The best softphone app is RingCentral, providing a huge selection of call management features like customizable call routing and call screening, as well as an unmatched library of third-party integrations to choose from. On top of that, this top Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider comes with a bounty of training tools to better grow your team.
It’s obviously not the only softphone app on the block, though, which is why we’ve spent hours of in-depth research to find some of the best. We hope to give you all the information you need to make the right softphone decision for your team’s communication needs.
In this guide, you’ll learn about all the features, pricing, pros, and cons of the best softphone apps from top VoIP providers. You can also use our free comparison tool – which takes less than a minute – to find out which ones are best for you.
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Best Softphone Apps for 2026
Our 2026 research narrowed down the list of the best softphone apps available, providing plenty of information about features, pricing, and other considerations businesses need to make. We’re confident that you’ll find the right solution for your requirements – whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, head of a sales team, or part of a large enterprise. Here are Tech.co’s top picks:
- RingCentral’s RingEX – Best for larger businesses
- Zoom Phone – Best for small businesses with high call volume
- Ooma Office – Best for medium-sized businesses on a budget
- Google Voice – Best for Google Workspace users
After collating dozens of hours of research, we put together this article to highlight the best softphone apps for businesses. We’ve checked which options are best for features like cost, customizability, and security.
Expert Tip
If you’re committed to expanding your customer base, pairing your VoIP system with a CRM package is a no-brainer. Not only does the integration make it easy to share data across apps seamlessly, but it also lets you personalize each customer touch point to keep your client base happy.
RingCentral’s RingEX
- Best for large scale businesses
- Price from $20 per user, per month
RingCentral’s RingEX communications solution was the best softphone app in our research and it wasn’t exactly close. We found it particularly easy to use compared with other options, with a clean, intuitive interface that made navigating easy, mostly thanks to the intuitive sidebar menu.
Adding contacts was especially easy, thanks to clear indicators under icons, which takes the guess work out of using the platform.
Arguably the best part of RingCentral is the vast library of third-party app integrations that allow you to bolster the functionality of the softphone app, as well as other software that is often used by large-scale businesses.
With over 200 software integrations, we were able to use RingCentral in a wide array of other platforms for easy communication. It’s worth noting, however, that a lot of integrations are reserved for the more expensive paid plans, so make sure your budget can handle it.
Check out our RingCentral review for more information
Pros
- Flexible range of pricing plans, with easy scaling for all businesses
- Largest library of third-party integrations across our research
- All-in-one hub for internal and external communication
Cons
- No automatic downloads for video meeting transcripts
- High starting price makes it prohibitive for smaller businesses
- CRM and helpdesk integrations reserved for more expensive plans
- Core plan: $20/user/month
- Advanced plan: $25/user/month
- Ultra plan: $35/user/month
RingEX features
The VoIP provider proved to be a powerhouse when it comes to call management features, allowing us to do everything, from customizable call routing and ring groups, to call screening and voicemail transcription. We even found the transcriptions to be very accurate compared with other solutions we tested.
Our testers were also impressive with the platform’s video functionality. All RingEx users can host video meetings at no extra cost, complete with AI-powered captions and transcripts in five languages.
The analytics available through RingEX were very extensive, allowing us to track a wide range of call and employee metrics. If your large-scale team is looking for a tool that can help you train your staff and scale your system, RingCentral could be your best bet.
RingCentral also offers CRM integrations, covering top providers including Salesforce, Zendesk, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, and others.
The only downside we experienced while using the platform was when downloading meeting transcripts. The process is relatively easy, allowing you to simply press a button after a meeting, and you can set it to auto-download with a simple checkbox. Still, the transcriptions are downloaded in Notepad, which our team found looked a bit unprofessional.
When we placed a call, the pop-up dial pad made it easy to interact with the interface. Source: Tech.co testing
RingEX pricing
RingEX is available in three plans: Core, Advanced, and Ultra. The prices discussed below are based on two to 20 users when paid annually.
- Core – ($20 per user, per month) RingCentral’s cheapest tier supports up to 20 lines, and includes unlimited calls within the US/Canada, voicemail-to-text transcription, messaging, document sharing, and 25 SMS per month. Due to the plan’s line and SMS limits and lack of analytics, it’s ideal for small businesses running relatively simple operations.
