Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in business phone systems
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 11 tools, reviewed
#1 Nextiva
Business phone with texting, video and chat in one app · United States · nextiva.com
Published seat price Calls, SMS, video AI receptionist add-on
Nextiva earns the top spot by being easy to understand. Its pricing page lists Core at $15 per user per month on the annual toggle and puts voice, business SMS, video meetings, team chat, call routing and a mobile app into that single plan, which is a fair amount of office for the money. Higher plans add automation and routing for customer-facing teams.
- Pricing: Per user / month. The Core plan is listed at $15 per user per month on the annual toggle (shown against $23 monthly), Engage at $25 and Scale at $75, with the higher plans by demo. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small offices wanting one clear plan
- Strengths: Inbound and outbound voice; Business SMS; Video meetings.
Where it falls short
The headline rate is for annual billing, and the page itself shows the monthly price higher. The AI receptionist is an add-on, and the best routing and automation sit in plans above Core.
Wrong for
Companies that need on-premises hardware control or a partner-built system for several buildings.
Visit Nextiva →
#2 Dialpad
AI-built calling, messaging and meetings app · United States · dialpad.com
AI transcripts Published seat price Calls, chat, meetings
Dialpad treats the phone call as a source of data. Its plans put real-time transcription, call summaries and an AI assistant into the same app where calls and messages happen, and the pricing page lists Standard at $15 per user per month and Pro at $25, with Enterprise on request. For a services firm or sales team that reviews calls, that is worth more than another ring group option.
- Pricing: Per user / month. The pricing page lists Standard at $15 and Pro at $25 per user per month, with Enterprise by quote and a free trial offered on the lower plans. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams that want transcripts built in
- Strengths: Unlimited US and Canada calling; AI transcripts and recaps; Team messaging.
Where it falls short
Much of Dialpad's marketing now centers on its contact center and AI agents, so a plain office phone buyer pays attention to a product that is aimed past them.
Wrong for
A firm that wants a simple dial tone with no AI, or that needs on-premises survivability and many desk phones in a building.
Visit Dialpad →
#3 Net2Phone
Hosted business phone from a telecom carrier · United States · net2phone.com
Tiered by user count Carrier heritage 36-month annual term
Net2Phone comes from the carrier side of the business: its own pages say it began in 1990 as part of IDT Corporation, and the product still reads like a telecom service with an app on top. The pricing page tiers Unite by user count and prints Essentials near $29 per user per month, with a lower annual rate on a 36-month term and Professional and Ultimate above it.
- Pricing: Per user / month. The Unite plans list Essentials at $28.99 per user per month on the monthly view and lower annual rates that the page ties to a 36-month term, with higher tiers priced per user. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Budget-minded offices with international calls
- Strengths: Business phone system; Unified web and mobile app; Unlimited domestic calling.
Where it falls short
The annual rate is tied to a 36-month agreement, which is a long time for a phone system. Some features carry roadmap notes, such as WhatsApp messaging being marked as coming soon, and the video and chat bundle is thinner on the lower tiers.
Wrong for
A company that wants a month-to-month commitment or the deepest video and chat bundle.
Visit Net2Phone →
#4 RingCentral RingEX
Large cloud phone and collaboration suite · United States · ringcentral.com
Dominant incumbent Add-on pricing 14-day trial
RingCentral is the incumbent that buyers measure others against. RingEX covers voice, auto attendant, meetings, team messaging and fax, with unlimited calling inside the US and Canada and a 14-day trial for up to 20 lines. Higher tiers add the administration and analytics that multi-site companies ask for.
- Pricing: Per user / month. RingEX plans are priced per user on a selector with an annual discount, a 14-day free trial is offered, and add-ons such as AI Receptionist start at $39 and Business SMS Booster at $25. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Companies wanting a big-vendor default
- Strengths: Unlimited US and Canada calling; Auto attendant; Online meetings.
Where it falls short
Seat prices load through a selector rather than a printed table, and the add-ons turn a modest plan into a larger bill. SMS is not part of the free trial.
Wrong for
A very small team that wants one printed price and no add-on map.
