$19.99 buys the mobile app. A desk phone needs the $29.99 tier; ring groups and call recording need $39.99 — and the promo price reverts after the discount window. Compare VPE: Cloud Express hosted at $15.75 per user with the Cisco phone included, or a SIP Express system you own from $975.
Cloud Express hosted: $15.75/user, phone included · Or own it: SIP systems from $975 — save up to 79%.
An honest, side-by-side look at what you actually get and what you actually pay. Verified from Vonage's published pricing, August 2026.
| Feature | VPE Cloud Express ($15.75/user, phone incl.) | VPE SIP Express (own it) | Vonage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (20 users) | $315/mo — phone on every desk included | From $161/mo base, after a one-time |
$29.99/line for desk-phone capability — ~$600/mo, phones extra |
| Cisco desk phones | Included for every user — free advance replacement | Included in the system price | Desk-phone support starts at the $29.99 Premium tier — then you buy the phones |
| Ring groups | Built and maintained by an engineer — included | Included — engineer-built | Call groups require the $39.99 Advanced tier |
| Call recording | Included | Included | $39.99 Advanced tier — capped at 15 hours/month |
| Voicemail transcription | Voicemail-to-email included | Voicemail-to-email included | Visual voicemail requires the $39.99 Advanced tier |
| AI receptionist + call analytics | Arthur Igloo — included | Arthur Igloo — available | — |
| Who runs it for you | A US-based Cisco engineer — unlimited moves, adds & changes done for you | Our Certified Network Specialists manage it end to end | Self-service portal |
| Support | US-based Cisco-certified engineers | US-based Cisco-certified engineers | "No tech support" — their reviews below |
| Contracts | None — month-to-month | None | Auto-renewing; promo pricing reverts after the discount window |
| Cancellation | No cancellation department; free port-out help | Unplug it — it's yours | Department runaround — reviews below |
| Trustpilot rating | ★ 4.9 / 5 | ★ 4.9 / 5 | ★ 2.5 / 5 |
| 5-year cost (20 users) | $18,900 | $10,935 ($1,275 + $161 × 60) | ~$36,000–$48,000 by tier — before phones |
VPE monthly rates are base rates — plus taxes & fees, itemized on every invoice.
Vonage pricing and feature gating verified from Vonage's published pricing page, August 2026.
SIP Express note: calls between desks stay on your office network — an on-premise perk for in-building call quality.
Real reviews from Vonage customers on Trustpilot. We didn't write these -- they did.
"The $19.99 per user price is misleading. After taxes, regulatory fees, and the add-ons you actually need, we were paying over $40 per user per month."
Trustpilot"Call recording is $49.99 per month extra. They don't mention that anywhere in the sales pitch. That's a basic feature that should be included."
Trustpilot"Nothing but a scam with no tech support. I've been trying to get help for weeks. Every time I call, I'm transferred to a new department that can't help either."
Trustpilot"Support is non-existent. You get a chatbot, then a queue, then disconnected. Repeat. I spent 3 hours trying to resolve a billing issue that should have taken 5 minutes."
Trustpilot"Our SMS and MMS stopped working without warning. Customers couldn't reach us for weeks. Vonage blamed our configuration but couldn't fix it themselves."
Trustpilot"Text messaging has been unreliable for months. Messages go into a void. Our clients think we're ignoring them. Vonage says it's a 'known issue' with no ETA."
Trustpilot"They charged us for 3 months after we cancelled. Getting a refund was like pulling teeth. Auto-renew contracts are designed to trap you."
Trustpilot"Our bill increased 30% year-over-year with no explanation. When I called to dispute, they said it was 'standard rate adjustments.' There's nothing standard about surprise charges."
TrustpilotHere's how Vonage's advertised $19.99 becomes a $29.99–$39.99 line on your actual invoice.
Figures from Vonage's published per-line pricing, August 2026. Their advertised prices carry "SAVE 30%" promo flags — the rate you sign at is not the rate you keep.
Vonage charges $39.99 a line before your calls can ring to a group. We build your ring groups for you at $15.75 — phone included. And the month-to-month price IS the price.
Six Vonage pain points we solve on day one.
Cloud Express: $15.75 per user, phone included — $315/mo for a 20-person office, month-to-month. Or own it: a 20-phone SIP Express system at $4,950 $1,275 plus SIP Express Plus from $161/mo base. Every invoice is itemized — the proposal you approve is the bill you get.
Call us and you get our Certified Network Specialists — not a chatbot, not a phone tree, not a 45-minute hold queue. Our Certified Network Specialists set up your system, then handles every move, add, and change — no ticket queue, no offshore call center. You get a phone system that just works.
Cloud Express is month-to-month — no auto-renewal, no early termination fee, no cancellation department, free port-out help. Own your system instead and there's nothing to cancel at all.
