The Best Cloud Phone Systems Businesses Should Be Using in 2025

The best cloud phone system is RingCentral, offering a huge catalog of call management features including automatic screening and 24/7 live support for its customers. On top of that, the RingCentral Advanced plan allowed us to integrate with more professional platforms than any other option on this list, which is why it’s our recommended option for businesses.

Despite its clear victory, RingCentral is not the only top VoIP provider out there. Other options with lower starting prices and better desk phone compatibility are available, and we’ve done the in-depth research to help you choose the right one for your business.

In this guide, we’ll outline some of the best cloud phone systems available, showcasing their features, price plans, and other important metrics to consider before making your decision.

In this guide:

• The Best Cloud-Based Phone Systems
• VoIP Phone System Case Studies
• Benefits of Cloud-Hosted Phone Systems
• How to Choose a Cloud Phone System 
• How We Test Cloud-Based Phone Systems
• Next Steps to Getting a Cloud Phone System

The Best Cloud Phone Systems: In-Depth Reviews

At Tech.co, we spend hours thoroughly researching business software platforms to make sure we can provide data-driven insights on the best cloud phone systems. Below, we’ve ranked our top picks, providing in-depth reviews of each one; all you have to do is keep scrolling!

1. RingCentral RingEX Advanced – Best for third-party integrations
2. Zoom Phone Regional Unlimited – Best for ease of use
3. Dialpad Connect Pro – Best for customer service businesses
4. GoTo Connect Phone System – Best for unifying internal communications
5. 8×8 Work – Best for 24/7 customer support

1. RingCentral RingEX Advanced – Best for Third Party Integrations

Price: $25 per user, per month

We feel very comfortable saying that RingCentral RingEX is the best VoIP solution in our research, and that the Advanced plan is your best option when it comes to cloud phone systems. That’s largely due to the fact that the Advanced plan unlocks the full suite of third-party integrations, which includes compatibility with hundreds of CRM and helpdesk tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, and many others.

Beyond that, though, RingCentral shines in our a lot of our research categories. It offers a huge selection of call management features, including automatic screening and voicemail transcription, as well as plenty of communication channels built in, including phone, email, chat, SMS, and even e-fax.

Additionally, we found RingCentral RingEX Advanced offered plenty of training tools, like call whisper and call recording, allowing our managers to effectively keep track of how our calls were going in real time.

Suffice to say, RingCentral checks nearly all the boxes when it comes to a good cloud phone system, really only falling short when it comes to compatibility with desk phones (only operates with four different brands) and the price, which we’ll get to below.

RingCentral’s calendar integration makes it easy to view scheduled events and meetings in the platform. Source: Tech.co user testing

RingCentral pricing

The RingCentral RingEX Advanced plan costs $25 per user, per month, when it last listed public pricing in late 2024. Now, all RingEX plans are custom-priced, so you’ll need to get in touch for a quote. However, $25 per user, per month, remains a decent yardstick for understanding how much it might cost your team.

It’s a tad more expensive than the budget-friendly options on this list. Still, the cost is very much comparable to the industry standard, and given the massive selection of features and third-party integrations at your command, we’d still consider this price to be very competitive.

To check out the other RingCentral pricing options, check out the table below:

2. Zoom Phone Regional Unlimited – Best for Ease of Use

Price: $15 per user, per month

The name of the game for Zoom Phone is small businesses that are new to cloud phone systems. In addition to offering the lowest price on this list, Zoom Phone was found to be notably the easiest to use platform in our research, with the clear layout and obvious navigation providing an almost calming effect on our first few uses. The Unlimited Regional plan – which Zoom sometimes also refers to as the “US & Canada Unlimited” plan – is definitely our go-to option here, too, as it unlocks unlimited domestic calling.

Even more impressive, Zoom Phone Regional Unlimited is able to compete with options like RingCentral on call management and training features, still providing tools like call monitoring, automatic screening, and call barge, all at the lower price. Zoom Phone also integrates with more hardware options, with the brand being compatible with seven different desk phone brands.

The downside of Zoom Phone, however, is that it’s seriously lacking when it comes to software integrations. It provides far fewer CRM and helpdesk integrations than RingCentral, which means you won’t be able to connect Zoom Phone with your other systems for an all-in-one hub experience. There’s also no web conferencing integration, although that’s probably because it boasts a world-class video conferencing tool itself that you’re probably already familiar with.

All in all, Zoom Phone is an excellent value option for businesses that don’t want to save a bit of money without sacrificing features.

It was easy to leave voicemails with Zoom Phone, and I could even leave a note alongside the message. Source: Tech.co testing

Zoom pricing

At $15 per user, per month, the Zoom Phone Regional Unlimited plan is very competitive, representing the lowest price on this list. Even better, the cost doesn’t impede feature offering in a major way, with Zoom providing similar offerings to higher cost options like RingCentral. Point blank, Zoom Phone is the best choice if you’re trying to save a bit of money and don’t need a lot of niche integration.

