Best Residential VoIP Providers in 2024

Residential VoIP Plans Offer Tons of Free Calling Features

VoIP phones and ATA’s receive data differently than their circuit-switched counterparts. For this reason, VoIP subscribers get tons of free calling features as a standard. Here are just a few of the many free calling features you can expect from even the cheapest of residential VoIP calling plans:

3-Way Calling, Address Book, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Choose Your Area Code, E911, HD Voice, Incoming Caller ID, Mobile App, Number Porting, Online Call Log, Simultaneous Ring, Virtual Second Line, Voice Mail

...And of course, cheap or UNLIMITED calls to U.S., Canada, and other select countries.

Residential VoIP Buyer's Guide

Before you sign up, here’s what you need and why:

Compare services and read provider reviews - Analyze and compare the provider before signing up for services. Read existing  user's reviews of the service potential provider. Read into the provider’s old twitter feed, and see how often they report technical difficulties.

Broadband (Cable or Fiber) Internet - You need a minimum amount of bandwidth in order to have the features and sound quality required. The optimum speed for VoIP home service is at least 3Mbps upload speed. Remember, upload speed is slower than download speed, but VoIP data has to be sent and received at a high rate.

An IP phone or VoIP Adapter (ATA) - You’ll see a wide range of prices between the different providers when it comes to equipment. Some providers have expensive equipment and “freemium” service; others will lease you equipment for free and charge more per month. Between those two, you have a lot of in-between. An IP phone plugs directly into your modem or router, and an ATA lets you use a legacy phone over the VoIP network. You need an IP phone to truly enjoy all the benefits of VoIP calling, which is why VoIP phones are becoming more popular.

Know How To Hook Up Multiple Phones - Most houses are wired in such a way that you can connect POTS phones throughout the house. But, you’ll also want to consider different options. You may have IP phones connected to Ethernet jacks in different rooms; you may want to use a wireless phone with many handsets; you might even opt for using mobile apps over your home’s Wi-Fi.

VoIP Home Phone vs Landline Home Phone Service

VoIP calling as your home phone service is the best way to consolidate calling and networking in one convenient place, while saving a lot of money. Landlines are limited, and serve no more function than dialing out and receiving calls. Setting up your VoIP phone to forward calls to your mobile number is just one of the many ways you can stay connected, even when you're not home. A common concern in making the transition to VoIP is that giving up your landline service will ultimately mean giving up your number in exchange for a new one. With number portability, residential VoIP providers allow you to keep your old landline number and assimilate it into your new phone service. Check with your VoIP provider to see if your particular number is eligible for porting, as they are portable in most cases.

The benefits of making the change permanently from a traditional landline phone to VoIP phone services can have a lasting effect -- minimizing cost and maximizing customization. Turning your home into a fully integrated network, VoIP is the most economical and intelligent method of making phone calls. Doing away with your landlines means doing away with fees and long distance charges in favor of one low monthly rate. The sooner you do away with landline service, the sooner you'll be enjoying more features for substantially less, saving hundreds of dollars a year. Make the switch, and leave those switchboards in the dust...you won't regret it - Get VoIP!

For more details, here's a side by side VoIP vs Landline comparison.