The 8 Best Phone Systems for Small Businesses

We compared the best phone systems for small businesses and found that Vonage Pro comes out on top.

Vonage's Pro plan incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) to help your business communications run smoothly, while its metrics give you complete oversight of interactions between your customers and agents. Above all, its scalability makes it the perfect choice for young businesses looking to grow.

However, Vonage may not be your best match if you’re looking for an ultra-secure telephone system as it lacks some key features.

We've summarised the best providers on the market, comparing them on pricing, features, and limits so you can find the best fit for your unique needs

The top 8 small business phone systems

As a small business looking for a new phone system, you’re really spoilt for choice. Choosing one also informs your phone pick, as the best office phones out there work in conjunction with these systems. Without further ado, here are our top picks for the small business phone systems on the market today.

** available at additional cost

Want to find out what makes them so great? Read on for our reviews of each of these small business office phone systems, including prices, features, and more.

Not looking for small business specific providers, check out the general top virtual phone systems of 2023.

Vonage Pro – Best phone system for small businesses

Vonage Pro offers a wide range of customer support features. With low monthly costs, its perfect for businesses looking to upscale. Vonage allows you to utilise ready-made integrations, such as Hubspot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Slack, and Office 365. This allows you to unify all your business communications in one spot, giving your agents all the necessary tools to provide the best customer service possible.

Vonage Pro Features

• Software integrations: although it comes at an additional cost, you can integrate Vonage’s phone system with a wide range of software platforms. However, if you want to access web conferencing, you’ll need to use Unytalk, which costs extra.
• Onboarding support: only available at an additional cost.
• Scalability: through access to call queue, ring groups, an unlimited number of users, call recording, call monitoring, and analytics, Vonage Pro gives you the right foundations to scale up your business. It also integrates seamlessly with Slack, which allows you to set up a remote operation that slashes costs.

Vonage Pro Comparisons

Backed by our thorough research, which considered software integrations, onboarding support, and the scalability of each small business phone system, we gave Vonage a 4.7 star rating for small businesses. Although RingCentral races at the same speed, Vonage strides ahead because of its rich offering of features at a lower price point. For that reason, we gave Vonage a 5-star rating for price – the highest pricing score of all the providers on this page.

However, we did give Vonage a 3-star rating for security, as it’s missing multi-factor authentication and password rules, features provided by competitors like Google Voice, RingCentral, and 8×8.

Vonage Pro New Features

In an update in March 2023, Vonage made it possible to build applications that feature two-way voice communication. This means you can now place and receive calls across multiple channels – these include app, phone, SIP, and websocket.

8×8 X2 – Best small business phone system for scalability

8×8 offers robust, scalable building blocks. With features like ring groups and call queues offered at its X2 subscription plan, your small business will easily be able to deal with large volumes of callers. What’s more, with web conferencing and internal live chat integrations with a wide range of platforms including Telegram and Slack, your team will be able to work remotely, giving you more flexibility and reduced costs. As of February 2023, 8×8 no longer offers its cheaper ‘Express' plan. Despite its excellent range of features, its starting point of £19 is considerably steeper than other providers.

8×8 X2 Features

• Software integrations: integrable with CRM, Helpdesk, Web Conferencing, external and internal live chats, email, and more, starting at the X2 subscription. This makes 8×8 a powerful tool your team can leverage to personalise customer experience and work quickly by avoiding having to hop back and forth between different communication channels.
• Onboarding support: provided through 8×8’s Customer Success Managers, although it’s unclear whether this comes at an additional cost.
• Scalability: 8×8 X2 allows you to sync your internal communications, as it’s compatible with platforms like Slack, Telegram, and Teams, so you and your team can work remotely. It’s also equipped with call queue, ring groups, analytics, customisable call routing, and call recording, all of which allows you to handle large numbers of callers, and gather data to optimise your small business mojo.

8×8 X2 Comparisons

Awarded a 3.9 star rating by our independent researchers, who’ve put 8×8 X2’s features, pricing, and customer support to the test, we believe it stands out due to its flexibility of choice. Whether your small business needs a comprehensive, savvy system or you just want the essentials, 8×8 can tick off the boxes on your small business phone system checklist. 

