Business VoIP vendors compared, from their own price pages.

What we found

• Per-seat pricing is almost universal. Ten of the thirteen publish a price per user, line or licence. Grasshopper prices per account. 8x8 and GoTo Connect publish no price at all and ask you to contact sales.3065
• The headline is usually the annual rate. On the same plan, paying month to month costs from 12.5% more (Zoom) to 80% more (Dialpad).542 Some of the annual prices also carry a term contract.5056
• The menu is gated in four places: Google Voice (Standard, not Starter), Grasshopper (Solo Plus, not True Solo), Quo (Business, not Starter) and Ooma, where a single menu is in every plan but linked, multi-level menus carry a Pro badge.20798774
• What surrounds the menu is gated more often than the menu. Vonage puts its Call Groups on Advanced only on its price page and calls them add-on services in its help centre; Quo's custom ring groups need Business; Grasshopper sells simultaneous ringing as an add-on.56598880
• Canada is uneven. Only Zoom, Microsoft and Dialpad show plan prices explicitly in Canadian dollars; RingCentral and Ooma have Canadian pages that print "$" without saying which dollar; we found no live Canadian offer from Nextiva and no Canadian price page from Vonage.5114127364
• Texting is never just "included". Every vendor here that sells business texting in the US, except Google, says your business must be registered with the carriers first, and several charge for it.79865536

Methodology

Which vendors. The thirteen vendors small businesses most often shortlist for a hosted business phone system in the US and Canada: RingCentral, Zoom Phone, Microsoft Teams Phone, Google Voice (for Google Workspace), 8x8, Dialpad, Nextiva, Vonage Business, GoTo Connect, Ooma Office, Grasshopper, Quo (formerly OpenPhone) and Aircall. Contact-centre software and answering services are a different purchase and are not covered here.

Which plan. For each vendor we identified the lowest published plan that includes an auto attendant (an IVR, phone menu or "virtual receptionist": the recorded greeting that says "press 1 for sales"). That is the "menu-capable plan" used in every cost figure. We then recorded, separately, the lowest plan with ring groups or call queues, because the two features are often split.

What was compared. List price per user per month, monthly and annual billing shown apart; seat-count price bands and minimums; porting; toll-free numbers; availability and pricing in Canada; texting and its registration requirements; desk phone support; contract terms; and free trials.

Sources and date. Every figure was read on 26 October 2026 on the vendor's own domain: its price page, plan comparison, help centre or legal terms. Several price pages render prices only in a browser, so we read them in a headless browser; Canadian prices for Zoom were read through a Montreal network exit, because Zoom shows its currency by visitor location. No review site, affiliate list or press release was used. Where two of a vendor's own pages disagree, we say so and cite both.

What the prices exclude. Sales taxes, regulatory recovery fees, promotions (except where a promotion is the only discounted price shown, which we label), hardware, extra numbers, toll-free minutes and per-message charges. All prices are in US dollars unless marked CA$.

Master table: price and the plan you need

Per user (or line, or licence) per month, for the menu-capable plan. "Annual" means the per-month rate when you commit to a year; "monthly" means month-to-month billing.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Microsoft's figure assumes Microsoft 365 Business Basic as the Teams licence; Microsoft also lists Teams Essentials "with Microsoft Entra ID" as a qualifying base, and Teams Essentials is listed at $4, which would make it $21.1512 Google's Workspace Starter is $7 with an annual commitment and $8.40 without one; the Voice add-on is listed at $20 per user.2220

Master table: numbers, Canada, texting, phones and terms

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What a menu costs at 1, 5, 10 and 25 users

Monthly cost of the menu-capable plan at list price, before taxes and fees. Where both are published, the first figure is the annual-commitment rate and the second the month-to-month rate.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

How each row was built. RingCentral shows the same rate for 1–5 and 6–100 users.1 Vonage prices by line band: 1–4 lines at $19.99 standard or $13.99 promotional, 5–19 at $17.99 or $12.59, and 20–99 at $14.99 or $10.49; the promotion is 30% off, needs the one-year contract and is stated as valid through 30 December 2026.56 Ooma adds a one-time activation fee of $29.95 in its plan calculator.72 Aircall bills at least three licences "regardless of billing cycle", so a sole trader pays for three.94 Grasshopper's Solo Plus has unlimited users and three extensions, with extra extensions at $3 a month; the 5- and 10-user figures assume one extension per person, and at 25 the Small Business plan, with unlimited extensions at $55 annual or $70 monthly, is cheaper.79 Microsoft publishes Teams Phone prices only on annual terms.10

