Home Phone Service Guides
Independent reviews and comparisons of residential VoIP services — find the right home phone without the sales pitch.
Latest Residential Phone Service Guides
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Ooma Telo Air 2 Review: Is the Ooma Telo 2 Worth the Extra $?
Ooma Telo 2 continues the trend of strong telephony benefits of a landline-like unit, adding more oomph to the low-cost hardware alternative. The initial investment is for the Ooma Telo 2 Air that connects any standard telephony device to the internet, much like the first generation Ooma Telo, is only a tad higher. However, unlike…
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magicJack GO vs NetTalk DUO Wifi Compared 2026
Among the two prominent players in the home VoIP service provider market, magicJack and NetTalk have long been competing for the same market share and customers due to both of their low cost yet excellent home phone service models as compared to the traditional telephone service providers such as AT&T, Sprint, and Qwest. MagicJack has been in…
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magicJack Connect App Review: What is it & How Does it Work?
magicJack Connect is a new app offered by magicJack VocalTec LTD. not to be confused with the magicApp. Calls are placed for free via Wi-Fi and users also have the option to upgrade to a paid plan and get a U.S. number with unlimited calling to U.S numbers. The app works on both Android and iOS…
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Ooma Premier Review – Is It Worth The Added Cost?
Ooma Overview Founded in 2004, Ooma is among the leading telecommunications companies today. Their early offering of peer-to-peer VoIP services allowed users to make home phone calls over their landline services. Since then, they’ve successfully focused themselves on basic services for residential (or ‘non-commercial’) use allowing up to 5,000 minutes of outgoing calls per month. Their signature…
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Ooma Telo Review: Home Phone Service Rated 2026
Ooma is a VoIP telecommunications company that was founded in Palo Alto, CA in 2004. The companies strategy is focused on saving people money on both residential and business phone services. They are able to service to both commercial accounts and everyday consumers by dividing their services into ‘Office‘ and ‘Telo‘. Telo is then further split into both basic…
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magicJack APP Review: magicAPP for Cell Phone
Update: Staying connected with MagicJack has come a long way since its promising debut in 2007-08. Back then, magicJack provided a highly economical and portable alternative to traditional phone, which still remains a major draw to date. Below you are introduced to the next generation, a magicJack for cell phone. The evolution of smartphones, long…
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magicJack vs Ooma Telo Comparison for 2026
MagicJack and Ooma have captured the imagination (and market space) of residential VoIP service in quick time. Both have come to prominence as the best services in their price range, not least because of their similar claim of ‘no monthly fee’ which gives them a clear edge in terms of marketing theme over competitors. *For our…
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MAGICJACK PLUS Reviews: Phone Service Rated 2026
*Update: As of October 2015 magicJack VocalTec has now come out with 3 new devices and an APP. From oldest to newest they are the 2014 magicJack Plus Calling Device, 2015 magicJack Go device and 2016 magicJack EXPRESS dongle. The app is called magicAPP and you can see our review of it here). Each device has…
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What Is The femtoJack – Full Review Updated for 2026
The femtoJack was a great idea in theory but the product never came to fruition. These reason was obvious but for those that don’t understand the need for a femtocell device the explanation is simple. A device became obsolete with the rapid spread of smartphone use, why sell people a device when a much cheaper smartphone…
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MAGICJACK PLUS 2014 Reviews: Rated for 2026
magicJack is a brand synonymous with VoIP excellence. Within a relatively short span of seven years, magicJack has established its credentials with high-quality software and electronic hardware required for flexible home telephone options over VoIP. Things only got better with a wildly successful upgrade to the magicJack Plus – with better uninstallation options, local number…
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MAGICJACK GO Reviews: Phone Service Rated 2026
Update For 2018: magicJack has now come out with a new device called the magicJack EXPRESS. In a comparison of the magicJack Express vs. magicJack Go we found that the new device is essentially the same as the magicJack Go but white in color and slightly cheaper initially, though it only comes with 3 months of free…
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MAGICJACK EXPRESS Reviews: Rated for 2026
“Consumers need and desperately desire to save money and control their monthly expenses,” said Gerald Vento, CEO of VocalTec in a recent release. Our company [magicJack] delivers on both with the magicJack EXPRESS; low cost phone service and the flexibility to pay-as-you-go. And with the new companion App for iOS, our customers can turn any…
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FreedomPop Cell Phone Review for 2026: Can You Really Get Free Cell Service?
