Canadians have access to more VoIP providers today than ever before. To help make your decision easier, we’re breaking down the most popular VoIP providers in Canada based on their value, their bundled services, and their commitment to Canadian businesses and residential users.
Why You Need VoIP
Let’s be honest: traditional telecommunication providers in Canada are awful. The big three of Rogers, Telus, and Bell are notorious for their high prices, low data caps, and (alleged) price fixing policies.
VoIP is a way to get around the ridiculous telecommunications oligopoly in Canada. With VoIP, you can enjoy cheaper international calling, unlimited local and nationwide minutes, unlimited calling to the United States, and countless other perks.
If you’re a small or medium-sized Canadian business that is sick and tired of paying big money to the big three, then VoIP providers are a great solution.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the best VoIP providers in Canada.
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RingCentral
RingCentral is an American company but offers specialized VoIP services to Canadians as well. Fortunately, all its pricing is done in Canadian dollars – so the plummeting exchange rate won’t punish you when dealing with an American provider.
RingCentral is one of the leading VoIP providers in the world today and is well-known for its feature-rich plans that take full advantage of internet-based telecommunications.
RingCentral’s Canadian service packages are advertised mostly to Canadian businesses as opposed to residential users. However, there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a business plan for your home – say, if you work or run a business from your own home or just want to enjoy cheap international calling.
With RingCentral, you also get full mobile support through apps. And, you can connect to your business’s VoIP communications platform and virtual PBX while you’re away from the office.
Other key features available on all RingCentral VoIP plans include:
- Cloud PBX
- Auto-receptionist
- Call forwarding
- Call recording
- Toll-free and local Canadian numbers
- Video and audio conferencing
- Business SMS
RingCentral plans are separated into three tiers ranging from $30 to $50 CAD per month.
Standard plans, priced at $29.99 per user per month, offer 1,000 toll-free minutes, full mobile support, and 4 users for HD video meetings. You miss out on features like HD voice, automatic call recording, multi-level auto attendants, and CRM software integration, however.
The next best plan is the Premium plan, priced at $39.99 per user per month, which includes 2,500 toll-free minutes and up to 25 users per meeting. You also enjoy CRM software support, a multi-level auto attendant, automatic call recording, and HD voice.
Meanwhile, the higher-priced Enterprise plan is priced at $49.99 per user per month and includes 10,000 toll-free minutes and up to 50 users in an HD video meeting. The only other major difference between the Enterprise plan and the Premium plan is that the Enterprise plan includes voicemail-to-text.
Ultimately, RingCentral is a high-priced option but comes packed with features that make it a desirable communications platform for Canadian businesses. If you’re looking for a basic residential phone service, then RingCentral isn’t it. but if you’re looking for a full-featured business VoIP provider, then RingCentral offers great value at a reasonable price.
VoIP.com
VoIP.com is famous for its prepaid plans. Like RingCentral, VoIP is an American company that offers service to Canada. In fact, calling is free and unlimited to and from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Plans start at $12.50 CAD per month (when you buy the $149.95 prepaid plan), which makes VoIP.com pretty much the cheapest provider on the market today. The company also doesn’t charge an activation fee, although you are locked in for at least one year at the $8.33 CAD rate.
VoIP.com also comes with virtually all of the same features you see on RingCentral, including over 45 enhanced features that come standard on all plans.
Those features include caller ID, voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, 3 way calling, and even a free second telephone line (VoIP.com is one of the few providers that offers that free second telephone line).
The $12.50 per month price is only available when you sign up for the $150 prepaid package. The company offers a number of other calling plans depending on the length of your terms.
You pay $14.95 per month when you lock into a 24 month term, for example, and $16.95 per month on a 12 month term. Going month to month, you’ll pay $19.95 per month.
VoIP.com is also known for its cheap international rates. You can call India for 2 cents per minute, for example, Italy for 1.4 cents, Portugal for 1.9 cents, and Poland for 2.0 cents. It’s worth it to check international rates before you sign up, however, as certain countries are weirdly expensive (Pakistan is 10.7 cents per minute, for example, while Guatemala is 12.0 cents).