What the table leaves out, because it varies with use: toll-free minutes beyond the allowance, extra numbers, outbound minutes on metered plans, per-message texting charges, and regulatory fees. RingCentral lists recovery fees such as an E911 service fee on top of its prices.1 Vonage charges a $3.50 monthly RCIP recovery fee per extension and company number, which on a 10-line account adds at least $35 a month.63

RingCentral

The plan. RingEX Core is $20 per user per month paid annually or $30 paid monthly; Advanced is $25 or $35. The rate is the same for 1–5 and 6–100 users, and above 100 it is "Contact us for pricing".1 The comparison table marks "Multi-level auto attendant and IVR" as included in every plan, with "up to 250 voice menus and submenus per account".1

Strengths, from its own pages. Core includes a business or toll-free number with 100 toll-free minutes, unlimited calling within the US and Canada, call queues and on-demand recording.1 RingCentral says "The cost of negotiating the transfer of your number from your existing phone carrier is shouldered by RingCentral", and that any toll-free number can be ported in.3 There is a Canadian price page.2

Where it is weaker. Core's queues are marked "Basic"; announcements of wait time, place in queue and callback are an add-on (Call Queues Booster, $35).1 Core marks hot desking, internet fax and CRM integrations as not available, and recording is on demand rather than automatic.1 The texting allowance on Core is 25 messages per user per month, registration is required, and a footnote on both the US and the Canadian page reads "SMS availability in US only".12 Desk phone rental "is available only with multi-year contract".1 The terms renew automatically unless notice is given at least 30 days before expiry, and ending early leaves "all sums remaining unpaid for the Services for the remainder of the then-current Term" payable.4 The 14-day trial is described two ways on the same page: support "for up to 20 phone lines", and "limited to a maximum of five users and two desktop phones".1

Best for a team that wants one vendor for calling, meetings and messaging, with multi-level menus on the cheapest plan and a published price up to 100 users.

Zoom Phone

The plan. US & CA Unlimited is $16 per user per month billed annually or $18 monthly; a Metered variant is $10.50 annually with "Additional fees for all outbound calls". Pro Plus and Business Plus bundle Phone with Zoom Workplace at $20.50 and $24.50 annually.5 "Unlimited auto attendants/IVR" and call queues are marked as included on every plan, including Metered.5 Zoom's design guide lists another Auto Receptionist, a call queue, a shared line group or an IVR among the places an Auto Receptionist can send a call, which is how multi-level menus are built.7

Strengths. At $18, the lowest month-to-month per-seat price for a menu in this comparison, and within a dollar of the cheapest annual rates. Porting and toll-free numbers are marked included on all plans; extra local or toll-free numbers are $5 a month.5 Zoom shows Canadian-dollar prices to Canadian visitors: CA$21.60 annually or CA$24.30 monthly for Unlimited.5

Where it is weaker. Zoom's own number-requirements page lists "Limited coverage in some regions of Canada" and names affected area codes.6 Texting from a shared number (Team SMS) "requires that each user has a Customer Engagement Pack add-on", which is priced separately.9 Texting in both countries needs 10DLC registration, and Zoom notes that Canadian businesses register with their Business Identification Number.8 The billing footnote discussed above leaves the monthly option unclear. The free trial button exists, but we could not find its length stated.5

Best for a business that already meets on Zoom and wants the cheapest per-seat menu, queues and toll-free from a vendor with explicit CAD pricing.

Microsoft Teams Phone

The plan. Teams Phone Standard is $10 per user per month paid yearly; Teams Phone with Calling Plan (a number and 3,000 domestic minutes) is $17. Every card says "A separate license for Microsoft Teams is required".10 Microsoft lists Teams Essentials "with Microsoft Entra ID" and Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium as qualifying base licences.15 Business Basic is $7 on an annual commitment.14 Auto attendants and call queues need "At least one Teams Phone license" and a resource account, whose licence is free; Microsoft documents nesting of auto attendants and call queues.16

