Wanatel Review
A buyer-focused review of Wanatel, a 17-year Cape Town Cloud PBX operator on dual ICASA IECS + IECNS licences with a published three-tier rate card spanning R45 per extension at 5 seats down to R32.50 per extension at 50 seats. One of the most commercially transparent SA Cloud PBX rate cards in the category.
Is Wanatel worth shortlisting?
Yes, for South African SMBs that value commercial transparency: Wanatel publishes a full three-tier rate matrix from 5 to 50 extensions on its public site, holds dual ICASA IECS plus IECNS licences (a rare combination at the SMB tier), and offers per-second billing with free inter-branch calling across South Africa. The structural caveat is the customer-review signal: the Cape Town Google listing shows only 10 reviews at 4.1 stars, most of them six to nine years old. The pricing is buyer-friendly; the public evidence of current service quality is thin.
- Founded2009 (17 years, ICASA-licensed since March 2009)
- LicensingDual ICASA IECS + IECNS (own carrier infrastructure)
- Starting cost“From R49 per extension” (Wanatel product page); Standard 5-ext bundle R225 / month, i.e. R45 / ext, free setup – both verified at wanatel.co.za, 4 September 2026
- Pricing modelPublished three-tier matrix (Standard / Advanced / Premium)
One of the most transparent published rate cards in SA Cloud PBX, paired with a sparse public-review signal.
Wanatel runs its own Cloud PBX platform from its Buitengracht Street offices in Cape Town on its own dual ICASA IECS + IECNS licences, which is unusually thorough licensing for the SMB tier. The published three-tier rate matrix (Standard, Advanced, Premium) covering 5 to 50 extensions is the strongest commercial-transparency signal in the category: most competing channel partners and bundlers quote on enquiry. The structural watch-out is that the Google Business Profile listing shows only 10 reviews over 17 years of operation, most of them six to nine years old, and the business has not formally claimed the listing. The pricing and licensing are buyer-friendly; the public record of current service quality is thin.
Is Wanatel likely to suit you?
Good fit: Wanatel’s published rate matrix and dual ICASA licence should put it on your SMB Cloud PBX shortlist.
Pros and watch-outs
What Wanatel does well, and where to push back at quote stage.
- Published three-tier rate card covering 5 to 50 extensions on the public site – one of the most commercially transparent SA Cloud PBX offers in the category.
- Dual ICASA IECS + IECNS licensing since March 2009 (rare at the SMB tier, where most competitors are resellers on someone else’s licence).
- Per-second billing on outbound calls and free inter-branch calling within South Africa as standard inclusions on every tier.
- Free setup on Standard and Advanced tiers (Premium setup is R950 once-off), with deployment promised in less than 72 hours per Wanatel’s own pricing page.
- Effective per-extension rate drops from R45/ext at 5 seats to R32.50/ext at 50 seats on the Standard tier – meaningful scaling benefit as the bundle grows.
- KEVO white-label reseller programme for SA channel partners building their own VoIP offering on Wanatel’s network.
- Google Business Profile shows only 10 reviews across 17 years of operation, most of them six to nine years old, and Wanatel has not formally claimed the listing.
- Public-review signal is therefore thin for current service quality. Ask Wanatel for two or three reference customers in your headcount band at quote stage.
- Premium tier has a 20-extension minimum, so the smallest deployments cannot access Foreign Provider Access without sizing up.
- The Wanatel Cloud PBX is a white-labelled platform; feature surface is solid for standard SMB needs but less deep than voice specialists with native CRM dialer integrations.
Score breakdown
Five categories that decide whether Wanatel earns a slot on your shortlist – weighted to the buying evidence a South African SMB actually uses.
Published three-tier rate matrix from R225 a month for five extensions, free setup on Standard and Advanced, pure per-second billing and free inter-branch calling – one of the most transparent SA Cloud PBX rate cards, re-verified at source today. Prices are quoted exclusive of VAT.
The Wanatel Cloud PBX three-tier feature matrix covers Standard PBX through Call Quality Analysis and the Billing Module to Foreign Provider Access at Premium. Modest breadth versus voice specialists with deeper integrations.
No South African public rating with enough reviews to score. Wanatel’s Google listing carries 4.1 across only ten reviews, below the 30-review floor this site requires before a rating carries the dimension, and its HelloPeter aggregate is not readable. The remaining four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%.
Holds dual ICASA licensing – both IECS and IECNS – with the licence numbers published on its own site. Owning the network licence rather than reselling is strong reliability evidence; held below 9.0 for the absence of a published contractual uptime figure.
Published office hours are Monday to Friday 08:00–17:00 with no weekend or tiered support hours on the site, and the sparse Google evidence does not validate current service quality. Scored low on absence of evidence rather than demonstrated poor support.
Pricing and call rates
Wanatel publishes its full Cloud PBX rate matrix on the public site – rare in the SA Cloud PBX category. All figures monthly recurring, excl. VAT, verified at wanatel.co.za on 18 May 2026.
