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This guide provides complete information regarding SIP Softphones for Windows. Whether you wish to explore how it functions, the most popular softphone apps, features, or selection guides, it discusses everything. Keep reading on to select the best softphone for your business.
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Imagine a scenario where your team is handling a number of client calls worldwide on traditional desk phones, which slows communication and causes call quality to drop, even during peak hours. It affects not only your brand’s reputation but also your growth.
So, you may be looking for the right solution to overcome such issues. Well, SIP softphones for Windows are a cost-efficient, advanced solution. It enables you to convert your Windows devices into a robust communication tool, with support for video meetings, HD calling, smooth PBX/VoIP, messaging, and more.
This makes it the finest choice for businesses, especially those operating remotely, and drives its increasing demand. Business Research Insights predicts that the softphone software market will reach approximately $3.21 billion by 2032, up from $1.67 billion in 2023.
In this guide, we will discuss softphones in more detail, including their features, pros, cons, and more. Let’s explore.
A software-based phone, or softphone, for Windows lets you make or receive SIP calls on your personal computer (PC). It doesn’t require a desk phone. You can easily connect it to your PBX or VoIP system, enabling video, voice, call management, and messaging with a simple Windows app.
It allows businesses to support their remote teams with streamlined communication. They can replace their old or existing hardware phones with a laptop-friendly and advanced solution.
Well, a SIP softphone for Windows depends mainly on VoIP technology and the SIP protocol to function, whether for managing or routing calls over the internet. Let’s understand how it works in detail:
During registration, the softphone first connects to your PBX or SIP server and sends a registration request. After this, a verification process is performed for your SIP credentials, including your username, domain, passwords, and more.
These help servers understand how to reach your device. After completion of the registration process, you can use your softphones to receive inbound calls.
Each endpoint agrees to use an audio or video codec before the call starts. Some of the most popular codecs are G.729, G.711, VP8, and Opus, and more. The softphone checks the available options and selects the appropriate codec based on configured PBX rules and network conditions. These ensure efficient and clear communication.
In call signaling, the “logic” of the call is managed, including answering, ringing, transferring, holding, and ending. The softphone leverages ACK, SIP INVITE, BYE, and other methods to communicate these important actions via a SIP server. This layer can manage call setup and teardown even without transferring the actual media.
After signaling completes, the actual video or voice data flows using the Real-Time Transport Protocol. This protocol provides low-latency delivery of audio or video packets, ensuring that conversations flow naturally. Secure RTP (SRTP) is commonly used for encrypted communication.
A large number of Windows devices even sit behind firewalls or routers, which tend to block VoIP traffic. The softphone overcomes issues such as failed calls or one-way audio by using the TURN, STUN, and ICE protocols. These are crucial for discovering its public IP and thus relaying media when necessary.
| Softphone Name | Supported Platforms | Security Protocols | Multi-Account SIP Support | Call Recording Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoiper | macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux | SIP+TLS+SRTP | It supports various SIP accounts or lines. | Yes |
| MicroSIP | Windows | SIP+TLS+SRTP | Yes, it offers multiple account supports based on configuration | Basic support |
| Linphone | macOS, Windows, iOS, Linux, Android | SIP+TLS+SRTP. It also supports ZRTP for end-to-end encryption. | Yes, it indeed supports various accounts or devices. | Some extensions/builds support call recordings. |
| 3CX Softphone | macOS, Windows, mobile, web client | SIP/TLS/SRTP supported | It supports PBX/multiaccount/integration | It supports recording. |
| Bria Solo/Teams | iOS, macOS, Android, cloud, web | SIP+TLS+SRTP, enterprise-grade security and encryption | It supports multiple accounts, collaboration/team setups. | It supports recording. |
| PhonerLite | Windows | SIP | It supports various SIP accounts | It supports only basic call logging. |
| Jitsi | macOS, Web, Linux, Windows | SIP, supports for secure protocols RTP | Yes, it supports numerous protocols/accounts. | It supports call recording, depending on the server and configuration plugin support |
| Ekiga | Linux, Windows | SIP | It supports SIP registration, multiple accounts, proxies, and more. | It offers basic support for video/audio calls |
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SIP softphone apps can balance battery friendliness, audio quality, ease of provisioning for admins, and secure transport. The following are some of the top softphone apps for iPhone and Android:
Zopier is a battery-friendly SIP client with rapid QR code provisioning, a reliable, easy-to-use mobile UI, and wide codec support. It offers extensive support for TLS/SRTP, SIP/IAX, background push, encryption, and a Pro tier with features such as conferencing, advanced codecs, and more. Whether you are remote users or SMBs, Zopier can be the best fit for you, especially if you want simplicity and enterprise-grade options.
