally, virtual phone systems charge by the user. However, some providers may not share additional fees upfront on their pricing page. For that reason, it’s best to verify costs before signing up.

In a nutshell, here’s how these costs compare side by side:

* This cost applies to company-issued devices. For BYOD programs, most companies reimburse employees between $31 and $50 a month.

7 key features of virtual business phone systems

Of course, just like with any other service, virtual business phone providers vary in the features they provide their customers. Below, we’ll run through a few common features to look out for.

1. Business number porting

Generally, if you have a set business number, you don’t want to change it. After all, that’s how clients get in touch with you. (Trust me — as someone who grew up with a phone number that was a single digit off from the local Domino’s Pizza number, I can confirm customers rarely update their phone books.)

Fortunately, most virtual phone providers let you port your existing number to their system. Some let you move an existing number over for free, while others charge for this feature.

2. No installation fees

Accessing your virtual phone number is as simple as downloading your provider’s app on your phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop (or using the provider’s app in browser). That means, unlike desk phone systems, you can avoid spending hundreds of dollars on installation fees.

3. Fast onboarding

With a desk phone, it can be days or weeks before a provider can set you up with a network connection and the phones you need. Likewise, if you opt to give employees company-issued cell phones, you have to wait for phones to be delivered before you’re up and running.

With a virtual number, you can be set up in mere minutes. Just sign up, select a phone number, and download a provider’s app to get started. Need more than one number? Not a problem — with the right provider, you can sign up for as many phone numbers as you need.

4. Available anywhere with WiFi

Just because your phone number is associated with an area code (except in the case of a toll-free number) doesn’t mean you have to pay roaming fees when you’re out of the country. You can use your virtual number from anywhere that has WiFi. 

This also means you can access your phone number from both your computer and your phone. If you prefer typing out texts on a keyboard, fire away — then switch to your cell phone when you’re on the go. It’s seamless.

5. Separate business and personal calls

When you use your personal phone for work, it can become hard to quickly see which calls are personal versus business. The best virtual number providers make it instantly clear if a call is meant for your cell or business number.

6. Unlimited phone numbers

With a virtual phone system, you can set up as many numbers as you need for your business. For example, equipping individual team members with numbers, creating unique lines for separate teams, or supporting different locations. A virtual phone system is flexible enough to grow alongside your business.

7. More value

The average desk phone costs companies between $50 and $300 a month, and an employee’s company-issued cell phone costs an average of $102 each month. A virtual number, however, costs as little as $10 per month.

Top virtual phone providers and their offers, compared

What you need to know about the top 13 business phone system providers

1. OpenPhone

OpenPhone is a modern business phone system that can scale with you as your business grows. If you’re looking to communicate efficiently with your customers, OpenPhone gives you a simple, but powerful app you can use from your computer or smartphone. 

OpenPhone’s Standard plan provides users with free calling and texting to the US and Canada from anywhere. Each phone number can have set business hours so your customers have clear expectations for when you’re available.

Compared to other business phone solutions, following up with anyone is much simpler. OpenPhone lets you see all call recordings, text messages, and voice messages with a contact in a single view, so you always have the context you need to build better relationships with your customers.

With OpenPhone, teams can call and text from shared phone numbers. Team members can even work together behind the scenes using internal threads on client calls and messages. Repetitive tasks — like logging phone communication in your CRM or texting clients appointment reminders — can be automated through our integrations to platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier.

Key features

• Free calling and texting
• Each user comes with one US, Canadian, or toll-free number included
• Shared phone numbers
• SMS and MMS messaging (go ahead — include a GIF!)
• Phone menus
• Business hour settings
• Several automated texting options, including auto-replies, snippets, and scheduled messages
• Integrations to popular platforms like Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Gong, Google Contacts, Webhooks, Zapier, and more

Pricing

• Standard: $13 per user per month
• Premium: $20 per user per month to access call transfers, analytics, CRM integrations, and more
• Enterprise: Contact us for more information
  
  Try out OpenPhone by signing up for a free, seven-day trial.

2. Google Voice for Google Workspace

Since Google Voice has a free version available to individuals, it’s often the first business phone system small business owners consider. However, Google Voice’s free version is meant for personal use only. It doesn’t offer key features like business hours, phone menus, or shared numbers. The other catch: it’s also only available in the United States.

Google Voice for Google Workspace is Google’s phone system built for businesses. To sign up for it, you need to live in one of the 14 countries where it’s available and own a Google Workspace account ($6 per user per month). Its Starter plan only accommodates up to 10 users; if your team grows larger than that, you’ll need to upgrade to their Standard or higher plan ($20 per user per month).

