Every business needs a telephone system, but with all the options to choose from the choice can seem complicated. And to add to the complexity, we now have the infamous cloud.
Fortunately, we’re here to simplify the process and answer the most common questions you need to know before deciding on a suitable solution and provider for your business. Browse through the options and be sure to play around with the search option, too!
PS. If you want to know WHY we’ve asked this information, navigate to the bottom of the page for the reasons why it should matter to you!
Want to find a Hosted PBX provider near you? Click here to go to the Directory.
Provider | Packages and Call Rates | Setup Fee | Keep your number | Supported Handsets | Contract Term | Use your own Internet? | Support & SLA |
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![]() View Rating | R60.00 per month per extension Landline R0.24c Mobile R0.50c International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates R0.35 - R0.50c | R600 per hour | Yealink SNOM Gigaset Atcom Fanvil i-Serv Grandstream Polycom | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring and remote management is offered Guaranteed response time - For software changes the response time is usually within 15 minutes. For hardware issues, 2 hours. Support Cost - Support is included at no additional cost. Call-outs charged at R375.00 ex VAT User and system Admin charges - No charge Support hours - Monday to Friday 08:00am to 17:00pm |
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![]() View Rating | HD Hosted 3CX - R79 per user per month. Use our 3CX APP on your mobile phone from anywhere. Call recording and video conferencing included. Local R 0.25c Mobile R 0.45c VoIP to VoIP Call Rates R 0.10c Other VoIP Providers R 0.35c - R 0.55c International Destination dependent | None | Yealink SNOM Gigaset Atcom Fanvil i-Serv Grandstream | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring and remote management is offered. Guaranteed response time - 30 minute MTT response Support Cost - Remote & Telephone support free up to 10 ext. R695 Pretoria area – other areas can be quoted. R15 per extension per month up to 50 exts, R10 per extension per month up to 100exts, R8 per ext for more than 100 exts. User and system Admin charges Included, but will be discussed in detailed SLA Support hours - 24/7 |
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![]() View Rating | R50.00 per user/extension per month Local and National Landline R0.24c Mobile R0.47 VoIP to VoIP Call Rates Free on-net Calls | None | Fanvil. Any other hardware not mentioned can be supported if approved by us | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - We have remote access into all our sites and we have a dedicated support desk available to attend to any customer enquiry within minutes. Guaranteed response time - When phoning into the support desk calls will be answered within a minute, should all agents be busy they will call the client back asap within a 15 minute window. Support Cost - Remote support is free of charge, should there be a physical need for onsite support a call out fee is applicable. 99% of all requests can usually be resolved remotely. User and system Admin charges -Included Support hours - We operate between 8:30am and 5pm Monday to Friday, we can cater for after-hours services but an additional SLA will apply. |
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![]() View Rating | R 219.29 per 10 Extensions plus Business VoIP Trunk, or Business VoIP Trunk + Direct Dial-In. Local R 0.24c (package 1) R 0.26c (package 2) National R 0.24c (package 1) R 0.26c (package 2) Mobile R 0.43c (package 1) R 0.52c (package 2) International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network R 0.13c (package 1) R 0.15c (package 2) to Other VoIP Providers R 0.24c (package 1) R 0.26c (package 2) * Package 1 - Calls charged in 30 second increments with a minimum of 60 seconds * Package 2 - Calls charged per second from the first second | None | SNOM Yealink Gigaset Cisco - ATA Adapter Grandstream Hardware not purchased from Switch may be supported if approved. | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring offered Guaranteed response time - Changes can be made via an online portal. If clients would prefer our team to assist, then the estimated response time is up to 3 working days. Support Cost - No charge User and system Admin charges - No charge Support hours - 8am to 5pm (Afterhours support for SLA clients). Clients can access the Hosted Switchboard Gui Platform via the Switch Telecom Client Zone 24/7. |
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![]() View Rating | Verto Supreme - an advanced telephony solution powered by the IP Centrex product offered directly off of the PortaOne voice platform. Pricing is based on customer specific requirements, but averaging around R 49.00 per user, excluding a handset. Cristal Local R 0.18c National R 0.18c Mobile R 0.25c - Vodacom & MTN R 0.31c - Cell C & Telkom Uncapped 5 inbound 5 oubound - R1299 10 inbound 10 outbound - R3199 15 inbound 15 outbound - R6499 | 1-10 Extensions - R1500 11-20 Extensions - R2500 21-50 Extensions - R4000 Customer is required to port to Vox. | Polycom, Yealink Standard Warranty is 24 months. Vox offers an extended Warranty, which also includes cover against lightning damage. | 12, 24, 36 Months | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring offered Guaranteed response time - If a customer takes and advanced SLA we offer guaranteed response times and well as guaranteed hardware swap out times. Support Cost - General business support is free. Advanced SLA charges cover Premium desk support with guaranteed uptime and support timeframes. Support hours - 24/7/365 |
