The 5 Cheapest VoIP Platforms: Which Is the Best Overall?

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Our latest round of research indicates that Zoom Regional Unlimited and Google Voice Standard are the cheapest VoIP plans available. The Zoom Phone and Google Voice plans both start at just $10 per user, per month (when billed annually), however, you’ll have to pay an additional $7 per user, per month for Google Workspace to get access to Google Voice.

However, they are far from the only cheap VoIP solutions on the market. Depending on the needs of your business and your available budget, there are a number of alternative providers to consider.

Net2Phone Essentials, for instance, starts at $19.99 per user, per month, and boasts an excellent range of third-party integrations and great call management features, making it a viable option for medium to large businesses.

To help you weigh up your options, we’ve put together a list of the best cheap VoIP solutions out there. From a range of communications channels to call management features, our guide will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about the best cheap VoIP solution for your business.

Use the links above to start comparing prices for the cheapest VoIP systems, or read on for the reviews.

To save you the time and hassle of shopping around, this guide covers five of the cheapest options on the market, focusing on starting price, inbound communications, call management, CRM integrations, and more.

Alternatively, if it’s quick quotes you’re after, check out our free VoIP quotes calculator for prices tailored to your business.

Zoom Phone

Google Voice

Dialpad

Net2Phone

RingCentral

Regional Unlimited

Standard

Standard

Essentials

Core

$15/user/month

$20/user/month

$15/user/month

$19.99/user/month

$20/user/month

7 brands

1 brand

4 brands

2 brands

4 brands

Phone + chat

Add-on

Add-on

Phone

Phone + chat

Add-on

Today, businesses are much more concerned with how VoIP enables them to process inbound calls, meaning that call management features are high on the agenda.

Forwarding, queues, virtual receptionists – these features have grown in importance, while two-factor authentication (2FA), single sign-on (SSO), and other security protocols are less of a dealbreaker these days. As always, cost remains top of mind for a lot of these businesses, particularly smaller enterprises with fewer than 50 employees.

Ultimately, our research indicates that a winning solution combines affordability, abundant call management features, streamlined communications channels, and possible CRM integrations.

Zoom Regional Metered is our pick, but there are loads of other high-quality, affordable options. Considering both the short and long-term costs of services, we’ve cherry-picked the five best solutions to get you the most bang for your buck.

Pros

Cons

Zoom Regional Metered is the joint-cheapest VoIP plan we’ve found, retailing at $10 per user, per month. Unlike Google Voice Standard, however, you’re not required to fork out for any additional software.

For this price, the most impressive thing is the number of inbound communications tools available, which makes the platform an excellent value for small and medium-sized teams on a budget that still want heavy-duty features.

For instance, on Zoom Metered, you’ll be able to access post-call summaries, set up automatic call distribution groups with queueing, and use holiday and business hours routing.

There’s also spam prevention, which providers like 8×8 don’t offer at all, on any plans. This makes it a good option for customer service and retail teams, who will typically receive more calls than the average sales team, but make fewer outgoing ones.

Zoom Metered also includes features like call recording and call whisper, which can be useful for training staff and improving their on-phone manner, whichever industry you’re in. What’s more, Zoom has greatly improved its security compliance in recent years, with multi-factor authentication available on all plans.

When it comes to other communication channels, the Zoom Metered plan received full scores from our researchers, thanks to its inclusion of voice calling, video conferencing, and messaging.

The voicemail dashboard on Zoom Phone, featuring built-in transcription. Source: Tech.co testing

One area where it can’t keep up with the top VoIP providers like RingCentral is integrations. While Zoom Metered integrates with widely used Outlook, Salesforce, Gmail, and Teams, that’s pretty much it.

That won’t be good news for businesses using a CRM (aside from Salesforce) or a work communication platform that needs a VoIP solution that syncs with their existing software. If integrations are a dealbreaker for you, you’d be better off looking at Nextiva Core, which starts at $20 per user, per month.

The provider is also missing a couple of team management features that often come in handy, namely a task manager and a document-sharing function, which can reduce the time you’d otherwise spend flicking between apps. Still, if you’re a small business owner looking for a cheap VoIP solution with excellent call management features, you won’t find many better plans than Zoom Metered.

Check out our Zoom Phone review for more information.

Every month, Zoom Phone unveils a slew of new features and updates to troubleshoot and improve its offering. In May 2025, for instance, the provider expanded the granular functions of its data retention policies: Now, account admins can set up how and when voicemails, recordings, and logs will be auto-deleted.

They could already do this to some extent, but now every account, group, or extension can have a different auto-delete process, allowing more important calls to be retained longer.

