Most "best VoIP" lists rank whoever pays the highest commission. We do the opposite. Our recommendations are based on hands-on testing and real pricing, and our position never changes based on what a provider pays us.
1. We sign up and use it
Where a trial or account is available, we create one and run the workflows a real business uses every day: placing and routing calls, setting up an auto-attendant, running a video meeting, using the mobile and desktop apps, and walking through the admin console to add a user and assign a number. A feature only counts if it works the way the marketing says it does.
2. We price it for real team sizes
Per-user pricing is misleading because the tier you actually need is rarely the one advertised. We price every provider for a 5-person, 25-person, and 100-person team, on the plan that includes the features most businesses of that size require (CRM integration, call recording, analytics), so the comparison reflects what you would really pay.
3. We dig for the hidden fees
The number on the pricing page is the start, not the total. We look for what is buried: contract length and auto-renewal terms, early-termination fees, number-porting charges, 911 and regulatory fees, overage rates, and which "included" features are actually paid add-ons.
4. We rate against what matters
Each provider is scored on value for money, call quality and reliability, ease of setup and admin, feature depth, integrations, and support quality. We weight those by what actually drives buyer regret, which in this category is almost always price-to-value and support.
5. We keep it current
Pricing and features in this market change constantly. We revisit our reviews and comparisons on a regular schedule and stamp each page with the date it was last updated, so you are never reading last year's plans.
Our independence
We may earn a referral fee when a reader chooses a provider through us. That never changes a ranking, a score, or a recommendation. When a provider is the wrong fit for your situation, we tell you, even if it costs us the referral. That honesty is the entire point of the site.
