The 15 best Google Voice alternatives for 2023

If you’ve ever looked for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, you’ve come across Google Voice. However, other business phone options can help you build stronger relationships with your customers and save your team time. In this guide, we’ll break down the best Google Voice alternatives.

What you should know about Google Voice

When you’re just launching a small business or a startup, it might make sense to use Google Voice because it’s free and your expenses are likely tight. As your business grows, you might notice some limitations to the free and even some paid tiers of Voice, including:

• All voicemails, calls, and text messages live in separate inboxes, making it difficult to catch up on conversations
• No integrations with any apps except tools in Google Workspace
• Texting is only available to US customers
• You can only forward texts to the email address associated with your Google Voice account
• No customer support from Google
• No toll-free numbers or vanity numbers
• No signups outside of the US (on the free version of Google Voice)
• No auto-reply texting, making it more difficult to set expectations outside of your business hours
• No auto-attendant or IVR features
• No ability to share a business phone number with your team
• Call recording for Google Workspace accounts is only available on their higher tier plans ($20 per user per month for ad-hoc recording and $30 per user per month for auto-recording of all your calls)
• Poor call quality

Ideally, you want a phone system that can grow as your business grows. For business owners, you want a business phone service that allows you to stop using your personal phone number for work-related phone calls or text messages. 

If you search for a Google Voice alternative, you’ll see that other VoIP services offer far more advanced functionality. Even searches on Reddit and Quora show results for many different Google Voice alternatives.

So, if you’re looking for a Google Voice alternative, you’re not the only one.

Google Voice for Google Workspace pricing

Let’s say you’ve determined that the free version of Google Voice won’t meet your needs. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to enjoy essential business features (call recording, phone menus, ring groups, etc.) without setting up a Google Workspace account first. 

You’ll be paying a minimum $6 per user per month for Google Workspace. 

After purchasing a Google Workspace account, you can add one of the following Google Voice plans. 

Here’s more on how each of these Google Voice plans compare:

Each plan includes free calls to the US from anywhere, VoIP call forwarding, voicemail transcription, and other basic calling features. 

However, key features are missing and lead businesses to Google Voice alternatives. As mentioned, most notably, texting is only available to US customers with Google Voice.

Consider also whether you need a toll-free or vanity number, shared numbers, or integration with non-Google apps before you choose Google Voice.

Best Google Voice alternatives

The best Google Voice alternatives for 2023 are:

• OpenPhone
• RingCentral
• Nextiva
• Telzio
• Ooma
• Ringblaze
• Sideline
• Freshdesk
• JustCall
• Grasshopper
• Dialpad
• Skype
• Phone.com
• Aircall
• Vonage

While there are some advantages to using Google Voice for your business, there are better business phone solutions that:

• can save your team time
• integrate with the tools you already use
• give you more bang for your buck

Google Voice isn’t a sustainable phone option — especially if your business is growing — due to its lack of features around call handling, call forwarding and routing, virtual number sharing, and more. These 15 VoIP providers can serve as a replacement for Google Voice and provide the business phone features your team needs.

1. OpenPhone: The Google Voice alternative for growing teams

For small businesses and startups, a service like OpenPhone is a highly-rated alternative with thousands of happy users. 📱 And it’s even one of the most cost-effective options on this list!

OpenPhone is a phone solution that your sales, operations, and customer support teams — among others — can easily use to manage inbound calls and SMS messages together. 

Using the platform, multiple members of your team can access a shared business phone number and collaborate on conversations through comments. And when teammates use different numbers, calls can be routed or forwarded to the right person with just a few taps.

If you want to create a call center for your business or a dedicated customer service line, OpenPhone gives you the capability that Google Voice lacks. And when a customer calls, the platform even functions as a lightweight CRM, providing information about the client — though you also can connect with HubSpot or Salesforce for even better context.

OpenPhone also supports Canadian calling and offers local Canadian phone numbers (in addition to US local numbers and toll-free numbers), allowing you to easily operate in or expand your business to Canada. 🍁

The following features are included as well:

• US and international calling — with free calling and text messaging to any US or Canadian numbers
• Voicemail transcription
• Auto-attendant (IVR)
• Crystal-clear audio quality
• Can set business hours
• Multiple phone numbers tied to one account
• Works on iPhones, Android phones, desktops, and web browsers
• Dedicated customer support

OpenPhone pricing plans

OpenPhone offers transparent pricing and some of the best rates in the game for must-have business phone features.

