Pros & Cons
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- Affordable
- Powerful and useful AI features
- Reliable performance
- Excellent 24/7 tech support
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- Confusing pricing
- Doesn't include the full Zoom Meetings experience
Zoom Phone Specs
| Automatic Call-Back | |
| Call Monitoring | |
| E911 Service | |
| Electronic Fax | |
| SIP Phone Support | |
| SMS Messaging | |
| Software Phone | |
| Toll-Free Option | |
| Video Conferencing | |
| Voicemail Transcription |
The Zoom Phone voice over IP (VoIP) service stands out for its affordability without skimping on other aspects of the experience. It offers useful AI features, top-notch calling quality, and robust support resources all in a streamlined user experience, while also packaging SMS/MMS, team chat, and video meeting capabilities. All those aspects make Zoom Phone ideal for customer support representatives who don't need advanced contact center features, knowledge workers who frequently make calls, and sales teams. It earns our Editors' Choice award for its low cost and focus on the calling experience, alongside Intermedia Unite and RingCentral RingEX, which provide clearer pricing, more advanced AI features, and equally intuitive interfaces.
Pricing: Seriously Affordable
Zoom Phone can keep costs down because it's primarily for voice communication. If you don't add a plan to a Zoom Phone number, you can reach other extensions within your system, but otherwise pay the highest per-minute costs. For calls in the US and Canada, those rates are, respectively, $0.0318 per minute and $0.0355 per minute. The rates for other countries are generally higher.
The base calling plan is Zoom Phone US and Canada Metered Calling ($10 per user per month). It also charges you on a per-minute rate, though less than if you had no plan. For example, rates for the US and Canada decrease, respectively, to $0.0205 and $0.0229 per minute. You get AI-based post-call summaries, basic call center features (barging, monitoring, takeover, and whispering), call recording, three-way calling, unlimited auto attendants/IVR, and voicemail transcription. Just keep in mind that AI features related to sentiment analysis (insights like who talked the most or asked the most questions) cost extra.
(Credit: Zoom/PCMag)Otherwise, this plan includes chat, fax, and SMS/MMS features, though the latter two incur metered costs. You can view the rates for calls, faxes, and SMS/MMS messaging here. You don't get the premium Zoom Meetings experience as part of your subscription, just the free features. That means video calls can last up to 40 minutes and include up to 100 participants.
The next step up is the US and Canada Regional Unlimited plan ($15 per user per month). It unlocks unlimited calling in the US and Canada, and gets you 50 fax pages to send or receive within the two countries (you pay the per-page rate after you hit this limit). Zoom Phone also offers Global Select plans ($20 per user per month) for expanded international calling or for certain regions, such as Asia or South America.
If you want both Zoom Phone US & CA Unlimited and Zoom Workplace Pro, you can get the Pro Plus plan ($18.32 per user per month, billed annually). The calling features are the same, but the upgraded version of Workplace unlocks 5GB of cloud storage, additional Zoom AI Companion features, meetings of up to 30 hours, and more. Finally, the Business Plus tier ($22.49 per user per month, billed annually) unlocks 300-person meetings and unlimited faxing in the US and Canada. Both of these combined plans are an excellent value.
For comparison, RingEX's Core plan ($20 per user per month, billed annually) supports unlimited domestic calling (international calls incur a per-minute rate), video meetings for up to 100 people, and text messaging. You also get AI features, such as real-time call transcriptions and video meeting summaries. Similarly, Unite's Pro tier includes 50GB of storage per user, an AI Assistant, business texting, one-to-one and team messaging, unlimited AI-enabled video meetings with up to 100 participants, and unlimited domestic and international calling. 8x8 Work's voice-only X1 plan ($15 per user per month, billed annually) matches up well with the calling features of Zoom Phone's base plans, but doesn't have any of the extras or as strong upgrade options.
Interface and Ease of Use: Intuitive Apps
Despite all the communications products that Zoom offers, the setup process for Zoom Phone is extremely easy. You mainly just need to assign a license and number to each user. You don't need to navigate an extensive admin portal, and the interface is clear and intuitive. The experience is free of distracting graphics, and the unified color palette makes for easy navigation. You can add a virtual receptionist, enable a few AI functions, such as voicemail summaries (more on that later), and start making calls after just a few minutes.
(Credit: Zoom/PCMag)However, if you explore the administrative functions, you will find much more complex settings and some restrictions. For example, to unlock call queue analytics features, you need to pay for the Power Pack add-on ($25 per user per month).
Similar Products
Our Current Picks for The Best Business VoIP Services for 2026
Zoom Phone is available via mobile (Android and iOS) and desktop (macOS and Windows) apps, as well as on the web. The experience on all these platforms is consistent and seamless. The Zoom Phone interface is a simplified version of the one for Zoom Workplace, and the soft phone dialer is the focus.
(Credit: Zoom/PCMag)Setting up contacts was a breeze in testing, thanks in part to the included CSV template file. I imported a few dozen contacts in a few seconds. Help is always a click or chat away. I tested the support process by inquiring about an issue related to setting up Microsoft Teams. An agent started chatting in seconds and resolved my issue within a few minutes. Zoom provides an extensive knowledge base, and chat is available 24/7. Additional support options vary based on your account level and type. Premium support plans are also available.
Desk Phone Support and Integrations: Plenty of Options
Zoom Phone works with more desk phones than many competitors, including RingEX and Unite. It supports about eight major brands, such as Cisco, Poly, and Yealink. You can find all of the relevant details here.
As of publication, all tiers of the service support an impressive 160 integrations. You can connect Zoom Phone with CRM providers (such as Zoho CRM), Google Workspace, and messaging apps (such as Slack and Teams). Only RingCentral RingEX is comparable in terms of the number of integrations it offers.
Audio and Video Calling Experience: Fully Reliable
Zoom Phone works exceptionally well for voice communications. Throughout testing, I didn't encounter any delays, static, or other glitches. I primarily conducted calls between an iPhone and two different desktops, and the sound was always crystal clear. I especially like the AI features here. For example, after I received a voicemail, Zoom Phone called out related action items, such as scheduling another meeting as a follow-up. During SMS chats, the AI companion had no trouble summarizing what the conversation had covered thus far.
(Credit: Zoom/PCMag)The service really shines when it comes to telephony features. You can configure work hours for employees, create a shared voicemail box for a team, transcribe messages, transfer an IP call to a landline and then back again, and record calls, for instance.
Video meetings are not a main component of Zoom Phone, but many companies can get by with the free version of Zoom Workplace anyway. Video meetings appeared crisp and were free of lag. If you need more comprehensive features and already pay for premium versions of Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace, you can connect Zoom Phone to those platforms. Meanwhile, the Zoom Phone Smart Embed option means you can use the service with any web-based video meeting app as well.
Administration Experience: Mostly Simple
As mentioned, Zoom Phone's administrative tools are surprisingly robust. Call barging, call queues, monitoring/whispering, virtual receptionist, and voicemail service features are easy to find, and most have just a simple toggle. Configuring call routing, licenses, users, and other phone features is also straightforward.
(Credit: Zoom/PCMag)All that said, Zoom Phone could provide better call analytics. The current data it collects mostly focuses on call quality, usage reports, and other basics. To really see detailed reporting, you need to pay extra for the aforementioned Power Pack add-on. I was not able to test it, so I couldn't evaluate major categories of analytics related to call durations, how many people your company puts on hold, and the total number of calls.
Final Thoughts
(Credit: Zoom)
Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone is a capable VoIP service with handy AI features and a slick, understandable interface, making it an excellent choice for teams that want to keep costs down.