Google Voice is a free IP telephony service that provides users with one phone number that can be forwarded to multiple phones or devices. It includes features such as call forwarding, voicemail translation, text messaging, and voice calls. Fees may apply for international calling.
$10
per user/per month
OpenPhone
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
OpenPhone, a business phone service from the company of the same name in San Francisco, adds work phone numbers to existing devices. No new hardware required; all that's required is an app. Extended services include a lightweight contact management CRM, and customer service team management (e.g. shared inbox) features.
$15
per month per user
Pricing
Google Voice
OpenPhone
Editions & Modules
Starter
$10
per user/per month
Standard
$20
per user/per month
Premier
$30
per user/per month
Starter
$15
per month per user
Business
$23
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Voice
OpenPhone
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
—
Discounts available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Voice
OpenPhone
Features
Google Voice
OpenPhone
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Voice
4.4
Ratings
58% below category average
OpenPhone
5.5
Ratings
37% below category average
Hosted PBX
8.40 Ratings
4.40 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
5.20 Ratings
4.40 Ratings
User templates
1.40 Ratings
7.70 Ratings
Call reports
5.00 Ratings
4.40 Ratings
Directory of employee names
1.70 Ratings
6.90 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Voice
8.1
Ratings
3% below category average
OpenPhone
7.2
Ratings
15% below category average
Answering rules
8.00 Ratings
6.90 Ratings
Call recording
10.00 Ratings
6.90 Ratings
Call park
6.40 Ratings
6.90 Ratings
Call screening
7.40 Ratings
6.90 Ratings
Message alerts
9.00 Ratings
8.50 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Voice
7.2
Ratings
10% below category average
OpenPhone
5.6
Ratings
35% below category average
Video conferencing
7.00 Ratings
4.40 Ratings
Audio conferencing
7.00 Ratings
4.40 Ratings
Video screen sharing
5.60 Ratings
5.00 Ratings
Instant messaging
9.30 Ratings
8.50 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
[Google Voice is] great if you have a workforce that needs to make calls for business purposes from their personal mobile device, while keeping their personal phone number private. If you have a large company with its own telecom system, it probably won't be necessary if employees already have their own landlines or separate work phones.
If you have more than 2 people in your organization, then this will save you so much time. Delegation is the key to starting a business. Even when you're a 1 person show, being able to present to your user base the differentiation of options for client communications is critical. As a founder, feeling compelled to be always on is something I strive not to be. OpenPhone gives you that flexibility. I have found it to be less appropriate in complex HIPPA compliant areas, but that is it. OpenPhone really does seem to suit an open array of use cases.
It can be tricky to configure exactly how you want it. If you are particular about which voicemail greeting goes to which number, and how it appears when it rings through to the phone - it can take a good amount of work to set it up properly.
Call quality can be spotty on wifi if the connection is poor, but nothing they personally can do about that. 4G LTE is usually stronger and more stable.
It's user friendly, how to use it is self explanatory, they support all their own options while someone like Phone Booth uses a third party. I can cancel Google Voice anytime and I choose how much I spend with Google Voice
I haven't had problems with dropped calls, bad reception, lost recordings - everything works the way it should. The iOS app is easy to use, and the process is easy to explain to other people. It's also the cheapest way I've found to call internationally - I've used it to interview people from London and Austraila.
Because I think it's simple enough to use but could still use some adjustments. Some thing are maybe not as intuitive to me even though I am probably a mid power user? If I can recommend it, I would suggest you copy how Intercom is doing things, but this could be just personal and most people don't feel that way.
They do not offer support unless you have the Business account for Google Voice under G Suite. This is tough, because Google doesn't really have a customer support team for this service, so when it gets shut down for a few hours, we have no choice but to wait it out. But this doesn't happen that often, which is great.
In my experience, their support feels like the opposite of support. They send you in circles, never directly answer questions, provide vague suggestions with unwanted platitudes, and they often take days between responses to provide that. For me, it's a frustrating experience that leaves you with a net loss of time and energy versus before you reached out to them. In my opinion, you definitely don't get "support".
It is a pretty seamless program to transfer to, even for people who either have little experience with these programs or people who were stuck on Skype
Google Voice at the peak of its adoption did serve as a very real and effective solution. However bugs persisted, and innovation lacked, and support for the product soon declined. However, there are several other solutions provided that focus on making one product as best as it could be. Google made it clear to me as a customer, that this was a backup for a backup. When you look at the simplicity on its own, it appears to be fantastic, however as you dive deeper, and experience its lack of smooth edges, you find that it's been built by engineers who were given a scope, rather than solving for a use case and listening to customer feedback. Many of the other solutions available on the market, see this opportunity. This is why voice communication is a growing SaaS vertical, albeit competitive. Understanding the customer here is key, and Google understands what drives value to the larger organization. As a business owner, I understand, that when a business has to allocate resources, another department, or service suffers. Unfortunately this product feels to be the one that has met that fate
Intercom - not exactly the same type of product but still a messaging platform which is what we use OP for. OP is superior in that it's more focused. We only use it for texting and some calls. Braze - we used it before for promo texts, we found it more confusing, harder to navigate and price was higher as well if I remember correctly. Whatsapp - problem is that you can't reach all USA customers using it.