• Standard: Starting at $13 per user per month for shared phone numbers, auto-attendant, free calls and texts in the US and Canada, and dozens of ways to streamline your business’ phone communication
• Premium: Starting at $20 per user per month adds call transferring, CRM integrations, analytics, and more advanced features
• Enterprise: Custom-fit solutions with custom-fit pricing

Try out OpenPhone for yourself by signing up for a free, seven-day trial.

What customers are saying about OpenPhone

“I messaged OpenPhone about potentially porting over a Google Voice number and they let me know that it could be done & how to initiate the process. I set up a temporary number in OpenPhone and took the plunge. A week later, and my number was in OpenPhone and working as expected (actually better than expected, given my Google Voice headaches).” – Nicholas Bentley, CEO @ Merus

How to switch and port your number from Google Voice

Want to switch from Google Voice to OpenPhone? Here’s how easy it is:

1. Create an OpenPhone account.
2. Unlock your Google Voice number if you’re on Google Voice’s free plan (Note: Google charges a one-time $3 fee to transfer your number away from Google Voice.) or follow these instructions to port a number away from Google Voice for Google Workspace
3. Submit your porting request through the OpenPhone app.

What makes OpenPhone a great alternative?

OpenPhone can scale with your business as your team grows. Here are a few key reasons former Google Voice customers switch to OpenPhone: 

• Call recordings, texts, and voicemail with each contact are in a single view for faster follow up
• Teams can work together from shared numbers
• Integrations with Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier save time on repetitive tasks and give teams more context
• Toll-free numbers and US or Canadian numbers support geographically dispersed clientele
• Features like auto-replies, snippets, and scheduled text messages help build relationships with customers over texts
• A dedicated address book provides details about incoming calls

 These are just a few ways OpenPhone helps professional teams operate and collaborate more efficiently — and build better relationships with customers.

Learn more about OpenPhone

2. RingCentral

RingCentral is one of the older business phone solutions available, offering services that are accessible both online and with compatible desk phones. The platform has dozens of options, from basic call management and SMS options to a contact center add-on for your customer support teams. However, getting what you need without paying for many other bells and whistles can be difficult with RingCentral.  

All RingCentral plans include essential features like toll-free numbers, unlimited calls within the US and Canada, SMS, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, and document sharing. But you must read the fine print carefully to avoid hidden fees. For example, their base plan only lets you send 25 text messages per user per month to anyone in the US or Canada. Anything beyond that you’re paying extra. 

RingCentral also has limitations as far as storing your conversations (unless you pay for their most expensive plan). Here are a few examples:

• Call recordings are deleted after 90 days
• Up to 200 on-demand call recordings can be stored per user
• Users are limited to storing up to 5,000 messages total

If you’re a small business or a startup, prepare yourself for sticker shock. 

RingCentral pricing plans

While you can access advanced features with RingCentral, it gets downright pricey. Their sliding scale according to the number of users only decreases if you have 100 or more users on your plan  

• Essentials: $32.99 per user per month; up to 20 users
• Standard: $40.99 per user per month; adds on-demand call recordings, video conferencing, integrations to Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, 24/7 support, etc. 
• Premium: $47.99 per user per month; adds an open API, automatic call recording, real-time analytics, CRM integrations, etc. 
• Ultimate: $62.99 per user per month; adds device status reports and alerts and unlimited storage

What customers are saying about RingCentral

“Clunky and outdated user interface. Lack of support both while as a customer and when trying to transition to a better provider. They refuse to help port our numbers.” (Review from G2)

“The support is little to none when something goes wrong. Salespeople give you much attention but account managers pay you no attention once signed up.” (Review from Capterra) 

“I wouldn’t say I like the Ring Central’s price. The price is enormous when used in a smaller company, and it is not much change in a large company. There should be some discounts for more licenses.” (Review from G2)

What makes RingCentral a great alternative?

