Best Business VoIP Systems

Business VoIP is a voice-over-internet-protocol phone system that can be used in an office to receive inbound calls and make outbound calls via the internet. The software for a VoIP system operates on a computer and can be used to gather information during a call.

RingCentral Core vs. Phone.com Basic vs. Nextiva Essential:

The entry-level VoIP plans of all three companies are designed for small businesses and startups. All plans offer the most basic features, including unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada, business messaging, toll-free minutes, and more.

RingCentral Core and Nextiva Essential are the most expensive plans, with prices starting at $30.00 and $30.99 per user per month respectively. This is a significant price difference when compared to Phone.com Basic, which costs around $18.00 less. The RingCentral Core plan does provide helpful features like a toll-free or local business number, 1,000 toll-free minutes per month, and voicemail-to-text.

Phone.com's plans are packed with more advanced features and flexible limits. These include unlimited user extensions, plus 300 bonus minutes. However, while RingCentral users enjoy unlimited texting, Phone.com's are limited to 5,000 messages per month.

For the Nextiva plan, users receive similar features as Phone.com and RingCentral, with the addition of free online faxing.

RingCentral Advanced vs. Phone.com Plus vs. Nextiva Professional:

RingCentral's Advanced plan is their third-tiered option, offering all the same features as the other lower packages, with the addition of single sign-on, unlimited video meetings (up to 100 people per meeting), and multi-site support. While Nextiva's Pro does provide unlimited audio conferencing as well, RingCentral is the only provider with unlimited video meetings.

For these advanced features, RingCentral users can expect to pay $35.00 per user per month. This price is quite steep when compared to competitors Phone.com and Nextiva, which both offer plans that are around $20.00 more affordable.

Phone.com's Plus plan includes all the features of the Base plan but this upgraded version also provides hold music, call forwarding, 10,000 SMS messages, two local or toll-free numbers, and 500 bonus minutes. But, unlike Nextiva and RingCentral, Phone.com does not offer any conferencing features.

Nextiva Professional is the closest competitor to RingCentral when it comes to features, but the prices are a little different. You can expect to pay $35.95 per user per month. For this price, Nextiva users can enjoy personalized greetings and access to the Nextiva app.

RingCentral Ultra vs. Phone.com Pro vs. Nextiva Enterprise:

All three top-of-the-line plans are the three companies' most feature-packed plans, offering a wide selection of communication and collaboration tools. These plans are generally used by large to enterprise-sized businesses that need to handle high call volumes.

For $45.00 per user per month, RingCentral is similarly priced as Nextiva's Enterprise plan. Their Ultimate plan boasts all the features mentioned in the Advanced plan, with additional limits like audio conference calls and video meetings with up to 200 people per meeting, and 10,000 toll-free minutes per month. In addition, users gain access to advanced features like call recording and voicemail-to-text.

Phone.com's Pro plan costs $29.99 per user per month, around $15.00 more affordable than RingCentral. For the lower price, users do have less freedom due to their limited business messages (20,000 per month). However, Phone.com's Pro plan now includes video conferencing and 1,000 bonus minutes per month.

Nextiva's Enterprise is costlier than Phone.com, with prices starting at $45.95 per user per month. When it comes to features, the Nextiva Enterprise plan is similarly equipped to RingCentral, also offering tools like call recording and voicemail to text delivery, with the addition of voice analytics, which is also not listed in the Phone.com Pro plan.

How VoIP Works:

VoIP, also known as internet telephony, is an online-based telecommunications technology that transmits your voice as data over the internet. With this system, businesses won't need to use landlines as digital voice data automatically converts to a standard signal when calling a traditional telephone. This means that businesses using a VoIP system can make calls to any phone number including mobile and long-distance.

VoIP Requirements:

1. Network.

In order to successfully run a VoIP business system, you will need a strong network. Is your LAN (local area network) able to handle VoIP calls? To ensure that you get the best voice quality, you need to make sure your network is not congested. For example, if your business uses the internet or sends large files frequently, you should consider getting a separate network just for voice calls.

2. Special adapter.

To connect your VoIP system and make calls, you will need an adapter or a special VoIP phone. However, this depends on the VoIP system you choose. The adapter can either connect to your computer, the Internet via your router, or both. For example, Ooma requires users to have the Ooma Telo adapter.

3. Internet connection.

The most important part of managing a VoIP system is the quality of the internet connection. While you may see VoIP as the more affordable option, you will need to spend additional capital to improve the speed and quality of your internet connection.

How much bandwidth do you have? How much bandwidth will you need to cover all your employees? To determine how much bandwidth your VoIP system needs, ask your potential VoIP service provider about the size of their voice packages, then multiple this number by how many calls your business makes at any given time.