8 Best VoIP Internet Phone Systems of 2024

Call centers have been an essential component of business growth since the 1950s, but telephony has changed since the days of switchboards and manual dialing. The challenges your organization faces now are technological, intellectual, and financial.

Customers and agents enduring a poor calling experience? Damaging.

Being in the dark and lacking insight about call activity? Anti-growth.

Limited tech resources and a workforce not using tech to its full potential? Wasteful.

Buying landlines, paying for public switched telephone network (PSTN) calls, and building a physical international presence, rather than taking advantage of remote opportunities? Costly.    

All of these are avoidable. By using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software, you can streamline and scale your sales or customer support workforce from anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal. VoIP is indispensable for improving efficiency, customer service, and overall performance, and it can accommodate business growth at any speed.

Let’s take a look at key features you need to consider in your internet phone system, as well as the top platforms on the market—so you can find the best solution for your business and teams. Whether you’re in hotels, healthcare, real estate, retail, or customer support, finding the right system can significantly enhance communication and service quality.”

Key takeaways: 

1. VoIP providers need to ensure exceptional audio quality with high reliability and consistent service availability.
2. Standard internet phone system features include messaging, audio conferencing, call recording, and auto-attendants. Advanced features might include AI suggestions, time-saving capabilities, and productivity-boosting tools.
3. CloudTalk is highlighted as an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes, particularly those prioritizing AI integration and advanced analytics.

Criteria to Look for in Your Internet Phone System

Before we explore your options, it’s important to consider how you plan to use your VoIP system and all the essential features. 

If you’re supporting remote working for multiple agents, you’ll need a platform with a Hosted Private Branch Exchange (PBX). This cloud-based system enables your business to use VoIP technology to handle calls without physical, on-premise equipment. 

Put yourself in your agents’ shoes too. Will they be working primarily from their cell phone? Will they be more productive with a desktop app and headset replacing their traditional landline and desk phone? Do they need flexibility to work in either scenario?  

Then there are individual VoIP features to bear in mind. These are fairly standard as part of a basic package:

• Porting existing numbers
• Caller ID
• Call Forwarding and Transfer
• Incoming Call Routing
• SMS
• Automated Hold
• Conference Calling 

Beyond these, you may discover features that you hadn’t previously considered but offer significant benefits to your business. Think about how your business imagines call center automation and ways to improve agent performance to meet, or surpass, industry benchmarks. 

Below, we dive into some specialized features that can truly transform the way your sales and customer service teams communicate.

Call Quality

“I’m sorry, who’s calling?”, “It’s a bad line.”, “I give up.” 

Responses that no call center agent wants to hear, and no customer wants to say. Poor phone call quality is a major contributor to call abandonment, so choosing software with a proven record of call clarity is a must. You can’t close a sale, convert a prospect, or solve a customer’s issues if they’ve hung up. 

Local Number Availability

Trust and cost. Two key factors in any customer/business communications. With software that creates a global network through the cloud, you can work internationally with local efficiency.

In their Local Presence Dialing Survey, research company Software Advice found that prospects are four times more likely to trust and answer a phone call from an unknown phone number if it has a local area code. 

Ease and speed of setup

By choosing a cloud-based VoIP software, you can handle the entire installation and onboarding process remotely. Experts will be on hand to advise over the phone or web chat but, usually, it’s a ‘Plug & Play’ approach that means you can get started as soon as installation is complete.  

Software Integration

If you’re using CRM software — Zendesk, HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive, for instance — then choosing an internet phone system that integrates seamlessly should be high on your agenda. From consumer analysis to communication tracking, you want a holistic view of every exchange your business has had with a customer, via email, phone, web chat, messaging app, or SMS.  

AI and Productivity

Platforms like CloudTalk include AI-based features like sentiment analysis, allowing agents to gauge their counterpart’s mood over the course of a conversation, or talk/listen ratios that measure how engaged the customer is. As a result, your agents can focus on topics that get a positive response, you can gain insights for future training, and adjust strategies accordingly. 