Although we’ve given 8×8 a 2.5-star rating for its pricing, placing it far behind Vonage and bOnline’s 5-star rating in this category, you can consider the extra couple of quid you’re putting down on the table a worthy investment, thanks to 8×8’s broad range of features. Nevertheless, we have awarded 8×8 a stellar 5-star rating for its generous customer support and security, which is unrivalled by all other providers featured here.

8×8 X2 New Features

In March 2023, 8×8 released an intelligent customer assistant, a user-friendly AI tool that allows you to automate user conversations to provide your customers with assistance.

bOnline Unlimited Calling – Best small business phone system for desk phone compatibility

If you are happy with your hardware, bOnline is a great choice as it has the widest offering of third-party desktop phone compatibility to save you from having to replace your existing phones.

bOnline Unlimited Calling Features

• Software integrations: bOline’s offering is quite thin compared to other providers like 8×8, as you’ll need to pay an extra £5 per month to access helpdesk and CRM integrations. Although you can sync bOnline Unlimited Calling with email and workspace platforms, it’s missing integrations with web conferencing, external and internal live chat, analytics, and SSO, and doesn’t have an open API. This might force your team to jump back and forth between different systems, slowing down your customer service speed.
• Onboarding support: available for Unlimited Calling subscribers.
• Scalability: although bOnline Unlimited Calling doesn’t limit your user numbers, and prepares you to deal with large numbers of callers thanks to call queue and ring groups, it’s not the easiest system to scale. It lacks internal live chat and web conferencing, which could complicate remote working. It also has a thin security barrier as it doesn’t have compliance certifications, multi-factor authentication, or user permissions.

bOnline Unlimited Calling Comparisons

Our meticulous research has brandished bOnline Unlimited Calling with a 4.5 star rating for small businesses overall, placing it in the third spot of our top eight telephone systems for small businesses, bested only by 8×8 and Vonage.

Although we’ve given it a 3-star rating for scalability as it’s missing a few key ingredients to help your business grow seamlessly, its price is pretty much unrivalled. For only £12.95 per user, per month, we’ve given it a 5-star rating for price, making it (alongside Vonage) the most competitive in this category compared to all the other providers we spotlight here!

Nuacom Unlimited – Best small business phone system for customer satisfaction

Although more limited in its features for small businesses compared to providers like 8×8 and GoToConnect, Nuacom has been trusted by key clients like Credit Union and Volkswagen. If you’re looking for a provider that has a track record of pleasing its users, you should look no further than Nuacom.

Nuacom Unlimited Features

• Software integrations: compared to other providers like 8×8, Vonage, bOnline, Nuacom has a limited offering of external connections. Although you can sync your telephone system with CRM, Helpdesk, internal live chat and email integration, you can only do so with a small number of platforms – only Hubspot, Slack, and Google Workspace. This means Nuacom is not integrable with Web Conferencing, external live chat, analytics, SSO, and does not offer an open API.
• Onboarding support: offered as a 15 minute onboarding support session.
• Scalability: with a requirement to have at least 2 users, Nuacom comes equipped with call queue and ring groups, which can help you manage a large number of callers. However, this isn’t necessarily the most scalable solution as you’d be missing out on a number of management features like customisable call routing, call monitoring, call-flow designers, and setting up teams. You also wouldn’t have access to video conferencing which can complicate keeping your team connected when working remotely.

Nuacom Unlimited Comparisons

Our research has given Nuacom a 4.2-star rating, which places it in the fourth spot of our best telephone systems for small business comparison, right before GoToConnect. Nuacom’s average customer review score of 4.6 places it in the pole position of customer satisfaction, with bOnline racing close behind at 4.4, This places Nuacom in the pole position of customer satisfaction, with bOnline racing close behind at 4.4.

That said, Nuacom scored just 2.6 for its features and 2 for security, so if you want lots of features and more stringently protected data, 8×8 or Dialpad would be a better phone system for your small business. However, you can know from its customer satisfaction score that not many users have faced insurmountable sticking points with Nuacom.

