How Does Vonage for Home Digital Voice Compare Against Phonely's Home VoIP?
As more providers offer digital voice services, we wanted to see how Vonage for Home compares to Phonely's innovative residential VoIP.
With the traditional landline soon to be retired, many wonder, "What is Vonage for home?" and "When will Vonage for home be available in my area?" So, here at Phonely, we’ve tackled these questions while showing you how we measure up. But before we look at the details, let's start with the basics.
Who is Phonely?
Digital Voice vs Home VoIP: What's the Difference?
Providers use the terms digital voice and VoIP interchangeably. But there are some slight distinctions.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) refers to the technology that enables voice communication over the Internet (instead of traditional phone lines). It converts analogue voice signals into digital data packets and transmits them via your router.
Digital voice and similar services fall under the broader umbrella of digital voice technology. These services offer advantages like lower costs and features such as call flexibility and scam blocking.
The Features of Vonage for Home vs Phonely's Offering
We've scoured the Vonage for Home website to see what features are available with their digital voice service. Here's how they stack up against Phonely:
As you can see, Vonage's digital voice offers some solid features. At Phonely we go the extra mile with CallGuard features. This includes advanced scam protection, trusted person alerts, and offline notifications.
| Features | Vonage for Home | Phonely |
|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | ||
| Call blocking | ||
| Auto call blocking | ||
| Nuisance/withheld number display | ||
| Caller display | ||
| Call diversion | ||
| Call waiting | ||
| Call barring | ||
| Anti-fraud introduction | ||
| Call recording & transcription | ||
| Contact book | ||
| Suspicious call alerts | ||
| Keyword notifications | ||
| Trusted person capability | ||
| Offline alerts |
The Cost of Vonage for Home vs Phonely's Digital Voice
Let's break down the costs associated with Vonage and Phonely's basic and premium services:
Based on being a new Vonage for home customer. Data correct on 29/08/2024
| PLAN: Vonage for Home | Talk UK 1000 | Talk UK | Vonage Premium Unlimited World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband Included? | No* | No* | No* |
| Call Cost | 1000 mins to UK landline, then 3p per min with a 19p call setup fee. UK Mobiles are 10p per min with a 19p call set-up fee. | Unlimited UK landline calls. UK Mobiles are 10p per min with a 19p call set-up fee. | Unlimited UK landline & 60+ country calls. UK Mobiles are 10p per min with a 19p call set-up fee. |
| Included Features | Voicemail, mobile app & call blocker**. | Voicemail, mobile app & call blocker**. | Voicemail, mobile app & call blocker**. |
| Contract Term | 12 months. | 12 months. | 12 months. |
| Total Cost Per Month | £6.99 | £10.25 | £14.75 |
| Keep Your Analogue Handset? | Yes, plug into the Vonage Box supplied. £5 delivery & £10 activation charge. | Yes, plug into the Vonage Box supplied. £5 delivery & £10 activation charge. | Yes, plug into the Vonage Box supplied. £5 delivery charge. |
| Any Freebies? | Your Vonage Box, although there is a £5 delivery charge. | Your Vonage Box, although there is a £5 delivery charge. | Your Vonage Box, although there is a £5 delivery charge. Free activation too. |
| Total Cost for Year 1 | £99.88 Plus, call charges. | £138.00 Plus, call charges. | £182.00 Plus, call charges. |
*Vonage for Home does not provide broadband.
**Call blocker enables the customer to block numbers they know to be spam or scams. This is not an automatic feature.
Based on being a new Phonely customer. Data correct on 27/08/2024
| PLAN: Phonely | Digital Voice | CallGuard | CallGuard+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband Included? | No* | No* | No* |
| Call Cost | Unlimited Calls: UK landline & UK mobile. ** | Unlimited Calls: UK landline & UK mobile. ** | Unlimited Calls: UK landline & UK mobile. ** |
| Included Features | Voicemail, contact book, auto call blocker*** & Call app. | As with Digital Voice plus 7 x scam protection features. | As with Digital Voice plus 9 x scam protection features. |
| Contract Term | 12 months. | 12 months. | 12 months. |
| Total Cost Per Month | £9.97 | £14.76 | £37.00 |
| Keep Your Analogue Handset? | Yes. Just plug it into a Phonely adapter. One-off cost of £49.99. | Yes. Just plug it into a Phonely adapter. One-off cost of £49.99. | Yes. Just plug it into a Phonely adapter. One-off cost of £49.99. |
| Any Freebies? | Yes, get your adapter for free if you pay for your first year up-front! | Yes, get your adapter for free if you pay for your first year up-front! | Yes, get your adapter for free if you pay for your first year up-front! |
| Total Cost for Year 1 | £119.64 Plus, one-off adapter purchase if paying monthly. | £177.12 Plus, one-off adapter purchase if paying monthly. | £444.00 Plus, one-off adapter purchase if paying monthly. |
*Phonely does not provide broadband, but you can still save considerable money. This is explained more further down the page.
