The Best Business Phone Services

Best Business Phone Services
Hailey Friedman

Deciding on which business phone service is best for your business needs can be a challenging task. With dozens of different choices available today, each one offering valuable tools and features, there’s isn’t a simple answer of which one is the perfect choice.

Adding one of these many phone services can help you manage customer calls more efficiently, track call analytics, make and receive calls over the internet, and much more. A business phone service can also assist with lead generation and your ecommerce marketing strategy.

To help businesses with this difficult search, we have researched fifteen business phone service providers. Keep reading to view our comprehensive list of the best business phone services on the market.

Ninja Number 

Ninja Number

About: Ninja Number is a virtual phone system developed for business use geared toward solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. This app allows users to create a second business phone line on their smartphone. Incoming and outgoing calls will use the business number, keeping the user’s personal phone number private.

Ninja Number is the only app that allows linking up to 5 phones, which mean calls will ring to all linked phones. Less calls are sent to voicemail when Team Mode is enabled. Ninja Number doesn’t use VoIP, ensuring the highest call quality. Smart Auto-Reply lets users customize answers to frequently asked questions. These questions are scanned by AI and the customized replies are sent directly back to the caller. Users can text back to transcribed voicemails, which supports the new trend of business texting. The app also supports a live answering component, Live Ninja On-Demand, that routes calls to 24/7 live operators when users can’t answer the phone.

Easy to Use:

  • Cellular connectivity for use (not VoIP) ensures call quality, stable connection
  • No need for hardware
  • Link up to 5 phones for comprehensive call handling
  • Linked phones share one affordable subscription payment
  • Ninja-Bot walks the user through a simple set up and customization process

Features:

  • Team Mode links up to 5 phones. All replies from each linked phone is tracked
  • Smart Auto-reply uses AI to text back answers to customer’s FAQs
  • Big Data analyzes call data and offers custom insights to improve call handling
  • Business Texting allows for users to text back to transcribed voicemails
  • Live Ninja On-Demand allows for live operators to answer the phones 24/7 when the user toggles off Ring Me First.

I think: Ninja Number is a quality virtual communications system that greatly benefits small and medium-sized businesses. The user-friendly business phone service includes smart features to provide better communications and efficiency, along with effortless scalability, making Ninja Number one of the industry’s best management solutions for communications.

The company also boasts a knowledgeable, friendly, and strong customer support team and a client list that includes several impressive brand names. The main drawback among users of Ninja Number is that there is no live customer support available on the weekends.

Ooma

Ooma

About: Ooma offers VoIP and security solutions for both business and home use, along with a SaaS communications hub that lets users perform cloud-based calls. The company provides users with a portable calling tool, enabling them to connect with customers worldwide through high-speed internet dialing. 

Ooma Office, the company’s business VoIP solution has won several awards and offers enterprise-grade phone services to small businesses. The virtual receptionist tool allows for automated call rerouting using artificial intelligence.

Ease of Use:

  • Easy setup
  • User-friendly web interface
  • Clear call quality
  • Mobile app
  • Contract-free service

Features:

  • Virtual receptionist
  • Unlimited calling for Canada and United States
  • Extension dialing
  • Conference server
  • Call transfer

I think: Ooma offers an affordable business phone system that is great for new businesses. The system is also a cloud-based VoIP which offers popular functionalities like auto attendant, call forwarding, and virtual fax. Two things that set Ooma apart is their contract-free service and their 30-day money-back guarantee. I recommend checking it out here.

Users commend Ooma on its affordability and ease of use and affordability, as well as notable tools like the virtual assistant, digital faxing, and customized messages. Some users have also mentioned the mobile app and customer support could use some improvements. Ooma offers economical pricing and a clear call quality.

8x8 phone service

About: 8Ă—8 provides several different phone services, including a virtual phone service. Specializing in cloud-based communication using existing high-speed internet connections, the company is dedicated to creating innovative cloud communications systems to help businesses “work simply and perform reliably.” 

