A business phone is a company’s lifeline. For most companies, significant marketing efforts are made using the business phone number, which is why many business owners prefer to obtain business VOIP phone services through cloud-based providers due to their configuration flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
Quality Standards for Business Phone Services
There is no point in saving money on business phone services if the call quality is horrible. The good news is that the quality standards for VoIP, VoIP quality testing, and VoIP mobile phone services have improved significantly over the past decade.
The industry standard for measuring the call quality of VoIP services is the Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The MOS evaluation focuses on listening quality, conversational quality, and transmission quality.
The MOS includes an evaluation and ranking of the calls on VoIP services for the following:
- Bandwidth: The throughput capacity of download and upload speeds.
- Latency: The speed of the link to another party.
- Jitter: The timing gaps between the data packets.
- Packet Loss: The pieces of data that are missing.
- Compression: VoIP compression ranges from lossless 1:1 to low quality 12:1.
- Codec: The coder/decoder used to convert the analog sound to digital transmission.
Phone call quality is higher with more bandwidth, less latency, lower amounts of jitter, less packet loss, lossless compression (1:1), and when using an efficient codec. Network administrators periodically test a VoIP system for quality. A minimum MOS of 4.3 out of 5.0 is the preference for quality business calls.
Guidelines for Evaluating VOIP Business Phone Services
In the reviews of the top VoIP business call services, they are ranked by having readily available tools to obtain the MOS ratings, price, and features to help you decide on the best service for your company.
Here are the Top Ten VoIP Business Phone Services:
- Nextiva
- DialPad
- Ring Central
- GoToConnect
- 8×8
- Vonage
- 1-VOIP
- Ooma
- Grasshopper
- Phone.com
1. Nextiva
Nextiva is considered the best VoIP provider due to the high reliability of its network, cost-effective pricing, and extended features.
MOS Tools: The online Nextiva Clarity dashboard offers a 48-hour latency test, a traceroute to test the connection quality to various nationwide locations, and the historical MOS ratings for the past week and past 90 days.
Price: There are four monthly pricing plans per user: 1) Essential $18.95; 2) Professional $22.95; 3) Enterprise $32.95, and; 4) Ultimate $57.95.
Plans come with the phone hardware needed for desktop phones and conference phones. The Nextiva mobile app works with Android and iOS phones.
Features:
- Local and Toll-Free Numbers
- Call Routing
- Call Forwarding
- Auto Attendant
- Multi-Line Support
- Call Recording
- Advanced Voicemail
- Unlimited Calling
- Three-Way Calling
- Video Conferencing
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Cordless Phones
- Conference Phones
- Advanced Software Integration
2. DialPad
DialPad is the T-Mobile service for business. It offers a 14-day free trial.
MOS Tools: DialPad offers a plugin for the Chrome browser that conducts a Dialpad Network Assessment Test. It evaluates the bandwidth, network capacity, route hops, ports used, firewall rules, and the quality of service (QoS). It gives an MOS rating.
Price: There are three monthly pricing plans per user: 1) Standard $15; 2) Pro $25 and; 3) Enterprise (custom quote).
Features:
- Cloud technology combined with artificial intelligence software.
- Automatically capture what was said by each person on each call.
- Search calls with AI-powered analytics of call volume, specific keywords mentioned, and caller’s sentiment.
- Easy to add or swap numbers.
- Provision a new user online using the intuitive interface in a few minutes.
- Create ring groups for video conference calls.
- Works with any hardware and any phone device from any location.
- Integrates with Salesforce, other CRMs, Zendesk, G Suite, and more.
3. RingCentral
RingCentral offers an all-in-one business communication and team collaboration system.
MOS Tools: RingCentral MOS is an aggregate of bandwidth, latency, jitter, packet loss, and codec scores. This current average score and the previous months’ history are available through the RingCentral MOS dashboard.
Price: There are four monthly pricing plans per user: 1) Essentials $19.99; 2) Standard $24.99; 3) Premium $34.99, and; 4) Ultimate $49.99.
Features:
- Cloud-based PBX.
- Easy to add users and build call routings, even remotely.
- Manage calls, voicemails, faxes, and business text messages.
- Unlimited one-click video meetings.
- Team messaging, file sharing, and task management.
- Phones, headsets, and desktop interface. It also works with Android or iOS phones.
- App integration with hundreds of apps and build your own app with Open APIs
4. GoToConnect
GoToConnect launched in 2019 as a combination of the Jive business VoIP system and the web, audio, and video conferencing offered by GoToMeeting (a product by LogMeIn).
MOS Tools: Download the GoToNetwork Test tool. Using this tool, it is possible to test network stability, bandwidth and perform a ping testing using the command line. There is no MOS report.
