Looking for an alternative to Google Voice? Maybe you’re sick of text messages living in separate inboxes or not having a toll-free business number and need an affordable option for both.
Let’s face it: Google Voice is like that friend who swears they have your back but shows up late and derails your plans. More and more customers are switching to a business phone system that actually gets the job done — without breaking the bank.
If you find yourself in need of a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service and realize Google Voice isn’t ideal for your situation, we’ve outlined nine quality alternatives to consider in 2025.
We also dive into some key reasons businesses move on to Google Voice alternatives.
The 9 best Google Voice alternatives
While there are some advantages to using Google Voice for your business, there are better business phone solutions that save time, integrate with tools you already use, and let your team collaborate.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the top Google Voice alternatives:
| Provider | Starting price | Unlimited calling to US & Canada | SMS/MMS to US & Canada | Shared phone numbers | Additional phone numbers | Average G2 rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Voice | $17 per user per month (must have Google Workspace) | Unlimited calls to Canada from the US only | US customers only | Requires upgrade (ring groups only) | 4.1 out of 5 | |
| OpenPhone | $15 per user per month | $5 per number per month | 4.7 out of 5 | |||
| RingCentral | $20 per user per month | (limited toll-free minutes | 25 texts per user per month | (calls only) | $4.99 per number per month | 4.1 out of 5 |
| Grasshopper | $14 per user per month | MMS messaging for local numbers only | $9 per number per month | 3.9 out of 5 | ||
| Ooma | $19.95 per user per month | Requires upgrade | $9.99 per number per month | 4.6 out of 5 | ||
| Ringblaze | $15 per user per month | Shared inbox only | $4-5 per month | N/A | ||
| Nextiva | $20 per user per month | Shared call appearance only | Undisclosed fee | 4.5 out of 5 | ||
| Dialpad | $15 per user per month | US and Canadian customers only | Requires upgrade, then $5 to $15 per month | 4.4 out of 5 | ||
| Zoom Phone | $10 per user per month | Requires upgrade | (US, Canada, and Australia numbers only) | $5 per number per month | 4.5 out of 5 | |
| Net2Phone | $27.99 per user per month | Cost varies | 4.4 out of 5 |
Keep reading to get a detailed summary of each one.
1. OpenPhone: Best Google Voice alternative for small businesses and growing teams
Pros
- Unlimited calls and texts to the US and Canada
- Local, toll-free, and vanity numbers are available
- Shared numbers to split responsibility for incoming calls and texts
- Integrations with 7,000+ third-party apps, including HubSpot and Salesforce
- AI features for call transcriptions, summaries, and action items
Cons
- No verification through two-factor authentication*
*Nearly all virtual phone numbers share this problem. Companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google rarely let you authenticate accounts through a virtual phone number.
OpenPhone is the ideal solution for small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs in need of a reliable, collaborative, and easy-to-manage business communication system. And it’s one of the most cost-effective options on this list.
OpenPhone is a phone solution your sales, operations, and customer support teams — among others — can easily use to manage calls and SMS messages together.
With OpenPhone, multiple team members can handle calls and texts on a shared business phone number and collaborate on conversations with internal threads. If teammates use different numbers, calls can be routed to the right person in just a few seconds with warm transfers.
Here are a few other key benefits of using OpenPhone over Google Voice:
- Offer a nationwide presence to customers with toll-free numbers
- Sync calls, texts, voicemails, and call recordings to your CRM with OpenPhone’s integrations
- Save time texting and set clear expectations with your customers using scheduled texts, auto-replies, and automated texts via Zapier
- Review calls faster with AI summaries and call views
Switch to OpenPhone: The best Google Voice alternative
Getting a new VoIP phone number from almost anywhere in the world is a simple process when you choose OpenPhone as your virtual phone number provider. Follow these three steps:
- Create an account with OpenPhone (when you sign up, you get a free seven-day trial).
- During signup, choose your city or area code in the US to select your preferred phone number.
- Once the signup process is complete, you’re all set to use your new number.
OpenPhone pricing
OpenPhone offers transparent pricing and some of the best rates in the industry for must-have business phone features.
