cheap business plans for small business

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

The best business phone plans: Reliable 5G for work

When I started writing for ZDNet 15 years ago , mobile phones were being used by 74% of the US population, but only 14% of those people were using these basic phones to access the internet. The latest data shows that 97% of Americans own a mobile phone, with 85% of those being smartphones that access the internet multiple times a day.

Smartphones and wireless cellular services are now essential for businesses to compete in today's market and broad coverage is an expectation. After T-Mobile's recent acquisition of Sprint, the US market is dominated by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Each of these carriers offers various plan options for businesses of all sizes.

5G continues to roll out across the US, but reliable LTE service is still essential to getting work done. The pricing for business service is competitive, and as someone who has been in the industry for decades, it is amazing to see the reasonable pricing for such fast service that reaches across the nation.

Verizon phone plans for businesses

Verizon Wireless has the most subscribers in the US and is popular with businesses. Three Business Unlimited plans make it easy to find the perfect option for your business. All three  Business Unlimited plans  from Verizon include unlimited talk, text, and data. Support for 5G, mobile hotspot, and tablet use differentiate the three plans. Pricing is also for five or more lines, targeted for business and not for family usage.

Business Unlimited Start

$30 per line per month.

While there are no limits on minutes, texts, or data, in times of congestion data may be slower with this Start plan. Nationwide 5G, low-band spectrum 5G, is supported with the Start plan and a compatible smartphone.

Tablet, smartwatch, and hotspot options are available for additional costs on the Business Unlimited Start plan. The price also includes $5 per month savings for paper-free billing and auto pay.

Pros  

• Nationwide 5G coverage
• Able to add additional devices (watches, tablets) to the account
• No support for mmWave, high-band, 5G
• Data speeds slowed down during times of congestion

Business Unlimited Plus

$40 per line per month.

For $10 more per line per month, Verizon adds 100GB of premium network access, 5G UWB (mmWave) support, and unlimited mobile hotspot service. In addition, Verizon's Business Mobile Secure is included at no additional cost. This enhanced security bundle includes lookout mobile endpoint secure, mobile device management, Wi-Fi protection, and tech support.

• Nationwide 5G coverage, including mmWave spectrum
• Enhanced security bundle included
• Unlimited mobile hotspot service
• 100GB limit during high usage time periods

Business Unlimited Pro

$50 per line per month.

The highest level Verizon Business Unlimited plan provides twice the amount of premium network access, 120GB, along with 50% off on Business Unlimited Pro tablet plans.

This plan may be perfect for businesses using connected tablets out in the field and smartphones that are using data throughout the day away from Wi-Fi service.

• Nationwide 5G coverage with mmWave support
• 50% cost savings on tablet plans
• $50 price per line higher than other tiers

T-Mobile phone plans for businesses

After the purchase of Sprint, T-Mobile is now the second largest (in terms of subscriber count) carrier in the US. While T-Mobile has long been known for its consumer-friendly cellular plans, it also has one of the most extensive  libraries of business offerings  for small companies, large companies, and government agencies. Its new  Business Unlimited plans  are presented below, but other options require  direct discussions  between businesses and T-Mobile.

Business Unlimited Select

$25 to $60 per line per month.

Business Unlimited Select plans are designed for small business customers who need 1 to 12 lines of service. A one line plan is the most expensive, at $60 per month. Two lines are priced at $45 per line per month, four lines are $30 per line per month, and six or more lines are just $25 per line per month.

These plans include 5G network support, 5GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, as well as unlimited calling/texting/data in Mexico and Canada.

• Very affordable small business plan
• Unlimited service in Mexico and Canada
• Unlimited streaming is limited to SD content
• Included data in Canada and Mexico is 128kbps speed

Business Unlimited Advanced

$30 to $70 per line per month.

If the employees of your small business travel by airplane and need Microsoft apps, then you should consider the T-Mobile Business Unlimited Advanced plan. This service plan includes 40GB of high-speed hotspot data, Microsoft 365, one hour of Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi, and 5GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico.

• Affordable per line price point
• Microsoft 365 productivity service included
• One hour of in-flight Wi-Fi service
• 40GB of high-speed hotspot
• 100GB of premium data

Business Unlimited Ultimate

$40 to $85 per line per month.

For small businesses that want it all at reasonable per line prices, the new Business Unlimited Ultimate plan is for you. In addition to the unlimited talk, text, and data (with 5G included) small businesses also get unlimited premium data, 100GB of mobile hotspot, and Microsoft 365.

Streaming content is provided with unlimited 4K UHD quality, WiFi on your flight is unlimited, and data in 210 countries is twice as fast (256kbps) as the other T-Mobile small business plans.

• Unlimited premium data
• Unlimited WiFi on your flight
• Microsoft 365 services included
• 5GB of high speed data in Canada and Mexico

AT&T phone plans for businesses

After T-Mobile added Sprint subscribers to its total subscriber base, AT&T dropped to third in total subscriber count. However, AT&T is also well established as an enterprise service provider with  four enterprise options  available to customers. AT&T also serves as the backbone for the  FirstNet network  optimized for first responders.

Unlimited Your Way for Business

Starting at $30 per month.

The Unlimited Your Way for Business plans allow up to 10 devices per plan group and are designed for small to medium-sized businesses. The more lines you add, up to 10 lines, the less expensive the starting price is for AT&T Business Unlimited Starter, Business Unlimited Performance, and Business Unlimited Elite. For 10 lines, the starting price is $30, $35, and $40 per line per month, respectively. For just a single line, these prices are $65, $75, and $85 per line per month, respectively.

Hotspot data allotments, priority data transmission, and higher definition streaming are features that improve as you move from the Starter tier to the Elite tier of service. Select the number of lines on the Unlimited Your Way website to view pricing for your company.

• Price per line decreases with additional lines
• Multiple tiers of service are offered
• Limited to 10 lines of service
• Priority data transmission restrictions
• Hotspot data limits

AT&T Mobility Select - Pooled

Starting at $35 per month.

Unlimited calls and text messages in the US, unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada, and unlimited texting from the US to more than 120 countries are included in the  AT&T Mobility Select - Pooled  plan service. Data is served up to each employee from a single shared pool for each business account.

Plans start at $35 per month, but potential customers need to contact AT&T to discuss specific details and plan pricing.

• Affordable plan pricing
• Unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada
• Shared pool requires management to allocate

AT&T Mobile Share Plus for Business

Starting at $50 per month.

The AT&T Mobile Share Plus for Business plan supports from one to 25 smartphone lines with various monthly data caps, ranging from 3GB to 120GB per phone. Pricing per phone starts at $50 per month for 3GB and goes up to $615 for one phone with 120GB of data.

Shareable data, rollover data, unlimited talk and text, mobile hotspot service, and international talk, text, and data are provided with these plans.

• Support for up to 25 lines of service
• Rollover data support
• Mobile hotspot service included
• Data caps allocated by service option

AT&T Business 4GB

Unlimited talk, text, and 4GB of data per line are provided with the AT&T Business 4GB  plan. Hotspot data and standard mobile security services are also provided with the plan. Pricing for smartphones starts at $50 per month, but further pricing requires consultation with an AT&T representative.

AT&T Business 4GB is available for tablets for $20 per month and for wearables for $10 per month. AT&T advertises this plan as best for small businesses.

• Unlimited talk and text
• Controlled pricing per each phone
• Service options for tablets and wearables
• 4GB data limit per each line

MVNO options for businesses

While the three major carriers offer focused business plans, there are also a few MVNOs that offer attractive per line plans that may work well for small businesses. MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) are companies that use establish wireless carrier infrastructure to provide no or minimal contract options for customers. The MVNOs do not openly advertise which wireless carrier infrastructure they are using, but as soon as you insert a SIM into your phone, you can see which carrier is connected to which MVNO. MVNOs are optimized for consumers looking for phone service with no contracts and prepaid options, but these same elements may help small businesses control costs and adjust to market demands.

US Mobile for business

$9 per line and $2 per gb per month.

Most MVNOs offer attractive per line prices with each account limited to five or six lines. US Mobile is one MVNO that actually provides shared data plans for companies of any size. Enter the number of lines you need and the amount of shared data to view your total monthly payment. 

A couple of examples include 50 lines with 100GB of data for $674 per month or 30 lines with 50GB of data for $385 per month. We had the opportunity to test out the two available US Mobile SIM cards and found the service to be fast and reliable.

• Specific service offering for businesses
• Scalable to your business size and line needs
• Competitive $9 per line base fee
• Verizon and T-Mobile serve as network providers
• Data price per GB may be higher than unlimited plans

Mint Mobile

$30 per month per line.

Mint Mobile is one of the most popular MVNOs thanks in large part to advertising by one of its owners, Ryan Reynolds. While there are no specific business plans, three/six/twelve month plans for individual phones are available starting as low as $30 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data.

T-Mobile provides the network for Mint Mobile's service so you will need GSM handsets for the service.

• Unlimited talk, text, and data plan options
• Flexibility for less expensive data limit plans
• No specific business service plans
• Limited to T-Mobile coverage area
• Three available contract period options

Cricket Wireless

Starting at $25 per line per month.

Cricket Wireless is an established MVNO, service provided by AT&T, that has retail stores around the country so you can get support and establish service in person if you desire. One to five lines can be setup for each account with measured data or unlimited data. Mobile hotspot data can also be added to each line.

4G LTE and 5G data is provided, along with international support, cloud storage, and more.

• Established, trusted MVNO
• Physical retail stores around the country
• Unlimited and measured data plan options
• No long term contract required
• Service coverage area limited to AT&T network
• Five line limit per account

What steps should a new business take to establish wireless service?

While this buying guide provides current pricing and service options from the three primary US wireless carriers and MVNOs, specific pricing for your business requires a conversation with the carrier to fully define your company needs, available service discounts, and contract lengths.

One of the first things to figure out is where you will need service geographically in the US as all three carriers have slightly different coverage maps. Your geographic operating area may remove one, or more, carriers from your viable candidate list. 

The next step is to determine how many lines of service you will need and then the data needs of those lines. Calling and text messages are unlimited in all cases, but data speed and amount of data will drive your costs.

Most carriers also offer additional incentives and services, such as hotspot, in-flight coverage, Microsoft 365, and more. Make sure to account for the value of these incentives in your decision-making process.

What are the disadvantages of a MVNO?

Most MVNOs are focused on the consumer market so business plan offerings for more than six lines of service are rare. Pricing can be very competitive and with no contracts these MVNOs may be attractive to businesses just getting started that do not want to lock in long-term contracts.

Account management may require more time from businesses given the consumer focus of MVNOs. MVNOs are also subject to the infrastructure provided by the big three US carriers, but there are several established MVNOs with solid reputation and a record of high-quality service and support.

What is the best business phone plan?

We analyzed reliability, coverage, and price to compile a list of the best phone plans for your business which includes: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

Does the choice of my smartphone model limit wireless service?

In the past, the US wireless market was split into GSM and CDMA service technologies with two carriers supporting each of these technologies. Modern smartphones support LTE and 5G service without CDMA technology your choice of smartphone is not as limited.

The most popular smartphones in the US, Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, support all wireless technologies in the US wireless market so there are no limits on using these phones with any US carrier. If you purchase these phones directly from Samsung and Apple, then you can choose to purchase unlocked models.

Some phones are sold in a locked state so they can only be used on one specific carrier. This may be changing soon and there are processes to unlock your phone from your carrier if you decide to switch carriers. There used to be incentives for purchasing locked phones, but in today's world purchasing unlocked phones gives you the most flexibility for choosing your service provider.

ZDNET Recommends

The best cheap 5g phones: expert tested, the best business internet service providers, the best at&t phone deals right now.

• Meta Quest 4
• Google Pixel 9
• Google Pixel 8a
• Apple Vision Pro 2
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Samsung Galaxy Ring
• Yellowstone Season 6
• Recall an Email in Outlook
• Stranger Things Season 5

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best small business cell phone plans

Just as one shoe size can’t fit all, there’s no single cell phone plan that will suit every small company. But there are numerous high-quality plans that are worth considering as they strive to meet the needs of different types of businesses. To settle on the best cell phone plan for your business, you first want to figure out what kind of plan best fits your company.

How to choose a plan

Big four basics.

Business owners generally buy and pay for employee cell phones or plans or both when workers spend at least some part of their time off-site. With employees, you may want to track hours and data. In that case, to streamline operation and collaboration, a specialized business cell phone plan might be optimal. Today, more American businesses are accommodating work-at-home schedules that avoid meetings and travel, but note that quarantines and shelter-in-place orders will not last forever, so it’s a good idea to take the entire spectrum of your business activities into account.

• Best iPhone deals: Save on iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro Max and more
• Best iPhone 14 deals: Unlocked and refurbished
• Best phone deals: Save on the iPhone, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and more

There are numerous factors to reflect on when choosing a cell phone plan for your small company. Here are some major issues you’ll want to consider.

Business design: Is your proposed plan built for businesses and scaled for business customers? If you’re a solopreneur or an extremely small company with just a handful of employees, you may be able to get away with a personal friends-and-family-type plan, as opposed to a bona fide business plan. But once you have more than a couple of employees, start to think bigger about scalabilities such as multiple lines, unlimited options on talk, text, and data, data-only plans for companies that don’t need talk or text, and discounts for more lines or devices.

Network coverage: Consider sound quality, data speeds, coverage, and overall dependability. Make sure the plan you choose has good coverage in the area where your employees are located or are traveling. If your employees travel internationally, choose from plans that have good rates for the target countries. Also, don’t forget about airline coverage and in-flight texting services.

Security:  Some cell phone business plans offer virtual private networks, encryption, and other features to protect your company’s data. That could be quite valuable, as it relieves you of having to research, choose, and pay for additional services.

Hardware: If you need to supply employees with handsets, consider the kinds of phones offered with the plans you’re considering, or whether employees prefer to use their own smartphones.

Hot spot: Some business environments just don’t have usable Wi-Fi, but you can use a cell phone signal to connect a wireless device to the internet with a mobile hotspot. For multiple device connections, look for a dedicated hotspot with a fast, stable, secure connection, as well as other services like call forwarding, voicemail, call hold, analytics, and call queuing.

Data: Business plans should be generous with data, but unlimited is best — unless you really do not need data to conduct business.

Customer service: Count on problems arising, and when they do, you or your employees will want someone reliable to call before customers and clients get restless.

Price: Price is always a factor, and sometimes the cheapest plans offer just the service and features you’re looking for. But for something as critical as your business communications, do not buy on price alone.

Just in case you’re also looking for the best all-around mobile cellular deals, have a look at our survey of the  best cell phone plans of 2020 and our report on the best prepaid cell phone plans . Meantime, below are some of the business-oriented plans available now.

AT&T offers several variations of its Mobility Rate Plans — Mobile Share Plus, Mobile Select Priority Pooled, and Business Unlimited Elite, plus several in between — tailored to your budget for $50, $55, and $85 per line per month. Designed for small- to medium-sized businesses, the Elite plan offers unlimited data, talk, and text for up to 10 devices. The Pooled plan gives employees a data allowance alongside pooled data within a single account. The Plus plan lets you share data across up to 10 or up to 25 business devices. All plans feature unlimited domestic talk and text and unlimited talk from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada, plus unlimited texts from the U.S. to over 120 countries, along with high definition video streaming. The Elite and Pooled plans also feature 5G . Data speeds may slow down with congestion past certain data points.

Verizon markets the Plan for Business, Business Unlimited, the New Verizon Plan, and the Flexible Business Plan specifically for small companies. The Plan for Business starts at $175 per month for up to 25 lines, with data plans ranging from 25GB to 200GB for various prices and topping out at $1,000 per month. All plans include carryover data, safety mode, calling to and from Mexico and Canada, use of your device in Mexico and Canada, and data boost costing $15 per 1GB. With all business plans, you can turn your device into an internet hotspot and send unlimited messages to more than 200 countries worldwide. Additional smartphones cost $15 per month.

Simple Choice for Business by T-Mobile costs $50 per line per month up to $110 per month for up to five lines. You can add $10 per line per month for 6 to 12 lines and up to 2GB of 4G LTE Data. You can call and text from any Wi-Fi connection, as your unused LTE data (up to 20GB) rolls forward for 12 months. The plan features unlimited calling and texting to and from Mexico and Canada, plus you get up to 5GB of data at 4G LTE speeds. If you’re looking for a more streamlined option, T-Mobile Essentials only costs $30 per month per line for four lines. It offers unlimited 3G mobile hotspot data, unlimited talk, text, 2G data in Mexico and Canada, and unlimited texting and flat-rate calling at 20 cents per minute in over 210 countries. An additional 10GB of high-speed 4G LTE mobile hotspot data will cost you $10 a month. For a more robust plan, the Magenta for Business plan is available for two, four, eight, and 12 lines for $60, $40, and $30 per month per line, respectively. It features 5G service, 3GB of 4G LTE hotspot data, plus unlimited 3G data, in-flight texting and data, unlimited data and texting in over 210 countries, and unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico. The included Digits program eliminates the need for separate work and personal phones, allowing you to access up to five numbers on one device and use one number across several devices.

RingCentral

RingCentral is a VoIP system that functions extremely well in an office setting. It supports unlimited calling and conferencing toll-free numbers and a customizable caller ID. Functionality is its primary priority; It supports useful features, like texting, online meetings, and faxing. When you use RingCentral, incoming calls go through the same call-routing system as your office phones. It helps make your office number into a portable communication system. You can call, text, and fax from your business number on any mobile device. The service could be used by two users to 1000 and offers four levels: Essentials, Standard, Premium, and Ultimate for $20, $25, $35, and $50, each with a free trial.

Cricket Wireless

Cricket Wireless is a highly-rated and widely-used prepaid wireless service that prides itself on its affordability. It typically costs users from $30 to $60 per month. With Cricket Wireless, users can build their own custom phone plans. If you prefer a more basic plan with talk and text and no data, that’s manageable. You can build off that basic plan by adding data (2GB, 5GB, or unlimited), unlimited talk and text, picture messages, a mobile hotspot, and SD quality video streaming. If you often travel or need international coverage, that’s also manageable. You can add coverage for Canada and Mexico and unlimited text to 37 countries, HD Voice, and Wi-Fi calling from a compatible phone. Data-only plans of 20GB and 40GB are available for $35 and $50 per month, respectively, with Mexico and Canada coverage in the mix.

Republic Wireless

Consider Republic Wireless for your business if you don’t exactly need a phone network, but you do use a significant amount of Wi-Fi. This plan functions more like a virtual network than other cellular providers. The vendor relies on T-Mobile and Sprint networks when Wi-Fi is unavailable. The base plan is incredibly affordable, starting at $15 a month or $150 a year for unlimited talk and text. At this level, Republic Wireless charges $5 per gigabyte of data, up to 15GB. Fortunately, Republic won’t let a person’s bill skyrocket if they start to use too much data; Instead, the company disables data before you stretch past your limit. Using their data plan, users can also opt to make their smartphone a hotspot. One feature we enjoy about Republic is their Extend Home service. This feature allows people to connect their cell phones with their home phone to access contacts, receive calls, or make calls from one direct number using either of their phones.