**Phonely unlimited calls adheres to our fair usage policy, which you will find all providers have. You’ll find that ours is more than fair as you get 1200 minutes for UK landlines plus 1200 minutes for UK mobiles. There are no time restrictions, so you can chat for hours at a time if you like, and it's all included!
***Auto call blocker blocks scam numbers for you within an hour of reporting.
The Basics
As you can see Phonely’s Digital Voice plan is competitively priced with no additional costs if the first year is paid for in advance. Calls to both UK landline and UK mobile numbers are unlimited, which is ideal with most people owning a mobile phone. Phonely’s also auto-blocks reported scam numbers. They do this via Phonely’s Who Called Me Website which adds nuisance and fraudulent numbers to the auto-block list within 60 minutes of being submitted. This is such an important inclusive feature, as scammers change their numbers quickly, making self-call-blocking and call-blocking devices redundant in most cases.
In contrast, the Vonage for Home Talk 1000 includes calls to UK landlines, standard features, an activation fee, a delivery charge and PAYG costs for mobiles, adding to the final overall expense.
At A Premium
Phonely and Vonage for Home have different offerings when it comes to premium provision. Vonage for Home specialises in international calling and provides very reasonable rates. Phonely offers innovative scam and fraud protection to their customers, ensuring safety and confidence when answering the phone.
Is Vonage for Home Easy to Set Up?
If you’ve thought, "Where can I buy Vonage digital voice adapter?" or "How does Vonage digital voice adapter work?", you're not alone as it’s a common Google search. Vonage call their adapter a Vonage Box and has PDF instructions on their website, although you have to dig deep. They supply the Vonage Box for free with a £5 delivery charge.
At Phonely, our setup process is user-friendly. Each of our handsets or adapters comes with clear instructions and tutorial videos on our website. Plus, our customer support team is always ready to walk you through the process at no extra cost. Phonely adapters and digital voice phones can be found on our Shop page. If you pay for your first year in advance, Phonely will give you an adapter free of charge.
What If You Experience Problems with Vonage for Home?
And most importantly, what are their customers saying?
Customer service is crucial when it comes to digital voice providers. Vonage for Home offers various support channels, but customer feedback highlights some areas of concern. Trustpilot reviewers claim that “customer service is very responsive but clearly based offshore,” with others expressing anger at incorrect billing “…two £180 bills…” and “…annoying intermitted beeps…” during calls. Of course, it isn’t all bad as 70% of their feedback is 5 stars.
At Phonely, we pride ourselves on our exceptional UK-based customer support. Whether you need help setting up your service or have questions about features, our expert team is just a call or click away.
But what do Phonely customers reveal?
“Very pleased with all aspects of the phonely product and service. Smooth hassle-free and my landline was up and running in no time! Great customer service and special thanks to K*** for her care and consideration. Faultless service and highly recommended 5 - Star *****”
“I£ve only just signed up for a VOIP service. So far, the service, communications and delivery have been exemplary - professional, thorough, yet friendly and very responsive. On a 1 to 100 scale, I'd put them at 100, and BT at 3 (that's being generous to BT)”
So, How Does Vonage & Phonely's Digital Voice Compare?
While Vonage for Home offers a solid service when it comes to making calls overseas, Phonely's specialised focus on scam protection is vital in a digital world where scammers continue to become more creative.
Whichever provider you may be considering, we invite you to explore what Phonely has to offer. With our innovative and safety-first approach to home VoIP, we're confident we can meet and exceed your digital voice needs.
