Vonage vs ooma

Best hardware VoIP Bottom line

Ooma (Est. $150 for hardware) differs from other VoIP services in that it charges only for the initial hardware. You start with the Ooma Telo hub (Est. $150), which promises great call quality and works with your regular home phone. If you want more extensions, you have to buy Ooma Telo handsets (Est. $60). There are no monthly fees for the basic service, except for applicable taxes and fees.

Performance

Good call quality. Reviewers at The New York Times and SpotCoolStuff.com both praise the call quality of the Ooma, saying that it's on par with that of Vonage. In agreement is Rick Broida at CNET, who reports better call quality with Ooma Telo than with Vonage, and he and the San Francisco Chronicle's David Einstein both recommend Ooma over Vonage. Ooma Telo also receives good marks for call reliability, but technical support gets mixed reviews. Live customer service chat is available through the Ooma website.

Plans and costs

Fee for hardware only. The only fee for basic Ooma VoIP service is the cost of the Ooma hardware, but you will have to pay government taxes and fees every month. You'll need to buy special Ooma handsets (Est. $60) if you want any extensions. Domestic calls are free and international calls start at 1.4 cents per minute, or you can subscribe to an international plan for $10 per month for 1000 minutes to 61 countries.

However, calling another Ooma customer anywhere in the world is free. The Ooma Premier Services package (Est. $10 per month), includes three-way calling and voice mail forwarding, a 60-day free trial is available.

Features

Some features are extra. The free Ooma service has all the basic features including voice mail, caller ID and 911 services, plus a virtual second line, so two people can make calls at the same time. Voice mail, call waiting and caller ID are also included.

Even without the Premier plan, you get email notifications of new voice mail messages, but you'll need to buy a Premier subscription (Est. $10 per month) if you want some of the features that come standard with Vonage, such as three-way calling and voice mail forwarding. Transferring your existing phone number -- free with some VoIP providers -- is a $40 option with the basic Ooma plan. Ooma also has a mobile app for Android and Apple.

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