Business phone systems are a critical part of any organization. They allow employees to communicate with customers and clients, and it can be the difference between a successful sale and a missed opportunity.
If you’re in the market for a new business phone system, you’ve come to the right place. This guide covers the top UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) phone systems currently available. UCaaS business phone systems are like VoIP with video and messaging capabilities.
Top 10 Business Phone Systems for 2023
We reviewed dozens of providers to determine the best business phone systems using information about product lines, customer service, ease of implementation, and reputation from business users. All star ratings are out of 5.
| Phone System | What We Like |
|---|---|
| Nextiva | Great reputation for quality service |
| RingCentral | Stability, reliability, and flexibility |
| Cloudli | UCaaS features including digital fax and business SMS |
| Grasshopper | Very affordable and user friendly virtual phone service |
| OnSIP | Scalable service with simple setup |
| Ooma Office | Top rated customer service |
| 8x8 | Integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot |
| AT&T Business | Innovative options for conferencing hardware |
| Verizon Business | Feature-packed business phone system |
| GoTo Connect | Straightforward pricing and trial |
Nextiva Customer Service
Nextiva offers a robust customer support page, with webinars, product guides, and comprehensive setup guides for their most popular features. Chat and voice calls are also available for more specific questions.
Nextiva Implementation
Nextiva offers a step-by-step guide to setting up and customizing your account, with simple but detailed instructions.
Nextiva Reputation
Nextiva holds a 4.4 rating on g2.com, and reports that it has had zero outages since 2018. Customers report that Nextiva is easy to administer, and many customers especially praised the ease of use during transfers to remote work during the pandemic.
Nextiva Plans
Nextiva offers several tiers of service, depending on the size of your business. The Essential plan, at $18.95, offers auto-attendants, unlimited internet fax and a mobile and desktop app, among other features that make it a competitive offering for smaller teams.
RingCentral Customer Service
RingCentral has live voice and chat support, as well as a robust community board to answer frequently asked questions.
RingCentral Implementation
RingCentral has a three-step setup process, given step-by-step in an introductory email, as well as on their blog, so your team can refer back at any time.
RingCentral Reputation
RingCentral was established in 2003, making it an old hat in the VoIP game. As such, it has a reputation for stability and reliability.
Getvoip.com rates it at a 3.9, with most customers giving it high scores in quality and reliability, while also noting their customer service team leaves a lot to be desired.
RingCentral Plans
RingCentral’s virtual business phone system is a highly flexible system, with options to fit sole proprietorships to teams of thousands. This system boasts simple setup and functionality across devices, so you can have the same features on your mobile phone or desktop computer.
Cloudli Customer Service
Cloudli is a leading provider of business UCaaS, including hosted voice, data, and messaging solutions. Known as babyTEL until 2021, the company was originally founded in 1982. Cloudli has mostly positive reviews for customer service and many note their team is responsive.
Cloudli’s TalkNText service is the first subscription app that combines business phone service with business texting. Adding texting capability to your business phone can improve communication and conversion rates.
Cloudli Implementation
Cloudli offers work-from-anywhere unified communications apps that are optimized for businesses of any size. Their apps provide VoIP connectivity and digital fax solutions that give you the benefit of new technologies without disrupting the way you do things.
Cloudli Plans
Cloudli currently offers three small business phone plans: Start Up, Small Business, and Small Business +. The per user cost is very affordable compared to other similar services at only $10 to $12 per month.
All Cloudli plans include unlimited calling in the US and Canada as well as integrated business SMS and team messaging.
Grasshopper Customer Service
Grasshopper offers an extensive support page, and an automated chat bot, but reaching a live human requires a couple of extra steps.
Before you can receive the customer service hotline, you will need to provide your email address and a brief description of your issue. While this can help the call go smoothly, it can be frustrating if you have a pressing issue.
Grasshopper Implementation
With Grasshopper set up couldn’t be easier and its app is very user friendly. It is as easy as choosing a business number and downloading the apps. Your system can be ready to go in a matter of minutes.
Grasshopper Reputation
Grasshopper is aimed specifically at small businesses and sole proprietorships, and some customers have questioned the reliability of the service. PCMag gives it 3 stars, saying it’s a solid choice, but without the more robust features a bigger business may require.
Grasshopper Plans
Grasshopper offers three tiers, for sole proprietorships, 1-3 person teams, and small businesses. The offerings are not as robust as others on the list, but is a good option if all you really need is a phone number.
OnSIP Customer Service
OnSIP offers a customer service hotline, live chat, and a support page. You can submit requests for new entries to the support page.
OnSIP Implementation
OnSIP boasts a simple setup, including a complete phone system replacement in under an hour (in some cases). If you add in number porting and hardware modifications, keep in mind that implementation could take a week or more.