Vonage gates call recording, ring groups, and voicemail transcription behind its $39.99 Advanced tier — and still caps recording at 15 hours a month. Both VPE lines include them, uncapped by tier, at no extra charge.
Vonage's own customers report outages that last months and support that can't fix them — read the reviews above. Cloud Express calling is run and monitored by engineers who answer when you call. Prefer calls on your own network? The owned SIP Express line keeps desk-to-desk calls on your office LAN.
Start hosted, convert to an owned system whenever the math favors it — or the reverse. The conversion is a free, engineer-performed cutover, and your numbers and call flows move as-is. No monthly rent on the owned line — that's why it costs less.
Total cost for 20 users over five years — hosted, owned, or Vonage.
Real reviews from real businesses that made the switch.
"After years of renting from Vonage and watching our bill creep up, we bought a VPE system outright. Best decision we've made. The system paid for itself in 4 months."
Trustpilot"Scot personally walked us through the entire setup. When we had a question 3 months later, he picked up the phone on the second ring. Try that with Vonage."
Trustpilot"The call quality difference is night and day. With Vonage we had constant issues -- choppy audio, dropped calls. The VPE system runs on our LAN and sounds perfect every time."
Google"Our phone bill went from $680/month with Vonage to $179/month with VPE. Same number of users, same features, fraction of the cost. I wish we'd switched sooner."
TrustpilotWe believe in giving you the full picture so you can make the right decision.
If you're building voice, SMS, or video into your own software product, Vonage's API platform (the former Nexmo) is a legitimate strength with well-regarded developer tools. That's a different product than an office phone system — and it's theirs, not ours.
Vonage's app center connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, and other platforms natively. Our CRM story is thinner — if two-way CRM sync is a must-have, they're ahead.
Vonage bundles video conferencing for up to 200 participants. We don't sell a meetings product.
You can buy Vonage online in minutes. We build every system through a proposal and an engineer — deliberately.
For the office phone system itself — the desk phones, the auto-attendant, the recording, the person who answers when something breaks — VPE is the stronger and lower-priced choice, hosted or owned. And a remote or multi-site team is no longer a reason to pick them: Cloud Express connects any location natively, mobile and desktop apps included.
Four steps, both paths — our Certified Network Specialists manage the move end to end.
Call 844-486-4766 or request a custom proposal. Our Certified Network Specialists build your quote both ways: Cloud Express hosted and SIP Express owned, side by side.
Hosted: $0 upfront, phones ship pre-configured, $15.75 per user. Owned: your system ships ~90% pre-configured and most offices are live in under 2 hours. Not sure? Our specialists will tell you which way your math favors — honestly.
Porting away from Vonage is engineer-managed end to end, with temporary numbers so your business is never phoneless while the port completes.
Based on what Vonage customers report, budget extra time and get everything in writing. Don't cancel until your VPE service is fully live and your numbers have ported.
Check whether you're inside a promo window — Vonage's discounted rates auto-renew into higher standard rates, and their customers report billing that continues after cancellation. Cancel in writing, keep copies, and don't cancel until your new service is live and your numbers have ported. On our side there's no contract: Cloud Express is month-to-month, and an owned system has nothing to cancel.
Yes. Porting is engineer-managed end to end — we handle the paperwork with the carriers and set up temporary numbers so you're never phoneless during the transfer. Your customers keep dialing the same number the whole way through.
A Cisco desk phone for every user (refurbished enterprise hardware with free advance replacement), Arthur Igloo AI receptionist and call analytics, call recording, ring groups and call queues built and maintained by an engineer, unlimited US/Canada calling, and unlimited moves, adds, and changes done for you. Month-to-month, 20-user minimum.
Per Vonage's published pricing, yes — call groups, on-demand call recording (capped at 15 hours/month), and visual voicemail all sit in the $39.99 Advanced tier, and desk-phone capability itself starts at $29.99. Both VPE lines include ring groups, recording, and voicemail-to-email — and on Cloud Express an engineer builds and maintains your call flows for you.
Owning wins the long-run math: a 20-phone SIP Express system runs $10,935 over five years vs $18,900 hosted. Hosted wins on $0 upfront, zero hardware on site, and speed. Our Certified Network Specialists show you both side by side and recommend owning when the math favors it — and switching later is a free, engineer-performed conversion, so you're never locked into the choice.
With Vonage, the promo rate reverts when the discount window ends. With Cloud Express, there's no promo window and no prepay game with the $15.75 rate — the month-to-month price IS the price.
Tell our Certified Network Specialists about your office and get both quotes — Cloud Express hosted at $15.75 per user, and a SIP Express system you own from $975 — with the honest recommendation on which fits your business.
Vonage is a registered trademark of Vonage Holdings Corp. VoIP PBX Express is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Vonage. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names referenced on this page are the property of their respective owners. Pricing and feature information is based on publicly available data and customer reviews as of August 2026 and may have changed. We encourage you to verify current pricing directly with Vonage.