How we rate VoIP phone systems
Our rating is based on a transparent 100-point system. Every VoIP phone system is assessed in 5 categories against objective criteria. Here you can see exactly how our ratings come about.
Points breakdown at a glance
Our 100-point system weights the factors that matter most to companies when choosing a VoIP phone system. Features and voice quality carry the most weight because they directly affect day-to-day work.
| Category | Max. points | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Features & telephony | 30 | 30% |
| Voice quality & reliability | 22 | 22% |
| Integrations & administration | 18 | 18% |
| Security & data protection | 16 | 16% |
| Price & plans | 14 | 14% |
| Total | 100 | 100% |
30 points Features & telephony
The core of every VoIP system – here we check which telephony features the solution offers:
- Call management (8 pts): Forwarding, queues, IVR/voice menu, parallel ringing, ring groups, busy lamp field
- Unified communications (8 pts): Video conferencing, team chat, screen sharing, presence status
- Phone numbers & porting (6 pts): Local/international numbers, free porting, international options
- Mobile & desktop apps (4 pts): iOS/Android apps, desktop clients, softphone quality
- Advanced features (4 pts): Call recording, voicemail-to-email, fax-to-email, call analytics
22 points Voice quality & reliability
The technical basis for professional telephony:
- Voice quality (8 pts): HD voice (G.722), echo cancellation, noise reduction, jitter buffer
- Availability & SLA (6 pts): Uptime guarantee, geo-redundancy, failover mechanisms
- Network optimisation (4 pts): QoS support, session border controller, NAT traversal
- Scalability (4 pts): Extensibility (extensions), multi-site capability, API for custom workflows
18 points Integrations & administration
How well the VoIP system integrates into existing business processes:
- CRM integration (6 pts): Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho – CTI connectors
- Admin interface (5 pts): Web portal, user/rights management, provisioning
- API & webhooks (4 pts): REST API, real-time events, custom integrations
- Hardware compatibility (3 pts): SIP phones (Yealink, Grandstream, Snom), headsets, DECT bases
16 points Security & data protection
Security is especially critical for business telephony:
- Encryption (6 pts): SRTP (voice), TLS (signalling), end-to-end encryption
- GDPR & location (5 pts): Server location (DE/EU), data processing agreement, data residency
- Access security (5 pts): 2FA, IP whitelisting, fraud detection, call logging
14 points Price & plans
Transparency and fairness of pricing:
- Basic fees (5 pts): Cost per user, minimum contract term, setup fees
- Call costs (4 pts): Flat rates, per-minute prices for landline/mobile/international
- Transparency (3 pts): Hidden costs, fair-use clauses, price change policy
- Flexibility (2 pts): Monthly cancellation, trial period, scaling costs
Grading scale
| Points | Grade | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | 1,0–1,5 | Very good |
| 80–89 | 1,6–2,5 | Good |
| 70–79 | 2,6–3,5 | Satisfactory |
| 60–69 | 3,6–4,5 | Adequate |
| <60 | 4,6–5,0 | Poor |
