IPCompare.com takes the guesswork out of your quest for the best deals and best providers of Internet Phone Service, also known as Digital Phone Service or VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol.) The IPCompare team has researched the latest, greatest, best priced, and best quality digital phone providers, to save you valuable time and hassle in finding the perfect provider for your calling needs.

But we don’t stop there. We also provide an opportunity VoIP users to post their own real world review of all providers found on this site. This means that you don’t get a biased slant on which providers people are most happy with – you hear it directly from customers of those providers.

We’ve also put together  a summary of common Internet Phone (VoIP) FaqsVoIP Features, and other resources to help educate you about how to make the switch to internet phone service seamless. Why waste money on old fashioned phone service any more? Take a look at our VoIP service provider reviews below for a quick overview of our picks and ratings.

Better yet, use the navigation at the top of the page to see any of our detailed reviews and RATE YOUR CURRENT PROVIDER if you find them here. Let the rest of the world know what you think about your experience.

Internet Phone Provider Featured Plan Free Trial Monthly fees Set-Up Fees Long Distance Rating More Info
Magic Jack

MagicJack

$39.99 Per Year! 30 days None! None! None!* VoIP Ranking: 5 Stars Sign Up for Magic Jack
Packet8

Packet8

$24.99 Per Month Unlimited Local and Nationwide No 24.99 $29.99 None!* VoIP Ranking: 5 Stars Sign Up for Packet8
Phone Power!

Phone Power

$9.95   Per Month No $9.95 None! None!* VoIP Ranking: 5 Stars Sign Up for Phone Power
Lingo

Lingo

$21.95 Per Month Unlimited Local and Nationwide 30 Days $21.95 $29.95 None!* VoIP Ranking 4 and 1/2 Stars Sign Up for Lingo
Lingo

ViaTalk

$9.95 Per Month 500 Minutes No $9.95 $29.95 None!* VoIP Ranking: 4 Stars Sign Up for ViaTalk
Next Review Coming Soon!
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Sign Up for Lingo Internet Phone Service

Price Range: $7.95/mo to $34.95/mo or $195/yr ($16.25/mo paid up front.)

Pros: 30 Days Free, Money Back Guarantee, Free Long Distance to 21 countries, and some of the lowest international rates available.

Cons: Some customers report inconsistent call quality. However, many factors could cause this besides the VoIP provider, such as Broadband service quality, or hardware problems.

Number Portability? Yes.

Summary
Lingo’s standard unlimited residential plan is priced at $21.95, which is within the lowest price range available from the major providers. The following is a summary of all available Lingo plans:

Besides great low prices on their plans, and among the lowest rates for International calling available, Lingo offers exceptional customer service and tech support, available 24/7. During our tests, all phone calls were answered and resolved very quickly.

Upon ordering new service with Lingo, you will receive their ATA (adapter) and complete, easy to follow instructions for getting started with your service plan. Also, once activated, you can log into their very intuitive account management interface, and adjust settings and preferences to control how certain features behave. Again, this is an exceptionally convenient feature of Lingo’s service.

Residential Plan Summary:


Plan

Lingo Link

Small Talk

Global Chatter

Talk 365

South Asia

Chatter Box

Price

$7.95/mo

$14.95/mo

$34.95/mo

$195/yr

$29.95/mo

$21.95/mo

Minutes

In Network

500

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Countries

Any

US,Canada,Puerto Rico

US,Canada,Puerto Rico*

US,Canada,Puerto Rico

US,Canada,Puerto Rico

US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, Vatican City, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, & South Korea

Residential Features

Residential Features: Voicemail, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Return Call, Caller ID with name, 411, 911 dialing, more …


Business Plan Summary

Plan

Business Value

Business Plus

Business Premium

Price

$39.95/mo

$49.95/mo

$79.95/mo

Minutes

500

2000

Unlimited

Countries

Any

US, Canada, UK, Puerto Rico, Netherlands,Germany,France,Italy,Ireland,Belgium,Switzerland,Sweden,Spain,Finland,Luxembourg,Norway,Australia,Vatican City,Portugal,New Zealand,Singapore,& South Korea

US, Canada, UK, Puerto Rico, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain,Finland,Luxembourg,Norway,Australia,Vatican City,Portugal,New Zealand,China,Singapore,South Korea,Japan, Hong Kong & Taiwan

Business Features

Office Assistant to manage your business conveniently and remotely plus over 20 calling features including voicemail, call forwarding, *69, and 3-way calling

Get Lingo Internet Phone Service


Visit Lingo Now

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Magic Jack Review

Magic Jack is an exceptional value for the cost, and a recent PC Magazine Editor’s Choice winner. This amazing little invention is essentially a VoIP gateway and ATA all built into a device which is about the size of a box of Tic Tacs (i.e. very small) which plugs into your computer’s USB port. Any standard telephone (analog or digital) can then plug into the MagicJack, and immediately have full featured VoIP calling service.

