$25.99
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Pros
Clear call quality. Simple setup. Quick, helpful support. Available toll-free number. Enhanced 911 support. New Boomerang international contact management. Selective call block.
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Cons
Desktop phone application usage costs extra. No text or video capabilities.
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Bottom Line
Vonage delivers clear call quality and simple setup. It's inexpensive compared with standard carriers, but costs more than some other VoIP providers and lacks some capabilities other competitors include.
Vonage is probably the best-known name in Voice-over-IP (VoIP). The appeal of Vonage (which starts at $9.99 per month for the first year) is built on its addition of mobile apps that turn your handset into a virtual extension that doesn't use up mobile minutes, making it appealing to smartphone users as well as landline fans. But, perhaps because of its high profile, Vonage can be pricier overall than competitors such as business Editors' Choice RingCentral, and lacks personal Editors' Choice Skype's video calling capability. Still, Vonage's call quality is top-notch, its setup is simple, and it offers competitive business plans.
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Pricing and Setup
Vonage's base plan is the $9.99-per-month unlimited calling to landlines and mobiles in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, but that's just for the first year. After that, you pay $24.99 per month. Your account includes only that service but also a hardware adapter sent to your location, as well as telephone number portability so you don't have to change your existing number. The adapter means you don't have to keep your PC running all the time to get phone service.
Vonage North America has come down in price slightly since we last reviewed Vonage, and Mexico (landlines and mobile) is a new geographic coverage area for the VoIP service. Additional pricing updates include Vonage World, which also starts at $9.99 and steps up to $27.99 after the first year in more than 60 countries. There's also a special service called Vonage 3,000 to Globe Phillippines plan, which starts at $14.99 for three months, following which it steps up to $29.99 per month.
While Skype can get you an inbound phone number for $2 less ($5 a month for a Skype number and unlimited calling for another $2.99 a month) it doesn't offer number portability or another crucial feature Vonage offers—local 911 connection. PhonePower's introductory unlimited US and Canada plan is also much cheaper, at $3.95, but that just lasts three months, and then it goes up to $19.99. Both Vonage and PhonePower offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, though this may not apply to taxes and government fees.
View All Vonage Business is a separate product, but its plans range from $19.99 per user per month to $39.99 per user per month, based on volume. That compares with Editors' Choice RingCentral's $19.99 to $44.99 per user per month and Jive Hosted VoIP's $19.95-$29.95. But feature packages vary, so you need to dig into the details for a real comparison.
After I signed up for an account online, Vonage sent me an email notifying me about my 911-dialing options. Unlike emergency calling with standard phones, Vonage has you tell it your location, which it uses for E911—Enhanced 911. That's the system that lets the emergency operator know your location and callback number. Skype doesn't have any 911 support at all, while PhonePower matches Vonage in this. But unlike Skype, Vonage requires an extra $9.99 per month line account to make calls from your PC or Mac computer using its softphone application.
When you set up your online account, Vonage has you enter three security challenge questions (first pet's name, etc.), and you can optionally add your mobile number so you can receive forwarded calls. A texted download link helps you get the Vonage app on your phone. I was able to change the initial phone number I selected, specifying area code and exchange, though I couldn't type in a string of numbers I wanted my phone number to match, as Skype lets you. The setup also let me forward my old number for another $4.99 per month.
Out-of-the-Box Experience
Hooking up Vonage is as simple as it gets: You just plug the phone into the port with a picture of a phone, your Internet connection Ethernet to the port showing a globe, and power to the wall. My VDV23-VD IP-to-phone adapter box arrived from Vonage via UPS two days after account setup. Inside the box and on top of the device was a handy setup paper in English and Spanish, neither of which I really needed. Next came the 1-year warranty, and finally the black Vonage adapter and necessary cables and power adapter.
When I first picked up the receiver after hooking everthing up, a voice told me that my Vonage service wasn't ready. After rebooting it by unplugging and replugging the power, all the lights flashed, and a turn through the online troubleshooter informed me that the box was receiving a firmware update. Things quickly settled down, and I got a dial tone. My test calls were crystal clear, even on a cheap $15 phone. Call quality was a tad better than that of PhonePower and Skype, both of which are pretty good to start with. The box has two phone jacks, but you can only use one unless you pay the full price of another subscription for an extra line. I also wish there were a way to connect over Wi-Fi rather than having to hardwire to your router, as you can with PhonePower.
Mobile Extensions
Vonage's apps let you take advantage of the service's IP-based phone calls without using minutes from your phone service plan. This is especially attractive if you have an international Vonage plan, as cell service to foreign numbers can be exorbitant. For example, calling a mobile in Turkey with AT&T costs $2.43 per minute. You can link up to two mobiles with one account.
