skype-for-business-vs-phone-com

Skype for Business vs. Phone.com: Which is Better?

In the world of online communication, Skype is the undisputed king – all others have been playing for second place for quite some time. However, does that mean you need to automatically opt for Skype when considering the communication needs of your business? Not necessarily. There are plenty of worth competitors on the market today, including phone.com.

skype-for-business-vs-phone-com

Deciding which of these services is ‘better’ is a subjective game, as the one that is going to be best for you is the one that suits the needs of your business. It should be stated right up front that comparing Skype to phone.com is not really an apples to apples comparison, as they do not offer exactly the same service. When dealing with Skype, you have a variety of messaging and video chat capabilities which are not seen on phone.com. Rather, phone.com is a way of integrating your phone system using the internet in order to be able to contact people all around the world with ease.

The Matter of Price

Anytime you make a decision for your business, cost is going to be one of the very first considerations that you have to make. Obviously, you want to keep costs as low as possible in your company, without sacrificing the necessary functions that you require to keep business running smoothly. To get started with phone.com, you will pay the modest price of just $9.99 per month. However, that plan will only net you 100 monthly minutes, which is obviously not much in the way of talk time if you are operating a busy company. Going up to the top of the scale, you can purchase 1,000 monthly minutes for a cost of $29.99, which might get closer to your needs. Of course, you can use the service for minutes beyond your plan, but you will pay a higher rate at that point.

By comparison, Skype for Business is priced on a monthly rate per user. The basic plan includes standard Skype services for just $2/month per user, and upgraded premium plans move up from there. Getting the best value for your money in this case is going to come down to your plans for the service, and how many users you will have. If you are looking for a basic VoIP system with a low entry price, one of the phone.com packages may be your best bet. On the other hand, a business with a  few users who will be communicating with a high volume might want to choose Skype for Business.

Variety of Features

On this point, you are going to find that Skype is the easy winner. Where phone.com does offer plenty of features in the world of voice calling, such as call forwarding, call waiting, conference calls, and more, it doesn’t live up to the menu that can be offered by Skype. When you opt for Skype for Business, you bring many additional possibilities to the table, such as one-on-one video calls, group video calls, find sending, and much more. If you are looking for more than you would be able to get from a traditional phone service, it is almost assured that you will want to stick with Skype.

Supported Devices and Languages

Again, this is another point where we see Skype pull away from the competition. When you use Skype, you can pick from a number of different supported devices to use, including Windows, Blackberry, iPhone/iPad, Android, and more. phone.com does support many of those same devices, however it does not work with Blackberry. Also, phone.com support only covers the USA, while Skype is an international service that can be accessed from just about any corner of the globe.

For most businesses, it is going to be Skype that is the natural choice on this topic. Sure, phone.com has plenty to offer in the right situation, and it may be a fit for your needs, but Skype for Business is the more-versatile product, which can also be more affordable depending on your subscription needs. Be sure to look at each in even greater detail before making your final choice, but expect to find that Skype for Business is the preferred option in the end.