Being a privacy-focused, open-source SIP softphone, Linphone mobile provides secure transport, HD video/audio, push notifications, and more. If you are looking for a softphone that offers customization and transparency, you should opt for Linphone. As a cross-platform, lightweight solution, it provides full support for standard SIP interoperability.
As an enterprise-grade SIP softphone, Bria offers features such as HD voice/video, a refined UI, messaging, presence, powerful server integration, and more. It’s a subscription-based softphone developed by teams that require consistent UC features, professional support, and mobile access. Bria is suitable for organizations seeking an integrated mobile UC experience.
The 3CX mobile app extends 3CX PBX to both iOS and Android with extension mobility, click-to-call, company phonebook access, push notifications, and more. Since many businesses have run 3CX services, mobile apps are optimized for a smooth handoff between desktop and mobile and for low latency. It can be the right choice for you if your PBX is 3CX.
Greenstream Wave is a free SIP softphone. It’s an enterprise-grade softphone that integrates easily with Grandstream UCM systems.
It provides complete support for multi-account SIP setup, barcode provisioning, etc. It’s an appropriate choice for businesses leveraging Grandstream hardware that seek a unified provisioning and also no-cost mobile clients.
Acrobits softphone has earned vast popularity for its tremendous mobile performance. It includes outstanding push-notification handling, high reliability on cellular networks, smooth codec fallback, and more.
Acrobits softphone boasts robust SIP features, including white-label/SDK options, and a complete focus on secure, privacy-focused transport. It’s the best option for both professional VoIP providers and smartphone users.
SIP softphones for Windows offer a range of cutting-edge communication features that help businesses improve productivity, calling, and more. The following are more important features that are indispensable to make SIP softphones user-friendly and robust:
HD voice has become a major feature of Windows softphones. With advanced codecs like wideband G.711, Opus, or G.722, softphones offer clearer, wider, and more natural audio than hardware devices. HD voice minimizes issues during long calls, improves customer experience, and comprehension. These are indeed highly important for sales teams and also support.
Call recording is included in most Windows SIP softphones. They are available with built-in call recording capabilities. Using this feature, users can automatically save conversations or route them to a secure server for local storage.
Your organization can leverage this feature for various purposes such as training, quality assurance, compliance, and more. Besides, many softphones also include naming rules, timestamping, and easy playback options for fast access.
In addition to voice calling, modern SIP softphones support video communication using standard SIP video codecs. Users can make one-to-one video calls using its integrated webcams.
They can also host small video meetings and extend voice calls to video when required. Video support plays a vital role in making the softphone a mini-unified communication tool. It’s indeed best for collaboration-driven workflows and remote teams.
Presence indicators provide real-time information on user availability, including busy, online, offline, or do not disturb. It helps you ignore unnecessary call attempts, enabling teams to communicate more effectively.
A highly effective contact management system is essential in busy communication environments. Windows SIP softphones generally include search tools, built-in contact directories, Active Directory/LDAP integration, and support for syncing with external address books.
Users will be able to organize contacts by departments, groups, call frequency, and more. Some softphones also provide CRM integration, ensuring centralized customer data access and click-to-call.
A large number of users of late manage a range of SIP identities, including support line, office extension, third-party VoIP accounts, sales line, and more. With multi-account support, an individual softphone can manage all of these from one interface.
Every SIP account has its own codecs, own profiles, call rules, security settings, and more. This is indeed useful for freelancers, call center agents, hybrid workers, and more.
Security should never be compromised in VoIP communication. SIP softphones for Windows include the following important things:
These protocols are necessary for complete protection against MITM attacks, eavesdropping, unauthorized access, and more.