- Starter: $15 per user per month for shared phone numbers, voicemail transcriptions, free calls and texts in the US and Canada, and dozens of ways to streamline your business’s phone communication
- Business: $23 per user per month for auto-attendant (IVR), call transferring, CRM integrations, analytics, and more advanced features
- Scale: $35 per user per month for AI call tags, dedicated onboarding, and priority chat and email support
Google Voice vs OpenPhone
Google Voice offers a basic virtual phone service, while OpenPhone is a modern business phone that helps you grow customer relationships. Some features you get on OpenPhone that you won’t find on Google Voice include shared numbers for calling and texting, integrations with your CRM and other tools like Zapier, and built-in ways to save time texting.
Learn more about OpenPhone vs Google Voice and how they compare.
What customers are saying about OpenPhone
“I have been a user of OpenPhone for the past three years, and I have always been impressed with its affordability and functionality. Their pricing plans are incredibly reasonable and provide excellent value for their services. What sets OpenPhone apart is its modern app user interface – it is intuitive, user-friendly, and seamlessly integrates with my daily operations. The unlimited calls and SMS within the US and Canada make it an unbeatable choice for businesses like mine operating within these regions.” — Review from G2
“The technicians only text and call on the OpenPhone line. This is huge. Both myself and my co-worker work this department. We are able to copy and paste from our SRM straight from the computer, and the [techs] receive it on their tablets as a text message. We don’t need to explain who we are or [see] different text line messages come through our phones — it is just one. No confusion, super clean, and the history stays and is great to look back on. It’s easy — one line for service calls with two people using it. We love it and are so excited we implemented this. Thank you for a great product.” — Review from G2
G2 ratings indicate that OpenPhone ranks better than Google Voice for ease of use, setup, quality of support, and more:
2. RingCentral: Best alternative for desk phone rental options
Pros
- Unlimited calling to US and Canada
- Desk phone rentals are available
Cons
- Texting limits on the base plan
- Call recordings are deleted after 90 days
- Toll-free minute limits on the base plan
RingCentral is an older business phone solution for unified communications. It’s also accessible online and with compatible desk phones (if your company still uses them).
All RingCentral plans include essential features like toll-free numbers, basic call management, unlimited calls within the US and Canada, SMS, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, and document sharing. But you should read the fine print to avoid hidden fees. Their base plan, for example, only lets you send 25 text messages per user per month to anyone in the US or Canada. Anything more than that, and you’re paying extra.
RingCentral also has limitations around storing conversations (unless you pay for their most expensive plan). For example:
- Call recordings are deleted after 90 days
- Only 200 on-demand call recordings can be stored per user
- Users are limited to storing up to 5,000 messages
Even if you upgrade to Ultra, you’ll still be limited by RingCentral’s time-based data retention policies.
RingCentral pricing plans
RingCentral’s pricing has three tiers:
- Core: $20 per user per month for unlimited domestic calling, 25 texts per user per month, and 100 pooled toll-free minutes
- Advanced: $25 per user per month includes auto call recording, app integrations like Salesforce and Zendesk, 100 texts per user per month, and 1,000 pooled toll-free minutes
- Ultra: $35 per user per month includes unlimited file sharing for recordings, HD video whiteboards and messaging, 200 texts per user per month, and 10,000 pooled toll-free minutes
Google Voice vs RingCentral
For businesses with more advanced call management needs, RingCentral is a better choice than Google Voice. You can set up call queues, access toll-free numbers, and work as a team with shared lines for calling. In contrast, Google Voice only offers basic ring groups and auto-attendants.
Get the full breakdown of Google Voice vs RingCentral.
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
“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
3. Grasshopper: Best alternative with multi-digit extensions
Pros
- Unlimited calling to the US and Canada
- Auto-attendant (phone menu) with multi-digit extensions
Cons
- No call transcripts
- No shared phone numbers
- No Slack, Zapier, or CRM integrations
Grasshopper is a popular VoIP service offering an easy-to-use interface and local and toll-free numbers. You can also add unlimited users to two of the plans, which makes it more cost-effective than Google Voice.
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 transcriptions.
Plus, pricing can be confusing. Their base plan only allows for a single number and one extension, while the second tier includes one number and three extensions. You’ll need to pay for the highest tier to access unlimited extensions and four phone numbers.
Grasshopper pricing plans
Grasshopper offers three pricing plans to customers:
- True Solo: $14 per month for one user, one phone 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 extension
*Additional numbers cost $9 per month.
Google Voice vs Grasshopper
Grasshopper gives businesses more flexibility than Google Voice, with toll-free numbers, extensions, and auto-replies for first-time callers. However, neither platform has integrations with tools like Zapier or CRMs or collaboration tools like shared numbers.
