The 8 Best Virtual Phone Number Apps

8x8 tops our list with a high overall score of 4.7/5. From the get-go, 8x8 provides unlimited domestic minutes across all plans. This gets upgraded to unlimited international calls to 14 countries on the X2 plan, which extends to 48 countries on the X4 plan. Likewise, it has a number porting capability on all pricing tiers, so you can retain your existing business phone number while enjoying call flexibility.

8x8’s impressive call features include voicemail-to-text, a virtual receptionist, and localized toll-free numbers. The most noteworthy of which is its high-quality voice calling and analytics. Plus, many advanced features like power dialer and predictive dialing for an additional cost. Moreover, 8x8 ranked first in our customer support (5/5), security (5/5), and scalability (4.9/5) research categories.

You have to look out for its 10-user limit on its cheapest (Express) plan. Nevertheless, this user limit quickly dissolves as you upgrade to the X2 plan, which enables an unlimited number of users. On the other hand, if you want to spend as little as you can while ensuring your growing team will be catered for, try Vonage. This provider allows unlimited users on its cheapest plan, which costs $19.99 to $39.99 per user, per month.

RingCentral closely takes the second spot with top marks in external connections (4.2/5), customer support (5/5), and scalability (4.9/5) in our research. Hence, we recommend RingCentral for small to medium businesses. Not only is it reliable, but has a wide compatibility with software and flexible enough to adapt when your business starts to grow.

RingCentral offers unlimited domestic minutes and number porting across all plans. It also offers plenty of call features, including a virtual receptionist, customizable hold music, SMS, and a set caller ID. Best of all, RingCentral comes ready to integrate with up to 250 software platforms, such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Slack, and Hangouts Chat.  

The drawback is, many outbound communication features, like auto dialer and custom call lists require RingCentral Engage, an add-on that comes at an additional cost. Apart from this, it has a user limit of 20 on its cheapest plan, unlike Vonage, which has no user limit across any of its plans. Luckily, it becomes unlimited when you upgrade to the Standard plan.

Vonage enables you to add unlimited domestic minutes, number porting, and unlimited users for every plan. Plus, a mix of call features, such as set caller ID, call flip, and a localized toll-free number. The great thing is, Vonage also offers reliable, high-quality virtual phone numbers that are quarantined for a period of time to avoid unwanted calls from previous owners

Scoring a 4.5/5 in our feature analysis, Vonage offers over 50 communication features to choose from and include in your plan. This makes it easier on your pocket because you only pay for the functionalities you need. This allows you to start off on the cheapest plan with the most essential features, scaling up as your demands grow.

Moreover, Vonage has collaboration features (team messaging, document sharing) and software integrations (Hubspot, Office 365, Salesforce, and Zendesk) that are important for a growing business. Plus, you can add call features, such as a call queue, ring groups, call barge and call whisper to handle calls from your growing client list. All of these contribute to Vonage’s high 4.5/5 scalability score and earning our recommendation as the best virtual phone service for scaling businesses.

That said, advanced features like voicemail-to-text, ring groups, and SMS/chat are only available at an additional cost. These features are offered free by 8x8 and RingCentral. Aside from this, Vonage’s call conferencing is limited to three participants. You have to pay an extra fee to increase its capacity to 30 users. 

Ooma is a virtual phone service that allows unlimited users and offers unlimited domestic minutes and number porting capability across all of its plans. If you opt for its pricier Enterprise plan, you’ll also get unlimited international minutes to Canada, and Mexico added to your features. Ooma also offers a multitude of inbound communication features, including virtual receptionist, voicemail-to-text, and ring groups. Plus, it also allows number porting on every plan, so you don’t have to change numbers when you switch to Ooma. 

What really makes Ooma stand out is its excellent customer service (4.4/5) at very affordable plans. For as low as $19.95 per user, per month, you’ll get 24/7 customer support, giving you fast, reliable assistance whenever you need it.

One thing to look out for is Ooma’s shortage of management and collaboration features. Unlike 8x8 and RingCentral, features like a call-flow designer, task management, and being able to create teams are unavailable on any of Ooma’s plans. Also, some advanced features, like video conferencing, team messaging, and call monitoring, are only available on its pricier Enterprise plan. 

