Brightlio Blog

Introduction

Unified communications solutions offer substantial value. From a richer feature set to a lower cost of support and deployment, there are many reasons businesses are adopting UCaaS. There are also many solutions to choose from. Ooma vs. Vonage is a common comparison in the space.

The benefits of using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) are many, but sometimes, business leaders need help picking a tool that suits their needs perfectly. That’s where Brightlio comes in. We regularly compare VoIP solutions to help our readers pick the best phone service.

To help our clients make an informed decision, we have compared Vonage vs. Ooma under different categories: cost-effectiveness, integrations, customer support, and call quality. Continue reading to learn which solution would better serve your interests. 

Ooma Rundown

Ooma is a telecommunications company founded in 2004 that provides various telecommunication services. They offer business services, including phone systems, internet, managed wifi, and POTS line replacements. They also provide residential voice and security solutions. This comparison focuses on their business phone systems.

Ooma has two business telephony solutions: Ooma Office and Ooma Enterprise. Ooma Office is a business phone solution, while Ooma Enterprise is a tailored-to-fit UCaaS tool.

Our Vonage vs. Ooma comparison focuses on Ooma Office. Ooma Office has received many industry awards, including PC Mag’s Best VoIP System. The phone system has won the award nine times in a row, competing among industry favorites like Google Voice and RingCentral. 

Vonage Rundown

Founded in 1998, Vonage is also a leader in the the VoIP provider and UCaaS spaces. Vonage started by offering residential phone service. In 2013, they expanded their offering to include UCaaS and VoIP services for businesses.

Vonage calls its UCaaS solution Vonage Business Communications (VBC). Subscribers can access desktop and mobile apps and choose from an array of compatible desk handsets. 

Vonage has various selling points, including its contact center, call quality, and customer support. I am not surprised the tool made it to Forbes’ most recent list of the best VoIP services. 

Ooma vs. Vonage: Pricing, Service Tiers, and Features 

Ooma Pricing and Service Plans 

Let’s start with comparing the plans. Ooma Office has three plans: Essentials, Pro, and Pro Plus. Below’s a breakdown of each of them: 

Ooma Essentials

Ooma Office boasts 50 basic small business phone features, which make up their starter plan, Essentials. 

The monthly fees for Essentials are $19.95/month per user, and here are some of the “50” features users get: 

• Ring groups 
• Virtual receptionist 
• Music on hold 
• Mobile App 
• Email Audio Attachments 
• Digital fax 
• A toll-free number 

Ooma Pro

At $24.95/month per user, Ooma’s Pro plan has all the features in essentials, plus the following: 

• Video Conferencing
• Desktop App 
• Caller Info Match 
• Call Recording 
• Dynamic Caller ID 
• Analytics User Leaderboard 
• Analytics 
• Enhanced Call Blocking 
• Text Messaging / Business SMS
• Voicemail Transcription
• Office 365 and Google Integrations 

Ooma Pro Plus

The Pro Plus has all the Essentials and Pro features and some exclusives. At $29.95/month per user, the plan has these perks: 

• Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration
• Advanced Call Management Features
• Ooma Meetings Recording 
• Call Queuing
• Find me, Follow me 
• Hot Desking 

Vonage Pricing and Service Plans

Ooma offers three plans for their VoIP system: Mobile, Premium, and Advanced. Here’s a synopsis of each plan’s offerings and pricing: 

Vonage Mobile

Vonage’s pricing for each plan is discounted based on the number of users. It works like this: 

• 1 – 4 users – $19.99/month per user 
• 5 – 19 users – $17.99/month per user 
• 20 – 99 users – $14.99/month per user 
• For more than 100 users, Vonage has custom plans. Brightlio can help you get the best deals. 

Here’s what you get when you subscribe to the Mobile plan: 

• Unlimited Calls and business SMS (unlimited domestic calls – international calls are charged at variable rates)
• Vonage App Center 
• Mobile and Desktop Apps
• Unlimited Team Messaging

Vonage Premium 

Pricing for Vonage’s Premium plan works like this: 

• 1 – 4 users – $29.99/month per user 
• 5 – 19 users – $27.99/month per user 
• 20 – 99 users – $24.99/month per user 
• Vonage also has a customized offering for over 100 users on this plan. You can get a good quote with Brightlio’s help. 

The Premium plan gives you Vonage Mobile’s features plus the following: 

• IP desk phone capability 
• Unlimited meetings for up to 100 people 
• CRM Integration
• Multi-level auto attendant 

Vonage Advanced

The Advanced plan cost also depends on the number of users: 

• 1 – 4 users – $39.99/month per user
• 5 – 19 users – $37.99/month per user 
• 20 – 99 users – $34.99/month per user 
• 100 users and above – Vonage has custom plans. Contact Brightlio for friendly rates. 

