Ooma vs Vonage: Head-to-Head Comparison

Summary: While Ooma and Vonage both provide VoIP phone service for small businesses and startups, Ooma is a better choice if your business needs basic contact center functionality but doesn't require a full fledged CCaaS platform. Vonage, on the other hand, is best for companies that need a low-cost, bespoke communication solution.

Vonage is a flexible business communications platform that combines a cloud-based phone system with team messaging and video conferencing capabilities. The provider offers some of the lowest prices in the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) space and is highly customizable thanks to a variety of add-on features and APIs.

Ooma is a unified communications platform that includes a fully-featured business phone system, SMS/MMS text messaging, and video meetings for up to 100 participants. Although Ooma is more expensive than Vonage, it offers 24/7 customer support to all users.

How We Compared Ooma and Vonage

We used the below criteria to compare Ooma vs. Vonage:

• Phone System Features: We looked at the variety and usability of calling features like visual voicemail, call recording, etc.
• Interactive Voice Response/IVR: We compared auto assistant features paying special attention to routing options, customizability, and AI-powered features
• Analytics and Reporting: We evaluated the reporting and analytics capabilities of the two platforms including customizable templates, real-time reporting and alerts, visual graphs, etc.
• Integrations: We looked at the number of and variety of integrations offered
• Video Conferencing: We compared the two video conferencing platforms looking at features, video quality, security, etc.
• Messaging: We looked at the pricing structure and quality of the two messaging platforms
• Call Quality: We compared the audio quality of the two providers
• Security: We evaluated security levels for Ooma and Vonage looking at compliance certifications and features such as SSO, E2EE, MFA, etc
• Compatibility: We looked at the brands and models of hardware, such as desk phones and headsets, that are compatible with each platform
• Ease of Use: We compared how easy each platform was to use from an agent, manager, and supervisor perspective
• Customer Support: We evaluated customer service channels, hours, and responsiveness for Vonage and Ooma
• Price and Value: We compared pricing plans as well as add-ons and hidden fees for both providers

Vonage vs Ooma: At A Glance

Vonage’s bundled plans are more affordable than Ooma’s, but all Ooma plans include far more features than Vonage, which requires paid add-ons for even basic functionalities like call queueing and recording. However, with an uptime SLA, SSO, and 25 points of presence in the United States, Vonage is more secure and offers greater network reliability than Ooma. With 6 international POPs and toll free numbers available in 150 countries, Ooma is better for global teams. On the other hand, Vonage has a plan specifically designed for mobile-first teams, making it the ideal option for remote and hybrid workforces.

While Vonage does have more options when it comes to integrations, Ooma includes integrations with the most widely used CRMs.

Ooma is also a hardware manufacturer, which means that Ooma users will most likely have to purchase Ooma desk phones. Although Ooma’s IP phones are built specifically for Ooma’s service and provide a more seamless experience, Vonage users have more hardware options. Finally, Vonage often offers free phones with their service, while Ooma does not.

This table provides a quick comparison of Ooma and Vonage.

Vonage vs Ooma: Pricing and Plans

Both Ooma and Vonage have a traditional three tiered pricing structure. Vonage offers both annual and volume discounts, while Ooma does not.

Vonage offers users more flexibility than Ooma due to its lower starting price and option to purchase advanced features “a la carte”. Costs can add up quickly, however, for companies that need two or more add-on features like conference bridge, virtual fax, call queueing, toll-free number, and more.

Here is an overview of Ooma and Vonage pricing plans.

Ooma Pricing

Ooma Office provides three tiered pricing plans to suit various business needs. The pricing varies from $19.95 to $29.95 per user/month. The plans include unlimited calling in North America and over 50 phone features, video conferencing, analytics, and CRM integrations. More advanced features like IVR and real-time analytics are available on the higher tier plan.

For more details, read our complete review of Ooma pricing and plans.

Vonage Pricing

Vonage Business Cloud (VBC) offers three pricing tiers that range from $19.99 to $39.99 per user/month. For this price you'll get unlimited domestic calling, SMS texting, desktop and mobile app support, video meetings for up to 200 participants, analytics, on-demand call recording, and more. Additional advanced features are available as add-ons, allowing businesses to customize their communication solution to their specific needs.

For more information on Vonage cost, check out our review of its pricing and plans.

Ooma vs. Vonage: Feature Comparison

Summary: Both Vonage and Ooma offer essential small business VoIP features such as SMS texting, video conferencing, team chat, and auto attendant but lack AI-powered features like agent assist or automated call summaries.

Ooma includes more features in its pricing plans, while Vonage provides more flexibility by offering many features as add-ons. For example, Ooma includes automated and on-demand call recording, conference bridge and call queues, while Vonage charges for these features as add-ons.

Here, I will break down the quality and usability of Vonage and Ooma phone system features, declaring a winner for each topic.

Voice Calling

Vonage and Ooma both have reliable phone systems, but Vonage alone provides a 99.999% uptime guarantee. The main difference between the two providers is that Ooma includes unlimited calling in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, while Vonage only includes phone calls in the United States and Canada.

Vonage and Ooma both offer toll-free numbers, but Ooma includes one toll-free number per plan along with 500 toll free minutes, while Vonage charges a flat monthly rate for each toll-free number.

When it comes to voice features, Vonage is a better choice for companies that only need the basics (call forwarding, voicemail, etc.) because more advanced features cost extra and the add-on fees can add up quickly. Ooma is better for businesses that need virtual faxing, call recording, conference bridge, and voicemail to email, which Vonage offers only as paid add-ons.

