Top 10 Small Business Phone Systems of 2022
When you’re ready to scale your small business, it is critical that you have a phone system that meets your growing needs. As your team becomes larger and your client roster becomes longer, your communication demands are bound to become more complex.
Without the proper phone system in place, your responsiveness and quality of customer service can fall short.
While the move used to be to put a new office phone on every new desk, modern small businesses are opting for a more affordable, simpler and reliable solution – virtual phone systems.
Virtual phones make it possible to gain a whole separate business line from your mobile device. Plus, they come equipped with key features for supporting more efficient communication, giving your company a professional voice and helping you scale your business.
With so many virtual phone options available, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for your goals. And as a busy small business owner, we understand you might not have the time to do the research. That’s why we’ve done it for you.
Below is a list of the top 10 virtual phone systems for small business.
Cloudphone.com is a virtual phone system that combines text automation and phone system features to help you save time by eliminating interruptions from your day – such as incoming calls and texts – so you can stay more focused.
Compared to other virtual phone systems, Cloudphone.com is more feature-focused while still maintaining a simple user experience. It comes equipped with essential tools specifically designed to help you automate your workflows, save time and scale your business. The best part is all of these key features (see below) are easily accessible from the main navigation menu, so you don’t have to go searching through nested menus to access your automated receptionist (for example).
Another great benefit of Cloudphone.com is that it helps filter out scam calls, and it is one of the only phone systems that can work on even the most minuscule signals – even on what would be considered a “dead zone” on other systems.
When it comes to price, Cloudphone.com’s basic pricing plan is one of the most competitive on the market. So if you’re going for the most bang for your buck, Cloudphone.com is by far the best choice. Starting at only $24 per month, you receive unlimited calling and 1-1 texting, 1 number, 2 users, 2 automated receptionists (or virtual receptionists) and 100 bulk text messages. It’s just $5 per feature to add-on, making it super simple to scale as you grow.
Key Features
- Unlimited Calling
- Mobile App
- Automated Receptionist
- Toll-free & Local Numbers
- Call Recording
- Pause-resume Recording
- Business Hours
- Voicemail Transcription
- Professional Voicemail Greetings
- Call Forwarding
- Extensions
- Call Routing
- Ring Groups
- Conference Calling
- Fax
- Two-way Business Texting
- Blast Texts
- Auto-responders
- Drip Campaigns
- Text Templates
- Desk Phones Available
Pricing
- Only Pay for What You Need
- Plans start at $24 per month
- Unlimited calling and 1-1 texting
- 1 number
- 2 users
- 2 automated assistants
- 100 bulk text messages.
- Add-on extra features for $5 each, including new users
- Enterprise-level plans available
2. Vonage
Another option for a small business phone system is legacy VoIP – Vonage. The fact that it was launched back in the early 2000s has its upsides and downsides. On one hand, it is super well-known across the telecommunications industry, but it is also lacking a lot of modern capabilities that competing platforms like Cloudphone.com or OpenPhone offer, including call recording, CRM integrations and automated receptionists.
Now let’s talk pricing. The most basic Vonage pricing plan starts at $19.99 per user/per month, which includes simply using their mobile and desktop app, as well as unlimited calling, SMS and team messaging. To add on more intuitive features or users, it’s an extra $10 or $20 per user.
In the end – you end up paying a considerable amount once you’ve created a package of all the essential features you’ll need.
Key Features
- Unlimited calling and texting
- Free unlimited team messaging
- Desktop, web, and mobile apps
- Voicemail transcriptions (Premium or Advanced plans required)
- Auto-attendant (Premium or Advanced Plans required)
- CRM integration (Premium or Advanced Plans required)
- Call recording (Advanced Plan required)
Pricing
- $19.99 per line per month (Mobile)
- $29.99 per line per month (Premium)
- $39.99 per line per month (Advanced)
3. Grasshopper
Grasshopper is a well-known small business phone system that has been a popular choice among small businesses for a couple decades now. It is designed to work in tandem with your existing landline or mobile phone service, and delivers an intuitive mobile app to make and receive calls from your mobile devices.
The pricing plans are broken into three tiers with its most affordable option starting at $26/month for 1 number, 3 extensions and various call management features as you can see below. The next two plans, Partner & Small Business, jump up to $44/month and $80/month for additional phone numbers, extensions and the same features. However, to add more numbers, it is a whopping $10/month per number.