The Advanced plan improves on Mobile and Premium by adding the following features: 

• On-demand Call Recording for 15 hours 
• Visual Voicemail 
• Call Groups

Ooma vs. Vonage: Affordability and Cost-effectiveness 

Is Ooma or Vonage the more affordable VoIP service? The costs of both solutions’ starter plans are very close. Some of Ooma’s plans are slightly less expensive than Vonage’s. Vonage offers more features per tier than Ooma, however. Especially at the entry tier (Ooma Essentials vs. Vonage Mobile), we like that Vonage includes both mobile and desktop apps, while Ooma includes only mobile and not the desktop app.

Text is not also not included with Ooma Essentials. Given the proliferation of text as a communications medium, this is a challenging feature to live without. Vonage mobile, however, includes unlimited SMS. 

Vonage also offers discounts starting at as few as five users. For organizations with 5+ users, and especially for organizations with over 20 users, Vonage provides a better value.

Ooma vs. Vonage: Integrations

Integrations with other software tools your business uses is a critical component to picking the best UCaaS solution for your needs. The table below compares Ooma Office and Vonage Business Communications across applications.

Software	Ooma Office Integration	VBC Integration
Alexa for Business	❌	✔️
Agency Matrix	❌	✔️
Apptivo Estimates	❌	✔️
Apptivo Invoices	❌	✔️
Authvia	❌	✔️
Botbiz	❌	✔️
Botsplash	❌	✔️
Bullhorn	❌	✔️
Carbyne	❌	✔️
Clio App	❌	✔️
Daisee	❌	✔️
Easyflow	❌	✔️
Enlyft	❌	✔️
Connectwise	❌	✔️
Coronet	❌	✔️
Cyclr	❌	✔️
FUSION	❌	✔️
G Suite	❌	✔️
Google Workspace	❌	✔️
Hubspot	❌	✔️
Jinoby	❌	✔️
JobDiva	❌	✔️
KonnectzIT	❌	✔️
Krisp	❌	✔️
Loangility	❌	✔️
Method:CRM	❌	✔️
Microsoft Dynamics	✔️	✔️
Microsoft Outlook	❌	✔️
NetSuite	❌	✔️
Office 365	❌	✔️
Pabbly Connect	❌	✔️
Prodoscore	❌	✔️
PubNub	❌	✔️
QuickBooks	❌	✔️
Reveal	❌	✔️
Salesforce	✔️	✔️
Salesforce Essentials	✔️	✔️
SMS Gatez	❌	✔️
Stackreaction	❌	✔️
Sugar Cell	❌	✔️
Techforce.ai	❌	✔️
Tenfold	❌	✔️
Textline	❌	✔️
The Sassy People	❌	✔️
Surfly – Business	❌	✔️
Unytalk	❌	✔️
ValidSoft	❌	✔️
VanillaSoft	❌	✔️
Verint AI Blueprint	❌	✔️
Verint Monet WFO	❌	✔️
VisuWell	❌	✔️
WIZ AI Talkbots	❌	✔️
Workativ Assistant	❌	✔️
Zapier	❌	✔️
Zendesk	❌	✔️

Vonage supports more integrations. Ooma Office is only compatible with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, and only the Pro plan allows these integrations.

Vonage integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, and Salesforce.com which are significant advantages. CRM integration is definitely a strength Vonage offers.

Ooma vs. Vonage: Customer Support

Which service is more likely to give you a swift response when you have a problem with their software? Here’s a table that answers the question:

Customer Support Platform	Ooma Office	Vonage Business
Email	✔️	✔️
Knowledge Base	✔️	✔️
24/7 Phone Support	✔️	✔️
24/7 Live Chat	✔️	✔️

We call this one a tie. For a relatively simple UCaaS tool, Ooma does quite well with customer service and support. Vonage also added 24/7 support some time ago, making their service more well-rounded. 

Ooma vs. Vonage: Platforms Supported

Both Ooma Office and Vonage are accessible on most platforms. Here’s a table to illustrate where you can access both solutions: 

Platform Supported	Ooma Office	Vonage Business
Android	✔️	✔️
IOS	✔️	✔️
Mac	✔️	✔️
Windows	✔️	✔️
SaaS/Web-based	✔️	✔️

You can find mobile apps for Vonage Business Communications and Ooma Office on the Google Play Store and the App Store with just a few clicks. Both services also provide desktop apps for Mac and Windows if you’d rather have your calls on your computer. 

Ooma vs. Vonage: Call Quality and Reliability 

Both Vonage and Ooma have excellent sound quality and both offer HD calls. Keep in mind, that several factors affect call quality, including your internet connection. Whether you choose Ooma, Vonage, or other VoIP providers, you may need to upgrade your internet connection or explore SD-WAN functionality to maximize performance.