Editors' Recommendations

• Best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 deals: Grab the foldable phone for $700
• Best refurbished iPhone deals: Get an iPhone 14 for $513
• Best cell phone plan deals: T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Mint Mobile and more
• Best iPhone 15 deals: How to get Apple’s latest iPhone for free
• The best Android tablets in 2024: the 11 best ones you can buy
• Buying Guides

As much as we love having the best smartphones in our pockets, there are times when those small screens don't cut it and we just need a larger display. That's when you turn to a tablet, which is great for being productive on the go and can be a awesome way to unwind and relax too. While the tablet market really took off after the iPad, it has grown to be quite diverse with a huge variety of products — from great budget options to powerhouses for professionals.

We've tried out a lot of tablets here at Digital Trends, from the workhorses for pros to tablets that are made for kids and even seniors -- there's a tablet for every person and every budget. For most people, though, we think Apple's iPad Air is the best overall tablet — especially if you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem. But if you're not an Apple user, that's fine too; there are plenty of other great options that you'll find in this roundup.

There are lots of different types of ring lights, but they all have the same primary purpose -- provide a steady light source that will illuminate your subject, whether that's an object, another person, or yourself. If you need a ring light for your phone, there's also an overwhelming number of options, so to help you out, we've rounded up the best ring lights for phones right here. We're going to take you through our recommendations, their advantages over other ring lights for phones in the market, and our selection process that resulted in our top five choices below.

Whether you're a travel vlogger, a video game streamer, or any other kind of content creator, and you prefer using your phone over a dedicated camera or webcam, then you should check out the best ring lights for phones that we've gathered here. Even if you're only going to use it for your personal photos and videos, it's always better to have nice lighting that will simply make everything look nicer, especially in low-light environments. Not everyone needs a ring light for their phone, but for those who do, read on to determine the one that would be perfect for you. The best ring lights for phones in 2024

Buying the best tablet for business isn’t quite as simple as just buying something from our look at the best tablets. Business users have specific needs which mean they don’t have to worry so much high-end gaming performance or a particularly sharp and speedy display. Instead, it’s mostly about strong number crunching ability, plenty of storage, good cameras for calls, and those kind of responsible considerations.

That’s why we’ve specifically picked out the best tablets for business below. Further down, we’ve also gone into greater depth about how we came to our decisions but rest assured, we’re experts in the field and know exactly what a business user needs from a great tablet. For some of you that may mean one of the best iPads but for others, it means an Android device or even a hybrid laptop/tablet setup.

The Top Small Business Cell Phone Plans

Find out more about the best small business cell phone plans with customer rating, pricing information and frequently asked questions.

Updated on December 21st, 2023

The SMB Guide is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

4.5 out of 5 overall

• Widest U.S. coverage.
• 5G coverage
• Solid network coverage.
• No overages.
• Access to 20M WiFi hotspots.
• Unlimited talk and text.

Business cell phone plans are offered by phone carriers to help small businesses have affordable access to a reliable phone network. Businesses are often eligible for discounts when they add more numbers or opt for additional monthly features.

Best Small Business Phone Systems

Get information on the top business phone systems, including pricing, reviews, and FAQs.

Dec 21, 2023

Why We Chose Verizon, AT&T, and Xfinity Mobile:

Verizon is one of the largest network providers in the United States . With plans for as little as four employees, Verizon offers phone packages suitable for small and large teams. All of Verizon's phone bundles include great unlimited features, including unlimited calling, texting, and data while in Canada and Mexico.

Verizon is ideal for businesses that plan on supplying their employees with handsets . The network provider offers nearly 100 different iOS and Android phones and tablets for teams that are constantly on the go.

All of AT&T's plans offer great unlimited features , including unlimited data and calling in Canada and Mexico, as well as unlimited international texting, domestic calling, and free domestic roaming. AT&T's Business Unlimited Plan comes in three variations: Starter, Performance, and Elite. With all three plans, users also have access to 5G network.

Xfinity Mobile offers a large variety of plans for businesses to choose from , with prices ranging between $30.00 and $240.00 per line. Thanks to its multi-line pricing system, businesses pay less as more lines are added to their plan. Xfinity Mobile also offers 4G LTE and 5G network access, making it great for employees who are always on the move.

Things to Consider When Evaluating Small Business Cell Phone Plans:

• Carefully consider the contract as most plans require business owners to sign up for extended contract periods of one to two years.
• Check coverage and compare it to where your employees live and travel. Some cell companies offer better coverage in rural areas, others offer much less expensive international plans.
• Keeping up with the latest in phone technology could be important to your business, so see how often the contract entitles you to new phones.

Best Business Cell Phone Plans:

How to choose a business cell phone plan:, 1. look at your business's communication needs..

Every business's communication needs will vary. For example, construction companies will require a smartphone with excellent data access for teams that are on the move and working on different sites, while call center teams will only require wireless services and ordinary phones.

International Phone Plans

See our list of top international phone plans, which includes ranking and frequently asked questions.

Sep 19, 2023

Carrier Strengths:

2. choose a plan designed for businesses..

Look for plans with multiple lines and unlimited talk, text, or data options. In addition, your plan should be tailored to fit your specific business. If you won't require talk options, look into business text and email plans.

3. Make good network coverage a priority.

Your plan should have excellent coverage in your area, especially if your business requires strong talk capabilities. Consider sound quality, speed, and network coverage. More importantly, your network coverage should be reliable in urban and remote areas.

Best Network Coverage:

T-Mobile provides the widest network coverage, making it the best fit for businesses that operate in urban areas. Since acquiring Sprint's network in 2020, T-Mobile's network coverage has grown exponentially, narrowly surpassing Verizon's coverage in the U.S.

4. Look for strong security features.

Instead of paying for a separate network security service, look into network providers that include VPNs and encryption with their cell phone plans. Your business's private information is a top priority and with so many open networks, you'll want to ensure your and customer's information is secure.

Best Security Features:

5. purchase hardware..

You can either ask employees to use their own smartphones or you can supply them with hardware. This option should only be considered if your business has off-site teams. Look into the hardware and handsets on offer and compare the plans that offer data and hardware bundles.

Common Cell Phone Plan Offers:

• Reduced costs as the number of lines and devices increase.
• Multiple lines and devices free of charge.
• International coverage.
• Data-only plans.
• Unlimited options for talk, data, and/or text.

More Related Articles:

• Best call tracking software .
• Small business VoIP providers .
• Top business phone systems .

Who has the best small business cell phone plans?

• Xfinity Mobile .
• RingCentral .
• Cricket Wireless .
• Metro PCS .

What is the average cost of small business cell phone plans?

The cheapest business cell phone plans are usually in the $15.00 to $30.00 per month range, while a complete business cell phone package could cost $60.00 or more per line per month.

What carrier has the best small business smartphone plans?

In terms of cost, Republic Wireless has some of the best cheap business phone plans for smartphones. However, Verizon has the best data coverage and features, meaning you can use your smartphone to access emails and business documents almost anywhere.

Who are the best business phone providers?

What is the best business cell phone plan for companies with less than 10 employees.

It really depends on what features your employees need on their phones, but most businesses with 10 employees or less can find an affordable plan that suits them.

How do I know what the best cell phone plan for my small business is?

The best way to find the best small business mobile phone plans is to do a small business cell phone plan comparison. Compare current offers from several providers to find out who can give you the best deal.

• Back to stores
• Find a Verizon Store
• Request a Store Appointment
• Australia (eng)
• Deutschland (de)
• France (fr)
• Great Britain (eng)
• Netherlands (eng)
• Singapore (eng)
• See which business internet is available in your area

Business Internet

Partner with Verizon Business and get fast, affordable, reliable internet virtually anywhere you do business. Plans start at $69/mo. $69/mo available for select plans. Plus taxes, fees, Economic Adjustment Charge and equipment charges (as applicable).

Unit (if appropriate)

Shopping for Enterprise or Public Sector use?

Fios Business Internet

Ultra-fast, fiber-optic internet with 99.99% network reliability and high bandwidth for speedy performance—plus, 24/7 business-class support Fios is available in select areas.

5G Business Internet

Secure wireless internet with fast download speeds, unlimited data, and easy implementation 5G Business Internet availability varies; may not be available at your location.

LTE Business Internet

Wireless internet with
out-of-the-box setup, plus a high-quality router to  easily connect operations on the go.

Internet Dedicated

Scalable, high performance internet that lets you prioritize critical applications, customize features—and count on quality of service

Affordability

Plans start at just $69/mo. Plus, save when you pair business internet with a Business Unlimited smartphone plan. $69/mo available for select plans. Plus taxes, fees, Economic Adjustment Charge and equipment charges (as applicable).

Stay connected with a solution that is available virtually anywhere you do business. 5G Business Internet availability varies; may not be available at your location.

Reliability

Keep work flowing with internet your business can rely on. On the network America relies on.

Take advantage of security controls to help defend against cyber threats.

Customer stories

Appalachian pipeline.

See how Appalachian Pipeline Contractors connects construction job sites quickly with LTE Business Internet.

Ronin Design Co.

See how Ronan Design Co. is making a productivity breakthrough with the help of 5G Business Internet.

The Dental Family

See how Fios helps doctors Brett and Irene Druger achieve their dream of becoming a fully digital office.

Laundromutt

See how Corina Stammworthy relies upon the speed and reliability of Fios to help keep her business ahead of the competition.

See how EverWash is using wireless business internet to scale their business and disrupt the car wash industry.

Improve business agility with the help of wireless business internet.

When a company designs its IT infrastructure for resiliency and agility, it can turn a crisis or an unexpected market shift into an opportunity for reinvention and success.

Implement a simpler connectivity solution for retail.

Learn how retailers deliver excellent customer service and stay competitive with the help of Verizon Internet Dedicated Services with Cisco® Meraki® and 4G LTE backup.

Mar 3, 2020,  2 min read

Discover an easier networking solution for banks.

Learn how banks increase sales and keep customer data secure with the help of Verizon Internet Dedicated Services with Cisco® Meraki® and 4G LTE backup.

Solutions Brief

Stay agile and connected with Internet Dedicated Services.

Get the reliability, flexibility and control your organization needs with this secure, dedicated connection.

May 28, 2021,  3 min read

Connect easily and reliably with LTE Business Internet.

LTE Business Internet can meet even the largest and most complex enterprise needs, whether you’re connecting a single employee or your whole workforce.

Mar 18, 2024

More to explore

Techteam for internet.

Get 24/7 access to tech experts who can help with a wide range of devices and operating systems.

Verizon Service Protection Plan

Take advantage of a protective plan for Verizon voice, diagnostics and broadband connections, including phone jacks and inside wiring.

What type of internet is best for business?

The best internet options for your business depend on various factors, such as your location and the nature of your business. Verizon Business offers several types of business internet options to cater to different needs and requirements. 

These options include:

Fios Business Internet : Upgrade your business internet to Verizon's ultra-fast fiber-optic network with 99.99% network reliability. This option provides blazing-fast speeds and high bandwidth for efficient operations. Fios is available in select areas.

5G Business Internet : Experience fast and scalable wireless connectivity solutions with Verizon's 5G Business Internet. This option offers fast speeds, low latency and unlimited data to support businesses of any size. 5G Business Internet availability varies and it is not available in all locations.

LTE Business Internet : For businesses with a need for mobility, Verizon's LTE Business Internet provides wireless connectivity with easy setup and pervasive coverage. It is suitable for primary or failover connectivity and can be used in various on-the-go scenarios.

Internet Dedicated Service : Fuel your business with high-performance internet through Verizon's Internet Dedicated Service. This option offers scalable speeds and bandwidth, customizable Quality of Service and enterprise-class service-level agreements.

When selecting the best internet for your business, consider factors such as reliability, speed, scalability and specific business requirements. Verizon’s range of business internet options can provide the necessary connectivity to keep your business running smoothly and meet your specific needs.

How much does Verizon business internet cost?

Verizon business internet pricing varies depending on the chosen plan, product and speed options. Eligible plans start  at $69/month for the base service fee (plus taxes, fees and other charges).

What are the price guarantees for Fios, 5G and LTE Business Internet plans?

For Fios and LTE Business Internet plans, the price guarantee extends for up to 3 years, depending on your plan; with a 1 year price guarantee for the low speed plan, a 2 year guarantee for the mid speed plan and a 3 year guarantee for the high speed plan. Our business internet price guarantees ensure that you can rely on stable pricing for the duration of the applicable guarantee period, providing peace of mind and cost predictability for your business.

What is the router policy for Fios, 5G and LTE Business Internet plans?

Verizon’s business internet services require a compatible router. For LTE and 5G Business Internet, the router policy allows customers the option to either purchase the Verizon provided gateway router or bring their own compatible device (BYOD). Routers purchased from Verizon can be returned within a 30-day return and exchange period subject to our Return Policy. A restocking fee may apply. Customers may also bring their  own device (BYOD); check the open development showcase for compatible models.

For Fios Business Internet, customers can either purchase the Verizon provided router, choose to rent the router, or bring their own compatible device (BYOD). Routers purchased from Verizon can be returned within a 30-day return and exchange period subject to our Return Policy.

What is the data allowance for different Business Internet plans?

The data allowance for LTE Business Internet is 300 GB/line/month, after which overage charges apply. Fios, 5G Business Internet and Internet Dedicated Service have unlimited data plans.

What is the satisfaction guarantee policy for Verizon business internet plans?

Verizon provides a 30-day satisfaction guarantee for its wireless business internet plans and for Fios with a 2-yr term. This guarantee allows customers to evaluate the service and cancel within 30 days of ordering if they are not satisfied. If you decide to cancel within this period, you can contact Verizon to initiate the cancellation process.  Routers purchased from Verizon can be returned within 30 days subject to our Return Policy.

Is there a Verizon business internet solution available in my area?

Yes, Verizon business internet solutions are available nationwide. Verizon offers extensive coverage and availability for its business internet services. Check your address to find out which Verizon business internet service is available in your specific area.

What is a good internet speed for my business?

The ideal internet speed for your business depends on factors specific to your business. It's important to consider both download and upload speeds. To determine the best internet speed for your business, consider factors such as the number of employees, the nature of your business activities and the need for reliable connectivity. You can test your current internet speed here .

Does Verizon business internet include Wi-Fi?

Yes, Verizon business internet solutions include Wi-Fi capabilities and offers equipment that supports the latest Wi-Fi technology. Additionally, Verizon's business internet plans can support Wi-Fi from third-party routers, giving businesses flexibility in choosing their preferred Wi-Fi setup. This ensures that businesses can enjoy wireless connectivity for their operations and provide internet access to their employees.

What is the difference between business internet and home internet?

The main differences between business internet and home internet is that business internet plans can be purchased only by business customers (with an ECPD profile indicating that they are a corporate liable end user). Business internet hardware often have more ruggedized components designed for use in professional and high use settings. Business internet plans are also architected to be compatible with a wider selection of routers and network treatments like MPN, Dynamic IP, Static IP, etc. Home internet has a different portfolio of plans and limited router choices.

Let’s connect.

Ready to buy Check availability

Call Sales 800-526-3178

Have us contact you Request a call

Call for Public Sector 844-825-8389

Already have an account?    Log in Explore support More ways to connect with us

How to Start a Small Business in 10 Steps

Learn how to start a small business from scratch with expert guidance. Get essential tips and steps for launching your dream journey successfully.

Brett Grossfeld

Share article.

Do you have a killer idea that you think would be perfect for launching a small business? If you believe what you see on TikTok, becoming an entrepreneur is just about as easy as posting a 30-second video. But in the real world, launching a small business can be a bit more challenging.

Starting a small business may seem daunting, but if you ask those same business owners if it’s worth the risk — few would trade the opportunity to shape their own destiny.

But where to start? Thankfully, you don’t need to have everything figured out before going out on your own. Successful small business owners are constantly learning from their mistakes — and improving their ideas and dreams along the way.

If you’re ready to take the leap and become a small business owner, keep reading.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

What is a small business, how much does it cost to start a small business, how to start a small business in 10 steps, what do you need to start a small business, start small — but think big.

Small businesses are generally defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as independent operations having fewer than 200 employees. And the majority of small businesses in the United States have fewer than five employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . 

But the number — or lack — of employees doesn’t necessarily define a “small business.” A business’s size can also be determined by the number of sales, the range of individual business locations, and other factors.

Along with size requirements, the SBA considers a company to be small if it’s:

• Independently owned and operated
• Not dominant in its field
• Physically located and operated in the U.S. (or a U.S. territory)

If your company meets the SBA’s definition of a small business, many government programs offer resources and local assistance for you to turn your dreams into reality.

Start Your Small Business With Big Things

Grow Your SMB All In One Platform

DEMO: See For Yourself For Free With Starter Suite

Build Your SMB Marketing Strategy With This Free Guide

TRAILHEAD: Starter Suite Quick Look

If you’re skilled in a certain trade — say, bookkeeping — you can launch a business with almost no money . But if your idea needs to be fleshed out and developed by researchers, scientists, and engineers, your startup costs can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and beyond. But most startup costs fall somewhere in the middle. 

Factors that influence cost

A sole proprietor working from home is going to have very different startup costs than a Silicon Valley startup flush with venture capital funds. But it doesn’t matter if you have $1,000 or $1 million to launch your small business — you’ll need to have a budget.

Are you moving the clutter out of your garage to make room for a desk? Or are you going to hire an architect to remodel a warehouse space in a trendy neighborhood? Obviously, both businesses are going to have wildly different expenses.

Think about your budget and what you can afford to get started. And it’s good to assume that unexpected expenses will pop up along the way — especially in your first year of business.

What kinds of costs to expect

The SBA has a worksheet that will help you calculate typical expenses for a small business, including one-time expenses such as:

• Rent : This includes security deposit, first month’s rent and utilities. If you’re working from home, you can deduct a percentage of your rent or mortgage on your taxes .
• Improvement costs: Anything that you might spend on your physical place of business to make it suitable for work.
• Inventory : If you’re selling a product, you’ll need goods to keep up with customer demand.
• Employees : This includes payroll, payroll taxes, and health insurance.
• Professional services: Accountants, lawyers, and consultants will all need to be paid
• Supplies : Think office supplies, such as paper and pencils, and operating supplies, like computers and printers.
• Marketing: Business cards, stationery, flyers, and advertising all fall under this category.
• Miscellaneous : This includes licenses, permits, legal fees, signage, technology, and accounting software. Everything else — liability insurance, repairs, maintenance, and dues.

The most difficult part of starting a small business is committing to your vision. It’s easier if you break down the process into small, achievable goals. Here are 10 steps that will get you on your way:

1. Do your research

If you don’t do basic market research before you launch your business, you may be down for the count before you even get started. Ask neighbors, friends, and even your barista if they would be interested in your product or service — and ask how much they’d be willing to pay for it. 

Conduct competitor research, local and global searches, and even offer surveys to consumers to see what the need versus want ratio is. 

2. Write a business plan

A business plan is your roadmap; it helps guide you as you start and grow your company. If you need capital to get started, most investors will want to review a business plan before they commit to any financing. 

To organize your ideas, download and fill out a business plan template . A well-written business plan provides clarity, confirms the math, and helps you establish goals so your business has the best chance of success.

