How far apart are business VoIP prices, from entry plans to the top tiers?

Summary

Most U.S. cloud phone services charge $15 to $20 per user per month for an entry plan billed annually, or $18 to $30 month to month. Upper tiers with CRM integrations or contact-center tools run from about $25 to $75. Some pricing doesn't scale with headcount at all: Grasshopper charges one flat price per company starting at $14 a month billed annually, Verizon charges $20 to $35 per line, and 3CX licenses the whole phone system by the year. None of these figures include taxes, telecom fees, or desk phones.

Entry plans

The cheapest published plan at each provider, per user per month in U.S. dollars, before taxes and fees:

On annual billing the spread is five dollars. On monthly billing it's twelve: Zoom Phone adds $2, Dialpad adds $12. Nextiva's annual price is limited to new small businesses with 1 to 100 employees that sign a paid term of 12 months or longer.

The features behind those prices differ more than the prices do. Zoom Phone's cheapest plan includes call recording and U.S. and Canadian texting. Ooma starts texting and recording on Pro at $24.95, and caps texts at 250 a month per account. RingCentral Core includes on-demand recording and 25 texts per user per month, but CRM integrations wait for Advanced ($25 annual, $35 monthly). A phone menu that says "press 1 for sales" isn't in Quo Starter; it starts on Quo Business at $23 annual or $33 monthly.

Upper tiers and contact centers

Zoom Phone Business Plus is $24.50 annual or $29 monthly. Dialpad Pro is $25 or $35. Nextiva Engage is $25 or $50, and Nextiva Scale is listed at $75. RingCentral doesn't publish a price for its top bundle; the AI Customer Engagement Bundle says "Contact us for pricing."

Contact-center software is a different price band. Genesys Cloud CX 1 costs $75 per user per month billed annually, and CX 2 costs $115. Dialpad's support-center Essentials plan is $80 annual or $95 monthly.

Pricing that isn't per user

Microsoft Teams Phone Standard is $10 per user per month, paid yearly. Teams Phone with Calling Plan is $17 and adds a Microsoft number with 3,000 outbound domestic minutes in the U.S. Both need a separate Teams license, and the cheapest, Teams Essentials, is $4. Microsoft says the Calling Plan portion is sold inclusive of required U.S. taxes and fees, 911 fees included. Google Voice costs $10, $20, or $30 per user on top of a paid Google Workspace subscription; Business Starter is $7 on an annual plan or $8.40 on the Flexible plan.

Grasshopper charges one flat price per company with no user cap, from $14 a month billed annually. Verizon Business Digital Voice is $20 for the first line on a Fios plan of 300/300 Mbps or faster, $25 for each line after that, and $35 a line without Fios. Spectrum's Charter-area price guide lists its unlimited voice line at a $50 standard rate, with promotional pricing of $30 for months 1 to 12 and $40 after that.

3CX prices each phone system by the year according to how many calls, internal and external, happen at the same time. There is no per-user fee, and 3CX SMB Free covers up to 10 users.

What the monthly price leaves out

RingCentral's fine print lists a Federal Universal Service Recovery Fee, an E911 Service Fee, and state and local taxes among the charges that may apply. Ooma Office has a one-time $29.95 activation fee and charges $9.95 a month for each additional number. Extra numbers cost $5 a month at Quo and $4.99 at RingCentral. Verizon's IP desk phones run $85 to $200, and Spectrum charges $99 per location for installation.

Sources

Related on this site

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.