- RingCentral Advanced – ($25 per user, per month) This plan includes everything in Core, with additional calling features like call barge, call whisper, call queues, and call monitoring. The plan increases its business SMS limit to 100 per user per month too, making it a great option for small to midsize businesses looking to expand, but potentially too basic for enterprise-level businesses with large quantities of data.
- RingCentral Ultra – ($35 per user, per month) This tier will grant you access to RingCentral’s business analytics platform, plus unlimited storage, device-level analytics and alerts, and other advanced features and reporting functions enterprises need, such as end-to-end encryption for video meetings. Business SMS is 200 per user, per month. Due to this tier’s extensive feature offering, it’s a great fit for companies that require advanced calling and growth tools like customer service businesses.
All plans have 24/7 phone support in the US and Canada, in addition to an online portal.
RingCentral’s new AI tools and add-ons also help it stand out for enterprises looking to streamline their workflows. Businesses can add an AI receptionist for $59 per month or bundle an AI receptionist with a complete business phone for $69 per month. These tools can direct calls by picking up audio context clues like names, locations, or keywords, and can answer FAQ or schedule appointments to better capture leads.
Learn more about the provider’s cost in our RingCentral pricing guide.
Who should use RingCentral?
- Businesses that make regular video calls
- Businesses that want to integrate softphone with other platforms
Who shouldn’t use RingCentral?
- Small businesses that need low cost integrations
- Businesses that heavily rely on meeting transcriptions
Zoom Phone
- Best for small businesses with high call volume
- Price from $10 per user, per month
Our research found that Zoom Phone is the only VoIP solution that is close to providing a competitive softphone app to RingCentral. We found it very easy to use thanks to the clean, professional interface, and the Google integrations allowed us to get set up in minutes.
However, pricing was one of the factors that set Zoom apart in our VoIP research. The starting price of $10 per user, per month alone is a huge boon for small businesses, and an unlimited plan available for only $15 per user, per month, Zoom made a great case for us to use it when budget as at the top of the mind.
Check out our in-depth Zoom Phone review for more information
Pros
- Very low starting price, ideal for smaller businesses
- Excellent for managing high numbers of incoming calls (spam prevention, hold music, etc.)
- Top tier security protocol with abundance of compliance certificates
Cons
- Limited number of CRM and Helpdesk integrations
- No email support available and you don't get much help with onboarding
- Insufficient analytics tools with a lack of detail in reporting
- US & CA Metered: $10/user/month
- US & CA Unlimited: $15/user/month
- Pro Plus: $18.33/user/month
Zoom features
Zoom Phone offers the same huge selection of call management features and top tier training features, as RingCentral, netting it a similar score across our research. Paired with its affordability, this makes Zoom Phone perfect for smaller businesses on a budget that still need to make a lot of calls.
Where Zoom shines beyond RingCentral is the hardware integration. While RingCentral has more software integration, Zoom Phone is compatible with far more phone hardware brands, which allowed us to operate the softphone on our desktop computers.
It was easy to leave voicemails with Zoom Phone and we could even leave a note alongside the message. Source: Tech.co testing
Like all the top brands, Zoom’s mobile interface was sleek and streamlined, making it easy to navigate for newbies and experts alike.
Zoom pricing
Zoom Phone has four pricing plans: Metered, Unlimited, Pro Plus, and Business Plus.
- Metered – ($10 per user, per month) Zoom’s entry-level tier includes unlimited metered domestic and international calls, multiple device access, and domestic SMS services. This pay-as-you-go package is ideal for solo intruders and small businesses making the occasional international call. However, as its name suggests, Zoom Metered charges extra for outbound calls, so don’t be fooled by its low monthly cost.
- Unlimited – ($15 per user, per month) This plan contains everything in Zoom’s Metered package, with unlimited regional calling and the option for users to pay extra for unlimited calling to 19 countries, rather than charging them for each outbound call. This makes the plan best suited to businesses making large numbers of global calls.
- Zoom Pro Plus – ($18.33 per user, per month) This tier includes everything in Zoom Unlimited with unlimited regional calling in one of the 48 countries and territories, plus additional direct dial number features, 10GB cloud storage and three editable whiteboards. This makes it a great fit for larger businesses making regular international calls.
- Zoom Business Plus – ($22.49 per user, per month) Finally, this tier includes everything in Pro Plus, as well as some additional limitation reductions that include a 300 meeting participant cap, 15GB storage, and unlimited whiteboards. Ultimately, these extra perks aren’t likely to be worth the extra cost for most users.
