Best residential VoIP services for your home

One of the best-known options in VoIP, RingCentral is popular for a good reason. It’s simple to use and well priced too. It has a dedicated app that’s easy to understand, making it simple to make voice calls or text to your heart’s content. On the Essentials plan, you can enjoy unlimited calls within the US and Canada, which is perfect for relatives strewn around North America. Alternatively, if you want to enjoy unlimited audio conferencing and video meetings with everyone possible (up to 100 participants), you can upgrade to the Standard package for $5 per month more.
Elsewhere, the features can be a bit business heavy, but you’ll still enjoy the useful essentials throughout. One neat bonus is the voicemail-to-text ability, which could be incredibly helpful if you have any relatives who are deaf or who have hearing challenges. Another convenient extra is the ability to share documents that can easily be used together with family chats. Call quality is consistently regarded as high-end, so your interactions should always be clear and crisp.

On the surface, Intermedia Unite seems a bit intimidating for home needs, but it has a lot going for it. Crucially, it offers unlimited calls within the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico — a notable feature as other VoIPs don’t often cater for Puerto Rico. There’s unlimited texting too, which can be useful in certain situations. On the lower-end package, you can easily arrange video conferencing with up to four people before extending to an audio conference with up to 200 people. 
What we like most is that Intermedia Unite bundles in cloud storage for file sharing and backups as standard. You get 2GB per user, which is perfect for sharing cute video files of the grandkids or even sharing recipes and other virtual family hand-me-downs. 
Intermedia Unite offers more than you’ll need as a family given its business integration tools, but stuff like automatic spam call protection and automatic call recording remind you that these business features can be useful whatever your situation. 

Have relatives or friends who live abroad? Calls will no doubt end up being pretty pricey on your landline, which is why 8×8 is the perfect solution. For roughly the same price as other VoIPs, you can enjoy unlimited calls to the US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. That’s a huge bonus for many. The downside is that if you need more countries than this, then the price goes up a lot. Still, for many, this is a great starting point.
As well as that, 8×8 offers crisp HD voice calls, HD audio, and video meetings with screen sharing options, and you can enjoy some conveniences like voicemail. With comprehensive apps for mobile and desktop, it’s the perfect setup for those who regularly call abroad. There is even voicemail transcription and automatic call recording for those times you might want to check back on something.

Vonage is a big name in business VoIP services, and Vonage for Home is just as good for residential users. At its simplest, it offers unlimited calls to the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, whether via your landline or your mobile. Just slot an adaptor on your landline to enjoy the service. 
Upgrade to a more expensive service, however, and you get access to unlimited calls to 60 different countries from your landline or ten via your cell phone. It’s nearly as simple as making a regular call, so it’s perfect for relatives and friends who aren’t so savvy about tech.
The best offers come from tying into a 12-month contract, but you can also opt to pay by the month, which can be useful during certain situations such as if a loved one has traveled abroad temporarily. Other features are a little limited on the ground compared to more business-focused VoIP packages, but that means you don’t pay for services you don’t require so it works out to be a good deal.

Ooma Office prefers that you use its own phones rather than an app, although that’s an option too. This is an advantage when you’re trying to convince older, less tech-savvy users to embrace VoIP as they won’t know the difference. Their bills will be different though thanks to Ooma Office being pretty cheap after you buy the original equipment. For a low monthly fee, you get unlimited calls to the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, along with cheap international rates. There’s extensive spam call protection too, which is great for keeping elderly relatives away from scams. 
Voicemail is sure to be useful when trying to get in touch along with call forwarding and voicemail transcription. Everything else is a little bit too over the top for residential needs, but it’s the all-important physical equipment that makes this a good option for the more vulnerable who prefer the traditional means by which to talk. 

Want to see your loved one’s face while you talk? There are a wealth of options out there with Lifesize being one of the fastest-growing. With six months free, you can enjoy unlimited meetings with up to 25 participants ensuring that mass family gatherings from around the world just became a reality. The service includes native desktop and mobile apps, although there is the suggestion that equipment via Lifesize makes the experience even better. Whatever you choose, it’s a bargain.
Upgrade to a paid service, and you get even more participants in your meetings, along with the option to host one for up to 24 hours. Lifesize isn’t really any use for those looking for regular landline style calls, but if you’re keen to video chat all day long, you can’t go wrong here.