If you’re struggling to balance your communications with clients and team members, finding the best Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service could help streamline all your messages through a single cloud-based app. Pretty nifty. 

VoIP provider Nextiva, used by more than 100,000 businesses, markets itself as being built for “non-technical business owners, not IT wizards.” For smaller teams, that might be music to your ears.

In our review, we examine the various plans available, their features, the software’s usability, and how it compares to its competitors. Overall, we were happy with Nextiva, and think the plans work especially well for smaller businesses.

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Of course, as with everything in business, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we do recommend checking out TechRadar's extensive coverage of the VoIP market and competitors like RingCentral, 8x8, and GoTo Connect, all of which excel in their own specific way. 

Every business is different, even in very subtle ways, and there is no cost to checking the pricing and feature lists for every VoIP service out there. 

Let's dive into our Nextiva VoIP review. 

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Nextiva VoIP: Plans and pricing

If you decide to purchase VoIP software through Nextiva, you can choose between three plan types: Essential, Professional, and Enterprise.

All plans get voicemail transcription, unlimited internet fax, and video calls up to 45 minutes each as part of the package. Opt for Essential and you’ll get 1,500 toll-free minutes for $17.95-$30.95 per user per month, depending on how many employees you have in your organization and whether you’re willing to commit to an annual subscription to keep the prices down.

Mid-tier Professional members get up to 3,000 minutes for $21.95-$35.95/user/month, while the range-topping Enterprise plan brings 12,500 minutes with it for the price of $31.95-$45.95 per user per month.

Exact pricing is based on whether you have 1-4, 5-19, 20-99, or more than 100 employees. Savings for annual payments are between 17% and 28%.

There’s a 14-day free trial available, which is pretty average, but nothing special. If you’re unsure whether a VoIP service is the right solution for your business, there are companies out there that offer free trials at least twice as long as this.

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Nextiva VoIP: Features

If you choose Nextiva, you can make unlimited calls to any phone in the US or Canada. Its real-time presence feature also allows you to see which of your contacts is currently available, while the call queue allows you to handle calls during busy times.

Nextiva claims its calls are of HD quality to eliminate static, though this is fairly common by today’s standards.

Previously, Nextiva offered different levels of video conferencing depending on the plan, but this has changed and every plan comes with video call support for up to 250 participants, with a time limit of 45 minutes. Like most video conferencing solutions, Nextiva allows you to share screens and files during your conferences. You can also use Nextiva’s video function to livestream virtual events and webinars. 

If you receive a voicemail, the message will be delivered directly to your email’s inbox, and the software also gives you the ability to record your outgoing voicemail message. Some plans add SMS notifications, too.

If you choose Nextiva, you can send and receive an unlimited number of text messages with your customers, which can enable you to perform tasks such as delivering updates and scheduling appointments.

If you’re chairing a meeting, this feature will allow you to set up a dedicated line for this event. As well as setting these meetings up, you can moderate your conferences and record them in HD. 

The software also allows you to send and receive unlimited faxes as you would with email. You’ll receive a text alert whenever a new fax arrives.

If you choose one of the more expensive Enterprise or Ultimate packages, you can also benefit from voice analytics. Voicemail transcription, standard on all paid plans, allow you to keep comprehensive written records of your calls which can be handy for keeping records without the need for large audio files.

The company’s Sales Pipeline CRM allows you to create and manage contacts and accounts, as well as seeing a consolidated view of all your conversations with the client.

Should you choose the Ultimate plan, you’ll benefit from automated surveys and analytics related to your customers’ journeys through the sales process, which can provide invaluable insights into your users’ behavior.

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Nextiva VoIP: User interface

When we signed up for a free trial with Nextiva, we found the process extremely straightforward and were able to gain access to its services without any difficulties.

Although the design of the system’s dashboard is not especially dynamic and its graphics perhaps feel a little dated, the system has clearly been designed with usability and functionality in mind. By dividing its tools on the basis of communication, sales, and service, the company allows you to find the features you need as soon as you log in.

You’ll also benefit from various integrations with the software, which vary according to the plan you choose. We really value the Google Contacts and Microsoft Outlook integration that’s standard on all plans, because being able to maintain one central database rather than having multiple digital phone books helps avoid mistakes. 

There are plenty of other integrations reserved for mid-spec and/or high-spec plans, like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Netsuite, just to name a few.