Check out the other Zoom Phone pricing options in the table below:

3. Dialpad Connect Pro – Best for Small Customer Service Businesses

Price: $25 per user, per month

The Dialpad Connect Pro plan is ideal for small customer service teams, largely because it can handle a high call volume, with a huge set of call management features that include automatic screening, call routing, and voicemail transcription. More importantly, this plan unlocks third-party integrations to CRM tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, and ServiceNow.

The reason Dialpad fell further down the list, however, is that it doesn’t offer any other integrations beyond those four. So, if you’re using a more niche CRM or you need customer service live chat integrations, you’d be better offer with RingCentral, which offers more than 400 integrations compared to Dialpad’s 70 integrations. On top of that, Dialpad was one of the worst for training features, missing tools like call monitoring, call barge, and call whisper, which means it isn’t ideal for larger businesses.

Still, with access to all available communication channels, including email, phone, chat, and SMS, Dialpad allows users to reach out to customers in a wide range of different ways, which is why customer service teams will like this option. You can even reach out via e-fax, although it will cost a little bit extra.

Simply put, Dialpad is geared towards smaller businesses, and it provides the tools you need to tackle customer service in a meaningful way.

The Dialpad Inbox interface is clean and comprehensive. Source: Dialpad

Dialpad pricing

The Dialpad Connect Pro plan costs $25 per user, per month, which is fairly in line with the majority of cloud phone systems on this list and the industry as a whole. Granted, because the platform is more geared towards smaller businesses due to the lack of training features, the price is a bit high, but the lower cost plan ($15 per user, per month) offers no software integrations at all, so you’ll have to decide which is more important to your business.

To learn more about Dialpad pricing, check out the table below:

4. GoTo Connect Phone System – Best for Unifying Internal Communication

Price: $26 per user, per month

A good cloud phone system isn’t just for making external calls. In fact, GoTo Connect Phone System is one of our top picks because it provides robust internal communication features, like call routing and ring groups, which can help colleagues reach the right person in different offices. On top of that, we found the GoTo Connect team messaging and video conferencing platforms to be an extremely helpful tool for keeping employees up to date and in the loop on business goings on.

GoTo Connect also really shined when it came to hardware integrations, with the platform being compatible with a staggering 10 different desk phone brands, by far the most across all of our research. On the other hand, GoTo Connect is limited when it comes to software integration, with limited options for helpdesk platforms and customer-service live chat systems.

One of the biggest hits against GoTo Connect, however, is its customer support offering for users. The platform does not offer 24/7 live support or any live chat options, both of which are offered with 8×8 and RingCentral.

When all is said and done, GoTo Connect is ideal for businesses looking to make internal communication as important as external communication with their cloud phone system.

GoTo Connects offers team communication tools beyond calling to keep your team in touch. Source: GoTo

GoTo Connect pricing

GoTo Connect makes pricing pretty simple, with only one pricing plan for cloud phone system functionality. This plan costs $26 per user, per month as of late 2024, but, just like RingCentral, they’ve since switched to custom pricing, so you’ll need a quote to know exactly what your bill will be.

Assuming GoTo still costs around $26 per user, per month, it’s more expensive than all other options on this list by a single dollar. Still, even with that high price tag, the compatibility with desk phone brands and the internal communication tools could be worth it if your business is in need of those specific features.

Check out how the GoTo Connect Phone System pricing plan looks in the table below:

5. 8×8 Work – Best for 24/7 Live Support

Price: Custom

Cloud phone systems aren’t always easy to figure out, which is why live support is so important for many businesses, and 8×8 Work provides it in spades. Between the 24/7 live support and the bounty of channels from phone and email to chat and user forum, there isn’t a problem we experienced that didn’t have a solution ready to go from the expert team of service reps available with 8×8.

In fact, 8×8 is one of the best providers across most of our categories, with robust training features like call monitoring, and a huge selection of software integrations for CRM and helpdesk software for your team. It’s also compatible with four different desk phone brands and call management features like call queue and customizable call routing.

The reason 8×8 is at the bottom of this list, however, is the price. The lack of transparent pricing adds some obstacles to getting started for smaller businesses, particularly because reports point to the cost being notably higher than other cloud phone systems on the market.

All that to say, 8×8 is an excellent cloud phone system, as long as you can get over the custom pricing that may be on the expensive side.

The 8×8 video call interface was easy to operate in our research. Source: Tech.co testing

8×8 pricing

8×8 Work is one more cloud phone system on this list that doesn’t provide publicly available pricing, which means that you’ll have to reach out the company to find out how much you’ll actually have to pay. In previous years, the provider has been pretty expensive, so be sure to have your budget in mind before committing to this system.