Another thing to note is that Grasshopper bills annually, so if you prefer a monthly payment plan so that you can scale as you grow – this might not be the best option. Other options like Cloudphone.com allow you to only pay for the features you need and pay on a monthly basis, so you can always adjust your plan if things change.
Key Features
- Mobile + Desktop Apps
- Business Phone Number
- Business Texting
- Call Forwarding
- VoIP + WiFi Calling
- Virtual Fax
- Voicemail
- Read Your Voicemail
- Extensions
- Instant Response
- Custom Greetings
- Call Transfers
- Simultaneous Call Handling
- Incoming Call Control
- Reporting
Pricing
- $26 per month, billed annually (Solo)
- $44 per month, billed annually (Partner)
- $80 per month, billed annually (Small Business)
4. OpenPhone
OpenPhone offers a modern interface and the essential cloud phone system features for automating your workflows. It works well for businesses of many sizes, from solopreneurs to large teams. With an OpenPhone account, you gain calling, messaging as well as some surface-level CRM capabilities. One standout feature is the ability to share a phone number with multiple people on your team – like it’s an inbox.
OpenPhone pricing is pretty straightforward and competitive for what it has to offer. Their plans start at just $10 per month, per user. Keep in mind – you’re billed annually and for more complex (yet still necessary) features, pricing starts at $20 per month, per user.
While OpenPhone is a decent choice for growing businesses and teams, there are a few downsides. For example, they focus more on remote or mobile teams, and do not offer traditional desk phones. They might offer similar features to other platforms, but their interface is less feature-centric. In other words, you have to dig through multiple menus to manage the key features you want to use.
Key Features
- Unlimited calling and texting in US & Canada
- International calling
- Desktop, web, and mobile apps
- Shared phone numbers
- Call recording
- Business hour settings
- Voicemail transcriptions
- Auto-attendants
- Text automation
- Business app integrations
- Email and SMS customer support
Pricing
- $10 per user per month, billed annually (Standard)
- $20 per user per month (Premium)
- Customize your solution & pricing (Enterprise)
5. Ring Central
For a more advanced phone system, RingCentral is a VoIP service provider that comes equipped with calling, texting, video meetings, team messaging and many other features. This option is better suited for small businesses with multiple team members and those that are past the early stages of their business. Its complex platform works across office sites and mobile devices.
The onboarding process from setup to deployment to adoption can feel a bit long, in comparison to other modern solutions like Cloudphone.com and OpenPhone. In addition, RingCentral is all-encompassing – which can be a bit of an overkill for a solopreneur or smaller team. If you’re looking for a more simple and affordable option, RingCentral might not be for you.
When it comes to pricing, RingCentral has four different plans with the most affordable starting at $19.99 per user per month. With the basic plan, you can add up to 20 users, receive/place unlimited calls, and gain a number of other intuitive phone system features (with the exception of video) – check them out below.
Key Features
- Local or toll-free numbers
- Unlimited calls within the US/Canada**
- Business SMS
- Voicemail-to-text
- Team Messaging
- Document Sharing
- Unlimited Internet Faxing
- Unlimited Audio Conferencing
- Video Meetings (up to 100 people)
- 24-hour Meeting Duration
- Reporting for Quality of Service
- Business App Integrations
- 24/7 support
Pricing
- $19.99 per user, per month (Essentials)
- $27.99 per user, per month (Standard)
- $34.99 per user, per month (Premium)
- $49.99 per user, per month (Ultimate)
6. Nextiva
Popular amongst enterprises, Nextiva is another VoIP system that some small businesses opt for due to their unique video calling and screen sharing features. However, it’s important to note that as a small business, you will likely pay a much higher per-user cost than a larger business.
Their pricing can be a little confusing. The most basic plan starts at $18.95 per month for each user, but only if you pay for a 36 month agreement. The price for a team of 1 to 4 people on a monthly basis is $30.95. And still for that cost, it only comes equipped with the essential features, like unlimited calling and faxing. Even just for MMS and SMS – you’ll have to upgrade to a much pricier plan.
Key Features
- Unlimited Calling (US & Canada)
- Unlimited Video Calling (US & Canada)
- Mobile Texting (Professional plan required)
- Desktop, Web, and Mobile Apps
- Voicemail Transcriptions
- Auto-attendants
- Business App Integrations
Pricing
- $18.95-$30.95 per user per month (Essential)
- $21.95-$35.95 per user per month (Professional)
- $31.95-$45.95 per user per month (Enterprise)
7. 8x8
Another legacy communications platform that is well-known amongst enterprises is 8x8. It offers many of the necessary phone system features you could need from auto-attendants to unlimited calling and video conferencing. However, the basic plans are lacking many other features like group texting, two-way SMS, business hour settings and more. Unless you upgrade to a pricier plan – you’ll have to live without some of these essentials.