However, users rate Vonage higher than Ooma regarding call quality and reliability. For one, Vonage has a 99.999 percent uptime SLA. The SLA is a guarantee from Vonage that their reliability is excellent. Ooma has no such guarantee, and users have also reported dropped calls. 

For these reasons, Vonage Business Communications comes out on top in this category. 

Do Ooma and Vonage offer video conferencing?

Vonage Business Communications provides unified communications solutions, which includes video conferencing as part of its package. Vonage Meetings tool allows for seamless collaboration with HD video, screen sharing, and recording capabilities.

Similarly, Ooma’s business services, under the banner of Ooma Office and Ooma Office Pro, also include video capabilities. Ooma Office Pro, in particular, includes a video conferencing platform known as Ooma Meetings, which allows users to host or join meetings from any location.

Ooma vs. Vonage: The Final Verdict

After considering how Vonage Business Communications and Ooma Office stack up, here’s what we found out: 

• While Ooma Office is cheaper in some use cases, VBC is more cost-effective for teams over five
• Ooma Office suits small businesses, while Vonage is more than five users.
• Vonage Business Communications offers many more integrations than Ooma. CRM integrations and Team messaging are strong points Vonage offers.
• Both Ooma and Vonage provide good customer support and deployment services. 
• While Ooma and Vonage have good call quality, Vonage is more reliable and backed by its 99.999 percent SLA. 

Ooma and Vonage are leaders in the VoIP industry, so either is a solid option was your VoIP provider. When we compare Vonage with Ooma, we find that Vonage stacks up better for most Brightlio’s customers. Ooma is a solid, reasonably priced phone system for small teams. Vonage offers more advanced features, a comprehensive array of integrations, and a better SLA, making it the right fit for most customers.

Brightlio Delivers Unified Communications Solutions!

Are you in the market for a business phone system? Brightlio is a telecommunications broker. We partner with the best unified communications providers to deliver the ideal solution for your needs and budget.

Additionally, Brightlio offers colocation, connectivity, cloud, and advisory solutions making us a great partner for your technology needs. Contact us today to get started!

If you liked this article, you might also like our other comparisons including:

• Google Voice vs. Vonage
• Vonage vs. RingCentral
• Vonage vs. Nextiva
• Dialpad vs. Nextiva
• Dialpad vs. Google Voice
• Dialpad vs. RingCentral
• Ooma vs. Vonage
• 8×8 vs. RingCentral
• 8×8 vs. Vonage
• 8×8 vs. Dialpad

FAQs About Ooma vs. VONAGE 

Is Ooma better than Vonage?

Both Ooma and Vonage are renowned UCaaS tools and VoIP providers. However, Vonage edges out Ooma in features and integrations. Because of its simplicity, Ooma is more suitable for small businesses. Conversely, Vonage is better for larger teams and teams that plan to scale up. 

Which is better, Ooma or Google Voice? 

Ooma offers better customer support and more features than Google Voice. Google Voice costs less, but you’d get value for the extra funds you spend with Ooma. 

What are the alternatives to Vonage? 

Vonage is one of the best UCaaS solutions, but it has many competitors. Vonage alternatives include Nextiva, 8×8, RingCentral, Dialpad, and Ooma Office. 

Do Ooma and Vonage offer international calling?

Vonage Business Communications provides several options for international calling. They offer plans with included international minutes to over 60 countries and also offer per-minute rates for countries not included in these plans. Rates vary by country, and additional fees may apply depending on the specifics of the call (such as whether it’s to a landline or mobile phone). Customers can also purchase additional international minutes at a set rate.

Ooma Office, on the other hand, provides unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico in its base plan. For international calls outside these regions, Ooma charges per-minute rates which vary depending on the destination country. Ooma also offers an international plan f, providing discounted rates to specific countries. As with Vonage, the rates can vary depending on the country and the type of phone (landline or mobile) being called.

How does Ooma compare to Vonage for residential services?

Brightlio focuses on business phone systems. Ooma and Vonage are also VoIP providers in the residential space. When comparing Ooma vs Vonage residential, both companies provide unlimited domestic calling, voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, and E911 service to route calls to emergency services, among other features.

Ooma offers a straightforward and cost-effective pricing structure. After purchasing the Ooma Telo device, the basic phone line service is essentially free, with users only needing to pay applicable taxes and fees. The basic service offers quite a number of features, and additional ones can be accessed through Ooma’s Premier service for a monthly fee.

In contrast, Vonage offers a variety of tiered plans with different pricing, allowing more flexibility in terms of feature selection. Vonage plans also include a mobile app for calling on the go, which may be appealing to some users. However, the cost of Vonage’s services tends to be higher than Ooma’s, especially over the long term. Both services offer quality voice calling, but user reviews often suggest that Ooma has a slight edge in terms of call quality.