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Blog Summary:
VoIP has become a revolutionary telecommunications technology that allows you to make phone calls using the Internet. In this comprehensive guide, we have covered the 7 top VoIP service providers that have enabled effective, flexible, and cheaper team and client communication across numerous businesses. It will provide valuable insights into VoIP software development for call centers, telecom companies, tech startups, and global remote teams to help them plan it efficiently.
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Communication in business is often directly tied to the call quality, which creates a ripple effect. If the call quality is poor, here’s what happens:
However, a digital upgrade is available to help businesses overcome traditional call limitations and empower their teams & clients with reliable, high-quality communication. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) addresses these pain points by delivering high-definition audio, ensuring crisp and clear calls.
VoIP improves team and client interactions with better call quality to add value to each conversation. It keeps them engaged across different channels and locations with integrated video conferencing without any expensive hardware.
In this blog, we will explore the 7 top VoIP Service Providers that make communication smarter and faster for today’s modern businesses.
VoIP is a digital technology that allows you to make calls over the Internet. All you need is a smartphone, computer, a desk phone with VoIP enabled, a VoIP app, and an Internet connection like Wi-Fi, Dial-up, or Ethernet.
Since the 1990s, traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) phones and landlines have used circuits to establish the communication path between two devices. Communication changed when VoIP solutions for businesses were introduced.
The circuit method uses full bandwidth before the data transfers from the source to the destination, which results in more time spent transferring data across the network. However, VoIP breaks the data into small packets while establishing a connection over the Internet network.
Each packet knows the source & destination and takes different paths to reach. This method transfers the file faster, more efficiently and minimizes the time traveled. Faster file transfer leads to clear crystal communication and device flexibility. Let’s understand how VoIP works:
Selecting the right cloud-based VoIP calling software solution can save installation costs and lower maintenance costs for long-distance global calls by forwarding them to remote teams. However, the search for the best VoIP provider requires research to ensure the features align with goals.
Here’s a rundown of the 7 top VoIP service providers:
Moon Dialer offers SIM-free calling across international borders, helping businesses save almost 90% of call costs using Wi-Fi. The free version of app provides most of the features, including recording international calls, while some paid add-ons also offer the option to enable or disable the SIM number.
Users love it for the cleanest interface and high-quality calls, which can be made from mobile and desktop apps. It also has a Vonage app center and a multi-level auto attendant for premium plans. AI virtual receptionist and call flip are some features that set it apart.
Cheapest: Standard plans start from USD 13.99 to USD 19.99 per user per month.
Most Expensive: Premium Plan at USD 29.99
The basic plan offers metered domestic and international calls as add-ons. Premium plans offer the option to choose between metered global calls and unlimited calling for a select number of countries.
USD 10 per month per user.
Nextiva has an automatic call distribution feature, a user-friendly metric dashboard for analyzing calls, and toll-free calls of up to 1500 minutes in Essential plans. It also provides softphone access to VoIP for remote teams and video conferencing for up to 45 minutes.
Cheapest: Essential Plan at USD 25.95 to USD 40.95 per month for up to 100 users
Most Expensive: Enterprise Premium at USD 199 per agent per month.
It offers two VoIP solutions for businesses, 8×8 Engage and 8×8 Frontdesk. The former leverages AI for customer engagement, and the latter manages reception calls with one click. Additionally, it serves over 40 countries with unlimited calls.
Cheapest: Express plan X2 at USD 15 per month per user.
Most Expensive: X4 at USD 57 per month per user.
It is highly office-centric and can work with both IP desk phones and softphones, making it easier for hybrid teams. The highest tier plan also offers caller matching for personalized greetings, a mobile app, and a free toll number.
Cheapest: Essentials plan at USD 19.95.
Most Expensive: Pro Plus at USD 29.99.
It includes an AI chatbot with self-service options and AI CSAT to gauge customer satisfaction. AI sales intelligence also provides playbooks and coaching.
