Business phone service for the price of a burger

• The hidden costs of using personal phones for business
• Introducing a cloud-based Business Phone System
• Pricing
• Why you should switch to a business phone system
• Bottom line
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Business Phone System is more affordable than you think. Many businesses mistakenly believe that a cloud PBX, or a virtual business phone system, is expensive and complicated to set up, and that it requires advanced technical skills. This misconception can prevent small businesses and startups from using PBX. Even large companies may hesitate to implement innovative communication tools.

In reality, modern cloud PBX systems are cost-effective, easy to integrate, and can significantly improve customer communication and reduce the workload for your team.

The hidden costs of using personal phones for business

Despite all technological advances, many customers still prefer phone conversations. Therefore, the quality of your phone system can directly affect customer trust and your ability to capture new potential clients who are contacting you for the first time.

Many companies still use personal phones, but this approach can cause a number of problems:

Scattered contacts: Customer data is often spread across multiple devices. Notes can be lost or forgotten, and if an employee leaves, the new responsible person may not have access to all the information.

No call monitoring: Managers cannot monitor calls or check their quality.

Risk of data loss: If a phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, important customer data can disappear.

Unprofessional impression: Personal phones usually lack advanced phone system features, such as custom greetings and the call routing to the right department or agent. Missed calls outside of business hours can lead to lost contacts and potential clients.

Inefficient workflow: Using personal phones to work with clients wastes time and slows teamwork.

Different phone numbers: Instead of one reliable phone number that customers recognize and trust, using multiple numbers can create confusion and make your business appear disorganized.

High costs: Using personal phones for business can be expensive.

Introducing a cloud-based Business Phone System

A Cloud PBX, also known as a virtual PBX, is a VoIP phone system that works over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. It lets businesses have one or more phone numbers that can be used on computers, smartphones, or regular IP desk phones.

Cloud PBX lets you and your team travel, work remotely, and still sound as if you were all in the same office. Here is a breakdown of some useful Zadarma cloud PBX features that many businesses can benefit from:

Dedicated Phone Numbers: Use one or multiple virtual business numbers on one or several devices.

Custom greetings: Upload an audio greeting or generate one automatically from text.

Multilevel IVR (Interactive Voice Response): Create automated menus that guide callers through different options to reach the right department or service.

Call routing: Direct calls to the right departments or teams.

Working hours: Set up voicemail, messages, or call forwarding to another number or employee outside business hours.

Call recording and speech recognition: Record calls and convert them into text for important information and quality analysis.

Mobile and desktop integration: Make and receive calls over the internet from anywhere without extra SIM cards, via apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS.

Voicemail to email: All voicemails are automatically sent to your email, so you can listen and respond quickly from anywhere.

Call statistics and analytics: Track call volume, duration, and activity to monitor performance and improve customer service.

Free CRM: Zadarma’s Customer Relationship Management system, Teamsale, is complimentary. Manage all your customer data, deals, and employee activity from a single platform.

Call Tracking: Monitor the performance of your marketing campaigns.

Integration with AI systems: Integrate Retell AI, Vapi AI or ElevenLabs voice AI agents.

Integration with leading and custom CRMs: Integrate your preferred or custom CRM using our step-by-step guides.

Pricing

Virtual business phone system can help you reduce costs significantly. The Zadarma Cloud PBX itself is free. You only pay for virtual phone numbers and the calls you make. Let’s take a look at the different ways the PBX can be used.

Receiving calls

To receive calls from customers, you can get a virtual phone number starting at around $2 per month, depending on the number and region.

The PBX itself is free. It includes many advanced tools at no cost. Some features, such as speech recognition, may require payment. Incoming calls through the app are free, except for calls to toll-free numbers.

You can add more numbers as needed. On a single account, you can have numbers from different regions or countries.

Making and receiving calls (for teams of up to 5 users)

For teams with fewer than five users, Zadarma offers two pricing plans: Economy and Standard. The Economy plan uses per-minute billing, and the Standard plan - per-second billing. Both plans are pay-as-you-go and have no monthly fees.

With these plans, you can flexibly connect virtual phone numbers starting from $2 per month and make calls, for example, to the USA, starting from $0.009 per minute. Incoming calls via the app are free, except for calls to toll-free numbers.

The minimum top-up is $5. It means that with just $5, you can get a phone number, call credit, and access to an advanced virtual business phone system. If you prefer a calling bundle, explore our pricing on our website, in the Pricing - Price plans section. Zadarma offers calling bundles for eight regions, including the USA and Canada, European Union, and Latin America.

Making and receiving calls (for teams of 5–10 Users)

If you plan on making frequent calls for a team of 5 to 10 users, you may want to consider the Office price plan, for the USA/Canada, for example. It includes unlimited domestic calls and additional minutes to 18 other countries.

Price plans for other regions include a limited number of minutes, which is usually sufficient for teams of this size. The Office plan for the USA/Canada costs $39 per month for a team of 10. Small business phone system can transform your business communications for less than $4 per user per month. Incoming calls via the app are free, except for calls to toll-free numbers.

Making and receiving calls (for teams of over 10 users)

Zadarma offers pricing plans for teams of over 10 users, up to 400 users, in 8 different regions worldwide. Each plan covers multiple countries within the selected region. Most of the plans also include free minutes to some additional countries. The cost depends on the chosen plan and region.

For example, the Corporation plan for the USA/Canada for up to 20 users, with unlimited domestic calls, costs $79 per month when paid annually. This is less than $4 per user per month.

Pricing plan comparison for the USA and Canada:

Why you should switch to a business phone system

A business phone system does more than reduce costs. It allows your team to work from anywhere while sharing the same business number. Features like call flow, custom greetings, and CRM integration improve your company’s image, customer trust and workflow.

The PBX also helps to save time with features, such as automated attendants, call routing and voicemail to email. As your business grows, you can upgrade the plan, add users and phone numbers without significantly increasing your costs. Switching to a business phone system is an investment that reduces your team's workload, increases professionalism, and improves customer experiences.

Bottom line

Overall, a Cloud PBX requires only a small investment for an advanced set of communication tools. With features like call routing, automated attendants, voicemail to email, video conferencing, and CRM integration, it offers features that traditional phone systems don't provide. For businesses of any size, it helps build professional communication, improved customer service and team efficiency.