What about support? Metered and Unlimited don’t have support offerings, but Pro comes with tickets, live chat, a chatbot, a community forum, and an online database, while Business Plus has all that and phone support, too.
It’s worth mentioning again that Zoom Phone is one of the most affordable VoIP phone plans on this list, undercutting many providers on price while still providing a lot of features. Simply put, if value for money is important to you, Zoom Phone is a no-brainer.
Learn more about how much the softphone app costs in this Zoom pricing guide.
Who should use Zoom?
- Businesses with basic softphone needs
- Startups with smaller budgets
- Businesses already using Zoom for video conferencing
Who shouldn’t use Zoom?
- Businesses handling sensitive data
- Businesses using Zoom for the first time
- Larger businesses with advanced VoIP needs
Ooma Office
- Best for medium-sized businesses on a budget
- Price from $19.95 per user, per month
Ooma offers a good all-around softphone app, particularly suited for medium-sized businesses needing competitively priced higher-tier plans. Although its starting price is relatively high, the higher-tier plans (at $24.99 per user, per month and $29.99 per user, per month) come with great training tools and a wide range of communication channels.
Ooma is a good all-around option. We found it easy to use and it made things particularly simple when it comes to answering calls thanks to a robust and effective notification system. Beyond that, though, the feature and integration selection lacks specific tools, like CRM integrations and team messaging.
Check out our Ooma Office review to learn more
Pros
- Easy to use interface for simple ingoing and outgoing calls
- Seamless integration with Google Calendar
- Automatic and voicemail screening available in all pricing plans
Cons
- Third-party integrations only available on more expensive plans
- White noise interference with voicemail audio quality
- Can only invite users to video meeting with external link
- Essentials: $19.95/user/month
- Pro: $24.95/user/month
- Pro Plus: $29.95/user/month
Ooma features
Ooma doesn’t particularly shine anywhere when it comes to features. It has fewer call features than RingCentral, like voicemail screening, fewer communication channels than Google Voice, like team messaging, and more expensive pricing than Zoom.
Still, it offers more than enough to get by, with a respectable selection of call management features with a pricing model geared towards medium-sized and large businesses. Plus, it has training tools, which can get you started with improving your system.
Ooma is pretty bad when it comes to integrations, though. It offers the worst selection of third-party apps beyond Google Voice (which offers none), providing no customer service live chat, CRM, or helpdesk integrations on non-enterprise plans.
Similarly, it provides the least amount of communication channels in our research, with no team messaging functionality built into the platform.
We find the Ooma directory to be a simple and intuitive spot to house all the important numbers for our business. Source: Tech.co testing
Ooma pricing
Ooma offers three paid plan options for most businesses: Essentials, Pro, and Pro Plus.
- Ooma Essentials – ($19.95 per user, per month) This entry tier includes virtual fax, virtual receptionist, ring groups, and support for the downloadable mobile app. It’s a fit for smaller operations.
- Ooma Pro – ($24.95 per user, per month) Pro has everything in Essentials, plus some tools for expanding businesses: It auto-block many robocallers, supports call recording for better quality assurance, and includes voicemail transcription.
- Ooma Pro Plus – ($29.95 per user, per month) Pro Plus includes more perks, like call queuing, a Salesforce integration, hot desking, and the ability to let your business customers book meeting appointments with your team online.
Ooma also offers three enterprise-level plans that can get you started for larger businesses.
- Ooma Enterprise Standard – ($19.99 per user, per month) Standard offers Unlimited calling in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, alside many standard VoIP tools. It also throws in advanced options: hot desking, caller info match, white glove onboarding, and 24/7 support (limited to North America).
- Ooma Enterprise Enhanced – ($27.99 per user, per month) Enhanced adds video meetings, and has an Open API and CRM integration to help large companies craft the best workflow.
- Ooma Call Center – ($49.99 per user, per month) This one’s for full call centers, giving them the high functionality they need with an Automatic Call Distributor, unlimited call queues, and advanced real-time reporting.
The company offers 24/7 support across all plans, via both phone and live chat.
Who should use Ooma
- Small and growing businesses
- Businesses with novice users that need assistance
Who shouldn’t use Ooma?
- Businesses that need robust security
- Businesses that need to be HIPAA compliant
Google Voice
- Best for Google Workspace users
- Price from $10 per user, per month
Google Voice is the VoIP solution add-on to Google Workspace, meaning you’ll have to pay for both to get access to this softphone app. Still, it might be worth it if you’re after a service that is easy to use, as we found it offers an intuitive interface that is simple to figure out across the board.