Key features

• Free unlimited calling to the US from anywhere
• Free unlimited calling to Canada (from the US only)
• Free unlimited texting (in the US only)
• Google Calendar and Google Meet integrations
• Call recordings (upgrade required)
• Ring groups (upgrade required)
• Phone menus (upgrade required)

Pricing

• Starter: $10 per user per month (maximum of 10 users)
• Standard: $20 per user per month to access on-demand call recordings, ring groups, and phone menus
• Premier: $30 per user per month to access automatic call recordings and advanced reporting

3. RingCentral

RingCentral originally got its start as a business phone provider back in 1999 and remains a leading provider today. RingCentral’s MVP product provides companies with business or toll-free numbers. Once you get beyond its Essentials plan, RingCentral’s services offer a few bells and whistles that are stuck in ’99, including access to internet fax and call barging.

While RingCentral is a popular VoIP phone system, many of its key features — such as integrations, call recordings, and unlimited messaging — remain locked behind higher-tier plans, making it a pricier solution. 

If your business frequently uses text messaging, it’s important to note RingCentral’s Essentials plan only includes 25 free texts per user per month. To send more, users need to either upgrade to a higher-tier plan or pay extra fees. RingCentral also limits the number of text messages teams can store in the app itself, only saving up to 5,000 text messages for each user.

While RingCentral has a long history in the business phone world, some customers find the company’s customer service lacking:

Key features

• Free unlimited calls in the US and Canada
• One free US, Canadian, or toll-free number per user
• Phone menus (upgrade required)
• Call recordings (upgrade required)
• Integrations with Slack, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Zendesk, and more (upgrade required)
• Video meetings supported (upgrade required)

Pricing

• Essentials: $19.99 per user per month (maximum of 20 users)
• Standard: $27.99 per user per month to access phone menus, on-demand call recordings, and integrations to Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and more
• Premium: $34.99 per user per month to access automatic call recordings, analytics, call whisper, CRM integrations, and RingCentral APIs (requires a minimum of 3 users)
• Ultimate: $49.99 per user per month to access unlimited storage, device monitoring, and device status reports

4. Dialpad

Dialpad offers users a unified communications platform that includes VoIP calling, text messaging, and video conferencing tools. Their platform primarily offers features intended for contact centers, including live speech coaching and other AI solutions.

Unfortunately, some key business phone features aren’t available on Dialpad’s Standard plan. For instance, the option for users to access additional numbers is only available if you upgrade to the Pro plan — which can be a problem if you want to, for instance, have separate phone lines for your customer support and sales teams. Texting internationally and any integrations beyond Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 also require you to pay for an upgraded plan with Dialpad. 

Key features

• Unlimited SMS and MMS messaging to the US and Canada (for US & Canadian customers only)
• Live speech coaching and other call center AI solutions
• Call recording (upgrade required)
• Auto-replies (upgrade required)
• Webhooks and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack, and Microsoft Teams (upgrade required)
• Queue priority (upgrade required)

Pricing

• Standard: $15 per user per month (maximum of 3 users on a shared number; no additional numbers allowed)
• Pro: $25 per user per month (minimum of 3 users) to access additional numbers, international texting, call transferring, auto-replies, and integrations to Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Microsoft Teams, and Slack
• Enterprise: custom pricing (100-user minimum) to access dial by extension, priority support, and 100% uptime

5. Ooma

Ooma is a small business phone system that you can either integrate with Ooma’s desk phone offerings or use on their mobile and desktop apps. It can be a good solution for businesses that want employees to be able to use both an on-premise desk phone and a cell phone to carry out their work.

However, you may miss out on key features with Ooma out of the box. Call recording, voicemail transcriptions, and the use of integrations are all only available with Ooma’s more expensive Pro plan ($24.95 per month). Access to Ooma’s desktop is also limited to Pro users. If you need more than one toll-free number, these are more expensive compared to other providers ($9.95 per number per month).

Key features

• Unlimited calling in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico
• SMS texting in the US and Canada
• Mobile app (desktop app requires upgrade)
• Call recordings (upgrade required)
• Ring groups
• Phone menus (upgrade required)

Pricing

• Office Essentials: $19.95 per user per month
• Office Pro: $24.95 per user per month to access Ooma’s desktop app, phone menus, call recording, voicemail transcriptions, Google and Office 365 integrations, and video meetings
• Office Pro Plus: $29.95 per user per month to access reporting, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrations, and automatic call distribution

6. Vonage

Another legacy provider, Vonage has been in business for over 20 years. Vonage offers users many of the standard features that you’d expect from a business phone provider. However, several key features — including phone menus, voicemail transcriptions, and call recordings — are only available as paid add-ons or as part of their higher-tier plans. It may be best to chat with their sales team before signing up to avoid any surprise fees.

