Who is the best small business VOIP service provider?by FitSmallBusiness.com

There is a large number of hosted business VOIP providers that offer amazing features at a low price. Great service packages cost around $30 per employee (plus taxes and fees that add around 10%)

Ring Central and The Competition

The industry giant in the small business VOIP space is RingCentral with more than 350,000 users. This means that the company is less likely to go out of business or be swallowed by a competitor.

Competitors to Ring Central include Jive, Vocalocity and Nextiva.

Our top choice for small business VOIP is Nextivia

Nextivia is the lowest cost provider of small business VOIP services, has US based customer service and a dedicated team that helps you set-up.

RingCentral2.5 Stars

Nextivia4.5 Stars

Jive3.5 Stars

Vocalocity3.5 Stars

Basic Pricing for7 Employees

$209.93 TotalPer Month

Exclude Taxex

$174.65 TotalPer Month

Exclude Taxex

$195.65 TotalPer Month

Exclude Taxex

$189.87 TotalPer Month

Exclude Taxex

Additional Pricing for Mobile Phone

Each Mobile Phone Adds

$29.99 To CostFree Free Free

CustomerService

Combination of US & Overseas, dedicated

Set-up Person

US Support, Dedicated Onboarding Team

US Support, Dedicated Onboarding Team

US Support, No Dedicated Onboarding

Team

Cool Features Business SMS Call Continuity

Website Learn More Learn More Learn More Learn More

What did not make it into the table?

Uptime

All the business VOIP providers guarantee that the service will be up 99.999% of the time. Your phone service will not be down for more than a few minutes if a natural disaster occurs.

Month-To-Month Contracts

This means you can switch providers without penalties. This has two benefits, you don’t have to pay a big sum upfront, and if they provide poor service you are not locked in.

HardwareYou will need to buy a desktop SIP Phone. These phones will cost between $50 and $250 per phone depending on their quality. The phones are not locked to a particular service provider. Its a one time cost.

Mobile Workforce / Softphone

Employees can turn their phone into a “softphone” by downloading an app, which can make and receive calls from their work number. Usually for IOS or Android operating systems.

Pricing: How We Evaluate Pricing & Details

The cost of your service can vary greatly depending on what features you want to include.

We asked each VOIP provider to give us a quote based on our company having 7 employees, each needing to have their own direct dial extension with voicemail. Also, we asked for one call group. All the plans we considered had unlimited local and long distance minutes for US an Canada.

They offered the cheapest plan which came in at $174.65 per month. Their basic per user price is $24.95 which inc luded everything that I wanted.

They offered the most expensive plan at $209.93. If you want to have a softphone in addition to a desktop phone, they charge full price for having an extra user.

However, there are two benefits of buying with RingCentral:1) If you get an annual plan, it brings their basic price in line with other VOIP providers.2) You get to cancel within one month and get full refund on the service.

They offered the second cheapest plan at $189.87. However it can get more expensive depending on the features you want. You might bring the cost much lower depending on how you deal with the sales person.

They are at the middle of the pack at $195.65. While they promote that their monthly fee is all inclusive, you have to pay $1.75 extra per month for each phone number that can be directly dialed.

Bottom Line

Since each VOIP provider has a different pricing policy write down what you want and get quotes for the vendor before you begin:

1.Number of Users2.Number of Devices3.Number of Phone Numbers4.Number of Call Groups5.Use Of The 800 number

Don’t be afraid to negotiate to get a lower price.

Best Small Business VOIP For Price: Nextevia

Customer Service: Location & Dedicated Account Set-up

The only firm which has overseas based support (for customers with under 10 users) is RingCentral. All other firms had U.S. based customer support. We got a good feeling after talking with Vocalocity.

Was the customer service based out of the U.S. or Overseas?

With the exception of Vocalocity, every firm claims to have a set up team when you initially set up your phone system. Vocalocity gives live interactive webinars for new clients three times per week. PC Magazine describes that setting up a phone system with Jive is more intuitive than RingCentral.

Did the firm have dedicated account set up team?

Cool Features

RingCentral is the only VOIP provider that allows you to send text messages using your business phones.

Send Text Messages

Call ContinuityIf your internet or power fails, Vocalocity has you covered. If one of them is down they have a number (typically, a mobile number) which they forward calls for each extension.

You Can Learn More About Each Provider By Clicking The Links Below:

NextivaRing CentralJiveVocalocity