Free VoIP Or Paid VoIP – Which One Is Better?

Free VoIP Or Paid VoIP – Which One Is Better?

Paid VoIP plans start at around $20 a month which comes to about $250 a year. So why pay for it if you can get it for free? But before I delve into that let me notice that even with the free VoIP to landline or cell phone offers – there are often small long distance charges with common exceptions often dealing with free promotional offers.

There are certain features that the paid VoIP provider might provide which a free one might not. One such feature is the 911 emergency call service functionality. This particular issue has to do with the difficulty of pinpointing a geographical location of a call that is being routed through the Internet. FCC has regulated in 2005 that all VoIP providers hooking up to PSTN network are required to comply with providing full 911 call compatibility or otherwise not to obtain new customers in areas where it is mandatory.

Sometimes there is also raised a question of a voice transmission quality difference between the two types of VoIP although in my personal experience that has not been an issue.

Next there is the local phone number availability. Some free VoIP providers offer it as an add-on paid feature. The same may apply to extras like caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding and voice mail. Others allow you even to have more then one local number and in remote geographical locations.

If you are a business VoIP user the ability to send faxes over VoIP might be important to you as well. Or if you are using VoIP for conference calling with large number of simultaneous participants then it is definitely something to find out – how far will your VoIP provider be able to accommodate you with that.

The final answer to which type of VoIP is better will depend on whether you need these extra features. Also many paid VoIP providers have sign up specials offering either free VoIP phone sets and/or interface boxes for regular corded or cordless phones . So if you are planning on using regular phone sets for dialing up to VoIP network that might be then also something to consider.

And if you are not depending on free long distance VoIP to PSTN offers from the free VoIP providers then the amount of time you spend on the phone can also be a factor in deciding which type of VoIP is best suite to your needs.