Top 7 Small Business Phone Systems in Canada

Based on our extensive research, RingCentral’s $35 per user, per month Advanced plan is the best VoIP phone system for small businesses. The Advanced plan offers unlimited domestic calling and texting (CA & US), call features for training staff, and a much wider range of integrations than most competitors, including all the major CRM platforms.

If RingCentral doesn’t sound like it’s for you, there are other options. For instance, Google Workspace users will find Google Voice one of the cheapest and quickest systems to set up. Meanwhile, Net2Phone’s Business Lite plan will be best for businesses with international customer or client bases since it includes unlimited international calling to 40 countries.

Read on for short reviews of all our top-rated phone systems with details about each option’s pricing, reliability, customer support and scalability. If you’re short on time, however, just tell us your business needs via our free sixty-second survey. We’ll match you with relevant providers, who will then get in touch with obligation-free quotes.

The Top 7 Small Business Phone Systems: At a Glance

We researched and tested numerous business phone systems, critically evaluating each one to find out whether it was suitable for a small business. This allowed us to handpick seven of the best phone systems for small businesses in Canada:

1. RingCentral Advanced – Best for Integrations

Rising above the rest, RingCentral is our highest-ranked phone system for small businesses in Canada. Namely, its Advanced plan is best suited to small businesses of its three tiers, offering important features like call recording and advanced call management like whisper coaching or call takeover (barge) for growing teams.

Best of all, and its major benefit over other providers in our view, is that RingCentral Advanced allows for integrations with more third-party software than any other provider, including over 300 CRM tools like Salesforce and HubSpot. So no matter what software you already use, it’s likely RingCentral can integrate with your setup. Here’s why else it impressed us.

What kind of small business features does RingCentral Advanced offer?

• Software integrations: As stated, the Advanced plan allows you to sync your phone system with over 300 CRM platforms, including key helpdesk integrations like Salesforce and Zendesk, analytics, and many other platforms like Slack, WhatsApp, and Facebook. This will empower your customer service team by letting them draw on customer-specific data to provide more personalized service and save time when dealing with customer queries.
• Customer support: RingCentral provides multiple customer support channels, including live chat, a phone line, and email support. It also includes onboarding support to help you set up your system. Plus, it has a 99.9% uptime guarantee to ensure you’ll rarely go offline.
• Call features: RingCentral’s ring groups, voice-to-text, and spam prevention features will help your team manage growing call volumes. You’ll also be equipped with advanced tools like call barge, call whisper, and call monitoring to help you supervise calls and train your team. RingCentral also offers outstanding add-ons, such as RingCentral Webinar, RingCentral Contact Center, and RingCentral Engage Digital to boost your team’s capabilities.
• Scalability: RingCentral has an impressive offer for 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, password rules, compliance certifications, and encryption, helping protect your operation and data.

How does RingCentral Advanced compare with other VoIP providers for small businesses?

RingCentral Advanced has more integrations than other small business phone plans, beating close competitor 8×8. However, 8×8 has a leg up over RingCentral when it comes to domestic calls, since its X2 plan offers unlimited calls in 14 countries, while RingCentral Advanced offers this for domestic calls and calls to the US.

When it comes to scalability, we’d argue RingCentral and 8×8 are top of the pile and are pretty evenly matched between them, both providing various plans for small to large businesses depending on your needs. For instance, RingCentral’s upgraded Ultra package provides customizable analytics and reporting, improved capacity (200-person) video conferencing and other additions that may help when your organization needs greater detail and capacity for your operations.

However, RingCentral isn’t the cheapest option on this page. Overall, it’s more expensive than Dialpad and Google Voice and is the most expensive provider, just ahead of GoTo Connect’s plan.

What do users think of RingCentral?

We know how important users’ experiences and insights are when choosing your VoIP provider. We scoured the most trusted review sites, including G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, and Trustpilot to learn what customers said about RingCentral. Tallying user ratings, RingCentral receives an average customer score of 3.5/5. Here’s a helpful user review:

2. 8×8 X2 – Best for Scalability

8×8 offers a wide menu of subscription options that’ll allow you to scale your business as and when you need to. You have essential features like ring groups and call queues, and international calling to 14 countries offered at its base X2 subscription plan, your small business will easily be able to deal with large volumes of callers. And should you need to upgrade, 8×8 has four more feature-rich plans to dive into (X4, X6, X7 and X8) for greater spend.

