Top 54 VoIP Software (Feb 2023)

2023's Best 55 VoIP Systems

Shlomi LaviShlomi Lavi / Feb 01, 2023

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1. RingCentral Phone

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $19.99 per user/month
  • Mar 10, 2022
Compare RingCentral Phone Vs. RingCentral Phone

RingCentral Professional is a cloud-based phone & call management system designed to serve businesses on the go. The platform helps the users to get directory listings, local business phone numbers that are toll-free and portrays a professional image.


2. jive communications

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $18.95 per user/month
  • Dec 29, 2022
Compare jive communications Vs. RingCentral Phone

Jive Software is a pioneer in providing social enterprise software. It provides cloud based solutions which focus on increasing productivity through collaboration platforms that cover employees, customers and vendors, who together form social communities that improve marketing, sales and service pro...


3. Nextiva Business VoIP

  • Best for: Start up, Small business, Medium business, Large business
  • Price: starts at $11.95 per user/month
  • Jan 16, 2023
Compare Nextiva Business VoIP Vs. RingCentral Phone

Nextiva Business VoIP is cloud-based communication, collaboration, call center and telephony services designed for small businesses in multiple industry verticals. The solution helps the user eliminate the need for the traditional phone system.


4. ShoreTel

  • Best for: Medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $19.99 per user/month
  • Mar 13, 2022
Compare ShoreTel Vs. RingCentral Phone

ShoreTel is a growing cloud-based VoIP software, it is designed to support medium and large size business. ShoreTel received a rating of 4.9 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered average (2.7/5) when compared to other solutions in their category.


5. 3CX Phone System

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $135 per year
  • Mar 01, 2022
Compare 3CX Phone System Vs. RingCentral Phone

3CX Phone System is an on-premise and cloud-based PBX system for unified communications. 3CX Phone System works with VoIP Gateways, SIP trunks, and SIP standard-based IP Phones. 3CX Phone System allows users to use their office extension from anywhere and from any device as it is supported on Androi...


6. Business Voice

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $24.95 per month
  • Mar 03, 2022
Compare Business Voice Vs. RingCentral Phone

Business Voice by PanTerra offers users with the right tools for their phone and call management needs.


7. eVoice

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $7.50 per user/month
  • Mar 18, 2022
Compare eVoice Vs. RingCentral Phone

eVoice is a call center software designed to manage communications remotely. With the software, businesses can speak directly to colleagues & customers on their terms, using channels such as text, phone calls, and video conferencing.


8. Five9 Cloud Contact Center

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $100 per feature/month
  • Apr 03, 2022
Compare Five9 Cloud Contact Center Vs. RingCentral Phone

Five9 Cloud Contact is a cloud-based contact center software helping users in the management of their inbound and outbound, multi-channel or blended contact centers.


9. VoIP Phone Systems

  • Best for: Start up, Small business, Medium business, Large business
  • Price: starts at $19.95 per month
  • Mar 29, 2022
Compare VoIP Phone Systems Vs. RingCentral Phone

VoIP Phone Systems is an internet-based VolP software for businesses to develop technological strategies, excellent business practices, efficiently manage services, and protect client data.


10. ShoreTel Sky

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $40 per user/month
  • Jul 06, 2022
Compare ShoreTel Sky Vs. RingCentral Phone

Mitel Sky is a cloud-based telephony and VoIP solution designed to help the users in unified communication. The core solution includes wireless networking, video surveillance & management and emergency notifications and more.


Pricing Guide - VoIP Software:

Business Phone Systems Price Range

Organizations would typically have to pay up between $17 and up to $1000 for Business Phone Systems software. However, the Price differs between Hosted systems and on-premise ones, and the majority of vendors charge their software cost per user. Additional billing can be present for services such as VoIP-Traditional Phone switch, Broadband, and Hosting. Users can also consider price points for some of these software products by their fit for company size, such as is follows:

