Hardphones vs. Softphones: Which VoIP Business Phone is Right for You?
When it comes to business phones, VoIP (voice over IP) is the way to go. It saves you time and money, all while keeping your business communications running smoothly.
But there’s a question to consider when setting up your VoIP business phone: should you use hardphones or softphones?
Hardphones resemble your traditional desk phone and have a similar user interface, but they are connected to the IP network instead of a phone line.
Softphones are devices, such as a tablet or computers, that have VoIP business phone software installed on another device–effectively turning the device into a phone.
Which is right for your business? The answer depends on your needs. Thankfully, celito’s expert staff is here today to help you make the decision.
celito is Raleigh’s premiere VoIP phone provider. We are a local company that understands your business’ unique needs within the Triangle area market, and we are dedicated to helping our community thrive.
In addition to our VoIP business phone services, we also offer dedicated business fiber internet, IT consulting, and data center services.
Hardphones: Pros and Cons
When replacing a standard business phone, VoIP hardphones will definitely make the smoothest transition.
They look like traditional desk phones, with the main difference being that calls are made over an IP network instead of a phone line. Hardphones feel like the office phones your employees are already familiar with, just with more features and reliability.
Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of using hardphones for your business:
Hardphones
Pros
- Greater reliability: Hardphones are not dependent on an external device and are powered via Ethernet, thus offering greater reliability.
- Easy to use: Because they look and feel like traditional phones, they are more intuitive to the average user.
- Clearer connection: Because hardphones are only phones, not a software installed on a device that is running other programs, the call quality is more consistent.
Cons
- Lack of mobility: Hardphones look like regular desk phones and lack the mobility of a softphone installed on a tablet, cell phone, or laptop.
- Slower, more expensive installation: Hardphones require you to purchase hardware, instead of just installing a software or application on a device your business already owns.
- Fewer features: Hardphones cannot be updated as easily and may not offer as many features.
If your employees mostly work in office, at a desk, hardphones are usually the best choice.
Softphones: Pros and Cons
For employees on the go, especially remote or hybrid workers, softphones are an excellent solution. So long as a device has a microphone and speakers, it can be outfitted with business phone VoIP software.
If your business already uses Skype or Zoom, those applications are softphones
Softphones
Pros
- Mobility: Softphone applications can be added to any business or personal device, such as laptops, smartphones, or tablets, for greater portability
- Quick, cheap installation: Since softphones do not require any hardware and are just installed using existing infrastructure, they are cheaper and quicker to install. Many softphone softwares and applications are also free to download.
- Broad array of features and easy updates: Because softphones are software-based, they generally offer more features than hardphones and can be updated quickly and easily.
Cons
- Require training: Softphones use new software or applications that your employees will have to learn how to use.
- Dependent on a device: A softphone is only as good as the device that it is installed on. For example, if a laptop is having issues or struggling to run multiple programs at once, the softphone may not work as well.
- Prone to connection disruptions: Softphones work over WiFi instead of Ethernet and are therefore more likely to experience disruptions during calls.
If your employees have to be able to use their business phone while on location or while working from home, softphones, including browser-based softphones are the way to go.
You may even choose to incorporate both hard and softphones into your business, depending on the different needs of your employees.
celito: Raleigh’s Best VoIP Phone Service
Whether you prefer hardphones or softphones for your VoIP business phone services–or a combination of both–celito is your local VoIP phone provider.
Our VoIP business phone services include:
- celito’s own softphone app, celitoMobile for celito Voice, available on Google Play and the App Store.
- Unlimited local support
- Customized systems and menus
- Spam protection
- Caller ID
- Training videos
- Disaster recovery with georedundancy servers in both Raleigh and Charlotte
Contact us today to get started with Raleigh’s best VoIP phone service.