Key differences that make RingCentral a great alternative to Google Voice include: 

• More comprehensive business phone features
• Flexible pricing (even if it’s a bit complicated and expensive)
• Configurable call handling, making collaboration easier
• Shared numbers are included in the base plan 
• Over 200 integrations

You can learn more about how RingCentral and Google Voice compare, but with a starting price of $32.99 (for basic features), small businesses and startups may find RingCentral too expensive. As an FYI, OpenPhone’s Standard plan provides more features, a modern user interface, and a better price point than RingCentral.

Learn more about RingCentral

3. Nextiva

Nextiva is a VoIP phone service that supports calls in the United States and Canada. Though it does offer a number of business communication features that Google Voice does not, such as auto-attendant and customer support, it may not be the perfect fit for small businesses and startups.

Nextiva pricing plans

Nextiva isn’t super transparent about pricing. Upon jumping on their pricing page, you may be impressed by a low $18.95 per user per month rate. But when you want to pay monthly (instead of committing to an annual plan) and let them know you have a small team, your starting prices are bumped up significantly.

• Essential: $30.95 per user per month for auto-attendant and unlimited voice and video calls
• Professional: $35.95 per user per month for CRM integrations and unlimited SMS (finally)
• Enterprise: $45.95 per user per month for call recording and call analytics

What customers are saying about Nextiva

“Their pricing and contracts all but force you to stick with them long term or pay an arm and a leg to leave.” (Review from Capterra)

“Unreliable phone service (calls not going through), and poor customer service when reporting issues.” (Review from G2)

“Auto attendant was not set up as planned. Text messages were not working. CRM not working. I spent days asking to fix things but each time more problems and more things did not work. We were running in circles with the problems. The waiting time for support was up to 50 minutes. They usually were not able to fix the issue but forwarded the case to the next level. I talked to the manager and he forwarded me to the technician. The technician forwarded my case again. I wrote an email to the manager but I did get a reply.” (Review from G2)

What makes Nextiva a great alternative?

Some larger companies end up with Nextiva as their platform offers integrations and video calling options. However, Nextiva only lets you text from their mobile app — and only if you upgrade to their Professional plan. Inspecting their plans further, you’ll see you’re paying far more to access key features like call recordings. 

While it’s a comprehensive service if you pay more, existing customers seek Nextiva alternatives because they can get better value and customer support elsewhere.

Learn more about Nextiva

3. Telzio

Telzio’s cloud-based phone solution offers local phone numbers in about 50 countries and allows you to bring unlimited users on board. This Google Voice alternative offers features like call recording, call analytics, toll-free numbers, and Zapier and Stripe integrations.

But while it is built for business use, it’s not built for companies that take a high volume of calls. Plus, it requires you to pay for 100% of the platform’s features — even the ones you don’t need.

Telzio pricing plans

Telzio sets their monthly pricing based on the amount of call minutes and text messages you want per month, so there are no traditional pricing tiers. Its lowest price is $50 per month, which includes 1,000 minutes per month (no rollover). To send text messages, you’ll need to purchase one of their monthly bundle packages with the option to send 250 messages starting at $13 per month.

What customers are saying about Telzio

“Interface hard to use, voicemails are easy to miss, customer support is suboptimal. … It appeared as an up and coming good product. A year later, it’s still in beta testing while VERY expensive.” (Review from Capterra)

“Customer service is terrible! They accidentally blocked my account so when I called them about the problem they said I should just open a new account.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Telzio a great alternative?

Here’s why you might want to consider Telzio instead of Google Voice:

• Pay-by-the-minute pricing structure supports low call volumes
• More integrations
• Coverage in over 250 countries
• Over 100 included features such as auto attendants, call recording, call analytics, and more 

Bottom line: Telzio is an all-in-one solution in terms of call center features, but it’s still not refined enough to justify the cost for businesses that make a lot of calls or send a lot of text messages.

Learn more about Telzio

4. Ooma

Ooma is a Google Voice alternative that supports calls in the US, Canada, and Mexico — though it only offers phone numbers that are local to the US. It’s available as a mobile app or as a desk phone service with all plans. However, Ooma lacks truly advanced features, even with its upgraded plan.

Ooma pricing plans

Ooma offers three fairly affordable pricing plans.