GoToConnect Standard – Best small business phone system for value for money

On top of this, for just £21 per user, per month, you’ll be able to wield all the inbound communication features you might need as a small business, including call queue and ring groups – an offer that no other provider offers at a more competitive price point.

GoToConnect Standard Features

• Software integrations: GoToConnect is compatible with CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, internal live chat, email, and SSO platforms, and has an open API. But the menu of the platforms you can sync GoToConnect with is less generous than other providers, missing Office 365, Hubspot, and Bullhorn.
• Onboarding support: available on GoToConnect Standard
• Scalability: with an unlimited user limit, ring group, call queue, analytics, call recording, and customisable call routing, GoToConnect Standard gives you the features that will help you piece together the bricks of your scaling small business. What’s more, GoToConnect also gives you access to internal live chat and web conferencing, which can help keep your business working remotely and cost-effectively.

GoToConnect Standard Comparisons

After combing through all the information available on GoToConnect, our researchers have given it a 4-star rating. Although its customer support score of 3.4 lags a bit behind that of RingCentral and Vonage, the features you can access for what you pay for your Standard subscription gives you greater value for your money than those systems would.

GoToConnect also gives you free international calling to 50+ countries, making it a great softphone option for businesses who need this sort of offering.

RingCentral Premium – Best small business phone system for external connections

If you’re a business that values compatibility with your software anatomy above all else, RingCentral is a great option thanks to all the external connections it can adapt to. What’s more, with RingCentral’s reports and intuitive dashboards, you’ll gain valuable insights that will guide business-critical decisions.

RingCentral Premium Features

• Software integrations: at the Premium and Ultimate subscriptions, you can sync your phone system with over 90 CRM platforms, with key helpdesk integrations like Salesforce and Zendesk, analytics, and other platforms like Slack, WhatsApp, and Facebook. This makes your customer service muscle stronger, and allows you to instantly draw on customer-specific data to provide a frustration-free experience.
• Onboarding support: available to RingCentral Premium subscribers
• Scalability: RingCentral has an impressive offer for scalability, equipping you with all the right tools – call queue, ring groups, web conferencing tools, internal live chat, and pretty much all the management features you could ever need as a small business! It also includes multi-factor authentication, password rules, compliance certifications and encryption, which will help shield your operation as you continue to scale up.

RingCentral Premium Comparisons

Factoring in price, integrability, features, and customer support, our in-depth research has awarded RingCentral a great 4-star rating for its value as a system for small businesses. With access to key features like call queue and ring groups, you can easily take on a large number of callers and glam up your operation. Because of this, we’ve awarded RingCentral a 4.1-star rating for features – the second highest score in this category out of all the providers we’ve looked at!

What’s even more impressive is that, compared to competitors like Vonage and Dialpad, RingCentral races ahead for customer service features in our research, scoring a 5-star rating in this category. So, you can be confident you’ll have a whole dashboard of nifty features to power your small business.

RingCentral Premium New Features

As of March 2023, you can now gain access to a colleague's voicemail inbox in the app – helpful for when they're away or unavailable. You can also manage multiple shared inboxes in your voicemail tab.

Google Voice Standard – Best small business phone system for Google Users

Google Voice prices are only listed in USD, but you can purchase your subscription in the UK.

Although our research rated Google Voice rather poorly for external connections and for its features, which does put it far behind other providers like 8×8 and RingCentral, if you’re already happy with all the Google products that businesses use, the setup will be fairly straightforward and seamless.

Google Voice Standard Features

• Software integrations: although you can sync Google Voice with CRM and helpdesk platforms like Zoho, Copper, Pipedrive, Salesforce, and Hubspot, you’ll have to use flagship Google products for email, web conferencing, and workspace capabilities.
• Onboarding support: not available to Google Voice Standard subscribers.
• Scalability: although Google Voice offers the bare minimum of management features — just analytics and customisable call routing — it does have pretty much every single security feature you’d need to feel confident your operation is properly protected. It also includes web conferencing and internal live chat if you’re happy to use Google Meet and Google Chat. Therefore, what it lacks in management features is made up for in terms of security, but keep in mind that this isn’t a golden solution to scale up your business.