Get the full Grasshopper vs Google Voice breakdown by pricing, features, and more.
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
4. Ooma: Best alternative for teams that need overhead paging
Pros
- Unlimited calling in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico
- Local and toll-free numbers are available
Cons
- Texting is only available on higher tiers
- Voicemail transcriptions are only available on higher tiers
- Call recording is only available on higher tiers
- Unnecessary features like intercom calling and analog fax machine support
Ooma is a Google Voice alternative with virtual receptionists, overhead paging support, and unlimited voice calls to the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. You can access their mobile app and desk phone service directly from the base plan.
Although it’s a Google Voice alternative with video conferencing capabilities, Ooma lacks advanced features (unless you upgrade). It only offers phone numbers local to the US, for one. You also need to upgrade to access texting (which is limited to 250 free messages per user per month), voicemail transcriptions, and access to the Ooma desktop app with calling.
Unless you’re already using desk phones and think overhead paging would be useful to your business, Ooma probably won’t make much sense for your business communication stack.
Ooma pricing plans
There are three different pricing plans for Ooma.
- Essentials: $19.95 per user per month for auto-attendants, call forwarding, and overhead paging support
- Pro: $24.95 per user per month for call recording, voicemail transcriptions, video conferencing, analytics, SMS, and access to Ooma’s desktop app with calling
- Pro Plus: $29.95 per user per month for call queuing, CRM integrations, hot desking, and advanced call flows
Google Voice vs Ooma
Ooma offers more advanced features than Google Voice, like virtual fax, call blocking, and overhead paging. Ooma also directly integrates with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk, while Google Voice only connects with other Google apps. Price-wise, Google Voice is more affordable.
Learn more about Ooma vs Google Voice with the full comparison breakdown.
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
5. Ringblaze: Best alternative with basic business phone features
Pros
- Unlimited local calling to the US and Canada
- SMS and MMS are included
Cons
- Stored call history for only 90 days
- No third-party integrations
- No advanced texting features
If you need a basic business phone system to replace Google Voice, Ringblaze is a solid choice. Some of the features it includes are a shared dashboard, call recording, call assignments, and a click-to-call website widget for customers.
Unlike Google Voice, Ringblaze offers a desktop app, shared inboxes, and toll-free numbers, which is why you should consider it a viable alternative.
But Ringblaze is just too limited to function as a permanent replacement. Here’s why:
- Ringblaze has no advanced texting features — you won’t have auto-replies, snippets, or scheduled texts to communicate with customers.
- Like RingCentral, your call history is only stored for 90 days, which is frustrating if you have long sales cycles.
- Like Google Voice, it doesn’t have any third-party integrations, which means you can’t sync your calls and texts to your CRM.
Ringblaze pricing plans
Ringblaze only offers one plan, which costs $15 per user per month, billed annually. You can send messages, record calls, and get unlimited minutes to the US and Canada.
Keep in mind that you may run into inconsistent monthly fees — calls on toll-free numbers require per-minute payments.
Google Voice vs Ringblaze
Ringblaze is a better option for team collaboration compared to Google Voice, with its shared call inbox and call forwarding features. They also have better ways to get in contact with support, including email and chat.
What customers are saying about Ringblaze
“The Android app doesn’t seem to be working properly. It keeps giving me errors. … There are a lot more options that they could add to really make this great, like autoresponders to SMS, auto calling with pre-recorded audio messages, and so on.” — Review from Capterra
“I was thinking of switching away from a VoIP provider I have now but will not be doing so due to the [Ringblaze] dropped calls.” — Review from Capterra
Find out why your phone keeps dropping calls on Ringblaze or another provider.
6. Nextiva: Best alternative for teams that use Microsoft products
Pros
- Review management
- Video calling features with an upgrade
Cons
- SMS and MMS are only offered on higher pricing tiers and have a capped message limit
- Call recording is only available on the higher-tier plans
- Limited toll-free minutes on each plan
- Voicemail transcriptions are only available on higher plans
Nextiva is a VoIP phone service that supports calls in the US and Canada. It’s a good fit for businesses that run on Oracle Sales Cloud or Microsoft Dynamics since Nextiva offers integrations with both.
Though it does offer business communication features that Google Voice doesn’t (such as auto-attendant and customer support), Nextiva’s lack of other features can be problematic for small businesses and startups.
