When TELUS was founded in 1990, it was one of the biggest service providers in Alberta. Today, it’s one of the biggest in Canada. But bigger doesn’t always mean better — and many growing small businesses feel its cloud business phone system comes up short.
If you feel TELUS isn’t a fit for your small business, you can use this guide to compare the best TELUS business phone alternatives. You’ll get a full breakdown of each alternative’s features and pricing. Plus, what they do best, so you can choose a solid fit for your communication needs.
Comparing the best TELUS business phone alternatives
Here’s a quick breakdown of the best TELUS business phone alternatives and how they stack up:
| Provider | Starting price | Unlimited calling to US & Canada | SMS/MMS to US & Canada | Shared phone numbers | Additional phone numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TELUS business phone | $25 CAD per user per month | ✔️ | MMS not supported outside the TELUS network | ✔️ | Cost varies |
| OpenPhone | $15 USD per user per month | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | $5 USD per number per month |
| Rogers | $26 CAD per user per month | ✔️ | X | Ring groups only | Undisclosed fee |
| Bell | Pricing isn’t public | Not disclosed | X | Shared call appearance | Cost varies |
| Zoom Phone | $13.30 CAD per user per month | Requires upgrade | 20 messages per user per month | ✔️ | $5 USD per month |
| RingCentral | $30 CAD per user per month | ✔️ | 25 messages per user per month | Calls only | Cost varies |
| VoIP.ms | Usage-based pricing for all calls | X | ✔️ | Calls only | Cost varies |
Now, let’s start with a TELUS business phone alternative designed for growing businesses:
1. Quo (formerly OpenPhone): Best TELUS business phone alternative for growing businesses
Quo is a business phone system that helps companies build personal customer relationships at scale. For example, it lets you send and receive calls on smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Each plan also offers unlimited calls and texts to anyone in the US and Canada. This means you don’t have to worry about $0.07 per-minute overages like with TELUS.
You’ll also get one free local Canadian or US number or a North American toll-free number for every user on your plan. Plus, additional phone numbers are only $5 USD per month.
Unlike TELUS for business, Quo fully supports MMS messaging. This lets your team send and receive photos, documents, and other files to any US or Canadian number.
Quo also provides on-demand call recording on every plan. You don’t have to upgrade like you would with TELUS business phone.
TELUS also only includes popular CRM integrations like Salesforce on its most expensive tier. Quo offers them on its Business plan, which is $12 cheaper per user per month.
We also include real-time call analytics in our pricing plans. In contrast, TELUS business phone charges $35 per month just to unlock reporting.
This is because Quo was designed to grow alongside your business — it’s easy to add more features as your communication needs change. For example, you might tap into phone menus to route calls to the right teammate or department. You can even use Sona, Quo’s AI voice agent, to automatically answer calls when you’re unavailable. That way, you don’t miss out on potential new customers.
Try Quo for yourself with a seven-day free trial.
Quo pricing
Choose from any of Quo’s pricing plans, then scale up when you’re ready for more:
- Starter: $15 USD per user per month for unlimited calls in Canada and the US, SMS and MMS support for external numbers, shared numbers and inboxes, voicemail transcriptions, mobile, desktop, and web apps, on-demand call recording, and more
- Business: $23 USD per user per month for advanced call forwarding, analytics and reporting, phone menus, automatic call recording, call transfers, and more
- Scale: $35 USD per user per month for AI call tags, onboarding support, priority live chat, and email ticket support
2. Rogers: Best alternative for cell phone and internet bundles
Rogers is best known in Canada for its wireless, internet, and TV services. But it also offers a cloud business phone system called Advantage Voice. You can use Advantage Voice for basic business features like caller ID, speed dial, and unlimited calling within Canada and the US.
If you want to save money on how much you spend on your business phone, you can bundle Advantage Voice with Rogers Internet. Keep in mind, this requires a three-year contract and only shaves off $6 per user per month.
Unfortunately, Rogers is missing a few key features compared to TELUS. Text messaging, for example, isn’t supported at all.
Its Microsoft Teams integration is also only available on the Remote with Teams plan, which costs $28.95 CAD per user per month.
Do you need handsets and access to Microsoft Teams? You’ll have to upgrade your plan to the highest tier, which costs $39.95 per user per month.
Rogers pricing
Rogers’ pricing depends on where you live in Canada.
Assuming you’re in Ontario, here’s what you can expect to pay:
- Basic: $26 CAD per user per month for unlimited calls in Canada and the US, anonymous call rejection, extension-based dialing, caller ID, and one handset per user
- Remote with Teams: $28.95 CAD per user per month for access to Microsoft Teams integration, do not disturb settings, and Presence Field to monitor users’ phone status
- Office with Teams: $39.95 CAD per user per month for one handset per user, plus all features from Remote with Teams
Keep in mind if you’re located in Western Canada, like Alberta, you can expect to pay more.
3. Bell: Best alternative for instant messaging
Bell is Canada’s largest telecommunications company. Similar to TELUS, it offers mobile phone services, TV, internet, and a business cloud phone system called Bell Total Connect. You can use Bell Total Connect to access features like call recording and a Microsoft Teams integration. Total Connect also offers instant team messaging, which can help you collaborate on and delegate tasks.