Since July 2023, 8×8’s pricing hasn’t been public, but we’ve listed the figures above so you have a rough idea of what you’ll be paying. If you want an exact figure, you’ll need to contact the provider directly for a quote. 

What kind of small business features does 8×8 X2 offer?

• Call features: 8×8 X2 is packed with features, including call queue, voicemail-to-text, call forwarding and flip, team messaging, and document sharing. It also includes unlimited calls to 14 countries other than Canada. Most impressively, its call and video conferences can host up to 500 participants per meeting (with RingCentral, for instance, you’ll be limited to 100 participants).
• Software integrations: With the X2, you’ll be able to integrate with CRM, Helpdesk, web conferencing, external and internal live chats, email, and more. This means 8×8 can help personalize your customer experience by avoiding the need to hop between different communication channels. It also saves your agents time as they can quickly pull up individual customer files when dealing with cases.
• Customer support: 8×8 provides 24/7 live chat and phone line support, so you can reach its team any time you experience a problem. It also issues a 99.9% uptime service-level agreement to guarantee minimal downtime for your system. Plus, you can request onboarding support via 8×8’s Customer Success Managers – but it’s unclear whether this comes at an additional cost.
• Scalability: 8×8 X2 allows you to sync your internal communications via Slack, Telegram, and Teams, so you and your team can work remotely. It’s also equipped with call queue, ring groups, analytics, customisable call routing, and call recording, allowing your small business to handle a large call volume while gathering data to optimise your company.

How does 8×8 X2 compare with other VoIP providers for small businesses?

8×8 X2 is missing a few call features when compared to RingCentral’s Advanced plan. There’s no call barge or call whisper, for example. But, it does come with unlimited calls to 14 different countries, while RingCentral Advanced only supports calls to Canada and the US. Still, you can call a larger array of countries without paying extra via GoTo or Net2Phone.

Another downside is that 8×8 also doesn’t publish its pricing anymore, making it far less transparent than its competitors. Based on past pricing, 8×8 is generally more expensive than rivals Google Voice and Dialpad, but it does offer users a broader range of features.

8×8 redeems itself when it comes to customer support and security, offering 24/7 phone support (only matched by RingCentral and Ooma), and password protection rules, user permission, and two-factor authentications on all its plans, making it unrivalled among the providers on this list.

What do users think of 8×8?

Rounding up user reviews, 8×8 received an aggregated customer score of 3.5/5 across G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, and Trustpilot. Here’s what a Canadian user had to say:

3. Dialpad – Best Conversational AI

Dialpad is best known for its innovative use of conversational AI. It can accurately transcribe your phone calls in real-time, flag whether or not the conversation features happy or frustrated customers and automate post-call summaries. Plus, you can even enable you to create notes with tips and advice that appear on the screen when certain keywords or phrases are spoken on call.

You can also choose to turn off this feature for more confidential conversations but it is a superb tool that other phone systems are beginning to replicate. Here’s why else Dialpad could be for you.

What kind of small business features does Dialpad Pro offer?

• Call features: Dialpad’s Pro plan comes with an impressive list of inbound communication features, including spam prevention, call queue, and ring groups. Best of all, it has a unique conversational AI that provides your support and sales agents with real-time customized suggestions to improve and speed up customer interaction. The AI tool can also transcribe calls and voicemails.
• Customer support: Dialpad Pro also offers 24/7 live chat and phone lines, which gives you access to its customer support team anytime, any day. You can also request onboarding support to help you set up your system, but this comes at an additional cost.
• Scalability: With access to call queues, ring groups, call recordings, analytics, and call transcripts, Dialpad Pro offers a good range of tools for small businesses. You can also use internal live chat and web conferencing to slash costs, as you can keep your operation remote. However, its security measures do miss out on multi-factor authentication and password rules, making it less secure than other providers like Google Voice and 8×8.

How does Dialpad Pro compare with other VoIP providers for small businesses?

Dialpad supports less ready-made integrations than RingCentral or 8×8. For example, it only supports 16 CRM integrations compared with RingCentral’s 300+.

