When it comes to the specificity of looking for the best business phone service, figuring out exactly what that “right system” even consists of can be tricky. That’s we’ve done the work to simplify things.
Thankfully a large number of vendors seem to agree and aim to make the option of finding the right plan as simple as possible. When it comes down to it, recognizing the needs for your business and then unique reasonings for grabbing a solution like this are just the tip of the iceberg for a business decision as expensive and complex as this one might be.
But, of course, searching for just the best business phone plan or most popular option won’t always offer the best results. When it comes down to unique business requirements, not every single platform is made the same, and not every business has the same needs.
When it comes to Virtual Faxing, it can be a bit more difficult to truly find an unlimited business phone plan, that also hits all the right points of more modern collaboration paradigms seen in UCaaS tools such as call center analytics. But no worries, that’s why we are here — we have made an effort to weed through all the information to truly understand who the most popular business VoIP solution is with unlimited calling and texting, along with virtual faxing.
The 8 Most Popular Unlimited Calling and Text Business Phone Plans
Thankfully for those organizations that are searching for a complete platform that covers all of these bases, there are quite many options to choose from. By combining these unique requirements and looking back at all of this information, we can begin to formulate a solid basis for which to compare and contrast numerous providers, plans and service offerings.
From our research, we have been able to hone in what we feel are the best 8 most popular Business VoIP plans.
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| Most Popular Plan | Office Pro Plus | Premium | Premium (Vonage Business Cloud) | X Series X3 | Tier 2 | Call Center | Professional | Pro |
| Plan Starting Price | $20.95/mo | $34.99/user/mo | $27.99 per month/per line | $38 per user/per month | $25.95 per line/per user | $64.95 | $23 per month/per user | $30 per user/per month |
| Plan User Count | N/A | Unlimited | 5-19 Lines | 1-99 | 5-9 | N/A | ||
| Unlimited Calling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, 32 countries | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Texting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Faxing | Yes | Yes | Yes, $15.99 Add-On | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Nextiva
Nextiva is by no means a stranger to any of our lists — and for good reason. Nextiva can arguably be seen as one of the gold standards when it comes to modern Business Phone systems. We just recently listed Nextiva as one of the best enterprise companies to bet your careers on in 2019, and that says a lot.
Nextiva’s platform is known for innovation, and the provider has a history of updating their platform to not only match the latest paradigm shifts but introduce and invent their own as well. For example, NextOS is the provider’s newest take on the idea of an integrated communications platform.
When it comes to Business Phone Systems specifically, Nextiva’s Cloud PBX platform has always been considered a “best of the best” choice. Nextiva is one of the few providers to still offer their stand-alone virtual faxing solution.
When it comes to the need for a complete platform, with room to grow and a deep focus on modern collaboration and UCaaS solutions, Nextiva is one of the strongest choices — especially for organizations that prioritize in-house support and service, something Nextiva has been awarded for time and time again.
RingCentral
Just after RingCentral was included as a leader within Gartner’s most recent 2018 UCaaS Magic Quadrant, we went ahead and wrote a feature on the provider to highlight just why they are considered such a strong leader. And honestly, after going public, RingCentral has shown no signs of slowing down.
Just in January of 2019, we highlighted what seemed to be a recent industry trends, a bigger focus and priority being placed on growing a business phone system into not just a Unified Communications platform, but a complete customer engagement solution as well.
RingCentral was one of the first providers we noticed to snatch up a new cloud contact center solution, with the provider acquiring Connect First. Like Nextiva, RingCentral is growing its focus into a more complete and robust platform, bringing in far more than just business phone features.
Similarly, RingCentral is one of the few providers to still offer a stand-alone virtual faxing solution and represents a very good marriage between the latest and also proven technologies.
Vonage
As probably one of the most recognizable names in Business VoIP, the Vonage Business Cloud manages to always make their way onto some of the top recommendation lists — and that’s no different when it comes to unlimited business phone plans, either.
Vonage, like RingCentral and Nextiva, has been growing its overall platform and has recently placed a strong focus on customer engagement. Vonage owns Nexmo, one of Twilio’s largest competitors, and has grown the platform with some really strong use-cases with tools like the Nexmo Messages API.
Of course, when it comes to searching for the best business phone plans, Vonage is also a great choice with not only a proven name but competitive service and features. Not to mention, Vonage has recently stepped up its game and includes 24/7 service to compete with some bigger names like Nextiva.
Even without branching further into extra services like Nexmo or call center software, Vonage’s core UC and business phone solution has continued to grow with the latest technologies and trends. Vonage even managed to include AI into their platform to help administrators better manage their solutions. Despite all the cutting edge features, Vonage Business plans remain very affordable.
8x8
If you combine the best of the best from other providers, while adding on an international presence, you’ll be left with 8×8. One of 8×8’s strongest points, and a major reason for their leadership position within Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant, alongside RingCentral, is that global presence.
Not only does 8×8 have a proven, competitive and reliable platform, but their solution and capabilities extend beyond just the reaches of the United States, and is one of the strongest cloud-only communication provider options that branch through international markets.
8×8’s X3 plan offers international calling within 47 different countries, as well as local phone numbers. And on top of providing your organization with a complete, global communications platform, 8×8 solutions include VoIP phones and are packed with features you don’t normally find in a business phone system.