Business VoIP plans are also available starting at $17.95 per month. They offer VoIP PBX (virtual PBX) along with VoIP SIP trunking and unlimited calling throughout the United States and Canada.
If your business only needs 1 or 2 lines (Say, for a small business), then VoIP.com actually recommends that you use the residential plans, as they offer the same package for a cheaper price.
VoIP.com also claims to have 99.99% uptime across Canada (which is about as good as VoIP coverage gets; many VoIP providers only advertise 99.9% uptime).
Ultimately, for the number of features you get with VoIP.com, and the price you pay (even when going month to month), VoIP.com may be the most value-added VoIP service provider available to Canadian customers.
PhonePower
PhonePower is a popular VoIP service provider that isn’t as cheap or reliable as the other providers listed here, but is well-known for its unlimited international calling packages. If you have a lot of relatives overseas and you need to call those relatives frequently, then PhonePower may be the most cost-effective plan for you.
Plans start at $8.33 per month when calling within the United States or Canada (calling within and between these countries is free and unlimited).
Meanwhile, if you want to call to 75 countries around the world at an unlimited international rate, then you can do so at a price of $24.95 per month (when paying month-to-month).
You can also get a cheaper international calling package for $19.95 per month, although that plan only covers 28 countries. View the breakdown of the countries covered in each calling package here.
You can also call to 87 countries around the world at a price of $49.95 for the Unlimited World Premium plan.
Phone Power also includes mobile calling to international countries, which means you can dial mobile phones in most countries around the world (most developed countries are covered).
Regardless of which plan you choose, PhonePower plans come with some standard features, including:
- 30 day money back guarantees
- Unlimited calling to the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico on all plans (unlimited calling to 28 or 87 countries on the international plans, depending on your package)
- Mobile phone app
- Online faxing
- Free activation
- Free secondary line
Ultimately, PhonePower isn’t the flashiest provider on this list, but it’s widely praised for its cheap pricing – especially if you do a lot of calling to international countries. However, please note that the prices listed above are in USD and not Canadian. PhonePower also doesn’t have a dedicated page for Canadian customers: you just have to sign up like an American would sign up, which can be a bit clunky when you’re requested to enter things like your ZIP code.
Netfone
Netfone is one of the original pioneers of residential phone service across Canada. The company has built a reputation for its low prices and feature-rich bundle deals, which combine your residential internet, phone, and TV service into packages starting at around $43 CAD per month.
Netfone is also a Canadian company (the others on this list are American providers).
Netfone offers services to both residential customers and businesses, including hosted PBX solutions and on-premise PBX services. Other popular services include SIP trunking, online faxing, managed ADSL, and international calling anywhere in the world.
Netfone isn’t strictly a VoIP provider. When selling its traditional telecommunication services, the company relies on the networks of service providers, resellers, and marketing companies across Canada (which is the same way in which many other smaller telecommunication providers work – they use the networks of Telus, Bell, Rogers, etc.).
If you’re thinking of switching away from one of the big three providers, then you’ll be pleased to note that the company also promises to save customers over 50% when compared to providers like Telus or Shaw.
Yak
Yak is a Canadian brand offered by Globalive Communications Corporation. It offers home phone service over the internet starting at $4.75 per month (including free long distance minutes).
Like many of the other providers listed here, you can also bundle your VoIP residential service with home internet to save money. Those packages start at $36.95 per month (basic cable + DSL internet plans start at $29.95 per month).
Yak claims to offer better value than the larger telecommunications providers in Canada, with long distance rates starting at 1.9 cents per minute when calling to landlines and mobile devices across the country.
By carefully comparing all of the Canadian VoIP providers listed above, you can find the one that offers the best service for your home or business’s unique needs.
Editor’s Note: Looking for information on VoIP Phone Systems? Use the questionnaire below and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you need:
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