Strengths. If your staff already live in Teams, calls arrive where they work, and administration sits with the rest of Microsoft 365. Microsoft publishes Canadian prices: Teams Phone Standard is CAD $13.60, Teams Phone with domestic calling for Canada is CAD $23.10 and Teams Essentials is CAD $5.40, plus applicable tax;13 its Domestic Calling Plan covers organisations in the US, Puerto Rico, the UK and Canada.1119 Certified desk phones come from Yealink, Crestron, Lenovo, Polycom and AudioCodes.10

Where it is weaker. It is the most assembled product in this list: a base licence, Teams Phone, a way to reach the phone network, and resource accounts for the menu. Microsoft's own licensing page warns that since 1 November 2025, Calling Plan licences on resource accounts no longer cover outbound calls made on a caller's behalf, so transferring a menu caller to an external number needs a funded pay-as-you-go licence or Communication Credits.16 Toll-free numbers likewise need pay-as-you-go billing and are charged per minute.17 Texting for Calling Plan numbers in the US and Canada "is currently being rolled out", with 200 included messages on the Domestic plan and brand and campaign registration required.18 Prices are annual and auto-renew, and the one-month trial "will automatically convert into a 12-month paid subscription"; a card is required.10

Best for a Microsoft 365 organisation that wants phone identities, devices and queues governed in the same tenant, and has someone to administer it.

Google Voice (Google Workspace)

The plan. Voice is an add-on at $10 (Starter), $20 (Standard) or $30 (Premier) per user per month.20 It "Requires a Google Workspace plan billed separately".21 Workspace Business Starter is $7 per user per month with an annual commitment and $8.40 without.22 The automated attendant "is available with the Voice Standard and Premier subscriptions" and can continue to a submenu.23 Ring groups ("also called hunt groups") are Standard and up, with round-robin, simultaneous or fixed-order ringing and up to 50 members; each ring group needs its own number.24

Strengths. For a Workspace customer, Voice is an add-on to the account it already has, at a clear published price.2120 Canada is a supported country on all three editions.25

Where it is weaker. Starter, the price most people quote, has no automated attendant and no ring groups, and is limited to ten users.20 "Voice currently supports SMS messages only in the U.S."29 Toll-free numbers cannot be ported in, and we found no first-party page offering new toll-free numbers on Voice.26 On Canadian porting Google contradicts itself: its porting guide gives Canadian timelines ("The minimum time to port numbers is 4 business days") while its administrator FAQ says "Porting numbers into Voice is not yet supported in Canada."2729 Google also restricts where Canadian numbers can be used: customers with non-Canadian subscriptions "can only use Canadian numbers in their respective provinces".27 Its Canadian product page prices Voice in US dollars.28

Best for a US business already on Google Workspace that needs a menu and ring groups and does not depend on texting from Canada. Our separate page Auto Attendant vs Google Voice goes further into the editions.

8x8

The plan. 8x8 publishes no prices. Its plans page in the US and in Canada offers "Chat with Sales" and "Request a Quote" and invites you to "Mix and match our offerings to build a custom plan".3031 Licences are named X1 to X4 for business telephony, differing mainly in how many countries' calling is unlimited.37 We could not find a page that names the lowest licence including an auto attendant.

Strengths. "Auto Attendants do not use licenses. Licenses are assigned only to the extensions or users that receive the calls", and menus can have sub-menus.32 Ring groups are "included at no additional cost with 8x8 Work", with simultaneous and cyclic patterns and up to 32 members.33 Porting is "free of charge".39 On X2 and above, each licence brings 50 free US and Canadian text messages a month, pooled across the account.34

Where it is weaker. "Ring Groups do not support call queuing or hold messages" and "do not have their own schedules".33 "Auto Attendants, Ring Groups, and Call Queues and Toll-Free numbers are not capable of SMS", texting works only to US and Canadian numbers and only in the app, not on desk phones.35 Registering to text costs a one-time "$89 USD (or CA$121)".36 Toll-free numbers need their own licence.40 8x8 sells on contract terms: 30 days' notice is required to cancel before the contract end, and "buyout (early termination) fees" may apply.38 We found no free trial.

Best for a business that wants to negotiate a package, or calls a lot internationally, and is comfortable buying through a sales process.