  • Small scale businesses can expect to pay between $15 and $40 a month for VoIP Business Phone Systems. For example, GoToConnect and RingCentral Office pricing both begin at $20 a month, Dialpad Talk cost price at $15 per month, and Mitel pricing goes for $21 monthly. Furthermore, Ooma Office has a base subscription of $20 per month, with another Pro plan at $25 monthly. Vonage Business Solutions charges $15 per month for each line, and users can get an extension for $40 a month per line.
  • Medium-sized organizations would typically find software with cost price ranging between $95 and $179 monthly. For example, CallRails Business subscriptions start at $95 a month, REIRail Gold pricing begins at $97 per month, and MeetingSphere costs $99 monthly. Also, Dixa has a Professional plan which costs $99 a month, a Premium and Platinum plan that goes for $139 and $179 per month, respectively.
  • Large Corporations generally have to pay up to $1500 a month for VoIP BPS software. DCDial, for example, has a Grow plan, which begins at $899 a month, with the option to a Pro subscription, which costs $1499 per month. BoardBookIt Professional pricing starts at $585 a month, with an enterprise plan which has a cost price of $792 monthly. Additionally, Brazen pricing begins at $1999 for each event.

Some of the best of breeds have cost prices that lie within distinct price ranges; the analyses of their pricing are as follows:

  • VoIP Phone Systems These software products exist within the price range of $30-$45 a month. For example, Versature Essentials cost $30 per month, and its user can opt for the Professional and Enterprise plans, both of which go for $35 and $45 a month, respectively. MiCloud Connect has a starting cost price of $21 per month for each user, with Premier and Elite subscriptions, which costs $27 and $38 monthly. Furthermore, pricing for MightyCall starts at $20 a month, TeamViewer at $49 per month, and ConnectWise One at $19 monthly.
  • VoIP SoftPhones Users would generally have to pay between $0 and $100 a month for VoIP Softphone software. For instance, Freshcaller Sprout is free, and its users can procure Blossom or Garden subscriptions for $19 and $39 a month, respectively. Furthermore, Nice inContact pricing starts at $100 monthly for each user and Intulse at $15 a month.
  • Auto Attendant Systems Auto Attendant System products have prices that could reach up to $1000 a month. For example, Voximplant has a Small subscription which starts at $100 a month, and a Medium Messaging plan at $1000 per month. MightyCall pricing goes for $20 a month, and Sharpen cost price begins at $25 monthly – Sharpen also has an Empower plan that costs $119 per month.
  • Small Business Phone Systems Users can expect a price range of $15-$65 for Small Business Phone Systems software. SIP.US cost price, for example, starts at $25 monthly, ActiveDEMAND pricing begins at $15 a month and goes up to $65 per month.
  • Online Meeting Software These products have cost prices between $7 and $32 a month. Cisco Webex Starter pricing is $14 per month for each host, Doodle Team costs $32 a month, and SamePage goes for $8 monthly. Livestorm also begins at $39 monthly.
  • Business Phone Service Providers Vendors of Business Phone Service Provider software generally charge between $20 and $100 per month for starter subscriptions. Genesys Cloud 1 pricing starts at $75 a month, CallHippo Bronze at $18 monthly, and MeetFox at $11 per month.
  • Conference Calling Software These software products have cost prices up to $199 a month. For example, HighFive pricing starts at $199 per month for each room, LoopUp costs $22 monthly, and Vectera Pro at $9 each month per host.

11. Phonebooth

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price: starts at $20 per user/month
  • Aug 23, 2022
Compare Phonebooth Vs. RingCentral Phone

Phonebooth is a cloud-based VoIP communication solution that caters for the various communication needs a business might have. It offers call services as well as text messaging.


12. WebEx

  • Best for: Medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $13.50 per month
  • Aug 31, 2022
Compare WebEx Vs. RingCentral Phone

WebEx is a cloud-based web conferencing solution. The solution offers webcasting services as well as enhance team collaboration. With the software, teams can efficiently work with each other on a project, hold conferences and meetings, as well as share documents.


13. Vonage Business Solutions

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $19.99 per month
  • Aug 25, 2022
Compare Vonage Business Solutions Vs. RingCentral Phone

Vonage Business Solutions is a cloud-based communication software that is developed to provide business phone service by enabling businesses to connect VoIP phone systems to internet-enabled devices.


14. Huawei eSpace

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $50 per month
  • Apr 17, 2022
Compare Huawei eSpace Vs. RingCentral Phone

eSpace is a business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as call transfers over WiFi, routing of incoming calls, voicemail support, and others. The software was designed and launched by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd headquartered in China.