Users can expect mobility, reliability, and superior tools for both domestic and international calls between team members. 8×8 is also known for offering quality phone service and VoIP features at a competitive cost, committed to matching plans for business communication needs. The company has also earned more than 125 patents and caters to business in many different industries, including insurance, education, and healthcare.

Ease of Use:

  • VoIP phone service with included cloud hosting
  • No need for complicated hardware
  • Makes collaboration among teams easy
  • Brings office together into one place
  • Offers team messaging, instant messaging, and media storage

Features:

  • Call recording with some plans
  • Instant messaging for teams
  • Unlimited calling to many international zones
  • Completely virtual setup, including calling from remote locations
  • Audio and video conferencing

I think: 8×8 is good for companies of any size, but specifically small and mid-sized businesses, to be able to use VOIP for their calls. The company continues to enhance their system to meet the increasing demands of customers and provides an ability to answer business calls from anywhere in the world.

Businesses can customize their phone system and the auto attendant is very helpful for small businesses in particular who may not always have someone available to answer calls. According to user reviews, t8x8 is easy to use and customer support is generally knowledgeable and friendly.

Grasshopper

Grasshopper

About: Grasshopper offers both WiFi and VoIP calling, allowing employees to stay connected at all times. The company makes it easy and quick to get a business phone number and sign up for a phone system that includes voicemail transcription, multiple extensions, and call forwarding.

The phone service works with both mobile and home phones, provides several important features, and includes unlimited minutes. Grasshopper, which is easy to set up, is available in three different service plans that all of which include unlimited minutes and all of the available features, differing in the number of phone numbers and extensions they include.

Ease of Use:

  • Setup process is one of the best of business phone services available
  • VoIP offers connection through all internet-connected devices, but doesn’t completely rely on internet quality
  • Multiple extensions and unlimited minutes
  • Receive business call from anywhere
  • Easy to add or remove business lines 

Features:

  • Both VoIP and Wi-Fi calling
  • Mobile and desktop apps
  • Call forwarding to smartphones or another device
  • Tex transcriptions for voicemails
  • Texting available through business phone number

I think: Grasshopper gives entrepreneurs and small businesses the business phone system tools they need to project a professional image without the need for installing any equipment or phones. These include call forwarding, text messaging customizable greetings and numbers, email transcriptions, inbound fax, and the ability to access your work line from anywhere.

Their approach takes the complexity out of a VoIP phone service and provides an easy-to-use interface without breaking the lower budgets commonly associated with entrepreneurs, startups or small businesses. The only downside perhaps to Grasshopper is the service isn’t as scalable as some of its competitors.

Vonage

Vonage Business phone service

About: During the early days of internet calling, Vonage made a name for itself as a VoIP communications provider. Today, it still remains as one of the top solutions, particularly for small businesses. Their customer support staff is known for its experience, while the business phone service offers a fairly user-friendly and reliable experience.

The business VoIP platform provides a plug-and-play service that runs on high-speed internet. And offers a variety of business-critical features, mobile integration, and built-in collaboration tools. Activation is easy with no on-site installation required.

Ease of Use:

  • Reliable and clear call quality from multiple devices
  • Easy setup process
  • Helpful customer support
  • Work from any device seamlessly
  • User-friendly

Features:

  • Team messaging portal
  • Unlimited calling and texting
  • Video conferencing
  • Visual voicemails
  • CRM integrations

I think: The key disadvantage Vonage has is that it tends to lag behind its competitors in terms of extra features for small businesses. For example, the video conferencing was added rather recently, so it’s not quite as powerful as other business phone services.

Vonage is known for having promotional offers throughout the year. So, you might find a good deal on something like the Vonage Business Cloud + Vonage for Salesforce bundle. Many small businesses will probably be fine with just the low cost Mobile Plan without the extra features. 

RingCentral

Ring Central

About: RingCentral offers one of the industry’s most robust VoIP systems for small businesses. In addition to a plethora of business app integrations and tools, the company stands outs fairly well as a business phone service powerhouse. The network features infrastructure in the United States, Asia, and Europe, as well as a deep feature set and AI integrations.