Dialpad

The plan. Connect Standard is $15 per user per month on annual billing or $27 monthly; Pro is $25 or $35.42 The feature comparison lists "Department IVR" for Connect and says all Connect features apply to all tiers unless stated otherwise; simultaneous, fixed-order, round-robin and longest-idle ringing are included.43 The pricing page's own currency data gives Standard as CA$20 annually and CA$35 monthly.41

Strengths. A low annual entry price with menus and ring patterns on the base tier, 250 outbound texts pooled across the account, and free porting: "There is no charge for US and Canadian local and toll-free number port requests".4344 Unlimited calling covers "your country, the US, and Canada".46 A 14-day trial is offered.41

Where it is weaker. The largest gap between annual and monthly prices in this comparison: monthly Standard costs 80% more.42 Annual plans "do not qualify for a refund".49 "Automatic call recording is not available on Connect Standard", CRM integrations are Pro and up, and the hold queue is only "Basic".43 Toll-free numbers are an add-on that "can only be added to a shared line", and inbound toll-free calls are billed.4546 Third-party SIP phones are "considered insecure", with no international calling or E911 on them.48 Canadian businesses do not register under 10DLC for Canadian texting, but "still need to register if they are texting US numbers".47

Best for a team willing to commit annually that wants a modern app with menus, ring patterns and texting on the cheapest tier, in either country.

Nextiva

The plan. NEXT Core is $15 per user per month on annual billing and $23 monthly; Engage is $25 or $50.50 The annual price "applies to new customers with 1–100 employees signing a paid 12-month or longer minimum term agreement".50 "Smart Call Routing (Simple IVR)" is ticked on all three tiers.50 The Users & Teams node "takes the place of a hunt group or call group" and can ring everyone at once or in turn.53

Strengths. A menu, ring groups and 100 texts per user per month on the entry tier.50 "There's no charge to port your number to Nextiva."52 Desk phones are sold outright or financed per unit.5054

Where it is weaker. The advertised price is a term contract. Toll-free numbers are an add-on on Core, and the page warns that turning on an add-on "without a qualifying plan adds charges to your bill".50 Texting needs 10DLC registration, with a $4 brand fee, a $15 campaign setup fee and monthly campaign fees, and Nextiva says carrier fines for non-compliance are passed through "at-cost".55 We found no free trial; the legal terms describe a 30-day money-back guarantee with conditions, including a 500-minute usage limit.51 We found no live Nextiva page offering service, numbers or prices in Canada, so we cannot say it serves Canadian businesses.

Best for a US business ready to sign for a year that wants a menu, ring groups and texting at the lowest entry price, with phones bought from the same vendor.

Vonage Business

The plan. Vonage Business Communications has Mobile, Premium and Advanced plans priced per line, with bands at 1–4, 5–19 and 20–99 lines. Mobile is $19.99 per line at standard rates for 1–4 lines and $13.99 under a 30% promotion.56 The terms read: "Minimum 1-year contract required for new annual accounts only", while "There are no early termination fees for monthly contracts"; and the promotion applies to online purchases up to 99 lines and is "valid through December 30, 2026".56 The Virtual Receptionist is ticked on Mobile.56

Strengths. While the promotion lasts, the lowest published unmetered per-line menu price in this comparison, falling to $10.49 per line at 20 lines and above.56 Several Virtual Receptionists can be chained, with a "Go to previous menu" option.57 Texting is on every plan, and US users can text US and Canadian numbers.5661

Where it is weaker. Vonage itself calls the Virtual Receptionist "a simplified version of IVR technology", and "English is the only supported language at this time", which matters for bilingual Canadian businesses.58 Call Groups (simultaneous ringing) are ticked only on Advanced on the price page, and the help centre calls Call Groups and Call Queues "add-on services".5659 Calls the menu forwards to an outside number "incur a $0.03/min charge".57 Desk phones need Premium.56 Toll-free numbers "are currently only available for US customers".60 A $3.50 monthly recovery fee applies to every extension and company number.63 Early termination fees "can range up to the total price of your service contract".56 The vonage.ca pricing page currently shows UK plans in pounds, and we found no Canadian price list.64

Best for a US team that will sign for a year, wants app-based calling with a simple menu at the lowest per-line price, and can live without ring groups or buys Advanced.

