The Best Small Business Phone Systems in 2024

8×8 vs Other VoIP Providers

Awarded the highest overall score of 4.7/5 by our independent researchers, who researched the 8×8 X2 plan’s features, pricing, and customer support, it stands out due to its flexibility of choice. Whether your small business needs a comprehensive, savvy system or you just want the essentials, 8×8 can tick off the boxes on your small business phone system checklist.

What else impressed us about 8×8?

Besides 8×8’s extensive software integration options discussed above, we were thoroughly enamoured by its communication channels. Namely, support for video/call conferencing for up to 500 people, instant team messaging and e-fax leave 8×8’s X2 plan only beaten by GoTo Connect in this area, since it offers additional SMS support.

8×8’s security features include several compliance certifications, multi-factor authentication, and variable user permissions for different account holders. Vonage lacks multi-factor authentication and password rules, both provided by 8×8 and RingCentral, leaving these two big-name VoIP providers as the clear favourites in the security and support stakes.

Where could 8×8’s X2 plan do better?

8×8’s lack of transparency on pricing didn’t impress us, nor did the price estimates we sourced for the average small Australian business. We reckon it’s more expensive than GoTo Connect, Vonage, and Dialpad which all offer packages for less than 8×8’s $45 minimum estimate.

Still, the extra dollars you’re putting down are a worthy investment in our books, thanks to 8×8’s broad range of features. But ultimately, it could add more cost to your bottom line. Since 8×8 now using a custom-pricing scheme, we must stress that it is worth getting a quoted price from 8×8 to see how much it would cost your business.

What kind of small business features does GoTo Connect Phone System’s plan offer?

• Software integrations: On its Phone System plan, GoTo Connect is compatible with CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, internal live chat, email, and SSO platforms, and has an open API. But we weren’t able to sync GoTo Connect with Office 365, Hubspot, and Bullhorn.
• Onboarding support: This is available on GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan.
• Scalability: With an unlimited user limit, ring group, call queue, analytics, call recording, and customisable call routing, we like that the Phone System plan provides the features that will help start-ups upscale. What’s more, GoTo Connect also gives access to internal live chat and web conferencing, which can help keep your business working remotely and cost-effectively.

GoTo Connect vs Other VoIP Providers

Earning an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5, GoTo Connect is our second-highest-ranked phone system for small businesses in Australia after 8×8.

It earns the gong of the best plan for unified communications too, since its suite of tools from team messaging and video conferencing (for up to 250 people) to screen sharing, SMS, and e-fax is more extensive than any other phone system we’ve researched at this small business price point. Via its streamlined admin portal, you’ll be able to collaborate seamlessly across all internal and external conversations.

GoTo Connect’s free international calling to 50+ countries is an obvious benefit, especially since its Phone System package offers unlimited calling minutes. This encompasses popular destinations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and several European and Asian countries, making it a strong contender for international businesses.

It also has plenty of call training features to enhance that unlimited calling package too, such as call recording, monitoring, and user-specific analytics and reporting. Only Vonage Pro and RingCentral Premium beat it out in this area since they add barging and whisper tools that are reserved for higher-priced plans.

And while we found its pricing was private previously, it appears that GoTo is now using transparent pricing for its plans. The Phone System plan is from $33 per user, per month at the time of writing. You can see this in the image below, which we screenshotted from its website.

What kind of small business features does Vonage Professional offer?

• Software integrations: Although it comes at an additional cost, we could integrate Vonage’s phone system with a wide range of software platforms, including Hubspot, Slack, Office 365, Salesforce, and Zendesk. If you want to access web conferencing, you’ll need to integrate with Unytalk, which will also cost extra.
• Onboarding support: This is only available at an additional cost. You can select a 90-minute webinar training session for up to 100 employees, or 3 to 5-day onboarding training and support packages.
• Scalability: Vonage’s Smart Plan gave us access to call queue, ring groups, an unlimited number of users, and analytics, which are the foundations needed to upscale a business. It also integrates seamlessly with Slack, which allowed us to set up a remote operation that can slash costs. However, it’s worth being aware that helpful management features like call recording and call monitoring come at an extra cost in Australia (call recording costs $5 per user, per month).

Vonage vs Other VoIP Providers

Backed by our thorough research, which considered software integrations, onboarding support, and the scalability of each small business phone system, Vonage scored an overall 4.6/5 for small businesses.

It shone brightest due to its training features, which bettered all the other options we looked at in the same price bracket. That includes call barge and call whisper functionality which most other provider plans at this price can’t offer, plus detailed analytics and reporting of user calls. GoTo Connect is the next nearest competitor but lacks whisper and barge functionality.

We found Vonage to offer great opportunities to scale your operations as your business grows. You have solid foundations in the form of an unlimited number of users and impressive call management features from a virtual receptionist and regular queuing, routing and forwarding tools, to ring groups, flipping functionality, caller ID, and even transcribable/recorded voicemails.

Add those basics to the discussed training features, and helping upskill staff when required is an easy task. Especially since it integrates with a wide range of hardware meaning, if a remote working staff member has their own kit, they should be able to use it without a problem.

