As you know, not all phone systems are equal — especially for your business. If you’re searching for a new (or better) business phone solution, the first place you can start is by looking at VoIP and landline services. It’s kind of like deciding between a trusty old flip phone and the latest smartphone (spoiler: one’s a little more future-proof)
To help you pick if you should use a landline or VoIP phone, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each. We’ll also provide six key considerations you’ll need to make when finalizing your decision.
What is VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) lets you call and text on any device using an internet connection. All you need to do is download and log into your VoIP provider’s app on your cell phone, tablet, or computer.
Most VoIP phones offer a lot of features traditional phones can’t, like integrations with your CRM and automated texts (more on this later as we break down the key differences between VoIP vs landline).
How does VoIP work?
When you make a call using VoIP technology, your voice messages turn into small pieces of data. This data travels through the internet to the person you’re calling. Then, it’s reassembled back into your message, which lets them hear your voice on their phone, all in real time.
While VoIP works differently than landlines and mobile phones, your clients won’t know your phone calls and text messages are coming from a virtual phone.
Pros of VoIP
Features built for small businesses
VoIP providers offer features that help grow and scale small businesses. You can send and receive SMS and MMS, review call and text analytics, and access call-handling features like auto-attendants and ring groups to quickly get callers to the right person or department. Plus, you’ll be able to purchase as many toll-free, vanity, or local phone numbers as you like and easily add team members to call and text from those numbers.
Never miss a call
Shared phone numbers let team members make and receive texts and calls from the same number, ensuring someone’s always available to answer customer calls. If you do miss a call, you can set up auto-replies to make sure customers know when you’ll get back to them.
Budget-friendly option
You don’t need to buy expensive equipment or pay someone to install physical phone lines. All you’ll need is the phone, device, or computer you already have and an internet connection. Plus, long-distance calls often cost less than they would with traditional landlines, which means you’ll save on your phone bill each month.
Flexible plans to match your business needs
Need multiple business phone numbers as your team grows? You can buy them in just a few clicks. Not using certain features? You can switch to a simpler plan and save money. That way, you’re never stuck paying for more than you need, and you can scale up whenever business picks up.
Work from anywhere
With VoIP, you can use your phone, computer, or device to contact customers as long as you have access to an internet connection or cellular data. This means whether you’re at the office, home, or traveling, you’re always available to pick up the phone.
Challenges of VoIP
Relies on a stable internet connection to work
A strong internet connection is essential for VoIP to work smoothly. If your internet is slow or experiences outages, it could lead to interruptions in your calls. You should have a backup plan, like using your phone’s mobile hotspot to access the internet.
Audio quality issues
If your internet connection isn’t great, it can lead to audio quality issues, such as jitter, choppy sound, or dropped calls.
What is a landline?
Landlines let you make calls over copper wires or fiber phone lines. Landline phones can connect to phone jacks, though complete landline phone systems require bulky hardware that’s stored on-site. This hardware is known as on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) equipment.
To use landline numbers, you and your team members need desk phones that are physically connected to an office space.
How do landlines work?
Traditional landline phones send and receive communication during calls using the phone’s hardware — specifically through the phone system’s wires and switches. Then, it continues through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which is a system of wires shared by people around the world. When the signal reaches its destination, your caller will hear your voice on their phone.
Pros of using landlines
Security
Landlines operate on dedicated copper wires and telephone lines. This physical separation from the internet means your conversations stay protected against many common security threats, like call tampering.
Available during outages
Traditional landlines carry their own electrical current through the copper wiring, so your phone service continues even when the power’s down. This means you can make and receive customer calls during storms or emergencies, which helps keep your business running smoothly when customers need you.
Cons of landlines
Limited features
Landlines only provide basic features such as calling, call forwarding, and voicemail. You can’t add business features like auto-reply texts to provide faster service, integrations to save time on repetitive admin work, or analytics to improve your business.
High costs
Setting up a landline system requires a significant upfront investment. You’ll need professional phone lines, hardware, and wiring installation throughout your office space. Plus, ongoing maintenance costs can add up; if something needs to be repaired, you’ll need a technician to fix it. These expenses make it challenging for growing businesses to scale.
Limited mobility
Need to take business calls while you’re away from the office so you don’t miss out on opportunities or damage customer relationships? Unless you set up call forwarding to a mobile phone, a landline keeps you tethered to your building.