RingCentral allows businesses to make and receive calls through the internet and includes a variety of popular integrations, such as Zendesk, Salesforce, and Box. Users are charged on a monthly basis and as plans increase in price, more features are offered. However, the per user monthly rate gets cheaper, which is helpful for larger teams.

Ease of Use:

  • Easy to launch and manage
  • Reliable phone and online support
  • Quickly bring teams together through messaging and video conferencing
  • Easily communicate with clients with auto-attendance and texting
  • Voice-to-text transcriptions

Features:

  • Voicemail-to-email
  • Integrations with 100+ of apps
  • Video and audio conferencing
  • Team collaboration 
  • International calling

I think: A long-standing popular choice, RingCentral is what many companies probably expect of full-featured cloud PBX solution. It includes just about everything a business would need, ranging from capabilities like video conferencing, custom application integration, and internet faxing to new AI integrations.

Overall, users say that RingCentral has abundant features that are easy to use and they like that they can make and receive phone calls through several different platforms. On the other hand, some users have had a difficult time canceling their subscription to the phone service, and have said that the customer support team isn’t always knowledgeable or helpful enough to address their issues properly.

Nextiva

Nextiva

About: Nextiva is considered to be one of the best business phone services available thanks to its strong set of features and flexible pricing. Businesses also get a reliable VoIP solution without the hassle of setup. The company is comparable to Vonage Business, but boasts a longer feature list.

Users of Nextiva can manage their options from a web-based, user-friendly interface and can also interact with clients and customers online through the Proactive Chat. Companies can increase efficiency with unlimited queues, text shortcuts, and chat scheduling. The platform also integrates with other products offered by Nextiva for a full customer view.

Ease of Use:

  • Excellent setup wizard
  • Easy team collaboration
  • User-friendly interface
  • Great customer support
  • Rather impressive text and call reliability

Features:

  • Mobile integration
  • Advanced Call routing
  • Conference phones
  • Caller forwarding, ID, and waiting
  • Unlimited calling

I think: Nextiva is a very reliable cloud-hosted business phone service that doesn’t require any hardware or equipment, only IP phones and a high-speed internet connection. The entire system is managed through Nextiva’s online portal, which is divided into several sections. Businesses also have the option to keep their current phone numbers.

One of the main drawbacks of Nextiva is its pricing details listed on their website, which can be very misleading. The lowest pricing based on a long contract and lots of users is highlighted, with the actual breakdown of pricing a bit hidden under an information question mark.

Intermedia

Intermedia Business Phone System

About: Intermedia is an award-winning VoIP solution that is designed particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. The business phone service provides an integrated and comprehensive list of VoIP capabilities. These features are easy to set up and can be managed from the platform’s dashboard. 

Intermedia offers a robust unified communications system that includes phone service, video and audio conferencing, file collaboration, team chat options, and much more. Employees can link up to the system by laptop, desk phone, or smartphone no matter where they are, allowing teams to stay connected even if they are working remotely. 

Ease of Use:

  • No technical knowledge needed for setup
  • Managed through an easy-to-use dashboard
  • 24/7 customer service
  • Setup typically takes only a few minutes
  • Just connect device to the internet to use the service

Features:

  • Functions on multiple devices
  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Dial-by-name directory
  • Video conferencing
  • Hunt groups

I think: Intermedia’s cloud-based business phone service has an enterprise feel and goes beyond just calling and texting. The company provides several other useful services that include cloud-based backup, file and folder sharing, and encrypted email, which helps keep communications outside the business secure. 

Intermedia is particularly known for its J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support by either email or phone, and offers a reliable phone service for businesses on the smaller side. Since Intermedia is internet-based, there can be some issues if there is a weak internet connection.

Jive

Jive business phone service

About: Jive is a VoIP cloud-hosted phone solution with a simple setup and powerful features. The business phone service supports both video and voice calls, provides contact center services, and integrates with existing CRM systems. The reliable phone solution also works well for businesses both small and large.