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![]() View Rating | uVoice Free Business Hosted PBX Extension Free of Charge Pay per extension for value-added services | Phone Provisioning – Remote per phone R99 Phone Provisioning – On-Site per phone (Minimum R750 per site) R150 | Yealink NEC Yeastar | No long contracts – Calendar Month available | Yes | Remote Support offered. Call-out fee R750/hour. | |
![]() View Rating | 5 Extensions R45/extension Hosted pbx R225 total price 10 Extensions R39/extension Hosted pbx R390 total price 25 Extensions R35/extension Hosted pbx R875 total price 50 Extensions R32/extension Hosted pbx R1600 total price Network – network - 10c National - 28c Mobile - 40c | None | Yealink | Calendar Month | Yes | Remote support provided. | |
![]() View Rating | Free PBX R0 /extension /month Business R50 /extension /month Enterprise R100 /extension /month Telkom Landline 35c/min Mobile Networks 55c/min Telkom Mobile 65c/min On-net & Interbranch 0c/min | No Charge | Cloud PBX | Calendar Month | Yes | Support available via our Helpdesk | |
![]() View Rating | Your first number is R89 and includes your first extension FREE R89.00 per additional user per month (extension) 4 Extensions - R356 10 Extensions -R950 20 Extensions - R2180 30 Extensions - R2850 BuzzBox to BuzzBox calls are FREE Call recordings are charged at R1 incl per GB of storage per month. That’s about R1 per 1000 minutes of recordings Local Mobile Numbers - 0.69 (excl. VAT) Normal Landlines - 0.30 (excl. VAT) You pay per second from the first second for all outgoing phone calls | No Charge | Cloud PBX | Calendar Month | Yes | Remote support offered. | |
![]() View Rating | STARTER Single User Plan ZAR 290 /month/user Monthly PROFESSIONAL 2-19 Users ZAR 970 /month/user Monthly CORPORATE 20+ Users ZAR 2550 /month/user Monthly | No Charge | Cloud PBX | Calendar Month | Yes | Support available via our Helpdesk. | |
![]() View Rating | Hosted PBX Basic Package - R145/month (1 x Geographic Phone Number + 1 x Extension) Advanced Package - R270/month (1 x Geographic Phone Number + 1 x Extension) Complete Package - R445/month (1 x Geographic Phone Number + 1x Extension) Rates are permanent (No peak) and billed per second Local / Geographic R0.35 Mobile / Non-Geographic R0.85 International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates Voys to Voys calls are Free (both parties hosted by us). To other VoIP providers R 0.35 Geographic - R 0.85 Non- Geographic Rates are perminant (No peak) and billed per second. | Basic Package - R550 Once-off (1x Geographic Phone Number and 1x Extension) Advanced Package - R1050 Once-off (1x Geographic Phone Number and 1x Extension) Complete Package - R1750 Once-off (1x Geographic Phone Number and 1x Extension), | Most Phones with SIP capability. Phones we generally configure include Yealink, Snom, Fanvil and Polycom. | No Contracts. Cancel Anytime. | Voys believes that the customer should have freedom of choice when selecting their Internet Service Provider and as an independent business telephony provider does not provide internet connectivity. Voys services are network independent and work on any suitable broadband internet connection. | Monitoring - Not offered Guaranteed response time - We do not have a guaranteed response time, but it is generally immediate if clients call in. Support Cost - No charge User and system Admin charges - No charge Support hours - We offer 24/7 emergency support and are available for regular queries between 9 and 5 on weekdays |
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![]() View Rating | Subscriptions start at R 79.00 per extension Managed connectivity starts from R 885.00 per month. Local R 0.26c National R 0.26c Mobile R 0.60c International Destination Dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network R 0.00c to Other VoIP Providers R 0.26c - R 0.40c | R3 670 or R99 per extension, whichever the greater. * Fibre & Microwave installations are separate. | Polycom SNOM Yealink | Calendar Month * If Fibre/ microwave services are included there is a minimum 12 month contract and if supported hardware is rented there is a 36 month contract period. | Options are available to "bring your own access" with disclaimer for no quality guarantee | Monitoring - Monitoring of access service and call quality offered Guaranteed response time - We have service level response for the severity of incidents. Severity 1 - 2 Support Hrs /Resolution Time: 6 Support Hrs Severity 2 - 4 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 12 Support Hrs Severity 3 - 8 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 1.1 Support Cost - No cost for remote support. Call out for site visit is R795 for the first hour and then R695 per hour User and system Admin charges - Included Support hours - Support hours are from 7am to 6pm and thereafter standby support is available. |