15. Grasshopper

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $26 per month
  • Apr 22, 2022
Compare Grasshopper Vs. RingCentral Phone

Grasshopper is a virtual phone and call management solution for small and medium businesses. It also offers help desk solutions and customization of the customer support. The software was designed and launched by Grasshopper headquartered in Minnesota, United States.


16. TelePacific Hosted PBX

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $50 per license
  • Apr 28, 2022
Compare TelePacific Hosted PBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

TelePacific Hosted PBX is a web based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as geo-redundant network, voicemail support, self-service portal, and others. The software was designed and launched by TelePacific Communications headquartered in Califo...


17. Aircall

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $30 per user/month
  • May 19, 2022
Compare Aircall Vs. RingCentral Phone

Aircall is a cloud-based telephony management system for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as call center management, inbound and outbound reporting, voice recognition, and others. The software was designed and launched by Aircall headquartered in Paris, France.


18. Ooma

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $9.99 per month
  • May 19, 2022
Compare Ooma Vs. RingCentral Phone

Ooma is a business VoIP solution designed for small and medium sized businesses. It offers such capabilities as caller ID, toll-free numbers, conference bridge, and others. The software was designed and launched by Ooma Inc headquartered in California, United States.


19. Windstream

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $39.99 per month
  • May 21, 2022
Compare Windstream Vs. RingCentral Phone

Windstream software is a cloud-based business communication system that offers phone service, the broadband Internet as well as Digital TV packages for businesses of various sizes.


20. SwyxWare

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $49 per month
  • May 19, 2022
Compare SwyxWare Vs. RingCentral Phone

SwyxWare is a cloud-based or on-premise IP Telephony and unified communication solution designed for SMEs. The solution is compatible with Mac, Windows, Mobile, and Skype integrations.


21. Avaya IP Office

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $7,500 per license
  • May 29, 2022
Compare Avaya IP Office Vs. RingCentral Phone

Avaya IP Office is a business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as auto-attendant, auto-dialing, voice to email conversion, and others. The software was designed and launched by Avaya Inc headquartered in California, United States.


22. Dialpad

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $15 per user/month
  • May 31, 2022
Compare Dialpad Vs. RingCentral Phone

Dialpad software is a modern cloud-based communication system that enables users to access voice, video, messaging, and meetings from a single central location accessible on any device that is internet-enabled.


23. Fonality

  • Best for: Medium business
  • Price: starts at $24 per user/month
  • Jun 10, 2022
Compare Fonality Vs. RingCentral Phone

Fonality by NetFortis offers business phone systems that are Cloud-based or on-premise. It is designed to help users in selling, servicing and collaborating with ease.


24. Mobex Hosted PBX

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $9.95 per month
  • Jun 18, 2022
Compare Mobex Hosted PBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

Mobex Hosted PBX is a business VoIP solution for small and medium businesses. It offers such services as auto attendant, call routing, conference calling, and others. The software was designed and launched by Mobex Inc headquartered in Florida, United States.


25. itPBX

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $19.95 per user/month
  • Jun 25, 2022
Compare itPBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

itPBX is a business VoIP solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as call center management, contact management, predictive dialing, and others. The software was designed and launched by itPBX headquartered in North Carolina, United States.


26. Mitel Unified Communications

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price:
  • Jun 25, 2022
Compare Mitel Unified Communications Vs. RingCentral Phone

Mitel Unified Communications is a cloud-based and on-premise solution that offers comprehensive communication, contact center, and collaboration tools. The Platform provides tools that facilitate information flow in an organization.


27. Voice Complete

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Jun 25, 2022
Compare Voice Complete Vs. RingCentral Phone

Voice Complete is a business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as SIP trunking, caller ID with name, and others. The software was developed and released by Level 3 Communications LLC headquartered in Colorado, United States.


28. Crexendo Cloud Business Phone System Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Jun 25, 2022
Compare Crexendo Cloud Business Phone System Software Vs. RingCentral Phone

Crexendo Cloud Business Phone System Software is a business VoIP system for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as auto attendant, call queuing, call forwarding, and others. The software was designed and launched by Crexendo Inc headquartered in Arizona, United States.