• Essentials: $19.95 per user per month for auto-attendants, call forwarding, and SMS messages
• Pro: $24.95 per user per month for call recording, voicemail transcriptions, video conferencing, analytics, and access to Ooma’s desktop app

Pro Plus: $29.95 per user per month, call queuing, CRM integrations, hot desking, and advanced call flows

What customers are saying about Ooma

“When it works, it does the job. But when it doesn’t, there is a major disruption to business and the perception of our clients is hurt. Wouldn’t really recommend this product unless you have a full-time IT person to manage it.” (Review from Capterra)

“The calls would always drop or the person on the other end wouldn’t be able to hear us. … The connectivity was a big issue.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Ooma a great alternative?

Here are a few things that make Ooma a solid alternative to Google Voice. 

• Integrations with non-Google products
• Toll-free numbers
• Features like virtual fax, call blocking, and overhead paging in their basic plan
• Shared phone numbers for teams

Ooma isn’t anything fancy. It may seem affordable on paper until you realize you’ll need to upgrade to use Ooma’s desktop app. You can get more features for nearly half the price with VoIP services like OpenPhone. Learn more about how these compare by checking out our Ooma vs Google Voice vs OpenPhone guide.

Learn more about Ooma

5. Ringblaze

Ringblaze is an affordable Google Voice alternative intended for sales and support teams. Ringblaze’s features are solely focused on helping you collaborate on calls with a shared dashboard, call recording, call assignments, and a click-to-call website widget for your customers — it doesn’t even offer text messaging. At least its pricing reflects its simplicity. 

Ringblaze pricing plans

Ringblaze only offers one plan, which costs $19 per user per month. You’ll be able to share phone numbers, record calls, and get unlimited minutes to the US and Canada. However, keep in mind Ringblaze only stores your call history for up to 90 days. You may also run into inconsistent monthly fees; calls on toll-free numbers and internal calls (between team members) require per-minute payments.

What customers are saying about Ringblaze

“I was thinking of switching away from a VoIP provider I have now but will not be doing so due to the dropped calls.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Ringblaze a great alternative?

While Ringblaze is similar to Google Voice, here are a few things that set it apart:

• Click-to-call widget that addresses customers’ questions in real time
• Shared dashboard that streamlines the customer service process
• Support for unlimited users and call recording in the Standard plan

For most businesses, Ringblaze’s lack of integrations and call history storage constraints are deal breakers that make it impossible to give your customers a five-star experience. 

Learn more about Ringblaze

7. Sideline

Mainly want to focus on SMS after switching from Google Voice? Sideline is a business text messaging service that lets you create a separate work number or share a number with your team. However, you may find that features are pretty limited unless you make a big upgrade — and Sideline does not have a desktop app (only works in browsers or through their mobile app).

You can make calls through your Sideline phone number too, but when Wi-Fi isn’t available or is spotty, you’ll have to use your own carrier minutes.

Sideline pricing plans

The biggest challenge of all with Sideline is each plan offers different features, but you won’t be able to get every feature Sideline offers with any single plan. 

• Standard: $9.99 per month for a business number, SMS/MMS support, voicemail to text, auto-replies, and voicemail transcriptions
• Team number add-on: $9.99 per month for a shared line (US number only) with Standard plan features
• Enterprise: $9.99 per line per month for admin control, auto-attendant, and a team directory
• Pro: $14.99 per month for SMS marketing capabilities, shortcuts, appointment reminders, and customer support

What customers are saying about Sideline

“Must use regularly to maintain number. Terrible customer service. Had a few calls that were dropped or not properly connected. Numbers are HIGHLY prone to spam calls.” (Review from Capterra)

“There is no one to talk to personally, ever. If something goes wrong, it will stay wrong, for hours or days while they take their time to respond to your email for help. If you need to make a change in the app, it will not auto install. You will have to delete the app and log back in.” (Review from GetApp)

What makes Sideline a great alternative? 

While Sideline is still pretty bare-bones in terms of features, it offers some extras you won’t find with Google Voice. 

• Shared phone number for teams
• Auto-replies
• Built-in scheduling and reminder tools
• Option to save any text as a template you can reuse later

Sideline can be a solid business text messaging service under its highest-tier plan, but it’s not super scalable due to how they structure their business phone plans. Its customer success stories reflect its popularity with solopreneurs who wanted a second line for their cell phones. If you’re still interested in Sideline, read our Google Voice vs Sideline comparison.

