Can a small business use Google Voice without paying for Google Workspace?
Summary
Only if the business is one person. The standalone plans attach to a personal Gmail account, cost $10 (Starter) or $20 (Standard) a month, allow one user, and offer US numbers only. A team needs the Workspace add-on, priced at $10 to $30 per user per month on top of a paid Workspace subscription.
Standalone Standard is not add-on Standard
Google's comparison table splits Voice into five subscriptions, and the plan names hide real differences.
Standalone Standard has auto attendants and AI note-taking, but no ring groups and no call queuing. Those two, along with SIP Link for bringing numbers from another carrier, appear only on the add-on Standard and Premier plans. Add-on Starter, meanwhile, has AI note-taking but no auto attendant, and it stops at 10 users.
Premier alone gets numbers outside your home country, automatic recording of every call, Google Vault, and export of Voice activity to BigQuery.
Google's Voice product page offers only Starter as a "Voice Only" signup. Standalone Standard shows up in the help center table, not on that page.
What every plan includes
- Unlimited domestic and regional calling, plus international calling at per-country rates
- Three-way calling and on-demand call recording
- Desk phone and ATA support
- 911 emergency calling
- Voicemail transcripts
- Texting, but only from US numbers
Google defines "domestic" and "regional" by your primary location; regions include North America and Europe. Calling credit on standalone plans is billed to the individual account, and on add-on plans to the organization.
The Workspace bill
Business Starter, the cheapest Workspace edition, is $7 per user per month on an annual plan or $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Cancel an annual plan before renewal and you pay the rest of the contract with no refund. So the lowest add-on setup is $17 per user per month, and add-on Standard with Business Starter is $27.
The add-on is sold in 14 countries and regions. Standalone plans are US only.
Sources
- knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/voice/compare-voice-subscriptions
- workspace.google.com/products/voice
- knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/billing/compare-flexible-and-annual-fixed-term-payment-plans
Related on this site
- How do the big cloud phone services differ on price and features?
- What does a year of business phone service cost for a 10-person team?
- How does a business phone system decide who answers a call?
- Seat cost calculator
- Google Voice pricing data
- Google Voice alternatives
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.