For example, their most popular plan includes outbound Predictive Dialer, a feature much more commonly found on automatic dialing specific platforms.
Jive Communications
Just recently acquired by meeting and collaboration leader LogMeIn, Jive Communications is in an even better position than they already were. By joining a proven meeting solution with a proven business phone and collaboration solution, Jive’s platform is even more robust and well-rounded than it has ever been.
We also went ahead and wrote a feature highlighting just exactly why Jive is such a unique UCaaS powerhouse. One major reason is not only the availability and accessibility of the solution, but the sheer number of options and features made available.
Jive’s Business Phone feature list is so extensive that we didn’t even bother attempting to cover the entire thing within the chart above. With features split into categories like Basic Voice Features, Call Management Features, Call Center Features, and Phone Service, it is clear that Jive’s focus directly on providing a great cloud business phone system hasn’t disappeared.
While Jive has become a UCaaS powerhouse, they are also still one of the providers that continues to offer virtual faxing on top of their latest paradigm shift.
PanTerra Streams
As one of the highest-rated providers on our own user reviews page, PanTerra may not be the most common name when it comes to business phone systems, but they are one of the best — especially if your business is in search of an unlimited phone plan that also includes virtual faxing.
PanTerra Networks is considered a leading provider for mid-market enterprise organizations, meaning companies with anywhere from 50 to 50,000 seats, with revenues anywhere from $50M and $5b. Panterra manages to cover a wide range of organizations and has a solution that can adapt to different requirements.
PanTerra’s pricing chart structure is really easy to understand, and while teams may have to go up to the Call Center solution to gain unlimited faxing, organizations are then gaining even more functionality with some advanced capabilities, including an app designer, detailed reporting, unlimited call queues, intense admin controls and more. Their award-winning UC solutions are worth the consideration.
Broadvoice
While BroadVoice may not always be on our radar for the latest announcements, the provider offers a wide range of cloud-delivered business solutions, of course including business phone systems and more recently a complete UCaaS platform.
Starting as a paper company run out of a dorm back in 1987, BroadVoice is no stranger to reinventing itself and has become an award-winning communications platform by 2017.
Similar to other options on our list, the BroadVoice platform has a strong inclusion of not only modern communication capabilities and technologies, but a strong virtual call center offering and related functionalities, as well.
One truly unique aspect of BroadVoice’s platforms and solutions is their 4G Failover Network. If your service has any issues, or your business loses an internet connection due to weather, hardware failures or power outages, the system will automatically divert data to the wireless nationwide 4G network.
Of course, we can’t forget the unlimited calling and texting, virtual fax, along with the option for not only local DID numbers but a global calling extension plan as well.
Dialpad
Dialpad has always been an interesting contender in the ever-growing business phone systems market. With humble beginnings, and founders coming from Google Voice, Dialpad has managed to keep that innovative spirit alive and truly manages to punch above their weight quite a bit.
A little while back I renowned Dialpad’s Free Business VoIP plan as being a truly unique offering, one that could help put them on the map while empowering organizations to get a taste of how Business VoIP can benefit their overall bottom line and business communications.
Even further from that, Dialpad more recently had introduced Artificial Intelligence into their solution, offering even the smallest organizations some really powerful functionalities, as AI is going to be one of the major differentiators for communication platforms in the time to come, as the technology only continues to grow.
Overall, Dialpad manages to hit the nail on the head with a modern, evolving and rapidly shifting platform that manages to include some of the most capable tools, while still maintaining the tried and true unlimited business phone plan so many businesses rely on — even including virtual faxing. Additionally, Dialpad pricing remains very reasonable.
Understanding Why Choosing the Best Business Phone Plan Matters
When it comes to choosing the best of the best, we usually like to listen to the majority of customer and user feedback. At the end of the day, those that are using and purchasing the solutions are the ones that have real-world experience with the tools.
This proven experience helps decision-makers better understand what level of insight, thought and knowledge went into the review of the product, providing a great real-world image of how the solution will truly perform.
However, when we are generally comparing specific solutions, in this case, the most popular business VoIP platforms with unlimited calling, SMS and Faxing, we can even look towards the solutions themselves.
For example, a large number of UCaaS and business VoIP providers try to make it as easy as possible to shop for their solution, and therefore directly highlight with their offerings is the most popular among existing users.
The Best Business Phone Plans are Also the Most Popular
Looking back at all of this information, we can begin to formulate a solid basis for which to compare and contrast numerous providers. We’ve rounded up both the most popular and the best business phone plans and service offerings. From our research, we have been able to hone in what we feel are the best 8 most popular business VoIP plans.
It is also worth mentioning, the tricky part here wasn’t necessarily finding 8 good unlimited business phone plans or 8 solutions that users are happy with, that information is fairly easy to come by. You can take a look at our top business VoIP options to gain a larger understanding of the current landscape.
But when we hone in on very specific requirements, that’s when the situation and equation becomes a bit more complicated. For example, while unlimited calling and text is an expected staple of Business VoIP solutions, unlimited virtual faxing is a bit harder to come by at this point. Throw in unlimited business SMS and we have an even trickier paradigm.
Thankfully, the people have spoken and the most popular options are also the best business phone plans around.