Learn more about Sideline

8. Freshdesk Contact Center

Freshdesk Contact Center (formerly Freshcaller) is a Google Voice alternative that offers toll-free numbers and local phone numbers from over 90 countries. It also includes a wide range of call forwarding and routing features to support customer service teams.

However, Freshdesk has a number of hidden fees and doesn’t support text messaging or unlimited calling. Plus, customer service seems to be a huge issue.

Freshdesk pricing plans

Like Google Voice, Freshdesk does offer a free plan. This sounds great — except you can’t actually use any plan for free. With every plan, you need to purchase your phone number(s). And while you have “free” incoming minutes on the paid plans, you’ll pay by the minute once they are exhausted. The plans don’t include any outbound minutes — you pay extra for those (yes, really).  And that’s not the end of Freshdesk’s extra fees.

• Call recording adds .0032 cents per minute
• Call monitoring adds .005 cents per minute
• Adding other team members to conference calls adds .005 cents per minute
• Transcribing voicemails adds .004 cents per minute

Remember to consider these fees as you evaluate their pricing plans. Like other providers, you’ll get a discount if you pay upfront for an annual commitment. 

• Growth: $18 per user per month for 2,000 free incoming minutes, call recording, voicemail transcription, pre-built reports 
• Pro: $47 per user per month for 3,000 free incoming minutes, holiday routing, call barging, IVR, call conferencing, and call monitoring 
• Enterprise: $83 per user per month for 5,000 free incoming minutes, omnichannel routing, and a speech-enabled auto-attendant

What customers are saying about Freshdesk

“They do not provide any customer support. I had tickets open for weeks without anyone ever attending to them. It is also not possible to get anybody on the phone.” (Review from G2)

“When you do have a technical issue or complete service outage it takes DAYS to get a response or any real action toward fixing your problem.” (Review from Capterra)

“It frequently drops calls, crashes, and loses data. It’s extremely frustrating when on important support calls. Every now and then it will be unable to find a phone number and not allow you to make a call until after you reboot the browser.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Freshdesk a great alternative?

If you can get past the confusing pricing and all the fine print, Freshdesk is a solid alternative, especially if you run an international business.

• Local numbers from over 90 countries
• Wide selection of international, toll-free, and vanity numbers
• Essential business features including call queues and a real-time dashboard to monitor your teams
• Easy integration with your CRM or helpdesk software

Freshdesk has a number of advanced call management features, but with a hoard of fees and lackluster support, it may not be worth the cost — or the hassle to understand how much you’ll actually pay per month.

Learn more about Freshdesk

9. JustCall

JustCall is a Google Voice alternative that lets you claim and share local numbers from 70 countries. Unfortunately, it can be a pretty pricey solution for your business since no plan includes any call minutes. Lack of reliability is also a major issue users face.

JustCall pricing plans

JustCall offers pretty decent features with its plans, but it’s still more expensive than other service providers on this list, such as OpenPhone and Ringblaze. And its per-month pricing doesn’t even include the 1.38 cents per minute you’ll pay for most local calls — or the very expensive 11.06 cents per minute you’ll pay for Alaska calls.

• Standard: $25 per user per month for one free number, auto-attendant, and call routing and recording
• Premium: $50 per user per month for SMS bots and campaigns, post-call surveys, and help desk and CRM integrations
• Enterprise: Must contact for price and have 100 users or more for priority customer support as well as bundled calling and SMS rates

What customers are saying about JustCall

“The calls drop, the notifications are extremely inconsistent, the reports are awful to manage and the texting application is pitiful. I have lost leads due to JustCall not working.” (Review from G2)

“The apps were not reliable on my hardware and offered poor reliability. I got many dropped calls and missed calls.” (Review from G2)

“Call quality is poor. Calls drop regularly, especially when transferring. Caller information does not populate quickly, sometimes never.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes JustCall a great alternative?

If you’re looking for a solution to support a call center, JustCall will offer essential features Google Voice can’t, like:

• Real-time call monitoring and insights
• Call whispering
• Concurrent calling, call tagging
• Call barging
• Hot desking

However, the costs with JustCall can add up quickly — and basic calls may not be super reliable at all.

