Why does the cheapest VoIP plan so often cost more than it looks?
Summary
Because the low number in the ad is rarely the number you pay. Seat minimums, a second license the plan depends on, features held back for a higher tier, and separate charges for numbers and texting all sit outside it. Rework the price at your own headcount with the features you need, and the order of the "cheap" plans often changes.
A worked example: Teams Phone
Microsoft lists Teams Phone Standard at $10 per user per month, paid yearly. The same card says to "add PSTN service with Teams Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing" and that "a separate license for Microsoft Teams is required." On its own, it cannot reach ordinary phone numbers.
| What you add | Monthly, per user (paid yearly) |
|---|---|
| Teams Phone with Calling Plan, US (includes Teams Phone Standard) | $17 |
| Teams Essentials, if you have no Teams license yet | $4 |
| Total | $21 |
The $17 plan comes with 3,000 outbound domestic minutes for the US and is priced with communication taxes and fees included, which is unusual; most providers list taxes and fees as extra.
Minimums and missing features
Aircall sets a minimum of three users on Essentials and Professional, so a two-person office pays for three. Google Voice keeps "call routing with auto attendants and ring groups" on Standard, which is offered only as an add-on to a Google Workspace plan; the Voice-only Starter is for one user in the US. A team that wants a shared main line should price Standard and Workspace together from the start.
Small charges that add up
- Extra numbers: $5 a month on Quo, $9.95 on Ooma Office, $6 on Aircall.
- Business texting: sending texts from a regular 10-digit number requires A2P 10DLC registration. Quo passes on a one-time $19.50 review fee and $1.50 to $3 a month.
- Billing term: Dialpad Connect Standard is $15 a month billed annually and $27 billed monthly. The site's billing article measures that gap across ten plans.
- Contract length: Nextiva's annual pricing is for new small businesses signing a 12-month or longer term. Vonage requires a one-year minimum on new annual accounts and says early termination fees on an annual term can reach the full contract price; monthly contracts carry none.
Sources
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/essentials
- aircall.io/pricing
- workspace.google.com/products/voice
- quo.com/pricing
- ooma.com/legal/rates
- dialpad.com/llm-info
- nextiva.com/nextiva-pricing
- vonage.com/unified-communications/pricing
Related on this site
- Monthly vs annual billing: 1.28x more on 10 phone plans
- What is not in the published seat price
- Contract length: 5 of 37 providers say how long you are tied in
- The cheapest seat price usually buys the smallest bundle of minutes
- Is Teams Phone or Google Voice still cheap once you count the license underneath?
- Do you need to register before texting customers from a business number?
- Seat cost calculator
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.