3. Choose a business name

Finding the perfect brand name is a vital step in launching a new business. But hiring a professional naming company doesn’t come cheap — it can cost as much as $100,000 , according to Fast Company. 

If that’s outside your budget, there are countless AI-powered business name generators available online, and Fiverr has entrepreneurs who will help brainstorm business names for three figures or less.

4. Decide on your location

Take a look at the taxes, zoning laws, and regulations in your location. You may find that operating your business in a different location could offer financial advantages. Review the fees, costs, and tax benefits of each state to see which location makes the most sense for your business . A strategic move may put you ahead of the game before you even open the doors.

5. Get your finances in order

Startup costs discourage many would-be entrepreneurs, but the reality is that many successful businesses got started with little more than a vision, discipline, and hard work. However, if you really need cash for that newly opened business bank account, here are four ways of getting that money:

• Self-funding: If you have the means, you may use your own earnings to kickstart your business or see out financial counsel to work it into your budget.
• Outside investors: For a stake in your company, relatives or venture capitalists may be willing to invest in your business.
• Small business loans: If you want to keep full ownership of your business, a small business loan may be the way to go.
• Crowdfunding: If you’re feeling creative and confident, try sites such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe to generate capital.

6. Take care of the legal stuff

Register your business in the state where it was formed — and make sure that you’re set up to pay state income and unemployment tax. Review whether your local municipality requires filing for a license or permit to operate your business. 

To satisfy Uncle Sam, apply for an EIN from the IRS . Confirm that no one else is using your business name by contacting your state filing office or online database. Some business structures require using a doing business as (DBA) name, and you may be required to open a business bank account.

7. Develop a marketing plan

Once you have a terrific name for your company locked down, you’ll want to create an online presence for your business. Be consistent on your social media channels , ideally creating accounts on the channels — meeting them online where they are. 

Develop a website that’s intuitive and filled with all the information your customers need. Your marketing may also include advertising campaigns and public relations.

8. Set up your CRM software

To enhance your marketing efforts and grow your small business, try customer relationship management ( CRM) for Small Business . This will be your solution for storing and managing prospect and customer information such as contact information, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities — all in one single source of truth. 

With Salesforce’s Starter Suite , you can start in minutes and easily manage your marketing, sales, and customer service as your business scales.

9. Launch your product or service

Congratulations: You’ve done all the hard work and you’re ready to introduce your product to the world. Make sure to announce your launch on social media — and consider throwing a media-friendly bash to celebrate.

10. Keep your customers happy

When you use CRM software, you can keep track and personalize support for all your customers. And happy customers are good for business — 80% of them say the experience a company provides is just as important as its products or services .

The United States has more than 33 million small businesses, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , and that number represents 99.9% of all U.S. businesses. And most of those small businesses started the same way — with an entrepreneur and an idea. But it takes more than just a dream to launch a small business.

So, where to start?

It’s time to take some notes. First, start outlining your business plan. If you’re stuck, ask yourself these four questions when developing your plan :

• Goals : What do you need to accomplish to achieve your vision?
• Methods : What are the steps you need to follow to get you there?
• Measurements : How will you determine when each objective has been met?
• Obstacles : What could throw you off course along the way?

Once you’ve written a business plan and are feeling confident, you’re ready to establish:

A name for your business

A great business name should succinctly identify your company and its audience. Brainstorm and get feedback from friends, family, and potential customers. And before you fall in love with your new company name, make sure that an established business in your industry isn’t already using that name.

A location for your business

Choosing where to conduct business is one of the most important decisions you can make for your small business. While staying close to home may be your first instinct, a change of venue may prove to be financially advantageous.

A business structure

For tax purposes and protection of personal assets, you need to choose a business structure that offers the right balance of legal protections and benefits. Common business structures include sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, and cooperative.

A legal presence

If you want personal liability protection, legal protection, and tax benefits for your company, you’ll need to register your business with state and local governments.

Federal and state tax ID numbers

Your Employer Identification Number (EIN) works like a personal Social Security number, but for your business. You need an EIN to pay state and federal taxes for your company.

Licenses and permits

Whether your business needs to apply — and pay for — licenses and permits depends on your business activities, location, and government rules. Review regulations from city, state, and federal agencies.

A business bank account

Opening up a bank account exclusively for business use will help keep your personal finances separate, making life easier at tax time. There are several banks that will allow you to open a business checking account with a zero balance, but traditionally banks will require an opening deposit of anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000.

Start-up funds

Even if you open a business checking account with a zero balance, you’re going to want to have some funds to cover basic operating expenses. The SBA offers guidance on obtaining funding for your small business, including loans, grants, and investors.

Starting a new business may feel like a gamble, but business insurance will help you cover your bet. The right insurance policy will help protect you against accidents, natural disasters, and lawsuits.

You should also consider:

Customer relationship management

A CRM platform keeps your customer data organized and provides the foundation to build connected customer experiences (that can be made even better through artificial intelligence). Starting with a suite of sales, service, marketing, and commerce tools is easy.

Invoice and billing software

While it is possible to keep track of your financial records on a traditional paper ledger, modern invoice and billing software makes the process much, much easier.

A graphic designer

A well-designed logo can make or break a business. The Nike “swoosh” was created by a graphic design student — and the $35 Nike initially spent paid for itself many times over.

Many small businesses exist with just a presence on social media, but having a professionally designed website adds legitimacy to your business.

Marketing experts

Like graphic design, marketing expenses are costs that many small business owners initially want to avoid. But strategically investing in a marketing campaign can be a boon for a small business that wants to make noise in a crowded marketplace.

A Human Resources department

Once your business grows to a certain size, it’s time to create a human resources (HR) department — or, at least, to hire an HR professional. This professional can focus on things such as labor law compliance, employee recruitment, employee engagement and development, and compensation and benefits management while you manage your business.

An assistant

For most small businesses starting out, hiring an assistant to perform administrative and clerical duties is something of a luxury. If your budget is tight, consider a virtual assistant .

What are some popular small business ideas?

If you have a unique idea for a small business, great. But some of the best small business ideas build on your strengths and experience. What do you love to do? What lights you up when you are helping the community? Do you have a pull to do something more?

What are the odds that my small business will succeed?

Starting a small business is no guarantee of success. Approximately 80% of small businesses survive their first year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survival rate decreases to 50% after five years and 30% after 10 years.

What are some Fortune 500 companies that started small?

Not all big companies started with millions of dollars in venture capital. Some of America’s biggest brand names had far more modest beginnings . Apple famously got started in a Silicon Valley garage, while Mattel was building dollhouse furniture from picture frame scraps in its early days.

What are the most business-friendly states?

Before setting up shop in New York or California, consider launching your small business in North Dakota, Indiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, or North Carolina. These states offer the best conditions to start a business , according to Forbes Advisor.

What can I deduct for my small business at tax time?

(Almost) everyone knows that you can deduct entertainment and travel expenses as a small business owner. But you can also deduct software subscriptions, office furniture, and interest on small business loans, according to NerdWallet .

Taking the leap to start your own small business is just the first step on your entrepreneurial path. But you’re in good company. Nearly half of all U.S. employees are employed by a small business — and more than 80% of those small businesses are solo ventures , according to Forbes Advisor. There’s no better time than the present to start turning your dreams into reality.

Want to grow your new small business? Sign up for a Salesforce free trial .

Just For You

Generative AI Regulations – What They Could Mean For Your Business

What Is ERP? (A Beginners Guide)

Explore related content by topic

• Small Business
• Sales Fundamentals
• Sales Strategy
• Best Practices
• B2B Commerce
• Salesforce CMS
• Future of Work

Brett Grossfeld is a Product Marketing Manager supporting Salesforce's CRM, data, and AI tools. He's written for multiple websites across various industries and interests, including tech, wellness, and modern customer experiences.

Get the latest articles in your inbox.

How To Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps

AI For Small Business is Here — Get Ready With These Tips 

How to Write a Business Proposal for Small Businesses

Digital Marketing for Small Business: Here’s How You Can Do It

27 Top Sales Influencers You Should Follow in 2024

What Is an SMB and What Do You Need to Know to Be Successful?

4 Ways Your Contact Center Can Get Started With Generative AI

Email Marketing for Small Business: Here’s All You Need to Know

360 Highlights

Yes, I would like to receive the Salesforce 360 Highlights newsletter as well as marketing emails regarding Salesforce products, services, and events. I can unsubscribe at any time.

By registering, you confirm that you agree to the processing of your personal data by Salesforce as described in the Privacy Statement .

Thanks, you're subscribed!

New to Salesforce?

• What is Salesforce?
• Best CRM software
• Explore all products
• What is cloud computing
• Customer success
• Product pricing

About Salesforce

• Salesforce.org
• Sustainability

Popular Links

• Salesforce Mobile
• AppExchange
• CRM software
• Salesforce LIVE
• Salesforce for startups
• América Latina (Español)
• Brasil (Português)
• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States (English)

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

• España (Español)
• Deutschland (Deutsch)
• France (Français)
• Italia (Italiano)
• Nederland (Nederlands)
• Sverige (Svenska)
• United Kingdom (English)
• All other countries (English)

Asia Pacific

• Australia (English)
• India (English)
• Malaysia (English)
• ประเทศไทย (ไทย)

© Copyright 2024 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved.  Various trademarks held by their respective owners. Salesforce, Inc. Salesforce Tower, 415 Mission Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States

Marketing | Buyer's Guide

10 Best Business Email Providers for Small Businesses

Published February 13, 2024

Published Feb 13, 2024

REVIEWED BY: Michael DeVault

WRITTEN BY: Allyssa Haygood-Taylor

This article is part of a larger series on Business Email .

• 1 At a Glance
• 2 Google Workspace: Best for Value
• 3 IONOS: Cheapest Plans With a Domain
• 4 Zoho Mail: Best Free Solution
• 5 Canary Mail: Best AI Email Provider
• 6 Microsoft 365: Most Advanced Features
• 7 Hostinger: Best for Agencies and Resellers
• 8 Proton Mail: Most Secure Provider
• 9 DreamHost: Best for Unlimited Addresses
• 10 Scala Hosting: Best Host With Daily Backups
• 11 InMotion Hosting: Best for Guaranteed Uptime
• 12 InMotion Hosting: Best for Guaranteed Uptime
• 13 How We Evaluated
• 14 What Qualifies as Business Email
• 15 How to Choose a Service
• 17 Bottom Line

Email providers are mailbox hosting platforms that offer professional emails on your domain, which is vital for brand credibility. The best small business email providers offer ample storage, security, and add-ons like free domains, SSL (secure sockets layer), mobile apps, smart tools, and advanced features at an affordable cost. We compared dozens of options and ranked the 10 best email services for small businesses below.

• Best value overall: Google Workspace
• Cheapest plan with email and domain: IONOS
• Best free business email hosting: Zoho Mail
• Best artificial intelligence (AI) business email tools: Canary Mail
• Most advanced business email features: Microsoft 365
• Generous plans for agencies and resellers: Hostinger
• Most secure business email hosting: Proton Mail
• Cheapest starter plan for unlimited emails: DreamHost
• Great for those wanting daily backups: Scala Hosting
• Best for guaranteed uptime: InMotion Hosting

Best Business Email Providers at a Glance

Google workspace: best email for business value.

• Mobile and desktop email apps with built-in chat and video conferencing
• High storage limits
• Send and receive money via email
• Strong business email security
• Tons of integrations available
• Monthly billing—no long-term contracts
• All features included in all plans
• Comes with Docs, Sheets, Slides, and a calendar with appointment booking
• Domain must be purchased separately, unlike IONOS or Bluehost
• No multiuser plans outside of Enterprise
• 25MB max attachment limit; Microsoft 365 allows up to 150MB

Who Should Use Google Workspace

• Teams that work collaboratively
• Companies with distributed workforces
• Entrepreneurs needing office software (e.g., documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and so on)
• Sales or service businesses wanting a calendar with built-in appointment booking capabilities
• Small businesses wanting to use Gmail for business email
• Businesses that need ultra-reliable communication and productivity tools
• Professionals who need video conferencing tools to meet with clients
• Beginners who need a business email quickly
• Entrepreneurs wanting fast tools for sending or receiving money via Google Pay
• Brands doing business internationally (built-in language translation)

Cost Overview

• $6 for 30GB email storage, full Google Workspace office suite, and 100-participant video conferences
• $12 for 2TB storage and 150 participant video conferences
• $18 for 5TB storage, 500-participant video conferences, enhanced security and management controls, email eDiscovery and retention
• Enterprise (contact sales) for unlimited storage, data loss prevention (DLP), data regions, and enterprise endpoint management

One of the most compelling reasons to choose Google Workspace (and Gmail) for email hosting is its value: it comes with a full suite of office software. Everything you need to communicate, collaborate, and generate documents, spreadsheets, and slide-based presentations is at your fingertips, 24/7, thanks to web-based apps that automatically save and sync.

Starting at $6, plans come with Gmail business email, Google Meet video conferencing, and Chat, integrated into the email dashboard. Also included is Google Drive storage (from 30GB to 5TB, depending on your plan), advanced administrative controls, alias emails, and thousands of email apps and third-party integrations.

The calendar app also includes built-in features for appointment booking and sharing. You can give other members of your team the ability to manage your calendar and set various levels of permissions. With Gmail business email, you can even send and receive money over email, and it has automatic language translation for those doing business internationally.

Gmail business email interface

This hard-to-match level of value puts Google at the top of our list of the best business email providers for small businesses. Gmail’s closest competitor, Outlook via Microsoft 365, has more advanced features. However, some features are locked behind the second tier, where desktop apps can be downloaded. Read our head-to-head comparison of Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace to learn more.

Google Workspace Pricing & Plan Features

For most small businesses, the Starter plan will be all that’s ever needed. If you do want to increase storage or video conferencing limits or increase security, upgrades are available. Click the tabs below or read our Gmail review to learn more.

• Business Starter
• Business Standard
• Business Plus

Cost: $6 user/month

What’s included:

• Secure business email on your domain
• Shared calendars
• Browse and reserve conference rooms
• 30GB Google Drive storage
• Security and management controls, including two-step verification
• Documents, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat, shared notes
• Video calls with up to 100 participants, 24-hour meetings, digital whiteboarding, and recordings
• Sites website builder
• Forms survey builder
• Interoperability with Microsoft Office files
• Smart Fill, Smart Cleanup, and Answers
• Google Payments
• Automatic language translation
• 24/7 support

Cost: $12 user/month

Build on everything in the Starter plan, plus:

• 2TB total storage
• Shared team drives
• Target audience sharing
• Appointment booking pages
• Video conferencing with up to 150 participants

Cost: $18 user/month

Everything in the Starter and Standard plans, plus:

• 5TB total storage
• 500 participant video conferencing plus attendance tracking
• eDiscovery and email retention
• Enhanced security, including Vault and advanced endpoint management

Our Expert Opinion

Google Workspace’s feature-rich plans are value-packed with industry-leading communication, collaboration, and productivity apps. Shared docs, spreadsheets, presentations, calendars, and video conferencing make it the best email provider for business for just about any small business, especially for collaborative teams. Learn how to set up Gmail for business email , then get started with a 14-day free trial to test the platform at no risk.

Try Google Workspace

IONOS: Cheapest Business Email Plans With a Domain

• Cheap email hosting from $1 per month
• Free domain and domain privacy
• Multi-user plans to save money
• Advanced security and anti-spam
• Intuitive, full-featured webmail app
• Easily add your email to your preferred email client
• Fast, responsive customer support
• High attachment size limit
• Low storage on the base plan (2GB)
• No dedicated mobile app, unlike Gmail and Bluehost
• No productivity or collaboration tools, unlike Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Zoho Workplace plans

Who Should Use IONOS

• Anyone wanting to get a free email domain
• Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses on a budget needing cheap email hosting
• Businesses concerned with data security
• Anyone wanting to protect their information with private domain registration or alias emails
• Startups looking to build brand presence with affordable bundled solutions with email, web hosting, a domain, and SSL
• $1 per month (2GB expandable storage)
• $4 per month (12GB expandable storage)
• 50GB plans with premium virus protection and team collaboration tools at $5 per month for one user, $15 per month for five users, or $25 per month for 10 users
• Buy a domain from IONOS and get free SSL and business email included
• Get business email free in IONOS website builder and web hosting plans from $1 per month for the first year

IONOS is one of Europe’s leading web hosting companies and domain registrars. Besides web hosting, it offers standalone secure business email hosting in plans for as cheap as $1 per month. You can save even more with bundled plans. Nearly any product you purchase from IONOS (e.g., web hosting, website builder, or domain) has a plan that starts at $1 per month for the first six months and comes with a free business email account.

You can use its intuitive and full-featured web-based mail interface from any browser or add your email address to your favorite business email app . On the cheapest plan, you get 2GB of storage, anti-spam filters, an SSL/TLS certificate for data encryption, a huge 70MB max attachment limit, and a free domain name.

IONOS’ webmail interface is clean and familiar to Outlook or Mac Mail users.

The domain inclusion alone saves you anywhere from $10 to $15 per year or more. On the premium plan, you get all that plus more storage, basic collaboration tools, and advanced antivirus protection for as little as $2.50 per user.

In addition to IONOS’ reliability and security, this email provider ranks highly with customer support. After submitting a ticket, a customer service rep will contact you directly to help troubleshoot any issue. This level of assistance is important for solopreneurs and small businesses alike when so much of your work is hosted through email.

IONOS Pricing & Plan Features

The pricing below reflects the cost of IONOS standalone email hosting. They include individual and multi-user plans for up to five or 10 users. Click the tabs below to learn more, or visit IONOS to get email included in its website builder, domain registration, or web hosting plans.

• Business (1-10 Users)

Cost: $1/month (all plans are billed annually)

• 2GB storage (add mailboxes and extra storage at any time)
• Free domain and SSL
• Ad-free email
• Spam filter
• Webmail with calendar, tasks, and more
• Cross-device syncing

Cost: $4/month

Everything in the Basic plan, plus:

• 12GB storage (expandable)

Cost: $5/month for one user, $15/month for 2-5 users, $25/month for 6-10 users

Everything Basic one and 1+ users get, plus:

• 50GB storage per user
• Premium virus protection and spam filter
• Team collaboration tools (shared calendar, contacts, and tasks)

Although IONOS’ email hosting plans lack tools like video conferencing, at $1 to $5 per month, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better (or cheaper) business email provider. It has everything you need to get started, protects you with advanced anti-virus and anti-spam filters, has high attachment limits, and helps you save money by throwing in a free domain.

Zoho Mail: Best Free Business Email Solution

• Five free email accounts on your domain
• Low-cost plans from $1 per month
• Secure business email plus office software in Zoho Workplace plans from $3/month
• High attachment limits—250MB in the $1/month plan and up to 1GB on the highest-tier plan
• NEW AI email writing assistant
• No plans come with a free domain
• All plans are annually billed (no month-to-month contracts)
• No multi-user plans after the free one (pricey if you have a lot of users)
• Small storage and attachment limits in free and low-cost plans

Who Should Use Zoho Mail

• Businesses and entrepreneurs on super-tight budgets needing a free email host
• Startups and small operations looking for low-cost productivity and communications tools
• Businesses sending massive attachments (e.g., videos and artwork)
• Companies using and wanting to easily integrate other Zoho apps
• Free for up to five users, 5GB storage each
• $1-$4 for more features and a higher attachment limit (250MB-1GB)
• $3-$6 for Zoho Workplace plans, including 30-100GB storage, 10- to 100-participant video conferencing, and productivity and collaboration software

For the best free business email option, look no further than Zoho Mail. Though you’ll need to buy a domain name, it’s one of the best ways to get a free business email address. The free plan provides up to five email addresses, and, like IONOS, the cheapest premium plan costs just $1 per month. However, Zoho Mail includes more storage in its free and base tier (5GB) compared to IONOS’ Basic plan (2GB).