29. Skype

  • Best for: Start up, Small business, Medium business, Large business
  • Price: Has a free version
  • Jun 24, 2022
Compare Skype Vs. RingCentral Phone

Skype is for doing things together, whenever you’re apart. Skype’s text, voice and video make it simple to share experiences with the people that matter to you, wherever they are. With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – jus...


30. Evolved Office IP Phone System

  • Best for: Medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $2 per user/month
  • Jul 06, 2022
Compare Evolved Office IP Phone System Vs. RingCentral Phone

Evolved Office IP Phone System is a web based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as voicemail support, call forwarding, n-way calling, and others. The software was designed and launched by Evolve IP LLC headquartered in Pennsylvania, United States.


31. Zultys MX System

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Jul 06, 2022
Compare Zultys MX System Vs. RingCentral Phone

Zultys MX System is a cloud-based, Unified Communication and SIP-based open standards IP phone system that can also support on-premise or hybrid deployments. The MX systems integrate with the IP phones to offer a unified communication platform.


32. DLS Hosted PBX

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $195 per user/month
  • Dec 20, 2022
Compare DLS Hosted PBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

DLS Hosted PBX is a Voice over IP (VoIP) business phone system designed to converge voice, videos, faxes, conferencing and messaging for the users’ business. This software aims to empower the users’ business in enhancing customer responsiveness.


33. MyPBX

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $33.25 per PBX/month
  • Jul 22, 2022
Compare MyPBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

MyPBX is a communication management software for businesses to resolve sophisticated communication needs. The software allows the optimal connection of employees and customers regardless of their locations, routes incoming calls through the right track to the right agent, tracks phone conversations,...


34. Business VoiceEdge

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $64.99 per month
  • Dec 20, 2022
Compare Business VoiceEdge Vs. RingCentral Phone

Business VoiceEdge is a cloud-based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as voicemail support, call forwarding, music on hold, and others. The software was developed and launched by Comcast Corporation headquartered in Pennsylvania, United States.


35. CSipSimple

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $18.95 per user/month
  • Jul 23, 2022
Compare CSipSimple Vs. RingCentral Phone

CSipSimple is a Voice over IP (VoIP) program designed for Google Android operating systems that makes use of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This software is open source and was released under the GNU General Public License.


36. Comcast VOIP

  • Best for: Medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $39 per month
  • Jul 29, 2022
Compare Comcast VOIP Vs. RingCentral Phone

Comcast VoIP software is a cloud-based and on-premise platform that offers scalable and reliable VoIP (Voice over IP) solutions built for businesses of every size. Comcast VoIP enables organizations to manage their communications, set up a cloud-based PBX system, as well as benefit from various capa...


37. BroadVoice Cloud PBX

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $10 per user/month
  • Jul 28, 2022
Compare BroadVoice Cloud PBX Vs. RingCentral Phone

BroadVoice Cloud PBX is a web-based business VoIP solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as 3-way calling, call forwarding, auto attendant, and others. The software was designed and launched by Broadvoice headquartered in California, United States.


38. Ytel

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $25 per month
  • Jul 29, 2022
Compare Ytel Vs. RingCentral Phone

Ytel is a cloud-based appointment scheduling solution designed to help the user easily add programmable communications and boost the experience of every customer. Its key features include SMS API, Voice API, Broadcast, contact centre and phone numbers.


39. OBi

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $55,000 per license
  • Aug 05, 2022
Compare OBi Vs. RingCentral Phone

OBi software is a cloud-hosted suite of VoIP telephony devices that target businesses, service providers and consumers. The user can manage OBi devices through OBiTALK cloud- platform portal & API which allows for a precise, easy first-day deployment and 2nd-day maintenance.


40. Cisco Business Edition 6000

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $210 per license
  • Aug 16, 2022
Compare Cisco Business Edition 6000 Vs. RingCentral Phone

Cisco Business Edition 6000 (or simply BE6000) is a VoIP phone system program helping users to have an affordable business phone tool helping them to connect with their customers as well as collaborate within the teams.


41. Truly Wireless

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $500 per month
  • Sep 29, 2022
Compare Truly Wireless Vs. RingCentral Phone

Truly Wireless offers users with Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions that will help them create the suitable sales machine through capturing, measuring, comprehending and responding to all of the users’ phone call data.


