Best Cloud Hosted PBX Providers for 2023

Quick links:

• What is Hosted PBX?
• How Does a Hosted PBX Work?
• What Makes Hosted PBX Services Different?
• Why Use a Hosted PBX Over On-Premise Solutions?
• Best Hosted PBX Providers
• What to Look for in a Hosted PBX Provider
• Benefits of Hosted PBX Solutions
• Setting Up Your Hosted PBX System

What is Hosted PBX?

A hosted PBX is a provider-hosted virtual PBX phone system that provides users with telephony, call center features, and more. Popular among businesses of all sizes, cloud-based hosted PBX systems frequently include not just VoIP calling but unified communications and collaboration tools, available to users via mobile and desktop app or website.

The solution is cloud-based, meaning the private branch exchange (PBX) functionality is hosted and managed virtually via software, without requiring an analog connection. Hosted PBX solutions provide small, medium and even enterprise organizations with an advanced cloud telephone system while minimizing cost.

A Hosted PBX platform is housed in a remote data center, which offers geographical flexibility. This allows your employees to work from any location while still accessing the virtual PBX service. Since it’s usually subscription-based per user, you can easily scale your phone system alongside business needs. Make domestic and international VoIP calls, and purchase virtual phone numbers based around the world.

How Does a Hosted PBX Work?

Hosted PBX systems function similarly to on-premise PBX solutions, except hosted PBX providers manage the hardware and servers remotely. Rather than the user handling the routing and server management on-site with analog cables, the PBX provider handles this via the cloud and their global network of data centers, which transmit VoIP audio packets and unified communications data.

The entire phone system and its backup redundancy are operated and maintained by the provider. If one center goes down, your calls will simply be routed out of another data center so you never miss a beat.

These providers have a team of IT professionals and engineers working around the clock to ensure your system is up and running. Hosted PBX providers are responsible for efficiency, call quality and security.

Subscribers simply log into their phone system app portal, make calls, and use the features. They can hook up desk phones or use softphone functionality to make calls directly from the web or app.

What Makes Hosted PBX Services Different?

Hosted PBX service provides businesses with the same level of service as a Fortune 500 enterprise phone system while removing the hassle and high capital investment that traditional PBX systems require.

In addition to the convenience, hosted PBX beats legacy phone systems by offering VoIP service, scalability, and the option to establish a global presence with virtual phone numbers and a remote workforce.

Hosted PBX offers powerful business and collaboration features:

• Auto-attendants and IVR
• Intelligent routing systems and ACD
• Call center analytics and insights
• Call monitoring
• Triggers and workflow automations
• AI support tools
• Call queuing
• Call recording
• Conference calling

Overall, PBX on the cloud provides your business with an impressive list of features. These solutions are also more cost-effective than their on-premise counterparts, enabling any size organization to take advantage of these powerful platforms.

Why Use a Hosted PBX Over On-Premise Solutions?

One main advantage of hosted PBX is that the provider handles setup, hardware, security, and reliability. There’s no need to spend extra money or time on the infrastructure, IT, or switches to power your system. Without requiring on-location phone infrastructure and hardware, hosted PBX frees your agents and administrators for other tasks.

Adding additional phone lines can be done quickly through the online portal. You’re not limited by the number of available phone jacks in your building’s server or telephony room. Utilizing a Hosted PBX even provides flexibility and mobility unrivaled by other systems.

Hosted PBX systems are much more flexible than on-premise solutions, allowing users to make calls from anywhere they have an internet connection. This supports hybrid and remote teams–even those spread throughout the globe. It also enables users to handle business calls on the go or on vacation.

Hosted PBX also provides a wider variety of phone-system features than traditional PBX. Cloud-based IP PBX providers frequently offer apps that include multiple communication channels, collaboration features, routing and queueing, and more.

The Best Hosted PBX Providers for 2023 – Our Top Picks

• Nextiva Connect – Top-notch customer service, at a competitive price point. One platform for customer communication and engagement.
• RingCentral MVP – Seamless voice and video call switching between devices. One app for voice, video, text, and chat. Wide range of integrations.
• Dialpad Talk – Include free video conferencing on all plans. Real-time customer call sentiment analysis and automation. Chrome extension for quick usability.
• Vonage Cloud – Great for mobile users. Unifies queuing and routing on its mobile- or web-based business communications app.
• Zoom Phone – Great for teams that heavily rely on video meetings. Wide adoption means most people are already familiar with it.
• GoTo Connect – Industry-leading hardware compatibility and international calling plans. The Standard plan includes unlimited calling to over 50 countries, plus routing, queueing, and all communication channels.

