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Deciding on the right business phone system for your company can take a lot of research. What do you want to accomplish with your new business phone system? Are you looking for a basic system that provides separate numbers for business calls and can route them to different employees? Or do you require a fully-featured system with capabilities for video conferencing, file sharing, app integration, and global reach?
Sometimes a small business only needs a few features whereas a larger corporation might not be able to function without those extra integrations. Understanding your specific requirements and how you intend to grow as a business is crucial before diving into the world of business phone systems.
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VirtualPBX, operating since 1997, offers a remote-run platform with a 14-day free trial accessible directly from its website. With an emphasis on transparency and ease of access, VirtualPBX stands out as a reliable option for business phone systems. With three plans starting from $9 per user per month, VirtualPBX provides impressive features, including call forwarding and integrations, earning praise for its reliability and value. Accordingly, we've given VirtualPBX our own 5-star rating as the #1 choice for business phone systems.
GoTo Connect is an industry staple known for its business phone system capabilities. While GoTo Connect provides a free demo, pricing details are not available online, requiring you to contact the company for a quote. Despite this, GoTo Connect receives impressive reviews for its affordability and features, earning it a solid rating as a one-stop shop solution for business communication needs.
Nextiva offers cloud-based communication services with its NextOS platform, helping over 150,000 businesses. While the site lacks a free trial option, it provides three business phone system packages ranging from $18.95 to $40.95 per month, with features like unlimited calling and integrations with various standard workplace applications. Praised for reliability and customer support, Nextiva is ideal for both large enterprises and growing businesses, earning it a strong rating.
RingCentral offers a cloud communications solution suitable for businesses with international teams, with services in over 100 countries. Despite slightly higher pricing, RingCentral's one-stop-shop approach gets compliments for its reliability, security, and positive customer service, earning it a solid on our list.
Grasshopper offers a virtual phone system with features like calls and texts, providing an extra phone number for doing business on your device. With a 7-day free trial, you can test its services without any commitment, though the trial period is shorter than some competitors. Offering three plans ranging from $15 to $70 per month, Grasshopper is praised for its affordability and user-friendly interface, making it ideal for startups and small businesses.
Freedom Voice's CloudNumber service provides businesses with a dedicated phone number managed through a smartphone, making it easy to separate personal and professional communications. With pricing starting from $9.95 to $29.95 per month, Freedom Voice offers cost-effective plans, with a 30-day free trial available for testing them out. Despite its simplicity, Freedom Voice excels in customer service, earning top scores from reviewers and making it a standout choice for small businesses seeking a basic yet reliable phone option.
8x8, Inc. provides VoIP solutions for businesses, offering cloud-based communication products. With five business phone plans, ranging from X2 to X8, they offer voice, video, chat, and contact center solutions. Despite lacking pricing details online, 8x8 maintains an "A+" rating with the Better Business Bureau. But, customer reviews are mixed, with some praising ease of use while other clients criticize the lack of transparency. Overall, 8x8 earns an above-average rating, suitable for those willing to contact sales for pricing information instead of seeing it upfront.
Dialpad, an AI-powered business communications platform, offers a 14-day free demo to explore its features, simplifying sign-up with just a work email and business details. With three plans ranging from Standard to Enterprise, Dialpad is priced between $15 to $35 per user per month, with add-ons available from $5 to $15 a month. Despite a mixed reputation, including a disappointing "F” rating from the BBB, Dialpad receives positive customer feedback for its proactive customer service. These pros and cons result in our mid-tier rating for Dialpad.
Phone provides a budget-friendly cloud-based PBX solution suitable for small businesses, offering voice, video, text, and collaboration features. While it offers discounts and a demo, details about the trial period are unclear, requiring contacting Phone's service team. Phone includes standard features across all plans but faces concerns about service reliability based on mixed customer reviews, earning it a mid-tier rating.
Ooma offers VoIP solutions but lacks up-to-date website information or a free trial for business phone services. With higher-than-average prices for what you get, Ooma doesn't have a lot of high points to consider. Because of the high number of customer complaints about outages, poor customer service, and difficulties with cancellations, Ooma earns a low rating.
Regardless of your business size, there are plenty of ways to serve your company with a new phone system. Even solo entrepreneurs can find suitable providers with features meant to help out a single business owner specifically.
Some systems are as simple as adding an 800 number to your existing device, making it simple to separate your business from personal calls while still managing your life on one phone. Other systems are primed for large, even international, businesses that need to field hundreds of calls, record videos, or send out automated texts.
While a business phone system might have been an expensive venture before, the landscape has evolved from the days of purchasing equipment and installing landlines. Nowadays, most business phone systems rely on mobile phones and offer totally online or cloud-based calling systems. Companies can use existing hardware and minimize upfront costs significantly. However, monthly expenses can still range from $12 to over $100 per user, depending on features and provider choices.
Despite potential initial costs, investing in a business phone system can yield some serious benefits. Enhanced productivity, quicker response times, and better data collection can be essential to your business and its future growth. Make sure to weigh the long-term advantages against the upfront costs when considering a business phone system for your company.
When picking out your new business phone system, you might get overwhelmed by the many available options out there. Here are several factors to consider to help you find the perfect phone support for your business:
To help you pick out the best phone system for your business, Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked the top providers on the market. Our research aims to give you the tools and techie details to navigate through the options and find the perfect phone system match for your company. We hope this helps you confidently choose a business phone system that meets your operational needs and helps you get back to the most important thing: running your business!
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