Its SMS features are limited at best — and only available if you upgrade to a higher-tier plan. Even after you upgrade, teams are limited to 100 messages sent and received per user before they’re charged for their messages. Nextiva offers toll-free numbers but limits your toll-free minutes in each plan, which further drives up your costs.
Nextiva pricing plans
Nextiva offers four different pricing plans (besides their enterprise products):
- Digital: $20 per user per month for website live chat, messaging apps, social media channels, review management, and the Digital Service Helpdesk
- Core: $30 per user per month for inbound and outbound voice calls, business SMS, video conference calls, screenshare, and call routing
- Engage: $40 per user per month for call center queueing, toll-free number and minutes, advanced reporting, website chatbots, and a Microsoft Teams integration
- Power Suite: $60 per user per month for advanced IVR, intelligent routing, unified team interface, supervisor dashboards, and transcriptions and summaries
Google Voice vs Nextiva
Nextiva is like that overachieving friend while Google Voice is the buddy that’s there for getting basic things done, as one Reddit user put it. You can manage many more communication channels on Nextiva, from text messages and social media to review sites and calling. But their pricing may be prohibitive for small businesses, especially since many features require upgrades.
What customers are saying about Nextiva
“Unreliable phone service (calls not going through), and poor customer service when reporting issues.” — Review from G2
“Nextiva’s phone performance is poor. A lot of dropped calls, and the app that allows users to use a cell phone was very problematic to the point where it couldn’t be used. Nextiva’s tech support is a joke; very hard to get a live person on the phone.” — Review from G2
7. Dialpad: Best alternative for contact centers
Pros
- Unlimited calling to the US and Canada
- Real-time AI-powered coaching
Cons
- Additional numbers require an upgrade to higher tiers
- Slack, Zapier, and CRM integrations are only available on higher tiers
- No international texting on the base plan
Dialpad is a cloud communications platform primarily 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, Dialpad’s Standard plan lacks some essential business phone features. To access additional phone numbers and separate your teams (like customer support and sales), you’ll have to upgrade to a Pro plan. The same is true if you require integrations beyond Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace (or want to text internationally).
Dialpad pricing plans
There are three pricing tiers with Dialpad, 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: $15 per user per month for AI-powered call and voicemail transcriptions, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365 integrations
- Pro: $25 per user per month for the option to have additional numbers, international texting, auto-replies, and CRM integrations (minimum of three users)
- Enterprise: Call for a quote and get 100% uptime, unlimited locations and ring groups, SSO integrations, and live agent support (minimum of 100 users)
Google Voice vs Dialpad
If you want to coach your team with AI-powered sentiment analysis and scorecards, Dialpad is a better option than Google Voice. You can also send texts internationally with Dialpad, while Google Voice only lets you send texts to the US and Canada.
Learn more about Dialpad vs Google Voice in the full comparison breakdown.
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
“Terrible customer support who make you go through their clunky chat app to accomplish anything, and even then do not help you. I requested cancellation (which they force you to do through customer service) and was shocked to find they didn’t process it. Upon contacting them and requesting a refund, they claimed to not have a record of the request and refused.” — Review from Capterra
8. Zoom Phone: Best alternative for international calling
Pros
- Make and receive calls, texts, and video meetings
- Integrates with other Zoom Services (Zoom Workplace, Scheduler, Rooms, and Events & Webinars)
Cons
- Outbound calling costs extra
- Limited integrations
- Team SMS summaries require an add-on
Zoom Phone integrates seamlessly with Zoom’s other collaboration tools, making it a natural choice for businesses using Zoom for video meetings. It offers a range of VoIP features, including auto-attendants, real-time call analytics, and an AI-powered assistant.
Compared to Google Voice, Zoom Phone is a more scalable solution with advanced features even on the base plan. However, its tiered pricing structure might present challenges for small businesses. For example, unlimited outbound calling requires upgrading to higher-tier plans, and some plans — like Global Select — give you unlimited calling in 19 countries but lack essential features like SMS capabilities.
Zoom Phone pricing plans
There are five different Zoom Phone pricing plans:
- US & Canada Metered: $10 per user per month for metered domestic calling, SMS and MMS in the US and Canada, auto-attendant, and Zoom meetings
- US & Canada Unlimited: $15 per user per month for unlimited outbound calls in the US and Canada, metered international calling, and AI call summaries
- Pro Plus: $18.32 per user per month for access to Zoom Workplace Pro plus everything in the Unlimited plan
- Global Select: $20 per user per month for unlimited calling in 19 countries, a direct dial number, and everything in US & Canada Unlimited (except for SMS/MMS functionality and team SMS summary threads)
- Business Plus: $22.49 per user per month for access to Zoom Workspace Business, visitor management tools, real-time reporting dashboards, and access to international calling add-ons
Google Voice vs Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone comes with ring groups and auto-attendants (IVR) on the basic plan, while Google Voice requires you to upgrade. Zoom Phone also offers real-time reporting and quality dashboards, which help you keep an eye on your team’s efficiency and overall performance.
