A Full Vonage Review From Our Testing of This VoIP Service in 2024

As businesses increasingly switch to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), our detailed Vonage review helps you decide on the best VoIP solution today and pits it against other alternatives.

Vonage was originally founded in 1998 as Min-X.com but was rebranded as Vonage in 2001, went public in 2006, and since 2013, it has acquired several technology companies to strengthen its business communication product.

Today, Vonage is a full-suite VoIP provider with solutions for contact centers and unified communications. Apart from Vonage Business, there’s also Vonage’s Home service for individuals. In this Vonage review, we discuss the pros and cons of Vonage and how it stacks up against other popular VoIP options.

What is Vonage Business?

Ericsson acquired Vonage in 2022 and further boosted Vonage’s considerable presence in the VoIP market with its technology. The company continues to operate independently, with its own solutions and pricing plans.

Vonage is great at what it does, receiving several awards in the VoIP and communications space. It was named:

• A Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Communication Platforms as a Service (CPaaS).
• A 2023 Hot Vendor by Aragon Research

Beyond this, Frost & Sullivan has applauded the company for its market leadership in North America. With Vonage, you’ll get APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to provide your apps with communication capabilities, unlimited calling, a social CRM, and loads more that we’ll cover in-depth in this Vonage review.

How Does Vonage Work?

When you make a call, the device converts your voice into digital data that travels across the Internet to the call recipient. Once the data reaches its destination, Vonage transforms it back into an audio form that humans can understand.

To do this, Vonage uses a range of high-definition (HD) codecs for superior call quality, such as Opus and G.711u. Beyond this, if you have programming knowledge, you can also refer to Vonage’s API documentation to integrate its functionalities with your other applications.

For example, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform or an app you’re building from scratch. All settings and controls can be handled from Vonage’s web-based portals: the Admin Portal for the administrator and the User Portal for regular users.

Since our Vonage review focuses on telephony, we didn’t spend much time on how the contact center experience works. However, this is built on Vonage’s same, trusted VoIP infrastructure, coupled with advanced contact center software and various automations.

Another way it works for customer service is through conversational interfaces – i.e., messaging apps. For this, Vonage uses artificial intelligence.

Who is Vonage Best For?

Vonage is best for small to mid-sized enterprises, particularly the ones that operate in the retail industry. Aside from reliable VoIP, you also benefit from its internal communication solutions, Vonage Business Communication or VBC, contact center tools, and chat options.

Customer reviews of Vonage showcase its popularity across a range of industries, including real estate, government agencies, and finance.

From our experience, we’d say that Vonage is best for:

While our Vonage review focuses purely on its VoIP capabilities, it’s important to note that it offers all the bells and whistles for both home and business VoIP needs.

Vonage’s Pros and Cons

Like any VoIP solution, Vonage has its own upsides and downsides. We found that, in most cases, its benefits outweigh any disadvantages. Let’s review the pros and cons of Vonage in detail:

Exploring Vonage’s Pricing Plans

Vonage offers three VoIP pricing plans that you can tailor based on the size of your workforce. The higher the number of your employees, the lower your per-line Vonage cost:

Let’s now review the cost of Vonage across its three available pricing plans:

1. Mobile

A more descriptive name for this plan would be Vonage Business Essentials. You get one of the best softphone apps for smartphones and desktops, as well as unlimited domestic calling, SMS, and MMS. Vonage calls this its most basic plan, and it’ll cost you $14.99, $17.99, or $19.99 per month per line.

The pricing all depends on how many employees you have. For comparison, pricing for Phone.com starts at $12.74 for 500 minutes a month, and RingCentral‘s base plan costs $20, both of which make Vonage look quite good.

2. Premium

The Premium subscription includes everything in the Mobile one plus unlimited video meetings with up to 200 participants. You also get a virtual receptionist who will attend to calls when you’re not around, as well as analytics and reporting.

This is the cheapest Vonage plan that supports VoIP desk phones and other integrations. It’ll cost you $24.99, $27.99, or $29.99.

3. Advanced

This plan includes everything in Mobile and Premium plus a few enterprise features like single sign-on for added security. You also get on-demand call recordings, voicemail transcriptions, and call groups that let you route inbound calls to a fixed group of phone numbers or extensions.

The plan costs $34.99, $37.99, or $39.99. For companies with 100 or more employees, they’d have to schedule a call with sales for custom Vonage prices across all three plans.

Overall, the pricing is flexible, and we found the company’s interactive pricing calculator quite useful when choosing a plan for our test.

