Ooma Office vs Talkroute
We give Ooma Office a 2.4 GPA and Talkroute a 2.6, out of 4.0. Ooma Office grades higher on features and ease of use. Talkroute grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ooma Office
Small business phone system with a virtual receptionist, no contract
Talkroute
Virtual phone system with call menus, texting and video meetings
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAOoma OfficeFair | 2.6GPATalkrouteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$19.95 a head for five on Essentials, no contract, right at the line into this category's dearer quarter ($19.99). Texting and desktop calling need Pro at $24.95, and AI transcripts, CRM links and chat need Pro Plus at $29.95. | BPlus is $39 a month for 3 users plus $5 for each extra, so $49 for five, about $9.80 a head, inside this category's cheaper quarter ($14). Those are monthly prices. On your own, Basic is $19. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no free trial on record. You pay from the first month, though there's no contract to get stuck in. | CA 7-day free trial: cancel inside the 7 days and nothing is charged. No free plan. |
| Features | BUnlimited calls across the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, a virtual receptionist, desk phone features like paging and call park, texting, video, chat, call queues and AI transcription. That's the whole job across its plans. | CLocal and toll-free numbers, call menus and extensions, texting, voicemail and video meetings for 100. It covers the basics, but recording and reporting need Pro, texts are capped (2,000 a month on Plus), and the AI receptionist is in beta. |
| Ease of use | A4.9 from about 9,500 App Store ratings, the highest score of any phone system rated here. | CNo App Store rating on record. There's a call menu and extensions to set up, and local numbers need texting registration first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BMac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps, a Chrome extension and desk phones, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho, Pipedrive and Zapier. No web app in the listing, which keeps it off the top grade. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, which few here match, plus an API. Zapier is the only listed integration. |
| Best for | small offices with desk phones and no contract | one flat price for a few people and a call menu |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ooma Office and Talkroute. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ooma Office starts at $19.95 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Talkroute starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7.
Ooma Office scores higher, and starts $0.95 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other business phone systems on the chart, none scores higher than Ooma Office for less, and 4 score higher than Talkroute for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ooma Office starts at $19.95 per user / month, no contract. Talkroute starts at $19 per month for 1 user, plus $5 per additional user.
- Only Ooma Office lists a browser extension.
- Only Talkroute lists a web app.
- Only Talkroute lists a Linux app.
- Ooma Office also covers transcription and team chat.
At a glance
| Ooma Office | Talkroute | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19.95 per user / month, no contract | $19 per month for 1 user, plus $5 per additional user |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial; cancel within 7 days and nothing is charged |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ooma, Inc. | Talkroute |
| Price read from | ooma.com | talkroute.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Ooma Office
- Small offices that want desk phones without a long contract
- Shops and practices that rely on a virtual receptionist
- Businesses calling Canada and Mexico as well as the US
Talkroute
- Small businesses that want one price for a few users
- Teams that want call menus and extensions without desk phones
- Linux users, since Talkroute ships a Linux desktop app
Worth knowing
Ooma Office
- On Essentials the desktop app cannot place calls and there is no texting; texting starts at 250 messages a month on Pro.
- AI transcription, CRM integrations, team chat and call queues need Pro Plus.
- The free toll-free number includes 500 inbound minutes a month, and calls to other countries are billed per minute.
- AI Receptionist and the AI Productivity Agent Bundle are add-ons priced through sales.
Talkroute
- The pricing page shows monthly prices only; it says annual plans save money but gives no annual prices.
- Call recording, reporting and a HIPAA business associate agreement need the Pro plan.
- Texting from local numbers needs registration: $19 once on Basic or $15 on Plus, plus $1.50 a month on Basic.
- The AI Receptionist (beta) starts at $39 a month plus $0.40 per AI minute, and bulk texting at $55 a month; both need a phone plan.
Key features
Ooma Office
- Virtual receptionist
- Greets callers with menus and custom greetings, answers questions such as opening hours and routes calls to people or departments.
- Calling across North America
- Unlimited calls to the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, a direct number per user, one free toll-free number and free number porting.
- Desk phones and office features
- Works with IP desk phones, with intercom, overhead paging, call park, shared voicemail boxes and hot desking on Pro Plus.
- Texting
- Business texts from phones and computers with templates, scheduled and one-to-many messages: 250 a month on Pro and 1,000 on Pro Plus.
- Meetings and team chat
- Ooma Meetings video calls hold 25 people on Pro and 100 on Pro Plus, with screen sharing and recording; team chat comes with Pro Plus.
- AI add-ons
- Pro Plus transcribes and summarizes calls. AI Answering Service covers missed and after-hours calls from $14.99 per account a month.
Talkroute
- Local and toll-free numbers
- Each plan includes 1 to 3 local or toll-free numbers with unlimited calling; more numbers are $5 a month, and US and Canadian numbers port in free.
- Call menus and extensions
- Plus adds a call menu with single-digit extensions, simultaneous ring and hours of operation; Pro adds unlimited menus and multi-digit extensions.
- Business texting
- SMS and MMS from the business number, with 500 to 5,000 texts a month included; toll-free numbers register for texting at no charge.
- Video meetings
- HD video meetings for up to 100 people with screen sharing and in-meeting chat, included free with every phone plan for a limited time.
- Call recording and reporting
- Pro adds call recording, scheduled call forwarding, reporting and five professionally voiced greetings from Voice Studio.
- AI Receptionist
- A beta add-on that answers calls 24/7, books appointments, takes messages and writes call summaries and transcripts.
Plans
Ooma Office
Essentials$19.95
per user account / month, no contract
Unlimited calls in the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, a virtual receptionist, the mobile app, one free toll-free number, fax and 10-person conference calls.
Pro$24.95
per user account / month, no contract
Adds calling from the desktop app, 250 texts a month, video meetings for 25, call recording and enhanced spam call blocking.
Pro Plus$29.95
per user account / month, no contract
Adds AI transcriptions and insights, CRM integrations, 1,000 texts a month, video meetings for 100, team chat, hot desking and call queues.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds SIP trunking, Microsoft Teams integration and direct routing, call center tools, advanced analytics and custom setup.
Talkroute
Basic$19
per month for 1 user, plus $5 per additional user
1 phone number, 1 mailbox, 500 texts a month, unlimited calling (reasonable use), forwarding and routing, video meetings, apps and the API.
Plus$39
per month for up to 3 users, plus $5 per additional user
2 numbers, 3 mailboxes, 2,000 texts a month, a call menu with single-digit extensions, simultaneous ring, live call transfer and business hours.
Pro$59
per month for up to 10 users, plus $5 per additional user
3 numbers, 10 mailboxes, 5,000 texts a month, unlimited menus, multi-digit extensions, call recording, reporting, Voice Studio and a HIPAA BAA.
EnterpriseCustom
For 20+ users, with 10+ numbers, bulk texting and user discounts, an SLA, a dedicated account manager and priority onboarding.
Ways to pay less
Ooma Office
- Other savings
Free IP desk phones for a limited time
One free IP phone rental per user with a 1-year Pro or 3-year Office or Pro contract, or buy-one-get-one-free phones online with no contract.
Talkroute
- Other savings
10% off the first year for new clients
A banner on Talkroute's site offers new clients 10% off their first year, with no annual purchase required.
