Compare Australia VoIP Companies

As of 2013, there well over 200 companies that offer VoIP in Australia. The increased availability of high speed Internet and improvements to existing services has facilitated this growth, as demand for VoIP service from both homeowners and businesses continues to increase. With so many Australian companies offering VoIP, it is both good and bad news for potential customers. The good news is that more competition tends to drive lower pricing and promotions in addition to forcing companies to push hard to innovate, and offer the best set of features. The bad news is that it is hard to know where to start when searching for the best solution as there are now so many companies to choose from. This is where we can help as we have researched the VoIP market in Australia and created a list of popular providers to help you narrow down your search for either a home or business phone solution.

Regardless of whether you are looking for a phone solution for your home or business, just remember that as long as you have a good high speed broadband connection, VoIP should work really well and save you a lot of money. How much can you save? Select from one of the following choices to find out more.

NOTE: To best help you please select the appropriate link below based on the type of service you need:

Phone Service options for Businesses in Australia

The terminology that is used to refer to VoIP service can often vary as there a number of different terms that have been created over the years. Although this creates some confusion, the terms are typically referring to identical services. VoIP companies in Australia seem to have made this a little more confusing by introducing new services and mixing up the meanings of existing terminology. For clarity, here are the VoIP related services available to businesses in Australia.

• Business VoIP - this is a hosted PBX solution that is in the cloud. It is sometimes also referred to as a virtual PBX but basically, there is no management equipment located on-site at your business and the servers are hosted by the providers. All that is required is a decent internal network where Internet phones can be connected to Ethernet switches, and a good broadband connection. Some providers are also offering is being called managed or un-managed hosted service. In our experience, you should not need a managed service as system management should be relatively straightforward.
• IP PBX - this is actual hardware that is located at your place of business. Be aware that SIP trunks are required to connect these systems to the Internet and allow for lower cost external calls. These are typically only used by larger businesses (greater than 50 users) as a hosted solution is often much cheaper for smaller businesses, without the overhead of introducing a piece of hardware to the internal network.
• SIP Trunks - as mentioned, these are required to connect an on-premise IP PBX to a VoIP provider via the Internet

Now that we have cleared that up, there are a number of things to watch out for that are unique to Australia VoIP. Here are some decisions that you need to make during your research:

1. Calling rates - not every provider offers unlimited local and national calling included as part of the monthly fee. Quite often there is a flat rate fee for every call made. Unlimited plans are typically more expensive than flat rate calling plans so you will need to evaluate your call volume to see which will work out cheaper in the long run. Watch out for fees for calling to mobile phones as these are typically higher than calls to land-lines. If your company makes a lot of international calls, then be sure to check exactly how much each call to will cost for the most frequently dialed countries.
2. Included features - check which features are included and which require an additional monthly fee. Many providers charge extra for certain features that are included by other providers.
3. Equipment - you are going to need IP phones to take advantage of all the features that VoIP has to offer. Check to see if there is a phone rental option if you want to avoid up front purchase fees. Alternatively, be sure to compare phones offered by your provider of choice with other on-line stores and then negotiate accordingly.
4. Contracts - there are often discounts for signing up for 12 or 24 month periods. However, if you prefer a month to month contract, make sure you consider this as part of your research and comparison of services.

Residential VoIP in Australia

First of all, what do you need to use VoIP at home?

• High speed Internet connection - check your broadband speed to ensure it is fast enough for VoIP. Use our speed test tool that can be accessed from our tools and resources section at the top of this page.
• Telephone adapter - you can either Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), lease one from the provider (typically for free) or buy a new one.

If you checked the above two items (remember you can get the telephone adapter during the sign up process for VoIP), you are ready to select a residential VoIP service and look forward to saving a lot of money.

1. Compare the popular providers listed below.
2. Check pricing for different features and and decide if you need unlimited or flat fee (untimed) calling
3. Go ahead and sign up! There is typically a money back guarantee so you can cancel if you are unhappy.

List of VoIP Providers in Australia

This is a list of some of the most popular companies offering Internet based phone services in Australia:

• Rebtel: Cheap International Calling to and from Australia. Save up to 95% on International Calls.
• FaktorTel: WhichVoIP's most popular Australian residential provider. 30 day money back guarantee.
• engin: Popular company offering both home and business phone solustions.
• Exetel Pty Ltd: Products include residential and business phone, broadband, hosting and other services..
• Mynetphone: Leading provider of voice and data solutions.
• VoIPLine Telecom: Popular choice for businesses.
• URL networks: Flexible options that fit most business needs.
• mvoice: Choose from hosted of managed business solutions.
• Edge Telecommunications: Hosted PBX solutions with no contracts or minimum monthly spend.
• ivoice: Phone solutions for small businesses.
• More Telecom: Phone and Internet offerings for businesses.

Please let us know if you would like to see additional providers added to this list by submitting a comment below.

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WhichVoIP Visitor Comments

#3 : Posted by Shane Prestegar

I am trying again to get a functioning voip service, either I can use optus or Telstra mobile broadband only, I have the latest Huawei router voip. I cant get 3g or 4g on Telstra at present but I do get 3g with optus. Faktortel says they don't use optus. Is there any good voip providers that use optus reliably standalone in Australia, Quensland in particular. Endless attempts to solve this, lacklustre hype and tech frustrations.

-> Response: VoIP needs at least 60Kbps for audio after compression (can be less but affects quality a little). For this reason, in my opinion you need at least 3G in order to get a consistent data rate, 4G would be preferable.
I would test it out by downloading a VoIP app for your cell phone (e.g. Skype) and start making some calls to test the broadband before you jump into a paid VoIP service. I assume the broadband providers have good cancellation policies if it doesn't work out.

 

#2 : Posted by Terry Noonan

I want to know if internet phone is the same as when I use my home phone now and can I use my handsets I have. I want a cheap plan and reliable home phone for local and national calls but I don't want a service that's unreliable or difficult to use as we are pensioners.

-> Response: Yes it is the same as you have just now but you do need an Internet connection. Basically the VoIP provider sends you a small box (called an ATA or Analog Telephone Adapter) and you plug your regular phone into it and then a cable from the ATA to your Internet modem and that is it. For more information on how it works you can check our VoIP guide.
Many providers have a 30 day trial so you could do that (use a new phone number while you test the service) and then once happy get them to change over to your current phone number.

 

#1 : Posted by Don Gummo

I want to make calls to Australia from Canada. Is magic jack the best deal?

-> Response: It depends on a number of factors Don. Are you calling an Australian metro number or a mobile? How many minutes per month do you think you need? In general MagicJack is around 2.8c/min to call an AUS Metro number. Other options - Callcentric has a pay as you go plan and AUS costs 2.3c/min. The Phonepower plans at $5.99/mo give you 60 mins of free International calls. After that AUS rates are 2.4c/min. If you have a smart phone you could download the Rebtel app which is pay as you go and rates to Australia are 2.4c/min.