Wanatel Cloud PBX three-tier rate matrix (monthly bundle pricing)
| Extensions | Standard | Advanced | Premium | Standard /ext |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ext | R225 | R275 | N/A | R45.00 |
| 10 ext | R425 | R525 | N/A | R42.50 |
| 15 ext | R600 | R750 | N/A | R40.00 |
| 20 ext | R750 | R950 | R1,200 | R37.50 |
| 25 ext | R875 | R1,125 | R1,350 | R35.00 |
| 50 ext | R1,625 | R1,950 | R2,400 | R32.50 |
Standard tier setup is FREE. Advanced setup is FREE. Premium setup is R950 once-off. Minimum extensions: Standard 5, Advanced 5, Premium 20. Maximum extensions on every tier: Unlimited. Per-second billing on outbound calls. Free inter-branch calling within South Africa. Call Recording is optional on every tier. Foreign Provider Access available only on Premium. Source: wanatel.co.za/subscribe-to-the-cloud, verified 18 May 2026.
Cost-area summary with buyer questions
| Cost area | Published rate | Buyer question | Risk level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard tier (10 ext) | R425/month (R42.50/ext effective) | Does Standard cover the integrations and analytics your team actually uses? | Clear signal |
| Tier upgrade premium | Advanced R525, Premium R1,200 at 20 ext | Is the Billing Module (Advanced) or Foreign Provider Access (Premium) actually required for your operation? | Map to features |
| Setup fee | FREE on Standard / Advanced; R950 once-off on Premium | Does the free setup include number porting and on-site configuration, or is that quoted separately? | Confirm scope |
| Call rates | Per-second billing; free inter-branch calls within SA | What are the per-minute rates for SA mobile, national and international, and are they competitive for your call mix? | Confirm rates |
| Call recording | Optional on every tier | What is the monthly cost per extension and the default retention window? | Ask explicitly |
| Deployment time | “Less than 72 hours” per Wanatel’s pricing page | Does the 72-hour clock include number porting, or only PBX provisioning? | Confirm scope |
| Reseller (KEVO programme) | White-label reseller terms scoped per partner | For channel partners: what’s the margin structure and how is billing managed? | Reseller-only |
What real customers say
The Wanatel Africa Google Business Profile in Cape Town shows 4.1 stars across only 10 reviews over 17 years of operation, and the business has not formally claimed the listing. The top three visible reviews below are six to nine years old. The signal is thin for current Wanatel service quality – ask the team for two or three reference customers in your headcount band at quote stage.
“Wanatel are a tiny company, with no support, constant constant issues with their services. After having a huge blow out with them this last week because on both occassions that I needed support their was no one on the support line…”
“I never really find the time to post reviews but having googled Wanatel to check their site I was dismayed to see the previous persons comments. I’ve worked with Wanatel for over 4 years after having gone through numerous other VoIP…”
“Thought I will do a review on this company. Have been with the The main phone company for years. I had to make the switch to Voip…”
The Wanatel Cloud PBX product line
Wanatel runs its own Cloud PBX platform on its dual ICASA-licensed infrastructure. Three tiers (Standard, Advanced, Premium) differentiated by features rather than support level.
Entry Cloud PBX
Standard PBX features and handset auto-provisioning. Free setup. Minimum 5 extensions, unlimited maximum. R45/ext at 5 seats, scaling to R32.50/ext at 50 seats.
Adds the Billing Module
Everything in Standard plus the Call Quality Analysis Tool and the Billing Module for organisations that need per-department or per-project call accounting. R55/ext at 5 seats, R39/ext at 50 seats. Free setup.
Adds Foreign Provider Access
Everything in Advanced plus Foreign Provider Access for organisations routing international call traffic through alternative carriers. R60/ext at 20 seats (minimum), R48/ext at 50 seats. R950 once-off setup.
You want a published rate card on a dual ICASA-licensed network.
- You are an SA SMB of 5 to 50 extensions that wants to compare per-extension rates the same day without a discovery call.
- Dual ICASA IECS + IECNS licensing is a meaningful procurement signal in your evaluation (rare at the SMB tier).
- You need per-second billing and free inter-branch calling within South Africa as standard inclusions.
- You are a SA channel partner or reseller building your own VoIP offering on someone else’s licensed network (KEVO programme).
Strong recent customer-review signal is a hard procurement requirement.
- Your procurement evaluation puts heavy weight on current public-review evidence; 10 mostly-stale Google reviews will not clear the bar.
- You need native CRM dialer integration depth (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zendesk, Freshdesk) at the entry tier.
- You are scaling past 50 extensions and want a published rate at that scale rather than a custom-scoped quote.
Alternatives to compare
Two providers worth quoting alongside Wanatel – each one stress-tests a different decision driver: lowest published headline rate or Tier 1 carrier with managed services.
Centracom
SA Tier 1 voice carrier with 99.9% published uptime, 24/7 service desk and managed Cloudcall PBX. Quote-driven model contrast to Wanatel’s published-rate transparency.
South African essentials
Four South African–specific signals to verify before signing: licensing, number porting, support escalation and contract terms.