Zoom Phone also ramped up its agentic AI offerings with a new AI Companion integration for its call management and insights panel, and it debuted some new handset firmware updates as well.

Zoom Phone has three plans on offer, and it’s not just the $10 per user, per month Metered plan that’s excellent value for money. In fact, all Zoom plans are relatively cheap when compared to similar plans offered by the likes of 8×8 and Vonage.

Metered

Regional Unlimited

Global Select

$10/user/month

$15/user/month

$20/user/month

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Requires Zoom Meetings

Requires Zoom Meetings

Phone + chat

Phone + chat

Phone + chat

Unlimited domestic minutes

Unlimited domestic minutes

Unlimited domestic minutes to 40+ countries

Pros

Cons

Of the cheapest VoIP providers, we found that Google Voice Starter delivers the simplest service for businesses in 2025. Pricing starts at $10 per user per month, but there’s a caveat: customers must be subscribed to Google Workspace to use the platform, which costs a minimum of $7 extra per month.

Shelling out a little extra for Google Workspace will likely pay dividends, though. Google Workspace gives businesses access to a variety of platforms, allowing for a seamless switch between Google’s VoIP service and its web conferencing solution.

If you don’t already use the G Suite of products, Google Voice Starter will cost you $17 per user, per month in total, which is only $2 more than Dialpad Standard.

The entry-level Starter plan offers most features you would expect from a top cloud phone system. This plan allows for up to 10 users and domestic locations, businesses to make and receive domestic and international calls, personalize voicemail greetings, search voicemail transcripts like emails, and block unwanted callers.

The Google Voice interface is clearly laid out, with minimal clutter and generous use of white space for ease of navigation. Source: Tech.co testing

As is typical with Google products, the UX design is exceptional. The dial pad is located on the right of the screen (which can be hidden on demand), with large number keys for an easy dialing experience on a touchscreen. It’s a small thing, but it can make a big difference to users who need to dial multiple numbers in quick succession.

What’s more, it’s a great example of inclusive design, which is baked into all Google products, in that differently abled users will find it easier to use.

However, as the cheapest VoIP provider, there are a few drawbacks. While it offers an unbeatable user experience, we found that the rest of its feature package is lacking. The system lacks even basic communication and management tools like call queue and call barge, while call recording is only available on its Standard plan ($20 per user, per month).

Immediately, this makes Google Voice Starter a poor choice for larger businesses that might require training features to upskill their employees.

Also disappointing is the lack of CRM integrations. VoIP and CRM combine to make a powerful solution that is particularly well-suited to businesses that process a large number of calls. As a matter of fact, our research shows that 40% of companies that use CRMs also use VoIP solutions, pointing to a growing expectation among business owners for their VoIP system to work hand-in-hand with different CRM platforms.

Unless you have fairly basic VoIP needs, we’d recommend you go for well-rounded systems like Dialpad Standard or Net2Phone Essentials, as they offer a much broader array of telephony features. You can read our full Google Voice review to learn more about why it’s our favorite cheap VoIP service.

Google Voice is available to businesses at three different price points. We break them down in our table below:

Starter

Standard

Premier

$10/user/month

$20/user/month

$30/user/month

10

Unlimited

Unlimited

Ad-hoc

Pros

Cons

Dialpad Standard is the second cheapest VoIP plan that we researched, starting at $15 per user, per month. This affordable price point makes it perfect for startups and smaller businesses that need to stay connected while keeping overheads low.

Dialpad offers a range of powerful collaboration tools needed to lift your business off the ground, including ring group capabilities and instant messaging features. This makes inbound communication a breeze and lets businesses manage all communication from a centralized platform.

The provider also has a number porting tool so that businesses can use their existing phone number. For the modest price you’ll be paying for the service, this is a pretty impressive toolkit, since most other feature-rich options we researched cost at least an extra $5 per user, per month.

The provider has also launched an AI coaching hub for early adopters, which makes it easier for managers to track performance, streamline the onboarding process, and improve customer experiences (see below).

Dialpad’s AI Coaching Hub feature is a great way to monitor your team’s performance and identify coaching opportunities. Source: dialpad.com

Unfortunately, DialPad Standard’s low monthly fees mean there are a few downsides. Chief among them, its integration options leave a lot to be desired. As a matter of fact, Dialpad scored a lowly 0.9/5 for software integrations on our recent round of testing. This is because the only third-party option on its first paid plan is Google Workspace, which, as I mentioned earlier, requires a paid subscription unless you are already a member.