Visit RingCentral RingEX →
#5 Zoom Phone
Phone service bundled with Zoom Workplace · United States · zoom.com
Zoom bundle Big-vendor platform Domestic or metered plans
For a company that holds its meetings in Zoom, the phone is the part that makes the account complete. The product page pairs each Zoom Phone plan with a Workplace plan, so the same user gets calls, SMS, a domestic number, call recording and meetings through one admin portal, with online fax and metered international calling included in the structure.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Zoom lists three plans, from US and Canada Unlimited Phone with Workplace Basic upward, priced per user per month billed annually or monthly, with the amounts not shown in the text we could read. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams that already run on Zoom
- Strengths: Domestic calling, unlimited or metered; Domestic SMS and MMS; Online fax, 50 pages a month.
Where it falls short
The plans are bundled with Workplace, so a buyer who wants only phone is paying for a bundle. We could not read amounts in the page text we fetched, and the page offered no general free trial for the phone plans.
Wrong for
A company that does not use Zoom meetings or that wants a phone-only vendor.
Visit Zoom Phone →
#6 Intermedia Unite
Managed unified communications for mid-sized firms · United States · intermedia.com
Published plans Quote-based Mid-market
Intermedia sells Unite to small and mid-sized companies that want phone, chat, SMS and video from one provider and a single support channel. Its pricing page names two plans, Pro at $27.99 and Enterprise at $32.99 per user per month, and its FAQ states that long-term contracts are not required and setup takes hours rather than weeks.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Unite Pro is listed at $27.99 and Unite Enterprise at $32.99 per user per month, with a quote required and no long-term contract stated as necessary on the vendor's page. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mid-sized firms wanting one managed service
- Strengths: Cloud phone system; Business texting; Team chat.
Where it falls short
Both plans are priced above Nextiva and Dialpad, and each carries a Get Quote button rather than a purchase button, so the printed price is a starting point. The company also sells email and archiving, which can crowd the sales conversation.
Wrong for
A five-person shop that wants a low entry price or a self-serve sign-up.
Visit Intermedia Unite →
#7 Wildix
Partner-sold unified communications with AI voice bots · Estonia · wildix.com
Partner-sold Tiered licenses Estonian holding company
Wildix is a system you buy through a partner, and for the right buyer that is a strength. The plans page sets out four license levels, from PBX-Basic for unattended phones through UC-Essential and UC-Business to UC-Premium for managers, with concurrent-call limits, device counts and an integrations hub that grow at each step.
- Pricing: Quote only. Wildix prices through resellers: the plans page names PBX-Basic, UC-Essential, UC-Business and UC-Premium licenses and invites a demo or quote, with no seat price printed. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Branch networks with an IT partner
- Strengths: PBX-Basic license; UC-Essential license; UC-Business license.
Where it falls short
There is no published price and no self-serve trial on the pages we fetched, so a buyer cannot easily test it alone. Service quality depends on the reseller.
Wrong for
A company with no IT partner and no interest in negotiating a quote.
Visit Wildix →
#8 Yeastar P-Series
PBX in cloud, software or appliance form · China · yeastar.com
Cloud or appliance 30-day trial Partner-sold
Yeastar is for the buyer who wants to choose where the phone system lives. The P-Series cloud edition page offers a 30-day trial with 10 extensions and 10 concurrent calls, and the same product comes as an appliance or as software on your own server, in three plans from Standard to Ultimate.
- Pricing: Quote only. Yeastar offers a 30-day free trial with 10 extensions and 10 concurrent calls, three plan tiers (Standard, Enterprise and Ultimate), and prices through its partner network. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: IT-managed offices wanting their own PBX
- Strengths: Cloud, software and appliance editions; Standard, Enterprise and Ultimate plans; Linkus UC apps.
Where it falls short
No public price list, and the plan names and editions form a matrix that needs a partner to explain. The hosted cloud edition needs the Ultimate plan, according to the vendor's own note.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants a single self-serve price and a vendor-run service.
Visit Yeastar P-Series →
#9 Zultys
Business phone platform with a hardware-as-a-service model · United States · zultys.com
On-premises option Hardware as a service Sunnyvale company
Zultys has been building business phone systems for a long time and still lets the buyer pick the form: on-premises, virtualized, hosted or a hybrid built on a hardware-as-a-service model.
- Pricing: Quote only. Zultys sells by quote through partners, with on-premises, virtual and hosted deployments plus a hardware-as-a-service option, and no seat price published on its site. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Firms wanting on-premises or hybrid control
- Strengths: Zultys MX phone system; ZAC unified communications client; Mobile ZAC.
