VoIP vs. Landline: Which Phone System Is Better for Your Business?

Phone systems can be a make-or-break decision for any business. Either VoIP or landline phone systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. What are the exact advantages that make VoIP phones chosen by more and more businesses instead of landline phones? VoIP vs. Landline, which phone system is the best for your own businesses? In this guide, we'll dig into the pros and cons of both VoIP and landline phone systems to help you figure out.

Table of Contents

What Is VoIP Phone System?

Pros of VoIP Phones

Cons of VoIP Phones

What Is Landline Phone System?

Pros of Landline Phones

Cons of Landline Phones

VoIP vs. Landline: Things to Consider When Selecting

Conclusion

VoIP vs. Landline: Basics About VoIP Phones

What Is VoIP Phone System?

VoIP, referring to Voice over Internet Protocol, is a technology that allows you to make phone calls using an internet connection rather than a traditional analog phone line that uses wires to make a connection. A VoIP phone system works by converting sound into data packets which are transmitted over the Internet to a VoIP provider. It has the features of virtual receptionist, automatic call forwarding, multi-way dialing, and voicemail to email, which can not be accessed with landline phones.

Pros of VoIP Phones

Cost-effectiveness

Low cost is one of the main benefits provided by VoIP phones. Since the phone calls are made through the Internet, all you are charged for is only Internet access rather than call minutes or extra phone service. VoIP is often adopted as a cost-effective solution for long-distance calling, because international calls over a VoIP app are usually free.

Connection anywhere

With VoIP phone systems, the voice services of your businesses can be remotely operated though the Internet. Mobile apps or PC softphones can be used in the place of the desk phones in your office to transfer calls, put calls on hold, and make outbound phone calls with your office number.

HD sound quality

VoIP phones are equipped with HD voice quality. With the support of advanced protocols and codecs and a reliable Internet connection, VoIP phones can have clear, consistent sound quality with high fidelity.

Scalability and easy setup

VoIP systems allow you to remove or add phone lines as much as you need. It allows you to effortlessly add devices like desk phones into the system. VoIP phone systems get rid of the action to install any physical phone lines. All you need to do is to connect IP phones to the existing network via Ethernet lines.

Cons of VoIP Phones

Internet dependence

Internet reliability plays a very significant role when adopting VoIP phone systems. The sound quality of VoIP phones highly relies on the bandwidth of your Internet. To ensure decent sound quality and to avoid dropped calls, a strong and reliable Internet connection is a must.

Emergency calls

VoIP phones are not guaranteed to support emergency call services, which means businesses are often required to have a back-up landline telephone for emergency situations. On the other hand, with most people now having mobile phones, the likelihood of being unable to contact an emergency operator is low.

VoIP vs. Landline: Basics About Landline Phones

What Is Landline Phone System?

A landline phone system is a traditional model of phone services and it works through copper wires running from a local or national telecommunications company to the premises. It transmits voice using electrical signals on a wire and the voice service can only travel wherever the wires are laid.

Pros of Landline Phones

Consistent quality

Connection through wires makes landline phones very reliable in placing and receiving calls. Landline phones can be relied on for significantly better sound and call quality with no dropped calls when your Internet services are unreliable.

Security

The owner's address can be traced with the landline numbers allocated to the name of the property owner, especially during an emergency.

Cons of Landline Phones

Lack of flexibility

Communication technologies are moving forward. Convenient remote phone calls from anywhere at any time are becoming more of a business necessity. Landline phone systems are not flexible enough for future scaling up with landlines fixed already, especially for small to medium enterprises who are going to move forward to large businesses which require an expansion of phone systems.

Higher cost

When using landline phone systems, you will be charged for many phone services. Compared to VoIP phone systems which only lead to Internet service costs, a landline phone system costs much more, like taxes and additional fees, especially long-distance calls.

Spam calls

Landline numbers are more exposed to spammers for unsolicited calls of all kinds. You may be more inclined to receive spam calls on a landline than on a VoIP or mobile number.

VoIP vs. Landline: Things to Consider When Selecting

VoIP vs. Landline phone systems, which one is better for your business? Here is a chart of detailed comparison for reference.

Businesses of different scales have different standards when purchasing their phone systems, such as installation fees, phone service costs, flexibility, functionality, etc. Here are some primary factors suggested to be taken into consideration when selecting.

Features and Benefits

The first thing before deciding on which one to choose is to figure out what features ad benefits is most important for your own businesses. Just make sure the phone system you choose is the most beneficial one for your own business not just for now but for the long run.

Costs

When you spend the money, you want to pay for the desired features that you would like to include in your new system. VoIP tends to be cheaper than landlines since it costs less installation fees and there is no charge for long-distance fees. Except for service costs, you will need to pay for other involved equipment such as PBXs if you decide to choose landline analog phones. Thus, in the long run, VoIP phone system would be the most cost-effective choice.

Future Scalability

When comparing VoIP vs. Landline phones, VoIP phone systems are more flexible to scale up and easier to maintain than traditional landline ones. If you are running a rapidly growing business or a small to medium business which has the potential to grow bigger, VoIP phone systems with more scalability will save lots of money and energy once you decide to upgrade your business phone systems.

Conclusion

With the support of VoIP technology, business communications are rapidly transitioning over from traditional landline to VoIP phone systems due to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, etc, especially in light of the changing workplace landscape as the workforce gets more and more distributed and remote operations continue to expand.

How to choose between VoIP vs. Landline phone systems should depend on the most significant features your businesses prefer. VoIP is a more advanced technology driven by the needs of modern businesses. For most small to large enterprises, VoIP phones are no doubt a wiser choice.

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