Assuming you’re not, and choose to integrate with Google Workspace, this brings the starting Dialpad Standard plan up to $21 per user, per month, making it more expensive than the likes of Net2Phone Essentials, RingCentral Core, and Nextiva Core – all of which have significantly better integration options than Dialpad.

Spring for the pricier Pro plan ($25 per user, per month), and you’ll unlock access to Salesforce, HubSpot, ServiceNow, Zapier, Zendesk, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. Still, for the premium sum, we would expect a more comprehensive selection of integration possibilities. Nextiva offers no fewer than 11 different CRM integrations and 3 Helpdesk integrations.

Admittedly, you’ll have to pay for the Nextiva Core plan ($30 per user, per month) to get these options, but if integrations are important to you, we think it’s worth the extra $5 a month.

Dialpad’s most recent updates include the same thing every tech company’s obsessed with in 2025: Artificial intelligence. The big new AI function available on Dialpad plans is DialpadGPT, which delivers AI recaps of calls.

It’s currently being retrained in order to field questions as a chatbot, while other functions, including AI playbooks and AI scorecards, are currently available from third-party LLMs. Clients can join the AI Labs beta program to get new features as soon as possible.

Dialpad offers three main pricing plans: Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. See how they compare below:

Standard

Pro

Enterprise

$15/user/month

$25/user/month

Custom

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited(minimum 100)

Add-on

Phone + chat

Phone + chat

Pros

Cons

Net2Phone’s pricing works on a per-user basis. At the time of writing, its cheapest plan (Essentials) weighs in at $19.99 per user, per month for teams of 25-99, making it a pretty good value for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The good news is, with some good integration options and excellent call management features, this is exactly who Net2Phone is geared towards.

While Net2Phone Essentials can’t compete with the likes of Google Business Starter, Zoom Metered, and Dialpad Standard on price, its feature set is right up there with the best of them. Users will get access to an excellent array of call management features, including caller ID, do not disturb, call waiting, forwarding, transfer, parking, routing, and on-hold music – all on its Essentials plan. Other providers simply don’t offer as much.

At the same time, of the VoIP providers that we tested, it has the second-best range of software integrations on the market, scoring a decent 3.3/5. The sad truth is that, as a whole, VoIP systems don’t yet attach the same importance to third-party integrations as consumers, with every provider we tested scoring poorly in this category during our research – apart from the aforementioned Nextiva Core and Net2Phone Essentials.

On the Net2Phone Essentials plan, you’ll get access to Microsoft Teams and Salesforce. Opt for the Professional plan ($24.99 per user, per month, depending on team size), and you’ll unlock Zoho, Slack, Zapier, Google Chrome, Google Calendar, and custom API integrations.

Net2Phone also offers a great variety of communication channels. Users can access video conferencing, messaging, and fax, in addition to voice calling.

View your monthly call data with Net2Phone’s VoIP analytics feature. Source: net2phone.com

The service isn’t perfect, though. Small to medium-sized businesses that are looking to upgrade their business phone system might be deterred by the mediocre hardware integration options, which fetched a score of 3.7/5. Net2Phone doesn’t sell its own hardware, unlike Ooma, meaning that if you’re in the market for a desk phone to accompany your VoIP solution, you’ll have to shop around.

Also, Net2Phone’s training features are a little disappointing. You’ll get access to call recording on all its plans, which is great for replaying conversations to help with onboarding, but there’s a conspicuous lack of barge, whisper, and monitor – three pretty fundamental features for training new hires.

Net2Phone offers three packages for small businesses: Office, Pro, and Power. The price of these plans depends on the size of the teams, with larger teams receiving a slightly lower price per user. The prices of the plans below are for teams of 25-99 people.

Essentials

Professional

Enterprise

$19.99/user/month

$24.99/user/month

Custom

25-99

25-99

25-99

Phone

Phone

Phone

Add-on

Add-on

Be sure to check out our Net2Phone review for more information.

Pros

Cons

Here at Tech.co, we used to be massive fans RingCentral. However, the provider suffered a rankings hit during our most recent round of testing, conducted in 2024. Interested parties will be able to choose from three different plans depending on their needs – the Core plan ($20 per user, per month), the Advanced plan ($25 per user, per month), and the Ultra plan ($35 per user, per month). This puts RingCentral in the mid-to-upper tier, where pricing is concerned.

In terms of value for money, you’ll get a decent bang for your buck with the Core plan. Call management features are not in short supply, with queues, the RingCentral Heads-Up Display, answering rules, call forwarding, transfer, screening, and logs, all on offer. This edges RingCentral ahead of Dialpad in terms of call management – but it doesn’t compare on price.

