Best Reviewed
VoIP
- Best voice quality and reliability Cable-company VoIP *Est. $12
- Most VoIP features Vonage *Est. $10
- Hardware VoIP with no monthly fee Ooma *Est. $225
- Best Free VoIP Voice Calls from Gmail *Est. $0
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Most VoIP features
- Reasonable price
- More features than most
- Unlimited virtual numbers
- Some international calling included
- Some complaints about technical support
- Call quality not the best
Reviews say cable VoIP usually provides the best call quality, but among traditional VoIP providers, Vonage earns more recommendations than any other. It's full featured, with many free and inexpensive options -- for example, fax (*Est. $10 per month). The basic plan (*Est. $10 per month) includes calls within the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. More expensive plans offer unlimited calls to up to 60 countries. You get a lot of extras with Vonage, including call waiting, caller ID, visual voice mail (messages are transcribed and sent to you by email or text) and even weather alerts. Your callers can also save money, since Vonage offers unlimited virtual phone numbers in most area codes -- plus local access numbers in many parts of the world. This means friends and family can call you from distant areas without paying long-distance charges.
Among mainstream publications, ConsumerReports.org rates the most VoIP services -- including Vonage. We found other useful comparison reviews at SpotCoolStuff.com, The New York Times, PCMag.com and Wired. User-written reviews at DSLReports.com and WhichVoIP.com fill in useful details and surface some complaints.
Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
While this report focuses on bundled services, it ranks VoIP providers. Vonage is among them, but you need a subscription to see the ratings chart.
Review: Save a Bundle, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Feb. 2010
Vonage ranks fourth out of 10 VoIP services evaluated, based on a poll of nearly 20,000 readers. Optimum Online and Ooma take the top two spots.
Review: Readers' Choice Awards 2010: VoIP, Editors of PCMag.com
This review compares Vonage with two other popular VoIP services, Skype and MagicJack -- based on tests of call quality, as well as other factors. Skype is recommended for its inexpensive international calls, but Vonage provides more consistently good call quality.
Review: MagicJack vs. Vonage vs. Skype, Editors of SpotCoolStuff.com, Feb. 6, 2009
This overview of long-distance calling options compares Vonage with Ooma, Skype and MagicJack, but tests only the latter two services. Based on reputation and features, Vonage is judged a better choice.
Review: Talk Is Cheap, if You Ask, Eric A. Taub, April 29, 2009
In this older review roundup, five VoIP phone services are tested, and while none are rated poorly, Vonage gets the Editors' Choice award. Reviewer Rick Broida says Vonage offers good reliability, voice quality and costs on some international calls, but other international calls and some extra features are no bargain.
Review: Broadband Phone Services Grow Up, Rick Broida, Oct. 1, 2007
Vonage ranks second, bested by Lingo, in tests and ratings of eight VoIP providers. Lingo costs less than Vonage, provides excellent technical support and also works with a cell phone. Vonage earns kudos for call quality, features and technical support, but loses points for problems accessing voice mail.
Review: Wired Magazine Test: VoIP Services, Aoife M. McEvoy, Oct. 23, 2007
Vonage gets a Silver award based on its high ratio of positive user-written reviews (79 percent over the past six months). It gets a very high grade for ease of installation; its worst rating is for tech support.
Review: Vonage, Contributors to DSLReports.com
Over 200 users review Vonage here, but at the time of our report, over 60 percent say they wouldn't recommend it to a friend. Complaints range from poor sound quality and dropped calls to unhelpful technical support and trouble canceling an account without extra fees.
Review: Vonage VoIP Review and Ratings, Contributors to WhichVoIP.com
Vonage earns the No. 3 ranking among 21 VoIP providers rated here. However, testing procedures aren't documented.
Review: VoIP Services Review, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
VoIP Runners Up:
3 picks including: The New York Times…
3 picks including: Calling-Plans.com, My Rate Plan…
3 picks by top review sites.
