How WhichVoIP works now
In 2026 WhichVoIP moved to a purely editorial model. We made the change because a comparison site is only worth something to buyers – and therefore to providers – if what it publishes cannot be bought.
Every one of our 660+ directory listings is free and uniform. Every review is researched from primary sources and scored on the same five-dimension rubric, sponsor or not. There are no display ads on the site, no press section, no paid placements inside content, and no backlink arrangements. Buyers arrive through search and AI citation, build a shortlist through our reviews and comparisons, and request quotes when they are ready to talk to providers.
That last step is where the commercial model lives. Quote requests are matched to providers whose offering fits the buyer’s stated needs. Sponsorship affects how that matching works and how visibly a partner shows up on decision-stage pages – and nothing else.
The two sponsorship options
One retainer option for providers who want sustained presence, one pay-as-you-go option for providers who only want leads.
| What you get | Sponsored Partner – from R6,500/month | Pay-per-lead – from R650/accepted lead |
|---|---|---|
| Matched quote requests | Yes – you see every matching lead first, before it opens to other providers | Yes – once the lead opens to all providers |
| Per-lead cost | From R650 per accepted lead, by buyer size | From R650 per accepted lead, by buyer size |
| Brand presence in decision-stage content | Yes – your brand appears across relevant comparisons, alternatives pages and buyer guides where editorially warranted, always disclosed | No |
| Clickable links to your website | Yes – in your review and brand mentions, tagged rel=”sponsored” (traffic and visibility; no SEO authority passed) | No |
| Sponsored partner card on your review | Yes – a clearly labelled “Sponsored partner · scoring is independent” card with your branding | Not applicable |
| Quarterly accuracy refresh | Yes – every quarter we re-verify your review and listing against your own site, plus priority turnaround on changes in between | Standard editorial cycle |
| Influence on review score, verdict or ranking | Never | Never |
| Monthly commitment | Month to month | None |
| Buyer size | Price per accepted lead |
|---|---|
| Under 5 users | R650 |
| 5 to 20 users | R950 |
| Over 20 users | R1,250 |
Lead pricing is identical whether you are a Sponsored Partner or pay-per-lead, and you are billed only for the leads you accept. The tier is set by the headcount the buyer states on the quote form. All prices exclude VAT.
How a lead reaches you
When a buyer requests quotes, we match their requirement against every provider whose stated categories, territories and customer sizes fit. Nobody receives leads outside what they have told us they want.
Sponsored partners see a matching lead first. For a short window it is offered to them alone. If they take it, it is theirs.
After that window the lead opens to every other matching provider at once. There is no queue and no ranking — it is first come, first served.
A lead closes once three providers have accepted it. We tell buyers they can expect up to three quotes, and we hold to that: a fourth provider trying to accept is told the lead is no longer available. Nobody is billed for a lead they could not take.
You are only ever billed for leads you accept. A lead you leave alone costs you nothing, and there is no penalty for passing on one that is not right for you.
What “brand presence” means – and what it does not
Sponsored partners are guaranteed consideration wherever our bottom-of-funnel content covers their category: comparison tables, alternatives round-ups, and buyer guides. Inclusion is still an editorial call – we will not put a wireless specialist in a Cloud PBX comparison – but where your offering genuinely belongs in the conversation, sponsorship ensures you are in it, accurately represented and clearly disclosed. It does not mean favourable framing, top-of-table positions, or softened criticism.
What we no longer sell
If you bought these from WhichVoIP in the past, they have been retired – not repriced.
| Retired | Why |
|---|---|
| Display and banner advertising | Ads erode the buyer trust that makes our leads convert. There is no ad inventory on the site. |
| Press releases and advertorials | We publish our own editorial coverage. Vendor announcements are covered on merit, not payment. |
| SEO backlinks | We do not sell search authority. Sponsored partner links carry rel=”sponsored” and pass no ranking value; editorial citations cannot be bought at any price. |
| Directory prominence | All 660+ listings are uniform. No badges, no boosted positions, no featured slots. |
| Review scores and rankings | These were never for sale, and remain not for sale. |
The editorial boundary
Sponsored and non-sponsored providers are scored on the same rubric, from the same evidence bar, by the same editorial process.
Every sponsored relationship is disclosed everywhere it applies. Sponsored reviews carry a disclosure naming the relationship. Our quote-matching priority is disclosed on this page and on our advertising disclosure. If we ever bend this rule, the whole platform stops being worth sponsoring – which is exactly why we will not.
For the full picture of how we research, score and fund the site, see our Advertising Disclosure & Editorial Independence page and our FAQ.
Looking for more commercial firepower? That’s Pulse.
The promotional layer did not disappear – it moved to a product built for it.
Pulse is our market-intelligence platform for South African telecoms vendors and resellers: competitor tracking, market signals, and the commercial insight layer that a comparison site for buyers was never the right home for. If what you actually want is to grow share in the SA telecoms market – not just receive leads – Pulse is where that investment belongs.
Pulse is available in three tiers: Pulse at R9,999/month, Pulse Channel at R19,999/month, and Pulse Accelerator at R39,999/month. Ask us for a walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as an “accepted lead”?
A quote request from a buyer whose stated needs match your services, which you choose to accept. You see the lead’s requirements — service, size, location and what they asked for — before deciding, and their contact details only once you accept. You are billed only for leads you take. Leads you pass on cost you nothing.
How many providers get each lead?
Up to three. Every provider whose profile matches the buyer’s requirement is offered the lead — sponsored partners first, then everyone else — and the first three to accept it are the three the buyer hears from. Once three have accepted, the lead is closed and nobody else can take it.
Not every lead reaches three. If a buyer’s requirement matches fewer providers than that, they hear from fewer.
Can we pay for a better review score or a higher ranking?
No. Scores, verdicts, comparison positions and “best of” placements are editorial outputs and are not for sale at any price. A sponsored partner is scored on exactly the same five-dimension rubric as any other provider.
Do sponsored partners get backlinks?
Sponsored partners get clickable links to their website in their review and brand mentions – but every sponsor link carries a rel=”sponsored” tag, so it drives traffic without passing SEO authority. We retired authority-passing backlink arrangements as part of the move to a fully editorial model, and editorial citations cannot be bought.
What happened to banner ads and the press office?
Both were retired in 2026. WhichVoIP is now a purely editorial platform, and the commercial offering has been rebuilt around the two options above: quote-match priority and disclosed decision-stage presence. Vendors looking for market-intelligence and growth tooling should look at Pulse instead.
Our listing or review is out of date. Do we have to sponsor to fix it?
No. Factual accuracy is free for every provider. Send us what has changed, we verify it against your own published pages, and we correct it. Sponsorship buys a faster turnaround on those updates, not the right to them.
How do we start?
Email us at [email protected] with your company name and which option you are interested in. We will confirm your category fit, current review status, and go from there. Month-to-month, no long contracts.
Ready to talk?
Tell us who you are and which option fits. We will come back with your category fit and next steps.