Comparing VoIP Providers:
VOIPo vs. Phone Power

Source: Daniel Oines via Flickr

With so many companies currently offering VoIP service, it can be difficult to narrow your options down to just one service to try. We often get questions about the differences between our favorite services, so here we'll try to differentiate two popular options for you: VOIPo and Phone Power.

What they have in common:

Both VOIPo and Phone Power offer good call quality and fairly inexpensive calling plans with a choice of paying month-to-month or getting a discounted rate with a longer contract and/or by paying for a year or two up-front. With either service, you'll get unlimited calls in the US and Canada, 60 free international minutes per month to select countries, and pretty low per-minute rates to call non-plan countries or for international calls after you've used up your free monthly international minutes.

What sets Phone Power apart:

At $8.33/mo if you take advantage of their best deal, Phone Power is a little more expensive than VOIPo. The service does offer a few features VOIPo is missing. Phone Power service automatically comes with a cloned second line, which means you can place or receive two calls in your home simultaneously using the same phone number, just like you would if you had a first and second traditional line in your home. This can be great for families or those who make a lot of calls and need to have a line free while they're on the phone. Phone Power also has a few innovative calling features, including the "Fax Catcher," which intercepts incoming faxes to your number and sends them to you as PDF files by email. Since using a fax machine can be a little bit tricky with VoIP this may be the perfect solution for people who need to be able to receive occasional faxes.

In general, we've found Phone Power's per-minute international rates to be a little lower than VOIPo's, so if you make a lot of international calls, you might consider checking the rates for numbers you call a lot. Also be sure to check which countries are included for the free 60 minutes for each plan, as Phone Power and VOIPo include slightly different countries in their plans.

You might choose Phone Power if:

• Their International calling plan is less expensive for the numbers you call regularly.
• You need a second cloned line
• You receive occasional faxes.

What sets VOIPo apart:

With their cheapest plan coming in at $5.38/mo, VOIPo is less expensive than Phone Power. In general, we've also found VOIPo's customer service more responsive and easier to get in touch with than Phone Power's. Installation with VOIPo was slightly smoother than installation with Phone Power, and VOIPo has a more extensive money-back program if you decide to cancel your service.

You might choose VOIPo if:

• Price is your top consideration.
• You think you'll need lots of support or a particularly easy installation.
• You are just trying VoIP and think you may want to cancel your service early on.
• Their International calling plan is less expensive for the numbers you call regularly.

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