42. Dial800

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $50 per month
  • Oct 19, 2022
Compare Dial800 Vs. RingCentral Phone

Dial800 is a business phone system that helps generate leads with a dedicated routing system, call tracking modules and AI-powered analytics. This cloud-based software interpolates toll-free telephone lines with detailed, data-driven analytics to improve revenue and help drive more calls.


43. ThinkingPhones

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price: starts at $15 per user/month
  • Oct 07, 2022
Compare ThinkingPhones Vs. RingCentral Phone

ThinkingPhones is a web based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as video conferencing, call forwarding, recording and playback, and others. The software was designed and launched by Thinking Phone Networks Inc headquartered in Massachusetts, United States. ...


44. EZTalks Software

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price: starts at $12.99 per feature/month
  • Oct 07, 2022
Compare EZTalks Software Vs. RingCentral Phone

EZTalks Software is a business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as presentation streaming, recording and playback, and others. The software was designed and launched by EZTalks headquartered in China.


45. Phone-com

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $11.99 per user/month
  • Oct 06, 2022
Compare Phone-com Vs. RingCentral Phone

Phone.com is a VoIP phone service and system for businesses of all sizes. Its capabilities include auto attendance, call conferencing, unlimited extensions, scheduling, forwarding, and others. The software was developed and launched by Phone.com Inc headquartered in California, United St...


46. Telzio

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $50 per month
  • Jan 27, 2023
Compare Telzio Vs. RingCentral Phone

Telzio offers users with comprehensive phone systems that will work with any type of business. This cloud-based system ensures that every call the user will make will be a good call.


47. Verizon UCCaaS

  • Best for: Medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $30 per line
  • Jan 30, 2023
Compare Verizon UCCaaS Vs. RingCentral Phone

Verizon’s Unified Communication and Collaboration as a Service or simply UCCaaS is a managed and hosted service grounded on Hosted Collaboration Solution of Cisco. This software is designed to deliver cloud-based business-grade communications and collaboration services, in which users can experience...


48. Slingshot VOIP

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $19.95 per user/month
  • Feb 01, 2023
Compare Slingshot VOIP Vs. RingCentral Phone

Slingshot VOIP is a cloud based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such services as predictive dialing, automatic call distribution, employee extension, and others. The software was designed and launched by dgNetrix Communications Inc headquartered in Ontario, ...


49. join-me

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $12 per organizer/month
  • Jan 31, 2023
Compare join-me Vs. RingCentral Phone

Join-me is a cloud-based software that allows users to hold talks remotely despite their geographical location. Join-me helps companies to facilitate and hold meetings as well as discussions from remote sites.


50. PBXact Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $15 per license
  • Feb 08, 2022
Compare PBXact Software Vs. RingCentral Phone

PBXact Software is a business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as caller ID management, outbound call limiting, voicemail support, and others. The software was designed and launched by Schmooze Com Inc headquartered in Wisconsin, United States.


51. FortiVoice phone systems

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Feb 09, 2022
Compare FortiVoice phone systems Vs. RingCentral Phone

FortiVoice is an on-premise business VoIP solution designed for offices and distributed networks with different types of phone users. The core features include auto attendants, voicemail, ring groups and dial-by-name directory and more.


52. Masergy UCaaS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Feb 08, 2022
Compare Masergy UCaaS Vs. RingCentral Phone

Masergy UCaaS is a web based business VoIP solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as instant messaging, built-in disaster recovery, conference calling, and others. The software was designed and launched by Masergy Communications Inc headquartered in Texas, United States. ...


53. Axon

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $139 per license
  • Feb 09, 2022
Compare Axon Vs. RingCentral Phone

Axon Virtual PBX is a business VoIP solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as auto call attendant, call recording system, on-hold message player, and others. The software was designed and launched by NCH Software Inc headquartered in Colorado, United States.


54. Zoiper

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $5 per license
  • Feb 11, 2022
Compare Zoiper Vs. RingCentral Phone

Zoiper is a custom softphone and VoIP system that is accessible through the Web. It can also be deployed on-premise. It provides solutions for call centers, service providers, mobile operators VoIP integrators and businesses needing softphones that are autonomous of their service provider.



