The 4 Best Hosted VoIP Solutions in Canada

Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral.

According to our extensive research, 8×8 is the best VoIP provider in Canada. It offers the most generous range of features, as well as airtight security measures, a great variety of customer support channels, and easy scalability.

That said, 8×8 is expensive, and it might not be quite right for your team. But don’t stress, because we’ve also analyzed and rated four more of the very best hosted VoIP solutions available in Canada, and made it clear which kind of business each is best suited to. Read on to find out which is right for you.

Or, if you’d like to zero in on the best options straight away, try our free quote finding tool. We’ll match you up with the VoIP providers that best meet your needs, and they’ll be in touch with tailored quotes for you to compare – it’s quick and easy.

What are the top 4 hosted VoIP solutions in Canada?

  1. 8×8 – Best overall
  2. RingCentral – Best for scalability
  3. GoToConnect – Best for international calls
  4. Dialpad – Best for conversational AI

Clicking any of the links above will allow you to read our provider review or compare quotes to find the right VoIP provider for your business.

The best hosted VoIP solutions in Canada

The four best hosted VoIP providers in Canada are 8×8, RingCentral, GoToConnect, and Dialpad.

How does 8×8 compare to other VoIP providers?

During our research, we found that 8×8 offers the same excellent level of customer support and scalability as RingCentral, its closest competitor in terms of quality. However, 8×8 outshines RingCentral (and all the other providers on this page) when it comes to sheer breadth of features, and the security measures it offers to keep your team’s data safe.

That said, 8×8 isn’t perfect in all regards. In our pricing analysis, it scored a pretty sad 2.5 out of 5, as we found that it charges some of the most expensive prices out there. Of course, 8×8 is expensive for a reason – all those excellent features we’ve been talking about, for one – so there’s no denying that it’s a great investment if you have the budget.

Swipe right to see more
0 out of 0
Expert Rating
4.7
Expert Rating
4.6
Expert Rating
4.0
Expert Rating
3.9
Price

C$30 – C$195

Price

C$30 – C$45

Price

C$42 – C$56

Price

C$20 – Bespoke

Save by comparing quotes from the best VoIP providers for you
Are you already using a hosted VoIP system?
Answer a few questions – it only takes a minute

8×8 – Best overall VoIP provider in Canada

8x8 phone review
8x8
4.7
Pricing C$19 – C$195
Quick overview

8x8's our favourite hosted VoIP provider in Canada for plenty of reasons. Firstly, it's got the biggest and best range of inbound and outbound communication features – including a virtual receptionist, call queues, ring groups, localized and toll-free numbers, external video calling, and call conferencing for up to 500 people. Better yet, lots of these features (apart from call queues and ring groups) are even available on 8x8's cheapest, most basic plan.

Secondly, 8x8 offers excellent security and scalability. With multiple compliance certifications, multi-factor authentication, password rules, and TLS/SRTP encryption, our research into 8x8 found that if offers the most airtight security of any of the providers on this page, shielding your team's conversations and data from breaches. Meanwhile, we've also found that 8x8's VoIP system is really easy to scale, so if your business is growing, you won't have trouble expanding your system and adding and onboarding new users.

Finally, we want to call out 8x8's comprehensive customer support offering. If you need help with the system, you can visit 8x8's knowledge base or user forum, or contact the company 24/7 via live chat or over the phone, which is super reassuring. That said, it's worth being aware that some customers haven't rated 8x8's customer service too highly. When we aggregated customer ratings from across the internet, 8x8's average was a mediocre 3.5 stars.

Strengths

Offers the best variety of comms features

Robust 24/7 customer support

Lots of security features, including encryption and compliance certifications

Very easy to scale

Weaknesses

Very expensive, scoring just 2.5/5 in our price analysis

Relatively poor aggregated customer review score of 3.5 stars

RingCentral- Best VoIP provider for customer service teams

RingCentral logo
RingCentral
4.6
Pricing C$24.99 – C$54.99
Quick overview

Our research has revealed that RingCentral is the best VoIP provider for Canadian customer service teams – firstly, because it boasts a great range of features to help your team manage floods of incoming calls. A virtual receptionist, local toll-free numbers, and customizable greetings and hold music are available on all of RingCentral's plans, while ring groups and call queues are unlocked on the Premium and Ultimate plans. External video calling and SMS are also available, giving customers even more ways to contact your team.

Training is crucial to nurturing a successful customer service team. Call transcripts are available on all plans, while other training tools such as call recording, call monitoring, analytics, and call barge and whisper are available as you upgrade to RingCentral's more comprehensive plans. Giving you visibility over how calls are going and letting you jump into conversations if an agent needs help, these features enable you to coach your team to be as efficient and helpful as possible.