Get the full scoop on Zoom Phone vs Google Voice.
What customers are saying about Zoom Phone
“We … discovered that although we are on a paid business plan, we have no possibility to access live support to troubleshoot setup. All access points to support are hidden, sales does not return messages about upgrading, it has been an absolute nightmare, and I would never recommend Zoom Phone to anyone.” — Review from Capterra
“Many soft-phone features aren’t very strong, such as adjusting notification settings, ease of switching to do-not-disturb – had several issues (Q1 2021) with SMS history not loading and international calling restrictions – no contacts list pull from Salesforce.” — Review from Capterra
9. Net2Phone: Best alternative with unlimited calling to 40+ countries
Pros
- Works on laptops, desktops, and mobile phones
- Unlimited domestic calling to US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico
- Phone, chat, and email support
Cons
- Some users mention poor call quality
- Limited integrations
Net2Phone is a Google Voice alternative with unlimited domestic calling to the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico on the base plan. They also offer unlimited calling to 40+ international countries on the second-tier plan, making it ideal for scaling a business with a global client base.
You should know that some features have limitations. For example, you can only host video meetings with up to 10 people on the base plan. Integrations that come standard on other providers, like Slack and Zapier, require an upgrade. Overall, you may end up paying more than expected to get the features you need.
Net2Phone pricing plans
Here’s what you’ll pay for a group of one to nine users:
- Essentials: $27.99 per user per month for unlimited calling in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, call routing, call recording, SMS and MMS support, and integrations with Google Calendar and Contacts
- Professional: $34.99 per user per month for productivity integrations (Zoho, Slack, Zapier, etc.), group messaging, call summaries and transcriptions, extension mirroring, and international calling in 40+ countries
- Ultimate: Custom pricing for advanced analytics, custom reporting, integrations with Salesforce and Microsoft Teams, and advanced AI features
Google Voice vs Net2Phone
Net2Phone offers a better value than Google Voice, with unlimited calling to the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico on the base plan and unlimited international calling to 40+ countries with an upgraded plan. The platform also has better integrations than Google Voice, like with Zoho and Zapier, to connect your tech stack.
What customers are saying about Net2Phone
“A lot of technical issues, lack of technical support team knowledge, unable to fix the technical problems. Even if you escalate technical issues and bring the problems to management level attention, they do not care…” — Review from G2
“Complicated to use, constantly failed to send messages, difficulty reaching someone for assistance, call quality was poor, no way to keep a log of calls or texts, unable to fax without an upgraded plan.” — Review from GetApp
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. But as your business grows, you might notice some limitations to the free and even some paid tiers of Voice. Let’s take a look:
Google Voice pros and cons
Pros
- Free inbound/outbound calls to the US and Canada
- Seamless integration with Google products like Google Calendar and Google Meet
- Text messaging for US customers
Cons
- Missing key business phone features like shared numbers, third-party integrations, and auto-replies
- Texting is only available for US users
- You can’t sign up for the free version of Google Voice outside the US
- Google doesn’t offer customer support for Google Voice, and many users report poor call quality
- No way to change the caller ID name
Google Voice pricing
If you decide to pay for a plan, here’s what you can expect from Google Voice pricing:
- Starter: $10 per user per month (10-user max) for calls and texts in the US, VoIP call forwarding, voicemail transcription, and SLAs
- 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
Keep in mind that you’ll also be paying a minimum of $7 per user per month for Google Workspace.
How to select the right Google Voice alternative for your team
Not sure how to choose the right Google Voice alternative? Here’s what you should look for:
- Features: Modern businesses need modern features to build better relationships with customers. This means that VoIPs offering little more than calling and voicemail aren’t enough to make the cut. Keep an eye out for alternatives that offer automated texting features like auto-replies, snippets, and AI-generated message responses.
- Budget: If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur or a leader of a growing business, you’re probably working with a leaner budget. The best providers are cost-effective and don’t require you to upgrade to a higher-tier plan based on the number of users you have.
