Google Voice for Business Review: Plans, Costs and Limits

The verdict

Google Voice for business is a good, plain phone line for people who already live in Gmail. It is weak as a full office phone system: the cheapest team plan has no phone menu, Google's plan table offers local numbers only, and texting works only from US numbers. Whether it is good value depends almost entirely on whether you already pay for Google Workspace.

Google Voice for business at a glance

Standalone or Workspace: two ways to buy

Google sells the same product two ways, and the difference decides your price. A standalone plan sits on a personal Gmail account, serves one person and works only in the US. A Workspace add-on serves a team, needs a paid Google Workspace subscription and offers local numbers in 14 countries or regions (Google).

Users and number availability from Google's subscription comparison; features from the same table. Full plan-by-plan pricing: Google Voice pricing.

What a team really pays

For two or more people, the Voice price is only half the bill. Google states that team plans require a Google Workspace plan billed separately. Workspace Starter is $7 a user a month on Google's annual plan (1-year commitment) or $8.40 on the flexible plan (Google Workspace pricing), and Google marks both as introductory prices for new customers, for the first 20 users and 12 months (Google).

Our math: a 5-person team pays $85 a month on Starter, $135 on Standard and $185 on Premier (Voice plus Workspace Starter at $7 on the annual plan, before tax); on Workspace's flexible plan the same teams cost $92, $142 and $192. The phone menu is the expensive step: moving from Starter to Standard adds $10 a user a month. For new Workspace customers, Google's pricing page currently shows 50% off the first 3 months, for a limited time with no end date given: Starter is $3.50 a user instead of $7 on the annual plan for those 3 months, so Voice Starter plus Workspace is $13.50 a user, or $67.50 a month for five, before returning to $85. Google says the offer is for new Workspace customers only and the first 20 users (Google).

For one person the math is simpler. Standalone Starter is $10 a month, or $120 a year. Standalone Standard costs $180 in its first year with Google's 6-month discount, because the price returns to $20 a month after six months.

What Google Voice does well

Where it falls short for a business

• No phone menu on Starter. Google lists auto attendants only on Standard and Premier, so the cheapest team plan cannot answer with "press 1 for sales."
• Ring groups and queues need Workspace Standard. The standalone Standard plan has auto attendants but not ring groups or call queuing.
• Local numbers only. Google's comparison table covers local phone numbers; it lists no toll-free numbers. Numbers outside your home country come only with Premier.
• US-only texting. Google's table says unlimited SMS, "only U.S. numbers can send."
• A 10-user ceiling on Starter. Grow past ten people and every user moves to Standard at $20.
• Poly only, with gaps. Google's desk phone page says voicemail and the contact directory are not supported on Poly devices (Google).
• The free plan is not a business plan. Google describes Basic as "for personal, consumer use."

Google Voice for small business: which plan fits

Team costs add Workspace Starter at $7 a user, the annual-plan price on Google's Workspace pricing page ($8.40 on the flexible plan). Google's Voice page does not say whether Voice prices assume monthly or annual commitment.

Setting up Google Voice for a team

If you already pay for Workspace, Google says an admin can add Voice from the Workspace Admin console (Google). Standard can also connect existing phone numbers to Voice through SIP Link, which helps if you are not ready to move your main number (Google).

Calling abroad and numbers in other countries

Every Google Voice plan includes unlimited domestic and regional calling, where "regional" depends on your primary location; Google says regions include North America and Europe, and international rates depend on both the originating and destination countries (Google). Team plans can be bought in 14 countries or regions, but a number outside your home country comes only with Premier at $30 a user. A US business with a sales rep in Canada can call there on any plan; a business that wants a local UK number for that rep needs Premier.

How it compares with other team phone systems

Entry prices on annual billing where offered, from each company's pricing page. The Google Voice figure adds Workspace Starter at $7 (Google's annual plan).

911 and outages

Google offers emergency calling on Workspace add-on accounts and on the Starter and Standard standalone plans, not on the free plan (Google). It also warns that during a power outage, a lost internet connection or a Google Voice outage, emergency calling will not be available, and tells users to dial from another phone (Google). An office that relies on Google Voice alone should keep a cell phone or other line for 911.

Questions to answer before you commit

1. Do you already pay for Google Workspace? If not, add its cost to every user.
2. Will callers need a phone menu? If yes, price Standard, not Starter.
3. Do you need a toll-free or vanity number? Google's plan table does not offer one.
4. Will you pass ten users within a year? Starter stops at ten.
5. Do you text customers from numbers outside the US? Google's texting is US only.
6. Which desk phones do you own? Google supports Poly devices; check the model first.

If Google Voice is not the fit

Need a toll-free number and a flat price for the whole account? See Google Voice vs Grasshopper. For other systems with a phone menu on the entry plan, see Google Voice alternatives. Want to keep costs at zero? Free VoIP services explains what the free plan can and cannot do.