VoIP Services
Each of these VoIP services offer high quality local and long distance calling, will allow most people to save hundreds of dollars a year and include tons of great features. To learn more about VoIP read our FAQ.

VONAGE REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

[Editor's Note: Vonage has set up an exclusive 800 number where NextAdvisor.com visitors can speak to a Vonage representative to ask questions and ensure they get the latest and best deal possible. If you are interested in ordering Vonage we recommend that you call the number: 1-800-560-4243.] Vonage is not the cheapest VoIP service, but our testing and research has shown that it is the best. Vonage has invested the most time and money in building its network and in acquiring new customers (it has the most customers of any VoIP provider and is a public company). As a result, Vonage provides the highest quality service of any of our recommended providers and is the best choice for those who need or want superior call quality and reliability. At $24.99 per month and your first month free for their unlimited plan, Vonage is still priced to save most people hundreds of dollars a year compared to traditional phone service. Vonage is currently offering visitors to NextAdvisor.com an additional savings of $49.95 by offering a free adapter while supplies last. Vonage is also the only VoIP provider we recommend that does not require you to use a credit card (you can pay from your checking account instead). Their 500 minute plan at only $17.99 per month is an even better deal for those who call less frequently. Vonage includes calls to Italy, France, Spain, UK and Ireland for free in their unlimited plans, making it a fantastic value for frequent callers to those countries. Vonage has recently added several international plans targeted at callers to certain regions. So for an addtional $10 per month on top of the unlimited plan, you can add unlimited calling to the rest of Europe or Asia. For $15, you can add unlimited calling to Mexico and Latin America. Vonage has also recently ramped up their efforts in customer service to make sure you can get through to a representative quickly if you need to.

PHONE POWER REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

Phone Power is a relative newcomer to the VoIP landscape but has hit a sweet spot in the market with their nice range of very cheap plans. We like their monthly unlimited plan best, which is just $9.95 per month for the first 3 months and $19.95 thereafter. This plan is an especially strong value when you consider that Phone Power doesn't charge activation fees for any of its plans and has no cancellation fees if you want to cancel. For those that aren't afraid of a longer term commitment and are looking for the best value, Phone Power's prepaid annual unlimited plan plus one year free (2 years total) is just $199.95, averaging out to just $8.33 per month. This is the best value of Phone Power's (or anyone else's) plans - the only catch is that if you cancel before your term is up, there is no prorated refund. For an in-between plan, Phone Power offers a 6 months prepaid unlimited plan for just $89.95, which comes out to $14.99 per month. Finally, for those looking for lower usage, Phone Power offers a monthly 500 minute plan for $9.95 the first 3 months and $14.95 thereafter. As mentioned above, the only setup cost on each of Phone Power's plans is the $14.95 shipping & handling fee, as they don't charge for activation and they lease you an adapter for free. Also as noted above, they don't charge any cancellation fees but also do not give refunds for the prepaid plans if you cancel early. While Phone Power doesn't have a particularly long track record, our research and conversations with the company indicate that they are a well-run company that should be around for the long haul. They've been gaining market share quickly and after reviewing their offerings, it's easy to see why.

VIA TALK REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

ViaTalk is currently offering unlimited long distance phone service for one year for $199 plus an extra year free promotion for new Viatalk customers, making ViaTalk the cheapest VoIP plan available. Also included with this plan are unlimited calls to Canada and a 2nd phone line. The two line configuration activates two separate extensions to your home phone. This is great if you have a teenager always on the phone. You can simply pick up line two and either dial out or receive calls. While this is clearly a great deal, as with any great deal it comes with some fine print: if you cancel after the 14 day money back guarantee period you will be charged $49.95 per line, although it is great that ViaTalk will still give you a pro-rated refund for any remaining prepaid months that you haven't used. You do get the full balance back if you cancel during the 14-day money-back guarantee period. We should also note that ViaTalk's $29.95 activation fee and $9.95 shipping and handling fee are not refundable. If you don't want to commit for 2 years, Viatalk has a 500 minute plan for $9.95 per month and they offer several different plans and time commitments, so you have a lot of flexibility to choose what's right for you.