Currently, MagicJack.com is offering a free 30 day trial, just in case you have any skepticism about quality of services or features. Beyond the first month free, you pay only $39.99 for the ENTIRE YEAR of service. That is, they send you the Magic Jack device, you plug that in to any broadband connected PC or Laptop (or Mac) and your done – you have free calling for the year. And the great part is, when the time comes to renew, the yearly cost is only $19.99.

If you do the math, even when compared to a low cost unlimited VoIP calling plan at $19.99 per month, you will be saving roughly $200 per year, and perhaps double that figure when compared to standard POTS (non-voip) calling plans.

With Magic Jack, you get all the usual voip features and extras:

Free Local and Long Distance
Free Phone Number
Free Voice Mail
Free Directory Assistance
Free Call Waiting
Free 3-way Calling
Free Call Forwarding

…And more

Magic Jack Service Quality

Of the VoIP phone services that we have reviewed here at IPCompare.com, Magic Jack offers one of the very best (if not the best) sound quality, clarity, and reliability available on the market today. In researching the company’s history, we came to understand that the MagicJack infrastructure was designed and built like a traditional POTS phone company. This resulted in MagicJack having more and better connectivity to landline call routing within their network. The net result is, they offer the flexibility and savings of VoIP phone service, but with more robust carrier capacity and thus higher quality overall than typical VoIP providers.

Why wait? With the free, no-risk trial, you might as well give MagicJack a whirl: magicjack.com

Get a 2nd Opinion: Another Magic Jack Review

Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) is becoming an increasingly popular way to lower your phone bill. Among the big VOIP players are Skype and Vonage. But there’s a new contender in town that’s easier, cheaper, and definitely cool – MagicJack.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1385022/product_review_magicjack_voip.html

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Get Packet8
Price Range: $14.99/mo to $29.99/mo or $199.99/yr

Residential
IPCompare.com Rebate Offer: $20.00
(On unlimited residential plans. Restrictions apply, see our rebates page for more information.)

Pros:
No Start-Up Fees, No Contracts, No Cancellation Fees. Packet8 provides all the hardware you will need, including their unique, patented, “All-In-One” voice and video phone with most plans. Packet8 is one of the few providers that offer broadband video phone as a standard feature in their plans! Packet8 also offers mobile VoIP plans which can reduce your international mobile calling costs by 90%. Call reliability and quality are extremely high due to Packet8’s commitment to innovative, cutting edge technology platforms.

Business
IPCompare.com Rebate Offer: $30.00
(On unlimited business plan. Restrictions apply, see our rebates page for more information.)

Pros:
All of the above, in addition to a wide range of business plans, ranging from very inexpensive business VoIP plans for small or home-office businesses, to very flexible, scalable, diverse & feature rich plans for enterprise level telecommunications solutions. Large corporations and call shops will find every thing they need, including VoIP fax solutions. They offer a “pay as you grow” approach to business VoIP services, so that you can accommodate the needs of your business as it grows, without over paying for features and functionality you may not need when starting out.

Cons:
Although their services are very competitively priced, they are not “rock-bottom” for VoIP services. However, when selecting Packet8 as your provider, you do not run the risk of frequent dropped calls and poor sound quality which exists with the cheaper VoIP service providers.

Number Portability? Yes.

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Sign Up for Phone Power
Sign Up for Phone Power
Price Range: $9.95/mo to $19.95/mo or $199.95/yr with 6 months free ($11.11/month for 18 months, pre-pay.)

Pros: No Start-Up Fees, No Contracts, No Cancellation Fees. Great, low prices and promotions, including $9.95 per month for 3 months, and 6 months of free service with pre-paid plan.

Cons: The only thing we can think of is that Phone Power does not offer a “30 Day Free” promotion, which would allow people to try free for one month. But, considering their great promotional deals and high quality of service and call clarity, this really isn’t such a bad thing.

Number Portability? Yes.

Summary

Besides great promotions and low prices on their plans, Phone Power offers great customer service and tech support, available 24/7. This includes “Live Chat” online, which is very convenient if you spend a lot of time online. During our testing, all service requests were answered and resolved quickly, without any problems. Phone Power offers a flexible user interface to manage your phone service and features. They are the winners of Editor’s Choice awards at both VoIP Review and DSL Reports, and overall, receive extremely high customer satisfaction ratings.


