The Best Phone Systems for Small Businesses

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems are becoming a necessary tool in modern business settings, serving as central hubs that unify communications across voice, chat and video. These cloud-based phone systems have largely replaced traditional landlines in business settings thanks to their advanced features, accessibility and cost. Most business phone providers include essential features like a phone number, voicemail, call routing, and unlimited voice calls to the United States and Canada. However, services vary widely, with some boasting advanced features that use artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically prepare and send meeting summaries with action items after each call.

Whether you’re a small business that speaks to a few clients a week or a large business with a sales team that spends most of the day on the phone, there’s a system geared toward your needs. Our best small business phone system reviews below will help you determine which solution is most effective for your needs and suitable for your budget.

A business phone system is a communications platform businesses of any size use to communicate with others outside and inside their company. Most of today’s business phone systems utilize either voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP), private branch exchange (PBX) or a combination of both. While electronic communication, such as email, has become a prevalent form of communication, all businesses still need the tools to speak directly with clients, customers or other team members, and that’s what a business phone system provides. Unlike a home telephone, business phone systems provide companies with added functionality, such as unlimited calling, automated menus, ring groups to call multiple employees simultaneously and call recording. Many business phone systems have morphed into unified communications platforms that also include video conferencing, internal messaging and text messaging.

Modern business phone systems offer all the advantages with practically none of the disadvantages of older landline systems, which require expensive on-premises hardware to purchase and maintain. With a lower monthly cost, no hardware to manage and an impressive list of call management tools, a cloud-based business phone system is a very compelling option for many business owners. Below are some of the benefits of using today’s business phone systems.

Go beyond making calls.

Cloud-based business phone systems do far more than make calls. They also support video conferencing, team messaging, SMS and online faxing. On top of that, they offer integrations with popular business software and highly rated CRM platforms to manage customer data and communications properly across an entire business.

Enjoy communications flexibility.

Users can take and receive calls on any internet-connected devices, including computers, tablets, mobile phones and IP phones, with the same functionality as a traditional-looking desk phone. Businesses can send inbound calls to all devices at one time or set up ring groups that dial specific teams or employees with a simultaneous or sequential ring setting to ensure all inbound calls are routed and received correctly.

Get quality assurance.

While some traditional landline users may fear poor quality due to a bad internet connection, the reality is that cloud-based phones are on par with landline systems in terms of audio quality and reliability. The majority of business phone system providers offer uptimes of 99.999 percent and higher with SLAs. As part of their analytics tools, many vendors also include quality-of-service reporting, which details the quality level for every call made.

Today’s business phone systems offer a plethora of valuable features for small businesses. This is perhaps the greatest benefit of cloud-hosted systems: They have opened the door for small businesses to access a multitude of advanced features without having to spend a ton of money. Previously, only larger businesses could afford feature-rich systems because of the capital required to install the necessary equipment. Below are some of the functions to look for in a new business phone system.

A business phone system typically costs between $15 and $50 per user per month, depending on the features and level of service you select. Many providers offer plans that start at around $20 per monthly user. In many cases, advertised prices are listed with the assumption of an annual payment plan for a significant number of users.

The per-user price generally reduces by as much as 25 percent for larger businesses that purchase many accounts and commit to an annual contract. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees should pay special attention to advertised pricing on websites that often preselect a plan with more than 20 users and annual payment pricing as this may not reflect the prices available to them. You’ll also want to take note of any minimum seat requirements when comparing prices for small teams.

Some providers, such as Zoom, offer pay-as-you-go metered pricing for calling and messaging, but this arrangement is rare. Most service providers include unlimited calling to the U.S. and Canada, with additional per-minute fees for international calls that vary by provider and region. Some vendors also charge a one-time activation fee for new customers.

Many companies lower their monthly prices by replacing standard features with piecemeal add-ons. For many businesses, this is an excellent way to reduce costs—you can skip features, such as call recording, that may not be used by everyone. You can also utilize add-ons to design a custom solution for your long-term communication goals. While some service providers allow businesses to mix and match plans to support different employees effectively, many providers don’t offer this level of flexibility.

Most business phone vendors sell and rent preconfigured IP desk phones and other telephone hardware that range in price from $60 to $400. However, desk phones are never required to use a cloud-based phone system.

