Ooma is among the main VoIP suppliers for homes and businesses. Its business service provides excellent call quality in addition to lots of the features you would expect from a company VoIP phone support, all to get a straightforward and competitive cost. However, Ooma needs an upfront investment in hardware, one Ooma Office apparatus can only support up to five extensions, and a few users have already been unhappy with their customer service and lack of more sophisticated call management features.
We looked at the top choices to Ooma, what they offer in comparison, and how they compete for price.
| Ooma Alternative | Best For | Price per User |
|---|---|---|
| Grasshopper | Virtual phone service | $24/month |
| Google Voice | Free cell phone support, but with limited attributes | Free |
| Nextiva | Completely featured VoIP telephone service | $34.95/month |
| 8×8 | International calling | $24.99/month |
| Vonage | Business collaboration | $39.99/month |
Greatest Ooma Alternative for Virtual Phone Service: Grasshopper
We recommend Grasshopper as the very best Ooma alternative if your organization requires a virtual phone service as opposed to a complete VoIP telephone support. A virtual phone service provides your company its cell phone number, but calls can be made or obtained on your personal mobile phone or desk telephone — even though they appear to come out of and to the virtual number. In addition to the phone number, this gives you access to a range of call management features that would usually require a full VoIP phone service, including virtual receptionists, telephone directories, and ring groups.
This service has two main benefits for small businesses:
- You’ll be able to create a major company phone number to provide to your clients without the necessity for a full phone service; or,
- You can create a telephone number in town you do the majority of your business in, even in the event that you reside elsewhere, to lower your long distance costs.
| Ooma | Grasshopper | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | $19.95 | $24 |
| Hardware prices | $199.99 | Not one |
| Calls to US and Canada | Endless | Unlimited |
| Virtual Receptionist | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Dial by Name Directory | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Voicemail | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Telephone Transfer | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Caller ID | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Ring Groups | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Hold Music | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Conference Calling | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Pricing
Grasshopper has just updated their pricing model. They now offer three plan levels that change depending on how many phone numbers and extensions that your company needs:
- $24/month for a phone number and three extensions
- $49/month for three telephone numbers and six extensions
- $89/month for five telephone numbers and unlimited extensions
Characteristics
Each Grasshopper plan comprises the following attributes:
- Custom greetings
- Infinite extensions
- Call handling
- Web and app-based account management
- Telephone blocking
- Call forwarding
- Call screening
- Seminar calling
- Voicemail delivered as audio file by email
- Incoming faxes emailed to you as PDFs
What Is Missing
Since Grasshopper is a digital phone service, calls are made and received in your existing mobile phone — therefore, you will still use your mobile phone plan’s minutes. This adds to the cost of Grasshopper’s support, which in many cases can make it more expensive overall than a complete VoIP phone service provider like Ooma.
Visit Grasshopper
Best Ooma Alternative for Free Virtual Phone Service: Google Voice
If your telephone service needs are relatively simple and you are comfortable making and receiving calls on your computer, then we urge Google Voice as an economical choice to Ooma. With Google Voice, companies can secure a single unique phone number or port over an existing one that can subsequently be used from any cellular phone or internet-enabled device. And best of all, Google Voice is free for anyone to use.
| Ooma | Google Voice | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | $19.95 | Free |
| Hardware Pricing | $199.99 | None |
| Calls to US and Canada | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Virtual Receptionist | ✔︎ | |
| Dial by Name Directory | ✔︎ | |
| Voicemail | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Telephone Transfer | ✔︎ | |
| Caller ID | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Ring Groups | ✔︎ | |
| Hold Music | ✔︎ | |
| Conference Calling | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Pricing
Because Google Voice is a digital phone service, inbound and outbound calls are made to and from your mobile device and will use your voice plan’s minutes. However, outbound and inbound calls may also be made to and from your computer for free with only your internet connection.
Calls and texts within North America are liberated and global rates begin at $0.01/moment. This makes Google Voice an easy way to minimize your company’ phone costs. However, as with anything else, Google Voice has its downsides you should consider before relying upon the service for your main telephone requirements.
Characteristics
Google Voice offers a number of the conventional call management features that will assist you on your daily business, for example:
- Web and app-based account direction
- Call blocking
- Call forwarding
- Call screening
- Custom telephone greetings
- Seminar calling
- Voicemail transcription
- Share sound files of voicemails by email
- SMS transcriptions sent to email
What Is Missing
Google Voice lacks many of the phone management features that other paid services like Ooma provide. These include:
- Virtual receptionist
- Dial-by-name directory
- Phone transfer
- Ring collections
- Hold audio
On the other hand, the most significant downside to Google Voice is their lack of customer support. Google does provide community forums for users to help troubleshoot and solve any problems themselves, but there’s not any individual support available like there is with Ooma and another Ooma options on this list.
Visit Google Voice
Best Fully Featured Ooma Alternative: Nextiva
We recommend Nextiva as the best fully featured Ooma choice because they offer you the best combination of support, attributes, award-winning customer service, and price in a VoIP phone service.
| Ooma | Nextiva | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | $19.95 | $34.95 |
| Hardware Pricing | $199.99 | None |
| Calls to US and Canada | Endless | Unlimited |
| Virtual Receptionist | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Dial by Name Directory | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Voicemail | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Call Transfer | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Caller ID | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Ring Groups | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Hold Music | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Conference Calling | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Pricing
Contrary to Ooma, there are no upfront hardware or other installation fees with Nextiva other than your own phones. Pricing is based on the amount of consumers and declines each user as more are added.