Finally, it's good to note that RingCentral comes ready to integrate with plenty of helpdesk, workspace, email, conferencing, messaging, and CRM platforms (it has ready-made integrations with a whopping 97 CRM systems), helping to unify your comms and streamline the way you hold customer data. However, most of this is only available on the Premium and Ultimate plans.

Strengths

Also highly suited to professional services, retail, and healthcare businesses

Comprehensive range of customer support channels

Very easy to scale

Weaknesses

Doesn't offer great value for money, with key features not available on cheaper plans

Mediocre aggregated customer review score of 3.5/5

How does RingCentral compare to other VoIP providers?

Just like 8×8, RingCentral’s customer support channels and easy scalability really stand out from the crowd of competitors. However, it did beat 8×8 in one of our research criteria: integrations. In fact, of all the competitors on this page, RingCentral is the easiest to integrate with the biggest range of platforms and software.

RingCentral also outperforms 8×8 when it comes to price, scoring 3.3 out of 5 in our cost analysis. Of course, this still isn’t a fantastic score, and RingCentral’s pricing is beaten by that of GoToConnect and Dialpad, who scored 4.3 and 4 out of 5 respectively for value for money.

Note

Read our review of RingCentral for a deeper dive into this provider.

RingCentral logo
RingCentral is the best VoIP provider to help you scale your business!

Try the best VoIP provider for scalability in Canada, with prices starting from just $24.99/month.

GoToConnect – Best VoIP provider for startups and small businesses

GoTo logo
GoToConnect
4.0
Pricing C$35 – C$42
Quick overview

GoToConnect offers a number of features that make it great for startups and small businesses. Firstly, scoring 4.3 out of 5 in our pricing analysis, it offers plenty of bang for your budget, with unlimited domestic minutes, unified communications tools (such as team messaging and video conferencing), and more available on all of GoToConnect's pricing plans.

GoToConnect also offers all the features a small business would need to elevate their professionalism. Even on GoToConnect's cheapest package, you can set up a virtual receptionist, customizable on-hold music, recorded greetings, and voicemail capability, to give potential customers and clients and polished experience when they get in touch. You can also set up local toll-free numbers, so callers don't have to pay to contact you.

It's also good to know that GoToConnect did well in our scalability analysis, scoring 4.4 out of 5. GoToConnect's unlimited user allowance means you won't run into complications while adding new team members to the system. Plus, its helpful call management features should become in handy as your team gets bigger.

Strengths

Offers good value for money

Great reputation, with an aggregated customer review score of 4.4/5

Better security features than Dialpad

Free international calling to 50+ countries

Weaknesses

Offers the least generous range of features

Smaller range of ready-made integrations than 8x8 and RingCentral

No 24/7 customer support or live chat

Pricing
PlanStarting price (per user, per month) In CAD
Basic $35
Standard $42

Prices accurate as of our last update.

How does GoToConnect compare to other VoIP providers?

As we’ve mentioned, GoToConnect sits in the gold medal position of our pricing analysis, achieving a 4.3 out of 5 score – so you know it’s good value compared to 8×8 and RingCentral. It’s also worth mentioning that GoToConnect and Dialpad both earned the best average customer review score of all the providers we compared, scoring 4.4 out of 5.

However, it has to be said that GoToConnect came last in our comparison of the features available on each system, scoring just 3.4 out of 5 for its range of features. It also doesn’t stack up so well when it comes to integrations, with Dialpad as the only system with fewer ready-made software integrations available.

Read our GoToConnect review for a deeper look.

Dialpad – Best VoIP provider for conversational AI

Dialpad
3.9
Pricing C$20 – bespoke
Quick overview

Dialpad stands out from the other VoIP providers in Canada for one futuristic feature in particular: its focus on AI (artificial intelligence). Known as Dialpad Ai, this feature can automatically transcribe your team's phone conversations in real-time, automate post-call summaries (that include highlights and action items), and flag whether each conversation is positive or negative in sentiment, empowering your team to check the call transcripts that need more attention and follow up accordingly.

Dialpad Ai can also help with coaching your team, as it enables you to create notes with tips and advice that'll pop up on a staff member's screen when certain keywords or phrases are spoken on their call.

Dialpad Ai is likely to prove most useful to businesses with sales teams, customer service teams, or call centres, as it can help make sense of high volumes of calls, quickly generating action items, insights, and coaching for your team to take advantage of.

Strengths

Offers the best range of features after 8x8

Great customer support, including a user forum, knowledge base, and live chat

Solid reputation, with an aggregated customer review score of 4.4

Weaknesses

Fewest ready-made integrations with other systems

Not as easy to scale as the other providers on this list

Weaker security features than everyone

Pricing
PlanStarting price (per user, per month) In CAD
Standard $20
Pro $30
Enterprise Bespoke

Prices accurate as of August 2023

How does Dialpad compare to other VoIP providers?