Other Vonage Offerings

While VoIP takes the spotlight in our Vonage review, let’s quickly look at the pricing considerations for some of the other Vonage offerings:

Based on our Vonage review and test, your Vonage monthly billing will usually reflect your real usage and business communication needs pretty accurately.

A Review of Vonage Business’ Core Features

Let’s now dive into our review of Vonage’s key business features:

The Admin Portal

The admin portal is a dashboard that lets you monitor and manage your business’s entire VoIP phone system. It has audit logs, analytics, billing visibility, and options to scale. From call history to active users, you can view all your important account details using this feature.

And you can add on new services, such as new business apps, as your communication needs change. Admins can log into the portal from any computer using their private credentials, while employees can manage their lines from the user portal.

SMS and MMS

With a US Vonage VoIP number, you can send and receive SMS and MMS anywhere in the world. This is available on any device, even your personal computer, and when you make calls, the recipient will be able to view only your work number and identification.

This way, Vonage protects your personal privacy while giving you the convenience of making work calls from personal devices.

VoIP Calling

You can make and receive VoIP calls using the app on your mobile, desktop version, or desk phone if you have a Premium plan. We found the call quality to be excellent in good network conditions, and you can also enjoy video conferencing built-in, so you won’t have to worry about paying for a separate tool for this.

Vonage also supports VoIP calling to other countries. You can make calls to 50+ countries in total, and the locations are classified into two tiers. Pricing for Tier 1 countries starts at $50 for 1,000 minutes per month, and Tier 2 starts at $110 for 1,000 minutes per month.

Receptionist Console

The receptionist console is a special feature available to US and UK customers. It makes it possible for a front-of-desk employee to handle up to 50 concurrent calls. To get started, the admin must set up a user or extension with the Receptionist Console.

Once this is done, the user can log in from their user portal to start navigating multiple calls simultaneously. All plans come with one Receptionist Console extension, and you can assign multiple extensions as the Receptionist by paying an additional fee.

Team Messaging and Chat

Participate in group chats, send and receive files, exchange SMS, and enjoy voice and video calls from the VBC app. We’ll look at the user interface and UX for this feature further down in our Vonage review. It’s neat that the same interface lets you communicate with colleagues and customers alike.

Work From Anywhere

Need to work from home? No problem. Vonage’s Work from Anywhere feature gives you an end-to-end business telephony experience at home. You can transfer calls to your cell phones, route calls to multiple phones simultaneously, and access all the features from Vonage’s desktop, web, and mobile apps.

While remote working is technically possible with most VoIP solutions, Vonage allows ultra-portability. You can plug your desk phone away and join using your high-speed home Internet for a similar experience. This includes classic contact center features like ringing multiple phones at the same time.

Voicemail

We were impressed by Vonage’s powerful voicemail-handling capabilities. You can automatically send voicemail messages to your email, and the user portal gives you four options to choose from when setting your voicemail greeting, as shown below. Transcriptions cost $4.99 per month per extension.

A Rundown of Vonage For Home’s Features

In addition to Vonage Business, individual users can also consider a separate VoIP home service from the company. It comprises a VoIP adapter and an Internet-based calling service, which, as we discovered in our VoIP vs Landline analysis, costs much less than a traditional landline.

Vonage For Home is best for consumer use or even for solopreneurs looking to build a highly productive office right from their residential address. Here’s an overview of Vonage for Home’s core features:

Vonage for Home costs $9.99/month for the domestic plan and $14.99/month for the international plan, and no annual contract is necessary. You can also benefit from the 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn’t yet available with Vonage for Business.

A Look at Vonage’s Interface

One aspect that consistently stands out in Vonage reviews is its user interface. We found both the desktop and mobile apps easy to use. For our Vonage iPhone app review, we could download the VoIP software directly from the App Store.

It also offers a web app that you can start using directly from your browser using your Vonage Business credentials or single sign-on if you’re an Advanced user. Here are the highlights of the Vonage user interface:

When we first opened the Vonage VBC desktop app, we found it minimalist in design. The navigation bar is on the left, and you can scroll up and down to check out its many features. Right at the bottom, there’s the dialer, where you can quickly place a VoIP call to any number.

Right on the top left-hand side, you’ll find the “New” button where you can start new interactions. As a company installs additional features and plug-ins, they’ll all turn up on the navigation pane. We found keyboard shortcuts like control + shift + A (to answer calls) extremely handy.

The mobile app is equally easy to use and synchronizes with the desktop experience. The caller ID will always show your business name when you make VoIP calls from the Vonage mobile app and never your personal information.

