The 7 Best Virtual Phone Number Apps for 2023

8x8 tops our list with a high overall score of 4.7/5. From the get-go, 8x8 provides unlimited domestic minutes across all plans. This gets upgraded to unlimited international calls to 14 countries on the X2 plan, which extends to 48 countries on the X4 plan. Likewise, it has number porting capability on all pricing tiers, so you can retain your existing business phone number while enjoying call flexibility.

8x8’s impressive call features include voicemail-to-text, a virtual receptionist, and localized toll-free numbers. The most noteworthy of which is its high-quality voice calling and analytics. Plus, many advanced features like power dialer and predictive dialing for an additional cost. Moreover, 8x8 ranked first in our customer support (5/5), security (5/5), and scalability (4.9/5) research categories.

You have to look out for its 10-user limit on its cheapest (Express) plan. Nevertheless, this user limit quickly dissolves as you upgrade to the X2 plan, which enables an unlimited number of users. On the other hand, if you want to spend as little as you can while ensuring your growing team will be catered for, try GoTo Connect. GoTo allows unlimited users on its cheapest plan, which costs $35 to $56 per user, per month.

RingCentral closely takes the second spot with top marks in external connections (4.3/5), customer support (5/5), and scalability (4.9/5) in our research. Hence, we recommend RingCentral as our top virtual phone number service for small to medium businesses. Not only is it reliable, but has a wide compatibility with software and flexible enough to adapt when your business starts to grow.

RingCentral offers unlimited domestic minutes and number porting across all plans. It also offers plenty of call features, including a virtual receptionist, customizable hold music, SMS, and a set caller ID. Best of all, RingCentral comes ready to integrate with up to 250 software platforms, such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Slack, and Hangouts Chat.  

The drawback is, many outbound communication features, like auto dialer and custom call lists require RingCentral Engage, an add-on that comes at an additional cost. Apart from this, it has a user limit of 20 on its cheapest plan, unlike Ooma, which has no user limit on any of its plans. Luckily, RingCentral’s user limit gets taken down when you upgrade to its Standard plan.

Ooma is a virtual phone service that allows unlimited users and offers unlimited domestic minutes and number porting capability across all of its plans. If you opt for its pricier Enterprise plan, you’ll also get unlimited international minutes to US and Mexico added to your features. Ooma also offers a multitude of inbound communication features, including virtual receptionist, voicemail-to-text, and ring groups. Plus, it also allows number porting on every plan, so you don’t have to change numbers when you switch to Ooma. 

What really makes Ooma stand out is its excellent customer service (4.5/5) at very affordable plans. For as low as $24.95 per user, per month, you’ll get 24/7 customer support, giving you fast, reliable assistance whenever you need it.

One thing to look out for is Ooma’s shortage of management and collaboration features. Unlike 8x8 and RingCentral, features like a call-flow designer, task management, and being able to create teams are unavailable on any of Ooma’s plans. Also, some advanced features, like video conferencing, team messaging, and call monitoring, are only available on its pricier Enterprise plan.

GoTo Connect is the business phone number app we recommend for low-price longevity. For one, it does have good value for money, scoring 4.3/5 in our pricing analysis. More importantly, of the providers that scored best for pricing, we found GoTo to be the most scalable (scoring 4.4/5 in this category in our research). This means GoTo is adaptable enough to partner with you if you’re just starting out, or you’re expanding globally. 

For only $31.20 per user per month, you’ll get unlimited users, unlimited domestic minutes, and number porting. What’s more noteworthy is, GoTo generously offers free international calling to more than 50 countries on its Standard and Premium plans (but not its cheapest Essentials plan). In addition to this, you’ll get a comprehensive list of inbound communication features, including a virtual receptionist, call queue, and ring groups. These call features, combined with high-security measures (scoring 4/5 in our security evaluation), give GoTo a good 4.4/5 scalability score. 

If there’s one thing to watch out for, is the lack of external connections, seeing it earn a low 2.6/5 in integrability. That’s quite the opposite of RingCentral, which boasts up to 250 integrations. If you’re already using scores of different software, it's more likely that RingCentral already has a built-in integration.

We rated Dialpad as the virtual business number app with the best conversational AI. Boasting a stellar list of inbound and outbound communication features across all plans, Dialpad scored 4.4/5 in features. Enjoy advanced features like customizable greetings, virtual receptionist, and voicemail-to-text from its lowest to highest pricing tiers. Most importantly, it has conversational AI enhanced by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning features to help analyze your conversations. This means it can decipher your calls and provide tailored and actionable suggestions with Real Time Assist Cards to help you communicate with your team and clients more effectively. 

Dialpad allows you to have unlimited users, and provides unlimited inbound and outbound domestic calls and number porting across all plans. Once you upgrade to its Pro plan, you’ll get localized, toll-free numbers in more than 50 countries.

However, Dialpad falls short on external connections, earning a low integrability score of 2.4/5. Unlike 8x8's ten live chat integrations, Dialpad only has Slack. Luckily, it has its own SMS/chat and team messaging, so you can still reach your team instantly.

Net2Phone is the best virtual business phone app to use for low-cost international calling. It’s the only virtual phone service that offers free international calling to more than 40 countries across all its plans. This enables you to freely speak and collaborate with your team across countries without being bounded by time and fees. On top of that, Net2Phone lets you set up virtual phone numbers in over 500 countries and 300 cities. So if you plan to make waves in Europe, the Americas, or Asia, this virtual phone system will help you establish your presence without breaking the bank. This is why our researchers rated Net2Phone the best virtual phone system for low-cost international calling. So, if you want to operate your business globally without incurring too many fees, Net2Phone is an ideal VoIP for you. 

Net2Phone also offers a bountiful set of inbound features, including customizable greetings and hold music, voicemail, and virtual receptionist. As for outbound communications, you’ll get a set caller ID, call and video conferencing, and SMS/chat across all plans.

The disadvantage is that it’s missing a call flip, so you can’t switch from your deskphone to your cell phone while on a call. Also, voicemail-to-text is only available on its most expensive (Office Power) plan. Plus, it only has Slack for live messaging integrations, which is only available on its Office Power plan.

While Google Voice only allows 10 users on its cheapest, Starter plan, you can invite unlimited users when you upgrade to its Standard plan. Moreover, Google Voice offers unlimited domestic minutes, as well as free inbound and outbound minutes to the US. Google Voice also offers a decent amount of inbound communication features when you upgrade to its Standard plan, including virtual receptionist, spam prevention, and ring groups. Meanwhile, you can enjoy external video calls through Google Meet and create a custom call list with Google Contacts, both of which are a part of Google Workspace. 

But the reason why people choose Google Voice is that it's incredibly easy to use, especially for Google users. Likewise, Google Voice employs strong security features, including multi-factor authentication, password rules, and robust encryption. Rest assured, your information will be safe with multiple compliance certificates and garnering a perfect 5/5 in our security analysis. 

The downside is most software integrations are limited to Google apps, earning a low external connections score of 2.8/5. Because of its restricted integrability and lack of management and collaboration features, it scored a low 2.9/5 integrability score.