Vonage and RingCentral are two popular voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) services that provide consumers and businesses with phone services. VoIP is typically less expensive than traditional landlines, making it a cost-effective solution for many. We put the two providers side by side to get a good sense of their similarities and differences. Here’s what we discovered.
Featured Partners
1
RingCentral
$20 per user, per month (paid annually)
Yes
Yes
2
Zoom Phone
Starts at $10 per user, per month
Yes
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3
Nextiva
$18.95 per user, per month
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Yes
RingCentral vs. Vonage: At a Glance
Both Vonage and RingCentral are designed with the user in mind. They both are easy to set up and get started right out of the box. When looking for unified phone solutions, both allow video chat and text messaging. Both providers have tiered plans with advanced plans, including features such as call recording and whisper numbers.
Vonage
Starting Price
$13.99
per line per month (under the current promotion)
Voice Mail to Text
Yes
Toll-Free Numbers
Yes
$13.99
per line per month (under the current promotion)
Yes
Yes
Vonage is a communications platform that allows businesses to make and receive unlimited calls. As companies add more features such as CRM integration and IP desk phone capabilities, the plans become more expensive. Vonage is known for clear, crisp calls but lacks in the customer service department. If you have a problem or question, it may take some time to get a resolution even though they tout 24/7 support. Vonage has three pricing plans starting at $13.99 per line per month, going as high as $27.99 per line per month under the current promotion.
- Unlimited calls and text
- Unlimited team messages
- High-quality calls
- Customer service isn’t always helpful
- May need to purchase add-ons
- CRM integration not intuitive
RingCentral
Starting Price
$19.99
per line per month (if billed annually)
Voice Mail to Text
Yes
Toll-Free Numbers
Yes
$19.99
per line per month (if billed annually)
Yes
Yes
RingCentral is a small business VoIP system that helps business owners manage calls, run team chats and conduct audio and video conferencing. Users get a lot even with the basic Essentials plan that includes team messaging and document sharing. As users move up the tiers in pricing, they get more features added on, including video meetings, whisper numbers and automatic call reporting. We especially like the App Gallery that expands the types of integrations users can get, customizing the system to their needs. Four annual pricing tiers start at $19.99 per line per month, going up to $49.99 per line per month. Monthly plans are also available at a higher cost.
- Unlimited U.S. and Canada calls
- App Gallery improves integrations
- Voice mail transcription
- Base plan only good for up to 20 users
- Top-tier plans get pricey
- Cumbersome navigation platform
How Vonage and RingCentral Stack Up
| Vonage | RingCentral | |
|---|---|---|
|
Free Trial
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
Unlimited Domestic Calls
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Team Messaging
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Video Conferencing
|
100 participants max
|
200 participants max
|
|
Integrations
|
More than 20 integrations
|
More than 200 integrations
|
|
Uptime Service Level Agreement
|
99.999%
|
99.999%
|
|
Customer Support
|
24/7 phone and chat support
|
24/7 phone and chat support
|
Both Vonage and RingCentral are similar in what they offer, but there are some critical differences to consider. When it comes to similarities, both have unlimited domestic calling that keeps your business flowing unrestricted. There is team messaging to quickly collaborate and stay on the same page with each other. Both VoIP providers have a 99.999% uptime guarantee, which means their service is reliable and will be there when you need it.
As far as the differences go, there are a couple of important ones. The first is that Vonage doesn’t offer a free trial, whereas RingCentral has a 15-day free trial so that you can see how the service works. Where RingCentral really shines is in its integrations. It has more than 200, allowing you to streamline workflows with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, Slack and more. Vonage is limited with its integrations, though its 20-plus do seem to cover the most basic business integration needs.
Bottom Line
Both Vonage and RingCentral will get the job done for your basic unified communications needs. We give the edge to RingCentral, which has hundreds more integrations that allow users to truly tailor their communications system to their business needs. While it can get expensive for the top-tier plans, it isn’t the most expensive system on the market and gives you good value for your money. If you don’t need as many integrations and just want to be sure you have clear, crisp calls, Vonage can get the job done in many cases for less money.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Vonage better than RingCentral?
Both Vonage and RingCentral are solid options for voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) services, though RingCentral offers many more integrations that allow users to more easily customize a system based on their needs. If customization isn’t as important as cost, Vonage is a good solution too.
What is RingCentral used for?
RingCentral is a cloud-based phone service provider that also provides video and audio conferencing tools to businesses.
Are there any cheap VoIP services?
RingCentral offers four plans that start at $19.99 per line per month (if billed annually). Vonage has three pricing plans, starting at $19.99 per line per month (billed annually). You can also find plans for less than $15 per month.
Can I do video conferencing with Vonage?
Vonage Meetings, which lets you host video conferences with up to 25 users, is included with all Vonage Business Communications plans. You can also use Vonage Meetings to host audio conferences with up to 150 users.