The mobile app can be used as a file-sharing tool, letting you add attachments, and we were happy to see download options for iPads as well.

What Integrations Does Vonage Support?

Depending on the Vonage solution you choose — UC or CC — you can download and install your preferred integrations. Some of the popular integrations include:

• Salesforce CRM ($4.99/month) to create centralized call logs. Customer info from your CRM will also pop up in the Vonage calling interface, so you can access your contacts right from the dialer.
• Microsoft Teams (free) so you can make Vonage calls from the Teams interface, taking advantage of Vonage’s reliable VoIP infrastructure.
• G Suite (free) enjoy the Vonage calling experience from Google Apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, etc. Keep in mind that this isn’t an integration with all of Google’s tools.
• Zapier (existing Zapier plan required), where you can create automated events in Vonage. For example, a new incoming call can act as a trigger for another task, like starting a recording. Zapier also provides Vonage-specific templates.

Apart from this, Vonage integrates with payment solutions, healthcare apps, authentication tools, applicant tracking systems, and other industry-specific systems. The integration marketplace is impressive, but we’ve found that this is the case with many VoIP services we’ve tested.

For example, RingCentral offers tools for legal, financial, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Vonage’s Uptime and Security

Vonage offers 99.999% uptime, commonly known as Five-Nines availability. Overall, you should expect less than 6 minutes of downtime per year, which puts Vonage on par with other industry leaders like 8×8 and RingCentral.

We could check the real-time status of Vonage Business C communication Systems directly from the online portal, too, which also shows all previous downtime incidents. Companies like RingCentral also publicly disclose their real-time availability and uptime status, but Vonage’s downtime history is far more detailed.

When it comes to VoIP security, Vonage products are audited for compliance by independent third parties, including ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, SOC, HITRUST, and CSA STAR.

The company has also completed Level 1 self-assessment as per CSA STAR, and it complies with the strict standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection (GDPR) to protect your users’ data. It’s safe to say VoIP compliance won’t be an issue with Vonage.

How Does Vonage Compare Against Other Leading VoIP Services?

The global VoIP market was worth $40.2 billion in 2022 and will cross $100 billion in the next 10 years. Here are the big names in the industry to show you how Vonage stacks up against its competitors:

To review Vonage in more detail and to see how it stacks against the competition, check out our comparison and review of the best VoIP solutions.

Vonage vs 8×8 in 2024

While we haven’t mentioned 8×8 in the previous table, it’s among the most popular VoIP solutions today. No Vonage review would be complete without a look at how it compares to 8×8.

Founded in 1987 as an integrated design circuit firm, 8×8 relaunched as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service in 2000 and acquired several companies over the next few years to shore up its calling capabilities.

There are a few similarities between the two companies. Like Vonage, 8×8 is also a publicly traded company. Both support unlimited calling and UC + CC offerings. However, one important difference is the absence of pricing transparency with 8×8. You’d have to request a quote across all solution tiers.

The X2 tier costs $24 per user per month, and the X4 tier $44. This is significantly more than Vonage. Further, there’s no way to opt for a basic 8×8 solution if you don’t want all the bells and whistles.

8×8’s partner ecosystem is also limited, with only 58 integrations in its app marketplace, much less than Vonage’s 100+. We also found 8×8’s CPaaS offerings underwhelming when compared to Vonage.

One place where 8×8 does shine, however, is its industry solutions. It has tailored offerings for different sectors like education, transportation, manufacturing, and a few others.

Overall, Vonage offers greater versatility in terms of the different sizes of businesses it can support, as well as its CPaaS market presence. Its transparent pricing is also a welcomed aspect.

How Good is Vonage? What Other Vonage Reviews Say

In addition to our experience with this VoIP, we found other largely favorable reviews of Vonage. Vonage ratings are 4.5 on Gartner Peer Insights, with its best ratings in product capabilities and the evaluation aspect of the customer experience. Here’s an example of a Vonage VoIP review on Gartner Peer Insights:

On G2, it has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 and is among the top 50 in its category. Customers appreciate the ease of use, the convenience of the mobile app, and the integrated interface. Here’s an example of Vonage customer reviews on G2:

Vonage has a rating of 7.2 out of 10 on TrustRadius. The most well-reviewed Vonage features include messaging alerts and iOS apps. Check out this detailed Vonage business phone review on TrustRadius:

Overall, Vonage boasts a great reputation which puts it at the forefront of the VoIP industry for both business and residential needs.