According to the company’s website, its systems experience an uptime of 99.99%. It’s also one of the most widely adoptable platforms, with apps for Windows and Mac, as well as iOS and Android. That’s on top of the (watered down) browser web app.

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Nextiva VoIP: Support

If you have a question regarding your plan, you can contact Nextiva over the phone, through an online ticketing system, via email, or online chat. When we used the online chat function, we received a polite response containing all the information we needed.

We previously criticized Nextiva for its average support - there was nothing to write home about. Things have changed, and the company now gives 24/7 access to phone, email, and chat support to all paying customers. Many other companies reserve this for their highest paying customers. 

Should you have a more general query, the website has a selection of product guides and a blog, which contains articles on topics relevant to business, such as communications, customer experience, leadership, marketing, productivity, and sales. 

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Nextiva VoIP: Security

When you’re dealing with potentially sensitive business information, security and privacy can be of paramount importance. 

Nextiva’s interface gives you the option to create a whitelist of authorized IP addresses, which allows you to grant users access to your system only through trusted computers. 

You can also use your account’s centralized management system to block email addresses from accessing your services.

If you opt for a plan through Nextiva, your communications will also be encrypted via TLS and SRTP, which are both designed to protect your privacy when you’re communicating over the internet. Working in real time, this protection ensures your conversations aren’t left vulnerable to snoopers in the always-on environment of cyberspace, and you can also safeguard information such as your call history.

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Nextiva VoIP: The competition

Despite its undoubtedly impressive features, Nextiva is far from your only option if you’re considering a VoIP service for your business.

RingCentral MVP (previously RingCentral Office) is one of the most highly regarded options on the market, with prices beginning at $19.99 (usual price $29.99) per user per month for two to 20 users on an annual plan. Like Nextiva, the company offers a comprehensive range of plans depending on your organization’s needs, and many customers praise its user-friendly design and interface. Read our Nextiva vs RingCentral review. 

If CRM is a priority for your business, you could consider purchasing a plan through Aircall, which allows you to set up a call center within minutes and includes a wide range of help desk features.

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Nextiva VoIP: Final verdict

If you’re considering cloud-based communication for your employees and customers, Nextiva certainly has many points in its favor, including flexible pricing plans and a range of features to match many of its rivals. We also value its wide range of third-party integrations, and the fact that basic plans don’t just get the basic features - Nextiva seems pretty generous all-round

Also vital for companies running complex IT solutions is Nextiva’s 24/7 support, which represents a huge leap forward from previous years. If you’re still undecided, it might be worth signing up for the trial to see if Nextiva is the right solution for your organization.

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To run business and office space in 2024, finding the best VOIP provider might not be the sexiest task, but it's certainly one of the most essential to have a smooth-running workplace where everyone can communicate easily. 

While a cloud phone system may have seemed like science fiction in the recent past, this next-generation communications tech is becoming increasingly popular. More and more businesses are recognizing the value of managed, portable phone systems, and RingCentral is one of the best providers around.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and the tech basically does just that: transfer calls over the internet, avoiding out-dated landlines and other potential problems. As offices move towards remote working, VoIP providers have added new features into their offerings.

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As we dive into our RingCentral Phone review, we put one of the industry’s best business phone services through its paces, testing the standout features of this virtual phone system to help your business make the right call.

Of course, it's also worth checking rivals products from Zoom, 8x8, and Dialpad before making any final decisions – being prepared is the key – but our testing found RingCentral offers a complete package.

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RingCentral: Plans and Pricing

RingCentral offers three plans: Core, Advanced, and Ultra, with each then being tailored to work with anywhere between one and 100+ employees. 

Starting off, the Core plan costs $20/user/month for an annual subscription, or $30/user/month for a monthly subscription, and includes business phone or toll-free numbers, up to 100 toll-free minutes, unlimited domestic calls in the US or Canada, visual voicemail, shared lines, and much more. 

Advanced costs $25 or $35 per month per user and includes everything in Core, plus up to 1,000 toll-free minutes, enhanced business SMS for 100/user/month (up from 25 for Core), advanced call queues, up to eight-digit extensions, hot desking, breakout rooms, and many other features. 