Phone Power’s standard unlimited residential plan is priced at $19.95, about as low as you can find from the major providers. The following is a summary of all available Phone Power plans:

Residential Plans

Phone Power Residential Plans
Plan
Price
Minutes
Countries
Residential 500 9.95/mo 500 *US, Canada
Residential Freedom – 3 Month Promo 19.95/mo Unlimited *US, Canada
Residential Freedom – 6 Month Prepay 19.95/mo Unlimited *US, Canada
Residential Freedom – 1 Year Prepay 6 Months Free 199/yr Unlimited *US, Canada
*International rates billed per Phone Power’s long distance rate schedule. See Phone Power website for more information.

Residential Plan Features

Find Me, Follow Me, Caller Waiting ID, Simultaneous Ring, 3-Way Conference Calling, Adjustable Ring Length Call Forwarding, Voicemail to Email, Contact List, Number for Life, Block List, Out of Area Number
Call Hold, Click2Call, Call Log Viewer,Remote Click2Call, Music on Hold, Online Account Management
Do Not Disturb, Anonymous Caller Rejection, Voicemail, Remote Voice Management, Voicemail Viewer Caller ID, Speed Dial List, Call Waiting, Caller ID Management …

Business Plans

Phone Power Business Plans
Plan
Price
Minutes
Countries
Unlimited Hosted PBX 39.95/line Unlimited *US, Canada
Unlimited Monthly 39.95/month, single line Unlimited *US, Canada
* International rates billed per Phone Power’s long distance rate schedule. See for more information.

Business Plan Features

In addition to all standard features (see Residential Features above) all business lines qualify for auto-attendent and on-hold music.

Sign Up for Phone Power
Sign Up for Phone Power

Phone Power User Reviews

“AWESOME Customer Service, great voice quality, VERY low price.”
–sizquier66

“Extremely economical. EXTREMEMLY user friendly – both setup, voicemail, and general usage.
Pleasant and efficient customer service.Ported my number with ease and speed.”
–iris

“I switched to Phone Power over 2 months ago. I am so glad I did. They ported (transferred) my number from ViaTalk with no problems.”
–scottyj

“Ok. I have used Vonage, Verizon Voicewing Voip (which is the worst. STAY AWAY), Sunrocket, and not to mention all the regular phone companies like Verizon and MCI, and so far this is the overall best service yet.”
–mrcartersmith

“After reviewing few VOIP providers in my area I picked PhonePower based on website reviews,
and great value…So far I’m more than happy.”
–matvoip

“Our general rating we give Phone Power is fantastic. Phone Power offers amazing call quality, sound reliability, customer service and overall value. In my opinion, Phone Power is the best VoIP provider out there. Phone Power has customers everywhere recommending them to friends and family. That tells me that Phone Power is making a gigantic commitment to make sure they’ll be here for the long run…”
–voip-reviewer.com

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Skype can be very beneficial as a voip service for business, not just individuals. In addition to that, Skype is capable of much more than inexpensive VoIP communication. It offers a host of features available for free, including instant messaging and free video chats.

There are fee based features that Skype offers that can improve the way you do business. By incorporating Skype into your business, you are taking a step towards increased productivity and profit margins. Skype provides business owners with extra tools and features that can set them ahead of their competition. Skype can be much more than a business voip service. It can also be a productive business tool, if applied to it’s full potential.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of using Skype VoIP for business is that Skype offers the ability to make and receive calls outside of the Skype network. But that isn’t the only time and money saving benefit of Skype. The following are key features of Skype VoIP for business:

SkypeOut
The feature called SkypeOut allows you unlimited calling for a low locked in rate. This tool can save you business lots of money increasing productivity.

SkypeIn
The Skype feature called SkypeIn can also be incorporated into your business. With this effective feature you receive a personal phone number that allows the user to get calls from anywhere in the world through Skype. This tool can be incorporated into your business by becoming the main number of your business. You can receive calls from regular landline phones and mobile phones with this feature. This tool gives your business an international number to stay in constant contact with your customers locally or overseas.

Skype Voicemail
This feature works inbound and outbound. It is like having a 24/7 virtual secretary working for your business. Skype Voicemail feature takes voice messages when you’re offline, busy with another call, and unavailable to answer the phone. This tool is perfect for any business.

Call Forwarding
Here is another useful feature of Skype that is easily incorporated into your business. It allows you to answer calls even when you do not have access to a computer.