Founded back in 2011, FreedomPop is a company that states it “believes mobile service should be free because it’s a right, not a privilege”. Because of this, FreedomPop strives to provide free mobile services including data, text and voice minutes to millions of users in the United States and Europe. Sound intriguing? Then keep reading…
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GVMate Review: Free VoIP Calls Through Google Voice
What Is The GVMate? The GVMate is a relatively unknown USB dongle similar to the magicJack. It costs just $29.95 and works in tandem with Google Voice (via any Gmail account). It is very similar to the much more expensive OBihai OBiTALK devices and it provides free calls forever to the US/Canada and incredibly cheap…
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magicJack review: Home Phone Service for 2026
Our review of magicJack in 2020 has revealed that the company was established in 2007 on the premise that “Millions of Americans had been get ripped off and overpaying for their home telephone service for a long time.” The goal of the company’s service was to save consumers money on their home phone bill by…
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Vonage Phone Reviews: An Experts Take on This Home Phone Service for 2026
Founded back in 2001, Vonage quickly rose to the top 10 ranks of home VoIP providers due to its affordable cost and excellent features. Users are said to be able to choose from a myriad of calling plans depending on their requirements. Domestic, international, and even small business plans allow users to utilize many features, all…
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magicJack vs Basic Talk Comparison for 2026
Technological evolution in network infrastructures, ever-increasing demand for mobile & wireless communication services and high price performance ratio has led to sustained growth of VoIP services in corporate and individual consumer segments. Add to it, the rise in bring your own device (BYOD) trend as well as diversification of telecommunication service providers – it isn’t…
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magicJack vs. NetTalk VoIP Comparison for 2026
With an increasing trend by personal and business customers to save money by using VoIP phone service providers over traditional phone providers, the leading brands – MagicJack and NetTalk – have firmly entrenched themselves in the market. Loyal customers have their reasons to lean for their product of choice, but beyond the basic services, which are…
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magicJack vs. Skype Comparison for 2026
TheVoIPHub now has many different comparisons of magicjack vs other devices. OK, we admit it wasn’t the most scientific test, but we really needed an answer in a very important situation as to who had the best VOIP service at the moment we did the testing. So what was the situation you might ask? Simple, we…
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magicJack vs Vonage Comparison
For residential VoIP service as an alternative to conventional phones, cell-phone services and landlines – Vonage and MagicJack have both had their moments. While the technical premise of using ATA (analog telephone adapter) is similar for both, there are differences in terms of price, accessibility, advanced features and of course – after-sales service. If you’ve been…
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magicJack WiFi Review – What Was The Actual Update?
Update: The magicJack WiFi release was a great and innovative idea that many people we excited about. We are disappointed to announce that it was ultimately cancelled and there is no WiFi device. Despite this it wasn’t a total loss because magicJack decided to go ahead and release an updated version of the magicJack plus, tabbed…
About Residential VoIP
While the benefits of cost, bandwidth, efficiency and flexibility scale remarkably for business solutions, households with telephony needs have plenty to gain as well. If you’re tired of dealing with the typical PSTN issues, residential VoIP not only provide a low-cost alternative, but also comes loaded with features like blocking/ blacklisting calls, caller ID, voicemail customization and transcribing options, multiple lines and extensions, custom alerts, easy porting, free or super cheap overseas calling options and much more!
In fact, global transition research surveys from Infonetics reported that in from 224 million residential VoIP adopters in 2014, there has been a steady 5% growth each year until 2017, adding more homeowners to these services. It is a staggering number, outpaced only by Internet of things (IoT) adoption trends.
Simply put, residential VoIP is just using your home internet connection rather than dedicated telephone lines, to complete all your telephony needs over broadband, DSL or high-speed Wi-Fi service. There is no giveaway in terms of the number or call quality from the end-point as the destination caller or receiver is appropriately routed like standard phone calls.
Additional cost or investments?
There is only one-time investment on a ATA device to turn your existing analog device into a VoIP or SIP enabled calling machine. In case you are confident that you don’t need one, you may simply have download the vendor software or app on your mobile phone. You actually end up cutting costs over PSTN with no equipment fee, device rent, ability to use VoIP faxing or other ancillary services over your existing internet and no-contract plans. Plus these VoIP vendors often provide nationwide free calling and low-cost or free international calling options. A household with residential VoIP ends up spending $10/15 per month (which could go as low as $6/ month for the first year for the smart bargain hunters). Compare that with $60 per line on an average for any PSTN or mobile phone solution and you know the math!
Attractive features
With a veritable buffet of features for selection from all major VoIP providers like MagicJack, Ooma, PhonePower, Vonage, VoIPo, Viatalk (to name a few) – you are never short of options to cherry pick and customize your service, tailored to your household. Moreover, the fierce competition has led to ever-dropping prices and more features packed in to sweeten the deals. Also, there are seldom any hidden taxes or service fees besides the once levied by federal communication agencies.
Not sure which home phone service fits?
Explore our Reviews & Comparisons to decide which service best meets your needs and budget.