1. Nextiva

Nextiva offers a myriad of PBX features often found with more expensive providers. These include video meetings with up to 250 participants, collaborative tools like whiteboards and file sharing, toll-free numbers, and virtual phone numbers based around the globe. Each user sign-up includes not only a regular phone number but a toll-free number as well.

It also has a ton of calling-related features like an auto-attendant, analytics, and advanced call management to ensure every inbound customer is routed to the right agent. Beyond its native features, you can also use third-party integrations.

Popular tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, HubSpot, and more can all be integrated into your Nextiva account to provide seamless compatibility with your entire stack.

Top Features

• Advanced call management
• Conference bridge
• Business SMS
• Auto-attendant and IVR
• Call analytics
• Built-in calendaring and meeting scheduling
• File sharing and management

Pricing

Nextiva offers three pricing plans:

• Essential ($18.95 monthly per user): Includes VoIP, team chat, and video–plus basic IVR, file sharing, a virtual number and a toll-free number
• Professional ($22.95 monthly per user): Adds SMS, unlimited conferencing calls with 40 users, 1000 monthly SMS per user, advanced CRM integrations, and multi-level IVR
• Enterprise ($32.95 monthly per user): Adds voicemail transcription, enterprise CRM integrations, and 12,500 toll-free minutes

2. RingCentral

RingCentral offers one of the most user-friendly and collaborative unified communications solutions on the market. Its two million users reap the benefits of native video conferencing, tons of third-party integrations, and team collaboration features.

Out of all the providers currently on the market, RingCentral is one of the best at unifying all your needs onto a single platform. It supports over 300 integrations, plus team features like file sharing, meeting scheduling, and task management tools.

Its video conferencing capabilities also rival standalone solutions with whiteboards, screen sharing, breakout rooms, and one-click scheduling from top calendar tools. Alternatively, you can use one of its many conferencing integrations to connect Zoom, Slack, and more.

Top Features

• Video conferencing
• Team collaboration
• File sharing
• Call queuing and IVR
• Real-time analytics with 30+ metrics
• Predictive analytics based on KPI trends
• Cloud storage indexing
• Business SMS

Pricing

RingCentral offers three pricing plans:

• Core ($20 monthly per user): Includes all communication channels–VoIP, team chat, video meetings with 100 participants, and 25 monthly SMS per user–plus basic call queues, multi-level IVR, on-demand call recording
• Advanced  ($25 monthly per user): Adds 1000 toll-free minutes, advanced call queue and routing rules, automatic call recording, 100 texts per user per month, and essential business analytics
• Ultra ($35 monthly per user): Includes 10,000 toll-free minutes, 200 texts per user, HD meetings, unlimited file sharing, and enhanced business analytics and insights

3. Dialpad

Dialpad is a popular cloud PBX option for small businesses since it’s very affordable and offers collaborative video conferencing features, AI support, and live call transcription on all plans. Though, users should note that Dialpad’s meetings have a 10-participant limit.

In addition to integrations with tools like Google Workspace, Office 365, Salesforce, Slack, Zendesk, HubSpot, and more, the platform also has analytics that becomes more advanced as you upgrade to higher plans.

Dialpad offers a variety of unique AI and analytics tools, like real-time call transcriptions, automated post-call summaries, live speech coaching, and customer sentiment analysis that can alert supervisors when a call needs their attention.

Top Features

• AI support tools
• Live call and voicemail transcription
• Quick-switching between devices
• Business SMS
• Collaborative meetings features like whiteboards
• Call summaries
• Chrome extension
• Real-time sentiment analysis

Pricing

Dialpad offers three pricing plans:

• Standard ($15 monthly per user): Includes all communication channels, unlimited video meetings with a 10-participant limit, AI-support features, real-time analytics, and Google Workspace integration
• Pro ($25 monthly per user): Offers local and international phone numbers, international texting, advanced integrations, and 25 ring groups
• Enterprise (custom pricing): Supports unlimited office locations, unlimited ring groups, top-tier integrations, and priority live support

4. Vonage

Vonage’s unified communications solution supports SMS, online faxing, video conferencing, and team chats in addition to standard VoIP audio calling. It also has helpful features like live co-annotation for uploaded files.