Skype SMS
You can make business conference calls and chat with multiple people at once by incorporating the Skype SMS feature.

Summing Up with Skype

Many businesses miss important opportunities and customers because they lack an effective means of maintaining open lines of communication. Incorporating Skype VoIP service for business will provide a flexible, powerful communication system to stay in touch with your customers and business contacts.

Sign Up for Skype

Get Skype Now
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Internet Phone Service

Price Range: $9.95 to $39.95, or $199 for 2 line and 2 years of service.

Pros: Very low prices, and a whopping 44 standard features with an additional

6 optional features (additional charges apply.)

Cons: Less than steller customer service, but NOT a deal breaker (they get the job done.)

Summary

Via Talk is owned by HostRocket, a well established, multi-million dollar web hosting company. As such, they are well grounded and positioned within the VoIP market to emerge as a dominating player.



The low prices and rich set of features really are the hallmark of ViaTalk’s service. Customer service at ViaTalk is – Fair. That is, customers report no real problems with tech support and customer service, but it is not as steller as it could be. For example, long hold times are common, but representatives handle inquiries expediently and with courtesy.



Call quality receives high marks, and is as good as any of the major providers.

ViaTalk Residential Plans


Plan

VT 500

Unlimited

Price

9.95/Mo

199/Year 1 Year Free

Minutes

500

Unlimited

Countries

US, Canada*

US, Canada*

International Rates Vary

ViaTalk Residential Plan Features

Enhanced Voicemail, Call Hunt, Call Record, BYOD Service Access, ViaTalk On-The-Go, Incoming Caller ID w/ Name, Outgoing Caller ID w/ Name, Custom Caller ID w/ Name, Soft Phone Access, Call Forwarding, Simultaneous Ring, e911, Support, Operator Services, Free In-Network Calling, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Rejection, Network Unavailable Forward, Toll Free Remote Voicemail Access, 7, 10, & 11 Digit Dialing, Call Log Passwords, Internet Forwarding, Do Not Disturb, Call Return (69), Caller ID Block, 3-Way Calling, Web Based Call Logs, Free 411 Directory Service, Custom Call Blocking, Call Alarm / Wake-Up Call, Call Broadcasting, Distinctive Ring, Anonymous Call Authentication, CID Privacy Exception List, Custom Outgoing Voicemail Messages, Local and Long Distance Dialing, Low International Rates, Advanced Password Management, Voicemail Notification Via Email, Voicemail Notification Via SMS Text Msg, Block Outgoing Caller-ID, Information, Caller-ID w/Name on Call Waiting, Speed Dial

Optional Features

Fax to Email, Virtual Phone Number, Toll Free Service, Fax Service, Business Class Support, Second Phone Line

ViaTalk Business Plans


Plan

VTB 1500

VTB Unlimited

Price

29.95/Month

39.95/Month

Minutes

1500

Unlimited

Countries

US, Canada*

US, Canada*

*International Rates Vary

ViaTalk Business Plan Features

Same as those listed under ViaTalk Residential Plan Features, above.

Visit ViaTalk’s Website

Sign Up for ViaTalk
Sign Up for ViaTalk
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With the advancement of Internet technology, now people can easily communicate with each other in a hassle-free manner. The technology has introduced quality service-VoIP calls, through which international calling becomes quite easy and convenient. The user can make free PC to PC calls, cheap PC to phone or mobile without paying much.
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VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocal is a new type of communication which provides a number of advantages over the more traditional forms of communication devices. Rather than using a phone line, it actually works through communicating over your cable line. There are many services that provide this. For instance your cable company might offer it as a part of their package, and you might be able to get it by itself. You might have choices such as Vonage or even Magicjack.
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Cable television networks have grown from the coaxial cable networks for TV broadcast delivery to a broadband hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks which can carry voice, data and multimedia services. DOCSIS and PacketCable standards were developed to enhance the speed, QoS and capability of the cable TV networks to deliver VOIP, packetized and real time network services.
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The newest technology in telecommunications has slowly developed in recent years and now offers millions of consumers around the world the ability to call anyone else over VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol. The technology utilizes broadband internet access to transfer phone calls instead of traditional analog phone lines, offering both a cheaper and more versatile method of making phone calls that has increasingly become more popular as the technology develops.
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Staying connected has become indispensable nowadays when your near and dear ones are away from you. But with the help of innovative technology, you can talk to them anytime you want. And now, most amazingly, you can see them too when talking with the cutting edge technology of VoIP.
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