Dual ICASA licensing: IECS (No. 0308IENS/MAR/09) plus IECNS (No. 0308IECNS/MAR/09), held since March 2009 (per wanatel.co.za). Rare at the SMB tier where most peers are resellers.
Listed in Wanatel’s product portfolio. Confirm porting timelines and any once-off fees at quote stage.
Phone +27 21 200 0400 during business hours. Sparse public-review signal does not validate current support response quality; ask for reference customers in your headcount band.
Monthly recurring on every tier with free setup on Standard and Advanced. Confirm minimum term, notice period and any clawback on early exit at signing.
Sources and disclosure
Where this review’s facts come from, and how WhichVoIP gets paid – both transparent before you act on any of it.
- Wanatel Subscribe to the Cloud pageUsed for the three-tier Wanatel Cloud PBX rate matrix (5 to 50 extensions, Standard / Advanced / Premium), feature inclusions per tier, setup fees and deployment time. Verified live 18 May 2026. Open source →
- Wanatel homepageUsed for the 17-year operating history, dual ICASA IECS plus IECNS licensing claims and the KEVO white-label reseller programme. Open source →
- Wanatel Africa Google Business ProfileUsed for the 4.1-star rating across 10 reviews and the three verbatim customer-voice quotes. Note: business has not formally claimed the listing; reviews are mostly six to nine years old.
- 4 September 2026Re-scored on the five-dimension rubric: Customer reviews is marked Not scored because the Google listing has only ten reviews, below the 30-review floor, and the other four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%. The headline moves from 7.3 to 7.5. The three-tier rate matrix was re-verified at wanatel.co.za today and is unchanged.
- 18 May 2026Re-verified the full three-tier Wanatel Cloud PBX rate matrix at primary source via Chrome MCP. Live GBP rating confirmed (4.1☆ / 10 reviews – stable, but sparse and stale). Score held at V6’s 7.4 with explicit dimension breakdown.
Disclosure: This review was researched and written by WhichVoIP’s editorial team using primary sources (provider website, Google Business Profile, and ICASA register). WhichVoIP may receive a referral fee when you request quotes through our platform. Read our full editorial policy.
How this score should be read
Scores are editorial guides, not guarantees. Wanatel’s 7.5 is the weighted sum of the four scored dimensions above, re-weighted to 100% because the public rating is too thin to score: 0.3125×8.5 + 0.3125×7.0 + 0.1875×8.5 + 0.1875×5.5. Sponsorship has never moved a score on this site, and Wanatel is not a sponsor.
- 25%Pricing value, including commercial transparency, contract flexibility and quote-process friction.
- 25%Feature set, including portfolio depth, integrations and admin usability.
- 20%Customer reviews, measured as a standing against other South African providers on the same review platform, adjusted for how much evidence supports it.
- 15%Reliability and uptime, weighted toward providers that own or fully control their network rather than reselling.
- 15%Support quality, weighted toward customer-review patterns rather than provider claims about SLAs.
FAQ
Short answers for the questions buyers typically ask before requesting quotes.
How much does Wanatel’s Cloud PBX cost?
Wanatel’s product page quotes “starts at R49 per month per extension”; its bundle matrix works out slightly lower. Standard tier starts at R225/month for 5 extensions (R45/ext) and scales to R1,625/month at 50 extensions (R32.50/ext). Advanced tier adds the Billing Module and starts at R275 for 5 extensions. Premium tier adds Foreign Provider Access and starts at R1,200 for 20 extensions (minimum). All rates monthly recurring, exclusive of VAT.
What’s the difference between Standard, Advanced and Premium?
Standard covers core Cloud PBX features and handset auto-provisioning. Advanced adds the Call Quality Analysis Tool and a Billing Module for per-department or per-project call accounting. Premium adds Foreign Provider Access for routing international traffic through alternative carriers and has a 20-extension minimum.
Is Wanatel ICASA-licensed?
Yes, on both licensing categories. Wanatel holds an Individual Electronic Communications Service (IECS) licence (No. 0308IENS/MAR/09) plus an Individual Electronic Communications Network Service (IECNS) licence (No. 0308IECNS/MAR/09), both since March 2009. The dual-licence combination is rare at the SMB tier and signals that Wanatel operates its own infrastructure rather than reselling someone else’s.
How fast can Wanatel deploy a new Cloud PBX?
“Less than 72 hours” per Wanatel’s published pricing page. That timeframe typically covers PBX provisioning; confirm whether number porting is included in the same window or scoped separately at quote stage.
Why are there so few Google reviews for Wanatel?
The Wanatel Africa Google Business Profile shows 10 reviews across 17 years of operation, and the business has not formally claimed the listing. Most of the visible reviews are six to nine years old. The public-review signal is therefore thin for current service quality. Ask Wanatel for two or three reference customers in your headcount band at quote stage.
Does Wanatel work with channel partners?
Yes. The KEVO white-label reseller programme allows SA channel partners to build their own VoIP offering on Wanatel’s dual-licensed network. Margin structure and billing terms are scoped per partner agreement.