To its credit, the platform also offers unbeatable help and support options. No matter which plan you’re on, you’ll be able to access 24/7 chat and phone support, which is a fantastic bonus. For small businesses that can’t afford technical downtime, the ability to get in touch with an agent whenever needed is invaluable.

We used RingCentral’s audio transcription services in a video meeting, and it was nearly perfect. Source: Tech.co testing

But it’s not all positive. As mentioned, RingCentral didn’t fare as well in our recent round of testing as it did in our previous one, back in 2022. One area where it really falls down is in its integration options. CRM integrations are only available on the pricey Advanced plan ($25 per user, per month). If you’re prepared for that outlay, you’d be better off going for Net2Phone, which has better call management features, alternative communication channels, and third-party integrations.

The most recent updates from RingCentral include a few integrations that were added or updated within the last few weeks, such as Flowyte Smart Call, which routes inbound calls using tables or interactive geo maps, as well as Speed AI, which helps law firms filter legal intake calls with AI-powered analysis.

RingCentral offers three pricing plans: Core, Advanced, and Ultra. Learn about the prices and features below:

Core

Advanced

Ultra

$20/user/month

$25/user/month

$35/user/month

20 lines max. (for more, contact sales)

Unlimited

20 lines max. (for more, contact sales)

100 participants

100-200 participants (depending on plan)

200 participants

Phone + chat

Phone + chat

If you aren’t happy with your current VoIP provider, it might be sensible to switch to another service that better suits your needs. After you’ve decided which VoIP provider you’d like to switch to, notify your current VoIP provider and decide on a service end date. Once your contract comes to an end, you should be able to get your new VoIP service up and running on the same day that you sign up.

If you want to keep your current number, there shouldn’t be any noticeable disruption to your phone service. However, we do advise that you port your number ahead of time because the process typically costs extra and takes at least one business day to complete.

New to VoIP? Learn more about the benefits of VoIP.

For businesses looking to scale back on costs, there are a couple of free VoIP services on the market. Zoom is probably the go-to option, as it’s easy to use and you can host calls that last up to 40 minutes.

However, most businesses looking for a VoIP solution will want Zoom’s PBX solution, which you can buy as a standalone product (Zoom Phone) or as part of the Zoom One Business plan. It has outbound and inbound call features that will suit sales and service teams, rather than the free video calling software, which will only be suitable for very small teams or freelancers.

Google Voice can be used for free, provided you’re only calling numbers in the US, but this is only suitable for personal use, which is why we didn’t include it in the earlier section. Of course, you can also use Google Meet to make calls over the Internet if you have a Google Workspace subscription, but that costs $7 per user, per month.

Tech.co’s Jack Turner and Isobel O’Sullivan testing Zoom. Source: Tech.co user testing

A few VoIP companies, such as Dialpad, RingCentral, and GoTo Connect, offer free trials, which means you can work out whether the software is actually worth purchasing without spending anything.

As a general rule of thumb, free VoIP systems normally offer limited business features and have strict user caps. This means they won’t fit the needs of most businesses.

For this piece, we looked at the cheapest VoIP providers on the market and ordered our picks in order of price.

We take our hands-on testing and impartial analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.

After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established business phone platforms on the market, we selected 10 top VoIP systems and took a deeper dive into their plans to find out more about the features and functionality on offer.

Based on years of market research, product testing, and user needs analysis, we've established a VoIP system research methodology that scores each product in eight core categories of investigation, which are broken down into 44 further subcategories. With this framework, we cover everything from internal communication tools and security options to niche training features, and it ensures we can accurately assess each product's value for its price and suitability for different types of businesses.

When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are merely "nice to have." After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.

Learn more about our research testing process

Based on our most recent round of user testing, we’ve concluded that the best cheap VoIP solution currently on the market is Zoom Metered. It has the joint-best price of all providers that we tested (tied with Google Voice Starter, which requires an additional $7 per user, per month for customers that don’t have Google Workspace).

What’s most impressive, though, is the abundant list of features that you get for what amounts to a really modest outlay. Zoom Metered actually ranked the highest for call management features out of the providers we tested, with automatic call distribution groups and queuing available on all plans, alongside call barge, monitor, whisper, and takeover.

Users can also set up holiday and business hours routing, record calls, and transfer a call to a Zoom meeting or Zoom Room when required. It also scored very highly for communications channels, which is hardly surprising, given that alongside VoIP functionality, it also offers video conferencing and messaging.

Even with our guidance, we understand that wading through the competition isn’t easy. This is why we’ve developed a unique tool that lets businesses compare the prices of VoIP providers with just a few clicks. Click on the button below to find a budget-friendly VoIP provider in minutes.

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