No matter your unique circumstances, there are a few factors that are always important to keep in mind when shopping for a business phone system. We asked business owners and decision makers who recently went through the buying process to explain how they went about finding the best business phone system for their needs and what they prioritized during their search.

Cost

When it comes to cost, don’t just choose the cheapest platform, even if you’re on a tight budget. Consider which platform offers the most value per dollar instead, including features you need at no additional cost. Sometimes the cheapest platforms may be lacking in features that usually come standard and charge additional fees for access to them.

“While some providers may provide cheap monthly rates, more money may be charged for additional features. I originally chose a VoIP service with a cheap basic rate, but I soon found out that there were extra costs for things like call recording,” said Victor Zeng, global business director of XMAKE. “Selecting a package that strikes a balance between price and vital features is crucial.”

Usability

Whenever possible, test out the platforms you’re considering to determine how easy they are to use. Avoid platforms that require extensive training to make sense of, as they’re likely to frustrate your employees and disrupt productivity. The best business phone systems are relatively intuitive and won’t take long for the average user to successfully navigate.

“We chose RingCentral last year. When selecting a system, we prioritized ease of use and integration with our existing tools,” said Nell VH, co-founder and director of TheSiteSale. “It’s been a game-changer, but I’d suggest testing features before buying.”

Reliability

In business communications, reliability is everything. The platform you choose should have at least a 99.999% uptime, which is the industry standard. That translates to about five minutes of downtime annually. Even 99% uptime is a considerable difference, translating to about 5,259 minutes of downtime per year, so make sure the platform you’re choosing is truly reliable.

“[With our old phone system] we were having horrible latency problems, like one to two second delays in calls, which does not help when you’re trying to have a conversation,” said Charlie Neville, head of business development for JayWay Travel. “We tested the hell out of RingCentral and other platforms, before we chose RingCentral. It doesn’t have the … most modern user interface … but it has been rock solid.”

Mobile capabilities

It’s common for workforces to be distributed today, whether your team includes remote and hybrid workers or you manage a fleet of drivers. While desk phones and conference calling systems may be important in an office, softphones and mobile apps are key for employees who aren’t always on site.

“In our field of work, we’re always moving around from state to state, talking with drivers, customers and logistics partners. We needed a phone to communicate smoothly, whether at the office or on the go,” said Zach Asher, owner of Amerigo Auto Transport. “A key selling point for Dialpad was its solid mobile app. It can also switch calls from desktop to mobile without dropping them.”

Integrations

The best business phone systems can tie into your existing tech stack. Consider the business software you’re already using and which needs to integrate with your business phone system. Generally, this will include tools like your CRM system and contact center software.

“When choosing a system, we prioritized scalability and integration capabilities,” said Kevin Shahnazar, founder and CEO of FinlyWealth. “As a fast-growing startup, we needed a solution that could grow with us and seamlessly integrate with our existing CRM [software] and productivity tools.”

At Business News Daily, our team of small business unified communications experts have been researching and testing business phone systems for years, comparing some of the leading solutions across more than 25 key metrics.

We considered 75 business phone systems in our initial pool of candidates. To determine which to test further, we looked at pricing plans, hardware options, core features, reported system uptime and the availability of customer support. We also considered the setup process for each busines phone system and prioritized the ones that were straightforward and quick to get up and running. Finally, we considered customer reviews to find out which vendors seemed to deliver on their promises according to real world customers.

After narrowing our list down, we closely reviewed and tested 20 of them before selecting our seven best picks above. This testing started with scheduling live demonstrations to get an overview of each business phone system and ask questions of company representatives to learn more about the system itself and the service the vendors provide. We also accessed free trial software to get a firsthand sense of how each phone system worked, and we looked for tutorial videos and guides to see whether new users could get up to speed quickly with nothing more than self-guided materials.

Below are the factors we considered when determining our best picks. Each is weighted according to how much the criteria typically influence business owners’ buying decisions.