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Though SIP softphones offer impressive flexibility, cost savings, and many other features, they also have certain drawbacks. These mainly depend on factors like internet stability, system resources, security configurations, and more. We will discuss more about the pros and cons:
As we mentioned earlier, cost-effectiveness is one of the most discussed advantages of SIP softphones. It doesn’t require you to have expensive desk phones, dedicated wiring, PBX hardware, and more. In this, communication takes place over the internet using Windows devices, which minimizes setup and long-term maintenance costs.
You need to be aware that most Windows softphones are plug-and-play. You don’t require any port wiring, physical hardware configuration, specialized technical expertise, or anything else. Most apps can automatically detect SIP settings or provide QR-based provisioning, further simplifying onboarding.
Softphones let you communicate anytime and anywhere, whether you are traveling, at home, or using a Windows laptop on public Wi-Fi. It allows you to access messages, calls, contacts, voicemail, and more, just like you do in your office. It primarily benefits sales teams, remote agents, and support staff.
Advanced SIP softphones integrate seamlessly with ticketing tools, CRMs, collaboration software, email clients, and more. It improves workflow efficiency, including auto-logging, call popups, centralized contact management, and click-to-dial.
These have a vital role in boosting productivity. Softphones are an important communication layer that combine digital tools, especially for organizations using UCaaS ecosystems.
Softphones work smoothly when your internet connection is working properly. Be it unstable Wi-Fi, poor bandwidth, or high latency, these issues led to several repercussions, such as echoes, jitter, dropped calls, degraded video/voice quality, and more. This is indeed important for businesses with remote teams or call centers.
If SIP traffic runs without SRTP or TLS encryption, it is highly vulnerable to data manipulation, call hijacking, and other attacks. It’s important to keep in mind that softphones rely heavily on public networks, which are particularly at risk.
Businesses need to encrypt transport protocols, configure strong passwords, VPN tunnels, STUN/TURN servers, and more. These offer safe communication.
When handling video calls, HD calls, CRM integrations, and presence management, softphones drain battery, RAM, and CPU resources. If you use an older version of Windows, you may experience difficulty with multitasking and high call volume. These lead to performance drops and application lag.
Though most softphones can be installed easily, new users still need details on SIP settings, call routing options, codecs, advanced features, and more. Apps like Zoiper offer deep customization, which can be confusing even for non-technical users. Therefore, it’s necessary to invest in creating onboarding documents, providing training, or enforcing existing configurations to ensure consistency.
Selecting the top SIP softphone is a highly responsible task that requires extensive research and careful consideration of several important factors. Let’s take a look at some of these important factors:
Security is the first and most important factor to consider when selecting the right softphone. You need to select softphones that support both SRTP and TLS encryption, secure SIP authentication, protection against SIP hijacking, and more.
Be it 3CX, Bria, or Zoiper, these apps provide industry-grade features. Strong encryption is essential when operating in regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, and legal.
Whether it’s video or high-quality audio, it’s quite necessary for professional communication. You need to look for the following important things:
If your team uses any helpdesk tools or CRM systems, you need to select a softphone that supports the following important things:
Even if you use Windows, you need to ensure the availability of a softphone with the following important things:
If you have to choose a softphone either for your call center or business, you need to ensure it supports the following things:
You need to determine the overall costs beyond a free version. It’s important to consider the following:
We provide expert VoIP development, smooth integration with UCaaS or PBX systems, and custom softphone solutions. Our VoIP experts are ready to cater to your diverse needs, whether you need cross-platform softphones, Windows-based SIP apps, or enterprise-grade features such as call recording, HD calling, secure encryption, and more.
As a VoIP software development company, we are committed to providing you with highly scalable, tailored solutions that improve the reliability and efficiency of your business.
You may already have found the right SIP softphone for Windows. You need to know that the right softphone depends mainly on your key business objectives. For enterprise, you can go for softphones like 3CX and Bria.
MicroSIP is perfect for lightweight usage, and Linphone is best for open-source softphones. Partner with a Windows app development company like us to get the right and tailored VoIP solutions that boost scalability, performance, and user experience.
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Jayanti Katariya is the CEO of Moon Technolabs, a fast-growing IT solutions provider, with 18+ years of experience in the industry. Passionate about developing creative apps from a young age, he pursued an engineering degree to further this interest. Under his leadership, Moon Technolabs has helped numerous brands establish their online presence and he has also launched an invoicing software that assists businesses to streamline their financial operations.
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