On the flipside, Dialpad offers strong customer support options, including 24/7 live chat support on its Pro and Enterprise plans. It offers more support choices than the likes of GoTo Connect, Net2Phone, and Google Voice.

Lastly, Dialpad has AI-assisted tools on all of its plans, even the cheapest one, Standard, which isn’t the case for most competitors.

What do users think of Dialpad?

Our researchers analyzed Dialpad’s user reviews, and found it achieved an average customer score of 4.4/5 across G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and TrustRadius. Below is one of the reviews:

4. Ooma Office Pro – Best Value for Money

For the affordable price of $29.95 per user, per month, you get access to Ooma’s scalable features and generous customer support. For that reason, we think it’s a solid value-for-money choice, albeit not the cheapest option of our top-rated providers (that award goes to Google Voice). Here’s what exactly you can do for your money.

What kind of small business features does Ooma Office Pro offer?

• Remote-working calls: Ooma Office Pro allows you to make and receive calls from the comfort of your home office, or anywhere that you can bring your laptop, as you’ll be able to use the desktop app. This especially suits remote teams who don’t want to purchase extra hardware or desk phones, or who perhaps don’t have a physical office.
• Customer support: Ooma Office Pro offers 24/7 live chat and a phone line, so help is available whenever you need it. Moreover, it provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee to ensure your system has minimal downtime.
• Scalability: Ooma Office Pro lets you add unlimited users to the system. It also comes with a solid list of inbound communication features, including ring groups, a virtual receptionist, customizable greetings, and hold music. However, it doesn’t come with a call queue feature.

How does Ooma Office Pro compare to other VoIP providers for small businesses?

Ooma costs less than most of its competitors, especially when it comes to its more advanced plans, while still retaining advanced features like ring groups and customizable receptionists. For instance, the Ooma Office Pro Plus plan, its highest possible tier, is $34.95/month per user which is far less than comparative plans on the likes of GoTo and 8×8, and cheaper than most other choices including our leading pick RingCentral.

As mentioned, Google Voice is slightly cheaper than Ooma, starting at $10 per user, per month, but it offers much less functionality.

Although its price point is very alluring, the downside is that you are compromising on external connections. With Ooma Office Pro, you miss out on CRM, Helpdesk, Web Conferencing, External and Internal live chat, analytics, API, and SSO software integrations. Therefore, if you’re looking for a Swiss army knife for external connections, we’d recommend looking at RingCentral instead.

When it comes to security features, Ooma Office Pro isn’t particularly solid either. It doesn’t offer multi-factor authentication, password rules, or user permission, so if security is your main concern as a small business, we’d recommend looking at Google Voice standard or 8×8 X2.

What do users think of Ooma?

Ooma garnered an outstanding 4.4/5 average customer score from G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and TrustRadius. Below is what one user had to say:

5. Google Voice Standard – Best for Google Users

Google Voice is a top player for clients who are already big fans of Google in their workspace. Using Google AI within multiple aspects of its operation, from blocking spam to transcribing voicemails, Google Voice is known for its robust security features and its seamless integration with all other things Google. Here’s what it can offer you.

What kind of small business features does Google Voice Standard offer?

• Security: Google Voice has an unmatched security system, offering complete and updated compliance certificates for various information security and data privacy laws. Its system is also reinforced with multi-factor authentication, strict password rules, and user permissions to protect against hacks and phishing.
• Customer support: Google Voice Standard has 24/7 phone line support, so you can call whenever you encounter a system issue. Plus, it has a 99.9% uptime guarantee, minimising any downtime.
• Flexibility: The Google Voice app offers the functionality to forward calls to any compatible device, be it a smartphone or desktop. It even allows you to control which devices receive which calls. This feature is especially beneficial for solo entrepreneurs who wish to distinguish between work calls and personal calls but prefer using a single device.

How does Google Voice Standard compare to other VoIP providers for small businesses?

We gave Google Voice has the most limited call features of all the systems we tested. It doesn’t offer caller ID, power dialing, or call queues, to name a few. If you’re willing to pay more, you’ll get access to better features for a still reasonable price with Ooma. For a full suite of features, we recommend RingCentral or 8×8, if you have the budget for them.