VOIP.COM REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

Voip.com offers a great selection of inexpensive plans and for those that don't want to pay for a year upfront, we think Voip.com offers the best value monthly unlimited plan. They also offer possibly the best year prepay plan now that Voip.com is not charging any set-up fees on it. Their monthly unlimited plan for $19.95 is just about as cheap as you will find for a pay-as-you-go plan, especially when you include their current first month free promotion and no shipping and handling charges for this plan. They also offer an annual unlimited plan for $199 per year and a 200 minutes per month plan for $9.95 per month. Voip.com has two other main differentiators from the competition. First, their international rates are the cheapest we have found to most countries. Second, they boast an impressive feature set that can almost all be managed online. Overall, Voip.com offers a strong value proposition with something for everyone. We like their monthly unlimited plan and cheap international rates the best.

VOIP YOUR LIFE REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

VoIP Your Life is not as big as Vonage or Verizon but they stand out from the crowd by offering excellent customer service and very customer-friendly policies. They also provide easy-to-reach and very competent U.S. customer service. VoIP Your Life's plans are not the cheapest but they are still very well priced and may be your cheapest option when you factor in the limited number of extra fees they charge. Their basic plan is just $14.97 per month and includes incoming calls for free but costs $14.97 per month plus 2.4 cents per minute for outbound domestic calls. We think a better value is the $23.97 Premier Unlimited plan that also gives you unlimited outbound calls anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. If you call internationally with any regularity, their Premier Global Unlimited Plan is a fantastic value as long as the countries you're calling to are included in their plan. VoIP Your Life doesn't mention their money-back guarantee but they have assured us that if you cannot get your service working properly for some reason, you will not be charged. Overall, VoIP Your Life's two unlimited plans offer fantastic values that look even better when combined with their strong customer service.

PACKET8 REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

Packet8, one of the early players in VoIP, offers both a monthly $24.99 unlimited plan and a $199 annual unlimited plan. Both of these plans come with your first month free and a very high quality free (after rebate) phone system. If you don't want to commit to a year or pay $199 upfront, Packet8's $24.99 per month ($29.99 activation fee) unlimited plan is not a bad one, but is a bit more expensive than some. Their $199 annual plan is a fantastic deal but comes with few caveats: they charge a $29.99 activation fee, there is no prorated refund if you cancel after the 30 day trial period, and there are additional taxes. All that being said, the combination of a very high quality free phone system and one month free is attractive. For frequent international callers, Packet8 offers a great value unlimited calling plan that includes calls to 40 different countries for $29.99 per month (it also includes the first month free and free phone system). Packet8 also offers another feature none of the competitors do: video phones and video calling plans. These are very cool devices that Packet8 will sell you at a discount when you subscribe to one of their plans.

LINGO REVIEW:Go to Site | View Full Comparison

Lingo is a great all-around value but is a particularly good choice for those that want to call internationally often. Lingo has been around longer than any of the other VoIP providers we recommend so you know you can rely on them. They are also the only leading provider whose standard monthly plan includes calls to Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and some Asian countries (although Vonage includes calls to several Western European countries). So you can pay $21.95 per month to call anyone in not only the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico all you want, but also anyone in the aforementioned countries. Even if you never or rarely call internationally, Lingo's price, functionality and reliability make it a great choice. Lingo is currently offering their monthly unlimited plan for $17.95 per month for the first 6 months and $21.95 thereafter. Lingo also has an annual plan where you pay $195 upfront and receive unlimited calling for the rest of the year to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Please note that this unlimited plan does not include calls to the foreign countries that Lingo's monthly plan includes, so the monthly plan with 1 month free may be a better value. Their 500 minute plan is just $14.95 but again only includes calling to U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Lingo also has some international plans that are a good deal for frequent callers to Mexico and Latin America or to South Asia. The Mexico and Latin America plan adds to the monthly unlimited plan unlimited calling to Mexcio City, Caracas, Bueons Aires and Rio de Janeiro plus discounted rates to the rest of Mexico and Latin America. It costs the same as the standard montly unlimited, you just lose the free calling to the other international locales in the standard monthly unlimited plan. The South Asia plan also takes away the other international destinations but adds 2.9 cent/minute calling to India and Bangladesh. It costs $29.95 per month. Also note that all plans include $29.95 activation fee and a $59.95 cancellation fee if you cancel after 30 days but before 1 year. They will, however, give you a prorated refund for your unused months if you buy the annual plan and cancel before 1 year. Overall, Lingo's monthly unlimited plan really stands out and is a great value for anyone, especially for frequent callers to certain countries.