Dialpad is similar to GoToConnect in a couple of criteria: its pricing is similarly generous, and reviewers tend to hold a high opinion of this provider, too, giving it an average review score of 4.4. But Dialpad outshines GoToConnect (and RingCentral, for that matter) when it comes to features. Of all the providers on this page, Dialpad’s breadth of features comes closest to matching 8×8’s, scoring 4.4 out of 5 (compared to 8×8’s features score of 4.8).

However, Dialpad’s integrability is less impressive – in fact, it comes with the fewest ready-made software integrations of all the providers we compared. It’s also the system that we pegged as least easy to scale, scoring a losing 3.3 out of 5 for scalability.

Methodology: how did we compare and rate the best VoIP providers in Canada?

Our expert independent researchers chose four of the most popular and best-rated VoIP providers in the country, and conducted an extensive, in-depth study into each of those providers. They analyzed, compared, and scored each provider based on a number of criteria:

  • Price – how much each package costs, and what’s available at each package, determining whether or not it offers good value for money.
  • External connections – the number of different desk phones and software systems the VoIP system comes ready to integrate with, with software systems including CRM, help desk, web conferencing, workspace, analytics, and email platforms.
  • Features – the breadth of features available on each pricing plan, including inbound and outbound call features, team collaboration features, management features, and more.
  • Customer support – how easy it is for you to get in contact with the provider if you need help with your VoIP system. What kind of contact channels are available, and when are they available?
  • Security – the breadth of the measures the provider offers to keep your data safe and secure, from encryption to secure password rules.
  • Customer score – an average customer review score, calculated from the provider’s star ratings on customer review sites G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and TrustRadius.
  • Scalability – how easy it is to scale the system alongside your business’s growth, taking factors like user limits, management features, integrations, team collaboration features, and more into account.
The 4 best VoIP providers in Canada: the verdict

Our extensive research found that 8×8 is the best hosted VoIP provider in Canada, offering the most generous range of features, a wide variety of customer support channels, airtight security functions, and easy scalability. However, if 8×8 isn’t quite right for you, there are plenty of other options.

RingCentral’s tailored features and integrations make it our top pick for customer service teams. GoToConnect is the best VoIP provider for startups and small businesses, thanks to its professional call management features and affordable packages. Finally, Dialpad’s futuristic Dialpad Ai feature make it stand out for teams who’d benefit from conversational AI.

But if you still haven’t decided on the best VoIP provider for you, our free quote finding tool can help. Just answer a handful of questions about your business and what you’re looking for in a phone system, and we’ll match you up with the Canadian VoIP providers that can meet your needs best. They’ll then be in touch directly with answers to your questions and free quotes that have been tailored to you. It’s a quick and easy way to compare the right providers and exactly how much they’d cost.

Save by comparing quotes from the best VoIP providers for you
Are you already using a hosted VoIP system?
Answer a few questions – it only takes a minute

FAQs

Who is the best VoIP provider?
Our research has found that 8×8 is the best VoIP provider for businesses in Canada. In a comparison against the other providers we analyzed, 8×8 achieved the highest scores across features, customer support, security, and scalability. Scroll up to our 8×8 review to learn more about why we think this provider’s so great!
Is there a free VoIP service?
It is possible to find free VoIP services – 2ndLine and TextNow are examples, while you could also consider free platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, as they enable you to contact teammates and clients over the internet.

That said, these systems aren’t very comprehensive and certainly won’t offer you the breadth of features and capability that you’d get with a paid, full-scale VoIP system.

Is VoIP cheaper than a landline?
Yes, it is! With VoIP, you’ll pay a subscription fee per user, per month. With a landline, you’ll pay a monthly fee for your lines – these fees tend to be more expensive than a VoIP subscription fee.

There’s also the fact that, with VoIP, you’ll get a certain number of minutes included in your subscription plan (and lots of providers give you unlimited minutes), so you shouldn’t have to pay any extra for domestic phone calls. By contrast, on landline services, you’re more likely to have to pay for the calls you make.

All that said, it’s worth being aware that you’ll need to pay for a broadband connection to use VoIP, as VoIP systems essentially do everything over the internet. But this shouldn’t be an extra cost, as you’ll have this set up already.

Written by:
Julia Watts author headshot photo
Specialising in business software, Julia writes jargon-busting guides about VoIP, fleet management, dash cams, fuel cards, and more. Having spent almost a decade writing for entrepreneurs and reviewing business solutions, she loves helping exciting ventures – big or small – to flourish.
Reviewed by:
James thinks all businesses can improve if they use the right technology. At Expert Market, he utilises his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialised advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management.