A Buyer's Guide to VoIP Solutions

Communications Software Buyer’s Guide
 
Most people in the telecommunications industry will all agree that Skype is not just a communication platform that features ease of use and video calling functionality. That is, in order for this Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system to work at its best, technical engineers will be required. Their job is to ensure that the VoIP system can deliver the voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet, without any issues. VoIP involves signaling, channel setup, digitization of the analog voice signals, and encoding. What these technical terms mean to a business owner or chief executive who wants to invest in such communications system is pretty straightforward – that is to bring a technical person on board and allow him together with your management team to analyze your business requirements on telephony systems.
Thinking ahead of your technical requirements, we from ITQlick.com would want to assist you in strengthening your plan over acquiring or upgrading your communications system. This Buyer’s Guide will walk you through the basic requirements and technical considerations in selecting the right Communications Software solution for your organization. Just to give you a heads up, VoIP and Virtual/IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) are both communications software solutions (with different features entailed with them) and you should not in whatever way be confused of that. In this Buyer’s Guide, we will generally discuss communication software solutions but will use the terms VoIP and virtual/IP PBX interchangeably to refer to a solution.
Types
There are two major types of communications software solutions and they are as follows.
 
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
This system relies on the Internet to operate. It is well suited for small businesses where only a few phone lines and voicemail systems are required during regular operations. Adequate amount of bandwidth is needed in order to ensure high-quality phone calls with minimal disturbances.
 
Virtual/IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Phone System
Compared to VoIP, this solution is well suited for most medium and large enterprises. PBX operates via switching equipments which allows the routing of phone calls to different phones inside and outside your business premise. Virtual PBX is an upgraded version of the traditional PBX; it can be integrated with your VoIP or landline systems. The IP PBX is very much like any other client-server application. It operates at the IP layer enabling users to utilize their data network or even the Internet for voice transmission.
 
On a technical perspective, such solutions are used for the setup and management of digital communication networks such as LAN and WAN, email, fax, A/V networks and wireless communication systems (ex. Wi-Fi). Here are the types of VoIP and IP PBX solutions available in the market today. We highly recommend that you conduct your own research in order to assess which of these solutions can best serve your organization’s requirements for a communication system.
 
Hosted VoIP
In a hosted VoIP, the call control (CPE-based IP PBX or softswitch-based) is located in the service provider’s network. A softswitch is a carrier grade IP PBX that is capable of delivering voice to multiple customers at the same time. Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) is the terminal and equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with a carrier's telecommunication channel.
 
Managed VoIP
In a Managed VoIP, the call control is located in the customer’s premise or network. The service provider is in charge of installing, testing and deploying the CPE in the customer’s location.
 
Pure IP PBX
A pure IP PBX is a software-based version of a traditional PBX and it often delivered together with a piece of equipment. Since pure IP PBX delivers the voice via the data network, it offers a higher degree of flexibility when it comes to options on where to deploy the call control unit.
 
Hybrid IP PBX
This solution is a combination of old TDM network and IP.
 
Features
Getting down into the features and their equivalent benefits to your business is of vital importance on your search for the right communications software solution. Here are the benefits that you can get from investing on this software solution.
 
Faster Time to Market
  • Fully portable, platform-independent software
  • Simple yet flexible interfaces with a large base of trained developers
  • Mature, field-proven products integrated into a wide variety of network elements
  • Advanced calling features
  • Mobility of telephony features
 
Reduced Costs
  • Multi-threaded software solutions that provide optimal performance scalability
  • Consistent architecture to facilitate integration
  • Integrated systems that enable customers to focus on apps
  • Lower infrastructure costs, including lower network management and toll costs
 
Reduced Risk
  • Standards-based products and processes
  • Professional services and global technical support
  • Robust fault-tolerant and distributed fault-tolerant solutions
 
Here are the most common features that VoIP and Virtual PBX service plans has to offer.
 
  • Bandwidth utilization and inbound/outbound call detail reports
  • Auto-Attendant
  • Basic calling
  • Call log records
  • Call transfers
  • Caller ID
  • Call screening
  • Choose your area code
  • Click-to-Call Widgets
  • Conference calling
  • Directory services including blocking
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Fax number
  • Forward to mobile
  • In-Network Calling for Free
  • Integration with Outlook
  • Messaging alert features
  • Network Unavailable Forwarding
  • Ringtones and individualized messages
  • Tech support
  • Voice Mail Folders
  • Voice Mail to Email Transcription
  • Voice Mail with Personalized Messages
  • Web interface
  • Door phone entry buzzer integration
  • Find me/follow me call routing
  • Music on hold
  • Coaching tools
 
Solutions per Business Size, per Vendor
There are more than one hundred VoIP/IP PBX providers in the world to date and it is important that you conduct a survey of the solution providers available in your business location. When comparing communications software solution providers, check for the price model, features, service plan and reliability of their system. Other than those, also consider checking these parameters.
 