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![]() View Rating | Standard - R80 per extention Call Recording R100 per extension Full queue and Analytics R150 per extension Standard call rates apply Standard Mobile R0.63c Telkom Landline R0.35c per second billing International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network R 0.00c | No Charge | Most standard VoIP hardware is supported. | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - We have a TMS that’s accessed via our website. Permissions for different levels of control and reporting can be established on an individual user basis. Guaranteed response time - 2hrs Support Cost - Support is included in the basic service fees. User and system Admin charges - Included Support hours - 24/7/365 |
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![]() View Rating | Subscriptions start at R95/extension Managed connectivity starting from R985/month Local/National -39c Mobile -79c International: Destination dependent On-net - Free Other VoIP providers - 26c - 40c | R1 500 or R99 per extension, whichever the greater. * Fibre & Microwave installations are separate. | Yealink Snom Polycom | Calendar Month, 12 Months | Yes, you are available to "bring your own access" with disclaimer for no quality guarantee | Monitoring - Monitoring of access service and call quality offered Guaranteed response time - We have service level response for the severity of incidents. Severity 1 - 2 Support Hrs /Resolution Time: 6 Support Hrs Severity 2 - 4 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 12 Support Hrs Severity 3 - 8 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 1.1 Support Cost - No cost for remote support. Call out for site visit is R795 for the first hour and then R695 per hour User and system Admin charges - Included Support hours - Support hours are from 7am to 6pm and thereafter standby support is available |
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![]() View Rating | Euphoria Express Package: R65 ex vat (per user/per month) Euphoria Enterprise Package: R85 ex vat (per user/per month) Euphoria Call Buster Package: R185 ex vat (per user/per month) *Package and call volume dependent Standard Rates: Local/National R0.34c Mobile R0.79c Call Buster Rates: Local/National R0.29 Mobile R0.29 International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network Free | Express Package: R1000 ex vat once off setup cost Enterprise Package: R2500 ex vat once off setup cost Call Buster Package: R3000 ex vat once off setup cost Call Centre setup = Scope of works to determine setup fee | Yealink Siemens Unidata Polycom The above are Euphoria Telecoms approved VoIP phones, however most VoIP phones will work with the Euphoria Telecom Hosted PBX. If clients own existing hardware Euphoria Telecom will assist in configuring it to work on their network. Note however that certain phones not approved for the Euphoria Network and this list can be found on their website. | Calendar Month | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring offered Guaranteed response time - Our overall response time for 2019 is 32 minutes. The Guarantee depends on severity ranging from 8 hours to 1 hour. Support Cost - Support is included in the package. User and system Admin charges - System Admin yes, extra online management system portal users R100 per month per head. Support hours - 24 hours |
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![]() View Rating | Subscriptions start at R79/extension Managed connectivity starting from R885/month Local R 0.26c National R 0.26c Mobile R 0.60c International Destination Dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network R 0.00c to Other VoIP Providers R 0.26c - R 0.40c | R3 670 or R99 per extension, whichever the greater. * Fibre & Microwave installations are separate. | Polycom SNOM Yealink | Calendar Month * If Fibre/ microwave services are included there is a minimum 12 month contract and if supported hardware is rented there is a 36 month contract period. | Yes | Monitoring - Monitoring of access service and call quality offered Guaranteed response time - We have service level response for the severity of incidents. Severity 1 - 2 Support Hrs /Resolution Time: 6 Support Hrs Severity 2 - 4 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 12 Support Hrs Severity 3 - 8 Support Hrs; Resolution Time: 1.1 Support Cost - No cost for remote support. Call out for site visit is R795 for the first hour and then R695 per hour User and system Admin charges - Included Support hours - Support hours are from 7am to 6pm and thereafter standby support is available. |
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![]() View Rating | Standard R 50.00 per user per month Hardware Inclusive R 250.00 per month - Virtual service plus SNOM 300 handset and an ADSL router Local R 0.35c National R 0.35c Mobile R 0.75c International Destination dependent VoIP to VoIP Call Rates On-Network R 0.00 to Other VoIP Providers R 0.35c - R 0.78c | R 100.00 setup fee per extension + Installation Fee (service package dependent) | SNOM Hardware purchased from BitCo is covered by warrantee and SLA support is provided. Hardware not purchased from BitCo may be supported by BitCo if approved, however, no warrantee will apply to these items. | Calendar Month for the Voice service Up to 60 months depending on last mile connectivity used | Yes | Monitoring - Full monitoring offered Guaranteed response time - We have service level agreements in place that provide response time guarantees. SLA level dependent. Support Cost - Varies depending on services required and contract. User and system Admin charges - Varies depending on services required and contractual agreement Support hours - 24/7 |
So, you want to know why you need to know this information?
