EmailBest Reviewed
VoIP
- Best voice quality and reliability Cable-company VoIP *Est. $40
- Most VoIP features Vonage *Est. $25
- Hardware VoIP with no monthly fee Ooma *Est. $215
- Free VoIP software Skype *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 on a par with landline phones
- 24-month contract, cancellation fee (*Est. $40)
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). Calls are free not only to the United States and Canada, but to Puerto Rico and five European countries as well. Add-on plans offer unlimited calls to groups of other countries. You get a lot of extras with Vonage, including call waiting, caller ID, visual voicemail (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, Wired magazine and CNET. 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: Internet, TV, Phone: Bundling Can Cut Bills, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Feb. 2008
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. 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
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 places second overall (good for a Readers' Choice award) in PCMag.com's annual service and reliability survey, which focuses on tech support. "Overall" scores are very close, but note that they are considered separately and are not an average of the other factors surveyed.
Review: The Best (and Worst) Tech Support in America: VoIP, Sascha Segan and Eric Griffith, July 29, 2008
6. Wired.com
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 voicemail.
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 Reviews, Contributors to DSLReports.com
Over 200 users review Vonage here, but at the time of our report, 63 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 User Reviews, Contributors to WhichVoIP.com
Vonage earns top ranking among 19 VoIP providers that get full ratings and reviews here. However, the chart of features isn't completely accurate (Vonage does provide caller ID) and testing procedures aren't documented.
Review: VoIP Services Review, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
10. CNET
This older report gives an Editors' Choice award to Vonage, saying the call quality is good. Some of the more than 800 user reviews are recent, and overall there's a below-average rating. Most of the complaints concern customer service.
Review: Vonage, Neil Randall, Feb. 16, 2006
VoIP Runners Up:
6 picks including: Calling-Plans.com, My Rate Plan…
3 picks by top review sites.
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2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