What are the main differences between landline and VoIP?
As you’ve seen, landline services are quickly becoming a thing of the past for the average consumer, and they’re on their way out for businesses, too. Let’s take a closer look at how landlines stack up against VoIP systems.
Calling
Calling occurs over an internet connection with VoIP. This means you can make calls anywhere you have internet service.
Landlines use copper wires. Even if your desk phones are cordless, none of your team members can answer calls if they’re off-site, much less thousands of miles away.
Hardware required
New hardware is essential each time you set up a landline system or add a new team member. On the other hand, VoIP phone systems can work on your existing computer or mobile device. However, you always have the option to buy specialized VoIP hardware if you prefer.
Here’s how VoIP vs landline hardware breaks down.
| VoIP hardware (all optional) | Landline hardware (required) |
|---|---|
| Desk phone: A desk phone with a physical keypad and often a digital screen compatible with your VoIP system. | Desk phone: Every team member needs a desk phone hard-wired to your office space. |
| Conference phone: A device that lets you host multiple people on a call when participants dial in. | Cables: Phone cables connect your desk phone to the physical wiring used to make calls. |
| Headphones: A VoIP headset that lets you make hands-free calls, often with more control over sound quality. | PB system: On-site hardware stored in a phone closet that lets you use a private phone network to make internal calls. |
Upfront costs
Landlines require a lot of hardware, which can cost several hundred or thousands of dollars to purchase and set up (not to mention a lot of time). Each time you add a team member, you have to buy new equipment, too.
VoIP services have little to no upfront costs, and pricing tends to be more affordable than landline phone services. This makes it more scalable for growing teams.
Monthly costs
Business VoIP plans are typically more affordable than landline telephone services. Most VoIP solutions range from $10-$40 per user per month.
| Type of plan | Average VoIP cost | Average landline cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $20-$30 per user per month | $20-$50 per phone line per month |
| Premium | $30-40 per user per month | |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing |
Landlines usually charge a monthly cost per line. Though it might seem like landlines could be more cost-effective in the long run, bear in mind that beyond the upfront costs mentioned above, you can expect to pay extra to maintain your system.
For example, you’ll have to keep wiring maintained and get a monthly insurance package for an additional cost if you don’t have techy team members to fix any issues. Long-distance call costs tend to be higher than what VoIP services charge, so landlines aren’t the best fit for international calls.
Ease of setup
Setting up a VoIP system is as simple as setting up your favorite app. You can get many VoIP systems fully up and running on the same day.
Setting up landlines is less intuitive, requiring a physical setup process. If your business phone system is new and you need to install phone jacks, you can expect up to $200 in installation costs for the help of a professional.
Integrations
VoIP systems can integrate with other apps in your tech stack, including email and CRMs, to help you save time. Landlines are standalone systems that can’t connect to the internet at all.
4 other key considerations for picking between VoIP vs landline
Now that you know the difference between VoIP and landline, you can make a well-informed decision about the right phone system for your business. If you’re still stuck, ask yourself these four questions.
1. Does your business need to send and receive texts?
Some landline services have text messaging capabilities. However, those landline providers can require additional legwork and expenses. The best VoIP services offer VoIP texting out of the box.
2. Does your team work remotely or away from their desks?
If your company doesn’t have a physical location, the answer is clear: VoIP is the best solution. VoIP also offers more flexibility for teams that are frequently on the go.
💡Learn more about how VoIP vs cellular compare.
3. Does your team need to make emergency 911 calls from their business phone?
While VoIP phones offer many features, most don’t support emergency services. Since VoIP calls don’t go through physical phone lines or cell phone towers, they aren’t always able to send accurate location information to the right dispatch centers.
If your team expects to frequently use emergency services and you don’t have a backup (like a mobile phone plan), you may need a landline to avoid dropped calls to 911.
4. Does your team need to share a phone number?
Shared phone numbers are easy to configure with the right VoIP providers for any team wanting to split responsibility for incoming customer messages. Doing so is more complicated with landline services since each phone is typically assigned its own extension.
How to find the best VoIP service provider
If you’re thinking about switching to VoIP, finding the best VoIP system is about identifying the functionality you need. Here are some VoIP features to help your team work more efficiently and effectively:
- Shared phone numbers: Collaborate on outgoing and incoming calls to solve customer problems faster.
