What Phone System Should I Use?

We can't cover every option. But we can give you the right questions.

Ask These First.

How many people need to answer each number? +

Count The People, Not The Numbers.

Shared answering is standard on most business phone plans, but not all of them. Some entry tiers give each employee a personal number and nothing else, which is fine for individuals and useless for a main line that has to be covered.

Look for: shared lines, ring groups, or call queues — the terminology differs by vendor, the capability is the same.

Watch out: Google Voice is the exception here. Its $10 plan has no ring groups and caps at 10 users; shared answering starts at $20 per user.

Who covers when that person is out? +

Coverage Is Where Systems Break.

A one-person line goes to voicemail when that person is sick, on vacation, or has left. Decide who picks up instead — and whether they should be able to call the customer back showing the main number rather than their own.

Ask: can staff change their own availability, or does an administrator have to do it? Most platforms let agents sign in and out of a queue. Google Voice works in reverse — members belong to a group permanently and mute the ones they aren't covering, which can follow their Calendar hours automatically.

Note: the covering person almost always needs their own paid seat, even if they only fill in occasionally.

One main number with a menu, or a number per location? +

One Number Is Easier to Remember.

An auto attendant — "press 1 for sales, press 2 for service" — lets you publish a single number and route callers from there. It's more setup, but it survives staff turnover and gives you one number to put on everything you print.

Good to know: most platforms include this above the entry tier, and it's rarely a lot of work to configure.

Tip: the number customers save in their phone is the one that matters. Keep it stable and it does more for recognition than any caller ID feature.

What happens after hours? +

Decide Before Someone Calls at 9pm.

Business-hours routing, a recorded greeting, voicemail, and an on-call forward are all configurable on every platform here. What you get by default is usually a voicemail box nobody is watching.

Ask: who gets notified when a voicemail arrives, and does that notification reach a person or an unmonitored inbox?

Watch out: a line advertised for urgent calls that rolls to unchecked voicemail is worse than not publishing a line at all.

Do you need to record or review calls? +

Recording And Monitoring Are Different Things.

Recording keeps the call so you can listen later. Monitoring means a supervisor can listen live, coach quietly, or join the call. They're priced separately almost everywhere, so be specific about which one you actually need.

Note: Google Voice includes on-demand recording on all paid plans; automatic recording requires its $30 Premier plan. Zoho Voice includes recording but bills it by the minute, and live monitoring is an Enterprise Telephony add-on rather than part of the standard business plan.

Check: your state's consent law. Some require all parties to be notified before a call is recorded.

Will staff text customers from the business number? +

Texting Is Not a Given.

Some platforms text well, some meter it, some include a small monthly allowance, and some can't text from a shared line at all. In the US, most business SMS services also require 10DLC registration. The process varies by provider, and some won't activate texting until the registration is approved.

Watch out: Google Voice cannot send texts from a shared or ring-group number. A line is either shareable for calls or textable by one person.

Plan for: calling can usually start right away. Texting waits on registration, which can take days or several weeks.

Does more than one person need to see those conversations? +

Private Threads Become a Liability.

On most platforms a text lands in one employee's private thread. Nobody else can see it, nobody can pick it up when they're out, and the history leaves with them. If you need a shared inbox or supervisor visibility, confirm it explicitly rather than assuming.

Ask: if this employee resigns tomorrow, who still has the conversation history with that customer?

Matters most in: healthcare, education, youth programs, and anywhere your sector expects documented contact with families or clients.

Do you need to reach everyone at once? +

Your Phone System Is Probably the Wrong Tool.

Closure notices, schedule changes, appointment reminders. Business phone systems are built for one-to-one conversation, and most cap group messages at a handful of recipients.

Watch out: sending repetitive, high-volume messages through a conversational SMS product can trigger carrier filtering or suspension.

Better: handle broadcasts through a CRM-connected SMS service or a purpose-built notification platform, and let the phone system do conversations.

Does 911 need to work from the app? +

Not Every Platform Supports It.

Some platforms support 911 with a service address registered per number. Some don't support it at all. How your staff should dial depends on what they're holding.

On a personal mobile: the phone's own dialer is generally safest, because it uses the handset and the mobile carrier's location rather than an address on file.

On a desk phone or computer: there is no fallback, so an accurate emergency address must be configured in the phone system. Note that Zoho Voice does not offer 911 calling at all.

Does it need to show up in Zoho? +

Check Which Edition You're Buying.

If you run Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk, a phone system that writes calls back to the customer record saves real time and builds a history nobody had to type. But Zoho Voice sells two different things, and only one of them connects to your Zoho apps.