Learn more about JustCall

10. Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a popular VoIP service offering a fairly easy-to-use interface and both local and toll-free numbers. But while Grasshopper may be well-known and have enough business features to replace Google Voice, it’s not built for collaboration. There are no integrations, shared phone numbers, or call recording capabilities. Plus, pricing can be confusing too.

Grasshopper pricing plans

Like Telzio, Grasshopper requires business owners to invest in 100% of its features — voicemail transcriptions, call reports, and more — no matter what plan you choose. Their three tiers simply include a different amount of phone numbers and extensions. Adding any more numbers will cost you extra ($10 per number per month).

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

What customers are saying about Grasshopper

“Over the few years I used it, they never made any upgrades. The iOS app functioned well enough for basic things, but seemed to be forever just a beta product. The website’s settings were hard to navigate, and setting up the incoming call workflow was too cumbersome.” (Review from Capterra)

“The problem with this software is that it is full of glitches. There were several times when Grasshopper sent the voice messages to the wrong phone numbers, the extensions got changed or were wrong, or the app just stopped working all together. It seemed like every week or two, we had to waste time calling in to customer service to get them to fix the problems. Also, you could not send mass texts or multiple texts to more than one person without them seeing each other’s phone numbers and all responses going to all people in the group text.” (Review from Capterra)

“The connection is really weak. Whenever I follow instructions to access a feature, it still doesn’t work. Calling in for help takes hours to resolve or isn’t resolved at all.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Grasshopper a great alternative?

Here are some reasons you might prefer Grasshopper over Google Voice: 

• 24/7 support through phone, email, social platforms, and a dedicated support site
• Options to have unlimited extensions and multiple phone numbers
• Access to more than one toll-free, local, or vanity numbers
• Instant response to customers with text auto-responders
• Virtual fax

Grasshopper can be pretty costly for any small business and doesn’t allow your team to collaborate from a shared inbox. Learn more about how these two platforms compare in our Grasshopper vs Google Voice guide. 

Learn more about Grasshopper

11. Dialpad

Dialpad is a cloud communications platform mostly geared toward call centers. They tout their use of technology to provide live speech coaching and AI-powered call and voicemail transcriptions. But like other alternatives, their standard plan lacks some essential business phone features. For example, to access additional phone numbers to separate your teams (e.g. customer support and sales) or to text internationally, you’ll have to upgrade to a Pro plan. The same is true if you require integrations beyond Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.  

Dialpad pricing plans

There are three pricing tiers, each providing one local number with unlimited US and Canada calling, SMS and MMS, and video meetings. Here are the options based on monthly billing. 

• Standard: $23 per user per month, AI-powered call and voicemail transcriptions, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 integrations (maximum of three users) 
• Pro: $35 per user per month, option to have additional numbers, international texting, auto-replies, and CRM integrations
• Enterprise: call for a quote, 100% uptime, unlimited locations and ring groups, SSO integrations, and live agent support 

What customers are saying about Dialpad

“The fact that when you get phone calls through Dialpad to your cell phone you can’t tell if it is a personal call or a call to your work number. If Dialpad was able to give a notification that it is a “Dialpad” call it would make answering the calls easier. I have answered personal calls with my work phone intro. So that is my biggest and honestly only real complaint with Dialpad.” (Review from G2)

“The support ended after the contract was signed. Company needs to bridge sales and support to continue to grow with mid-enterprise clients. Hard time reaching my guy after we signed, prior to that we talked a few times a day. That said, I reached customer service for a request and they solved my issue immediately.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Dialpad a great alternative

Dialpad offers essential business phone features that you won’t find in Google Voice, such as:

• Toll-free numbers (starting at an additional $15 per month)
• 40+ integrations
• Shared phone numbers

But Dialpad can be costly to get the features your business needs, especially integrations with your essential applications that would help you get the most out of your phone system. You’re also paying for things you may not need, such as AI-based coaching. To learn more about how Dialpad and Google Voice differ, check out our more detailed Dialpad vs Google Voice comparison. 

Learn more about Dialpad

12. Skype

Founded in 2003, Skype was one of the pioneers in VoIP, becoming the go-to app for video calls in the 2000s. 

While a Skype video call is free, you’ll need a Skype number to get essential business features like the ability to send texts, make and receive calls from someone not using Skype, and collaborate more seamlessly. 

