Cheapest VoIP Phone Services of 2024

There are a lot of factors to consider when making a business purchase. Quality, functionality, compatibility, those sorts of things. But unless you’re working with some very generous budgets, a good many decisions ultimately come down to price. Signing up for a business phone service through a VoIP provider isn’t any different. But, maybe you just want the cheapest VoIP phone service that ticks all of the boxes.

In fact, if you’re reading this, odds are your primary concern is the cost of such a service (what, with that being in the title of the article, and all). With that being the case, there’s actually quite a bit of options, and quality options at that, even among the brands with the lowest price points. 

So, let’s take a look at a few of them, and see if we can’t help you find the right VoIP provider for your business (and budget).

What is VoIP?

You can think of VoIP as kind of the capstone of society’s transition to an internet-based world. In the “before times,” we used to connect to the internet using phone lines. Now, we instead connect phone calls using internet lines. 

VoIP (short for Voice over Internet Protocol) is to landlines what email is to standard mail services. It’s a service that enables voice communication (such as a phone call) by transmitting the signal over an internet connection. 

We do something similar when we jump on Zoom calls (audio or video), or when we join a teleconference. In fact, many VoIP providers also include these other multimedia communication options in their offerings. 

What makes VoIP distinct, though, is that it’s not just internet communication. It’s legitimately a phone line—one that can be dialed by landlines, cell phones, and the like. It’s all the functionality of a business phone, with all of the convenience of internet access and computer technologies.

Top cheap VoIP providers

“Cheap” is a bit of a loaded term (we prefer “affordability-focused”). Seriously though, “cheap” is frequently used to mean “inexpensive due to poor quality or low value,” and none of the vendors in our list qualify under that definition. Each of these competitors, from the most comprehensive platforms, to the most straightforward offerings, provides ample bang for the buck. 

Inexpensive? Certainly. Cheap? Not so much. Here’s a comparison table with a quick overview of the best cheap VoIP service options on the market. After the jump, we’ll dive into each of the picks individually

Key features of cheap VoIP service providers

As we round out this article, let’s go over some of the top points of interest and differentiation that we looked at (and that helped competitors stand apart from each other).

Price

It’s right there in the name—both the article title, and this subheader. This is a discussion of cheap VoIP services, after all, so it wouldn’t do much good to look at solutions that charge an arm and a leg. 

Advanced call management

Many VoIP subscribers are using their solution the same way businesses used fancy landline services 20–30 years ago. Call handling and call management have historically been rather difficult to facilitate, and required a great deal of both specialized expertise and specialized equipment. 

These days, the right provider can basically turn an entire work-from-home organization into a decentralized call center, with minimal loss of functionality. Not all VoIPs are created equal, though, so your mileage may vary depending on the one you pick. 

Scalability

Some solutions are better suited to serving solopreneurs and small teams, while others are designed to support whole enterprises. A few are built to be your partner as you grow and transition from the former to the latter. 

Add-on options

Up-sells and cross-sells are big business in just about every industry. VoIP is no different, and you may find plenty of reasons to upgrade or choose add-ons with the right provider. Some offer bundled internet and/or cell phone services. Others include video conferencing and webinar hosting. Some integrate with a variety of 3rd-party software, and some can support distributed teams across international boundaries. 

Just be sure to shop around if an “add-on” is more of a “must-have” for you and your team, to be sure you get the best deal. 

Specialty functions

This is similar to add-ons, and probably could have been included in the above section, but we mention it separately here because certain functions are non-issues for most, but critical to a few. Information privacy and compliance to data regulation standards, for example, doesn’t always drive decisions for businesses. But for, say, organizations working in healthcare in the US, HIPAA is a pretty big deal, so finding vendors that can support their efforts to ensure compliance are a must. 

Choosing the best cheap VoIP service provider for your business

If you’ve never heard it before, then let us be the first to tell you: there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, least of all in software (so don’t let any vendor tell you otherwise). 

Fact is, just like how no single hat can fit every head size and shape, each business has its own unique needs and circumstances. Even within the same industry, one use case can vary wildly from another. But there are still a few common threads and overlapping factors we can point to, if you need help guiding you in your search. We’ve covered some of the prominent ones below.

Number of phone lines

This is an article about cheap VoIP providers, but since the starting price of many of these are so close together (more on that below), then it’s the number of business lines you’re paying for that will determine much of the overall cost. 

If all you need is a dedicated line for your freelance business, you’re in a very different market than someone looking to connect 2000 call center workers. Some providers serve one market better than the other, so judge accordingly. 

Budgetary limitations

While the cost ranges are (comparatively) close together in this market, there are some noteworthy outliers. Most providers that offer something affordable have price ranges between about $15 to $60 per line, per month. Costs higher than that are stepping into more “premium” market ranges, and costs lower than that are rare—and usually include some pretty stiff limitations, like metered minutes.

Now, most B2B tech has wider price differentials than that, and prices are often much higher for tools like CRMs, PM platforms, marketing automation, and the like. Even so, what seems like a small price difference for a small team can become a significant one after scaling up. A choice between $20/line/month and $40/line/month is nominal with a team of 1-5 users. By the time you’re paying for 50 different lines, the gap is already $1,000 per month. 

Geographical distribution

Though I’m sure we’d all like to leave terms like “long-distance” and “international calling” in the past, they still occasionally come into play in contexts like this. Some VoIP providers still charge extra for international calls, and what counts as “included” or “add-on” can vary as well. This goes both for the person calling in, and the business line that’s picking up on the other end.

In other words, you’ll want to be aware of how your team is distributed across geopolitical boundaries. Similarly, you’ll want to know where your customers are calling you from. Because otherwise, an “affordable” solution may prove to be anything but. 

Current tech stack

Not everything in our tech stack needs to be interoperable. But some things should, and a few things must. Unfortunately, those concerns of compatibility, integration, and user experience can be major deciding factors, and rule out vendors with otherwise compelling offerings. Just keep an eye out, and double check before you sign on the dotted line. 

Call management complexity

If you need to be able to juggle calls, park them and pick them up, transfer them, switch them around and merge calls, and otherwise accomplish some telephone-based wizardry, then mark that as a major priority. Most VoIP services will provide some measure of functionality in this regard, but not all do, and some make you subscribe to higher tiers for it.

Find out how much you’ll have to pay to get access to the advanced features you want, and compare that against competitors (who may include those functions standard, or at a lower price). 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)