OnSIP Reputation
TrustPilot gives OnSIP 4.4 stars, with many customers praising the technical support team for compassionate and knowledgeable service.
OnSIP Plans
OnSIP offers a wide range of desktop and mobile softphone apps, as well as Sayso website chat, which allows website visitors to video chat with representatives, as opposed to standard chat bot.
Ooma Customer Service
Ooma offers 24/7 live chat, phone and email customer support, which has been top rated on getvoip.com.
Ooma Implementation
Ooma offers printed instructions with reference pictures for an easy and fast setup. Their support page estimates that setup should take between 5-10 minutes.
Ooma Reputation
Ooma has a 4.9 on getvoip.com with most customers praising the reliability of the system, especially with remote work, and the low price point.
Ooma Plans
Ooma offers two tiers of service: Small Business, for teams of 10 or less, and Enterprise, for teams over 10. Their baseline plan, Ooma Office, offers 35 features, including hold music and a virtual receptionist, giving customers powerful features at all price points.
8×8 Customer Service
8×8 has an extensive support page with detailed troubleshooting tips, as well as a chat bot, but it does not appear to have a customer service phone line.
8×8 Implementation
8×8 offers an extensive user manual and setup guide, which, while comprehensive, does give the impression that setup is more complicated than with other phone systems.
8×8 Reputation
8×8 has a 4.2 / 5 rating on getvoip.com, with many customers finding the convoluted customer service system a headache, and expressing concern with contract renewal and automatic payment practices.
8×8 Plans
8×8 is especially proud of their integrations with other popular business tools like Salesforce and Hubspot, making it a top contender if your business relies heavily on another application.
AT&T Customer Service
AT&T offers a customer support line M-F 7am-4pm PST, as well as a contact form that customers can use to give a detailed account of their issue. The lack of weekend hours can be frustrating for businesses that operate outside of normal business hours.
AT&T Implementation
AT&T mostly offers plans for desk phones, which may require additional installations and coordination with the phone company.
AT&T Reputation
AT&T is one of the oldest phone companies, and is considered one of the Big Three phone service providers. This longevity and continued popularity has given it time to perfect the craft, and it remains a trusted service for business phone systems.
AT&T Plans
AT&T offers a conference speakerphone with four wireless microphones, ideal for larger conference rooms, to ensure everyone can hear and be heard clearly.
Verizon Customer Service
Verizon offers several technical support hotlines. You can request a call from Verizon technical support as well if you’re on a tight schedule or need to coordinate with a teammate.
Verizon Implementation
Verizon offers tools to help you check availability of their network in your area and a breakdown of necessary equipment for their VoIP system, so you know if this system is compatible with your business needs before you even request a quote.
Verizon Reputation
Verizon is one of the Big Three wireless networks, alongside AT&T and T-Mobile, so you’d think that their business phone service would be just as trusted and reliable. However, consumeraffairs.com gave Verizon Business Digital Voice a 3.2 star rating, with customer reviews singling out the customer service as particularly unhelpful.
Verizon Plans
Verizon boasts 45 features with their business phone system, including a “barge-in” feature, which allows users to bridge into each other’s calls, even if they are in process. Most other systems advertise about 35 available features, which gives Verizon an advantage here.
GoTo Connect Customer Service
Reviewers on g2 have praised the GoTo Connect customer service team on their courtesy, care, and relatively short wait-times.
GoTo Connect Implementation
GoTo Connect gives itself a leg up by offering a 14 day free trial period, so that customers can truly implement the system before buying.
GoTo Connect Reputation
GoTo Connect has a 4.5 star rating on g2.com, with customers praising its smooth user interface and customer service team. Several customers stated that the chat and text features leave something to be desired.
GoTo Connect Plans
GoTo Connect offers a 14 day risk free trial on their products, so you can really test them in the trenches before making a commitment. They offer one all-inclusive package, at $19.99/month, which gets you access to standard VoIP features. The offerings may not be as robust as others on this list, but worth it for the price point.
Top Business Phone System Features
E911
E911, or Enhanced 911, is an important safety feature available on VoIP systems that delivers the phone number and location of a 911 call to the dispatcher, so that even if someone is unable to verbally provide this information, emergency services can still be dispatched. The FCC requires all interconnected VoIP service providers to provide E911 services to subscribers.
Auto Attendant
If your company has multiple departments, an auto attendant is a must have. Replacing the need for a human receptionist, auto attendants help callers get to the right line and cut down on transfer time.
Example auto attendants use cases:
- List departments
- Respond to simple user queries
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Explain hours of operation
- Other simple tasks, like providing account balance information
The main advantage is scalability. Auto attendant works without involving a human representative, saving your team time.