The cost of a Skype number varies depending on location (US vs international number), payment schedule, and any discounts (e.g. if you purchase a calling subscription). For instance, a local US Skype number billed monthly is $2.99. 

Skype pricing plans

Once you have a Skype number, you can purchase credits or buy a monthly subscription. 

Monthly subscription examples:

• United States: $2.99 per month unlimited minutes within the US, Guam, and Puerto Rico
• North America: $6.99 per month unlimited minutes; adds Canada and Mexico

You can call anywhere by purchasing Skype credits. However, pay close attention to the fine print detailing extra charges like 11.2 cents per SMS message within the US or the 4.9 cent connection fee per call. 

What customers are saying about Skype

“…some of the features mentioned above are only available in the paid version of the program. If you are considering purchasing Skype for your business, it is essential to evaluate your individual needs carefully before making a decision.” (Review from G2)

“The customer support of Skype is not that great. Even if you try using the contact us button, they won’t let you contact them instantly. Various FAQs and other sections will help you solve the issue but getting in touch with the support team is indeed a task!” (Review from G2)

“I like Skype, but too many of our people no longer use or trust the software…It became almost obsolete as people moved on to other services during Covid.” (Review from Capterra).

What makes Skype a great alternative?

Microsoft owns Skype, so if you use Microsoft Teams, Skype may offer some efficiencies and opportunities for collaboration among your users. Here are some other reasons it might be a better alternative than Google Voice. 

• Conference calls for up to 250 participants
• Ability to create international numbers in more countries
• Location sharing
• Real-time translation

While Skype provides a separate business number and the ability to make low-cost calls anywhere, it lacks the critical features of a business phone. But if you don’t need things like call recording or an auto-attendant (and just need an app for internal calls with your team), a Skype number may be worth considering. To see if it makes sense for your business, learn more by reading our Skype vs Google Voice comparison guide.   

Learn more about Skype

13. Phone.com

Phone.com

positions itself as a budget-friendly VoIP business phone system for small businesses and entrepreneurs. However, its base plan has dozens of limitations including:

• the option to only have one number on your account
• 500 calling minutes
• 1,000 text segments (any 160-character message is considered a segment)

Its key features include live receptionist services, toll-free and vanity numbers, and the ability to mix and match plans among your users. 

Phone.com pricing plans

Phone.com’s monthly pricing plans reflect three different user types. Each includes video, voice, and SMS plus 50 standard features, including call routing, conference calling, call forwarding, and more. 

• Basic Users: $14.99 for one phone number per account, 500 pooled minutes and 1000 pooled text segments per user
• Plus Users: $19.99 for one phone number per user, unlimited minutes and text messaging, IP desk phone compatibility
• Pro Users: $29.99 adds call recording and analytics, voicemail transcription, and CRM integration

Keep an eye on extra charges per user, like $5 per month for shared phone lines for all plans and $8 per month for call recording for Basic and Plus plans. 

What customers are saying about Phone.com

“Their support is lackluster, dismissive, and unresponsive. I have been transferred to tech support chat only to sit on the chat for 45 minutes as the next in queue for the feature to then close and say “agents not available.” (Review from G2)

“When you contact customer support, there is no urgency for them to assist you and never return your phone calls or emails. This is highly unprofessional as a business.” (Review from Capterra). 

What makes Phone.com a great alternative?

Here are some reasons you might prefer Phone.com over Google Voice:

• Integrations beyond Google apps
• Toll-free and vanity numbers
• HIPPA-compliant video-conferencing solution
• Fewer limitations around porting your old numbers
• Ability to choose different price packages for each user

Given their à la carte pricing menu, Phone.com can get expensive. And if your business needs MMS access or expects attentive customer support, you’ll want to consider other options.  

Learn more about Phone.com

14. Aircall

Aircall is a solution geared towards call centers, so while it’s full of features and integrations that large companies would need, it’s missing some key features for small businesses and entrepreneurs like auto-replies and voicemail transcription. In addition, its pricing structure can be cost-prohibitive for startups.  

Aircall pricing plans

If you’re on a limited budget, note that Aircall has a 3-user minimum for each plan. So you’re on the hook for at least $120 per month (if billed monthly). Like other providers, they offer a discount if you pay annually. 