Plus, we were able to take advantage of small but delightful customization features, like the ability to give profile pictures to contacts and color-coordinate them within your directory.
Google Voice is an attractive offer if you already use Google Workspace, because it’s easy to get it set up and the $10 per month price is low for the VoIP industry. On top of that, Google Voice offers strong features like effective spam filtering via Google AI and robust security, including multi-factor authentication options, ranking highly in our research for these aspects.
If you don’t use Google Workspace, though, it can be a big hassle, as you’ll have to migrate over your email, calendar, and video conferencing to the platform.
Check out our in-depth Google Voice review to learn more
Pros
- Joint-lowest starting price ($10 per user, per month)
- Seamless integration with other Google Workspace tools
- Easy-to-use, clear interface
Cons
- Requires Google Workspace ($7 per user, per month)
- Limited customer support options in lower pricing plans
- Lacks training features like call monitoring and whisper
- Starter: $10/user/month
- Standard: $20/user/month
- Premier: $30/user/month
Google Voice features
For features, Google Voice was one of the better options, particularly for the price. Even with the most affordable plan, we were still able to access customizable call routing, call forwarding, and voicemail transcriptions.
Even better, thanks to Google AI, the spam prevention was top notch due to automatic screening and call blocking with all paid plans.
One of the bigger downsides of Google Voice is that it imposes a user limit on its most affordable plan. If you want to pay only $10 per user, per month, you’ll only be able to have 10 users on the platform.
For more, you’ll at least need to upgrade to the Standard plan, which costs $20 per user, per month. No other VoIP provider in our research had a user limit on any of its pricing plans.
Check out our helpful Google Voice guide to learn more
The voicemail transcription was very accurate and our team was impressed with how easy it was to find and access the automatically stored recordings. Source: Tech.co testing
Google Voice pricing
Google Voice offers three pricing plans: Starter, Standard, and Premier.
- Google Voice Starter – ($10 per user, per month) Up to 10 users will get a single phone number, unlimited domestic calling and texting, voicemail transcription, call recording, and three-way calling.
- Google Voice Standard – ($20 per user, per month) Unlimited users will get unlimited regional billing locations, auto attendants, ring groups, and the ability to hook up existing numbers to their account.
- Google Voice Premier – ($30 per user, per month) Unlimited users will unlimited international billing locations, automatic call recording, and advanced reporting tools.
The company has a Google Voice-specific online database available for support, although 24/7 live support will cost extra, as it’s a paid upgrade available for the Business Standard and Plus plans.
To be clear, Google Voice is not a service you can sign up for on its own. You’ll have to be a Google Workspace customer already in order to add on the Google Voice functionality, which means the $10 per user, per month price tag is a bit misleading.
In reality, the lowest price you’ll be able to pay is $17 per user, per month, because the starting price for Google Workspace is $7 per user, per month.
Who should use Google Voice
- Current Google Workspace users
- Those interested in possibly switching to Google Workspace
Who shouldn’t use Google Voice?
- Businesses that need third-party integrations
- Businesses that need lots of customer support
VoIP Softphones vs Hardphones: What’s the Difference?
A VoIP softphone is a software-based phone that lets you make and receive calls over the internet, instead of using a traditional physical landline phone. You can use a softphone app on your smartphone or a desktop computer, making them a great fit for any business that offers customer service, sales, or support.
They’re also the optimal choice for small businesses and start-ups as they’re more feature-rich, flexible, and affordable than alternatives.
Hardphones, on the other hand, are physical, hardware-based IP phones that resemble traditional desk phones. Like softphones, they run on IP technology, allowing users to access sophisticated calling features. They also charge users monthly subscription fees, instead of the per-minute-rates charged by landline services.
Hardphones offer marginally better connectivity and call qualities, making them ideal for businesses handling large volumes of calls.
What’s the Best Softphone App for iPhone and Android?
The best softphone app for iPhone and Android is RingCentral because it allows you to access plenty of features, low costs, and a vast number of integrations, no matter what device you use.
Again, RingCentral isn’t the only softphone app that works on the iPhone and Android. You might need a different set of features, a lower price point, or some different integrations that one of the other providers on this list offers.
Every single provider on this list has an Android and iPhone app, so there’s no need to check on your equipment ahead of time.