Well, we have consulted with hundreds of businesses to understand their main criteria when comparing Telephone Systems. We’ve tried our best to describe why we believe each point is valid.
- Provider – Some customers prefer brands with higher brand equity, market share or placement in industry reports such as Gartner. Why it matters? Well, maybe you trust bigger brands more than you do smaller ones.
- Packages and Call Rates – When it comes to the costs for a a Hosted PBX service there are typically two elements – fixed and variable. The fixed costs relate to any subscription fees which would be payable irrespective of whether a call is made. This could be for Extensions, as well as add-on functionality such as Call Recording, Call Centre, etc and may be charged per user or in budles. On the variable side, namely the call usage and associated rates, you should consider the cost you will be liable to pay to call another party.
- Setup Fee – It is important to ask your provider what it is going to cost to subscribe to their service. That may be fees relating to service activation, installation, training, hardware required, and more.
- Keep your number – If you intend on moving your Telephone service over to another provider, the last thing you may want to do is change all your Telephone numbers. You need to monitor the regulation as some numbers cannot be ported between providers. At the time of writing this content, you are only allowed to port geographic numbers, such as 011-012, etc. Numbers you cannot port include non-geographic numbers such as 087, 0800, 086, etc. If your provider says that they can port these numbers, be sure to ask and get in writing that you will not incur any additional costs in running that service, for example, additional call forwarding fees.
- Supported Handsets – Most Hosted PBX providers offer solutions which support VoIP phones from a range of different manufacturers. In fact, this can be a very good thing for customers, as it allows them to retain their handsets and use them with different providers. While it may theoretically be possible to integrate any “SIP” VoIP phone onto a “SIP” platform, the key is that the integration is tested and verified, which means that both your handset manufacturer and the Hosted PBX provider have an agreement to support and troubleshoot any issues. Engage with your Provider and make sure that you’re choosing the best handset for your requirement.
- Applications – Basic telephony functionality is still commonly found in the market. However, if you’re business wants a bit more from the system to support a customer service desk or remote workforce, it would be good to understand what Applications the Provider supports and can offer to support your business requirement.
- Contract Term – Get to know how long you are committed for, and what your notice period would be – check your contract terms and conditions and be 100% sure of the automatic contract renewal terms of cancellation fees. Is the service linked to the devices, do they have different cancellation terms, etc.
- Use your own Internet? – Sure, VoIP requires Internet, but if the Provider for your VoIP is not the same as your Internet, you may sit with a fair bit of risk when there are issues. Resolving issues will require both parties to work together to iron out where the issues are. We’re sure you can imagine how this process typically goes… If you have one provider, the benefit is that the provider can monitor and manage the full connection from end-to-end, and also to a large degree guarantee the call quality, which is very important to any business.
- SLA and Support – You need to have this discussion with your chosen Hosted PBX provider. Is there an SLA? Will that give you a guaranteed support response? Does it include all the fees, including callouts? Will they carry spare stock and what will you be expected to pay? Is this only a break-fix agreement, or does the SLA also include general system administration and service changes, too? All of these are valuable questions you need to ask and keep record of.