GoTo Connect

The plan. Every GoTo Connect plan, from Phone System to Contact Center, is "Contact Sales", and the FAQ answers the price question with "Depends on your business and your needs!"65 The comparison lists unlimited auto attendants, dial plans, ring groups and call queues on every plan, starting with Phone System.65

Strengths. The visual dial plan editor and unlimited menus and ring groups on the entry plan.65 Each licence gets 80 SMS credits a month, and SMS works in the US and Canada; GoTo quotes overage as "$0.0055 USD per SMS in the US, $0.00715 CAD per SMS in Canada".6665 Porting countries include the US and Canada.67 GoTo says "No minimum commitment required."68

Where it is weaker. No price to compare, so no cost row. Hardware is sold in the US; "For all other regions, please contact sales".69 A GoTo page still advertises "a 14-day free trial", but its "Try" link now opens a sales contact form.7071 We could not confirm from GoTo's pages whether menus can be nested.

Best for a business that prefers a negotiated quote and wants a visual call-flow editor, with texting in both countries.

Ooma Office

The plan. Essentials is $19.95 per user per month, Pro $24.95 and Pro Plus $29.95, each marked "No Contract Necessary", with a one-time activation fee of $29.95.72 Every account starts with a Virtual Receptionist that answers the main number with a menu; additional receptionists for departments, linked to create "a multi-level system", carry a Pro badge.74 The plan table ticks ring groups and simultaneous ring on all plans, and call queuing on Pro Plus.72

Strengths. The only vendor here whose headline price is the month-to-month price, with no annual toggle.72 Every plan includes free number transfer and one toll-free number with 500 inbound minutes a month.7275 Ooma sells desk phones directly,76 and there is a separate Canadian site, ooma.ca, with Essentials at $24.95 (the page does not label the currency).7273

Where it is weaker. Essentials has no texting, no call recording and no calling from the desktop app; texting starts on Pro with 250 messages a month in the US and 100 on the Canadian site.7273 Texting is enabled only after carrier registration, and Ooma says some registration fees "may be passed along".77 Toll-free minutes beyond 500 are sold in packs.75 There is no free trial of the service: Ooma's return policy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on hardware but "cannot refund the cost of your first month of service".78

Best for a small office that wants desk phones and a single menu with ring groups, month to month, with no contract.

Grasshopper

The plan. Grasshopper prices per account, not per person. True Solo is $14 a month on annual billing or $18 monthly, for one user and one extension; Solo Plus is $25 or $32, for unlimited users, one number and three extensions, with extra extensions at $3 a month each on annual billing and $5 on monthly; Small Business is $55 or $70, for four numbers and unlimited extensions.79 The plan table shows "Interactive Voice Response (IVR)" on Solo Plus and Small Business, not on True Solo.79

Strengths. The only per-account price among the vendors that publish one, so adding people does not add licences.79 Porting is free for US and Canadian numbers; toll-free numbers, including true 800 numbers, can be the plan number; Canadian local numbers are offered.828085 The 7-day trial needs no credit card.84

Where it is weaker. Ringing several phones at once is "Call blasting", a $9 a month add-on.80 "Grasshopper works entirely through mobile and desktop apps; there is no desk phone", and it has "no third-party CRM integrations, no public API".81 Texting requires registration ($19.50 once and $1.50 a month), works only in the US and Canada, and "All SMS history is deleted when you port your number to another service."7983 The trial excludes texting and premium numbers.84 There is no Canadian price page.

Best for a sole trader or very small team that wants a menu on a business number, answered in an app, at one account price. Grasshopper's own positioning is "solopreneurs and early-stage small business owners".81

Quo (formerly OpenPhone)

The plan. Starter is $15 per user per month billed yearly or $19 monthly; Business is $23 or $33; Scale is $35 or $47; "All prices in USD".86 The help centre is explicit that phone menus are "only available on Business and Scale plans".87 A menu option can route to another phone menu to make multi-level menus.87 Starter includes "all at once" and random ringing; custom ring groups need Business.88

Strengths. A shared inbox for team calls and texts, with texting to the US and Canada "Unlimited" subject to fair use.86 No charges for porting in or out, and all Canadian provinces are supported for porting.89 Toll-free numbers cost the same as local numbers, and Canadian local numbers are available in ten provinces.9091

Where it is weaker. "Emergency services (911) aren't available through Quo".89 There are no desk phones: Quo "works on mobile (iOS and Android) and desktop".86 US texting needs carrier registration at $19.50 once and $1.50–$3 a month.86 The trial needs a card and excludes US texting, and payments already made are non-refundable.9293

Best for a small team that runs on texting and shared conversations and wants a menu on top.

