Free tool • Phone systems

Phone system cost calculator: what two quotes really cost

Two phone system quotes rarely compare on the front page. Put both in – setup, monthly per user, block sizes, call rates, billing increments, porting and VAT – and see the real cost over the term you will stay, and the team size where the cheaper quote changes. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Last updated 1 October 2026 Telecoms Media Group (Pty) Ltd Takes about a minute

2quotes compared side by side, on the same footing

4billing increments, from per second to per minute

15%VAT normalised automatically across quotes

0figures sent anywhere: it runs in your browser

Your business

Users who need a phone

Months you expect to stayYour honest expectation, not the contract minimum.

Outbound calls per user per day

Average call length (seconds)Short calls are hit hardest by rounding. Most phone systems report this.

Quote A e.g. setup fee, lower monthly

Monthly per user (R)

Prices quoted

Seats sold in blocks of1 if you can buy any number. Some systems sell only in blocks of 10.

Other monthly fees (R)SIP channels, numbers, support plans.

Calls

Call rate (R per minute)

Billing increment

Once-off and commitment

Setup fee (R)

Porting and hardware (R)

Minimum term (months)

Quote B e.g. free setup, higher monthly

Monthly per user (R)

Prices quoted

Seats sold in blocks of1 if you can buy any number. Some systems sell only in blocks of 10.

Other monthly fees (R)SIP channels, numbers, support plans.

Calls

Call rate (R per minute)

Billing increment

Once-off and commitment

Setup fee (R)

Porting and hardware (R)

Minimum term (months)

The starting figures are illustrative – a setup-fee quote against a free-setup one – not any provider’s published price. Replace them with the quotes you have.

The short answer

How do you work out the real cost of a phone system quote?

Put both quotes on one VAT basis. Price the seats you must buy, not the seats you need, and add call costs at your own call length using each provider’s billing increment. Add setup, porting and hardware, spread over the months you will really stay, and compare the totals.

What are the rules of thumb for phone system pricing?

If you only remember three things, remember these.

A setup fee pays off above a break-even, not alwaysDivide the setup fee by the monthly saving per user to get user-months. Over a 24-month term, a R1,000 fee against R11 a user less each month pays off from about four users.

The billing increment matters more than the rate on short callsA 60-second minimum bills a 20-second call as a full minute: three times the call time you used.

Price the seats you must buyA system sold in blocks of ten costs a four-person office two and a half times its per-seat price per person.

The reasoning, with real published South African pricing, is in why the same monthly price can cost you double. For what phone systems cost in rands, see the business phone system cost guide.

How does this calculator work?

It puts two differently structured quotes onto the same footing.

One VAT basis. Quotes entered excluding VAT have 15% added, so both totals are what you would actually pay.
The seats you must buy. Your user count is rounded up to each quote’s block size.
Calls as you will be billed. Each call is rounded up to the quote’s billing increment and minimum. The extra time is shown separately as rounding, so you can see what it costs.
Your real commitment. If a quote’s minimum term is longer than you expect to stay, you are charged for the minimum, and setup, porting and hardware are spread across the months you actually pay for.
The break-even. The chart reruns both quotes at every team size, so you can see whether the answer changes as you grow.

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