Cheapest: Standard at USD 23 per month per user
Most Expensive: Pro at USD 35 per month
Choosing the right service provider begins with the features you are looking for to enhance your business productivity and communication. You might manage a call center, a small business, or a global team, and each would need different features.
Here are some key features you should consider:
To maintain high call volume traffic, you need an A-grade router, a high-speed broadband Internet connection, Quality of Service (QoS) settings, and a wired ethernet connection.
What to Look For: To avoid disruptions, look for advanced codec support and automatic call forwarding support. For example, one of the top VoIP service providers, Nextiva, has data centers that aren’t geographically restricted and offer better latency.
This feature is crucial for large businesses that make global calls regularly, as it eliminates the worries of paying hefty fees. Additionally, SMS capabilities allow your business to communicate quickly with your team and clients.
What to Look For: Look for providers with unlimited calls and transcription features. For example, Dialpad offers real-time call transcription to create synopses of call meetings.
You should consider a provider’s infrastructure, disaster recovery, and backup capabilities. Moreover, as your business grows, your chosen provider must be able to handle call volumes, new numbers and users, and more functionality.
What to Look For: Look for advanced call analytics features and mobile-ready applications. For example, Vonage is one of the best VoIP providers that offers SmartWAN technology, and RingCentral boasts 99.9% uptime.
VoIP traffic flows over the public Internet, making it vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Hence, to ensure the safety of client data, you need multi-factor authentication and advanced access control.
What to Look For: Look for providers that encrypt CLL traffic and provide firewall maintenance. ITSPs with SOC2 compliance also ensure higher security.
In large businesses, it’s essential to direct incoming calls to the appropriate department and reduce call transfers. Additionally, for high call volumes, it’s better to offer callback queues instead of keeping them on hold or abandoning them.
What to Look For: Look for features like auto call attendants, call routing, IVR systems, and call monitoring. Many providers offer call whispering, power, and predictive auto-dialing to increase First Call Resolution (FCR) rates and Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT).
Enable a unified communication experience with auto-attendants and integration with tools your teams already use.
Here’s an example scenario of tentative costs for a business with 200+ employees that wants to switch from traditional PBX to a VoIP phone provider:
| Current PBX Costs: | VoIP Service Provider Costs: |
|---|---|
| Installation and Maintenance: USD 12,000 | Monthly Subscription: USD 5,000 (USD 25 per user) |
| Hardware and Monthly Costs: USD 9,000+ initial setup | One-time Hardware costs: IP phones at $100/user = USD 20,000 |
| Long International Calls: $0.05/minute for 100,000 minutes = $5,000/month. | One-time Hardware costs: IP phones at $100/user = USD 20,000 International calls: USD 3,000 per month |
Hence, switching to VoIP will help your business save on a monthly cost of USD 1,000. Over a year, you’ll save almost USD 13,000 to USD 18,000 in maintenance costs if you choose the right provider.
Here are the steps to choose the best VoIP provider:
Defining what your business needs from a VoIP provider will help you narrow down your search. Check if your business conducts long-distance and international calls, has hybrid teams, and needs integration with modern tools.
Based on this, you can look for VoIP phone providers who offer integrated access with IP networks, SIP trunking VoIP, and PBX systems. Also, consider whether you have mass call center queries or only sales outbound calls.
Analyzing your budget for integrating a VoIP service is essential to ensuring that your business gets maximum value for money. The budget may include one-time equipment installation, maintenance, account activation, and the number of users.
Hence, it is crucial to evaluate the expansiveness of features, add-ons, free trials, and additional fees for global calls, staff, and premium support.
Your business might have many systems in place, like CRM, ERP, and other team collaboration tools for project management. It’s important to ensure that the VoIP provider has integration capabilities to ease your work processes.
It also helps you to keep the call data automatically logged and deliver more contextual customer service.
