Sep 2008
30
Since VOIP is a very competative industry, prices vary wildy. Now the bigger cable tv and internet providers have joined in and are touting their $30+ dollar/month unlimited plans, while others are offering very similar plans for around $17/month ( $199/year ).
It can be tempting to just take use the internet phone service that your cable or internet provider is offering, but they aren't competing well on price or service. The smaller VOIP-only players offer features like selective call blocking, simultaneous ring to your cell phone, and web-based voicemail...and not all the big players do.
And, be sure to think through your options before you buy, as prices for add on functionality, like a second phone line, or internet faxes, vary.
Take a look at the chart below for a comparison of the larger, as well as smaller players that provide internet phone service
| Price and Features (Featured VoIP Service Providers) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Our Rating | 4.5 of 5 |
4.5 of 5 |
3.5 of 5 |
3.5 of 5 |
|
Site Link |
||||
| Limited Use Plan | $9.95/500 minutes | N/A | $14.99/500 minutes | $14.99/500 minutes |
| Unlimited Plan | $199/yr ($16.58/month) |
$199/yr ($16.58/month) |
$24.99/month ($299.88/year) |
$24.99/month ($239.88/year) |
| No Activation Fees |  |
|
 |
|
| Special Offers* | 1 month free + 2nd line free |
1 month free |
1 month free |
Free activation & phone rebates |
|
ViaTalk
• Goto Website |
Voip.com
• Go to website |
Vonage
• Go to Website |
Packet8
• Go to Website |
Also have a look at our tools to compare insurance and compare mortages...
Comments
Re: compare VOIP internet phone service plans before you buy
Wow, it looks like viatalk is the most competitive here. I was hoping though to see this price comparison for more voip service companies. There are a lot of options out there. Actually when I opted for voip phones it took me a week to research and evaluate my best option at that moment.
Re: compare VOIP internet phone service plans before you buy
vonage is not that good. i had it for less than a year. echoes and weird quality. I have had lingo for maybe 3 years and it is excellent. no quality issues at all so far, knock on wood. for business it is not completely fault tolerant--you will get occasional issues so it might be worth it to stick with a regular land line. with lingo a couple service calls ended up in india, which i hate, but otherwise no problem. one other issue is that when you try to leave either vonage or lingo, be prepared to part with your firstborn before they will let you go. "customer retention" is a departmental designation designed by a satan worshipper. beware. but as long as you stay with them you're fine. skype is good quality and pretty secure, but they started stealing back unused credit a couple of months ago, which i will never really forgive them for. Magic Jack sucks. I know two people who bought them and they stopped using them cuz they didn't work. too many dropped calls.
Re: compare VOIP internet phone service plans before you buy
I would definitely suggest people compare voip plans for their residential phone service most people think they have to go with local providers to have a phone which isn't the case.
Re: Best Deal for Voip
I don't recommend MagicJack. I live in a rural area and you are asked to pick an area code to set up your phone number. The options given were all long distance so no one I know could call me on it. WHen using it people on the other end could not hear me but I could hear them. I would only recommend it to people in more populated areas.
Re: Best Deal for Voip
Yep. That's called the MagicJack. It's pretty cool. The $39 year one, $19 every year after is a stellar deal as well. I don't see it replacing a home phone, since it has to be hooked up to a PC, and the computer has to be running for you to receive calls. Probably a good device for a road warrior, and maybe cheaper than Skype. I did hear some concern about the software being difficult to install. Did you experience the same thing?
Best Deal for Voip
Hey , check this thing out .. I saw it on ctv news ... you can make free long distance calls to Canada and the US .. it's a little usb device with a phone jack and you talk over your internet connection ... I bought it actually works... I cancelled my phone service with shaw .. which was around $100 or so a month ... this only cost $39 CAD and it's good for a whole year .. after that it's only $19 ... I got mine at InterestingMedia.com ...Enjoy :)
©2009
Re: compare VOIP internet phone service plans before you buy
No quality issues at all so far, knock on wood. for business it is not completely fault tolerant--you will get occasional issues so it might be worth it to stick with a regular land line. with lingo a couple service calls ended up in india, which i hate, but otherwise no problem. one other issue is that when you try to leave either vonage or lingo, be prepared to part with your firstborn before they will let you go. "customer retention" is a departmental designation designed by a satan worshipper. beware. but as long as you stay with them you're fine. skype is good quality and pretty secure, but they started stealing back unused credit a couple of months ago, which i will never really forgive them for. Magic Jack sucks. I know two people who bought them and they stopped using them cuz they didn't work. too many dropped calls. The options given were all long distance so no one I know could call me on it. WHen using it people on the other end could not hear me but I could hear them. I would only recommend it to people in more populated areas.