Since the phone service is cloud-based, there’s not no need for any extra equipment, allowing teams to remain connected working from anywhere. The company’s Contact Center is a reporting and analytics solution which helps to track productivity call summaries, as well as generates real-time business reports.

Ease of Use:

  • No need to buy or install extra equipment
  • Easy to setup and manage
  • IT department isn’t needed for the platform to run smoothly
  • Entire system can be controlled through the online portal
  • Extremely reliable 

Features: 

  • Excellent reporting tools
  • Unlimited auto-attendants
  • Conferencing
  • Call recording
  • Time-based call routing

I think: Jive is a user-friendly business phone service solution that caters to all sizes of businesses. The company offers enterprise-class PBX features and a variety of business reporting tools. The service is great for companies wanting a flexible phone solution that is completely cloud-based.

Jive provides small businesses in particular an affordable and quality business phone service that offers a good combination of both basic and advanced calling features. The drag-and-drop visual dial plan editor and revamped interface make the platform even more user friendly.

Phone.com

Phone.com

About: Phone.com is a VOIP phone service and a flexible virtual cloud phone offering. Along with boasting one of the easiest domain names to remember, the business phone service keeps its product offering and website in general well organized. The list of features and pricing table are very easy to read compared to many of the company’s competitors.

The majority of Phone.com’s customers are businesses with less than twenty employees and packages offers an array of phone, management, and call center features combined into a simper, easy-to-use interface at a rather affordable price.

Easy to Use:

  • Doesn’t require additional equipment
  • Make and receive calls from any type of phone or from a computer
  • Entire system controlled from the web-based portal
  • Both Android and iOS mobile apps
  • Easy to customize

Features:

  • Click-to-Call option with buttons for the web or email signature
  • Built-in integrations for Zoho and Salesforce CRMs
  • Caller analytics 
  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Audio and visual conferencing

I think: Phone.com provides a great combination of simple usability and VoIP functionality for the small business that doesn’t need more than that. Plans can be scaled from just one phone line with basic features to an advanced phone system with many users.

The cloud-hosted phone service offers over forty valuable call features and tools. Phone.com requires no maintenance or hardware, and setup for the business phone service is nearly instantaneous. The system integrates with several popular CRM programs and is available in either pay-per-minute or unlimited plans. 

Google Voice 

Google Voice

About: Google today seems to offer a product for just about everything and its virtual phone service certainly is no exception. With Google Voice, businesses can get a phone number for making and receiving calls through the internet for any device, including smartphones, computers, and tablets.

Google Voice does however have a more limited feature set when compared to other business phone services. The company provides value for businesses who already use Google products and want to be able to organize call records and voicemail in an inbox interface. 

Ease of Use:

  • Both Android and iOS mobile apps
  • User-friendly
  • Very Affordable
  • Easily accessible from any device
  • Integrates with other Google products

Features:

  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Call forwarding
  • Text messaging
  • International calls
  • Spam call blocker

I think: Google Voice provides businesses with a local phone number and call as many as six phones simultaneously. The company has also added additional features, such as call recording and voice-to-text transcription for voicemail.

One thing to note is that Google Voice is focused more on incoming calls, which results in several features that don’t work with making outgoing calls. Users also can’t port their existing landline number. Overall, it’s a nice phone service considering that it’s one of the most affordable business phone services available.

Line2

Line 2

About: Line2 is a cloud-based business phone service that allows companies to accept calls and texts on both stationary and mobile devices. The system acts as a second phone line that is able to work on mobile devices as a full-featured phone system. One key feature of Line2 is the ability to receive texts from customers visiting your site.

The company primarily focuses on entrepreneurs and small businesses, providing a way for them to quickly add a second line as their business phone number, allowing them to separate business and personal communications.

Ease of Use:

  • Easy to set up
  • Affordable basic phone system
  • Can be managed through either a web or mobile app
  • Cloud-based 
  • Access from anywhere

Features:

  • Call recording
  • Ring groups
  • Call parking
  • Multiple lines
  • SIP Trunking

I think: Line2 began as just an app to let people access multiple lines from one cell phone, however, today the business phone service has become a full-on cloud phone system that targets small businesses at a rather affordable price. 