Hold Music / Messaging
Ideally, you’ll never have to put a caller on hold, but realistically, holds are a part of business as usual, and hold music or messaging makes a huge difference in user experience. CNN reported that 70% of callers hang up after 60 seconds of silence, and 35% never call back.
Hold music helps your caller know that the call hasn’t been dropped. Hold messaging can also serve as a brand voice opportunity, telling callers about new products and services or upcoming events, or as a way to remind callers of your qualifications and achievements.
Extensions
Like auto-attendants, phone extensions are a must have for businesses with multiple departments. You can cut down on transfer and hold times by having a robust and easy to find list of extensions for different departments and team members.
Extensions and auto attendants often work hand in hand, with some extensions going to auto attendants, and auto attendants transferring callers to the correct extensions with just a key passphrase.
Conferencing
Forbes projects that 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least 5 times a month by 2025, which means powerful conferencing features with your business phone system should be a top priority.
A good phone or video conferencing system will have high-speed connection to eliminate audio or video lag, and flexibility on the types of devices that can join the meeting. Choosing the right conference system for your business will depend on both the size of your team and the size of your conference space.
Voicemail-to-Text
Voicemail to text tools eliminate the need to navigate through an unwieldy voice mailbox by transcribing voicemails and sending them directly to your inbox. Voicemail to text is also a valuable accessibility tool, helping team members who are deaf or hard of hearing glean information from voicemails much easier. Many voice to text systems are AI-powered, using secure software to ensure that your voicemails stay private. However, these auto-generated voicemails can be prone to error, so if you need more accurate transcriptions, check to make sure that your voicemail to text provider offers human transcribers as well.
Call Transfers
Along with auto-attendants and a comprehensive extension system, call transferring is vital to get your callers to the right line quickly and easily. Many business phone systems have features for “warm transferring”, or bringing the caller onto a brief conference call with the person they’re being transferred to, to ensure that the new party is both available to talk and briefed on the situation, saving time for both the caller and the team member.
Call Forwarding
Call forwarding allows incoming calls to be redirected to another device or number. Virtual business phone systems act as an enhanced call forwarding system, by allowing business calls and features to be used on mobile or home phones. Call forwarding is a highly flexible tool, with some services like Grasshopper allowing you to create custom forwarding schedules to fit your team’s availability. Calls can be forwarded to multiple phones at once, so you can avoid missed calls and extensive holds.
Call Queues
Like hold music, call queues can help make the unpleasant experience of being placed on hold a bit more bearable for your callers. Call queues will inform your callers of their place in line and an estimated wait time, instead of being left on hold indefinitely. Some call queues can offer your caller a call back when they reach the front of the line, letting them get back to their busy schedules, and providing a better user experience.
Internet Faxing
Faxing can seem as ancient as clay tablets, but it’s still a useful and secure way to transmit sensitive documents like bank statements, especially if clients do not have them in a digital format. Having a way to receive and send faxes keeps you accessible to clients and colleagues, and with many VoIP phone systems, you can send and receive faxes digitally. With 17 billion faxes sent annually, having fax capabilities is still a must have for any business.
Business Phone System Costs
Costs for setting up a business phone system will vary on what type of system you choose (Landline vs VoIP). You’ll need to factor in what kind of hardware you’ll be getting, any additional fees, the cost of setup, which may require hiring a professional to train your team on the system or paying the phone company to come onsite.
On top of these initial fees, you’ll also want to keep administrative prices in mind. A system that has relatively low initial fees can have a huge monthly bill that makes it far less cost-efficient.
CostHack determined business phone systems cost somewhere between $800-1000 a user, with handsets costing anywhere from $200-1000 per user. Generally, if your business has more users, the price per month and per device will go down considerably.
Specialized Phone Hardware
Desk Phones
While more and more businesses are making the move to virtual phone systems or softphones, there are still benefits to keeping your desk phone that make them well worth the cost.
If your business has a customer service department or other team members who spend the majority of the day on their phone, a desk phone can be the most reliable way for them to interact with callers. Desk phones are less likely than softphone headsets to cut out or garble words, causing less headaches for your callers and your teammates.
Desk phones are also not reliant on your internet connection, so if your wifi goes down, business does not need to stop. Landlines are generally more stable and more time tested than internet phone systems, so it may be worth the extra cost if stability is your main goal with a phone system. Desk phones can also handle a higher volume of calls without straining your internet connection.
Desk phones may not be the most practical for fully remote businesses, or the most cost effective for smaller businesses, but if reliability and heavy load capability are what you’re looking for most in a phone, they’re definitely worth considering.
Conference Room Phones
Conference rooms are larger than your typical cubicle or personal office, which means that sound needs to cover a greater area, and can make a conference call on an average office phone or cell phone embarrassing.