Another thing to note with Vonage: they require businesses to commit to a one-year contract when signing up. Most of the alternatives in this guide will give you a price cut with annual pricing, but will happily take you on month-to-month.

Key features

• Unlimited calling and SMS messaging in the US and Canada
• Team messaging
• Meetings with up to 100 participants (upgrade required)
• Phone menus (upgrade required)
• CRM integrations (upgrade required)
• Call recordings (upgrade required)
• Voicemail transcriptions (upgrade required)

Pricing

The price Vonage charges you per user depends on your team’s size. The following pricing is for teams of one to four users:

• Mobile: $19.99 per user per month
• Premium: $29.99 per user per month to access phone menus, CRM integrations, and desk phone compatibility
• Advanced: $39.99 per user per month to access voicemail transcriptions, call groups, and on-demand call recordings

7. Nextiva

Nextiva aims to bring all business communication under one roof, including phone, SMS, video, and email. If you’re looking for an integrated solution for both internal and external communication, Nextiva may be a good fit.

However, some users on G2 report that it can be hard to get Nextiva up and running quickly, and that customer service can be unreliable:

As a platform, Nextiva offers up a solid number of bells and whistles. There’s a catch though: key features like voicemail transcriptions, call recordings, and texting via Nextiva’s mobile app are locked behind higher tiers.

Key features

• Unlimited calling in the United States and Canada
• Internet fax
• Phone menus
• SMS and MMS messaging (upgrade required)
• Integrations with Microsoft Outlook and Google Contacts and Calendar
• CRM integrations (upgrade required)
• Call recording (upgrade required)
• Voicemail transcriptions (add-on required)

Pricing

Similar to Vonage, Nextiva’s price per user depends on your team size. The following pricing is for teams of one to four users:

• Essential: $23.95 per user per month
• Professional: $27.95 per user per month to access texting, CRM integrations, and conference calling
• Essential: $37.95 per user per month to access call recordings and video conference recordings

8. GoTo Connect

GoTo Connect provides customers with a VoIP phone and virtual meeting system. Similar to Nextiva, it aims to consolidate internal and external communication on a single platform.

While GoTo Connect has some strong business phone features (such as integrations with Zoho and Zendesk), the system can take some legwork to configure. Texting needs to be manually activated and is only available to customers in the US and Canada. 

Another thing to consider is that if you have a toll-free number, you’ll likely want to upgrade to GoTo Connect’s higher-tier plans — otherwise you’ll be charged $.03 per toll-free minute.

Key features

• SMS and MMS messaging (requires activation; available to US & Canadian customers only)
• Unlimited extensions
• Integrations with Google Workspace and Microsoft Outlook
• Conference calling
• Integrations with Zoho, Zendesk, and Salesforce (upgrade required)
• Phone menus (upgrade required)
• Ring groups (upgrade required to set more than one group)
• Free international calling to 50+ countries (upgrade required)

Pricing

GoTo Connect’s price per user depends on your team size. The following pricing is for teams of two to ten users:

• Basic: $24 per user per month (A maximum of 20 users allowed on this plan)
• Standard: $29 per user per month to access call recordings, paging, 1,000 toll-free minutes, and free international calling to 50+ countries

9. Phone.com

Phone.com does a good job of providing customers with a basic and affordable VoIP business phone system. Like other providers, it’s equipped with features like voicemail to email, call routing functions, video conferencing, and conference calling. For a solopreneur, Phone.com’s setup might be sufficient. Keep in mind if you have multiple users, all phone calls and text messages route to separate inboxes, which can make it hard to deliver a seamless customer experience.

If you use Phone.com, you’ll also want to make sure that you don’t end up paying extra for add-ons that you need. Their basic plan pools minutes and text segments across a team’s users, and it doesn’t support MMS messaging. The basic plan also only comes with a single phone number included, so if your teammates each need their own phone numbers, you can expect to pay $15.99 per month to sign up for a second number and an additional user via their Plus plan. 

On top of that, shared numbers are an additional $5 per month, call recordings cost $8 per month (unless you upgrade to their Pro plan), and inbound faxing costs $4.99 per month.

Key features

• Unlimited calling (upgrade required)
• Emergency 911 calls (via mobile app)
• Conference calling
• Call logs
• Shared phone numbers ($5 per month)
• Voicemail transcriptions (upgrade required)
• Call recordings ($8 per month or upgrade to Pro)
• CRM integrations (upgrade required)

Pricing

One upside to Phone.com is that it allows teams to mix and match plans across users depending on the functionality that they each need. Again, keep in mind though the Basic plan may lead to additional fees as there is a cap on total minutes and text messages. 