The catch: the $100 Business Phone plan is a standalone phone system. The CRM and Desk integration lives in the Enterprise Telephony edition, which is priced per admin with a bundle of telephony agents who work inside your Zoho apps rather than in the Voice interface.

Look for: click-to-dial from the record, automatic call logging, and a screen pop that opens the right contact on an inbound call. Google Voice doesn't integrate with Zoho at all.

What are people actually holding? +

App, Desk Phone, or Both.

An app on a phone someone already owns costs nothing extra and keeps their personal number private. A desk phone is better for a front desk or anyone at a counter all day, but it's hardware to buy, provision, and replace.

Ask staff first: not everyone wants a work app on a personal device, and that objection is easier to hear before you've bought licenses.

Budget: certified desk phones generally run $150–$400 each, and not every platform supports every handset.

Are you keeping your current numbers? +

Porting Takes Longer Than You Think.

Moving an existing number to a new provider means paperwork and a wait. Cancel the old account before the transfer completes and you can lose the number permanently.

Watch out: toll-free numbers follow different porting and feature rules. Confirm those before starting the transfer.

Plan for: keeping the old account active until the port completes, and running temporary numbers in parallel while you test the new system.

Business Phone Systems — At a Glance

Pricing and features last verified September 6, 2026. Prices shown are US published rates and may exclude taxes, usage charges, and underlying software licenses. Always confirm directly with the vendor before deciding.

	Google Voice	Zoho Voice	RingCentral	Teams Phone
Entry Price	$10/user/mo	Business Phone from $100/mo for up to 10 users; Enterprise Telephony from about $49/mo per admin with 10 telephony agents	$20/user/mo annual; $30 monthly	$10/user for Phone Standard; $13 with metered calling; $17 with domestic calling
What That Buys	One personal number each. Caps at 10 users, no shared lines, no menu.	Business Phone is the standalone phone system. Enterprise Telephony is the edition that connects to your Zoho apps.	Full phone system including shared lines and menu.	Phone Standard is internal only. Outside calling needs one of the calling tiers.
Required Underneath	A paid Google Workspace license per user.	Nothing. Standalone.	Nothing. Standalone.	A qualifying Teams or Microsoft 365 license.
Realistic Cost, Shared Line	$20/user/mo	$100/mo plus $1 per number and usage	$20/user/mo plus add-ons	$13–$17/user plus the underlying license
Several Staff Answer One Number	Yes, on the $20 plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rotating Who's Covering	Members mute individual ring groups themselves; can follow Calendar hours	Agents sign in and out of queues	Agents sign in and out of queues	Agents opt in and out of queues
Phone Menu (Auto Attendant)	Yes, on the $20 plan	Yes	Yes	Yes, with resource accounts configured
Call Recording	On demand on all paid plans; automatic on Premier	Yes; recording and storage are usage-billed	On demand at entry; automatic on higher plans	Depends on your Microsoft 365 tier
Live Call Monitoring	No	Not on Business Phone; Enterprise Telephony add-on	Higher plans	Requires additional licensing
Organization Name on Outgoing Calls	No controlled name setting	Partial. Call branding on US numbers, billed per branded call	Yes, conventional CNAM; carrier-dependent	Yes, through a caller ID policy; carrier-dependent
After-Hours Routing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Texting	Unlimited within the US, from personal lines only	Yes, roughly 1¢ per message	Yes; 25 messages per user monthly included and pooled, extras billed	Yes, on eligible Calling Plan numbers in the US and Canada; 0–200 messages included per user and pooled
Shared Text Conversations	No	Yes	Paid add-on, about $25/user/mo	No. One-to-one chat only.
Message Everyone At Once	No	No — capped at 10 recipients	Yes, separate capability	No
911 From The App	Yes, with a service address registered	No	Yes, with emergency locations configured	Yes, with emergency addresses configured
Zoho CRM / Desk Integration	None	Yes, through Enterprise Telephony — not the $100 Business Phone plan	Yes, via marketplace	No
Desk Phones	Yes, on all plans; certified devices	Yes, SIP devices	Yes, wide support	Yes, certified devices at $150–$400
Commitment	Month to month	Annual	Annual, or 50% more billed monthly	Annual
Best Fit	Small teams already on Workspace who mostly need individual numbers.	Zoho shops — but confirm which edition gets you the CRM integration.	Teams needing everything in one place and willing to pay for it.	Companies already standardized on Microsoft 365.

Sources: Google Voice subscription comparison · Zoho Voice plans and pricing · RingCentral plans and pricing · Microsoft Teams Phone pricing

What Phone System Should I Use?

There is no clear winner.

The entry price is rarely the real price.

Ask These First.

The Sticker Price Isn't The Price.

Count the layers before you compare.

Business Phone Systems — At a Glance