But compared to TELUS business phone, Bell Total Connect is much less transparent. Pricing isn’t public, so you’ll have to contact support for a quote. It’s also removed most information about Total Connect from its website.
Plus, the platform is only available at certain business addresses and upon request.
Bell Total Connect’s interface is also extremely outdated, and its features are similarly behind the “bell” curve. Case in point: Toll-free numbers cost $11.95 CAD per month. It also doesn’t support texting, so if you still need SMS, you’ll need a separate phone system.
Bell pricing
Bell doesn’t list its pricing online. But after contacting the sales team, we were given a general starting point of $64.80 CAD per number per month.
Keep in mind this doesn’t include promotions or bundled deals. The only way to get a customized quote is to contact sales yourself.
4. Zoom Phone: Best for video conferencing
Zoom Phone is an add-on to Zoom’s video conferencing platform that lets you call and text customers on top of hosting video meetings. It provides more advanced tools than TELUS business phone. This includes call monitoring software like barge, monitor, whisper, and takeover. Zoom Phone also comes with automatic call recording on the base plan, so unlike TELUS, you won’t have to pay extra to revisit past conversations when you need them.
But you will have to pay extra for basic features like unlimited calling to Canada and the US, which isn’t included on the base plan. Texting is also extremely limited, capped at just 20 messages per user per month, and you’ll have to request an increase if you need more.
Need reporting and analytics? You’ll need to purchase an add-on just like TELUS. The Zoom Phone Power Pack add-on that provides historical insights for call center teams costs an extra $33.25 CAD per month. Considering other TELUS business phone alternatives include analytics on their base plan, this can be both frustrating and expensive.
Zoom Phone pricing
Zoom Phone’s pricing offers three plans:
- Metered: $13.30 CAD per user per month for metered outbound calling, SMS, MMS, Native Windows, MacOS, and Linux desktop apps, and Salesforce integration
- Unlimited: $19.95 CAD per user per month for everything in Metered, plus unlimited calling in Canada and the US
- Global Select: $26.60 CAD per user per month for everything in Regional Unlimited and local and toll-free telephony services in over 40 countries
You can also bundle Zoom Phone with Zoom Workplace at a discounted price.
- Pro Plus: $24.38 CAD per user per month for everything in Zoom Phone US & Canada Unlimited without BYOC, 3rd Party PBX, and VDI, plus access to Zoom Workplace Pro
- Business Plus: $28.91 CAD per user per month for the features in Zoom Phone US & Canada Unlimited, plus unlimited fax, visitor management, 15GB of cloud storage, and Zoom Workplace Business
5. RingCentral: Best for desk phones
RingCentral is a long-standing cloud communications provider offering voice, video, and messaging. Like TELUS business phone, it still supports old-fashioned desk phones and desk phone rentals. It also offers unlimited calling to the US and Canada on the base plan.
Planning to use a toll-free number? RingCentral only includes 100 toll-free minutes for your entire account on the base plan. RingCentral SMS is also heavily restricted — you get 25 messages per user per month on the base plan. Even setting up a vanity number comes with a one-time $30 fee.
RingCentral pricing
RingCentral’s pricing lets you choose from three different plans:
- Core: $30 CAD per user per month for unlimited domestic calling, on-demand call recording, integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams, 25 text messages per user, 100 toll-free minutes across your account, and limited storage
- Advanced: $35 CAD per user per month for automatic call recording, 100 text messages per user, 1,000 toll-free minutes across your account, and access to CRM integrations
- Ultra: $45 CAD per user per month for 200 text messages, 10,000 toll-free minutes, unlimited storage, and access to the AI Assistant for SMS
6. VoIP.ms: Best for Microsoft Teams Integration
VoIP.ms is a cloud-based VoIP service based in Montreal that provides over 70 business phone features. It also integrates directly with Microsoft Teams, so you can make and receive calls directly in app. Just keep in mind you’ll need to pay an extra $4.50 per license per month to use it.
VoIP.ms doesn’t provide unlimited local calling: you’ll have to pay $0.0052 CAD per minute to make calls and $0.009 CAD per minute to receive them.
Want to receive toll-free calls from your customers? You’ll have to pay $0.027 CAD per minute.
Plus, you also have to pay per-use for basics like texting and transcriptions. Call and voicemail transcriptions cost $0.05 per minute, and every text you send or receive costs $0.0075 per message. It might not be as expensive as TELUS business phone up front, but you may quite literally find yourself getting nickel-and-dimed.
VoIP.ms pricing
As mentioned, VoIP.ms has a pay-as-you-go model.
If you have a Canadian phone number and are calling and texting within Canada, you’ll pay:
- $0.85 CAD per number per month
- $0.0052 CAD per minute for making calls
- $0.009 CAD per minute for receiving calls
You’ll also pay per minute for call recording, call transcriptions, conference calling, and virtual fax.
