Vonage is a leading provider of VoIP services, offering solutions for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Its cheapest plan starts at $19.99 per user, although volume discounts are available, and all plans are very scalable. Vonage stands out due to its attractive mobile interface, superior functionality, and integration with third-party CRMs and other platforms. Live support is a bit limited, but the self-help resources are excellent.
PROS
- Highly scalable
- Attractive mobile apps
- Great CRM integrations
CONS
- There is no free trial or test version
- Limited live support
Features Available with Vonage Business VoIP
Vonage lacks some minor features in its cheaper plans, but with the Premium and Advanced subscriptions there are plenty of deals.
Vonage Meetings
All Vonage VoIP plans include access to Vonage Meetings video conferencing software. It is an excellent tool that allows for great meetings between team members. You can send invitations to guests if necessary, and there are tools for screen sharing and recording meetings.
Integrated Admin Tools
There is also an advanced administration portal that is particularly useful for larger companies. It allows you to manage all aspects of your phone system from a central hub, which should streamline overall operations. Additionally, your administration portal allows you to control access permissions while displaying real-time activity associated with your account.
Business Inbox
Vonage Business Inbox is a standalone add-on that will cost you $9.99 per month, but it's worth considering. It allows you to collect SMS, MMS, and Facebook Messenger conversations into a single inbox so you can manage and respond to them efficiently.
Voicemail to Email
The voicemail to email tool does exactly what its name suggests. it transcribes any voicemail and sends it to the specified email address. An MP3 recording will also be sent as an attachment, allowing you to listen to it and/or save it as needed.
Call Recording
Vonage offers great call recording options. You can set the app to record all calls or you can use on-demand call recording to save the most important ones. You can also log incoming and outgoing corporate calls according to specific rules that you can configure.
Vonage Security and Reliability
Vonage claims to be “implementing a variety of security measures” to protect customer data. Without listing the exact measurements it uses, it does show compliance and certification from several bodies, including HITRUST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and SOC. It also complies with GDPR regulations.
Vonage Integrations
Vonage offers 20 integrations with various CRM and business applications. Business apps, including Microsoft Teams and Surfly, are available with all plans. However, you'll need to upgrade to one of the 2 high-end plans to access CRM integrations, including Bullhorn, G-Suite, Hubspot, Office 365, Salesforce, Sugar CRM, ZenDesk, Zoho, and others.
Some of Vonage's integrations are free, but many require an additional monthly fee. Connecting your apps to Vonage is a simple process and no specialized technology skills are required. In addition to this, many of the integrations are customizable.
Vonage App
Vonage has a highly functional mobile app for iOS and Android devices. It offers full text, voice, and video calling, along with team messaging, call forwarding, and several other tools. You can also sync accounts across multiple devices.
The mobile interface is attractive and easy to navigate. There are plenty of VoIP tools, but they're cleverly spread throughout the app so things never seem too cluttered or confusing. Another notable feature is the App Center, which enables you to integrate your mobile VoIP with various business and productivity applications.
Vonage Customer Support
Vonage offers live chat, phone and email support. Email tickets can be viewed through your management portal. Phone support is available Monday through Friday (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET) and Saturday through Sunday (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET). Live chat is only available through the integrated chatbot, and it's very slow. At one point, we wanted to ask a simple question about Vonage's call recording features. However, we had to give up after not getting an answer for more than an hour.
On the plus side, there are many self-help resources available through the Business Support Center. Various articles and guides are available, including a comprehensive Getting Started section and a full range of FAQs. A selection of other informational and educational content can be found on the Resources page of the main website.
Pricing & Special Offers
Vonage offers three Unified Communications plans, with prices ranging from $19.99 per month to $39.99 per user. The price per user goes down as you add more users, and all plans with 100+ users are specially priced.
The cheapest mobile plan starts at $19.99 per month with a single user and includes unlimited SMS and calling, as well as access to the Vonage App Center. The Premium plan (starting at $29.99 per month) adds CRM integrations and a multi-level auto attendant, and an Advanced subscription (starting at $39.99 per month) adds call recording and visual voicemail.
Hardware phones and other products are available for purchase through the Vonage website. There are several add-ons available during checkout, including toll-free numbers ($49.99 per month), voicemail transcription ($4.99 per month), and a call queuing tool ($14.99 per month). You can also purchase premium support services if necessary.
Vonage vs RingCentral
RingCentral is another top VoIP service provider and, like Vonage, has options for businesses of all sizes. RingCentral is a little more expensive, but it has hundreds of integrations compared to Vonage's 20, and its 24/7 support is excellent. RingCentral is also very transparent about its security practices, which are up there with the best we've seen.
Vonage vs Ooma Office
Ooma Office is a little more expensive than Vonage, but offers many more advanced features. For one thing, it supports analog phones (with additional hardware) and has an excellent IVR system. Ooma Office also has a 30-day free trial, which Vonage lacks.
Vonage vs Grasshopper
Grasshopper is a very affordable and excellent VoIP service provider for small and medium-sized businesses. It has a handy free trial and an easy-to-use mobile app, but some features are a bit limited. For example, Grasshopper doesn't offer integrations or video conferencing features, which are two things Vonage excels at.
Bottom Line
Vonage is a highly regarded VoIP service provider and it's easy to see why. It's relatively affordable compared to the competition, offers a host of useful features, and is backed by an easy-to-use interface and mobile app. While some aspects of live support are a bit limited, there is a comprehensive help center with helpful guides, tutorials, FAQs, and other resources.
Some of Vonage's standout features include its Business Inbox, Vonage Meetings video conferencing tool, and its voicemail-to-email tool. While full details of its security practices are not available on its website, Vonage has certifications from several prominent organizations and is GDPR compliant.
The bad thing is that there is no free trial or way to try the platform without a premium subscription. But if you're looking for a scalable VoIP solution or a decent phone company, Vonage is definitely worth considering.