On the video conferencing front, up to 100 participants can join via the Vonage mobile app. One-click scheduling is also supported for Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar which makes meeting planning a breeze. The app includes call queueing and IVR, plus add-on features like call recording and an omnichannel inbox that aggregates all digital messaging channels.

While the Vonage App Center doesn’t have as many integrations as some of its competitors, you’ll still find support for popular tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Office 365, and a few others.

Top Features

• Call queueing
• International phone numbers
• Video conferences with up to 100 participants
• On-demand call recording
• Visual voicemail
• Business SMS
• Multichannel inbox add-on
• 100-participant conferencing via mobile app
• IVR

Pricing

Vonage offers three pricing plans:

• Mobile ($19.99 monthly per user): Includes unlimited team chat, SMS, VoIP calling with unlimited calls inside the US and Canada, basic integrations like Google Workspace, call queuing, and the Vonage desktop and mobile app
• Premium ($29.99 monthly per user): Includes video meetings with 100-participant capacity, multi-level auto attendant, and CRM integrations like Salesforce and Zendesk
• Advanced ($39.99 monthly per user): Includes 15 monthly hours of call recording, call groups, and visual voicemail

5. Zoom

Zoom Phone plans include not only VoIP, but team chat, SMS, and video conferencing powered by Zoom’s well-known collaborative features like breakout rooms, polls, and whiteboards.

The provider’s phone plans also include toll-free numbers, voicemail transcription, call monitoring, automatic call distribution, and call queues. Users can set up IVR, record calls, and switch between calls and meetings seamlessly.

Zoom also makes a great option for companies based outside the US, because it offers domestic plans in a country of your choice from 40 options. Further, Zoom offers an add-on with unlimited calling to 19 additional countries. Companies with low call volumes, but who still want collaboration features, will appreciate Zoom’s US & Canada Metered plan at a highly competitive monthly rate.

Top Features

• Automatic call distribution (ACD)
• Call queueing
• IVR
• Collaborative meetings features–breakout rooms, live transcript, whiteboards
• Virtual backgrounds
• Mobile meeting reminders
• Business SMS
• Over 1,000 integrations on the Zoom App Marketplace
• Industry-specific functionality for educators and healthcare workers
• Up to 10,000 participants through Zoom Video Webinar

Pricing

Zoom Phone offers three pricing plans. Each plan includes all the features mentioned above, but they vary according to unlimited calling area and call pricing style.

• US & Canada Metered ($10 monthly per user): Pay-per-minute calling within the US and Canada, and to international destinations
• US & Canada Unlimited ($15 monthly per user): Unlimited calling in the US and Canada, plus standard per-minute international rates
• Pro Global Select ($20 monthly per user): Unlimited domestic calling within one of 40 countries, with per-minute rates for international calls
• International calling add-on (starting at $10 monthly per user): Unlimited calling to 19 countries

6. GoTo Connect

GoTo Connect is colloquially known as the king of hardware compatibility since it supports over 180 desk phone models. This makes it the perfect choice for companies who prefer hard phones to softphones.

The UCaaS platform also offers a wide suite of cloud phone system features: IVR, ring groups, call queues, and phone numbers around the world. Built IVR call flows with a drag-and-drop designer. GoTo Connect’s Standard plan also boasts a 50-country unlimited calling area, which is the widest of any provider on the market.

GoTo includes all core communication channels–VoIP, SMS, team chat, and video meetings with up to 150 users and no time limit. Create, schedule, and invite users to meetings from directly within the app.

Top Features

• Visual call flow editor
• Day-to-day analytics dashboard
• Hot desking
• Call queues
• Ring groups
• Video conferences with up to 150 participants
• Call routing scheduling
• Call forwarding

Pricing

GoTo Connect offers two pricing plans:

• Basic ($24 monthly per user): Has a 20-user cap and limits calling features–one ring group, one auto attendant, one dial plan, and one call queue. Includes all communication channels, but only 40 monthly SMS credits per user, and caps video meetings at 4 participants.
• Standard ($29 monthly per user): Unlimited users, auto attendants, call queue, and ring groups, plus a 50-country unlimited calling area. Supports video meetings with up to 150 participants, and provides 80 SMS credits monthly per user