These tools can help your agents and your business in the short term and enable you to adapt and grow in the future.  

Competitive Pricing

The most cutting-edge features, simplest installation, and crystal-clear call quality don’t necessarily guarantee a return on investment (ROI). Even with ROI, it’s still annoying to find out you could’ve been getting many of the same tools for less. Either way, cost is always a key consideration. 

Security

Information shared by either party needs to be secure, so data encryption is always something to bear in mind. Recording a conversation for agent training purposes shouldn’t put the customer or your business at risk.

Your Top 8 Choices for Internet Phone Systems

Let’s take a look at the best internet phone systems on the market: 

1. CloudTalk

As a full-service call center software, CloudTalk delivers an internet phone system with a host of features built to increase productivity. Designed to give you unparalleled control over your customer’s experience, you can create intuitive and customized call flows that connect your customers to the correct agent, every time. 

As well as getting a macro and micro view of calls in real-time, you can adjust automation to make sure you never miss a call. Its hosted PBX system has all the building blocks you need to manage your sales or customer service call center remotely and give your agents a greater chance of a positive outcome on calls. 

Key features:

·  Crystal-clear call quality internationally, through a network of telco partners

·  Provides local phone numbers from over 160 countries (the largest in the market)

·  Fast implementation with a specialist available before, during, and after the process

·  Easy integration with over 30 CRM and helpdesk solutions

·  A central, real-time dashboard that gives an overview of all live calls, with archival information saved for review

·  Advanced features driven by AI, including Sentiment Analysis, Call Transcription in five languages using Conversation Intelligence technology, and Topics Extraction to meet customers’ interests and needs

·  End-to-end encryption, secure call recording, and compliance with industry regulations

Pricing: 

• Starter: Starting at $25 per agent
• Essential: Starting at $30 per agent
• Expert: Starting at $50 per agent
• Custom packages available

Best for: With clients that include Revolut, Mercedes-Benz, Fujitsu, and DHL, CloudTalk is industry-agnostic. It’s a great choice for organizations looking for a cloud-based solution to optimize their productivity while providing full employee support.

2. Nextiva

This unified communication platform combines PBX and VoIP phone services, video conferencing, and team messaging. It offers a scalable solution with features like call analytics and management, CRM integration, and 1-click call recording and transfer.

Key features: 

• Clear call quality
• Supports local phone numbers you purchase
• Easy cloud-based implementation
• Integration with almost 20 CRM and helpdesk solutions
• AI tools include Sentiment Tracking and same-language voicemail transcription
• Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) encryption between all endpoints

Pricing: 

• Essential: Starting at $17.95 per agent
• Professional: Starting at $21.95 per agent
• Enterprise: Starting at $31.95 per agent

Best for:

Businesses looking for scalable solutions with features like call analytics, advanced call management, and CRM integration.

3. Ooma Office Phone

A comprehensive business phone system, with features such as virtual receptionist, extension dialing, and conference bridges. This option is designed to deliver a high-quality internet phone system without a broad array of additional features.

Key features:

• Low international calling rates
• Analog and ethernet equipment provided, with an app platform for mobile
• Integration with 12 CRM and helpdesk solutions
• Government-standard encryption technology

Pricing: 

• Essentials: Starting at $19.95 per agent
• Pro: Starting at $24.95 per agent
• Pro Plus: Starting at $29.95 per agent

Best for:

Small to medium-sized businesses based in Mexico, the USA, Canada, or India, in need of a ‘no frills’ VoIP solution. 

4. CallHippo

Designed to support both sales and customer service, this VoIP provider delivers a platform that scales according to your business needs. A common hosted PBX choice for companies looking for a streamlined call center solution. 