The Smart plan also offers a wide range of customer service features such as post-call surveys to collect customer feedback, dialers to automate outbound calling processes and customisable reporting and analytics.

Although these come at an additional cost (request a quote to get exact costings), Vonage lets you tap into its wide set of ready-made integrations, as it’s compatible with systems like Hubspot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Slack, and Office 365. This allows you to unify all your business communications in one spot, giving your agents all the necessary tools to provide the best customer service possible.

Where could Vonage’s Smart plan do better?

Small businesses in Australia looking for an all-in-one communication solution may find Vonage Smart lacking in some respects. While it offers call conferencing and team messaging, it falls short by not including SMS, e-fax, and other communication channels that many competitors provide.

What kind of small business features does Dialpad Pro offer?

• Software integrations: Dialpad is ready to be synced with CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, email, workspace, internal live chat, and SSO platforms, which gave us access to systems like Salesforce, Zendesk, Hubspot, G Suite, and Slack. However, it does miss out on external live chat and analytics integrations, and its own API. Overall, it does have a pretty limited offering of integrable platforms, particularly on the CRM front, with only three possible CRM platforms.
• Onboarding support: This is available to Dialpad Pro subscribers via its dedicated Customer Onboarding Team to assist with any questions and queries.
• Scalability: With access to call queues, ring groups, and a variety of management features like call recording, analytics, and call transcripts, Dialpad Pro offers a good range of tools you can rely on to build up your business. Plus, we liked using internal live chat and web conferencing to slash costs and keep operations remote. However, its security measures do miss out on multi-factor authentication and password rules, making it less secure than other providers like 8×8.

Dialpad vs Other VoIP Providers

When our researchers looked closely at how suitable Dialpad is for small businesses, its top-performing attribute was its strong call management functionality. Dialpad Pro provides everything we looked for, from a virtual receptionist, voicemail and call screening to advanced features like call queuing, re-routing, call flipping, and forwarding.

For small Australia-based businesses that handle high call volumes, Dialpad Pro’s provision of unlimited call minutes means you can fully utilise all these features, too, as much as possible.

What else impressed us about Dialpad Pro?

Wide external integration is another bright side of Dialpad Pro. Following 8×8 X2, it stands out as the top performer for its range of software integrations. Among its key features is its rare ability to connect with Microsoft Teams for video meetings, will it also synchronises effortlessly with Outlook and Gmail, streamlining calendar management.

While Dialpad Pro’s CRM integration is limited to major players like Salesforce, it still brings compatibility with a range of other helpdesk software. And besides GoTo Connect, it supports more phone brand hardware than any other VoIP from our research.

We were also decently impressed with Dialpad’s customer support. It offers users 24/7 support and live chat, ranking above other providers in this category, like GoTo Connect and Vonage.

Where could Dialpad’s Pro plan do better?

While Dialpad Pro isn’t alone in having limited training capabilities at this price point, it remains a weak area for businesses looking to enhance staff proficiency. You get basics like call recording and some analytics tools, but advanced features like call monitoring, call barging, and discreet coaching are missing from all of its plans at present (turn to Vonage Pro for these extras).

Dialpad Pro ranks lower than others for communication channels, too. That’s down to some restrictions, including a maximum of ten participants on video calls. Still, it isn’t all bad: the inclusion of team messaging and standard call conferencing features, alongside being one of the few providers, together with GoTo Connect, to offer SMS capabilities as a standard feature.

What kind of small business features does RingCentral Standard offer?

• Software integrations: Software integrations are limited to workspaces like Microsoft 365 or communication tools like Slack. CRM and helpdesk platform integration isn’t possible on the Standard plan, though RingCentral Premium offers extensive support if that’s required.
• Onboarding support: This is only available to RingCentral Premium subscribers with it offering 45 days of complimentary support through RingCentral’s Implementation Advisor and RingCentral University access to various guides.
• Scalability: We were impressed by RingCentral’s scalability, equipping you with all the right tools – call queue, ring groups, web conferencing tools, internal live chat, and pretty much all the management features you could ever need as a small business. It also includes multi-factor authentication, compliance certifications, and encryption, which will help shield your operation as you continue to scale – but password rule settings are only available with the RingCentral Engage add-on.

RingCentral vs Other VoIP Providers

Factoring in price, integrability, features, and customer support, our in-depth research has awarded RingCentral an overall score of 4/5 for small businesses.

When it comes to handling a high volume of calls, small businesses in Australia can utilise advanced call management features like voicemail screening. While these features may not be as extensive as those offered by some other providers, RingCentral’s more advanced plans provide the opportunity to scale up effortlessly when needed with further tools. In other words, RingCentral ensures flexibility and growth potential for your agile, small business.

What else impressed us about RingCentral Standard?

RingCentral’s Standard plan supports video conferencing for up to 100 participants with recording capabilities and unlimited audio conferencing, perfect for lengthy meetings or virtual events since it can keep going for up to 24 hours.

RingCentral also races ahead for customer service features according to our research, thanks to 24/7 live support, email, phone, and live chat. So, you can be confident you’ll have the support you need when growing your small business.

Where could RingCentral’s Standard plan do better?

For more on RingCentral, read our dedicated review.