ToolGPAOctober 2026

Business Phone Systems

The Insider’s Guide

A business number that rings on your laptop and phone, with calls, texts and voicemail shared across the team.

RingCentral
Grasshopper
Quo
Dialpad
Aircall
CallHippo

Every one we grade, what they cost, the best buy at each budget and the three to look at first.

Checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com

20graded

01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Business Phone Systems page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing

20

business phone systems we grade, from their own pages

A business number that rings on your laptop and phone, with calls, texts and voicemail shared across the team.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about business phone systems, worked out from every one we grade.

1
We grade 20 business phone systems
1 of them are free or have a free plan, and 11 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.
2
Paid plans start at $19 a month in the middle
From $6.99 (Unitel Voice) to $30 (Aircall), going by what each one's paid plans start at.
3
Best value: RingCentral, Quo, Dialpad and Grasshopper
Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.
4
19 of 20 have iPhone and Android apps
18 run in a web browser and 13 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.
5
The middle GPA is 2.4
2 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Grasshopper, at 3.0.
6
Best free option: Google Voice
Google Voice has the highest GPA of the free ones, 2.4. Google's phone number service for calls and texts on any device.
7
20 worth keeping, 0 you could make
By our keep-or-make rules, 20 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three business phone systems we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1st
3.0GPA
RingCentral
Free trial · from $20/mo
For: Most businesses that want a full phone system
RingCentral puts calls, texts, fax, team chat and video meetings for up to 300 people in one app on the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Core is $20 per user a month for 1-5 users, billed annually ($30 monthly), with unlimited US and Canada calling, phone menus, call queues and an AI assistant that takes call notes at no extra cost. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.83 from about 78,000 ratings. Know the limits: Core allows 25 texts per user a month, automatic recording and CRM integrations need Advanced at $25, and texting is left out of the 14-day trial.
The RingCentral Insider’s Guide
2nd
3.0GPA
Grasshopper
Free trial · from $14/mo
For: A solo owner or small team who wants one flat monthly bill
Grasshopper gives you a local, toll-free or vanity number that rings through its app on your own phone and computer, with calls, texts and voicemail in one shared inbox. True Solo is $14 a month for one user, and Solo Plus is $25 a month for unlimited users with three extensions, both billed annually. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.75 from about 46,000 ratings. It is second because it does a smaller job: there is no web app and no integrations on record, it is sold only in the US and Canada, and texting needs a $19.50 registration fee plus $1.50 a month.
The Grasshopper Insider’s Guide
3rd
2.8GPA
Quo
Free trial · from $15/mo
For: Small teams that share a number and text customers a lot
Quo, formerly OpenPhone, lets several teammates share one number with a common call and text history, and calls and texts to the US and Canada are unlimited under a fair use policy. Starter is $15 per user a month, billed annually ($19 monthly), on the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.4 from about 10,800 ratings. It is third because a team pays per person where Grasshopper charges one flat fee, and phone menus, call transfers, automatic recording and HubSpot or Salesforce need Business at $23 per user ($33 monthly).
The Quo Insider’s Guide

Part 03 · Pricing

What they cost

What paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans

$19

A month to start, in the middle of those that charge

Going by our grades, RingCentral, Quo, Dialpad, Grasshopper and 1 more give the most for the money among business phone systems: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $19 a month across the 17 that charge, from $6.99 (Unitel Voice) to $30 (Aircall).

5 of the 17 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 0 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

The best buy at each budget

Up to $10 a month
Unitel Voice, Google Voice
Starts at $6.99 a month. Nothing at that price or less scores higher.
Up to $20 a month
RingCentral
Starts at $20 a month for each person. Nothing at that price or less scores higher.

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 17 business phone systems. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. The green line is the best score at each price.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

The best free ones

Google Voice
Free plan · Free plan · from $10/mo
2.4

Part 04 · Grades

The grades

The highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject

3.0

The highest GPA, Grasshopper's

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded business phone systems, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Grasshopper	A	C	C	A	B	3.0
RingCentral	C	C	B	A	A	3.0
Dialpad	C	C	B	B	A	2.8
Quo	C	C	B	B	A	2.8
Aircall	D	C	B	B	A	2.6
CallHippo	C	C	B	C	A	2.6
Talkroute	B	C	C	C	A	2.6
CloudTalk	D	C	B	C	A	2.4
Google Voice	C	B	C	C	B	2.4
JustCall	D	C	B	C	A	2.4
Ooma Office	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Vonage Business Communications	C	F	C	A	A	2.4

How the whole category does

Each bar is every business phone system we grade, cut by the letter it got on that subject.

Value for money
avg 2.2
Free plan and trial
avg 1.3
Features
avg 2.5
Ease of use
avg 2.5
Platforms and integrations
avg 3.5

Part 05 · Keep or make

Keep or make?

Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself

0

Simple enough to make yourself, of 20

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where business phone systems land, by the same rules for every tool.

20
Keep it
It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.
0
Your call
You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.
0
You could make this
What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Worth keeping

Grasshopper
To replace Grasshopper you would be making phone numbers and calls carried over the phone network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
RingCentral
To replace RingCentral you would be making phone numbers and calls carried over the phone network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Dialpad
To replace Dialpad you would be making phone numbers and calls carried over the phone network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Quo
To replace Quo you would be making phone numbers and calls carried over the phone network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

Part 06 · Every tool

Every tool

All of them, best graded first, with what each costs

20

Tools, best graded first

Every business phone system we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

Part 07 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two

7

Questions, each answered in a line or two

What are the best business phone systems?

RingCentral first, Grasshopper second, Quo third. RingCentral is for most businesses that want a full phone system.

Which business phone systems give the most for the money?

RingCentral, Quo, Dialpad, Grasshopper and Unitel Voice. Each is the highest-scoring tool at its price or below: Unitel Voice scores 2.3 out of 4 and starts at $6.99 a month; Grasshopper scores 3.0 out of 4 and starts at $14 a month; Dialpad scores 3.3 out of 4 and starts at $15 a month for each person; Quo scores 3.3 out of 4 and starts at $15 a month for each person; RingCentral scores 3.7 out of 4 and starts at $20 a month for each person.

Which business phone systems are best for under $20 a month?

RingCentral, with a score of 3.7 out of 4: the highest among the 14 that start at $20 a month or less.

Which business phone systems cost the most for what they offer?

On this chart, JustCall (starts at $29 a month for each person, scores 3.0 out of 4, and 5 tools score higher for less), CloudTalk (starts at $25 a month for each person, scores 3.0 out of 4, and 5 tools score higher for less) and 800.com (starts at $19 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 4 tools score higher for less).

How much do business phone systems cost?

The middle starting price is $19 a month: half of the 17 business phone systems with a recurring price start below that and half above.

How is the score on this chart worked out?

It is the average of three of the five grades ToolGPA gives every tool: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations, with an A worth 4 and an F worth 0.

How does ToolGPA grade business phone systems?

Five grades, A to F, for value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them.

Part 08 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

1,880

Tools graded, in 47 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

1,880
tools graded
47
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Business Phone Systems: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/categories/business-phones

Know someone choosing between business phone systems?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/categories/business-phones/guide

ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa

See our other guides

The top three business phone systems have guides of their own, and so does every category near this one.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what each tool’s pages, app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Product names are trademarks of their owners, and no maker made, paid for or approved this guide. Prices and plans change: check each maker’s own site before you buy.