Where it falls short
No price is published and the first step is a quote request. It is a smaller company than the platform vendors above it, so the buyer leans on a local partner for installation and support.
Wrong for
A small office that wants to sign up online and start the same day.
Visit Zultys →
#10 Sangoma
Cloud, hybrid and on-premises business communications · United States · sangoma.com
Cloud or hybrid Partner-sold Survivability option
Sangoma describes its platform as pure cloud, hybrid with local survivability, or on-premises with all features at one price, and that choice is its main selling point. A hotel, clinic or multi-site business that cares about calls continuing through an internet outage can use the survivability appliance in Business Voice Plus. The vendor also sells phones, network switches and a firewall, so it can supply the building as a whole.
- Pricing: Quote only. Sangoma publishes no seat price on the pages we fetched and sells through a partner network, with cloud, hybrid and on-premises routes. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Buyers who want to choose the deployment
- Strengths: Cloud UCaaS; Hybrid UCaaS; On-premises phone system.
Where it falls short
The product line covers many deployment forms and brands, which makes the choice slow. We found no published seat price and no self-serve trial. The company's contact page lists many regional offices, and support quality will depend on which one and which partner you reach.
Wrong for
A small team that needs a phone line this week.
Visit Sangoma →
#11 CallHippo
Cloud phone with pay-per-number and per-user tiers · India · callhippo.com
Free Basic plan 10-day trial Call-team features
CallHippo is the cheapest way to try a cloud phone line, which is why it appears at all. The pricing page lists a Basic plan at $0 per user per month on annual billing, where you pay only for the numbers, then Starter at $18 with a two-user minimum and Professional at $30, each with a 10-day trial. Business-hours routing, teams and a smart failover are in the lower tiers.
- Pricing: Per user / month. CallHippo lists Basic at $0 per user per month (numbers paid separately), Starter at $18 with a minimum of two users, Professional at $30, and a 10-day free trial on its plans. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Tiny teams testing a cloud line cheaply
- Strengths: Click to dial; Teams and call sequencing; Voicemail.
Where it falls short
Calling minutes and numbers are priced apart from the seat, so the real bill depends on usage. Calling inclusions on Starter are capped at 1,000 minutes within the US and Canada.
Wrong for
An office that wants a front desk with desk phones and unlimited domestic calling.
Visit CallHippo →
Questions and answers
What is the best business phone system in 2026?
Nextiva ranks first of 11, best for small offices wanting one clear plan. Dialpad is second (teams that want transcripts built in) and Net2Phone third (budget-minded offices with international calls). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
How much does a business phone system cost per user?
Among the vendors that print a rate, a published per-user price runs from $15 (Nextiva Core, Dialpad Standard) to about $33 (Intermedia Unite Enterprise at $32.99), with Net2Phone near $29 for Essentials.
What is the difference between a hosted phone system and an on-premises PBX?
A hosted system runs in the vendor's data centers and you pay per user per month, with phones and apps connecting over the internet.
Can I keep my existing phone numbers when I switch?
Usually yes, through number porting, but it takes days or weeks and needs paperwork from the current carrier, including an account number and an authorization letter.
Do I need desk phones, or are apps enough?
Apps are enough for most small teams, since every hosted product here offers a desktop and mobile app under the company number.
Is a business phone system the same as a contact center?
No. A phone system gives staff numbers, extensions and routing, while a contact center adds queues, agent dashboards, scripted routing, workforce planning and quality scoring for teams that handle calls all day.
Which business phone system works best with Zoom or Microsoft Teams?
Zoom Phone is the natural pick for a company that already holds its meetings in Zoom, because the vendor's own page pairs each phone plan with a Workplace plan.
How long are business phone contracts?
It varies from month to month to three years. Intermedia's page says long-term contracts are not required, while Net2Phone ties its lower annual rate to a 36-month term. Nextiva, Dialpad and RingCentral show annual discounts against monthly pricing.
Do business phone systems include texting?
Most include business texting on at least one plan, but treatment differs.
What happens to my phones when the internet goes down?
With a plain hosted system, calls fail unless they are forwarded to mobile numbers, which is what the app and a forwarding rule are for.
How do I choose between eleven similar business phone systems?
Start from the way you buy rather than the feature list. If you want a printed price and a self-serve start, choose between Nextiva, Dialpad and Net2Phone.