8x8 is more of an “everything-and-the-kitchen-sink” sort of solution, with tools ranging from business continuity to collaboration to marketing and demand generation. It can be a little more complex to navigate than other more straightforward platforms.
Like other cloud-based business phones, 8x8 offers a few different pricing tiers. Their small business plan starts at just $15/month per line and with that subscription, you gain a number of useful phone system features.
Some of the downsides of using 8x8 is its complexity and antiquated interface. If you're just starting out your business and are looking for a solution that’s easy to set up and go, you’ll want to go with another option. Plus, many 8x8 users have complained about dropped calls and poor service.
Key Features
- Unlimited Calling
- Unlimited Video Calling in the US and Canada
- International Calling (Upgrade required)
- Unlimited Texting in US and Canada
- Desktop, Web, and Mobile Apps
- Voicemail Transcription
- Auto-attendants
- Business App Integrations
Pricing
- $15 per user per month (8x8 Express)
- $24 per user per month (X2)
- $44 per user per month (x4)
8. Dialpad
Dialpad is a business phone system designed to unify and streamline your team and customer communications. It was built within the Google Cloud Platform and has evolved into a robust platform well-suited for the remote small business that needs a flexible, secure solution. Dialpad offers a wide range of voice and text automation features, and the ability to scale as you grow.
As far as pricing goes, Dialpad plans start at $15 per user per month, but only if you lock in for a year. Otherwise, the basic plan starts at $20 per user per month, which is reasonable for the features they offer. However, Dialpad has been known to come with hidden fees that drive the price up.
Key Features
- Unlimited calling
- Unlimited SMS & MMS
- Call Forwarding
- Custom Voicemail Greeting
- Voicemail Transcription
- Business App & CRM Integrations
- Fax (Upgrade required)
- Business Hours Settings
- Ring Groups
- Desk Phone Support
Pricing
- $15 to $20 per user, per month (Standard)
- $25 to $30 per user, per month (Pro)
- Custom Enterprise Pricing
9. GoTo Connect
Formerly known as Jive, GoTo Connect is a VoIP solution for small businesses that offers voice, text and video capabilities all on one simple and reliable platform. The perks of going with GoToConnect for your business phone system needs are its collaboration features like video calling and conferencing. However, it doesn’t offer 1-to-1 texting with your customers.
GoTo Connect is on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to pricing. Their basic plan ranges from $19 to $21 per user per month, depending on whether you choose to pay annually or monthly. But apart from its call management features, it’s lacking a few necessities that make it less appealing than other platforms in a similar price range – like Cloudphone.com.
Key Features
- Local or Toll-Free Number Options
- Video Meetings
- Unlimited Extensions
- Business App & CRM Integrations
- Auto-attendants
- Call Routing & Call Queues
- Call Forwarding
- E-Fax
- Ring Groups
Pricing
- $19 to $21 per user per month (Basic)
- $23 to $26 per user per month (Standard)
- $36 per user per month (Premium)
10. Aircall
A popular choice among small to mid-sized eCommerce companies, Aircall is a robust cloud-based phone system that integrates well with tools like Shopify or HubSpot. It offers a modern solution for hosting a remote call center that’s not only more affordable, but easier to manage.
Aircall is a little more expensive than the other virtual phone systems listed above. Their basic plans start at $30 per user, per month and require a 3 user minimum. So, if your main goal is finding the most affordable option for your small business phone needs, we would suggest sticking to one of the other platforms listed above.
Key Features
- Unlimited Calling within US & Canada
- Business App Integrations & API access
- Call Recording
- Automated Receptionists
- Voicemail
- Click-to-Dial
- Phone support
- SMS Business Messaging
- Advanced Analytics & Reporting
- Call Tagging
Pricing
- $30 per user per month, 3 user minimum (Essentials)
- $50 per user per month, 3 user minimum (Professional)
- Custom Pricing Plans available
Choose the Best Cloud Phone System for Your Business
Whether you’re looking for the most affordable option, or the most advanced features, it’s important to take your time to know what’s going to work best for your business needs.
We hope that this blog helps you in your quest to find a cloud-based phone system that can help you better manage your team and customer communications, drive responsiveness, save time, and focus on what matters most to your business growth.
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