As your business grows, you will need a VoIP provider that can easily adjust according to your bandwidth requirements and call volumes. This requires high-quality Internet connectivity with a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) to handle network traffic and provide enough flexibility for call quality.
Call quality is the most critical factor when choosing VoIP solutions for businesses, as the features provided can direct the customization of call flows and call routing. Hence, choose a provider with analytics access to usage metrics of the total phone users and concurrent calls.
Last but not least, customer support options are a must-have in a VoIP provider, as your business can face issues at any time. Look for Service-level Agreements (SLAs) that guarantee post-implementation maintenance services and high uptime of up to 99.9%.
Empower your teams and save on communication costs with customized VoIP software development.
VoIP has proven to be an inexpensive and highly effective communication tool for businesses due to its high-quality voice calls. The biggest benefit is that VoIP doesn’t replace traditional telephones; instead, it has brought in an entirely new way for businesses to operate.
Let’s understand the benefits the best VoIP providers bring to your business;
Phone calls over the Internet make setting up channels and lines of communication for work calls easier, saving businesses infrastructure costs.
VoIP doesn’t require you to invest in any equipment other than an Internet connection and a compatible device. Some services even have browser-based apps that allow you to make calls with simple signups and a monthly fee.
VoIP systems are Internet-based, allowing employees to work remotely from anywhere in the world. In today’s hybrid culture, call forwarding, video conferencing, and voicemail-to-email can enhance productivity.
VoIP systems have call queues and instant call routing, cloud-based abilities to handle high call volumes, and even a built-in AI assistant.
With VoIP, your business can experience high-quality calls with faster Internet speeds, advanced codecs, and high uptime. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA has started to remove carriers’ for PSTN maintenance, making it difficult to find hardware.
Cloud-based phone solutions for VoIP have monthly or annual subscriptions per user and usually cost USD 20 to USD 40 per user per month. Hence, it is essential to understand which factors affect the pricing plans. Here are some of them:
VoIP plans generally range from USD 15 to USD 40 per month per user for basic features, while enterprise plans can go up to USD 50. You can also avail of business discounts.
Lower-tier plans include basic features like IVR and voicemail, along with collaboration tools like team chat and conference calls. Higher-tier features of some of the best business VoIP systems include call forwarding, real-time reports, and analytics.
Others also include SMS, extended support, setup fees, IP phones, headsets, and taxes, which may add USD 20 to USD 50 per user.
In addition to your VoIP monthly plans, providers also offer optional packages as add-ons. These packages include additional virtual, international, toll-free, and local phone numbers, adding USD 5 to USD 15 per user.
Others include software packages like sales outbound, analytics, and AI tools, which add USD 25 to USD 80 per month.
Let’s compare the pricing plans of the 7 top VoIP service providers we covered earlier:
| VoIP Service Provider | USP and Countries Covered | Pricing Plans Per User Per Month |
|---|---|---|
| RingCentral |
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| Vonage |
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| Zoom Phone |
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| Nextiva |
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| 8×8 |
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| Ooma |
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| Dialpad |
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VoIP saves costs by leveraging internet connectivity, reducing international call charges, and eliminating hardware maintenance. With features like CRM integration, scalability, and remote accessibility, it enhances team collaboration and client communication, boosting productivity and customer satisfaction.
In the end, it all comes down to choosing the right VoIP software development partner to help you build a solution that increases team productivity and business communication. At Moon Technolabs, we are experts in setting up call management and routing with Real-time Protocol to help you:
Check out how we developed Moon Dialer to have a glimpse of our expertise in cost-effective voice calls over a broadband connection. Contact us today for a free consultation.
We covered the top 7 VoIP service providers that offer modern, cost-effective, and feature-rich solutions for businesses transitioning from traditional landline systems. If your business is planning to switch from a conventional PBX system to VoIP solutions for businesses, here’s why you should do it:
With VoIP, you can resolve limitations like high costs, lack of mobility, and outdated infrastructure, empowering your businesses to modernize communication.
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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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