Key features:

• Clear call quality
• Local phone numbers for over 50 countries
• Cloud-based implementation
• Extensive integrated app ecosystem
• AI enhancements including Sentiment Analysis and Topic Detection
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified multi-layered security

Pricing: 

• Starter: Starting at $18 per agent
• Professional: Starting at $30 per agent
• Ultimate: Starting at $42 per agent

Best for: 

Its scalable nature and tiered pricing system make this a useful option for many kinds of businesses, from start-ups to internationally established brands. 

5. RingCentral

An all-in-one cloud communication solution, this platform combines phone, video, team messaging, and contact center services. Its features include a mobile app builder with software integration, making it a popular choice among tech-savvy businesses with a broad service set.

Key features:

• Clear call quality with a minimum internet connection of 92 Kbps
• Local phone numbers for over 75 countries
• Remote setup
• Over 300 pre-built integrations with leading business software solutions
• AI automation for data logging and agent training
• Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) voice — end-to-end encryption available in closed beta version

Pricing: 

• Core – Starting at $20 per agent
• Advanced – Starting at $25 per agent
• Ultra – Starting at $35 per agent

Best for:

Businesses of all sizes, though some technical expertise is helpful to fully leverage some of the more complex features on offer.   

6. Vonage

This business VoIP service provider offers software that creates a solid foundation for businesses adopting internet phone systems for the first time, or that have found other solutions costly without meeting their core needs.  

Key features:

• Generally clear call quality
• International and local numbers available as paid-for add-ons
• Remote setup
• 20 software integrations
• AI virtual agents available
• Wide range of security compliance certifications

Pricing: 

• Mobile: Starting at $10.49 per agent
• Premium: Starting at $17.49 per agent

Best for:

Small to medium businesses on a budget with a focus on establishing a call center service, rather than rapid growth. 

7. Grasshopper

Unlike other business VoIP services, this is not so much a call center solution as it is a small business streamlining service. Taking an ‘all-in-the-box’ approach, this package provides all the basics to centralize your business calls.  

Key features:

• Clear call quality within the USA
• Local, vanity, and toll-free numbers available for US businesses
• Android or iOS app-based installation
• Virtual receptionist and voicemail transcription
• Industry-standard security measures

Pricing: 

• True Solo: $14 per month (billed annually); $18 per month (paid monthly)
• Solo Plus: $25 per month (billed annually); $32 per month (paid monthly)
• Small Business: $80 per month (billed annually); $92 per month (paid monthly)

Best for: 

Small US-based business owners and employees who handle calls on their personal phones, but want to present themselves professionally and handle business calls appropriately. 

8. Google Voice

Part of the larger Workplace ecosystem, this extension of the internet giant’s software suite offers certain advantages for businesses that center their broader working practices around it. Ready to use on desktop or mobile devices wherever there’s wi-fi or a strong mobile data signal.

Key features:

• Clear call quality dependent on internet connection
• Local and international numbers available
• Cloud-based nature requires subscription rather than installation
• Seamless integration within its own ecosystem, but not external CRM software solutions
• AI limited to spam call blocking and voicemail
• Data stored but encrypted, optional privacy settings

Pricing: 

• Starter: Starting at $10 per agent
• Standard: Starting at $16 per agent
• Premier: Starting at $24 per agent

Best for: 

Businesses of any size that centralize their workflow through Google Workspace and are prepared to wait for additional AI features.

Explore Your Options to Understand Your Needs

Before you shut down your phone lines and commit to any one solution, try CloudTalk for free. You’ll see how easy it is to set up and use, find out how to create an international presence wherever you are, and experience exceptional call quality. As one of the most robust, feature-packed options, it’s an ideal opportunity to see which elements suit your business best and start gaining insights into how you can boost productivity and profit. 

With a clear view of the software and its impact on agent performance through a real-time dashboard, you can make fully informed business decisions—instead of enduring weeks of costly trial and error. 

Whether you’re driving sales or enhancing customer support, CloudTalk is the ultimate solution. It lets you create a unified communication ecosystem for customer-facing teams, revolutionizing how they connect and collaborate.