There are Android and iOS apps, but alas, there's no Windows Phone Vonage app. Users of Microsoft's mobile OS can look to Rebtel, Skype, or Viber for VoIP service instead. Vonage does let any mobile phone use an access number to get its low calling rates, but that's less convenient than using an app.
You can set the app up to use Wi-Fi, cellular, 4G/3G, or any combination of these. To enable Wi-Fi calling, you need to verify your cell number by having the app place a call. Calls to my main Vonage number were received in the app. Another benefit of the app is that you can set it so that your Caller ID appears as your home Vonage number.
With the launch of iOS 10, Vonage also rolled out deeper enhancements to its iOS app, which makes it easier to make and receive inbound calls through the iOS 10 CallKit. The updates let Vonage calls be received like any other incoming call, with native full-screen functionality and access to call controls such as mute and call waiting. It also eliminates push notifications for incoming calls, which reduces the possibility of a missed call for notification reasons.
In addition, Vonage's integration with Siri lets users initiate a VoIP call to any contact with a voice command, identical to the iPhone calling experience. The app also now automatically logs into the native iOS Recents list, and enables one-touch callback.
Boomerang and Selective Call Block
A major new feature added to Vonage is called Boomerang, which is designed to facilitate better international communication by giving Vonage users a "Boomerang list" of up to 10 contacts. As a way to reduce the friction of overseas missed calls, Boomerang automatically connects the two parties by using the Vonage customer's number, saving friends and family overseas money by utilizing the customer's low international calling rates to place the call.
To use Boomerang, the overseas caller dials the Vonage customer's number and receives the message, "Please hang up and I'll call you right back." After the Boomerang contact hangs up, Vonage automatically places the call between the customer and caller, by using the Vonage number. The Vonage customer has the option to answer the phone or direct the call to voicemail. The Boomerang call has a special ring tone and will ring both the Vonage home phone and the Extensions App.
Whether or not the call is connected, the Boomerang contact is never charged. You can add and remove contacts from the Boomerang list through the Extension App, and Boomerang also works with other Vonage features including SimulRing, call forwarding, and call waiting. Boomerang is included for Vonage residential customers in the US, UK, and Canada regardless of the call's country of origin.
Another new feature is called Selective Call Block. The Vonage Extensions app can now be configured to block unwanted calls by going into the blocked call list and swiping the slider next to a contact to block incoming calls from those numbers. Incoming calls from blocked numbers will also not ring when SimulRing or call forwarding are on, either. This has long been a feature of RingCentral and represents Vonage making up some ground.
Website and Business Offerings
The online account let me see and edit all my included options—call forwarding, SimulRing, call blocking, do not disturb, call waiting, block caller ID, and more. On the website you can listen to or download voicemail. You can also get your voicemail automatically sent to your email, and you can even have Vonage convert the audio to text. In my testing, it did this perfectly. Selective caller blocking is possible from the website for up to 25 numbers.
A big Click to Chat help button is available 24/7. When I tested, Agent Katherine P. was online within 15 seconds to answer my questions. Another attempt the next day also got a quick response, though the agent wasn't able to solve my Wi-Fi mobile calling issue, though a call to the phone support line got me up an running with the app.
Vonage Business offers more than 40 features, including an Administator Portal for managing calling rules for multiple users. It also offers conference bridges, call monitoring and recording, and dynamic caller ID, which lets you present any caller ID you enter. Some of these features cost extra, however, so be sure to dig into the price list to make sure your plan includes what you need. In general, we found that RingCentral includes more with its standard plans, which includes unlimited conferencing and integration with popular business cloud services such as Salesforce and Box (for Business). Check out our roundup of business VoIP services for a deeper breakdown.
Should You Get Vonage?
Vonage is a pure VoIP play designed to replace your traditional landline phone service. That means you don't get some goodies found in competitors like Skype—video conferencing, text messaging, and group calling in particular. And, as mentioned, the softphone app requires an extra account. One extra you can add to your account is a toll-free number, something available in RingCentral, but not in Skype.
If you need a traditional landline, then Vonage is a much better deal than the local Bell System offshoot, and even though Skype has much cheaper line and telephone calling rates and adds features like video and texting, its personal accounts no longer support standard landline phones the way Vonage does. Vonage is a reliable name in VoIP, its call quality is excellent, and setup is extremely simple. But for more communications options and a lower cost, consider our Editors' Choice, Skype or, if you need VoIP for your workplace, look into our Editors' Choice for business, RingCentral.
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