Why businesses move to TELUS business phone alternatives
TELUS is one of the biggest traditional phone providers in Canada. It combines several services — think traditional phones, its cloud-based phone system, and business internet connections — for companies that want to source everything from one provider.
TELUS Business Connect is the company’s cloud phone system built for modern businesses. It combines calls, messages, and video meetings into one platform, with support for calling in the US and Canada. It also offers support for mobile and desktop apps. You’ll also get access to features like auto-attendant, call display, and call logs.
But just because TELUS business phone offers the basics doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for small and growing teams. Beyond the limited features, its plans might feel expensive. Plus, scalability could be difficult if you’re a smaller or newer brand.
Here’s why many businesses go with TELUS business phone alternatives:
No MMS texting support
TELUS business phone doesn’t support MMS messaging to non-TELUS numbers or users without a Business Connect license. That means your team members can’t send things like photos or documents to customers unless they’re also using TELUS.
Live reports cost an extra $35 per month on top of your plan
Want real-time data about your reps and call queues? With TELUS business phone, you’ll have to pay $35 per month on top of your plan to access the analytics dashboard.
Compared to other small business phone systems where reporting is included on the base plan, this is yet another expense you shouldn’t need to pay.
And speaking of paying extra …
Pricey add-ons for basic features
TELUS turns many basic phone features into “add-ons” you must pay for separately.
For example:
- TELUS charges $65 CAD per month for Video Conference Rooms, which let you turn a physical meeting room into a video conferencing space.
- If you want to host larger video meetings, you’ll need to pay extra. You can expect to pay $20 CAD per license per month for up to 100 people, or $25 CAD per license per month for up to 200 people.
Call recording isn’t available on the base plans
TELUS business phone doesn’t offer call recording on the base plan. Instead, you’ll need to upgrade to the Enhanced plan to access on-demand call recordings, which costs $30 CAD per user per month.
Automatic call recording is only available on the highest tier, which costs $35 CAD per user per month. Considering most TELUS business phone alternatives like Quo offer this feature on every plan, you might want to choose a provider that makes it standard rather than an expensive add-on.
You can only integrate with CRMs if you upgrade to the highest tier
You can only integrate TELUS business phone with CRMs like Salesforce if you upgrade to the highest tier, which starts at $35 CAD per user per month. This makes it harder to keep your tools connected without paying for other features you may not need. This includes the ability to manage multiple office locations, for example.
Toll-free numbers and minutes are expensive
Toll-free numbers and minutes with TELUS get pricey fast.
Adding an extra toll-free number costs $8.99 CAD per month, and minute packs start at $6 per month for 100 minutes.
Larger bundles are priced at:
- 300 minutes for $15 per month
- 500 minutes for $25 per month
- 1,000 minutes for $50 per month
- 3,000 minutes for $135 per month
- 5,000 minutes for $200 per month
All minutes beyond that cost an extra $0.07 per minute.
Fortunately, TELUS business phone is the exception rather than the rule. Providers like Quo include unlimited toll-free calling to US and Canadian numbers. That way, small businesses don’t have to deal with bundles or surprise overage charges.
TELUS business phone pricing
TELUS business phone offers three plans:
- Voice Plus: $25 CAD per user per month for unlimited calling to the US and Canada, access to the desktop and mobile phone apps, auto-attendants, and call display and call logs
- Enhanced: $30 CAD per user per month for video conferencing, audio conferencing, and on-demand call recording
- Complete: $35 CAD per user per month for automatic call recording, CRM integrations, and the ability to manage multiple locations
Keep in mind these prices require a three-year contract at a minimum. Plus, you must bundle one of its plans along with one of its other services. These include:
- Voice-capable Mobility plan
- Secure Business
- Fibre Internet
- Office Internet.
How to choose a TELUS business phone alternative
The best TELUS business phone alternative is the one that suits your company’s needs.
Here’s a quick checklist for choosing the right one:
- Shortlist your favorite providers. Cross off anything that doesn’t fit your business needs, like providers that don’t offer shared numbers or support SMS and MMS.
- Check the features: Make sure it covers what you need today and can scale with you as your business grows. For example, having access to an AI voice agent that automatically answers phone calls will help you serve more customers without hiring more reps.
- Consider the costs. Money isn’t everything, but you’ll still want a cost-effective system to ensure your business always has a positive cash flow.
- Take the free trial with your team. Be sure to test features like team messaging and call flow tools like phone menus and ring groups.
- Check recent user reviews. Sites like G2 and Trustpilot help reveal patterns you won’t see in a short trial. These include features that are harder to test upfront, like uptime, reliability, and support quality.
Quo: The best TELUS business phone alternative
TELUS business phone is a decent provider if you’re bundling internet, TV, and a family cell plan for personal use. But if you’re running a business, it might become restrictive as you grow.
Quo’s VoIP platform makes it easy to scale with built-in features that grow alongside your business. Each plan comes with call recording and unlimited toll-free minutes to US and Canadian numbers. Plus, you’ll get access to features TELUS business phone doesn’t offer — like MMS support outside of the platform and analytics without paying for an add-on.
Sign up today for a seven-day free trial to see why we’re rated #1 in customer satisfaction on G2.