Google Voice Standard Comparisons

Our researchers have put the key features offered by Google Voice for small business to the test and have given it a 3.7-star rating. Whilst it’s a great option for Google users, its limited offer of features gives it a 2.6-star rating in this category. In terms of features, it matches Nuacom, but lags far behind others like RingCentral and 8×8.

However, what it does excel at is security, which is the reason we gave it an excellent 5-star rating in this category. No other provider equals Google Voice in security, except for 8×8. 

Dialpad Pro – Best small business phone system for conversational AI

Dialpad's AI function can lighten your load by transcribing calls, flagging positive and negative calls for your reflection, automating summaries following the call and by offering you tips throughout the call. If you're the owner-operator of a small business in its infancy, Dialpad can give you the feeling of having an extra pair of hands without needing to hire more agents.

Dialpad Pro Features

• Software integrations: Dialpad is syncable with CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, email, workspace, internal live chat and SSO, giving you access to platforms like Salesforce, Zendesk, Hubspot, G Suite, and Slack. However, it does miss out on external live chat and analytics integrations, and its own API. Overall, it does have a pretty limited offer of syncable platforms, particularly on the CRM front, as your menu only includes three possible CRM platforms.
• Onboarding support: available to Dialpad Pro subscribers.
• Scalability: with access to call queue, ring groups, and a variety of management features like call recording, analytics, and call transcripts, Dialpad Pro offers a good range of tools you can rely on to build up your business. You can also use internal live chat and web conferencing to slash costs, as you can keep your operation remote. However, its security measures do miss out on multi-factor authentication and password rules, making it less secure than other providers like Google Voice and 8×8.

Dialpad Pro Comparisons

Our thorough research has looked closely at how suitable Dialpad Pro is for small businesses and has awarded it a 3.5-star rating. This is mostly because it’s pricier than other options, and because it could have a more lush offering of external connections.

Despite this, we do know that Dialpad Pro is nifty and futuristic thanks to its conversational AI, which allows you to do a lot of things hands-free and focus your attention on other tasks as you work on making your small business succeed. Despite its faults, we awarded it a great 4-star rating for its customer support, ranking above other providers like Nuacom, GoToConnect, and bOnline in this category.

Dialpad Pro New Features

Dialpad can integrate with Copper CRM, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Dyanmics 365, since March 2023. This is helpful for those who want to ensure all of your software is integrated.

How did we compare the best phone systems for small businesses?

Our team of researchers has conducted an in-depth dive into the most used and best-rated phone system suppliers on the market. Prioritising all the possible features that small businesses might need from a VoIP phone system, we’ve narrowed it down to the top eight providers and their best subscription models for small businesses. They shine through because of their onboarding and management features, and their ready-made integrations that can help you strengthen your operation.

We’ve also aggregated customer reviews from platforms like Trustpilot and Capterra to assure you that our knowledge is not only robust on paper, but also in practice. Regardless of which choice you make to meet the demands of your small business, our research-backed recommendations will match you with the most suitable players in the VoIP market.

How to choose the right phone system for your small business?

When making the crucial choice of which VoIP phone system to bring into your small business, there are a couple of key features that can help you make your decision less stressful and complicated. You can consider:

• Money: as is the case for a lot of things in business, money can be an inevitable pain point. Therefore, it’s important to prioritise options that charge low up-front monthly fees, offer inclusive domestic minutes, provide multiple communication channels (so you don’t have to pay extra to get these from other providers), and provide solid customer support, so you can avoid losing money during a potential phone downtime.
• Compatibility with your software infrastructure: when you’re entering the VoIP-verse, the last thing you want to do is spending aeons switching back and forth between all the software platforms you use to run your business. Therefore, choosing a provider with integrations is key. Look out for ready-made integrations for things like CRM, workspace, email, web conferencing, internal messaging, and external messaging platforms.
• Scalability: as a business, you can be burdened by extra costs in the long-term if you outgrow an important software system, forcing you to upgrade to a different provider. Therefore, you’ll need a VoIP system that can grow as fast as your business can. Key indicators for this will be providers that let you onboard an unlimited number of users, and come with call queues, ring groups, a good array of management features, and things that allow you to run your operation remotely, like internal messaging and video conferencing. Security will also be key here as this shields your business from risks as you expand.