Customers can choose from three service plans for business communications, with each one providing over 50 features designed to make it easier to make and receive calls from anywhere, across devices, and for businesses of varying sizes.
With VoIP calling features such as virtual receptionists, enhanced call blocking, and call queuing, it’s a feature-rich IP phone option for businesses embracing the remote work environment.
Does Ooma have the call quality, features, and functionality to suit your business needs? Does it offer good value? Let’s explore.
Ooma Business Pricing & Plans
Ooma offers three plans — Essentials, Pro, and Pro Plus — that are differentiated by advanced features. As such, it’s important to understand what you’re getting with each plan and what you’re paying for it.
Essentials plan — $19.95/user/month
The Essentials plan offers the smallest assortment of features and is a suite of basic call management and business communication functionalities.
The Essentials plan includes basic features such as:
Voicemail
Call transfer
Call logs
Company directory
Overhead paging support
Flexible numbering
Virtual receptionist
Call flip
Free number porting
Call forwarding during device outages
The Essentials plan focuses primarily on calling. Features such as text messaging and video conferencing aren’t available on this plan, which is unusual for a communications platform.
For users in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Ooma offers unlimited calling and call coverage without any additional charge.
Additionally, Ooma’s mobile app allows users to access their business phone system from their cell phones. However, it does not allow desktop access; that’s only available on the higher plan levels.
Pro plan — $24.95/user/month
For customers willing to spend a bit more for more advanced features, Ooma offers a Pro plan. This plan offers everything in the Essentials plan, plus several other features.
For starters, the Pro plan allows access to Ooma’s system through its desktop application, allowing users to make softphone calls from their computers as they would from their office phone.
The Pro plan includes advanced features such as:
Call recording : Can be used for compliance, training, and quality assurance
Text messaging : Allows users to send and receive text messages.
Videoconferencing: Can include up to 25 participants per call, with conference bridges for access from internal or remote lines
Enhanced call blocking: Includes advanced options for preventing unwanted calls
Voicemail transcription: Uses speech-to-text to turn voicemail into written messages
Caller information match: Looks up and displays information related to inbound calls
Dynamic caller ID: Allows users to customize their ID for outgoing calls
Analytics: Provide insights into call patterns and usage. Analytics include a user leaderboard to gamify business calls
Integration: Includes integration with Office 365 and Google
Pro Plus plan — $29.95/user/month
The Ooma Office Pro Plus plan is the highest of the options in terms of both pricing and features. Pro Plus includes everything in the Pro plan, with some additions.
For instance, the Pro Plus plan enables more integrations, allowing Ooma to connect with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, as well as deeper integration capabilities with the Microsoft 365 suite of services. It expands Ooma Meetings videoconferencing to up to 100 participants, allowing for larger meetings.
The Pro Plus Plan also adds:
Advanced call management features
Call queuing
Call screening
Virtual meeting recordings
Hot desking
Digital call deflection to redirect calls to other mediums, such as text messaging
Nextiva Pricing & Plans
Now that you know what Ooma provides and what it costs, let’s compare it to Nextiva to see how it stacks up.
Essential plan — $18.95/user/month
Nextiva has an Essential plan that is slightly cheaper than Ooma’s and provides many features that Ooma reserves for its Pro and Pro Plus plans.
With Nextiva’s Essential plan, you get:
Unlimited voice and video calling within the US and Canada (with up to 45 minutes of video calling per meeting)
Unlimited virtual faxing
Mobile SMS/MMS messaging (up to 1,000 messages per user)
Free local and toll-free phone numbers with up to 1,500 toll-free minutes
Integrations with Microsoft Outlook and Google Contacts
24/7 customer support
Voicemail-to-email notifications so users don’t miss messages
Professional plan — $22.95/user/month
The next level of Nextiva’s offerings is the Professional plan, which includes everything in the Essential plan, with some additions and improvements.
With Nextiva’s Professional plan, you get:
A multi-level auto attendant
Unlimited video conferencing with no time limit
Double the toll-free minutes — 3,000 minutes a month
Extended SMS/MMS messaging to allow mobile and desktop messaging
Unlimited conference calls with up to 40 participants, and all calls include screen sharing
More CRM integrations , including the most popular CRM and customer-facing apps such as HubSpot and Salesforce
Enterprise plan — $32.95/user/month
Finally, Nextiva’s Enterprise plan is designed to meet the communications needs of large organizations. The Enterprise plan enhances the Professional plan by adding even more features and flexibility.
