Cloud phones follow the internet, while an on-premise PBX stays in the building and needs upkeep.
Choose cloud when the phones should follow people off site.
Choose on-premise only if someone on site will maintain the hardware.
Each range below is the published premium price, widened by that vendor's confidence band. State tax is not included, because it depends on where you are. Prices as published by each provider. Data as of 2026-10-04.
A TechEstimate is a range. A written proposal is the number you can hold a provider to.
These phone systems are alphabetical. This is not a quality ranking.
TechlyScore ranks them for your setup when you compare in real time.
123NET: $21 to $39 per user/month. 8x8: $26 to $30 per user/month. Aircall: $35 to $45 per user/month. AireSpring: $24 to $46 per user/month. Allworx (Windstream): $18 to $32 per user/month. AT&T Office@Hand: $26 to $34 per user/month. Avaya Cloud Office: $22 to $28 per user/month. BCM One: $19 to $35 per user/month.
More providers are in the same table. The list stays alphabetical.
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You could pay less. You could also pay about the same and save the research time.
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Phone system hardware installed in your building that you own and maintain. It was the standard for decades and still works, but it needs someone to look after it.
The hardware in the cupboard, the maintenance contract, and usually the copper lines feeding it. What it does not replace is your internet connection, which becomes more important.
Cloud usually wins once you count maintenance, upgrades, and the lines feeding an on-premise system. Owned hardware looks cheaper only while it is already paid for and still supported.
Some handsets can be reconfigured for a new system and many cannot. Ask before you assume either way. Keeping old phones is rarely worth constraining your choice of provider.
A cloud system has better redundancy than a single box in your office, but depends on your internet. An on-premise system survives an internet outage for internal calls only. A backup connection closes the gap.
Related: voip-vs-pbx, sip-trunk-vs-pri, ucaas-vs-ccaas. Glossary: voip, pbx. How to buy.
Data as of 2026-10-04.