Specialized conference room phones, like those from Poly, ensure that every person on both ends of the line can hear and be heard equally. As with a Porsche, there is no substitute.
A standard phone on speaker picks up the white noise on the caller’s end, and makes it difficult for them to both hear and be heard, while conference room phones erase background noise, and make your call as crisp and clear as possible.
To ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, no matter where they are in the room or world, a conference room phone is an absolute must.
What Is a Business Phone System?
A business phone system is pretty much what it says on the tin; a phone system equipped for handling the everyday voice communications of a business.
Business phone systems have several features that make them distinct from consumer phone systems, like transferring calls between users and auto-attendants to help guide customers to the correct line or even complete tasks without speaking to a representative.
They can be divided into three main categories: Virtual, Landline, and VoIP, each with its own unique features.
Landline Phone System
Landline phone systems are usually supported by the regional phone company. Landline services require private branch exchange (or PBX) hardware onsite. PBX hardware is known to be more stable than cloud based phone systems, which is ideal if your business handles mission critical calls.
There are only a few very limited use cases for an analog phone system, so almost all new business phone systems are VoIP or Virtual.
Related: Analog Phone System vs VoIP
VoIP Phone System
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP phone systems, are the most popular choice for new business phone systems. Instead of using copper wires to transfer data, VoIP systems use your internet service.
VoIP systems are full, robust business phone systems, with all of the power and features of a traditional landline without the physical space needed to house hardware.
VoIP phone systems also have the capability to use “softphones”, which are computer or smartphone apps that operate in place of a physical phone.
Virtual Phone System
Virtual phone systems allow calls made to a business to be forwarded directly to a team member’s cell phone number.
A virtual system like Grasshopper is ideal for smaller businesses with remote teams, since it has the features of a business phone without the need for separate hardware, cutting down costs, and keeping workers’ personal phone numbers secure.
Business Phone System FAQ
What’s the implementation process for the different types of business phone systems? Can I handle the installation or should I plan to hire an expert?
All phone system providers make their installation process sound easier than it really is. They might be technically correct that you can be ready to make calls in minutes – but that doesn’t include configuring menu systems or extensions, recording greetings, porting numbers, installing new PoE (power over ethernet) routers, or training employees on the use of handsets or softphones.
Virtual and VoIP systems are generally more straightforward to set up, since they have more flexible wiring requirements than a traditional landline or PBX system. Your phone system service provider should give you instructions on how to set up the system. If you have an IT team, they should be in the decision-making process.
What are some often overlooked steps involved in the setup for a business phone system?
When it comes to a successful business phone system rollout, the devil is in the details. The initial installation may go smoothly, but if you don’t keep on top of these smaller details, you can find yourself with major headaches later down the line.
Site Evaluation
Before the pen touches paper on the contract, you’ll want to double check that your office building can support the phone system you’re planning to use. For virtual and VoIP systems, this involves checking that your internet connection is strong enough to support the system. For landline phone systems, it’s important to make sure your building has internal telephone wiring, as many newer buildings are built without them. Double check with your new service provider, and your landlord to ensure that either internal wiring is available or is able to be installed.
Hardware Testing
For VoIP business phone systems, make sure softphones and headsets are running properly. Since these systems use softphone applications, proper headsets are necessary to give the same clear connection callers would expect from a physical phone. If you are using wireless headsets, make sure that they are properly connected to each team member’s Bluetooth, or if they are wired, that the connector is compatible with the port on your team’s devices.
User Settings
Make sure that all necessary users are added with the proper permissions, with properly working extensions, to ensure smooth and secure calls from day one of your new system.
Porting Phone Numbers
Many business phone systems will allow you to port phone numbers and extensions from an existing system for an easier transition. This process depends more on your current provider than the one you’re switching to, so if you’re leaving them due to poor customer service consider allowing a week or more to complete the porting process.
Updating Directories
Setting up a new business phone system is a great time to update your company’s directories and phone books, deleting contact information for former team members or clients, merging any duplicate contact information, and ensuring that contact information for your team and client’s is up to date.
Training
Finally, make sure that your team has access to training they may need to operate their phone systems. Particularly, make sure your IT team is equipped to handle any troubleshooting or repairs that may need to be done on your new phone systems as your team adjusts to the learning curve, to minimize business disruptions.
If your service provider offers online courses on their products, make sure the proper team members are enrolled.
Hanging Up Business Phones
Business phone systems are an important part of any successful business, especially as remote work becomes more widespread. Business phone systems have a variety of features to suit your unique business needs, from virtual phone systems to powerful conferencing tools.
To make sure a phone system is a good fit for your business, you’ll want to consider things like how many employees you have, how many calls you need to make and receive, and what features you need. Once you’ve considered these factors, you’ll be able to choose the business phone system that’s right for you.