With an overall score of 4.3/5, Nextiva offers unlimited domestic calls, number porting, and unlimited users on all its plans. It boasts a powerful list of inbound communication features, including voicemail, customizable greetings, and ring groups. Moreover, it has a set caller ID, video calling, and call conferencing feature with unlimited participants. 

We love Nextiva’s adaptability. Of the virtual phone services we reviewed, Nextiva has the most flexible setup. Not only does it offer its own branded handset, but it also has a wide range of third-party desktop phone compatibility. That’s way ahead of Google Voice, which doesn’t offer a desktop phone and only has Polycom for desktop phone compatibility.

The drawback is that Nextiva does lack a lot of features, earning a mediocre 3.9/5 features score. You have to get its Call Center add-on to enjoy advanced features, such as call barge, call monitoring, and analytics. Some essential features, like SMS and call conferencing, are only available on its most expensive plans (Professional and Enterprise plans). Meanwhile, 8x8 and Dialpad offer these functionalities for free across all pricing tiers. While it does employ some strong security measures, it could use multi-factor authentication and password rules like 8x8 does. 

GoTo Connect is the business phone number app we recommend for low-price longevity. For one, it does have good value for money, scoring 4.3/5 in our pricing analysis. More importantly, of the providers that scored best for pricing, we found GoTo to be the most scalable (scoring 4.4/5 in this category in our research). This means GoTo is adaptable enough to partner with you if you’re just starting out, or you’re expanding globally. 

For as low as $24 per user per month, you’ll get unlimited users, unlimited domestic minutes, and number porting. What’s more noteworthy is, GoTo generously offers free international calling to more than 50 countries on its Standard and Premium plans (but not its cheapest Essentials plan). In addition to this, you’ll get a comprehensive list of inbound communication features, including a virtual receptionist, call queue, and ring groups. These call features, combined with high-security measures (scoring 4/5 in our security evaluation), give GoTo a good 4.4/5 scalability score. 

If there’s one thing to watch out for, is the lack of external connections, seeing it earn a low 2.6/5 in integrability. That’s quite the opposite of RingCentral, which boasts up to 250 integrations. If you’re already using scores of different software, it's more likely that RingCentral already has a built-in integration. 

Net2Phone is the best virtual business phone app to use for low-cost international calling. It’s the only virtual phone service that offers free international calling to more than 40 countries across all its plans. This enables you to chat and collaborate with your team across the globe without being bound by fees.

On top of this, Net2Phone lets you set up virtual phone numbers in over 500 countries and 300 cities. So, if you plan to make waves in Europe, the Americas, or Asia, this virtual phone system will help you establish your presence without breaking the bank. This is why our researchers rated Ne2Phone the best virtual phone system for low-cost international calling. 

Net2Phone also offers a bountiful set of inbound features, including customizable greetings and hold music, voicemail, and virtual receptionist. As for outbound communications, you’ll get a set caller ID, call and video conferencing, and SMS/chat across all plans.

The disadvantage is that it’s missing a call flip, so you can’t switch from your deskphone to your cellphone while on a call. Also, voicemail-to-text is only available on its most expensive plan (Office Power). Plus, it only has Slack for live messaging integrations, which is only available on its Office Power plan. RingCentral, on the other hand, offers all these features, as well as more software integrations. 

We rated Dialpad as the virtual business number app with the best conversational AI. Boasting a stellar list of inbound and outbound communication features across all plans, Dialpad scores 4.4/5 for features in our research. Enjoy advanced features, like customizable greetings, virtual receptionist, and voicemail-to-text from its lowest to highest pricing tiers. Most importantly, it has conversational AI that is enhanced by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning features to help analyze your conversations. This means it can decipher your calls and provide tailored and actionable suggestions with Real Time Assist Cards to help you better communicate with your team and clients.. 

Dialpad allows you to have unlimited users, provides unlimited inbound and outbound domestic calls, and number porting across all plans. Once you upgrade to its Pro plan, you’ll get localized, toll-free numbers in more than 50 countries.

However, Dialpad falls short on external connections, earning a low integrability score of 2.4/5. Unlike 8x8's 10 live chat integrations, Dialpad only has Slack. Luckily, it has its own SMS/chat and team messaging, so you can still reach your team instantly.