Winner: Draw

The best solution will depend on whether you need a toll-free number, international calling capabilities and certain advanced calling features

Messaging

Both Ooma and Vonage offer reliable and TCPA-compliant business texting on both mobile and desktop devices, but Vonage also offers a full team messaging solution while Ooma offers only a team chat feature in its Pro Plus plan. Vonage offers unlimited texting in all plans, while Ooma limits text messages to 250 or 1,000 per month depending on the plan.

Vonage’s team messaging platform enables users to share files, start or join group chats, send/receive SMS from an office phone number, and initiate voice or video calls within one workspace. While Ooma users can create teams and view employee presence, they cannot escalate to voice or video calls, and teams are limited to only 8 participants.

The main difference between the two team messaging solutions, however, is price. Vonage includes team messaging in its Premium plan, which starts at $17.49 per user/month. Ooma only includes team chat and presence in its Pro Plus plan starting at $29.95 per user/mo.

Vonage offers a unique add-on feature called Business Inbox which allows users to send and receive SMS/MMS text messages, emails, and Facebook messages in one unified inbox. Ooma includes a text scheduling feature as well as templates.

Winner: Vonage

Due to its robust and affordable team messaging platform as well as its unlimited SMS/MMS text messaging, Vonage is the clear winner here.

Video Calling

Both VoIP solutions offer a robust video conferencing tool, but Vonage has a higher participant limit as well as more advanced features like a virtual whiteboard.

Both phone service providers offer:

• Noise suppression
• Virtual background
• Hand raising and emoji reactions
• Simultaneous screen sharing
• In-meeting chat
• Active speaker or grid view
• Meeting Recording

While Ooma limits participants to 25 in the Pro plan and 100 in the Pro Plus plan, Vonage allows up to 200 participants in both the Premium and Advanced plans. Ooma includes some security features such as permissions, guest restriction and meeting passwords, but Vonage offers a higher level of security with meeting lock, waiting room, and HIPAA compliance.

Vonage also includes a simple whiteboard feature for up to 20 participants, while Ooma does not offer whiteboard.

Winner: Vonage

Vonage has a higher participant cap and includes more advanced security and collaboration features, making it the winner here.

Auto Attendant

Vonage’s auto attendant and Ooma’s virtual receptionist are nearly identical and provide users with basic call routing. Ooma, however, offers a full featured IVR system in its contact center plan.

Vonage and Ooma both allow users to route calls to extensions and ring groups and customize business hours based on schedules, departments, or availability. Both providers also include a dial by name feature that enables callers to enter the first or last name of a contact as indicated by preset entries. Vonange also offers a text-to-speech option allowing users to record or type in greetings and quickly change outgoing messages.

Ooma’s CCaaS platform does include a multi-level IVR with drag and drop call flows, skills-based routing, and intelligent reconnect. Vonage users only have access to IIVR by customizing the platform with third party CRM integrations like Salesforce and APIs.

Winner: Ooma

Ooma wins for this category because it offers an advanced IVR platform in its contact center solution.

Analytics & Reporting

Ooma is more expensive and only offers real-time reporting for Contact Center Plan users, but its reporting and analytics dashboard is more robust and customizable than Vonage’s.

Both Ooma and Vonage offer default call reports with call center KPIs such as total calls and average call duration, along with sort and filter tools, exporting, and automated reporting. Both platforms only include real-time wallboards on their CCaaS platforms

Vonage call quality reports provide technical information about a call, such as packet loss and jitter, and scores the overall call quality from 1 to 5, while Ooma does not.

Ooma, however, includes a library of customizable reporting templates such as calls by DID and ring group, while Vonage only offers default reporting templates

Winner: Draw

Each platform provides historical reporting on its UCaaS platform and real-time reporting and analytics on its CCaaS platform

Integrations

While both VoIP systems offer an open API framework, Vonage’s platform provides a better user experience as well as many more pre-built integrations.

Vonage offers 24 integrations with apps such as Salesforce, Hubspot, Zapier, Zendesk, and Slack. On the other hand, Ooma Integrates with only about 12 third party apps including Microsoft 365 and Google Voice.

Vonage uniquely offers the “Vonage AI studio” which allows users to build complex conversational flows via a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface.

Winner: Vonage

Vonage offers more out-of-the-box integrations as well as a better user experience for building custom integrations.

Ooma vs. Vonage: Pros and Cons

Overall, I found Vonage to be more flexible and customizable, with great pricing for companies that don’t require a lot of advanced features. Conversely, Ooma really excels when it comes to international calling options and customer service. Unlimited calling to Mexico and Puerto Rico is a rare find in the VoIP space, and Ooma offers this to all users.

While Vonage has a more robust video conferencing and team messaging platform than Ooma, neither platform offers any AI or NLP-driven features. Vonage is a little more secure and reliable than Ooma, thanks to SSO and an uptime SLA, but it is still lacking in advanced security features like MFA and end-to-end encryption.

Here are some more pros and cons for Vonage and Ooma:

Ooma vs Vonage: Which Should You Choose?

Vonage vs Ooma: Is There A Clear Winner?

Vonage excels in nearly every category: security, video conferencing, integrations, and pricing flexibility. Ooma, however, provides more value for companies that need features like on-demand call recording and eFax. Ooma also offers a more intuitive platform and provides better customer service–especially important for small teams and new businesses.

The best platform for your business depends on whether you need a customizable communication solution with powerful team collaboration functionality, like Vonage or an intuitive and affordable business phone system like Ooma.

Alternatives to Vonage and Ooma

If Neither Vonage nor Ooma feels like the right fit, the below business VoIP providers and UCaaS platforms are the most popular alternatives to Vonage and Ooma: