If only a few people are on the phone at once, is it cheaper to pay by the line?
Summary
Sometimes, by a wide margin. For a 10-person office with no more than four people on outside calls at once, four Verizon lines bundled with Fios come to $95 a month, against $153 for ten Webex Call users and $200 for ten RingCentral Core seats on annual billing. The line price leaves out desk phones, and the per-user plans give every employee an app and a number, so the three bills don't buy the same thing. 3CX, which charges by simultaneous calls, and Grasshopper's flat company rate add two more ways to count.
By the line
Verizon Business Digital Voice costs $20 to $35 per line per month for up to 99 lines. With Fios internet at 300/300 Mbps or faster, the first line is $20 and each added line is $25; a voice-only line is $35. The headline calls for a two-year contract, though the bundle fine print says no annual contract is required. Desk phones are extra, starting with an $85 Yealink T33G.
Spectrum Business lists its unlimited local and long-distance package at a standard $50, with a promotional $30 for months 1 to 12 and $40 after that. Installation is $99 per location, not per line.
Line-based pricing tracks how many people talk at once. A 20-person office where no more than four people are ever on outside calls starts from four lines.
By the user
Webex Call is $183.60 per user per year, which works out to $15.30 a month, with unlimited domestic calling and international calls billed per minute. RingCentral Core is $20 per user per month on annual billing and $30 on monthly billing. RingCentral advertises savings of up to 33% for paying annually, which on Core is $120 per user per year.
Here the count that matters is who needs a license, which is not always everyone on payroll.
By simultaneous calls
3CX charges one flat price per system per year, set by the number of calls, internal and external, happening at the same time (SC). Its FAQ says internal calls count toward that number. There is no per-user fee. The price list excludes tax and VAT.
The license doesn't include a phone line. 3CX says you own the relationship with your SIP trunk provider, so calling charges come from whichever trunk provider you pick and need their own quote.
A flat rate for the company
Grasshopper's plans don't grow with headcount. Its own pricing guide says the price stays the same whether two or ten people use the system. Plans start at $14 a month billed annually and can also be paid monthly. Grasshopper says each plan lists its included features, numbers, and users before you sign up.
By the minute
Microsoft sells Teams Phone with Pay-as-you-go Calling in the US for $13 per user per month on an annual plan, with outbound minutes metered on top. International calls are metered at Webex and RingCentral too. That part of the bill depends on where you call and for how long, not on seats or lines.
Ten people, three different bills
Take a 10-person company where at most four people are on outside calls at once. At published prices, RingCentral Core on annual billing for all ten is $200 a month. Webex Call for ten is $153. Four Verizon lines bundled with Fios come to $95 ($20 plus three at $25), before phone hardware. The Verizon figure is lower because it counts phones in use, not people, and the cloud plans include an app and a number for every user.
Sources
- verizon.com/business/products/voice-collaboration/voip/business-digital-voice
- spectrum.com/policies/charter-spectrum-business-voice-price-guide
- pricing.webex.com/us/en/hybrid-work/calling
- ringcentral.com/office/plansandpricing.html
- 3cx.com/ordering/pricing/pricelist
- 3cx.com/ordering/pricing/faq
- 3cx.com/pbx/sip-trunks
- grasshopper.com/pricing
- grasshopper.com/blog/phone-system-pricing
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone
Related on this site
- Do business phone providers charge by the user, the line, or the company?
- How many users does it take for a company-wide phone price to beat per-user pricing?
- How to read the per-seat table on this site
- Monthly vs annual billing: 1.28x more on 10 phone plans
- Is 3CX actually cheaper than paying for a phone service per user?
- 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.