Zoho Mail’s desktop and mobile app interfaces

In addition to its free and basic plans, one of the reasons it’s on our list of the best business email providers is that Zoho Mail offers Workplace plans well-suited for teams. They include a 30GB email plan for users’ files, plus 10GB shared file storage plan at $3 per user, per month or a 100GB for email plus 100GB shared file storage plan priced at $6 per user, monthly.

They also have email hosting on multiple domains, Zoho Office Suite, Zoho Cliq (collaboration tools), and mobile apps. Plus, large file upload limits up to 1GB and from 10- to 100-participant video meetings. These tools make them comparable to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365—and at $3 per user, per month, the Zoho Workplace Standard plan is half the cost of either of those providers.

Because the free plan has low attachment size limits and low storage limits overall, it’s best for those who don’t depend heavily on email but want a business email address to maintain a professional image. Check out what’s involved with creating free Zoho email accounts for your small business.

Zoho Mail Pricing & Plan Features

Zoho Mail is the go-to free business email if you own a domain. Entrepreneurs and small teams can create up to five custom email addresses completely free of charge. Then scale up with plans that add additional storage, functionality, and even a full suite of office productivity and communication tools similar to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Click the tabs below to learn more.

• Forever Free
• Workplace Standard
• Professional
• Up to five free users
• Five email addresses with 5GB storage per inbox on a domain you own
• 25MB attachments
• Webmail and mobile app

Upgrade to Mail Lite for $1 per user, per month for 5GB email storage, or $1.25 per user, per month for 10GB, hosting or multiple domains, email aliases, routing, password-protected emails, and to add your email account to other apps via IMAP/POP settings.

Or get Premium for $48 per year for 50GB storage and giant 1GB attachment limits, plus archival, eDiscovery, backup and restoration, and white labeling.

Cost: $3/month ($36/user/year) (recommended)

Secure, business-class email, productivity, communication, and collaboration tools with everything in Mail Lite, plus:

• 30GB storage/inbox plus 10GB shared WorkDrive storage
• Attachments up to 500MB
• Zoho WorkDrive, including SSL and encryption at rest
• Zoho Office Suite (documents, spreadsheets, presentations) up to 50 collaborators
• Zoho Cliq messaging
• Zoho Meeting video calls up to 10 participants and up to 10 recordings

Cost: $6/month ($72/user/year )

Get everything in Workplace Standard, plus:

• 100GB of mail storage and 100GB of shared WorkDrive storage
• Up to 1GB email attachments
• Archival and eDiscovery
• White labeling
• Business class security with S-MIME email encryption and digital signatures
• Video conferencing with up to 100 participants
• Zoho Connect team collaboration software with unlimited groups and external user access
• Expanded features and limits for Zoho Cliq

Zoho Mail is widely regarded as one of the best ways to get free business email, making it an excellent choice for budget-conscious businesses that need five or fewer email addresses. Paid plans start at $1 per user, per month, but the low cost is at the expense of higher storage space. If your business relies heavily on email, then the best options are Bluehost and Google Workspace.

Visit Zoho Mail

Canary Mail: Best AI Business Email Provider

• Built-in AI email writing assistant in paid plans from $20/year
• Use AI to summarize long emails
• Offload rote work to the AI Sidekick
• Unified inbox (add your other emails to the app) and alias emails
• Smart prioritization to improve productivity and focus
• No-card-required free trial
• Desktop and mobile apps (Android and iOS) plus cross-device sync
• Full access to AI not included in the free version
• Doesn’t come with a domain
• No productivity or collaboration tools

Who Should Use Canary Mail

• Sales teams wanting to use artificial intelligence (AI) to compose emails and replies
• Users who frequently get long emails (such as lawyers) and want to use AI to create summaries
• Small business owners and teams that want to stay focused using AI to prioritize and organize emails
• Admins looking for built-in email organization and management tools
• Free plan for basic email with AI (Sidekick AI Lite) for email prioritization and tabs, email snooze, delay send, cross-device syncing, view customizations, and a unified inbox
• $20/year for all available Canary Mail features, including the AI email writing assistant (Sidekick AI Pro) and AI reading assistant (for summarization), plus additional tools for organization and customization
• $100/year for enterprise admin tools and security, single sign-on (SSO) and directory sync, plus centralized licensing

Earlier this year, someone from Canary Mail reached out to me by email and suggested that I take a look at the app to see how it compares to the best business email providers on this list. Let’s just say that I was impressed.

As far as I know, it’s the first (or at least among the very first) providers to have native artificial intelligence (AI) for writing, reading, summarizing, and prioritizing business email. As of this writing, Zoho is the only other mail app that comes with a built-in AI writing assistant—but we know that more will follow.

Until then, Canary Mail has you covered. Use the AI email writer to compose new emails or reply to them. Take advantage of the AI reading tool to save time by summarizing those TLDR (too long, didn’t read) types of emails. And, let smart tools keep you focused with AI organization and prioritization features.

The Canary Mail desktop app interface offers dark and light views.

Paid plans also include email templates and contact profiles, which (along with the AI email composer) make this a great app for sales and customer service teams, in particular. Plus, you’ll have a unified inbox, meaning that you can add your other email accounts into Canary Mail to see and manage all your messages in one place.

Canary Mail Pricing & Plans

Canary Mail plans are straightforward, and monthly billing is available, at least for the Enterprise plan. Here’s what you get:

Cost: Free-forever

• Email with a unified inbox with no limits on storage
• Sidekick AI Lite (prioritization and tabs)
• Email snooze
• 5-second email send delay
• Device syncing
• Light or dark themes
• Message preview
• Gray mail cleaner
• 1-click unsubscribe
• Newsletter management

Cost: $20/year

Get everything in Free, plus:

• Sidekick AI Pro to compose emails and summarize them
• Pinned emails and favorites
• Attachment browser
• Push notifications
• Read receipts
• Email templates
• Contact profiles
• Custom thread actions, snooze times, and alerts
• Pretty Good Privacy (PGP security program) for email and file encryption and email authentication

Upgrade to Enterprise for $100 per year for admin controls, SSO, directory sync, centralized licensing, and enterprise-grade security.

Cost: $100/year

Get everything in Pro, plus:

• Powerful administration
• Enterprise level security
• SSO and directory syncing
• Centralized licensing

Canary Mail has AI baked in, putting it ahead of many other business email providers as of today. If you want to save time writing and reading emails, prioritizing your time and focus and managing your messages, we recommend that you check this email app out today. Sign up for a paid subscription free for 30 days, with no card required, to test everything.

Visit Canary Mail

Microsoft 365: Most Advanced Business Email Features

• 50GB storage per user (paid plans)
• Business-class email security
• High attachment limits at 150MB
• Comes with Microsoft 365’s advanced productivity and collaboration tools
• 300-participant video conferencing
• Monthly billing costs more
• Advanced features in desktop software require an upgrade
• Apps-only plan doesn’t have a business-class email

Who Should Use Microsoft 365

• Business email users wanting workflow automations and time savers like templates and reusable quick parts
• Heavy email users looking for the most advanced business email features
• Companies wanting to be able to manage other users inboxes and calendars
• Brands wanting to deliver webinars to big audiences for lead generation
• People sending large attachments, like law firms, architects, and design agencies
• Any small business or entrepreneur who uses the Microsoft 365 office software suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Teams, and more)
• $6 per month for mobile web apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams)
• $12.50 for downloadable desktop software plus web, and mobile apps (plus Publisher and Access)
• $22 to add advanced security, access and data control, and cyberthreat protection
• $8.25 (apps only) for desktop, web, and mobile apps (does not include Microsoft Teams or Exchange business-class security for email)
• You can also pay month to month, but it will cost more

Microsoft 365 (MS365) is the best email provider for businesses that want to use Microsoft’s productivity suite (including Microsoft Outlook business email ). It’s also best for those who send or receive large attachments, manage other users’ calendars, or want to set up complex workflow automations. Learn more about the advanced tools available in our list of the top Outlook features for business email users.

Microsoft Outlook’s email interface is clean and easy to navigate.

The base tier’s app inclusions are similar to Google Workspace, starting at the same price of $6 per user, per month. MS365’s base plan comes with a massive 1TB of cloud storage via OneDrive (compared to 30GB with Workspace). However, mailbox storage is limited to 50GB regardless of plan, whereas Google Workspace storage is shared among all app users (including email), so Google’s higher plan tiers have virtually unlimited storage.

The base tier also allows video conferencing with up to 300 participants compared to 100 for the comparable Google Workspace plan. But Google’s highest plan tier allows up to 500 webinar attendees. If you think it’s a toss-up and aren’t sure whether to get business email through Workspace or Office 365, read our comparison of Gmail vs Outlook to see which has the email features your team needs.

Ready to get started? See how to set up Microsoft business email in just a few easy steps.

Microsoft 365 Pricing & Plan Features

All Business plans include the Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) suite with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other apps that many know and love. Click the tabs below to learn what’s included in each plan, and keep in mind that you can try it free for 30 days before committing. All plans require an annual commitment but are billed monthly.

Cost: $6/user, monthly

• Business email on your domain with 50GB of inbox storage
• Browser-based and mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
• Microsoft Forms, Visio, Lists, and Bookings
• Spam, malware, and known threat protection via Exchange secure, business-class email
• 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage
• Webinars and video conferencing with up to 300 attendees
• 24/7 phone and web support
• Defender for Business (add-on available)

Cost: $12.50/user/month

Get everything in the Basic plan, plus:

• Download desktop software with advanced features for all included apps on up to 5 devices
• Desktop versions of Access and Publisher
• Webinar attendee registration and reporting tools
• Manage customer appointments
• Software updates

Cost: $22/user/month

Build on the Basic and Standard plan features with:

• Intune mobile device management
• Remote wipe tool to remove data from lost or stolen devices
• Advanced security: Azure Information Protection
• Access and data controls
• Advanced cyberthreat security
• Exchange online archiving
• Defender for Business (included)
• Advanced mobile app protection
• Information rights management
• Conditional access

Microsoft 365 offers competitive pricing for plans that include a ton of cloud storage—1TB, to be exact—for just $6 per month. Large attachments and automations are also massive perks, and business plans come with a slew of apps for everything from business email to video conferencing, office productivity, presentations, marketing collateral, and more. Try it for free for 30 days.

Visit Microsoft 365

Hostinger: Best for Agencies & Resellers

• Reseller web hosting packages from $3.99/month for up to 100 domains + 100 email accounts per domain
• Email hosting in agency-friendly plans for up to 100 websites starting at $2.49/month
• Standalone email hosting from $1.59 per month, annually with 10GB storage
• Multi-site web hosting plans with both WordPress management and Hostinger’s AI website builder
• Cloudflare protected name servers
• Limited to 100 inboxes per domain
• Free domain isn’t included in email plans
• Fairly low 10GB of storage/mailbox
• Standalone email hosting is cheaper with IONOS (and the domain is included)
• 48-month contracts required for the best pricing
• Web hosting plans renew at a higher cost after the first year

Who Should Use Hostinger

• Agencies and freelance web developers looking for a low-cost way to offer managed services to clients
• Entrepreneurs with multiple businesses wanting an affordable multi-domain hosting plan
• Small businesses looking for cheap email hosting with enhanced security
• Companies wanting to bundle multi-email user accounts with web hosting or a website builder plan to save money
• Reseller web and email hosting plans from $2.49/month the first year up to 100 domains, 100 email accounts per domain, 200GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, daily backups, and a free domain and unlimited free SSL
• With annual billing, standalone Business email hosting from $1.59/month for 10GB storage or from $3.99 for 50GB and advanced features (or save more with a 24- or 48-month contract)
• All-in-one website builder plans with free domain, SSL, and business email from $2.49/month for the first year
• WordPress and web hosting plans with business email, domain, and SSL from $2.49/month for the first year
• Higher-priced month-to-month and lower-priced 2-year and 4-year contracts are also available

Hostinger offers a bevy of solutions that allow for multiple domains, making it the best business email provider for agencies and resellers. Serial entrepreneurs will also find Hostinger a great choice, as they can build hundreds of websites in any of the affordable WordPress and web hosting or no-code Hostinger website builder plans, all of which come with business email.

The clean, straightforward interface of Hostinger webmail

Hostinger customers can also rest easy with the peace of mind that data is protected. Hostinger uses Cloudflare-protected nameservers, malware scanning, and weekly or daily backups to ensure all the tools you’re using to build a brand presence online are safe and secure.

Another reason to love Hostinger is its flexible payment options. You can lock in super-low introductory pricing for up to four years, two years, one year, or pay month to month and cancel at any time.

The one drawback to using Hostinger for business email is the small size of storage allowed. The standalone email base plan comes with just 10GB of storage, but reseller plans only provide 1GB of storage per mailbox. Still, for the price, Hostinger is hard to beat, and light to normal email users will find the storage sufficient.

Hostinger Pricing & Plan Features

Hostinger also has great pricing on standalone email hosting, web hosting, and website builder plans if you don’t need large-scale solutions. But since we’re naming Hostinger the best business email host for resellers and agencies, the tabs below represent the best plans for that use case.

• Business Hosting
• Cloud Startup
• Cloud Professional

Cost: $3.69/month for 1, 2, or 4 years, or $14.99 month to month

Long-term contracts renew from $8.99 to $11.99/month

• 100 websites and unlimited free SSL
• 100 email accounts, 1GB each (1 per domain in the account)
• 100 subdomains
• One free domain name
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 200GB solid-state drive (SSD) storage
• Cloudflare protected nameservers
• Malware scanner
• Free site migration
• AI website builder
• Managed WordPress hosting with acceleration, object cache, and staging tool
• 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Unlimited FTP
• Access manager
• Unlimited databases

Cost: $8.99/month for 1, 2, or 4 years, or $24.99 month to month

Long-term contracts renew from $19.99 to $24.99/month

Build on everything included in the Business Hosting plan, plus:

• 300 websites
• 300 subdomains
• Dedicated resources
• Dedicated internet protocol (IP) address

Cost: $14.99/month for 1, 2, or 4 years, or $49.99 month to month

Long-term contracts renew from $32.99 to $54.99/month

Comes with everything in the Business Hosting and Cloud Startup plan, plus:

• 250GB SSD storage
• 6GB RAM and four CPU Cores

Hostinger has everything resellers, agencies, and freelance digital marketing consultants need to offer managed services to clients. Large-scale plans are affordable and packed with everything necessary to provide email hosting, web hosting, website building, and more, all risk-free backed with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Visit Hostinger

Proton Mail: Most Secure Business Email Provider

• Highly secure, end-to-end encrypted business email
• Fully HIPAA* & GDPR** compliant
• Free plan to start with
• Up to 500GB of storage
• Ability to password-protect emails
• Strict no-logs policy
• Always-on virtual private network (VPN) with an auto-kill switch
• Web, Android, and iOS apps, or add to your preferred client via Bridge
• Subject lines aren’t encrypted
• Only 1GB of storage in the free version
• Higher tier plans are needed for global VPN and streaming and email aliases
• Two-year commitment required for the cheapest plan pricing

Who Should Use Proton Mail

• Small businesses, law firms, and others handling highly confidential or sensitive contracts and information via email
• Healthcare businesses and organizations needing HIPAA-compliant email hosting with end-to-end data encryption
• Business email users in need of a lot of storage
• Companies doing business overseas needing to comply with GDPR rules
• Entrepreneurs wanting to use anonymous email aliases to protect their identity and prevent spam and phishing
• Free-forever plan up to 150 emails/day with 1GB of storage hosted on a Proton Mail subdomain
• $3.99/month (one user) for unlimited messages on up to 10 email addresses on your domain, 15GB total mailbox storage
• $6.99/user/month for unlimited messages on up to 10 email addresses/user on up to three custom domains, 15GB total mailbox storage, calendar sharing, contact group management, and one high-speed VPN connection
• $9.99/user/month for unlimited messages on up to 15 email addresses/user on up to 10 custom domains, 500GB total mailbox storage, unlimited Hide My Emails aliases, calendar sharing, contact group management, and 10 high-speed VPN connections and global streaming

*Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (U.S.) **General Data Protection Regulation (Europe)

Proton Mail is the world leader in email security and privacy. All plans, including the free version, include end-to-end encryption, making it ideal for any business looking to protect the information shared in business emails. It’s the best business email provider for healthcare practices, legal firms, and other organizations handling highly confidential or sensitive data.

A peek at the clean, modern interface you’ll get with Proton Mail business email

HIPAA is the law that protects private health info (aka PHI) from being disclosed without a patient’s consent or knowledge. GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation, is required for companies doing business in Europe—and Proton Mail business plans account for both. Proton Mail is one of the few providers that can claim to be fully HIPAA compliant.

In addition, Proton Mail security complies with GDPR agreements. Keep in mind that to ensure compliance, you’ll still need to get a signed agreement in place to fully protect your organization.

Of the providers here, Proton Mail includes some of the highest limits as far as storage goes. The highest-tier individual and business plans allow up to 500GB of storage per user account. This makes it a great option for creatives and small businesses working with large, proprietary files, such as videos and high-resolution graphics.

Proton Mail Pricing & Plan Features

Proton Mail includes individual business email accounts that are perfect for freelancers and entrepreneurs, as well as easy-to-manage business plans billed on a per-user basis. Learn more by clicking through the tabs below.

• Mail Essentials
• Proton Unlimited

Cost: $0 (forever)

• Email hosted on a Proton Mail subdomain
• 1GB storage
• 150 emails a day
• One calendar
• Auto-device syncing
• Encrypted file sharing
• One medium-speed VPN connection

Cost: $3.99/month ($3.49 with a 24-month contract) or $4.99 month to month

• Email hosted on a domain you own
• 15GB storage
• 10 email addresses
• Unlimited messages
• 20 shareable calendars

Cost: $9.99/user/month or $12.99 month to month

Everything in the Mail Essentials plan, plus:

• Support for 10 email domains
• 15 email addresses and 500GB storage/user
• Unlimited “Hide My Emails” aliases
• 10 high-speed VPN connections/user
• NetShield malware and ad-blocker
• Secure core servers
• Tor over VPN
• P2P/BitTorrent
• Worldwide streaming services and highest VPN speed
• 1,700+ servers in 60+ countries

If your organization needs the most private, secure business email provider on the market, Proton Mail’s business plans are hard to beat. It’s one of the few providers that can ensure both HIPAA and GDPR-compliant business email services, making it ideal for healthcare-related users and businesses with customers in European Union (EU) member countries. Get started for free today.

