What is Vonage?
The VoIP service provider Vonage was founded in 2001 and connected callers via the Internet. Like many VoIP services, Vonage allows users to make calls without using traditional phone lines. In addition to audio calls, Vonage offers call forwarding, voice and video conferencing, and other features.
All trustworthy VoIP service providers share these characteristics. There are a few reasons you might favor a different VoIP phone system even though Vonage is a well-known supplier. Continue reading to find out the reason.
Why would you use a Vonage alternative?
First of all, your small business is unique. Vonage might be the ideal choice for some organizations but not for others. Finding a VoIP service that can accommodate your needs and budget is crucial. Furthermore, Vonage might prove to be a relatively expensive option for many businesses. (More will be said about this.)
Even if the cost of a Vonage phone plan is within your budget, it could not include all the features you need (customer service is another matter entirely). Now let’s consider a few elements while contrasting various VoIP services. These Vonage alternatives were evaluated using several factors.
Features
You may have noticed how similar the feature lists for VoIP services and unified communications providers are.
The bulk of them are! Most of these functions, such as call forwarding, call routing, and auto-attendant, ought to be standard in any high-quality phone system (or at least in the base price). However, we’ll go into greater detail below about some unique qualities (like AI) that not all Vonage choices have. Price, or what you must pay more, is often the enormous difference in this case.
Cost-efficiency
When you run a business, every dollar counts. However, that does not necessarily mean picking the least expensive phone plan. (And frequently, what initially seems affordable costs more because everything is an added fee.) We’ll emphasize where to look for this with some of the alternatives below.
Call quality
This is a severe problem. There are various UCaaS and VoIP phone alternatives, each with varying levels of customer service. Some vendors charge you each time you open a ticket, while others only provide customer care in the US or don’t provide it anywhere else. Always read the fine print.
Ease of use
One of the most beneficial aspects of VoIP services is the quality of Internet calling. All VoIP service providers, however, are not created equal. While each cloud phone service functions roughly the same, several variables can affect call quality. The VoIP provider must have the servers and service available to avoid problems like call delays. Examine the architecture of these options and how it affects the call quality in addition to the cost and the available features
1. Dialpad
Because it was developed by the same team that worked on Google Voice, Dialpad is a cloud-based business phone system that is much more than just a phone system. This is essential to why it has such a simple user interface. We take pride in providing both small and large organizations with a scalable, portable, and affordable choice. But you shouldn’t just take our word for it. Dialpad was selected as the Best Business Phone for Small Businesses in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report.
2. Zoom
Of course, Zoom is most recognized for its ability to be used for free video conferencing. It also provides a “Zoom Phone” option that gives businesses phone capabilities if needed. Overall, it’s easy to use and genuinely cloud-based like Dialpad (rather than just a PBX phone provider with outdated technology that has tried to add new features). In 2020, Zoom’s user base grew, becoming a favorite target for hackers and experiencing several other security difficulties.
3. Ooma Office
Ooma Office, a supplier of cloud phone services, advertises to small businesses. This no-contract service offers the standard features of a small company phone system, including a virtual receptionist, call parking, and the ability to make long-distance calls. They even provide the residential VoIP service Ooma Telo.
4. RingCentral
RingCentral has been around for a sizable amount of time since the days of the traditional PBX. As a VoIP phone system for all types of businesses, it promotes itself as such today. Like many other unified communications platforms, it enables users to make and receive phone calls, participate in video conferences, and send instant SMS/MMS messages.
5. Nextiva
Nextiva is a reputable supplier of VoIP business phone solutions. Similar to Dialpad and RingCentral, it promotes itself as a unified communications solution with text, voice, and video conferencing capabilities. Remember that Nextiva does not produce its goods; instead, it is a reseller of its UCaaS4 and CCaaS solutions.
This is usually a bad idea because it could result in problems like inconsistent user experiences and difficulty getting in touch with an internal team for help. After all, you might be routed to a third-party customer support company.
6. Webex
Webex by Cisco is a calling, meeting, and messaging platform that groups of any size can use. The marketing’s strong enterprise focus allows for various interpretations of usability and implementation. Like many of the other Vonage alternatives described below, you can have all your communication channels under one roof. The most annoying thing about Webex is that you have to download the application to use it.
7. GoToMeeting
The cloud phone service Bitrix24 is perhaps the most unusual of all these Vonage competitors since it integrates so many different, seemingly unconnected functions. In addition to the standard CRM functionality, it offers a phone system, call center features, a Kanban board, and even a website builder.
8. Bitrix24
GoToMeeting offers a phone solution to help keep businesses linked while working remotely. It is still a good option even though it isn’t as well-known as other options on this list.
9. 8×8
88, a company that serves both small and large organizations, is another business that has been around for a while, returning to the PBX era. You can use its cloud-based phone, chat, and video services through its mobile and desktop apps.
10. 3CX
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Open platform 3CX, a business phone system, can be used on-premises with Linux or Windows. Of course, this implies that you can skip this option and move on to the next if your company uses Apple products, such as Macbooks. Even with add-ons, you won’t get “fancy” capabilities like real-time transcriptions or artificial intelligence, even though it has some basic phone system features like the ones listed below.