Check out the table below to see how other 8×8 pricing plans match up, and learn more with our 8×8 features and pricing guide:

Cloud-Based Phone System Case Studies

To help you decide whether cloud-based phone systems are the right choice for your organization, we have put together two case studies below of businesses that have made the switch to the cloud and thrived. As already outlined in this guide, there are several benefits associated with hosted phone system solutions and why they’re the right choice for any modern business.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance operates a contact center with around 30 agents handling over 200,000 calls per year, and their old-school on-premises Avaya PBX system wasn’t keeping up. So, they opted to switch to 8×8 for a faster, more efficient operation in their quest to aid wildlife conservation.

The migration took just 45 days, after the team reached out to 8×8 directly to speed up the initial 90-day plan. There was definitely a learning curve, but even new onboarding employees “are amazed at how simple it is,” says Director of Call Center Operations Debra Smith. In the end, the Wildlife Alliance found that their visibility is higher, communication is simple, and they can even glean actionable insights by gathering call data that they’d previously never accessed. It all adds up to higher revenues.

Pacific BMW

As one of the largest BMW dealerships on the West Coast, Pacific BMW needed an advanced phone system to support its team of 150 employees. Previously, the Glendale, CA-based dealership had used an expensive, on-premises PBX system for handling calls.

It answered basic communications needs but failed to deliver the kind of efficient performance required by its diverse staff of sales associates and technicians. Given BMW’s reputation for technological sophistication, Pacific BMW switched over to RingCentral’s cloud-based phone service.

Previously, its system provider had to send out a technician to perform maintenance and upgrades, which was costly and cumbersome. However, since the switch, the company has left oversight to RingCentral. Plus, rather than giving out separate office and mobile numbers, the sales team now offers one phone number that rings on different devices.

Natural Running Store

Natural Running Store is an online outlet catering to runners who want shoes and products that support their body’s natural running technique. Patton Gleason, the store’s president, wanted to stand out from the competition, but was frequently on the go, attending meetings with vendors and customers, as well as giving presentations.

By implementing Grasshopper’s cloud-based phone system, Gleason established one central phone number. Customers and vendors can now reach him, regardless of location or time. As a result, he’s improved existing business relationships and created new ones.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Phone Systems

In 2025, the best cloud phone systems will have a myriad of advantages over traditional phone networks. This includes:

• Resource Savings – Cloud phone systems are much more affordable than a traditional landline network, not only in terms of initial installation and ongoing costs.
• Setup – As there are no telephone lines to install, a cloud-based system can be installed and set up quickly and easily.
• Remote connectivity – Cloud systems can facilitate operations when teams are geographically dispersed with remote staff being able to connect and take calls regardless of their location.
• Advanced Functionality – Cloud systems have a range of advanced features that can be added, such as extensions, management of messages, call forwarding and business messaging.
• Flexibility – Cloud VoIP systems allow companies to add an unlimited number of new users, no matter where they’re located. This way, you never have to stress about exceeding your phone system’s capacity, and with many providers, you only pay for what you need. By contrast, expanding legacy and other on-site systems is complicated and costly.
• Frees up resources – By hosting your phone system in the cloud, you can eliminate common IT headaches that arise from on-premises system glitches. Instead of spending time and money fixing phone problems, your team is free to focus on more important tasks.
• New features are easily added – If you host your phone system on-site, you’re limited to the features that the system comes with out of the box. Upgrading is a painful and expensive experience. Cloud systems use a single, centralized software platform. New features can be seamlessly added to all users at the same time without disrupting service or requiring the use of additional hardware.
• Disaster recovery – Some on-premises phone systems do offer redundancy and back-up features, but they require additional installation.

Many cloud system providers, however, offer disaster recovery services as part of their initial implementation. In the event of a power outage, natural disaster, or other failure, calls are saved and rerouted to alternate lines.

How to Choose Your Ideal Cloud Phone System

Every business will be looking to get something slightly different out of a cloud phone system. If you’re unsure how to start your search, here are some important questions to consider:

• Which features do I need? Before you compare the market, you need to identify what you will be using the cloud system for. If you’re using the system to make sales, 8×8 will be a better match, while Vonage is the strongest system we tested for retail businesses.
• Does your system need to integrate with other tools? You definitely want to be sure your cloud phone system can integrate with other business software, so check on those external connections before making a decision for your business.
• Is my business looking to expand? Some cloud phone systems are a lot more scalable than others. For instance, RingCentral and Vonage’s modular packages are much more adept at scaling alongside growing businesses than more static options like Zoom Phone.
• Will I be making international calls? If your company regularly makes calls overseas, we’d recommend opting for a provider that offers flat-rate pricing for unlimited international calls like Zoom Phone.
• How much am I willing to spend? There’s no point moving forward with a cloud phone system that’s out of your company’s budget. If affordability is one of your top concerns, you’d be better suited to an option like Zoom Phone, over some more pricier packages by 8×8, for example.

Methodology: How We Test Cloud-Based Phone Systems