Try Proton Mail

DreamHost: Best for Unlimited Business Email Addresses

• Unlimited email accounts from $2.95/month in web hosting plans with email, domain, SSL, and a no-code WordPress builder
• Ample 25GB of storage per email
• Mobile app and cross-device syncing
• Add your address to any email client
• Spam, virus, and phishing filters to protect your inbox and devices
• Option for monthly billing
• $2.95/month is just for the first year (increases to $12.99)
• Standalone email plans don’t include a domain, unlike IONOS

Who Should Use DreamHost

• Businesses needing many email addresses for staff members
• Companies wanting to create multiple alias email addresses for operations teams (e.g., customer support, marketing, sales, and so on)
• Startups and small businesses wanting to bundle email and web hosting to save money
• Entrepreneurs looking to build a website on WordPress
• $2.95 the first year with annual billing for Shared Unlimited (unlimited email accounts and a free domain), or
• $8.95 month to month for Shared Unlimited
• Standalone email hosting from $1.67 per month, billed annually (requires separate domain and SSL purchase)
• All email accounts include 25GB of storage

DreamHost is an excellent option for budget-conscious small businesses looking for a multiple account email hosting option. Recommended by WordPress, DreamHost is a web hosting provider—and like Bluehost, it offers value-packed web hosting that comes with business email, domain, and SSL.

The DreamHost webmail interface is uncluttered and intuitive.

The Shared Unlimited plan is just that—unlimited emails on your domain, each mailbox enjoying 25GB of storage. The plan also allows for unlimited websites and comes with a domain (included for the first year) and free SSL. It’s everything needed to start building a brand presence online. It’s also a great plan for freelancers or agencies that want to offer bundled managed services to clients.

With DreamHost, you can purchase email addresses individually for under $2 per mailbox, with the same great 25GB of storage. Regardless of your chosen plan, spam, virus, and phishing filters are standard. You can check messages on any web browser, via mobile app, or add your email address to Outlook, Gmail, or your favorite app.

DreamHost Pricing & Plan Features

Whether you want a standalone email hosting option or unlimited email addresses, DreamHost has a plan that will work for you. If you purchase standalone email hosting, keep in mind you’ll also need to buy an email domain from a domain name registrar . Click the tabs below to learn more.

• Shared Unlimited

Cost: $1.99 month to month or $1.67 per mailbox with annual billing

• 25GB storage
• Automatically syncs mail across all devices
• Spam filtering that adapts to emerging threats to protect from spam, viruses, and phishing
• Buy as a standalone or add to any hosting package

Cost: $2.95/month with annual billing or $13.99 month to month

Annual plans renew at $12.99 after the first year

• Unlimited emails on your domain
• 25GB of storage per mailbox
• Free domain for the first year
• Free SSL for data encryption
• Spam, virus, and phishing filters
• Unlimited website hosting
• WordPress installation and no-code WordPress page builder
• Free website migration services

DreamHost offers bundled website and email hosting for businesses on a budget. Alternatively, standalone email hosting offers a low-cost business email solution for just $1.67 per email account, per month. While there’s no free trial, DreamHost offers an industry-leading 97-day money-back guarantee if you buy a plan and then find it’s not quite right for your business.

Try DreamHost

Scala Hosting: Best Business Email Host With Daily Backups

• Daily backups of email in all plans
• Unlimited emails in web hosting plans
• Scalable standalone email plans
• Large 50 to 150GB storage plans
• Domain blacklist monitoring
• Cloud plan with unlimited emails, offsite daily backups, free domain, and advanced controls and security
• Cheapest pricing requires a 3-year commitment
• Only the highest tier offers month-to-month billing option
• Standalone email hosting is more expensive than other unlimited/multi-user options

Who Should Use Scala Hosting

• Entrepreneurs and small businesses wanting automatic daily backups to protect data
• Growing businesses wanting to create as many email addresses as needed
• Security-conscious organizations needing additional administrative controls and the ability to set special permissions for users
• Companies wanting a high level of security and spam, virus, and phishing email protection
• Sales-forward businesses using high volume cold calling wanting to avoid having their domain blacklisted
• Business email with high storage limits

Pricing below reflects monthly cost with annual billing for standalone email hosting; 36-month billing is available at a lower cost.

• $4.95/month with annual billing for 10 email accounts on a domain you own, 50GB storage each
• $5.95/month with annual billing for 50 email accounts on up to five different domains that you own, 100GB storage each
• $7.95/month with annual billing for 100 email accounts on up to 10 different domains that you own, 150GB storage each
• $19.95/month with annual billing or $29.95 month to month for unlimited email accounts on up to 10 different domains that you own, 50GB storage each, with high security
• Unlimited email hosting in all web hosting plans, starting from $2.95/month

Scala Hosting is an award-winning web host that offers unlimited business email in web hosting plans as well as standalone email plans starting as low as $2.95 with a long-term contract. All plans include automatic offsite daily backups, which is why it made our list of the best business email providers for small businesses looking for data protection and peace of mind.

Scala Hosting’s desktop webmail interface

Standalone plans include from 10 to unlimited email accounts, in scalable plans allowing one to unlimited email domains. This makes it an excellent option for digital marketing agencies wanting to offer managed business email services and growing businesses that need to create and manage email accounts for users easily.

The highest-tier plan also has the most advanced security features, including real-time malware protection, and user controls. This tier also allows for custom branding and white labeling, which is great for resellers. It also includes blacklist monitoring, which is ideal for teams that rely on cold sales emailing for lead generation.

Scala Hosting Pricing & Plan Features

Below is an overview of the pricing and plan features for Scala Hosting’s standalone business email services. However, if you need web hosting, all its web hosting plans come with unlimited business emails and free SSL for data encryption (for domains hosted on Scala’s servers). Learn more about its dedicated email hosting services in the tabs below.

Cost: $4.95/month with annual billing ($2.95 for 36-month billing)

• Up to 10 email inboxes with 50GB storage each
• One email domain
• Daily offsite backups
• Web-based email access
• Add to your preferred email app (POP3*/IMAP**/SMTP***)
• Advanced spam protection
• Standard security and deliverability

*Post Office Protocol **Internet Message Access Protocol ***Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Cost: $5.95/month annually or $3.95 for 36-month billing

Get everything in StartUp, plus:

• Up to 50 email accounts, each with 100GB storage
• 5 email domains

Cost: $7.95/month annually or $5.95 for 36-month billing

• Up to 100 email accounts, each with 150GB storage
• 10 email domains

Cost: $19.95/month annually or $29.95 month to month ($14.95 for 36-month billing)

Get everything Scala has to offer in business email, plus:

• Unlimited email inboxes, each with 50GB of fast SSD storage (upgradable)
• Unlimited email domains
• 100% inbox deliverability
• High security (dedicated, isolated cloud hosting environment)
• Shield real-time malware protection
• Dedicated IP
• Priority support
• Blacklist monitoring
• OpenLiteSpeed caching
• Sub-users and collaborators
• Branding and white label

Scala Hosting was named a top-rated business email provider by Tech Radar and enjoys high customer satisfaction ratings. All plans come with multiple inboxes, high storage, and daily offsite backups for peace of mind. We recommend that security-minded small businesses consider the affordable Cloud plan with max security, user controls, and real-time data protection.

Visit Scala Hosting

InMotion Hosting: Best for Guaranteed Uptime

• 99.95% uptime guarantee
• Zero-downtime transfers and migrations
• Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) servers that store data when the power is off
• Fast SSD storage
• Great tutorials, self-serve support, and troubleshooting resources
• 24/7 U.S.-based support
• First-year pricing is higher than most competitors
• No standalone email solutions

Who Should Use InMotion Hosting

• Organizations needing to ensure the highest possible uptime, like companies in finance, healthcare, emergency services, and so on
• Small businesses looking for zero-downtime migration solutions and domain and email transfers
• Anyone looking for email hosting that provides beginner-friendly tutorials and guides for self-service setup and troubleshooting
• Local businesses prizing USA-based technical support
• $3.49/month the first year for web hosting plans with 10 email addresses, two websites, 100GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, WordPress website builder, free SSL, and hack, malware, and Distributed Denial of Service, aka *DDoS protection
• $6.99/month the first year for unlimited website hosting, unlimited NVMe SSD storage, and unlimited business emails
• $14.99/month for the first year for Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting for enhanced security and speed, including unlimited email addresses and two dedicated IP addresses
• Fully dedicated, superfast, and secure Dedicated Server hosting with unlimited business email from $89.99 month to month

InMotion Hosting offers just about the highest uptime guarantee available: 99.95%. In addition, it provides zero-downtime migration and transfer services, ensuring your brand is always available when prospects or customers need to reach you. This is further enhanced with NVMe solid-state storage drives that process data faster than non-NVMe SSD counterparts.

All InMotion Hosting plans are scalable with additional storage and speed enhancements. And all but the base web hosting plan allow unlimited business emails on your domain, unlimited websites, and unlimited NVMe storage. InMotion offers three different webmail apps, including the Roundcube app used by Bluehost as well as Horde or SquirrelMail.

On the downside, there’s no standalone email hosting plan, unlike DreamHost, IONOS, and Hostinger. Plus, hosting plans are priced comparatively higher than these competitors. But the advantages offered by increased speed and a near-perfect uptime guarantee could be more than worth it.

InMotion Hosting Pricing & Plan Features

InMotion Hosting plans include a basic plan with up to 10 email inboxes or unlimited email accounts in all plans after that. Automatic backups, Google Workspace, and dedicated IP addresses can all be purchased as add-ons. Click the tabs below to find the best email solution for your small business.

Cost: $3.49/month with annual billing (24- and 36-month contracts also available)

Renews at $9.99

• 10 email addresses, 1GB storage each
• Two websites
• 100GB SSD storage
• 2x speed and performance
• Hack, malware, and DDoS protection
• BoldGrid WordPress website builder
• 24/7 U.S.-based live chat support
• One-click installation for WordPress and hundreds of other apps
• 90-day money-back guarantee

Cost: $6.99/month with annual billing (24- and 36-month contracts also available)

Renews at $13.99

Get everything in the Core plan, plus:

• Unlimited business email accounts, 5GB storage each
• Unlimited websites
• Unlimited NVMe SSD storage
• 6x UltraStack speed and performance

Cost: $5.25/month with annual billing (24- and 36-month contracts also available)

Renews at $17.99

Everything in the Core and Launch plans, plus:

• 10GB of email storage per inbox
• 12x UltraStack speed and performance
• Advanced caching
• 24/7 live chat and phone support
• Ecommerce-ready WordPress hosting

Cost: $11.25/month with annual billing or $27.99 month to month

Renews at $24.99

Everything in Core, Launch, and Power, plus:

• 20GB of email storage per inbox
• 20x UltraStack speed and performance
• 99.99% uptime Pro service level agreement (SLA)

While InMotion Hosting’s plans come at a slightly higher monthly cost than some others on this list, they also offer the highest uptime guarantee. Web hosting includes 10 to unlimited business emails with storage scaling upward by the plan. There’s little risk to testing the waters with InMotion Hosting business email as all plans include a lengthy 90-day money-back refund window.

Visit InMotion

How We Evaluated the Best Business Email Providers

All businesses need email that can be accessed quickly, securely, and reliably, with enough storage to keep messages from bouncing. However, entrepreneurs may only need a single email address, while growing companies need scalable solutions. For that reason, we looked at options that can serve anyone from sole proprietors to businesses with multiple employees as well as agencies and resellers.

In all, we compared providers against 24 unique data points. Click the tabs to explore the criteria we used to identify and evaluate the best business email providers for small businesses.

• General Features
• Niche Features
• Expert Score

25% of Overall Score

Cost is a driving factor for most small businesses, so affordability, the ability to pay monthly vs annually, the availability of standalone email plans as well as all-in-one cost-saving bundles, and a provider’s willingness to back up the product with money-back guarantees and free trials all factored into our rating.

20% of Overall Score

General features speak not only to the essentials that business email users need (like adequate storage, multi-user plans, and data, spam, and virus protection) but also to the overall value vs cost of the product. We also considered business security concerns as to the ability to encrypt data either through the software itself or the use of SSL certificates tied to a domain. Plus, we looked at extras included, like a free domain and SSL.

With this update, we broke out a whole new set of criteria we consider niche features. This includes things like a built-in AI writer (look for more email apps to have this soon). We also looked for end-to-end encryption for HIPAA and GDPR compliance, private domain registration, and built-in communication tools for chat or video (and any other software that comes along with the plan).

10% of Overall Score

Providers were rated by the quantity and quality of self-help resources available to users as well as the level of customer support available to help with setup, troubleshooting, and account management.

Regardless of how a provider scores on paper, how a business email service works in the real world is a key (and sometimes overriding) consideration. These providers were all scored against the ease of use and setup for business email, value for the money, and whether our expert considered the features and capabilities offered to be a top option for small businesses.

What Qualifies as Business Email

Professional emails go beyond what you get with email accounts you can get for free through Gmail or Outlook, or which are often included with other services, like cable TV accounts. At the most basic level, a business email provider must allow you to create email accounts on a custom domain and offer at least basic phishing and anti-spam filtering.

Business Email vs Personal Email

A personal email is an account set up on a non-branded domain, like [email protected] or [email protected]. While there is nothing preventing you from using a personal account for work, it’s not credible or professional. A business email account is an email address that uses your domain, such as [email protected].

The benefits of using a branded business email for work are numerous. One, they allow you to keep personal and business emails separate, allowing for more efficient management of both. But the biggest benefit comes in brand credibility. Business email addresses make your company look legit and trustworthy, and convey a sense of permanence and reliability.

Learn more about what business email is and how to create one in a few simple steps with any service.

How to Choose a Service

When comparing business email services, think about factors such as other services your company may need now or in the future. Also, compare the uptime and inclusions of providers to be sure you’re getting a reliable partner for business email. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Value-added bundles: Even if you’re not ready to build a website for your business right now, you may be in the future. Email that comes bundled with web hosting or website builder plans could be the best option, as they allow you to save money vs purchasing services and a domain separately.
• Advanced features: Having a built-in AI content writing assistant or being able to create and share templates, develop workflow shortcuts, take or make payments, or automatically translate messages save you time and increase productivity—and sometimes even revenue. Think about any repetitive tasks you are currently doing via email and look for providers that streamline the process.
• Provider reputation: Most email hosting services publish average (if not guaranteed) uptime rates and have customer reviews published on sites like G2.com and others. Sites like Reddit are also good places to research tech companies and get takes from real customers about which service is best or which to avoid. Taking the time to check customer sentiment and reliability can save you hassles or lost productivity and revenue.
• Scalability: As your business grows, will a provider be able to accommodate the additional accounts, storage, and features your team will be looking for?
• Cost: Affordability is often a top concern for small businesses, so compare providers pricing overall as well as payment terms, such as whether you can pay month to month or save with an extended-term contract.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is better for business email: gmail or outlook.

For most businesses, Gmail is better for business email. It’s intuitive, modern, user-friendly, and built for team collaboration and communication. Gmail has built-in language translation and you can even send and receive money via email, making it great for freelancers or small agencies. Outlook also has unique features that make it a good choice, like the ability to set up complex workflow automations and use templates and quick parts to save time.

How do you create a custom email address for business use?

It’s easy to create a custom email address on your domain name, such as “[email protected].” First, register a domain (e.g., yourbusiness.com) by purchasing one from a domain name registrar like Domain.com, GoDaddy, or IONOS. Then, get email hosting and set up access to your email with your favorite email app.

How do I choose a professional email address?

Choosing a professional email address to use for work is easy—it comes down to choosing a custom domain for email use and deciding on your preferred username format. Examples can be using your first initial and last name with the use of punctuation like a period or underscore, such as [email protected].

Bottom Line

Small businesses that depend on email need services that are feature-rich, secure, and affordable. The most common features for the top providers are multiple storage tiers, spam filters, and integration capabilities. For companies looking for the best overall business email solution, we recommend Google Workspace. It comes with Gmail business email, ample storage, thousands of business app integrations, and all the office productivity and collaboration tools companies need.

About the Author

Find Allyssa On LinkedIn

Allyssa Haygood-Taylor

Allyssa is a sales writer with a background in B2B sales and account management. After earning her degree in English and communications, she spent her selling career supporting Fortune 1000 IT and finance companies including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Credit Karma. As a writer for Fit Small Business, her specialties include lead nurturing, lead generation, and various software topics. When she's not writing or updating articles, you can find Allyssa writing poetry, traveling, or picking up any new creative hobby.

Join Fit Small Business

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below.

Home > Services > Internet

Best High-Speed Internet Providers for Small Businesses of 2023

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. * 1-yr. price guarantee Fios 100 Mbps w/2-yr agmt., 2-yr. price guarantee Fios 300 Mbps, 3-yr. price guarantee Fios 940/880 Mbps **With Auto Pay or $5/mo. fee applies. One-time charges apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. † w/ 2 year agmt. ‡ Maximum speeds as fast as 100 Mbps download/upload per month for 12 months with minimum one-year agreement. Installation, Business High-Speed Internet Fee ($5.99/mo.), taxes and other fees apply. Subject to availability. § On the Business Unlimited 35, 60, and 100 service plans, after 75, 150, or 200 GB of data usage, respectively, Viasat may prioritize your data behind other customers only during network congestion. Video streaming quality on the Business Unlimited 35 and 60 plans is typically at 480p, the Business Unlimited 100 plan is typically at 720p. For metered service plans, extra charges apply for data used in excess of the monthly data allotment. Minimum 24-month service term. One-time standard installation fee is $300.00. Priority connection means your data receives preference on Viasat's network. All fees are subject to taxes. Speeds and streaming video qualities are “up to,” will vary and are not guaranteed. Service is not available in all areas. All offers may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Viasat and the Viasat logo are trademarks of Viasat, Inc.

We are committed to sharing unbiased reviews. Some of the links on our site are from our partners who compensate us. Read our editorial guidelines and advertising disclosure .

The bottom line: The best high-speed internet provider for small businesses is Verizon .  Verizon does a great job ensuring affordable prices, fast speeds, and customer service. Verizon customer service outranks all other competitors. 

Every business is different, though, and there are excellent brands other than Verizon that also might meet your more specific needs or concerns. We recommend Frontier for best budget, AT&T for speed, and Comcast for tech support. Of course, your business is outside of the city and in more of a rural area, we recommend Viasat . 

• Fios by Verizon : Best overall
• Frontier Business Internet : Best budget-friendly ISP
• AT&T Business Internet : Best for pure speed
• Comcast Business Internet : Best free tech support
• Viasat Business Internet : Best for rural businesses

Best high-speed internet providers for small businesses

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *w/ 1yr. price guarantee Fios 100 Mbps, 2yr. price guarantee Fios 300 Mbps, 3 yr. price guarantee Fios 940/880 Mbps ** 12-mo.agmt for Internet req'd. Early term fee may apply †With Auto Pay or $5/mo. fee applies. Multi-Device Security Pro included at $4.99/mo. One-time charges apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary. § On the Business Unlimited 35, 60, and 100 service plans, after 75, 150, or 200 GB of data usage, respectively, Viasat may prioritize your data behind other customers only during network congestion. Video streaming quality on the Business Unlimited 35 and 60 plans is typically at 480p, the Business Unlimited 100 plan is typically at 720p. For metered service plans, extra charges apply for data used in excess of the monthly data allotment. Minimum 24-month service term. One-time standard installation fee is $300.00. Priority connection means your data receives preference on Viasat's network. All fees are subject to taxes. Speeds and streaming video qualities are “up to,” will vary and are not guaranteed. Service is not available in all areas. All offers may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Viasat and the Viasat logo are trademarks of Viasat, Inc.