Nextiva’s monthly pricing breaks down as follows:
- $34.95/month per user for 1-4 consumers
- $29.95/month per user to get 5-19 users
- $24.95/month per user for 20-99 consumers
- $21.95/month per user for 100+ users
Features
Nextiva delivers most of the standard features you would expect from a VoIP telephone service provider that will help your business daily, such as:
- Web-based system management
- Auto-attendant
- Hold audio
- Call forwarding
- Conference bridge
- Caller ID
- Telephone obstructing
- Telephone awaiting
- Telephone transport
- Ring groups
- Voicemail sent as sound file by email
But what really sets Nextiva apart is the level of customer service that they provide. 95 percent of their incoming calls are answered by the second ring with the majority of questions answered or problems resolved within your first call. Just one point of contact helps to guide your business through every phase of your accounts — installation, coaching, and ongoing support.
Nextiva has also been given the North American Frost and Sullivan Award for Customer Service Leadership along with a Stevie Award for Innovation in Customer Service and Client Service Department of the year in the telecommunications sector.
What’s Missing
Nextiva received our recommendation for the best VoIP phone service for smaller businesses because of its combination of features and price. The one downside to the service is that there are far more economical alternatives available, including Ooma, even though Ooma’s upfront hardware costs.
If price is the main concern and you don’t mind missing out on a few innovative features and Nextiva’s award-winning customer service, subsequently Ooma or less expensive alternative may be a better fit for your company.
Visit Nextiva
Greatest Ooma Alternative for International Calling: 8×8
If your small business conducts a lot of its business outside the US, then 8×8 top two pricing grade packages may work out to be a cheaper alternative for you in the long term. Their Unlimited and Global plans incorporate international calls to either nine or 40 of 8×8’s best calling destinations, respectively.
| Ooma | 8×8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | $19.95 | $24.99 |
| Hardware Pricing | $199.99 | Not one |
| Calls to US and Canada | Endless | Endless |
| Virtual Receptionist | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Dial by Name Directory | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Voicemail | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Telephone Transfer | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Caller ID | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Ring Groups | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Hold Music | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Conference Calling | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Pricing
8×8 provides three levels of pricing programs, which are priced per user and comprise different amounts of calling time to different areas:
- $24.99/month per user for 250 outbound minutes to the US and Canada and $0.029/min afterward
- $39.99/month per user for unlimited minutes to the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Guam and calls to landlines in France, Italy, Ireland, Spain and the UK
- $79.99/month per user for unlimited minutes to 8×8 top 40 calling countries
Unlike Ooma, there are no upfront hardware or setup costs other than your phones.
Characteristics
The most useful characteristic that 8×8 offers is that their Infinite and Global pricing programs incorporate international calls to 8×8’s nine or 40 leading destinations, respectively. And for international calls out of the included destinations, 8×8’s rates start at $0.034/minute. For businesses who make a lot of international calls, this could present a significant cost savings over other VoIP phone service providers.
8×8 can also be compliant with HIPAA, PCI, and FISMA regulations in case your organization is bound by them.
Other standard calling features with 8×8 include:
- Ring collections
- Hold audio
- User extensions
- Call forwarding
- Incoming caller ID
- Telephone waiting
- Call transfers
- Send sound files of voicemails to email
What’s Missing
8×8 is lacking a few innovative features that other VoIP telephone services include regular, such as telephone queuing and toll-free amounts, cost extra with 8×8 and this can quickly cause costs to increase. Ooma does not offer call queuing either and they also charge additional for 800-numbers, like 8×8. Nextiva, however, includes call queuing and yet another 800-number in their own plans.
Best Ooma Alternative for Business Collaboration: Vonage
Vonage’s unique partnership with Amazon Chime integrates the internet communication and collaboration tool with Vonage’s VoIP phone services. Chime’s online meetings, video conferencing, online chat, and document sharing capabilities help enhance Vonage to be a more complete end-to-end small business solution rather than simply a VoIP telephone support.
| Ooma | Vonage | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | $19.95 | $39.99 |
| Hardware Pricing | $199.99 | Not one |
| Calls to US and Canada | Endless | Endless |
| Virtual Receptionist | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Dial by Name Directory | ✔︎ | |
| Voicemail | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Telephone Transfer | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Caller ID | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Ring Groups | ✔︎ | |
| Hold Music | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Conference Calling | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Pricing
Vonage prices their service based on the number of users:
- $39.99/month per user for 1-5 users
- $29.99/month per user for 6-9 users
- $24.99/month per user for 10-20 users
- $19.99/month per user for 20+ users
Contrary to Ooma, there are no upfront hardware or setup costs other than the cost of your phones.
Characteristics
Vonage’s partnership with Amazon Chime integrates the internet communication and collaboration tool with Vonage’s VoIP phone service, making Vonage a more complete end-to-end small business solution. Ooma doesn’t offer a similar feature.
Vonage also includes many other features to help your business handle your requirements, including:
- Hold audio
- Call conferencing
- Call forwarding
- Call waiting
- Caller ID
- Send sound documents of voicemails to email
What’s Missing
While Vonage delivers an excellent service overall, there are some calling features which other VoIP phone services include in their plans that Vonage charges additional for. A number of these features that come at an additional cost include:
- Toll-free numbers
- Telephone tracking
- Telephone recording
In addition, telephone groups, a dial-by-name directory, and conference bridges are features that Ooma contains that Vonage doesn’t.
Visit Vonage