Aircall

The plan. Essentials is $30 per licence per month billed annually or $40 monthly; Professional is $50 or $70. "All plans require a minimum of 3 licenses regardless of billing cycle."94 IVR, ring groups and call queuing are on Essentials; smart routing and queue callback start at Professional.94

Strengths. A softphone built around customer conversations, with CRM sync on the entry plan, one local or toll-free number included, and 4,000 outbound texts per user per month.94 Monthly billing has "no long-term commitment".95

Where it is weaker. The three-licence floor makes it the most expensive option here for one or two people.94 "IVR numbers are not eligible for SMS."101 Inbound toll-free calls are billable, and calls are rounded up to the next full minute.100 Desk phones are "not the intended use case for Aircall", with no transfer, hold or support on SIP devices.96 On annual plans, licences "are locked for the year and cannot be reduced mid-term".95 The 7-day trial caps calls at 100 minutes and seven minutes per call.97 Canadian visitors see the same prices in US dollars.94

Best for a sales or support team of three or more that works in a CRM and wants calls logged against it.

Patterns across the market

Per-seat pricing is the business model, not a detail

Ten of thirteen vendors charge per user, line or licence.151020425056728694 A per-seat price is a reasonable way to sell a platform that gives every person a number, an app, a voicemail box and outbound calling. It is a poor fit for the common small-business situation in which one number needs a menu and several people occasionally need to answer. On per-seat pricing, the cost of a menu is set by the number of people who might pick up, not by the menu.

Our view: this is the single biggest driver of cost for small teams, and it shapes behaviour. When each extra person costs $15 to $30 a month, the apprentice, the weekend cover and the office manager tend to be left off the line. We say this with a declared interest, because our own product is priced the other way.

The menu itself is rarely the gated feature any more

RingCentral, Zoom, Microsoft, Dialpad, Nextiva, Vonage, GoTo, Ooma and Aircall all include an auto attendant in their lowest published business plan.1516435056657494 The gating that remains sits at the cheap end, in the products people buy first: Google Voice Starter, Grasshopper True Solo and Quo Starter have no menu, and Ooma reserves linked multi-level menus for Pro.20798774 The "starts at $10" or "$15" figures that circulate for these products are therefore not the price of a phone menu.

What is gated more often is everything around the menu: ring groups (Vonage), queues with announcements or callbacks (RingCentral, Ooma, Aircall), automatic recording (RingCentral, Dialpad, Quo), and texting (Ooma).56172944386

The annual price is the one on the page

Monthly billing on the same plan costs 50% more at RingCentral, 80% more at Dialpad, 53% more at Nextiva, 43% more at Quo, 33% more at Aircall, 28% more at Grasshopper and 12.5% more at Zoom.142508694795 The annual rate sometimes means a contract rather than a payment schedule: Nextiva's needs a "12-month or longer minimum term agreement", and Vonage's promotion sits on a one-year minimum.5056 Ooma is the exception, with one month-to-month price.72

The extras are where small accounts leak money

• Toll-free minutes. RingCentral Core includes 100 toll-free minutes, Ooma 500, GoTo 1,000 shared; Dialpad, Aircall and Microsoft bill inbound toll-free use.175654610017
• Forwarding to outside numbers. Vonage charges for calls the menu forwards to an outside line; Microsoft needs pay-as-you-go funding for transfers to external numbers.5716
• Recovery fees. Vonage's RCIP fee and RingCentral's regulatory fees are charged on top of list price.631
• One-off fees. Ooma's activation fee, and texting registration everywhere (below).72

Texting means registering your business

Business texting from ordinary ten-digit numbers to US phones has to be registered with the carriers (10DLC); Grasshopper puts it bluntly: "Carriers are now blocking all unregistered outbound SMS".83 Every vendor here that sells US business texting, except Google, documents the requirement.1818779947 The fees vary: Grasshopper and Quo charge $19.50 once plus a monthly fee, Nextiva lists a $4 brand fee and a $15 campaign fee, Vonage $4 once and $1.50 a month, 8x8 $89 once, and approval can take up to three weeks.7986556236 Two details matter for anyone with a menu: some vendors cannot text from the menu's number at all (8x8 and Aircall say so directly), and Canadian businesses texting US numbers still register.3510147

Canada is an afterthought for half the market

Explicit Canadian-dollar prices: Zoom, Microsoft and Dialpad.51141 A Canadian page with unlabelled prices: RingCentral and Ooma.273 Canadian service and numbers, priced in US dollars or by quote: Google, Grasshopper, Quo, Aircall, GoTo and 8x8.258591946631 No Canadian price list found: Vonage, whose toll-free numbers are for US customers only, and Nextiva, for which we found no live Canadian offer at all.6460 Beyond price, the practical Canadian gaps are texting (Google Voice is US-only), coverage (Zoom notes limited coverage in some Canadian regions) and language (Vonage's menu is English-only).29658

How to choose

Start from what you already run and what the phone actually has to do. These are our recommendations, labelled as such, each resting on the facts above.