Here’s a quick look at the interfaces you’ll get from RingCentral, 8×8, and Vonage, three VoIP platforms we’ve researched.
You can also view the ratings and reviews on the App Store and the Google Play Store to further verify that the softphone apps are still maintained and functional, and that the features you need are included on the mobile and desktop versions. They’re all free to download, so if the VoIP service offers a free plan or free trial, you can use this to test out the mobile app.
Don’t forget to compare softphone providers to see how much it will cost your business.
How to Choose a VoIP Softphone App
Choosing the right VoIP softphone involves assessing key factors like integrations, hardware needs, support needs, and security concerns. So, before investing in a new app it’s important to make the following considerations.
- Prioritize must-have features: Whatever you plan to do with your VoIP softphone, businesses should be keenly aware of what VoIP features they need before selecting an app. Do you need AI time-saving features? Do you need advanced calling features, like call screening and call transfer? These are all questions to ask yourself before choosing an app.
- Consider integrations: If you’re planning to integrate your cloud-based business phone system with the rest of your business software, you’ll need to make sure it’s compatible. It’s also worth considering what extra integrations your business may benefit from in the future, to ensure the app will keep up with your needs in the long-term.
- Consider a headset: All softphones can run in users’ existing devices, but paying a little extra to get a dedicated headset with a microphone will get businesses the best audio quality.
- Be mindful of extra costs: Most softphone apps have a straightforward pricing structure. However, it’s common for providers to charge extras for services like international calls and number porting. To avoid surprise bills, we’d recommend doing your VoIP costs homework before signing the dotted line. (Don’t go too far in the other direction – free softphone options exist but tend to lack the robust features, security, and support a business needs)
- Research customer support options: Whether you’re new to VoIP softphones or well-versed in the technology, chances are you’ll require technical support at some point. To make sure you’re able to resolve issues fast, you should assess how regularly support is offered, and via what channels.
- Review security measures: VoIP security is a top concern for businesses in 2026. To ensure sensitive data is safeguarded, you should check for advanced features like end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and use permissions.
Call Quality Comparison
One final VoIP decision factor worth checking is call quality. This is determined by the VoIP brand’s choice of “codec,” the compression/decompression function that determines audio quality and bandwidth.
You’ll want to look for a wideband codec, which handle about 7kHz or 8kHz (double the 3.4kHz that a narrowband codec gives you), and will be able to (roughly) support the range of a human voice. All the brands in this guide support wideband codecs on all plans so, as long as your business has decent internet speeds, you should be just fine under normal network conditions.
We take our hands-on testing and impartial analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established business phone platforms on the market, we selected 10 top VoIP systems and took a deeper dive into their plans to find out more about the features and functionality on offer.
Based on years of market research, product testing, and user needs analysis, we've established a VoIP system research methodology that scores each product in eight core categories of investigation, which are broken down into 44 further subcategories.
With this framework, we cover everything from internal communication tools and security options to niche training features, and it ensures we can accurately assess each product's value for its price, and suitability for different types of businesses.
Our main research categories for VoIP phone systems are:
- Call management features: The presence and quality of call handling features, including basic features such as call forwarding and voicemail, as well as more advanced features like auto-attendant and interactive voice response (IVR).
- Communication channels: Features designed to support communication other than calling, including integrations with websites and social media platforms.
- Training features: The presence and quality of features designed to support onboarding and training, like call barge, call whisper and performance dashboards.
- Customer support: The assistance and resources provided by the VoIP service provider to customers, including online resources, knowledge bases, and access to customer support representatives and AI chatbots.
- Security options: The measures and features implemented by the VoIP service to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and protection of voice communications and data.
- Pricing factors: The pricing structure associated with the VoIP service, including factors such as monthly subscription fees, domestic and international call rates, setup fees, hardware costs, and extra costs, like add-on features or services.
When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are merely “nice to have.” After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.
Learn more about our research testing process
Verdict: What Is the Best Softphone App?
RingCentral’s RingEX is the best softphone app for businesses on the market today because it has a robust feature catalog, high scalability, and vast set of possible integrations, which means it will work well with your existing software.
You’ve made it this far, which means you’re definitely in need of a softphone app to improve communication at your business. RingCentral isn’t the only worthwhile option. If you want to take the next step towards signing up, you can fill out our free survey and get matched with the best softphone app provider for your business’s needs.
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