Written on June 20, 2024.
Before deciding what is right for you, it’s essential to consider the costs associated with a new phone system! Switching to a new system doesn’t mean it will be more expensive; sometimes, it can save you money.
Each office is unique, and you can adapt phone systems to work in many different configurations. So, figuring out an exact one size fits all price is nearly impossible. We can give you the average costs associated with some modern-day phone systems.
There are two main types of phone systems, hosted (cloud) and non-hosted (on-premise). The first thing you will need to figure out is what system you would be looking to use. There is no right or wrong answer. Each system has different benefits and costs associated with it.
Typically, with a cloud system, you look at a lower cost upfront but a higher cost over time. However, an on-premise system has a higher initial investment, but the overall costs can be lower.
What Goes into the Cost of a Phone System?
There are a variety of factors that will determine your final price. Phone systems are highly customizable and complex, but there are some average prices you can expect systems to cost. The four main factors are:
Whether you choose a cloud or on-premise system will determine how much and what kind of hardware you require.
How Much Do the Handsets and Desktop Phones Cost?
How many phones do you need? Are they standard desktop phones, cordless, hybrid, or wireless phones? Do you want them to be IP phones?
Whether you use an on-premise or a cloud phone system, you will need physical phone sets for your office space.
To buy standard desktop phones, you should expect to pay approximately $350 per phone. The more advanced the hardware, the higher the cost.
Cloud Phone System
If you decide to go with a cloud phone system, you will be charged on a per-line, per-month basis. You will also need to buy the individual phones upfront, but since your cloud system uses a hosted virtual PBX, it is included in your per-line, per-month subscription.
On-premise Phone System
On the other hand, on-premise phone systems are structured as a one-time purchase of hardware and software, and prices are often discussed per user.
For On-Premise Phones, How Much Does the PBX Cost?
In addition to the phones, many office phone systems rely on a PBX system. A PBX is a piece of hardware that makes both cloud and on-premise phone systems work.
A cloud-based PBX solution’s only hardware is the phone sets, and setup is relatively easy at a low cost. This solution uses a virtual PBX system hosted and maintained in the provider’s data centers—not at your office. This way, you can ditch the system machines, which are cumbersome and require a storage room. This also makes the initial outlay for a cloud PBX system substantially lesser than an on-premise system.
If you use a cloud phone system, pricing can be an all-in, per-user or shared resource pricing with your VoIP hardware.
On the flip side, you will need the phone sets and a PBX system stored inside your business facility for an on-premise phone system.
The average PBX system is $4500. This price can fluctuate based on the type and configuration.
PBX systems require a hefty upfront investment. Therefore, businesses that invest in on-premise telephone systems often face the dilemma of maintaining costs.
Phone Lines
Depending on your phone system setup, you should also factor a cost per phone line into the budget. Typically, each user will have to have a phone line, and these have a monthly fee associated.
Regular phone lines range from $20 to $50 per line per month or $240 to $600 per year.
When purchasing a new office system, you can move to a more advanced system that runs on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) lines rather than traditional phone lines. We always recommend our customers move to a SIP line.
How Much Does a SIP Line Cost?
One of SIP lines’ vital cost-saving features is that they are a shared resource, meaning that each user can have a unique phone number without requiring an individual phone line. The average cost of a SIP line is also anywhere from $20 to $50, but since users share them, you don’t need one for each user. For 10 users, you might only need 6 or 7 SIP lines, compared to 10 traditional lines.
Many businesses will reduce their monthly phone bill by as much as 30 percent after switching from traditional phone lines to SIP lines.