It’s also not a strong contender for businesses that use a lot of third-party software that needs to integrate with their chosen VoIP phone system. Google Voice doesn’t integrate with any non-Google products, unlike the extensive options via 8×8 and RingCentral in particular. But, if you’re already happy with all the Google products that businesses use, the setup will be fairly straightforward and painless.

On the brighter side, and as mentioned, Google Voice excels in its security offerings, including encryption and multi-factor authentication. Only 8×8 rivals Google Voice when it comes to security features.

What do users think of Google Voice?

Combining user ratings from G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, and Trustpilot, Google Voice received a high overall customer score of 4.4/5.

6. Net2Phone Business Lite – Best for International Calling

Most systems charge extra fees for international calls, but Net2Phone stands out because it comes with unlimited calling to more than 40 countries. This means speaking to clients and teams across the world is completely free, allowing you to maintain and expand your international reach. And you can even get

Better yet, Net2Phone can also give you virtual phone numbers and dial tones in over 50 countries. So, if you’d like to establish a presence in places like Europe or Asia, your contact options are easily taken care of. Let’s dive into what else Net2Phone does well and could improve on.

What kind of small business features does Net2Phone Business Lite offer?

• Flexibility: One of the benefits of using a VoIP system like Net2Phone is that you can take calls from your smartphone, meaning you can ensure you don’t miss customer interactions while on the go or out of hours and you don’t have to invest in any extra hardware.
• International calling: With Net2Phone, you’ll get unlimited calls to over 40 international countries, making it a great option for small businesses with clients or customers outside the country. These include the US and Mexico, several South American countries (Argentina, Brazil), European countries (France, Germany), and Asian countries (Hong Kong, India).
• Customer support: On the Office plan, you can reach Net2Phone’s customer support via email, live chat, and phone lines (but note that these aren’t open 24/7). It even offers free onboarding support to help you set up your system. Plus, it has an uptime guarantee and Net2Phone can provide reimbursements for service interruptions that last 30 minutes or more. We’re also quite impressed by Net2Phone’s international presence as it has offices in 10 countries around the world and has specific solutions based on the region you are located in Canada, from Quebec to British Columbia.
• Scalability: Net2Phone is relatively scalable, thanks to its customer support (only missing out on 24/7 live support), call queue, ring groups, and a low user limit of six users. However, it’s not as good as RingCentral or 8×8 because it misses out on important management features like call monitoring, call-flow designer, as well as analytics and reporting.

How does Net2Phone compare to other VoIP providers for small businesses?

Net2Phone is generally cheaper than top competitors RingCentral, 8×8, and offers great value for money with unlimited calling to over 40 countries. For international calling, it’s the best behind GoTo, and beating 8×8’s 14 international countries by a mile. Since it’s cheaper than GoTo, it might well be better value for international operations, too.

On the other hand, Net2Phone has very limited integrations, second worst after Google Voice. With the Business Lite plan, you’ll only be able to integrate with Chrome Extension and will have to use open API to integrate anything else. If you need plenty of ready-made third-party integrations, we recommend RingCentral and failing that, 8×8.

What do users think of Net2Phone?

Averaging user reviews from G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and TrustRadius, Net2Phone received an outstanding overall score of 4.7/5.

7. GoTo Connect Phone System – Most Secure System

GoTo Connect is a safe option if you’re looking to get value for your money, promising a seamless onboarding process using which you can get your cloud phone system working within a day. Granted, it’s not the cheapest option – in fact, it is the second most expensive – but you get a lot for your money. Let’s discuss exactly what it can offer your team.

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

• Security: GoTo Connect also provides robust security features, including TLS/SRTP encryption and user permissions, so you can protect sensitive information. Moreover, it has compliance certificates for various information security and data privacy laws.
• Scalability: With ring group, call queue, analytics, call recording, customizable call routing, and an unlimited user limit, GoTo Connect Phone System is great for a small business that is looking to grow.
• Remote working: GoTo Connect also gives you access to internal live chat and web conferencing, which can sustain a remote working model. This is excellent for geographically scattered teams who want to stay connected while reducing overheads by not renting a physical office.

How does GoTo Connect compare to other VoIP providers for small businesses?

GoTo Connect’s customer support isn’t quite on par with RingCentral’s, with no 24/7 support on live chat available. So if you are a new VoIP phone system user, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Still, its streamlined admin portal means you can easily configure call flows with a drag-and-drop dial plan editor and comb through call analytics to identify which team or agent needs improvement, too. We’d say it’s pretty intuitive in that sense, so hopefully you wouldn’t need to make use of its customer support all that often.

