The number can be free, but routing, voicemail, texting, and support are what you pay for.
Free holds until you need routing, shared voicemail, or someone to call when it breaks.
Budget for routing and support around the number, not the number itself.
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.
The first invoice can add fees that the ad price skipped.
Ask for the all-in total. If they will not say it, that is the answer.
Upload your bill if you have one. Or adjust your sliders if you are starting fresh.
You could pay less. You could also pay about the same and save the research time.
The next step on this page is to compare in real time.
The number is free. What costs money is everything around it: routing to the right person, shared voicemail, texting, and someone to call when it breaks. Free works until you have a second employee.
Typically one user, no main number routing, no shared mailbox, and no guaranteed support. Many also tie the number to a personal account, which is a problem when that person leaves.
At the point where more than one person needs to answer the same number. That is when routing, queues, and shared voicemail start to matter, and free tiers do not have them.
It works for a single person who wants a second number. It needs a paid Workspace subscription for business use, and the entry tier caps how many users you can add. It has no real contact center features.
Entry business tiers are a few tens of dollars per user per month before tax. The exact figure moves with term length and seat count. Compare the all-in total rather than the advertised rate.
Related: how-to-choose-a-business-phone-system, how-to-set-up-a-business-phone-system, switching-business-phone-provider. Glossary: voip, pbx. How to buy.
Data as of 2026-10-04.