Vonage Competitors in 2024 From $6/Month

Vonage is the largest, and most well known stand-alone VoIP service provider in North America. Many people have seen their commercials on television. But who are their main competitors? In this article we dive into why Vonage is so popular and how some alternative providers compare.

Vonage Competitors

Why is Vonage Service so Popular?

According to the most recent Vonage financial results that were recently released, Vonage has in the region of 2.4 million subscribers and offers VoIP service in North America (USA & Canada) and the United Kingdom. This is a significant user base considering the high number of competitors that Vonage has in the VoIP industry. Vonage is a very well known VoIP service brand and has heavily marketed its name and services across various media channels to target its potential customer base.

Here are a few key benefits of Vonage that may explain its popularity:

Only $9.99/month for the first 6 months on World plan (1 year contract required - rate increases to $27.99 per month plus taxes + fees after first 3 months)
Unlimited calling to over 60 countries
Free Vonage mobile app that allows both free calling and texting worldwide

Here are a few items to consider carefully before signing up:

Monthly rate goes to $27.99 plus taxes + fees after the first 6 months. This is very high for residential based VoIP when compared to some of the Vonage competitors.
1 Year contract is required with Vonage - this is not typical.
Unlimited international calling is not a typical feature offered by VoIP companies. You will need to make a lot of international calls to make this high monthly fee worthwhile.
There are over 400 Vonage reviews on WhichVoIP with less than half of Vonage users recommending their service.

How Some Competitors Compare to Vonage

Vonage is a popular choice for home phone service but it is critical to evaluate Vonage alternatives as it could save you a lot of money and a lot of hassle. Most providers include some free international calling minutes at a much cheaper rate than Vonage with low per minute fees after the included minutes are used up. View alternatives to Vonage using our comparison table on the right hand side of this page.

To evaluate Vonage competitors, WhichVoIP looked at 2 basic items:

Estimated total cost for first year of service (at time of writing)
International calling evaluation (let's pick India as the destination country being called for evaluation purposes).

Vonage

First year cost - Current deal is $9.99 (6 months) + $27.99 (6 months), so 1 year cost is $227.88 before any taxes and fees (average rate of $18.99/month).

International Calling - Unlimited free calling included (within reasonable use policy limits of 3,000 minutes per month)

Vonage Competitor Number 1: VoIPo

First year cost - Current deal is $149 for 2 years so 1 year cost is $74.50 before any taxes and fees ($6.21/month).

International Calling - 60 minutes free per month then $0.02 per minute to call India. Comparing to Vonage at $18.99 for unlimited calls, the $18.99 spent with VoIPo would provide an estimated $12.78 ($18.99 - $6.21) available budget for international calling. This is the equivalent of approximately 639 minutes (almost 11 hours) of calls to India at $0.02/minute. So in total if you are a VoIPo user, you will get up to around 12 hours of calling to India every month before you pay the same rate as Vonage.

These are two examples of residential based competitors to Vonage. When it comes to business competitors to Vonage business plans, the comparison is more clear cut and typically comes down to price per seat.

Vonage Competitor Number 2: 1-VoIP

First year cost - Current deal is $8.97 per month ($107.64 annually) for pre-paid 1 year service before any taxes and fees.

International Calling - Calls to India start at $0.03 per minute. Comparing to Vonage at $18.99 for unlimited calls, the $18.99 spent with 1-VoIP would provide an estimated $10.02 ($18.99 - $8.97) available budget for international calling. This is the equivalent of approximately 334 minutes (over 5 and a half hours) of calls to India. So in total if you are a 1-VoIP user, you will get up to around 5.5 hours of calling to India every month before you pay the same rate as Vonage.

One additional example is with calls to China. The rate is $0.03/min also resulting again in 5.5 hours of calling to China every month, before reaching the Vonage monthly cost.

How Do User Submitted Ratings Compare?

Another way to compare Vonage to their competitors is to compare user submitted ratings. The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of average ratings for multiple aspects of Vonage service along with the two competitors introduced above.

Description	Vonage	VoIPo	1VoIP
Total Ratings	507	70	237
Features	3.6	4.6	4.8
Reliability	3	4.3	4.8
Sound Quality	3.2	4.5	4.8
Customer Service	2.6	4.4	4.9
Value for Money	3	4.6	4.8
Recommended	45%	86%	97%
Average Rating	3.1	4.5	4.8
Provider Links	Vonage	VoIPo	1VoIP

Other Alternatives to Vonage

Vonage is a popular choice for home phone service but it is critical to evaluate other alternatives as it could save you a lot of money and a lot of hassle. Some providers include some free international calling minutes at a much cheaper rate than Vonage with low per minute fees after the included minutes are used up. Many have World unlimited calling plans also. Take a look at the popular providers below to evaluate alternatives to Vonage.