- Snippets and auto-replies: Save time by creating canned messages you can quickly send or by setting up auto-replies to missed calls, voicemails, and texts.
- Auto-attendants (IVR): Reduce your need for a secretary by setting up a phone menu to allow callers to route themselves to the right extension.
- Integrations: Connect your phone with essential business tools like HubSpot, Slack, and email.
- Business hour settings: Create work-life balance with a separate business phone number, and set business hours to ensure you don’t get calls when you’re out of the office.
- Call recording: Make sure your sales and customer support calls meet quality standards by reviewing your conversations after they’ve ended.
4 best types of VoIP providers to choose from
| Provider | Starting price | Unlimited calling to US & Canada | SMS/MMS to US & Canada | Shared phone numbers | Additional phone numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenPhone | $15 per user per month | $5 per number per month | |||
| Grasshopper | $14 per month | $9 per number per month | |||
| RingCentral | $20 per user per month | (limited toll-free minutes) | (25 messages per user per month) | (calls only) | $4.99 per number per month |
| Vonage | $19.99 per user per month | Local US and Canadian numbers only | (shared line appearance only) | Starting at $4.99 per number per month |
1. OpenPhone
Small and growing businesses can make unlimited calls and texts to anyone in the US and Canada with OpenPhone. You can share access to phone numbers so your reps see all customer conversations in one place, including calls, messages, and recordings. You can also save time with texting automations, like auto-replies, scheduled texts, and snippets. Plus, OpenPhone’s VoIP integration with CRMs like HubSpot means your team won’t have to waste time on admin work, like manually entering call activity.
2. Grasshopper
Grasshopper is a legacy VoIP provider that was established in 2003. It provides features like voice calls, phone number extensions, and desktop and mobile apps. However, it comes with drawbacks. For example, you can’t text international customers at all. And if you want to make international calls, you’ll have to pay a $500 deposit first. The platform also doesn’t offer shared phone numbers, preventing your team from working together to solve customer issues.
3. RingCentral
RingCentral is a business phone system that was founded in 1999. The platform supports desk phones, which is handy if your business still uses them. RingCentral also comes with many limitations you should keep in mind. For example, if you want more than 100 toll-free minutes a month, you’ll need to upgrade your plan. Plus, vanity phone numbers require you to pay a one-time set-up fee of $30. You also have to upgrade to the highest tier plan if you want unlimited storage for your files, which costs $35 per use per month.
4. Vonage
Vonage was founded in 2001 and offers features like unlimited domestic calling, SMS and MMS, and VoIP number porting. However, if you want access to team messaging so reps can solve customer issues faster, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium plan, which costs $20.99 per user per month. Plus, if you want on-demand call recording, you’ll need to upgrade to the highest tier, which costs $27.99 per user per month.
Try out the best VoIP system for growing teams and small businesses
So, is VoIP better than a landline? While landlines can be right for some companies, choosing VoIP can save most teams a lot of headaches and costs. VoIP phones provide a lot more flexibility and features than traditional phones.
OpenPhone is a VoIP phone that scales as your business grows and includes all the key features the best VoIP providers have to offer. Try out a high-quality VoIP service for your business — sign up for a free, seven-day trial of OpenPhone today.
FAQs
Ultimately, choosing between VoIP vs landline will depend on your business needs. However, most teams only opt for landlines if they:
Are already committed to an expensive landline system
Live in a highly rural area where a reliable internet connection isn’t possible
Don’t plan on growing their team any further
While there are advantages and disadvantages to VoIP, VoIP systems are typically the most cost-effective, practical choice that helps teams work more efficiently together.
You can use VoIP just like a regular phone for making and receiving calls. The only difference is you’re using the internet instead of copper wires and telephone phone lines.
You can keep your existing phone number when switching to a VoIP provider through a process called number porting. OpenPhone makes the porting process easy — all you need to do is fill out a simple questionnaire and wait a few business days.
This usually comes down to the quality of your internet connection. For example, a stable internet connection with good bandwidth will give you crystal-clear VoIP calls. Plus, modern VoIP providers prioritize call quality, so with a reliable internet connection, you’ll get the same or better clarity than landlines.