Finally, Ultra costs $35 or $45 per month per user and includes all of the aforementioned features alongside up to 200 video call participants, unlimited file storage, custom roles, advanced analytics, workflow customisation, and more. 

It's worth checking RingCentral's detailed pricing lists to see if the feature that keeps your business running smoothly comes with Core, Advanced, or Ultra. RingCentral is also keen to encourage annual subscribers, and one-off yearly payments receive an up to 33% discount.

Adding more than 100 users gives a further discount, but that likely only equates to a few dollars saved per month. All plans also come with a 15-day free trial. We were pleased to see how easy it was to scale up too, with options to add international and toll-free numbers as needed.

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RingCentral: Features

RingCentral’s phone service is packed with features. In fact, there are over 50 in total, which is both pretty staggering and means your specific needs are likely to be met. 

Call quality is a very important consideration, and RingCentral ensures HD audio regardless of your calling location. The provider also limits the disruption of switching to a new phone service by helping keep any existing numbers. (There are also options to set up local numbers.)

We found RingCentral’s voicemail-to-email feature particularly interesting as it enables you to receive voicemails whilst out of office – a great feature for remote teams – and it's something few others offer. 

RingCentral has also put lot of consideration into incoming-call management, with call screening, call delegation, and call forwarding options available to users. In addition, the Call Flip feature helps users switch calls from a desktop to a mobile phone during a conversation.

As we alluded to above, RingCentral has not scrimped on adding features and pretty much any little thing your business might want to do will be there, from integrations into business apps to call logs to remote desktop control. 

The company has also been getting involved in the recent AI craze, adding live transcriptions, closed captioning, video summaries, note taking, translation, and a whole lot more to all three plans, to make life a little easier. 

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RingCentral: User interface

Once you sign up with RingCentral you’ll need to download the desktop app. The process is quick and easy, and the RingCentral interface is user-friendly and navigable. There are also nifty iOS and Android apps, too. 

Any RingCentral users should be aware that the app doesn’t just display the provider’s phone settings: From the admin dashboard, you can access video, messaging, and upcoming tasks. Clear icons on the left-hand side of the screen make accessing any core services easy.

The basic functionality of RingCentral’s business phone service is fairly easy to understand. A pop-up dial pad is there to make calls from a selection of numbers on a dropdown, and voicemails are easily accessible and displayed visually. That said, some advanced features are more difficult to locate. 

For example, call screening functions need to be enabled first, and you’ll only be able to confirm that you’ve enabled them when you receive a call. RingCentral offers a great deal in terms of features, but we would have preferred to see them displayed more prominently.

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RingCentral: Support

RingCentral has been generous here: 24/7 support is available on all three tiers, which is an improvement on previous generations that only offered such support on more expensive plans. 

RingCentral also has a dedicated support website where you can access comprehensive FAQs split up into well-defined categories, consult instructional videos, download technical information, and join its community development group.

The company has a live chat feature too, but with such a comprehensive cache of documentation, you probably won’t need it.

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RingCentral: Security

Reliability and security are some of RingCentral’s key concerns. As a result, the measures in place to prevent downtime and disruption to the provider’s service have led to some standout security features.

These include end-to-end network monitoring to ensure performance and real-time analysis of network stability, disaster recovery protocols involving the migration of data to alternative data centers, and cloud-based measures for service continuation even during a period of internet outage.

RingCentral: The competition

Nextiva offers a similar service to RingCentral but at a reduced cost – its Enterprise plan is just a few dollars more than RingCentral’s Core plan and includes up to 10,000 toll-free minutes.

That said, RingCentral’s multi-tool platform, with video and messaging facilities, does give it an edge, and the provider’s Essential plan is competitively priced if you don’t need the extra functionality. But small businesses that just want a simple, cheap way to integrate their phone services might prefer Nextiva.

It's also worth checking out offerings from 8x8, Zoom, GoToConnect, Vonage, Aircall, Ooma, and more of the best VoIP services, with your specific needs in mind. Each one is slightly different, and might work well.

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RingCentral: Final verdict

RingCentral is one of the best cloud phone providers available. Clearly, the team behind the platform is well versed in the requirements of business phone users, and the wide range of features tick all the boxes.

However, RingCentral's long list of features might actually over complicate the product, and we would have preferred fewer features but in more accessible places. Of course, having 'too many features' is a small problem if you invest the time in working out how best to use them. 

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