Price: There are five tiers of monthly pricing per user based on the number of users, which are 1) under five users $29.95; 2) five to nine users $25.95; 3) 10 to 24 users $23.95; 4) 25 to 49 users $21.95, and; 5) 50+ users $19.95. There is a further discount for 100+ users.
Features:
- Easy Configuration
- Real-Time Analytics
- Cloud Branch Exchange
- Custom Hold Music
- Dial Plan Editor
- Call Routing
- Ring Groups
- Video Conferencing
- Support for eight languages.
5. 8×8
8×8 offers unlimited voice calling. There is a one-month free trial.
MOS Tools: The customers’ designated 8×8 Work Service Quality Managers get access to a quality report that shows MOS ratings.
Price: There are three levels of monthly user fees, which are 1) 8×8 Express $12 for unlimited calling (in the U.S. and Canada); 2) X2 $24 for unlimited calling (up to 14 countries), and; 3) X4 $44 for unlimited calling (up to 47 countries).
Features:
- Cloud PBX
- Unlimited Calling, SMS Texting, and Faxing
- Multi-Level Auto Attendant
- Call Recordings
- Visual Voicemail
- Music on Hold
- Overhead Paging
- Call Handling
- Call Management
- Analytics
- Group Collaboration
6. Vonage
Vonage specializes in connecting mobile and desktop users.
MOS Tools: The Vonage Call Quality Report shows the MOS ratings for each call.
Price: There are three monthly pricing levels per user, which are Basic $19.99; 2) Premium $29.99, and; 3) Advanced $39.99.
Features:
- The Basic plan has unlimited calls, SMS texting, and team messaging.
- The Premium plan allows meetings of up to 100 people, multi-level auto attendant, and CRM integrations.
- The Advanced plan adds call groups, visual voicemail, and call recording.
7. 1-VoIP
1-VoIP offers a VoIP number and four-digit extensions for all employees.
MOS Tools: Not readily available.
Price: There are three monthly billing levels of 1) Metered $14.97 plus two cents per minute; 2) Corporate $19.97 unlimited calls, and 3) Professional with the phone included $29.97
Features:
- Call Waiting, Parking, Forwarding, and Extension Pickup
- Intercom
- Group Paging
- Caller ID
- Custom Hours of Operation
- Auto Attendant
- Music on Hold
- Voicemail
- Call Recording
8. Ooma
Ooma provides one phone number per user along with a pay-as-you-go plan for international calls.
MOS Tools: Not readily available. This system sometimes has quality issues, especially with international calls.
Price: Unlimited calling from within the US/Canada/Mexico for $19.95 for one line, $9.95 for the second line. The per-minute rate varies for calling other countries. PRO upgrade for more features is $24.95 per line.
Features:
- Call Management includes Blocking, Forwarding, Virtual Extensions, and Multi-Ring
- Virtual Attendant
- Ring Groups
- Pro level includes Call Recording, Video Conferencing, and Voicemail Transcription
- Toll-Free Number (500 minutes per month included)
9. Grasshopper
This mobile app system uses a personal mobile phone to create a virtual business line. It primarily uses the cellular network for incoming and outgoing calls. It does offer optional Wi-Fi and VoIP calling.
MOS Tools: Not readily available.
Price: Starts at $26 per month. There is a free trial.
Features:
- Virtual Phone System
- Custom Greetings
- Extensions
- Call Handling
- Toll-Free, Vanity, and Local Numbers
- Texting, Virtual Faxes, and Voicemail
10. Phone.com
Phone.com has a very low price for the Basic level; however, the features are much better at the Plus and Pro levels.
MOS Tools: Not readily available. Analytics reports are limited to Pro users.
Price: There are three levels of monthly billing per user, which are: 1) Basic $12.99; 2) Plus $19.99, and; 3) Pro $29.99.
Features:
- 300 minutes for the Basic level, unlimited calls for the Plus level.
- 1,000 text messages for the Basic level, unlimited text messages for the Plus level.
- Video Conferencing (10 people Basic, 25 Plus, and 100 Pro)
- Pro Level adds call recording, analytics, and CRM integration.
Summary
It is challenging for a business owner to compare VoIP phone services. This product review gives you a good starting point to compare some of the popular services.
When making an evaluation, here are some of the decision factors to consider when purchasing a business phone service.
- Check the quality.
- Determine the critical features needed.
- Calculate cost per line.
- Determine contract obligations and if a contract can be canceled easily.
- Determine who owns the phone number of your main business line if you change services.
Of all the factors, the quality of voice communication is vitally important for business calls. The cheapest VoIP plans services range from $12.99 to around $57 per month per line, depending on the features offered. For best results and to ensure high-quality calls, try the systems that offer a free trial to test them. Use the MOS tools, if they are available, to monitor call quality regularly for whatever system you choose.
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