Highlights	Startup	Reviews
Special: Unlimited Calling for $6.21/Mo Keep Your Number or Get New One 45+ Features Included Money Back Guarantee	30-day Money Back	4.5 Read Reviews
Save 53%+ on Your Phone Bill Over 40 Included Features Easy Setup & Free Adapter to Use No Contract or Cancellation Fee	30-day Money Back	4.8 Read Reviews
Special: $75 per year! Free hardware & activation Money back guarantee 30+ features	15-day Money Back	4.1 Read Reviews

Conclusion

In conclusion, Vonage is a well known brand with a comparatively high cost service that includes unlimited international calling as a key differentiating feature. If you are considering Vonage as an option for your phone service in 2024, it is critical to evaluate your international calling needs to get value for money. Above all, be sure to read through the WhichVoIP Vonage review section, as even if the marketing promises a certain level service and features, the reality may be very different as there have been quite a few Vonage complaints.

Related Articles for Further Reading:

WhichVoIP Visitor Comments

I need to find a phone company that I can use with my computer, the same way I can with Vonage. I can call any where any time as long as I have a computer. Can anyone help?

Vonage is NOT unlimited. You will start getting harassing emails and voicemails asking you to either reduce your call minutes or go on a rate plan, or cancel the service. This occurs when you approach 3,000 minutes usage in a billing month.

Vonage is not an inexpensive or economical alternative at all. They indicate $27.99 and after all the fees its more like $46.99 / month which is double the amount indicated. I would try Google Voice or one of the alternatives. Also not recommended if you live in an area with power outages as this is VoIP and it is dependent on power and a steady internet connection.

I do not recommend vonage, I have been using this for the past 4 years and have trouble hearing and calling on vonage provided phones. Poor customer service and very poor usage of words like "unlimited" when it is not really unlimited but is 3000 minutes. If you cross over 3000 minutes they charge $49.99 + tax with limited minutes and they call it "upgrade" when it is actually a downgrade from my existing plan and at a higher price. Very poor customer service.

-> Response: All the providers tend to do this. This tool may help you as it shows the actual minutes from the providers T&Cs.

Currently I am with Vonage. I have no trouble and no problems, but I feel that is a little expensive at $29 plus tax. If I were to change I would need one that gives as good service as I am presently getting. I've heard a lot about dropped calls and my friend tells me his is much cheaper, but he only gets 80% of his calls that are good. Okay, that is not good enough. Should I stay or could you suggest some very as good, but much cheaper for an old pensioner.

-> Response: Vonage is a decent service but yes a common complaint is the price. Take a look at the providers on this page for some alternatives and read our user reviews to see what customers think of each provider. The fact that your existing service works well indicates that your Internet connection must be decent, so I think you should have few problems with which ever provider you pick as usually the issue is related to your Internet connection not the VoIP provider. If I were you I would try another provider while keeping your existing service(for now). Most providers have a 30 day money back guarantee so take advantage of it and test out a provider (just order a new phone number from them and make sure they can transfer your number from Vonage when you are ready i.e. they have the capability). Once you are happy after testing the new service, then transfer your existing number over to the new provider and THEN cancel your existing service. The order is important here.

VoIP is of real interest to me as we travel a lot with our RV and this presents a potential solution for us. I did wonder why Vonage is not included in your comparison tables as I understand that it offers a mobile application which I am trying to get details on, but it could add an additional feature worth having.

-> Response: Richard, Vonage has a decent service but it is typically a lot more expensive than other providers we feature so they were replaced. Their plans do offer some decent International plans but as you can tell from this article it really depends on the amount of minutes you would make for International calls. They also have soft phones as you stated which is a good value add though many of the providers provide these now.

I signed up for the World plan (unlimited) for $24.99 now my bills is around 74 dollars per month ...they say i crossed 3000 minutes so they are charging me for 3000 mins x 2 ...even if use only 3100 , this is grand theft ....day light robbery and ftc doesnt care i guess.

Very disappointed in their plans, They advertise unlimited service, but if you exceed their plan, then they cancel the plan

I have been quite happy with their service but it's costly compared to others, just fear of the unknown that has prevented me from jumping ship!