However, features you can access on its entry point Phone System subscription are far more advanced than those offered by most competitor starting plans. For example, GoTo Connect gives you free international calling to 50+ countries, making it a great softphone option for businesses who need this sort of offering. That’s more than any other provider on this page.

What do users think of GoTo Connect?

GoTo Connect receives a high average customer score of 4.4/5 across G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and TrustRadius.

The Difference Between VoIP and PBX Phone Systems

A traditional PBX system uses a landline to make and receive calls, while a VoIP system uses the Internet.

What are VoIP phone systems?

VoIP phone systems transmit audio over the internet.

Most VoIP phone systems come with an app that your team can download onto a device of their choice, including a cell phone. This makes them a great option for remote workers, who can use either their laptop or cell devices to make calls and access the system’s features, rather than being tethered to a desk phone. This means you won’t need to purchase extra hardware for your team, which is great if you’re on a budget. If you do want separate hardware, know that IP phones are VoIP-compatible desk phones.

If you’re worried about call quality, don’t be. As long as you invest in a strong and stable internet connection, VoIP call quality will be better than on a landline.

What are PBX phone systems?

A PBX phone system turns your traditional phone system into a multi-line system, giving you the option to add extensions that lead to each phone. Once a call comes in, the PBX auto attendant directs the caller to the right extension number, freeing up the phone line for another call to come in.

The features of a landline PBX phone system are basic when compared to those available with VoIP – which is one of the reasons why we recommend VoIP instead.

What Are the Features of a Small Business Phone?

Below are the five most important features need to help your small business scale, run smoothly, and allow for easy communication:

1. Effortless call transfer and routing

Running a small business often means juggling multiple tasks. A user-friendly call transfer option is invaluable, enabling you or your office manager to transfer calls with a simple click. Make sure your chosen phone system offers this feature without the need for an IT team’s assistance.

2. Cloud-based flexibility and mobile compatibility

Go for a cloud-based phone system for small businesses that is compatible with mobile devices. This will allow your team to make and receive calls from anywhere with mobile and desktop apps. Also, automatic software updates make management a breeze, empowering you to add new users or hires without external help.

3. Seamless mobile call forwarding

For those on the move, a reliable call-forwarding service is essential. Look for VoIP providers that allow easy setup of forwarding to cell phone numbers or colleagues’ lines. Missed calls can be automatically directed to other team members or departments, ensuring crucial calls are never missed, even when someone is out of the office.

3. Keep your existing business number

Maintaining continuity is vital for establishing a reputable brand image. Choose a phone system that allows smooth porting of your existing business number, so your customers and suppliers won’t need to update their contact lists, saving them time and reducing hassle for your business.

5. Customisable caller ID

With this feature, you can display a preferred caller ID when contacting prospective clients or customers.

How To Choose the Right Phone System for Your Small Business

While researching the needs of small businesses, we found that decision makers considered cost, scalability, and compatibility with existing software infrastructure when choosing a business phone system. Below we explore these factors in more detail:

• Cost: As is the case for many small businesses, cost is at the forefront of most decisions. Therefore, it’s important to prioritize options that charge low up-front monthly fees, offer inclusive domestic minutes, provide multiple communication channels (so you don’t have to pay extra to get these from other providers), and provide solid customer support, so you can avoid losing money during a potential phone downtime. Signing up for an annual contract also tends to be cheaper than paying monthly.
• Compatibility with your software infrastructure: Whether you’re migrating to VoIP or between providers, you’ll want a provider that offers numerous integrations, allowing you to continue using the software you already use to run your small business. Ensure the platform you choose offers ready-made integrations with CRM, workspace software, email, web conferencing, internal messaging, and external messaging platforms.
• Scalability: A small business can be burdened by long-term additional costs, like outgrowing an important software system. You’ll need a VoIP system that can grow alongside your small business can. Key indicators for this will be providers that let you onboard an unlimited number of users, offer call queues, ring groups, a good array of management features, and features that allow you to run your operation remotely. Security is also a key point as it can help shield your business from risks during expansion.

How We Rank VoIP Products and Services for Small Businesses