• Essentials: $40 per user per month for free domestic calls, SMS, and IVR support
• Professional: $70 per user per month for call analytics, live call monitoring, and a Salesforce integration
• Custom: Undisclosed price unlocks unlimited worldwide calls, custom analytics, and access to API developer support

What customers are saying about Aircall

“The quality of calls were inconsistent and unreliable most of the time. Aircall’s support team kept putting it down to unstable internet connection when Skype, Teams, Whatsapp and Zoom calls were never an issue for us.” (Review from G2) 

“The pricing is on the higher side compared to the rest of the tools that offer similar features. The mobile app is not as user-friendly as the web app, there is a lot of scope for improvement.” (Review from Capterra)

“They seem like a very sales and marketing-driven company (very proud of the fact they reached 100M in ARR) but don’t seem to have a product focus. In the last year haven’t seen much innovation.” (Review from G2)

What makes Aircall a great alternative?

If you’re running a call center, Aircall offers these essential features compared to Google Voice:

• Access to toll-free numbers and international numbers in over 100 countries
• Integration with your CRM and helpdesk tools
• Robust call center features (call analytics, whispering, monitoring, etc.)
• Common dashboard to support workflows and efficiencies

But if you’re managing a small business or growing team, Aircall is missing some key features that make life easier, like MMS support, voicemail transcription, and auto-replies to name just a few.  

Learn more about AirCall

15. Vonage

Vonage was one of the early pioneers of residential telecommunications over VoIP, adding business-friendly features over the last two decades. Of course, longevity alone doesn’t mean they’ve perfected business communication. But with over 50 features across all plans (including toll-free numbers and more integrations), it’s a viable alternative to Google Voice. However, if you want to access the features modern businesses expect, it’s gonna cost you.

Vonage pricing plans

Vonage has three pricing plans to choose from. Unfortunately, small businesses (1-4 users) will pay a premium. Discounts are offered, starting with the 5th user.  

• Basic: $19.99 per line, per month; free calls and texts in the US, 20+ integrations
• Premium: $29.99 per line, per month; unlimited meetings, multi-level auto attendant, CRM integration
• Advanced: $39.99 per line, per month; on-demand call recording (15 hours), call group, visual voicemail

But here’s where Vonage gets you. They consider many features add-ons, so be sure to factor that into your monthly per-line plan fee. Here are some examples: 

• Voicemail transcription: $4.99
• Toll-free numbers: $4.99 (per number)
• Vonage for Salesforce: $4.99
• Call queue: $14.99
• Call recording: $4.99

What customers are saying about Vonage

“Porting my old number from Verizon was horrible, Verizon was good on their end, Vonage dropped the ball multiple times, took many calls and chat to resolve. Billing errors took 4 months to resolve. Totally unable to speak to anyone by phone with a company that “specializes” in phone communications.” (Review from G2)

“The biggest con was the price — it kept growing and growing to a point where we had to switch over to a new provider. They were also missing a lot of integration with third-party applications.” (Review from Capterra)

What makes Vonage a great alternative?

There are reasons you might select Vonage over Google Voice, such as:

• Onboarding support (additional cost)
• Toll-free numbers
• MMS support (with an API)
• Integrations outside of Google’s apps
• Features like call queues, call barges, call whispers, and more

For more information, check out our Google Voice vs Vonage comparison. But more importantly, consider the potential cost of choosing Vonage — remember you’ll have to pay extra for the things you need most. OpenPhone’s Standard plan delivers business phone essentials (plus features like MMS, shared phone numbers, auto-replies, and more) for $13 per user per month. 

Learn more about Vonage

OpenPhone: The best Google Voice alternative

If you’re looking for a Google Voice alternative, look no further than OpenPhone. ✨

OpenPhone is a business phone built specifically for startups and scaling businesses. Unlike Google Voice and most of its competitors, OpenPhone offers all of the key features a business phone needs — with no hidden fees and starting at just $13 per user per month. OpenPhone also has a sleek user interface and dedicated customer support to make your experience 10 times better.

Ready to make the switch? You can start calling and texting with OpenPhone today.

Sign up for a free trial in under a minute.

FAQ

Daryna Kulya

Co-Founder at OpenPhone. Ukrainian-Canadian in SF. Love exploring new hiking trails.