1. You are a Microsoft 365 organisation with someone who administers it. Teams Phone keeps calling inside the tenant. Budget for the base licence, Teams Phone with a Calling Plan, and pay-as-you-go credits if your menu transfers callers to outside numbers or you want toll-free.101617
2. You meet on Zoom. Zoom Phone has the lowest month-to-month per-seat price for a menu here, with CAD pricing. Check Canadian coverage for your area code and read the billing footnote.56
3. You run on Google Workspace, in the US. Voice Standard gives you the menu and ring groups; Starter does not. In Canada, weigh the US-only texting and the conflicting porting guidance first.202927
4. You want desk phones on the counter, month to month. Ooma Office is the only option here with no contract on its headline price and its own hardware store. RingCentral, Nextiva, Zoom and Vonage Premium also support desk phones, with the contract terms noted above.72150556
5. Sales or support works in a CRM. Aircall at three licences or more, Dialpad Pro or Quo Business, depending on whether calls, texts or integrations matter most.944386
6. Your team lives in texting. Quo's shared inbox is built for it; check which numbers can text before putting a menu on one.8610135
7. You want to negotiate, or call internationally. 8x8 and GoTo sell by quote; ask for the menu, ring groups, texting and toll-free in writing.3065
8. You are one person who needs a menu. On annual terms Vonage (promotional, with a contract), Dialpad, Nextiva and Zoom cost $13.99 to $16; month to month, Zoom ($18), Ooma ($19.95) and Vonage ($19.99) are cheapest. Aircall's three-licence minimum rules it out.56425057294
9. You only need incoming calls routed to the mobiles your team already carries, with no outbound business calling, no desk phones and no shared texting. Every platform above can do this, but most charge for each person who might answer. Grasshopper's per-account price is the established option shaped this way.79 This is also the case our own product is built for (see below).

Where Auto Attendant fits, with our bias disclosed

Auto Attendant is our product, and the offer is narrow: one local or toll-free US or Canadian business number; a menu of up to seven options in English, French, Spanish or any mix, with text-to-speech prompts, or no menu at all; each option rings up to three of your team's existing phones one after another, takes a voicemail or plays a message (no ringing several phones at once); business hours with a closed message and voicemail, but no after-hours forwarding; and voicemail by email. It costs $29 a month per line, in US dollars, for the whole company, with no contract and no free trial; promotion codes can be used at checkout (see pricing). You pay online at the end of setup, and a new number goes live as soon as payment completes. A number you bring with you is not charged until it has moved.

It is not a phone system. It places no outbound calls, sends and receives no texts, and has no desk phones, apps, queues or shared inbox. If you need any of those, one of the vendors above is the right purchase, and we would rather say so here than lose your trust later. The per-vendor details behind our product comparisons are on compare and vs the VoIP platforms.

Sign up in the app if the narrow version is what you need.

What we could not verify

• Any price for 8x8 or GoTo Connect, and the lowest 8x8 licence that includes an auto attendant.3065
• Whether RingCentral's and Ooma's Canadian prices are in Canadian dollars; neither page labels the currency.273
• Whether Nextiva serves Canadian businesses: its old support article on Canadian numbers now redirects to the help-centre home page.
• Whether Google Voice offers new toll-free numbers; and which of Google's two statements on porting into Canada is current.2729
• Whether GoTo, Aircall and Grasshopper menus can be nested.
• The length of Zoom's free trial, and whether its monthly option is billed monthly.5
• A monthly-commitment price for Teams Phone.10
• Porting fees at Zoom, Microsoft and Aircall: none is stated.

Prices change often, sometimes weekly. If you find a figure here that no longer matches the vendor's page, tell us at contact with the link, and we will correct it and change the date at the top.