Here's how we arrived at the list above. We included only plans with download speeds of 25 Mbps or more to match FCC guidelines for broadband internet. We also left out any plans that were extraordinarily expensive for the download speeds they provide—they're just not worth the money.

In the end, our list of best broadband service providers includes several major companies with cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), and fiber-optic plans.

Verizon: Overall best for high-speed business internet

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. **w/ 1yr. price guarantee Fios 200 Mbps, 2yr. price guarantee Fios 500 Mbps, 3 yr. price guarantee Fios 940/880 Mbps 

Verizon serves up the best combination of business internet speeds, reliability, and support.

Although Verizon sells a few business DSL plans, none have speeds at 25Mbps or more. For truly fast speeds, fiber is hard to beat. Verizon's fiber plans, branded Fios, offer you a chance at near-gigabit connections.

What do we mean by “near gigabit”? Verizon’s fastest plan—Fios Gigabit Connection—gives you maximum download speeds of 940Mbps with upload speeds up to 880Mbps. That’s lightning fast by today’s standards, but it doesn’t quite reach 1,000Mbps, the true definition of gigabit speed. Yet with fiber plans that consistently meet the speeds Verizon advertises, and then some , we’ll let that bit of fudging slide.

Another feather in Verizon’s cap is its customer service. We understand that most internet providers have poor reputations. But the fact that industry-rating juggernaut J.D. Power gave Verizon second place for customer satisfaction among small to medium-sized businesses should give you warmer feelings.

Verizon high-speed internet plans

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *w/ 1yr. price guarantee Fios 200 Mbps, 2yr. price guarantee Fios 500 Mbps, 3 yr. price guarantee Fios 940/880 Mbps 

Verizon’s fastest plan is priced at about $249 per month. That may be a bit expensive for some very small businesses, but it’s far better than the nearly $500 that Comcast charges for gigabit speeds.

Many Verizon plans offer symmetric speeds, which means you get the same speed for downloads and uploads. Fast upload speeds can significantly improve activities that require sending data from your device, including videoconferencing in real time and uploading large files to cloud storage.

One gripe: contracts. While some ISPs—like Spectrum and AT&T—offer contract-free plans, Verizon uses a 12-month agreement that renews automatically. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s something you should know in advance.

The bottom line: Verizon Fios offers an impressive array of high-speed internet plans to fit businesses of just about any size.

Frontier: Best budget-friendly option

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

If you saw the plan prices for our picks above, you may be worried that an affordable high-speed internet connection is beyond reach. With plans priced at the hundreds of dollars per month, budget-conscious businesses need an alternative.

Plus, each plan comes with free access to Frontier Business Suite. This is regularly an $800/year plan that includes SmartVoice line and Wi-fi enabled phone, access and backup of 200GB of data in the cloud anywhere you are, a multi-device security pro and, finally, an optimized Wi-Fi router. 

You can also add Frontier Internet Backup to your high-speed plan for an additional fee. Using a cellular modem, Frontier Internet Backup keeps your business—and all of your devices—online when internet outages occur for seamless operations and uninterrupted productivity.

Frontier fiber internet plans

*With Auto Pay or $5/mo. fee applies. Multi-Device Security Pro included at $4.99/mo. One-time charges apply. Max speeds are wired. Wi-Fi, actual & average speeds vary.

All of Frontier’s high-speed internet plans come in under or just above $150 per month.

Now for Frontier’s major shortcomings. Frontier’s customers lodge a lot of complaints against the internet service provider. One common grievance is high latency. Latency, which refers to data transfer delay time, can cause serious headaches for businesses that require fast and reliable connections. Activities like video streaming are at risk of disruption from high latency.

Despite customer service and reliability concerns, you should consider Frontier if getting a low price for high-speed plans is your No. 1 priority.

AT&T: Best customer service

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. 12-mo.agmt for Internet req'd. Early term fee may apply

If you’re focused on finding the fastest business internet plans possible, we recommend AT&T. Business plans from AT&T soar all the way up to 1,000Mbps download and upload speeds, offering you true gigabit connection potential.

Several of AT&T's fiber plans give you the option of symmetric speeds—but at a lofty price. If your business is a frequent user of upload-heavy applications and real-time communication software, you should consider one of these plans with symmetric speeds.

AT&T high-speed internet plans

AT&T partially makes up for its high pricing in great customer service rankings. AT&T is currently our top pick for great internet service, and J.D. Power agrees: In 2021, AT&T ranked first for customer satisfaction in the small to medium-sized business category—though only third for very small businesses. 3

Comcast: Best free tech support

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *with 2-year agreement

There’s a lot to like about Comcast, including fiber plans with symmetric speeds up to 1Gbps. And its pricing, while not the cheapest, is competitively matched against other providers like Verizon and AT&T.

Plus, Comcast plans come with zero-cost installation, a 30-day trial period, and access to tons of extra apps, software, and tools for Wi-Fi, security, and more. We especially like that Comcast offers free 24/7 tech support. Some providers charge extra for top-notch customer care, but Comcast, as far as we can tell, offers solid help any hour of the day or night.

Comcast high-speed internet plans

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *with 2-year agreement **For 12 months with 2-year agreement †with 2-year agreement

We couldn’t talk about Comcast without mentioning its dreadful reputation with residential customers. However, Comcast business customers don’t rate their ISP nearly as harshly as their home-based counterparts.

We breathed a bit easier when we realized that Comcast truly does offer a solid internet option that’s super reliable and super fast.

By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Viasat: Best for rural businesses

Data as of 6/7/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. On the Business Unlimited 35, 60, and 100 service plans, after 75, 150, or 200 GB of data usage, respectively, Viasat may prioritize your data behind other customers only during network congestion. Video streaming quality on the Business Unlimited 35 and 60 plans is typically at 480p, the Business Unlimited 100 plan is typically at 720p. For metered service plans, extra charges apply for data used in excess of the monthly data allotment. Minimum 24-month service term. One-time standard installation fee is $300.00. Priority connection means your data receives preference on Viasat's network. All fees are subject to taxes. Speeds and streaming video qualities are “up to,” will vary and are not guaranteed. Service is not available in all areas. All offers may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Viasat and the Viasat logo are trademarks of Viasat, Inc.

As the only satellite internet provider on this list, Viasat’s widespread availability makes it the best for rural businesses. Even if you operate out of locations that other ISPs don’t touch, you can almost certainly get Viasat’s satellite internet service .

Unlike the satellite internet providers of the past, Viasat offers both availability and speed. Its business internet plans, with download speeds ranging from 35Mbps to 100Mbps, can compete with most other broadband providers.

Plus, Viasat’s state-of-the-art satellite technology minimizes other rural internet issues, such as latency, so you can keep your business up and running—no matter where you operate.

Viasat high-speed internet plans

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *On these plans, Viasat may prioritize your data behind other customers only during network congestion.  For metered service plans, extra charges apply for data used in excess of the monthly data allotment. Minimum 24-month service term. One-time standard installation fee is $300.00. Priority connection means your data receives preference on Viasat's network. All fees are subject to taxes. Speeds and streaming video qualities are “up to,” will vary and are not guaranteed. Service is not available in all areas. All offers may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Viasat and the Viasat logo are trademarks of Viasat, Inc.

Even with its improved technology, Viasat does still have data limits. It doesn’t use hard data caps—that is, Viasat won’t simply switch off your internet after you use all your data—but it will throttle (slow) your internet if you use more than your allotted daily data. If this poses a problem, you can always upgrade to a plan with more data.

Now, we still don’t recommend satellite internet for everyone. If you have other ISPs in your area, you can probably get the same speeds for a lower cost from a different provider. But if you’ve got a business high in the mountains or out on the plains, then Viasat provides a solid option (even if it’s the only one).

Spectrum: Honorable mention for no-contract cable

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *for 12 mos.

Want high-speed internet for your office but feel squeamish about signing a long-term contract? Spectrum will connect you to cable internet speeds up to 1000Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) totally contract-free.

Spectrum, a Charter Communications brand, provides cable internet to U.S. businesses. The upside to cable internet is that you access it through the same cable modems used to deliver cable TV, which makes this internet widely available. Spectrum provides fiber connections in some areas, but the service is so limited that we haven’t included the plans here.

Spectrum offers three high-speed cable options to business customers: 100, 300/400, and 1000. Each plan denotes the download speed you can expect from your connection in megabits per second.

Spectrum business Internet pricing

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. *for 12 mos. **for 24 mos. when bundled with Phone or TV † for 12 mos. when bundled with Phone or TV

Where Spectrum falters is its upload speeds. Cable technology limits how much upstream heft you can get, and Spectrum’s plans can get you up to only 20Mbps upstream.

Another trouble spot is customer service. Spectrum has been embroiled in legal troubles for the last few years, especially in the state of New York, where it failed to follow through on service promises made with its acquisition of Time Warner Cable. We’re keeping an eye on the situation— poor customer satisfaction could knock Spectrum down in our books.

But if you’re outside of New York or less bothered by poor customer service ratings, Spectrum cable Internet appears as a rosy alternative to expensive DSL and fiber providers that lock you into lengthy contracts.

The takeaway

The right combination of fast internet, reliable connections, and solid customer support makes Verizon Fios a worthy choice for nearly any small business.

Verizon is our pick for the best overall high-speed business internet provider. But just because the ISP is our number one choice doesn’t mean it’s the right one for your business. Consider the factors important to you—cost, contracts, customer service—and then choose the one that best fits your business’s demands.

Make sure you can get the ISP you want—find business internet providers near you .

Speed and bandwidth: How much do you need?

Speed and bandwidth are another two more ambiguously used terms in internet parlance. But we can define them a bit clearer than broadband internet and high-speed internet.

• Speed is the rate at which an internet connection transmits data from one end to the other. Measured in bits per second, most modern high-speed internet speeds range between 25 megabits (about 1 million bits) and 1 gigabit (about 1,000 megabits) per second.
• Bandwidth refers to the maximum capacity of a connection to carry internet data. Although ISPs often use speed to market their plans, they’re actually selling bandwidth. For example, a 100Mbps plan has the capacity to deliver data at 100 megabits per second. But beware—you may not actually experience the advertised speed all the time.

Now back to the question: How much speed or bandwidth do you actually need? The answer depends on the type and frequency of internet activity your business engages in on a day-to-day basis.

While guidelines on speed use vary, here’s our recommendation for the speed you’ll need to run your business smoothly.

Internet speed capabilities

What else should you consider when choosing business internet providers.

Price and speed. That’s what matters when it comes to choosing a business internet provider, right?

Well, not entirely. The truth is that unless you have an unlimited budget (who does?) or run a supremely data-heavy business (not likely), you’ll have other factors to consider. Here are the ones we focus on.

• Connection type: Depending on your business’s location, connection type may be a key consideration. Some areas may have only a few internet connection choices—or even just one.
• Customer and industry ratings: Customer reviews of internet providers tend toward the hellish. But remember that businesses often have different experiences than residential customers. Make sure you understand how a potential ISP handles business customer complaints and concerns.
• Fees: Your customers hate hidden fees, and so should you. Check to see if you’ll be paying your provider extra for things like installation, static IPs, or early termination.
• Bundles: Most internet providers offer special deals for packaging more than one service under the same roof. Whether phone or VoIP or TV, consider bundles as a way to shave off some extra cost when you need several services.
• Data caps: You’ll run into limits on the amount of data you can use most often with satellite and wireless providers. It can be costly or disruptive to exceed these caps, so ensure you pick an internet plan that can accommodate your data needs.
• Cloud, security, and software services: From backing up your precious business data to running email, accounting, and e-commerce applications, many ISPs include or offer special rates on software and cloud-based services.
• Hardware: Each internet type requires a unique set of equipment to get up and running. Some setups are simple—just a modem connected to an office cable line. But others, like satellite internet, may require hefty hardware—and hefty costs too.

But others, like satellite internet, may require hefty hardware—and hefty costs too.

High-speed internet FAQs

"Broadband" and "high-speed internet" are somewhat murky terms that not everyone defines equally. But here's what we use: in 2015, the FCC defined broadband service as any connection that provides customers with download speeds of at least 25Mbps. 

There’s no indisputable definition of high-speed internet. In fact, internet service providers attach the term to just about any plan, regardless of speed.

What’s more, the terms broadband internet and high-speed internet are often used interchangeably, further confusing things.

But why the confusion? Well, consider how the technology has evolved. Even the slowest plans featured in this article would have been considered blazingly fast in 2008—and much more so in 1998. So even if everyone did sit down and agree to a singular definition of high-speed internet, that definition would have to change every few years.

With that in mind, look for internet that’s fast enough for your needs rather than just high-speed internet. We’ll look at speeds in-depth in a minute.

Broadband more appropriately refers to any internet type that isn’t a dial-up connection. Essentially, broadband’s debut marks the age at which most of us moved on from the days of modems that tied up our phone lines to dial into internet provider companies like AOL. And what an age that was (we still hear the screeching modem sounds in our dreams).

Today, broadband internet generally includes any “always on” cable, DSL, fiber-optic, and even high-speed satellite internet connection. But not every plan operates at truly high speeds. So to compare internet providers, we decided to use the FCC’s 2015 guidelines on broadband internet speeds , which set the minimum at a 25Mbps downstream.

Most small to midsize businesses can operate well at 25Mbps or more. Of course, as speeds get faster, even this current definition will start to seem slow. And the FCC may change its mind on minimum broadband standards. We’ll update you as necessary.

High-speed broadband internet connections encompass plans from a variety of service providers and connection types. Depending on your area, you may have access to several of these or just one.

• Cable: This connection uses the same modems and coaxial cables that deliver cable TV, so cable internet is widely available in most well-populated areas.
• Digital subscriber line (DSL):  These may be sent via phone lines, but DSL connections are faster and more reliable than the phone-based dial-up internet of yesteryear.
• Fiber:  Fiber-optic networks beam light through glass or plastic bundles of wires—each wire the size of a human hair— and these connections offer some of the fastest internet speeds on the planet.
• Satellite: For rural businesses without access to land-based broadband, satellite internet is like an internet angel sent to earth by planet-orbiting stations.
• Wireless: Whether through hotspots, cellular signals, or fixed radio towers, wireless internet provides options for remote and traveling businesses.

Learn more about the difference between internet types with our detailed comparison.

Methodology

We analyzed each business internet service provider's affordability, overall value, suitability for growing businesses, ease-of-use, and customer service, among other factors.

Related content

• Best Satellite Internet Providers for Rural Businesses: Viasat vs. HughesNet
• Verizon vs. Comcast Business Internet: What’s the Best ISP for Small Business?
• AT&T vs. Comcast: Which Internet Provider Is Best for Small Businesses?
• How to Choose an Internet Service Provider for Your Business

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T services. Call to see if you qualify. Fiber optics may apply to all or part of the network, depending on your location. © 2020 AT&T Intellectual Property. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other AT&T marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

Available in select areas only, additional monthly fee applies. Frontier’s Gig Service is available in all Frontier fiber markets, but may not be available to every location depending on local network capacity or other technical details. While Frontier’s Gig Service is delivered on our 100% fiber-to-the-location network, actual speeds may vary due to limitations in the customer’s network at their location, devices in use, and/or Frontier’s network traffic conditions. Actual speeds will range up to 940 Mbps (download) and 880 Mbps (upload) and may vary depending on usage of the network and multiple other factors.

FiOS 100 Mbps offer: Must subscribe to new FiOS Internet for Business with minimum one-year agreement. Internet will be provisioned with maximum speeds as fast as 100 Mbps download/100 Mbps upload based on line requirements. Business High-Speed Internet Fee ($5.99/mo.) applies.

FiOS 500 Mbps offer: Must subscribe to new FiOS Internet for Business with minimum one-year agreement. Internet will be provisioned with maximum speeds as fast as 500 Mbps download/500 Mbps upload based on line requirements. Business High-Speed Internet Fee ($5.99/mo.) applies.

FiOS Gig Service offer: Must subscribe to new FiOS Internet for Business with minimum one-year agreement. Internet will be provisioned with maximum speeds as fast as 940 Mbps download/880 Mbps upload based on line requirements.

All FiOS Internet for Business offers: For new business customers in select Frontier FiOS areas. Maximum service speed is not available to all locations and the maximum speed for service at your location may be lower than the maximum speed in this range. Service speed is not guaranteed and will depend on many factors. Service and promotion subject to availability. Internet installation ($20), taxes, governmental surcharges, fees and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promotional period. A $9.99 broadband processing fee upon disconnection of service applies. Early termination fee of $33.33 per month, times the remaining number of months in the term agreement, will apply. Other restrictions may apply. Frontier reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time. The FiOS marks are owned by Verizon Trademark Services LLC and used under license.

˚Speed based on wired connection. Available Internet speeds may vary by address. Gig capable modem required for Gig speed. For a list of Gig capable modems, visit Spectrum.net/modem.

5202 W Douglas Corrigan Way Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Accounting & Payroll

Point of Sale

Payment Processing

Inventory Management

Human Resources

Other Services

Best Small Business Loans

Best Inventory Management Software

Best Small Business Accounting Software

Best Payroll Software

Best Mobile Credit Card Readers

Best POS Systems

Best Tax Software

Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime anywhere.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use  and  Privacy Policy .

Disclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. All information is subject to change. Pricing will vary based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the customer’s location, package chosen, added features and equipment, the purchaser’s credit score, etc. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase.

Our mission is to help consumers make informed purchase decisions. While we strive to keep our reviews as unbiased as possible, we do receive affiliate compensation through some of our links. This can affect which services appear on our site and where we rank them. Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our  Privacy Policy Page . |

© Business.org 2024 All Rights Reserved.

When you use links on our website, we may earn a fee.

• Best Business Internet Providers

Choosing an internet provider for your business – whether it’s a large corporation or a small startup – requires careful consideration. Availability, speed, security, reliability, contract length, and budget are all priorities you need to examine when looking at potential business internet providers.

For example, your company may have certain expectations for the bandwidth and contract length. The majority of internet service provider (ISP) contracts are two years, although some don’t require a contract at all. You may have to adjust these expectations if you’re located in a rural area, although there are some plans specifically designed for businesses that are far from city centers.

Also, pay attention to speed and connection type. Download and upload speeds are most commonly displayed in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps) – you can learn more about this in our guide, What Is a Good Internet Speed? Connection type can range anywhere from cable to fiber to satellite. Fiber connections tend to have the fastest potential speeds, but satellite and cable are more widely available.

Plus, ISPs sometimes offer additional features for companies, typically at an extra cost. One example is a static IP address so a business can host its own website and run a server.

To simplify your search, here’s our list of the best business internet providers and what you need to know about them.

