What should you budget for a business VoIP phone system? How to estimate business VoIP phone system costs.

The easiest way to estimate the cost of a business VoIP phone system is this formula, which applies to hosted (as a service) systems:

# of users X monthly cost per user X 12 = Annual cost of the system

With some providers, you can mix and match different tiers of service for your hosted VoIP phone system. This lets you get premium features for the employees who need them but avoid overpaying for unneeded features for employees with more basic needs.

Here’s how you would estimate the cost of a system that lets you mix and match license types:

# of tier 1 users X monthly cost per tier 1 user X 12 = A
# of tier 2 users X monthly cost per tier 2 user X 12 = B
# of tier 3 users X monthly cost per tier 3 user X 12 = C
A + B + C = Annual cost of the system

Check out our whole range of IP-based communications systems, including non-hosted options >

What about phones?

Phones are a separate cost from the monthly per-user phone system pricing. One great thing about most modern hosted VoIP phone systems is that you don’t necessarily need physical phones to use them. You can often use web dialers, softphones and mobile apps to use your VoIP phone system from your existing digital devices, like computers, tablets and smart phones.

If you need physical phones for your business, or even if you just prefer them, phones can be priced out two different ways, depending if you rent or buy.

Buying phones (one phone model only)
# of model 1 phones X one-time cost of model 1 phones = One-time cost for phones

Buying phones (multiple phone models)
# of model 1 phones X one-time cost of model 1 phones = A (one-time cost)
# of model 2 phones X one-time cost of model 2 phones = B (one-time cost)
# of model 3 phones X one-time cost of model 3 phones = C (one-time cost)
A + B + C = One-time cost for phones

Renting phones(one phone model only)
# of model 1 phones X monthly cost of model 1 phones X 12 = Annual cost of phones

Renting phones (multiple phone models)
# of model 1 phones X one-time cost of model 1 phones X 12 = A (recurring cost)
# of model 2 phones X one-time cost of model 2 phones X 12 = B (recurring cost)
# of model 3 phones X one-time cost of model 3 phones X 12 = C (recurring cost)
A + B + C = Annual cost of phones

What about non-hosted, not as-a-service phone systems?

The calculations for those are far more complex, and more akin to building a custom home, so we won’t cover them in-depth here. They can involve a wide range of potential considerations involving hardware, software, installation, service plans, setup and more. For these, it’s best to have a personal consultation to talk through the details.

Click here to speak with an expert about a non-hosted phone system >

What should be included in a business VoIP price quote or estimate?

Pricing for business VoIP phone system installation, setup and deployment: How much does it cost?

For the vast majority of hosted VoIP phone systems, installation, setup and deployment costs are waived. A big part of what makes this possible is the fact that there’s little-to-no hardware and infrastructure involved on your (the customer’s) part.

Why aren’t all of these costs waived for all customers? Because there are a very rare few customers that are extremely large or have unusually complex needs that require a little more support to get up and running. But these are rare exceptions. For most customers, setup is free and easy.

What features are included in a business VoIP phone system price quote? Which features and services cost extra?

Some hosted VoIP phone systems, like MiCloud Connect, also include team collaboration tools and features in their standard pricing, but this is less common. If a VoIP phone system includes team collaboration in its standard pricing, you would expect to find many of the following features:

• Direct messaging
• Web, desktop and mobile app interfaces
• Team chat
• File sharing
• Audio-Conferencing
• Video conferencing
• Personal dashboard
• Task management
• Store / archive data

But as we said, many VoIP providers charge extra for team collaboration features, or don’t offer them at all.

Most business VoIP phone systems include basic telephony features standard.

Call center / contact center functionality virtually always represents additional cost beyond the core VoIP phone system. This is because it’s so complex, specialized and often has to integrate with a host of other third-party systems to be effective.

At Mitel, our basic voice-only call center software is your low-cost option. Our advanced, omnichannel customer experience software is naturally priced higher than our basic option, because of all the incredible ninja backflips the advanced version can do. See our featured contact center offerings here >

Compare cloud hosted VoIP prices vs on-site and private cloud prices

The biggest difference you'll see when comparing hosted VoIP prices and prices for other types of phone systems is the expense type.

Hosted VoIP works on an operational expenditure model (opex), where you pay a recurring monthly fee for the service, just like you would for your personal mobile phone or video streaming service.

Conventional unified communications and private cloud phone systems typically work on a capital expenditure model (capex), where you pay one or more large, one-time fees to own the technology outright.

Both models have their advantages.

Click here to learn more about the differences between capex vs opex phone system pricing >