• Basic users: $11.99 per user per month
• Plus users: $15.99 per user per month to access unlimited calling, voicemail transcriptions, HIPAA-compliant video conferencing, and desk phone compatibility
• Pro users: $23.99 per user per month to access CRM integrations, call analytics, and free call recording

10. Grasshopper

Grasshopper is another legacy VoIP service that’s fairly popular among small businesses. It offers users several key features, like phone menus, voicemail transcriptions, and auto-replies.

Considering that it’s on the pricier side for VoIP plans, it also has a few limitations. Grasshopper’s base plan is expensive at $28 per month, especially since the plan only includes one phone number and three extensions. Additional numbers are $10 per month, which can add up quickly if team members need their own numbers. Teams also have to pay an extra $10 per month if they’d like to share responsibility for incoming calls.

Grasshopper also lacks call recordings and international texting and lacks the integrations most businesses need to save time automating repetitive tasks.

Key features

• Local texting (international texting isn’t available; MMS texting isn’t available with toll-free numbers)
• Voicemail transcriptions
• Phone menus
• Auto-replies
• Call transfers
• Simultaneous ring (additional $10 per month)

Pricing

• Solo: $28 per month for one number and three extensions
• Partner: $46 per month for three numbers and six extensions
• Small business: $80 per month for five numbers and eight extensions

11. GoDaddy Smartline

GoDaddy Smartline is a barebones second-number solution for both business and personal use. While GoDaddy Smartline’s price point is similar to those of other VoIP providers, Smartline falls short in terms of the features it offers users.

GoDaddy Smartline — unlike other business phone solutions — doesn’t use WiFi to place calls. Instead, it relies on your cellular phone network to make and receive calls. This means the Smartline plan uses your existing cell phone plan’s minutes to make and receive calls. It also means that GoDaddy Smartline will only work on a cell phone, rather than a desktop.

Calling is also limited to within the United States.

Key features

• Calls placed through your existing cellular plan (calls cannot be made outside of the US)
• SMS texting (MMS not available with toll-free numbers)
• Business hours

Pricing

• US local number: $11.99 per month
• North American toll-free number: $21.99 per month

12. Verizon One Talk

One Talk is Verizon’s add-on VoIP service that can be tacked onto Verizon’s traditional business phone plans. One Talk offers a few key features, like unlimited calls and texts (in the US), call forwarding, and conference calls. But if you’d like more meaningful features from your business phone provider — like phone menus or the ability to use One Talk on your cell phone or desk phone — you’ll need to upgrade to One Talk’s higher-tier plans. 

To learn about pricing for features like auto attendant or call queue, you need to reach out to a Verizon sales rep.

And if you’re not based in the United States, keep scrolling — One Talk is currently only available to businesses in the US.

Key features

• Unlimited calling and texting in the US
• Voicemail transcriptions (upgrade required)
• CRM integrations (upgrade required)
• Phone menus (add-on)

Pricing

• Standard: $15 per user per month
• Plus: $19 per user per month to access video meetings
• Pro: $29 per user per month to access CRM integrations, voicemail transcriptions, and caller ID

13. eVoice

Similar to GoDaddy Smartline, eVoice isn’t a true virtual number solution. Instead of using VoIP, it forwards calls and texts to your existing device — meaning users need to have an existing phone service before they can use eVoice.

eVoice only offers users one plan, which includes a few basic features, like unlimited calls (if your phone’s existing plan offers unlimited calls), auto attendant, and call forwarding.

Unfortunately, users have to pay extra for premium features, such as voicemail transcription, call recording, international numbers, and text messaging — yet the prices of those features aren’t shared upfront by eVoice. 

To get a quote for eVoice’s premium features, you’ll need to reach out to eVoice directly.

Key features

• Unlimited calls
• Phone menus
• Conference calling
• Voicemail transcriptions (add-on)
• Call recordings (add-on)

Pricing

eVoice only has one plan ($14 per user per month) available with the option to pay $12 per user per month if you commit annually.

Can I use my existing number with a virtual phone system?

Yes! You simply need to port it over. Read this article on porting a number to learn how.

Get started with OpenPhone: The best business phone system

Finding the perfect virtual phone system for your business needs clearly isn’t easy. However, here at OpenPhone, we’ve built a scalable phone solution that gives you the most features at a reasonable price — allowing you to start where you are and grow with you.

From startups to enterprises, our clients rely on us to streamline communication across their companies:

“It’s just a no-brainer to use OpenPhone — especially if you have business lines that are external-facing and you have multiple people answering phone calls or texting,” says Amir Ghorbani, CEO at Swoop.

Start your free trial of OpenPhone today to see for yourself.

Kenza Moller

Kenza is a freelance writer who covers B2B SaaS, the future of work, and psychology. Away from her keyboard, you can find her running, biking, and enjoying live music.