With Nextiva’s Enterprise plan, you get:
Voice and video conferences with unlimited participants and unlimited recording
Up to 12,500 toll-free minutes and call recording for every call
Voicemail transcription features so users can see their messages without needing to listen to them
Advanced integrations, including Microsoft Teams and the most popular CRM and customer-facing apps on the market
Custom integrations for enterprises with specific or niche integration needs
All these features can be accessed through a single sign-on, saving users time and hassle as they go about their work.
Essential Small Business Phone System Features
While a wide variety of features is great, it can also be overwhelming and can overshadow the most essential features. Do you really need everything offered in each plan? What are the most essential features that Ooma and Nextiva have to offer?
Ooma Office for small businesses
Ooma offers dozens of features on its Essentials plan, but which features are the most useful for small businesses? Ooma’s most important features are:
Mobile app: Workers on the go can manage business calls from their smartphones.
Virtual receptionist: This automates call management, using multiple menus to route calls.
Simultaneous ring: This is useful for users with multiple devices. Multi-ring allows a single call to ring on multiple devices simultaneously.
Ring groups: Ring groups are used when a caller needs to reach a group of extensions, such as sales or customer support teams, but not necessarily a specific individual. It connects the caller to the first available number in the group.
Call park: Call parking allows a call to be put on hold in one extension and continued from another.
Call forwarding and call transfer: These allow you to redirect calls as needed, whether it’s forwarding a call to a different phone before it rings or transferring a call during the conversation.
Voicemail-to-email: This feature sends voicemails directly to the user’s email, making it easier for them to check their messages from anywhere.
Call logs: Call logging is essential to track client interactions and understand call volumes. Built-in call logs keep a record of all incoming and outgoing calls.
Call recording: This allows users to record calls either on-demand or as a default, always-on feature, which is important for archiving, retrieving, and referencing phone conversations.
Easy setup and configuration: Ooma has a user-friendly setup process, as well as a user portal for easy management, minimizing the need for a professional installation.
Nextiva for small businesses
Let’s compare Ooma’s essential features to Nextiva’s and see what else Nextiva can provide. Some key features from Nextiva’s platform include:
Advanced auto attendant: This provides an intuitive phone menu for incoming calls. It’s easy to set up and can be customized to a business’ needs.
Voicemail-to-email and SMS: This is used to send voicemails either as emails or text messages, making it easy to check messages on the go.
HD voice and video conferencing: Nextiva offers high-definition video meetings and conference calls for collaboration.
Local and toll-free numbers: Organizations can build their professional brand with toll-free numbers.
Business app integrations: Nextiva’s platform can integrate with CRM software, customer support tools, and helpdesk software to increase productivity and automate tasks.
Call routing and forwarding : Calls can be directed to users based on criteria such as business hours, holidays, and departments, ensuring they reach the right team member.
Call transfer: You can easily connect live calls to any team member, regardless of device.
Mobile and desktop apps: Nextiva allows you to send and receive calls and text messages from the same business number across devices.
Team chat messaging: Users can send messages and make calls from their business line directly from the mobile app.
24/7 phone support: Nextiva offers continuous customer support to help with any issues that may arise, ensuring minimal downtime.
Nextiva vs. Ooma Comparison Chart
Features & Functionality Nextiva Essential Nextiva Enterprise Ooma Office Essentials Ooma Office Pro Plus Monthly price (billed annually) $18.95 $32.95 $19.95 $29.95 User capacity Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited voice and video calling (US and Canada) Mobile apps (iOS and Android) Toll-free minutes 1,500 12,500 500 500 Video conferencing participants Unlimited 100 Video meeting recording Meeting scheduling and calendar integrations Team messaging Voicemail-to-email Toll-free numbers Unlimited internet fax Auto attendant SMS/MMS Call recording Multi-level auto attendant Salesforce and HubSpot integrations Call queues Voicemail transcription Advanced analytics and reporting Microsoft Teams integration Single sign-on