• Pricing (30%): We considered not just the platform’s base cost but also the number of pricing plans, costs for each user, and add-on fees for additional services to determine which provide the most value per dollar.
• System Features (25%): We particularly evaluated the key tools most businesses are looking for in phone systems, such as automated attendants, call recording, call parking, call forwarding and call blocking. We also considered whether they offered additional communications services, such as online faxing, video conferencing, internal instant messages and text messaging.
• Usability (20%): We paid close attention to the ease with which the phone solution could be set up, how intuitive we found the navigation and use of key features, and the training and informational resources available to new users. We also considered whether the platform offered a desktop and mobile app that ensures users can take calls from anywhere.
• Customer Support (15%): We examined the ease with which customers can contact the team for help and reviewed customer feedback to determine how well the customer service team meets the needs of existing customers.
• Equipment Options (10%): We considered the amount of hardware included with each business phone system’s base subscription cost. Some providers include free desk phones, such as those from top providers like Cisco, Poly and Yealink, or conference systems, while others only provide access to software and charge extra for phones. Those that included hardware received extra consideration when selecting our best picks.

In addition to scoring each business phone system we reviewed based on these criteria, we also determined the best use case scenarios for each. No two businesses are exactly alike, so we put ourselves in the shoes of different types of small business owners to identify the best communication systems for a variety of needs.

To learn more about how we review and test communications products and services for small businesses, read about our editorial process here.

If our best picks don’t seem to suit your business, consider some of these alternatives that we reviewed as well.

Vonage

While many platforms come with some degree of customization through a handful of add-ons and APIs, Vonage stands apart for the sheer number of available customizations and unique plan structure. Most cloud-based business phone providers place advanced communications features and tools in their top-tier plans, forcing you to adopt a high-priced plan when you may only want one or two of those features. Vonage takes more of a piecemeal approach, featuring 18 paid add-ons such as on-demand call recording, IP phone paging and an AI virtual assistant with conversational AI. Learn more in our review of Vonage.

Grasshopper

For many small business owners and solopreneurs, adding a simple virtual business phone system to an existing cell phone makes the most sense. Grasshopper enables you to separate work and personal calls from the same device easily, providing a professional look and sound with local, toll-free and vanity phone numbers. You can even hire Grasshopper to record a professional voicemail greeting on your behalf. All plans provide the same core features including unlimited minutes, mobile and desktop apps, call forwarding, virtual faxing, voicemail, simultaneous call handling, business texting and 24/7 support. Plans are largely differentiated by the number of users, phone numbers and available extensions. Read our full Grasshopper Review

Aircall

Aircall’s business phone service has the right mix of contact center features and sales-focused tools, making it an ideal choice for companies that primarily work with customers over the phone. The integration-friendly platform offers over 100 integrations and API access, including 44 CRM and help desk applications. Sales teams gain improved visibility into performance with talk-to-listen ratios to review conversation engagement levels and a power dialer tool to initiate new calls in rapid succession and automatically add new numbers from web pages. Customer service teams offer better services with features like intelligent call routing to connect customers with the best agent available for a specific issue or problem.

Open Phone

OpenPhone’s virtual phone system bridges the gap for remote teams. Its unified inbox centralizes all customer interactions, from calls and texts to voicemails, keeping everyone informed and eliminating missed opportunities. Shared inboxes and business hours routing ensure calls are distributed evenly and handled promptly. Plus, complete conversation history with transcripts and internal chats empowers your team to provide personalized service. On top of that, OpenPhone offers affordable plans with time-saving features like auto-responses and snippets, making it a cost-effective solution for remote businesses.

800.com

800.com focuses on one key element: business phone numbers. Unlike some competitors offering full phone systems, 800.com helps you establish a professional presence with 1-800, vanity, or local numbers. This separates your personal calls and creates a dedicated line for customer inquiries. They offer three flexible plans, all including features like faxing, call recording, texting, analytics, voicemail transcripts, and various call forwarding options, so you can choose the functionality that best suits your needs.

There are few differences between a business phone service and a small business phone system. Both provide you with all the tools needed to communicate effectively with people inside and outside of your office. In reality, the business phone service is part of a small business phone system.

When evaluating which is best for your small business, look at how well the system runs and whether it offers reliable uptime. Uptime is how often a cloud-based phone system is up and running. The best business phone services and systems have uptimes of 99.999 percent. This means service is down for only a handful of minutes each year. Some business phone providers go as far as to guarantee their uptime—if it ever falls below a certain threshold, they will reimburse you.

System uptime is especially important for cloud-hosted PBX systems. Traditionally, business phone services were based on landlines. Reliability was rock-solid because everything was hardwired and there was no internet to deal with. Today, as cloud-hosted PBX business phone systems have become increasingly popular, finding a business phone service that offers the same reliability as a landline system is crucial.