Our Other VoIP Guides

We’ve got loads of useful resources to help you navigate the complicated world of VoIP solutions and make the best choice for your company. Feel free to check out our popular VoIP guides:

• What is VoIP? The Definitive Guide to VoIP
• VoIP vs Landline — Everything You Need to Know
• Best Mobile VoIP Solutions
• What is a VoIP Number & How Does it Work?
• VoIP Security: The Ultimate Guide to Encryption and Vulnerabilities
• How to Choose a VoIP Provider (Beginner’s Guide)
• The Best VoIP Services Compared and Reviewed

Why You Can Trust Our Review of Vonage

We started the review process by installing the mobile app, which is the company’s lowest-tier offering, and also conducted detailed testing of the desktop platform. This included its key functionalities (VoIP and others) and the end-to-end user experience, and we tried out some of the common integrations during this process.

In addition to our experience with Vonage, we’ve referred to customers’ opinions from small businesses to large enterprises. We analyzed reviews from leading forums such as TrustRadius, Gartner Peer Insights, and G2 to refine our conclusions.

Our experience with leading VoIP providers like Ooma, 8×8, RingCentral, and others gives us a unique perspective when comparing and reviewing Vonage.

How to Use Vonage — A Step-By-Step Guide

To start using Vonage, first subscribe to a plan from the company’s pricing page. You’ll have to speak with a Vonage sales executive, choose a plan as per your organizational needs, and obtain the necessary credentials.

You may receive a 30% Off Monthly Plan Fee discount during checkout, available for a limited period. Once this process is over, getting started with Vonage is as easy as opening the web app to access the Admin Portal. Here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Accessing the Admin Portal

To access the Admin Portal, enter the URL admin.vonage.com into your browser. From the login screen, enter your credentials to start using Vonage Business.

From the Admin Portal, you can access and configure other core features like the phone system, business apps, your company’s account details, and more. Keep in mind that all the applications, including desktop and mobile, need to be downloaded separately.

2. Setting up the Phone System

To set up the phone system, log into the Admin portal and head to the Account Summary section from the left navigation pane. The setup process is quite simple, which was a highlight in our review of Vonage’s phone service.

From here, you can click on any extension to edit it, which includes assigning users, changing the extension number, setting up call forwarding, etc. Similarly, you’ll be able to view all the users and devices associated with your company account and edit their details.

3. Managing Applications

By default, Vonage has two apps – the Business Inbox and the Receptionist Console. As per our Vonage app review, the first one lets you send and receive text messages. As an Admin, you can view all the messages within the organization.

You can also add an extra Inbox from the Admin Portal. Similarly, the Receptionist Console is another app available from the portal. You can set up its extension, call handling rules, greetings, etc., from the Business Apps section on the left navigation pane.

4. Overseeing Billing

VoIP cost management is an important task for any company, and Vonage’s billing module is helpful here. You can track billing and payment history in real-time from the left navigation pane.

The module consolidates your past invoices, open orders, payment information, and payment schedules. As part of billing, you can also manage the different services you subscribed to. Click on a service to add or remove any extensions linked to it.

5. Analyzing Reports

At the very bottom of the navigation pane, you’ll find the Reports Section. This includes analytics from your calls, user activity, live call queues, call quality, and more.

If you create and save a report, these will show up here as well. Click on the Subscribe icon for a report to receive it via email on the following day. The Vonage mobile app provides a similar experience on a smartphone or tablet.

For end-users, the Admin Portal is replaced by the User Portal with slightly fewer functionalities. For example, regular users will not be able to view organization-wide call analytics in the same level of detail.

Vonage Review Conclusion — Is Vonage Worth It?

At a starting price of $14.99 per month per line, Vonage is worth the effort it takes to set up. It offers unlimited domestic calling, an easy-to-use mobile and desktop app, and a smartly designed user experience.

You can add as many features, integrations, and add-ons as you need in a full-fledged unified communications landscape. Or, you can keep it very simple with only a mobile app or even a residential VoIP number and benefit from Vonage’s robust infrastructure.

The only downside is that the complexity of features may be overwhelming for some, particularly solo users. The lack of visual analytics (like graphs or heat maps) may be a disadvantage for certain users. Also, some add-ons and third-party integrations will cost extra.

However, we still found the billing management process for Vonage and its integrations much simpler than competitors like Microsoft Teams VoIP. There are no hidden fees, and you can avoid exceeding your monthly budget.

For businesses looking for a scalable VoIP solution that can scale to meet contact center and conversational commerce needs, Vonage is a solid option. It’s also suitable for solo professionals looking for a mobile-based VoIP workhorse.

FAQs