- Integrations: The average tech stack for a small business has 152 apps, so you need to invest in integrations to avoid siloing your conversation data. The best Google Voice alternatives offer multiple ways to connect with the tools you’re already using (like Slack). They can also integrate with platforms like Zapier so you can build custom workflows between different apps and automate repetitive tasks.
- Reliability: You can’t afford for your business phone to go down — and neither can your customers. Prioritize business phone providers that have a history of reliable uptime.
- Ease of use: Making the switch to a new VoIP can be stressful or off-putting for your team. Choose a Google Voice alternative that offers apps on every device so team members can use what’s most convenient for them.
- Setup: Some Google Voice alternatives take hours to set up and sometimes days to customize to your liking. Unless you want to put your business conversations on hold, choose your alternative wisely.
- Support: The customer service of your VoIP solution can make or break the efficiency of your business phone. Providers with a history of below-average support should be crossed off your list (or at least subject to scrutiny).
OpenPhone: The best Google Voice alternative
If you’re looking for a Google Voice alternative that works in both the US and Canada, 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 the key features a business phone needs — with no hidden fees and starting at just $15 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.
FAQs
As long as your account remains active, your number should remain available.
Keep in mind that you need to make one call or text within a rolling 90-day period to keep your number active, or Google may reclaim it.
One of the biggest limitations of Google Voice’s free version is the lack of customer support from Google. If you have any questions or problems with the service, you’re on your own.
Additionally, some features are unavailable with Google Voice (free and paid), such as toll-free or vanity numbers, shared numbers to support collaboration, auto-replies, and a desktop app.
Google Voice also only integrates with other Google apps, which is frustrating if you use a CRM or live in your Slack workspace. When you stack all these limitations together, it’s clear you should be looking at alternatives instead of relying on Google Voice as your business phone.
Yes! And it only takes a few minutes to port your number from Google Voice to OpenPhone. Keep in mind that if you’re using the free version of Google Voice, Google does charge a one-time $3 fee to transfer your number anywhere else.
Like most VoIP services, Google Voice works via an internet connection (Wi-Fi or data plan) to make phone calls and send text messages. No desk phones or landlines are required.
As long as you have an internet connection and an internet-enabled device (cellphone, laptop, computer, or another mobile device), you can use Google Voice.
Google Voice allows you to make free calls by signing up with a Gmail address. It can be used for personal and professional reasons — though it is built specifically for personal communications. Having more than one Google Voice number is also not possible with their free plan.
There aren’t any free alternative apps like Google Voice — at least, none that provide all the features businesses need. Call forwarding, toll-free numbers, and call recording are all essential features for any business looking to give itself a competitive edge.
However, OpenPhone offers a free seven-day trial to test the platform, after which plans begin at $15 per user per month.
While the free version of Google Voice is not available in Canada, the paid business version is. As long as you’re a Google Workspace customer, you can sign up for Google Voice and assign Canadian numbers (those with a +1 country code) to your Google Voice users.
If you need an alternative to Google Voice in Canada, OpenPhone supports Canadian calling and local or toll-free Canadian phone numbers. OpenPhone also offers a wide range of local US numbers if your company wants to have a local presence in both countries.
Google Voice is free for personal use, but if you want access to features like multiple phone numbers, ring groups, and multiple users, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid Google Voice plan.
Google Voice’s paid plans start at $10 per user per month, but you also need to get a Google Workspace subscription to access a paid Google Voice plan, which starts at $7 per user per month. Check out a full comparison of Google Voice personal vs business here.
OpenPhone, RingCentral, Nextiva, and Ooma are a few apps you can use that are similar to Google Voice. We’re admittedly biased but well aware of the virtual phone landscape, and we know OpenPhone is the most affordable and feature-rich alternative, offering many of the same functionalities as Google Voice — and built for growing businesses that want more value from their phone systems.
There’s no indication that Google Voice will be discontinued anytime soon, as Google continues to support the service. However, like any Google product, its long-term availability depends on user adoption and company priorities.
Google Voice secures text messages, calls, and voicemail data through encryption. As with any online account, you should still follow best practices like creating a unique password and using two-factor authentication (2FA).
If you’re wondering, why doesn’t Google Voice ring on my phone, you should know it goes into sleep mode when it’s inactive. You have to constantly do something in your Google Voice account to make sure it’s active and open to receiving incoming calls.