Fair use limit
Fair Use Limit tells you how many minutes you can use per month. On unlimited plans, this usually ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 calling minutes per user per month. Knowing the Fair Use Limit can protect the network from overuse. And if you exceed the set amount, you will be charged extra.
 
International calls
International calling can be included in the monthly subscription, or it will be a metered rate per minute based on your country. To save money, it is important that you compare the rates to the countries you call the most.
 
Equipment types
Equipment types are good to understand when it comes to cost efficiency. In some cases, you will have to invest in your own equipment, while other plans provide the equipment. You need to know if the VoIP/IP PBX service provider supplies SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking services.
 
Plan type
Each VoIP/IP PBX company offers different types of service plans; some are metered while others are unlimited plan. Study the features on each plan and select the right plan that will benefit your company the most.
 
Here is a shortlist of solutions providers where you can further verify the above features-to-consider.
 
  • BopCall
  • MyWebCalls.com
  • PennyTell
  • CallCentric
  • ViperNetworks
  • VBuzzer
  • Efonica
  • ON4
  • SparVoIP
  • Call On the Net
  • Go2Call
 
Pricing Considerations
Communications software solutions pricing model are basically based on the deployment models which are: Hosted VoIP, Managed IP PBX, Hybrid IP, and Pure IP.
 
Hosted VoIP requires no upfront cost and since service is located in the cloud, that means you can benefits from faster upgrade and repair time whenever there is a need. Managed IP PBX has lower upfront cost and the solution provider will be responsible in managing the converged network. Hybrid IP can make a significant investment to organizations who want to migrate from TDM PBXs to VoIP. However, most hybrid systems do not provide the same level of application integration compared to pure IP system. Pure IP has more flexibility in terms of deployment but requires significant upfront costs.
 
Cisco, Avaya, Nortel, 3COM and Mitel are all traditional IP PBX equipment vendors that have comprehensive VoIP/IP PBX solutions tailored for the enterprise market.
 
Skype, Vonage, Yahoo and Jajah are all emerging players that can provide consumer market the alternatives to traditional voice services.
 
As a reminder, always assess the real needs of your business. And as our advice from ITQlick.com, consider providing answers to these questions. What are you requirements for long distance calls, voice quality, and phone numbers? How do you consider taxes, maintenance costs, warranty periods, training times, E-911 capabilities, backup power, and interoperability with other equipments?
 
Market Trends
Despite of the challenges on service and voice quality, unproven ROI and TCO metrics, and security compliance that most communication software solutions are facing in the past several years, this market is growing at a faster rate. In fact, according to a recent report, VoIP and SIP revenues are expected to grow from $717.3 million in 2009 to $3.9 billion by 2016.  Another research says that the worldwide business VoIP service is forecasted to grow by 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2017.
 
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking or using VoIP to facilitate the connection of a PBX to the Internet is emerging as a large growth area for enterprise VoIP.
 
Mobile VoIP is gathering momentum allowing employees to enjoy all the features they need on a phone at a lower cost than a traditional provider can offer.
 
Hosted VoIP continue to be the ideal solution for SMBs. However, many large enterprises are also beginning to implement this solution into their organization. These are positives signs that VoIP in the business sector is continuously growing and a buyer like you who’s looking for a software solution should grab these opportunities as soon as possible.

ITQlick chart - 2023 best VoIP Software

2023 best VoIP Software | ITQlick.com
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Auditor - Shlomi Lavi

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Shlomi Lavi is an entrepreneur and founder of ITQlick.com. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information Systems Engineering from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Shlomi brings 17 years of global IT and IS management experience as a consultant and implementation expert for small, medium and large-sized (global) companies. Shlomi’s goal is to share the best knowledge and news about information systems so you can make smarter buying decisions for your business.