Line2 is easy to setup and offers a low cost phone service for businesses, and as such, is a basic phone system that may not have every feature users may want from a business phone service.

eVoice 

e Voice business phone service

About: eVoice is a virtual business phone service that allows users to add an extra line to their mobile devices for making and receiving business calls. The company specializes in offering a variety of voice communication and phone messaging tools for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as entrepreneurs and freelancers.

The business phone service is managed completely in the cloud, allowing business to answer calls from anywhere, across multiple devices. eVoice was designed to be able to route calls to employees on their mobile phones and offers several valuable features for small businesses.

Ease of Use:

  • Can transfer current number to the system
  • Calls can be routed anywhere, even to multiple numbers
  • Several voicemail options
  • Apps available for both Android and iOS
  • Cloud-based with no additional equipment needed

Features:

  • Voicemail-to-text
  • Call routing
  • Auto-attendant
  • Audio conferencing
  • Click-to-call

I think: eVoice is particularly good for very small businesses and entrepreneurs who don’t want to mess with having an additional phone, but still want to appear more professional with a business phone number. The company is known for simplified pricing, basic features that are easy to use, and offering a reliable phone service. Customer support is also available when needed.

One downside for eVoice can be the limits on monthly minutes, which could be an issue for some businesses. Another drawback of the service is it’s lack of features. As companies grow, they could also outgrow the virtual phone system since it doesn’t provide a full cloud-hosted VoIP phone service.

FreedomVoice 

Freedom Voice

About: FreedomVoice provides businesses with an option of either a cloud-hosted VoIP or virtual phone service, with no equipment installation required. Users can customize features of the business phone service to meet their specific needs, offering businesses more flexibility than several other Virtual PBX solutions.

FreedomVoice’s virtual phone system is designed for businesses with a remote workforce, allowing them to remain connected wherever they may be, while presenting a professional image as well. The cloud-hosted VoIP system offers options for companies of all sizes.

Ease of Use:

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • No additional equipment needed
  • Set up and running in only minutes
  • Unlimited line capacity
  • Choose either a new number or use your existing one

Features:

  • Unlimited voicemail storage
  • Auto-attendant
  • Call forwarding
  • Voicemail transcription
  • Integrated fax

I think: FreedomVoice provides many of the same features as other virtual phone systems, as well as some additional extras not found with several of its competitors. Users are able to customize the various features to meet their own needs, offering more flexibility.

One of the main drawbacks of the business phone service is that they charge additional fees for some of their features that are considered standard with other phone service providers, which depending on business needs, can get expensive. There is also limited availability of customer service.

CallHippo 

Call Hippo business phone service

About: CallHippo is a user-friendly and powerful VoIP-based virtual phone system that allows businesses to take their sales engagement and productivity to “the next level.” With more of an international focus than many of its competitors, CallHippo offers toll-free and local numbers in over forty different countries with just a few clicks.

The business phone service also offers real-time analytics and information about users through their app. Teams can also seamlessly share information and collaborate on calls, enabling managers to make better data-driven strategies. CallHippo also does a good job of telling users what they can accomplish with the service.

Ease of Use:

  • Easy-to-use VoIP-based system
  • Make and receive calls worldwide
  • Softphone technology through a mobile and web app
  • Great call quality
  • Helpful customer support

Features:

  • Call forwarding
  • 3rd party app integrations
  • Call analytics
  • Team collaboration
  • Call recording

I think: CallHippo is a good choice of a business phone service for small enterprises or companies that operate in several countries worldwide. The company provides a wide variety of features that enable businesses to communicate with customers using local phone numbers.

Users praise CallHippo for its excellent call quality and cheap rate, as well as their respectful, helpful, and responsive customer support. However, some users have also mentioned having cache issues and a few bugs that took a bit of time to address. Others have said the initial setup of service can be a little difficult.


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