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Business VoIP costs and pricing
Business VoIP systems can range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of pounds each year, depending on setup, scale, and features.
This guide breaks down typical VoIP costs, including setup fees, monthly charges, and the key factors that impact pricing for businesses.
Here’s what we cover:
- How much does VoIP cost for businesses
- Typical business VoIP costs
- Factors that affect VoIP pricing
- How VoIP compares to traditional phone system costs
How much does a VoIP phone system cost?
A VoIP phone system is a digital alternative to traditional business phone lines that operates over the internet, offering more flexibility and lower running costs.
With the upcoming PSTN switch off, businesses still using traditional landlines will need to upgrade to digital phone systems like VoIP to maintain continuity.
Below, we list the typical costs depending on your business size.
| Business size | Users | One-time setup costs | Monthly ongoing costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business | 1–20 | £50–£1,000 | £50–£300 |
| Medium business | 20–100 | £1,000–£5,000 | £300–£3,000 |
| Large business | 100+ | £5,000–£10,000+ | £3,000–£10,000+ |
Small businesses can get started from around £50 a month, while large organisations with hundreds of users may spend £10,000+ each month, in addition to one-off setup costs.
Typical business VoIP costs
When choosing a VoIP phone system, there are four main cost areas to budget for: one-time setup costs, ongoing service fees, connectivity, and add-ons. Comparing offers from different business VoIP providers can help you find the best fit for your organisation.
Here we explain how each cost area works in a typical business VoIP contract:
Set-up costs
These are the upfront costs to get your system running:
- VoIP phone system installation: £50–£200 to configure accounts, numbers, and call routing.
- Equipment: Desk phones (£50–£300 each), headsets (£20–£200 each), and adaptors if needed (£20–£100).
- Network hardware: Basic switches and cabling from £10–£200, plus any business VoIP integration work needed with your existing systems.
Monthly VoIP service costs
These are the core recurring monthly fees for using cloud-based VoIP solutions.
- Line rental/service fees: Around £10–£30+ per user each month, often bundled into business broadband deals.
- Call packages: Pay-as-you-go or inclusive minutes, with hybrid packages common for businesses.
- Support and maintenance: Often included, but premium support plans or advanced business VoIP analytics tools may cost extra.
Connectivity costs
A stable internet connection is essential for VoIP:
- Full fibre business broadband: From around £30 per month, suitable for smaller teams.
- Dedicated leased line: From £90 to £800+ per month, typically used by larger organisations to maintain high VoIP call quality.
Additional feature costs
Optional add-ons can increase monthly costs:
- Advanced VoIP features: Call recording, virtual receptionist, or CRM integration (£5–£10 per user).
- Security and compliance: Encryption, backup, and data storage features may be charged separately.
- Service level agreements: Some providers charge extra for guaranteed uptime and response times.
Factors affecting VoIP pricing
The total cost of a VoIP system varies depending on a few core factors. Below, we explore the main factors that influence business VoIP pricing.
Number of VoIP devices
The number of devices directly influences both setup and ongoing costs:
- Each VoIP phone and headset adds to your initial investment.
- Service charges are typically priced per line; more devices mean higher monthly fees.
- Higher call volumes often result in increased usage costs.
- Larger setups place greater demands on your connectivity and infrastructure.
- Businesses may require advanced SD-WAN solutions or Secure Access Service Edge to support reliable and secure VoIP use at scale.
Complexity of your VoIP setup
The more advanced your VoIP system, the more it costs to deploy and maintain. Key complexity drivers include:
- Premium VoIP features such as auto-attendants, call queues, analytics, voicemail-to-email, or interactive voice response systems.
- Integration with UCaaS platforms that combine voice, video, messaging, and CRM tools.
- Security upgrades, such as encryption, firewalls, and dedicated cloud or in-house storage for call recordings and sensitive data.
- Licensing for add-on tools, multi-site support, or large user volumes.
- Support for remote VoIP solutions, including softphones, mobile apps, and home office setups.
- 24/7 technical support or a managed service contract.
Length of your VoIP contract
Contract duration also affects pricing:
- Monthly rolling contracts offer flexibility but often come at a premium.
- Longer commitments typically reduce per-user costs and may include discounted features or installation.
Some providers offer trial periods or introductory offers before committing to longer-term contracts.
Cloud vs on-premises costs
Your choice of deployment model has a major impact on cost:
- Cloud-hosted VoIP: Lower upfront investment, with predictable monthly fees. Providers handle hosting, updates, and maintenance, making it ideal for smaller teams or growing businesses.
- On-premises VoIP: Higher upfront costs for hardware, servers, and installation, but lower long-term running costs at scale. Usually better suited to large organisations with in-house IT teams.
How VoIP compares to traditional phone system costs
VoIP is usually far cheaper per user than traditional phone systems. While older landline-based systems involve higher upfront investment and ongoing maintenance, VoIP spreads costs over predictable monthly fees that scale easily as you add users.
The table below shows typical cost ranges for small, medium and large businesses.
| Business size | Users | Traditional setup | Traditional monthly | VoIP setup | VoIP monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small business | 1–20 | £2,000–£5,000 | £200–£500 | £50–£1,000 | £50–£300 |
| Medium business | 20–100 | £5,000–£20,000+ | £500–£3,000+ | £1,000–£5,000 | £300–£3,000 |
| Large business | 100+ | £20,000–£50,000+ | £3,000–£10,000+ | £5,000–£10,000+ | £3,000–£10,000+ |
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