Table of Contents

• Things To Consider When Buying
• How We Chose

AT&T Business  »

Good customer service reviews

Very fast, up to 5 Gbps

Contract-free plans

Gig speeds only available in select areas

Top plans can get expensive

Customers report loving AT&T’s business internet. In fact, J.D. Power’s 2022 Business Wireline Satisfaction Study left AT&T in first place with large enterprise companies, with a score of 872 out of 1,000.

AT&T Business Fiber has six plans, ranging from Business Fiber 50 ($60 per month for 50 Mbps) to Business Fiber 5 GIG ($250 per month for 5 Gbps). If your company needs incredibly fast internet speeds, the 5 Gbps plan might be your only good option, as it’s five times faster than almost all of AT&T’s competitors’ plans. So, if you’re constantly uploading large files, holding video conferences, and performing other bandwidth-heavy tasks, you might be willing to pay $250 per month for this plan. Note: This price for the speed is an incredibly good deal compared to other offerings in our list.

As a $20-per-month add-on, businesses can also sign up for AT&T’s Managed Internet Backup service, allowing them to stay online even during outages. This feature provides unlimited data via the provider’s 4G LTE wireless network for up to 24 hours.

For large companies with hundreds of employees, there’s technically an even faster option than the 5 Gbps plan, and it’s via AT&T Dedicated Internet. Dedicated internet is not a shared connection like almost all other types, so businesses don’t have to worry about loss of bandwidth during high-traffic times. However, it requires special installation. AT&T’s dedicated speeds start at 20 Mbps but go all the way up to a staggering 1 terabit per second (Tbps).

A key component of AT&T is its generally contract-free plans as well as its many bundling options. If you’re in need of a business phone plan, you can bundle business internet with an AT&T phone plan for an extra $15 per month.

Verizon Business  »

Three connection types

Many bundling options

Top-ranked in customer satisfaction

Contract of one to three years required on most plans

Only available in 10 states

Overall, Verizon has been the highest ranked for customer satisfaction for small and medium businesses for six years straight by J.D. Power. The company offers many plans and bundles for small businesses and major companies.

Businesses have three fiber plan options when it comes to Verizon Fios Business Internet. On the lower end is Fios 200/200, which is $69 per month and has 200 Mbps download and upload speeds (the fact that the download speeds and upload speeds are symmetrical are key if your company often uploads larger files to remote servers). Or step up to Fios 500/500 for $129 per month with a download/upload speed of 500 Mbps. The fastest plan, Fios Gigabit Connection, costs $249 per month and offers up to 940 Mbps.

With Verizon Fios business bundling you can pair any internet service with a Business Digital Voice Line for an extra $20 per month. Plus, Verizon offers Fios TV business plans for private viewing, public viewing, and bar and restaurant viewing, which is very convenient if you want to keep your business services together under one provider.

Verizon Business does require a contract of one to three years that renews automatically, as well as a price guarantee – the length of the guarantee varies by plan tier. There’s also an early cancellation fee of 50% of the base monthly charges for the remainder of the contract. If you don’t like contracts or want more flexibility with your plan, you may want to choose a different provider that doesn’t lock you into a strict contract like Verizon does.

Verizon is still lacking in some locations, which is a major reason why it isn’t yet as common as it could be for businesses. While Verizon overall is known for having great coverage nationwide and internationally, Verizon Fios Business is only available in select major cities on the East Coast. If Verizon Fios isn’t in your area, try calling customer service to request it.

If fiber isn’t available in your area, you may be able to get Verizon 5G Business Internet. The three 5G plans include up to 100 Mbps for $69 per month, up to 200 Mbps for $99 per month, or up to 400 Mbps for $199 per month.

Lastly, Verizon’s LTE Business Internet is a decent option if neither fiber nor 5G is available at your company’s address. You can get either 10 Mbps for $69 per month, 25 Mbps for $99 per month, or 50 Mbps for $199 per month. All three LTE plans have no contracts and come with varying data allowances.

Comcast Business  »

Very stable, with backup connections

Dedicated account representatives

No data caps

Very expensive for the speeds received

Doesn’t offer any speeds over 1.25 Gbps

Lack of scalability options for growing businesses

Comcast Business offers a nice blend of decent pricing, a stable connection, and fast speeds. Depending on your address, its plans run from 50 Mbps starting at $49.99 per month to 1.25 Gbps at up to $349.99 per month (including discounts for autopay and paperless billing). Comcast Business doesn’t charge for installation, and companies have a 30-day trial before being locked into a contract of two or three years. In some locations, it offers the 100 Mbps plan for as low as $39 per month for 12 months with no contract.

If you’re frustrated by outages, Comcast can switch to a cellular 4G LTE backup connection for up to 16 hours if there’s a power outage or other unexpected event, so your business can continue moving smoothly despite any environmental factors at play. Keep in mind, however, that this backup service costs an extra $39.95 per month.

One bonus of Comcast is that it offers a contract-free plan in some areas. This flexibility is especially important for small business owners who aren’t sure if they want to commit to Comcast for the long term.

Another bonus is the option for businesses to request a dedicated account representative. This person can help businesses with whatever issues they may have, and they can recommend services they believe will help optimize operations for your company. This is in addition to Comcast Business’ 24/7 tech support.

Frontier Business  »

Fast speeds up to 2 Gbps

No charge for installation

Relatively affordable

Poor customer satisfaction ratings

Frequent outages due to inclement weather

Like Verizon, Frontier offers fiber plans, but unlike Verizon, Frontier’s plans are relatively affordable for their high speeds. Plus, Frontier doesn’t charge for installation. Frontier is about half the price of its competitors for what it offers. The least expensive Frontier option is Business Fiber 500, which starts at $64.99 per month with autopay. Next comes Business Fiber 1 Gig starting at $89.99 per month, and the fastest is Business Fiber 2 Gig starting at $129.99 per month.

Customer service, however, is not Frontier’s best asset. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the customer satisfaction score for Frontier has remained pretty steady at 74 out of 100. The Better Business Bureau has rated Frontier Communications Corporation with an F for poor service and missed appointments.

If you do decide on Frontier, you can add on other technologies for your small business, including RingCentral (all-in-one secure video, message, and phone app), SmartVoice (cloud-based access to calls and messages), and a static IP (offers safe sharing of larger files over a secure network and remote access).

Frontier, while growing, is not available across the entire country. At press time, it was available in: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Overall, Frontier is a great option if you’re looking for inexpensive yet quick internet and don’t think you’ll need much help in the customer service department. You also should expect to have some outages due to weather.

Viasat Business  »

Works well in rural areas

Decent speeds for satellite internet connections

Many coverage areas

Business needs to have a clear view of the sky facing south

Extremely high prices for minimal speeds

Potential for latency issues

If your company is located in a rural area that’s not typically served by one of the larger business internet companies, then you may want to look into Viasat. It offers satellite internet for small businesses and has professional installation.

Viasat does offer relatively fast satellite internet, with speeds up to 100 Mbps and rural data caps of up to 200 GB. However, for the speeds offered, plans are much more expensive than other options. Plans generally start at $175 per month for speeds of just 35 Mbps and 75 GB of high-speed data. For download speeds of 100 Mbps, you’ll be charged $500 per month.

In some areas, you may only be able to get up to 12 Mbps download speeds with varying levels of high-speed data – 10 GB for $100 per month, 50 GB for $175 per month, or 75 GB for $250 per month. Latency also tends to be an issue with satellite internet by virtue of the connection type.

All plans have a minimum 24-month contract and a $300 one-time installation fee. With most of these plans, Viasat does include unlimited regular data and video streaming at no extra cost.

Also, Viasat has some of the best national coverage; it’s available everywhere in the United States, plus some areas of Hawaii and Alaska. Your business simply needs to have a clear view of the sky facing south, as the satellite dish points in that direction.

Starlink Business  »

Works well in all available areas, including rural

Fastest satellite internet provider in the United States

High data caps

Hardware cost of $2,500

Expensive monthly fee compared to other top providers

Marketed toward businesses in remote locations, Starlink Business offers fast satellite internet without using fiber optic or cable wiring. As a result of its rural availability, fast speeds, and high data caps, Starlink is relatively expensive. The initial cost of hardware is $2,500, plus a monthly payment starting at $250. Speeds top out at 220 Mbps, and any rain or snow may wipe out the connection temporarily, leaving your business without internet.

One major bonus of Starlink is that your business may set up a receiver anywhere to connect to the internet via the company’s low Earth orbit satellites, which provide lower latency than traditional satellite connections.

Starlink has options for fixed, mobile, and maritime businesses, so depending on the plan you choose, you can move the satellite receiver to another location easily. It doesn’t need to be connected to anything other than a power source. However, you do need a clear view of the sky to achieve a connection. You or your business team will also need to set up the equipment personally or hire a local contractor to set up the system; there is no professional installation option.

Starlink is not as universally available in the U.S. as competitors Viasat and HughesNet, with large coverage gaps mainly in the Midwest and the South. The company’s eventual goal is to provide full global coverage, but it may be quite some time until that vision is realized.

Google Fiber Business  »

No contracts

High speeds up to 2 Gbps

99.9% uptime Service Level Guarantee on top plan

Only available in select cities

Relatively new and still expanding reach

If you’re looking for fiber optic internet without a contract, Google Fiber may have what you need, as it offers minimal terms with no contracts. However, Google Fiber is still expanding, meaning its coverage may not be as widely available as that of other big-name providers.

Users have ranked Google Fiber highly for its transparent prices and easy-to-understand features for each plan. Google Fiber is also easy to reach for customer support via its chat box and their 24/7 phone support, which is very responsive.

Google Fiber offers two business internet plans: Business 1 Gig ($100 per month) and Business 2 Gig ($250 per month). These come with download speeds of 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps, respectively, though both plans have upload speeds of up to 1 Gbps. The major perk is that both internet plans are stated to have 99.9% reliability, with the 2 Gig plan adding a Service Level Guarantee that refunds 25% of your monthly bill if your average uptime sinks below 99.9%. Both plans include a Wi-Fi 6 router, and Business 2 Gig adds two mesh Wi-Fi extenders, a single static IP assignment, and guest Wi-Fi network capability.

Google Fiber Business can be a good option for metropolitan companies that need fast speeds, customer support, and reliability – if the service is available in the area at all.

EarthLink Business  »

Very fast connections

No data caps or data throttling

Transparent pricing structure

At minimum requires a one-year contract

While not as popular for business internet as it is for home internet, EarthLink shouldn’t be discounted. Its high-speed fiber plans have been slow to roll out across the country, although today it’s offered in nearly every state in a limited number of cities. Its fiber plans are also very fast, depending on the plan you choose: They range from 50 Mbps to 5 Gbps.

Each plan includes no data caps or data throttling and ranges in price from $69.95 per month for 50 Mbps to $169.95 for 1-5 Gbps. This is on the lower end of prices for these speeds. However, you will have to sign a contract with a term that varies based on the underlying provider (EarthLink uses larger companies’ networks to provide service). At minimum, the contract period will be one year, according to an EarthLink representative.

EarthLink as a company overall has received high marks for customer service ratings in the past years. It is important to note, however, that there is not as much available about EarthLink’s business internet in terms of polling or customer reviews, so there is room for speculation on the company’s service and actual connections for businesses.

In addition to purchasing internet, businesses can also add on marketing, branding, and website development and security features to their EarthLink Business plans.

Cox Business  »

Offers cable connection as an alternative to satellite

Most plans include a static IP address

24/7 customer service

Data cap on all plans

Auto-renewing contracts

Limited availability

Cox generally offers internet through copper coaxial cables, which is inexpensive and can be fast. It offers a handful of business plans, starting with its Business Internet 100, which has up to 100 Mbps download speeds. Its highest standard business-grade plan offers up to 300 Mbps. For each standard plan, keep in mind that the upload speeds are approximately 10 times slower than the respective download speeds, which should still be plenty for small businesses.

If you have an enterprise-level business that requires more, you can request a free consultation for higher service plans. On the smaller end, you can get up to 940 Mbps, while the biggest corporations can get symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to a staggering 100 Gbps via a dedicated fiber connection.

Pricing is not transparent on Cox’s website, so you’ll need to request a consultation to get a quote for all service levels. There are also plenty of bundling options if you require more than just internet for your business.

Like Verizon, Cox has automatically renewing contracts – a convenient feature if you’re happy with the service, but a downside for companies that are not satisfied and may forget to cancel. You need to provide written notice of cancellation at least 30 days before the contract ends. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with it for another year unless you want to pay the full remaining contract balance plus an early termination fee.

Cox offers 24/7 customer service, which is helpful if you have any technical issues. The provider also offers the Cox Business Security Suite, which is a data protection program that is free with every internet plan purchase. It comes with up to 25 Security Suite licenses, and you have the ability to purchase more if you have more than 25 people or devices.

Cox is available in 19 states, so if you’re not covered by Cox, you may want to look at CenturyLink, which provides similar services but has a larger coverage area.

The Bottom Line

There isn’t one ISP that’s good for every company. Consider what your business really needs in terms of its usage, its budget and its location. Then, you can prioritize and figure out which of the companies will work best for you. Still can’t decide? You may want to try a provider that doesn’t require a contract so that if it doesn’t work out, you can easily switch. Based on our research AT&T Business is a good place to start.

Things To Consider When Buying Business Internet

Reliability.

An internet connection’s dependability is measured by how consistent it is overall, explains Vikas Kaushik, the CEO of TechAhead. And the amount of time your connection is active is referred to as its uptime. “Inquire about the history of downtime experienced by the supplier as well as how they handle maintenance,” Kaushik says. “To reduce the likelihood of disruptions, you should inquire about redundancy measures they have in place.”

Company Size

If you have a small business of one to five employees that tend to use the internet to browse the web, check emails, and write basic documents, then you should look for 50-100 Mbps. For midsize companies with 10-20 employees who need video conferencing and remote collaboration tools, you’ll need 100-500 Mbps. For larger organizations with 30-50 employees using the internet for data transfers, data backup and e-commerce, aim for 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps. If you have 50 or more employees who use the internet for web hosting or large-scale e-commerce, you will need at least 1 Gbps. In short, the more devices connected and the heavier-duty the activities, the more speed you’ll need.

Cost by Speed

The best way to do this is by determining the cost per Mbps. Divide the monthly fee by the maximum speeds. For example, AT&T’s lowest plan costs $60 for 50 Mbps, which equates to $1.20 per megabit. AT&T’s highest plan costs $250 for 5 Gbps, or 5,000 Mbps, which comes out to 5 cents per megabit. Be aware, however, that you should factor in customer service, availability, other plan features, and whether you need a lot of speed or not. If you’re trying to decide between a few plans, the cost per Mbps is another factor to help narrow your selection.

Dedicated vs. Shared Bandwidth

Some business internet providers offer dedicated bandwidth, ensuring that your connection is not shared with other users, while others provide traditional shared bandwidth that can lead to fluctuations in speed during peak usage times, Trevor Eason, CEO and tech writer at SamsungTechwin.com, says, “Depending on your business's sensitivity to internet performance, you may want to opt for dedicated bandwidth.”

How We Chose the Best Business Internet Providers

At U.S. News 360 Reviews, our contributor consulted with numerous tech experts, examined studies, and looked at customer reviews to create this list of the Best Business Internet Providers. She then narrowed the selection with more thorough research, considering price, speed, availability, and customer service. Overall, she found that there isn’t a single best ISP that would work well for every company, but Verizon and AT&T are some pretty strong contenders.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?

Our contributors and editors have years of experience researching and reviewing products. Danielle Braff, the author of this piece, has more than a decade of product reviewing experience with a concentration on tech products and business. Braff has studies published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Crain’s Chicago Business, and more. To Braff, a great business internet provider should be fast with a backup for outages and fantastic customer service.

Business Internet FAQ

This totally depends on the provider you select. Most, however, require a modem, a router, switches, and the proper cables. If you opt for fiber internet – a common choice for businesses due to its reliability and high speeds – you’ll need a special fiber connection installed to transmit the data; a clamshell (an exterior protective case for the connection); an optical network terminal (ONT) instead of a modem; a fiber router; and possibly a Wi-Fi extender or two. For satellite internet, you’ll need a satellite internet dish, a satellite modem/router, and a compatible internet device.

In any case, the ISP you select will provide all the necessary equipment and likely offer (or require) professional installation.

First, you should separate your business network from your guest network by using separate virtual LANs (VLANs), or physical networks. Routers, firewalls, and access points offering advanced security features and regular firmware updates will also be key pieces of network equipment. For Wi-Fi access points providing encryption for your network, you’ll need WPA3 encryption. Set up the guest network with internet access only, and use a captive portal with a password for the guests.

If there’s an internet outage or disruption, contact your ISP’s customer service department. Many companies have round-the-clock availability via phone or chat, which comes in handy in situations like this. Some companies in this list also offer backup data for a set amount of time to get your business through potential outages, though this feature comes at an extra cost.

Typically, an ISP will have a devoted spot on its website to report and to track service problems. You should be able to enter your information and receive an estimated time that your service will resume.

This depends on whether you already have a contract with a provider. If you do, you will most likely have to pay the remainder of the contract agreement and/or an early termination fee. Then, you are free to switch to a different provider. The new ISP will likely need to install its own equipment, especially if you’re upgrading to a new connection type like fiber, but the process should generally not take longer than a few business days. Most companies require advance notice if you’re requesting enterprise-level service installation, so the further you plan ahead and coordinate with the new ISP, the less downtime your company will experience.

About Our Team

Danielle Braff

Contributor

Rachel Hisle

Associate Editor

U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.

• Compare Providers
• Review Providers

Best Internet Providers for Business 2024

• Price: $69.00–$249.00/mo.*
• Speed: 200–940Mbps
• Internet type: Fiber
• Price: $60.00–$395.00/mo. †
• Speed: 100–5,000Mbps
• Price: $49.99–$349.99/mo. ‡
• Speed: 50–1,250Mbps
• Internet type: Cable
• Price: $49.99–$164.99/mo. § for 12 mos.
• Speed: 300–1,000Mbps (wireless speeds may vary)
• Internet type: Cable, fiber

Data effective 2/2/24. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

* See Verizon Business disclaimers .

† See AT&T Business disclaimers .

‡ See Comcast Business disclaimers .

§ See Spectrum Business disclaimers .

Our pick: Which internet provider for business is best?

Verizon Business is the best internet provider for your small business. The provider delivers fiber internet with symmetrical upload and download speeds ranging from 200Mbps to 940Mbps, giving you ample speeds but also slower plans that go easier on the budget. Verizon Business also ranks high in terms of customer satisfaction, so it’s clear that plenty of proprietors get what they need from it .

Which internet service for business is in your area?

Get a fiber connection for the best speeds and reliability. Enter your zip code below to see what’s available to you.

Jump to: Best internet for business | What to look for | Specs and features | How to choose | FAQ

• Best internet for business
• What to look for
• Specs and features
• How to choose

The best internet providers for business

• Best overall: Verizon Business
• Best for customer satisfaction: AT&T Business
• Best for small business: EarthLink Business
• Best for availability: Comcast Business
• Best for no contracts: Spectrum Business
• Best for rural: Viasat Business

Compare business internet plans and prices

Data current as of 2/2/24. Prices and availability may vary.

* w/ 2yr. agmt plus taxes, fees & equip. charges.

† Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway. 1GIG speeds avail. to new customers with the latest router (“BGW320”) and recommended setup. Actual customer speeds may vary based on a number of factors and are not guaranteed.

‡ for 12 months with 2-year agreement when you enroll in Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.

What should you look for in the best internet for business?

You want an internet service that’s dependable, affordable, and fast enough to fit your needs. It should also have solid customer support that addresses your issues quickly, so day-to-day operations aren’t disrupted.

Also consider scalability. Can the internet service handle your growing company? Look for a service you can upgrade (or downgrade) as needed without the hefty fees.

Security and stability are two other important factors to consider. An internet provider should have tools in place to shield your business against malware, spyware, and hackers. It should also include a backup connection, so your online services don’t go dark during an unforeseen server crash.

How much speed do you need?

We provide a table further down this article that recommends the speed you should select based on the number of employees in your business. Also, consider any guests who will access your internet connection—like patients, shoppers, and so on.

Best overall—Verizon Business

$69.00–$249.00/mo..

• Great customer service
• Fast fiber plans
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Verizon Fios is the best internet for business. It offers symmetrical speeds, so your upload speeds match your downloads. That’s an important feature to consider if you upload large files to a remote server throughout the workweek.

However, Verizon Business requires a contract—one to three years, depending on the plan—whereas Spectrum Business does not. Yet Verizon’s fiber internet has equally fast upload and download speeds, while Spectrum’s cable internet does not. We suggest using fiber for the upload speed and reliability.

Verizon Business offers decent bundles too. The 940Mbps plan already includes one VoIP line, but you can add a VoIP line to its 200Mbps plan for $94 per month (with a two-year agreement). Verizon also offers internet and TV bundles for business—great for showing local channels to customers—and bundles that combine all three into one reduced package.

Verizon Business plans and pricing

* w/ 1yr. agmt plus taxes, fees & equip. charges.

# w/ 2yr. agmt plus taxes, fees & equip. charges.

† w/ 3yr. agmt plus taxes, fees & equip. charges.

Best for customer satisfaction—AT&T Business

$60.00–$395.00/mo..

• Best customer satisfaction
• Low static IP costs
• No contracts

AT&T Business ranks high in every category in J.D. Power’s 2023 US Business Wireline Satisfaction Study , and that’s not surprising. AT&T also ranks high in our annual customer satisfaction survey for residential internet. Those high marks translate to the best internet experience for your business, from reliability to customer service.

AT&T Business provides an Internet Backup service starting at $10 a month, so you can stay online during a service or power outage. It includes a battery-powered router with a 12–24 hour uptime capacity. You stay connected over AT&T’s 4G LTE wireless network until your fiber service returns.

Bundles are also available. For example, you can add phone service to its 100Mbps fiber plan for $89 per month.

AT&T Business plans and pricing

* Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway.

† Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Reward card redemption req’d. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway.

‡ Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway. 1GIG speeds avail. to new customers with the latest router (“BGW320”) and recommended setup. Actual customer speeds may vary based on a number of factors and are not guaranteed.

§ Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway. Actual customer speeds may vary based on a number of factors and are not guaranteed.

# Plus taxes & fees. Ltd. avail./areas. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway. Actual customer speeds may vary based on a number of factors and are not guaranteed. For 5GIG speed, single device wired speed maximum 4.7Gbps. For more information, go to www.att.com/speed101.

Best for small business—EarthLink Business

$64.95–$404.95/mo.

• Free business listings
• Point-of-sale security
• Easy digital marketing tools

EarthLink Business provides two different fiber connection types: Shared and Dedicated. With the former, you share fiber with other businesses, so you’ll see various speeds (up to 5Gbps) and slowdowns during peak times, but it’s cheaper. A dedicated fiber line is more expensive, more consistent, and faster (up to 10Gbps) in speed since you’re not sharing fiber with others. The shared connection is best for small and medium-sized businesses, while dedicated fiber is best for larger ones.

Each plan comes with a trial of several EarthLink Business services. For example, you’ll receive 11 dynamic local directory listings for six months to help your business get noticed on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and more. You’ll also get three months of the reputation manager to start building your company’s trust and loyalty.

You can bundle fiber internet with EarthLink’s fixed wireless service, too, or you can simply sign up for fixed wireless if EarthLink’s fiber is not available in your area. Call EarthLink Business to find out what works best for you.

Earthlink Business plans and pricing

Best for availability—comcast business, $49.99–$334.99/mo..

• 1,250 Mbps top speed
• 24/7 local customer support
• Optional static IP address

Comcast is one of the largest cable internet providers in the US. Its top speed for business internet is 1,250Mbps, which is slightly faster than its residential plan. But the big callout here is you get unlimited data—the residential plans have a 1.2TB data cap. Also, all business plans include 24/7 local customer support, business-level Wi-Fi, and a gateway configured with a public network your customers can access.

Like AT&T, you can layer on the extras for an added cost. Connection Pro includes a backup 4G LTE connection for up to eight hours. SecurityEdge is a feature built into the Comcast Business router that scans for threats every 10 minutes—even your public network.

Comcast Business plans and pricing

* Plans and prices vary by geographic region.

† for 12 months with 2-year agreement when you enroll in Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.

Best for no contracts—Spectrum Business

$49.99–$164.99/mo..

• Unlimited data
• 4G LTE backup option

Like with Spectrum’s residential internet service, there are only three business internet plans to choose from, with speeds ranging from 300Mbps to 1,000Mbps. All business plans include 24/7 support, up to 25 email addresses with a custom domain name, and F-Secure desktop security software.

Be sure to choose Spectrum’s business plans over residential ones. They’re compatible with additional services like static IP addresses, 4G LTE backup, and Private WiFi. You can pair any Spectrum Business internet plan with its TV or phone services, but there’s no huge discount when you do. Instead, standard rates apply to each service after 12 months.

Finally, Spectrum provides speeds of up to 100,000Mbps (100Gbps) to enterprise customers if they need more than a gigabit. The enterprise-grade service is available in 41 states and 32 metropolitan areas , which customers can scale in 10Gbps increments as needed. Call Spectrum for more information about its fiber service for enterprise.

Spectrum Business plans and pricing

* $64.99/mo. for 12 mos for Internet only. † $114.99/mo. for 12 mos for Internet only. ‡ $164.99/mo. for 12 mos for Internet only.

Best for rural—Viasat Business

$50.00–$500.00/mo..

• Speeds up to 100Mbps in select areas
• Metered and unmetered plans
• Free static IP addresses

Viasat Business is the best option for businesses located where landlines can’t reach. The problem with satellite internet, including Viasat Business, is the price per megabit is higher than any landline internet connection. Plus, Viasat’s plans with unlimited data have soft data caps, so your speeds slow down once you reach a specific download limit.

All plans require a two-year contract. You also must pay a $300 installation fee and a $10 monthly equipment lease. However, you get three free static IP addresses with each plan—unlike other internet providers on our list. You also get 24/7 support and an option to add VoIP service.

Viasat Business plans and pricing

Internet for business specs.

Speed doesn’t necessarily make an internet service good for a business . After all, your company may not need more than 50Mbps. Instead, the best internet service for businesses should focus on reliability, support, scalability, and security. Add-on services like static IPs and 4G LTE backup connections are a plus.

Here are a few additional features to consider when you choose an internet service for business.

Quality customer service

Business internet typically comes with high-quality expert customer service that’s generally available 24/7, 365 days a year. But each internet provider differs, so ask when customer support is available before you buy.

Dedicated connection

Grab a business internet plan with a dedicated connection, and you won’t have to share with neighboring businesses. That’s a huge plus since it allows you and your employees to stream, video chat, upload documents, and download files without worrying about anyone else hogging the connection.

But dedicated lines are usually far more expensive than ones shared with other businesses. Your monthly fees can reach into the thousands.

Guaranteed service-level agreements

Service-level agreements (SLAs) are one way you can make sure you get what you pay for with business internet.

SLAs typically promise things like low latency or lag, no internet connection downtime, 24-hour customer support, and more. And if your provider doesn’t deliver? Well, those SLAs should cover how you’ll be compensated—we’re talking discounts, bill credits, or the chance to end your contract early.

Internet for business extra features and add-ons

Many internet providers offers add-on services that can help a business run smoothly. They cost extra and aren’t always necessary, but they may be worth the investment.

Here are some add-on services that can benefit your business.

Static IP addresses

An IP address is a set of four numbers used to identify a device connected to a local or wide-area network. The majority of IP addresses change roughly every two weeks, which isn’t ideal if your business needs to bridge VPNs located on multiple sites or plans to run an eCommerce server.

Like the physical address of your office or home, a static IP address never changes. Domain names require static IP addresses to even function.

Generally, you should lease more than one static IP address from your provider: one for the office, one for the mail server, one for the file server, one for cross-site networking, one for VPN connections from remote workers, and so on.

4G LTE backup

While the internet you get for your business usually runs over a cable or fiber-optic network, some providers also offer a 4G LTE wireless backup network that kicks into gear whenever your main internet connection goes out.

Cellular internet may have stricter limitations on speed and data usage, but what’s important is that it lets you keep running business tasks even while your primary internet connection is down. This makes a 4G LTE backup especially useful for restaurants and shops, which often rely on Wi-Fi networks to run credit card machines and point-of-sale software.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone services

The UK’s Public Switched Telephone Network is switching off in 2025, signaling the end of traditional analog phone calling. Here in the States, the Plain Old Telephone Service still lingers, but companies like AT&T and Verizon have already discontinued selling new DSL internet service as they replace old-school copper phone lines with fiber ones.

Nearly every internet provider now offers VoIP phone services, which send digital calls over a broadband connection. Some bundle VoIP service with internet at a combined discounted rate. Be sure to check out all the benefits you can get through a VoIP service geared for business.

How to choose a business internet plan

Here are some pointers to help you find the best internet plan for any business.

Decide what you need first

Your first step is to figure out how much speed your business needs. Your answer depends on the number of employees that will use the internet simultaneously and how.

How much speed does your business need?

Use our How Much Speed Do You Need? Tool to get a personalized internet speed recommendation for your small business.

Ask about contract length

Business internet plans may come with a one- or two-year contract.

It’s important to consider whether this timeline works for you—will you pay extra fees if you need to upgrade your plan before the contract ends? Is the contract canceled if the internet provider doesn’t keep the promises outlined in the SLAs?

Some business internet plans offer no-contract options, but these typically cost extra. Still, it may be a good fit if you run a seasonal business and need an internet connection for only part of the year.

Get curious about average downtime

There’s nothing worse than your business internet going down and your employees going old school by recording transaction details with paper and pen.

That’s why it’s important to ask about a provider’s average yearly downtime. Most will state their uptime is close to 100%, but you’re the one left in the dark if they don’t deliver.

This is an important feature your SLAs should cover—especially if no internet means a huge loss for your business.

Look into bundles

Bundles are a great way to save money, especially if you need more than just internet. Most internet providers will bundle your business internet with phone, TV, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services at a lower cost than if you bought each plan separately.

Don’t forget about extra fees

Do your budget a favor and factor in activation and installation fees along with any equipment rental fees. Business internet usually requires professional installation, so this is one fee we don’t recommend skipping out on.

FAQ about business internet

How much does business internet cost.

Business internet costs anywhere from $34.99 a month to over $500.00 a month. The price depends on the type of connection (DSL, cable, fiber, or satellite), special features (like a dedicated line), and what speed you get.

If you bundle your business internet with phone, TV, or other services, you’ll likely save some money each month.

Is business internet faster than residential?

Most business internet plans match residential ones in speed. You can get a 5Gbps fiber connection from AT&T whether you need internet in your home or at your business, for example.

But you can get a dedicated connection with faster speeds for a higher price, like AT&T Dedicated Internet . This service tops out at 1Tbps (1,000,000Mbps), but it’s a direct (and private) line to AT&T’s network versus a shared connection with other businesses on the block. A dedicated line speeding along at 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) can cost more than $2,000 per month.

Author - Kevin Parrish

Kevin Parrish has more than a decade of experience working as a writer, editor, and product tester. He began writing about computer hardware and soon branched out to other devices and services such as networking equipment, phones and tablets, game consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom’s Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others. At HighSpeedInternet.com, he focuses on network equipment testing and review.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for seven years, and she's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. When she's not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet land and that a good internet connection significantly extends your life span.

Related Posts

• Cloud Storage

Best Cloud Storage for Business in 2024

Cloudwards.net may earn a small commission from some purchases made through our site. However, any earnings do not affect how we review services. Learn more about our editorial integrity and research process .

Finding the best cloud storage for business is challenging, as each service offers something different. Depending on your size, business needs and budget, you could opt for a highly secure and private solution, or you could prioritize productivity and collaboration tools. To help you decide, we’ll take a look at the best cloud storage for business.

Last Updated: 17 Mar'24 2024-03-17T13:44:12+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

Key Takeaways: What Is the Best Cloud Storage for Business?

• Sync For Teams — Cheap storage and private, end-to-end encryption
• Box Business — Great native apps with Google and MS Office connections
• Egnyte — Highly customizable, with popular third-party integrations
• Dropbox Business — Robust file sharing; great native apps and integrations
• Tresorit  — Good file sharing and account customization with solid security

It’s rare in today’s digitally connected world to find a business that doesn’t need cloud storage. Anything from document collaboration to sharing files is integral to business productivity. However, it can be tough to choose from the many excellent cloud storage choices. In this article, we list the best business cloud storage options.

It should come as little surprise that several cloud storage providers on this list also make the cut as the best cloud storage services overall. For the best combination of security, customization and functionality, Box is a top option for enterprise businesses.

Meanwhile, Sync for Teams offers the cheapest pricing while also providing strong security and privacy, making it the best cloud storage solution for small businesses. However, if productivity and collaboration are important aspects, several other options on the list will fit the bill. 

Updated Sync.com’s plans and pricing information.

This article has been rewritten for 2023 to include updated providers, pricing and features.

Top Business Cloud Storage Services

• : Unlimited GB

How We Chose the Best Cloud Storage for Business

To review a cloud service, we first have our tester actively use it for around a week, going through every available feature to see if it works as it should. We also run technical tests to see how fast a service is and how much RAM and CPU it uses. We also check its encryption methods and privacy policy for any flaws.

Cloud Storage Courses

Check out our cloud storage courses and grab a limited-time offer. Registration available now!

For our eagle-eyed readers, you may notice that our individual reviews offer scores that would seem to differ from what the list below indicates. Our reviews are balanced equally among the different areas of the service we evaluate. However, when comparing business cloud storage, some features (such as features or app integration) weigh heavier than others (for example customer service or ease of use).

Collaboration & Management Features

Collaboration and management tools are important considerations, even for smaller teams and businesses. Some cloud storage solutions for businesses include workflow and task management features.

These tools typically do not replace dedicated project management applications, but they can help you effectively monitor project progress and maintain communications with comments at the document level.

File Storage & Sharing

Without robust file storage and sharing features, cloud storage designed for businesses wouldn’t be very useful. Syncing folders and files across devices and allowing teams to organize and structure folders are important considerations. The ability to easily share files internally and externally helps to foster a productive and collaborative environment.

Privacy & Security

Security and privacy factor heavily, as poor security or questionable privacy erodes trust in a cloud storage service, especially when storing or sharing important business documents or project files. Our suggestions offer secure storage and strong privacy protections, some including end-to-end encryption.

Business Pricing

Additionally, how much business cloud storage costs is also a strong factor. In some ways, the pricing between the following business cloud storage providers vary greatly. Although none of the options offer free cloud storage for business, small business teams could get by with smaller plans.

The 5 Best Business Cloud Storage Services

Data security, app integrations and collaboration tools are critical components of an enterprise-level cloud storage service, and Egnyte has all these features and more. For small businesses concerned with privacy and security, Sync for Teams is the best choice .

However, each of the services below has something to offer businesses. Let’s take a deeper look at each option.

1. Sync for Teams – Best Cloud Storage for Small Business

More details about Sync for Teams:

• Pricing : $72 per user per year
• Free plan : None; 30-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee
• Provider website : sync.com
• Excellent security & privacy
• Easy file sharing
• Generous file versioning
• Affordable plans
• Not very fast
• Not great for collaboration

Sync for Teams is a secure cloud storage option for small businesses offering end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption for all accounts. This makes the service great for storing sensitive data.

File sharing and ease of use are also highlights of Sync for Teams. Secure file sharing happens in a few simple steps, with the option to password-protect the shared link or set an expiration date. Additionally, Sync for Teams has MS Office integrated, allowing the creation of new documents like Word or PowerPoint.

It’s easy to add and manage users through a dedicated tab accessible from the main account page. New users have basic access, and administrators can assign specific roles and include users in project folders. If a new custom role is required, admins can create and assign it as needed.

File Versioning

Sync for Teams makes it easy for users to review and restore previous versions of a file. The Solo and Teams business plans have 180 days of file versioning without limits to the number of files kept. Solo Pro, Pro Teams Unlimited and the Enterprise plans have a full 365 days of file versioning without any file number limit.

Accessing older file versions happens by navigating to a given file and selecting “version history.” All file versions display on the page up to the allotted time frame. Returning to an older version is as simple as selecting it and making it the current version. Restoring deleted files works similarly, and Sync will hold them for 30 days.

Sync for Teams is affordable; plans start at $6 per user per month for two or more users and 1TB of shared storage. That’s the lowest minimum price of any provider on this list. The Pro Teams Unlimited has a 30-day free trial, and all Sync.com plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee . Check out our Sync for Teams review to learn more.

• Price per user. Users: 2+
• Unlimited GB

2. Box Business – Cloud Storage Solution for Business with Third Party Integrations

More details about Box Business:

• Pricing : $180 per user per year
• Free plan : None; 14-day free trial
• Provider website : box.com
• Many third-party integrations
• Strong security
• Native apps
• Slower speeds
• Paid private encryption

Box Business offers an excellent combination of strong security, popular third-party integrations and native apps that helps teams become and stay productive. Integrations to MS Office and Google Workspace allow for plenty of collaboration between individuals and teams. Additionally, Box supports connections to hundreds of other apps, such as Airtable and Zapier.

Every Box Business plan comes with access to the admin console, which contains several options and customizable settings for teams and user accounts. However, a number of features within the admin console are reserved for the higher-priced plans. Private encryption is only available as a paid add-on, called Key Safe, and it gives you total control of encryption keys.

Native Apps

Box’s native apps are excellent additions to any account. For example, Box Notes is similar to Dropbox Paper and offers real-time collaboration on documents from a web browser. You can share Box Notes internally or externally. Our Box Notes article goes into more detail.

Box Sign is another native app, as is Box Drive. Similar to DocuSign, Box Sign allows you to send or receive digitally signed documents. Box Drive is a downloadable app for desktops that functions like an external drive. With Box Drive, you can store and access your documents without taking up hard disk space. 

Box offers different plans for individuals, small teams and businesses. For unlimited storage, plans start at $15 per user per month, billed annually, with a minimum of three users. All business plans have unlimited storage — which is why the provider tops our review on the best unlimited cloud storage providers .

Box cloud storage for business can get expensive, although most business plans offer a 14-day free trial . To learn more, check out our Box Business review .

3. Egnyte – Highly Customizable Cloud Storage Solution

More details about Egnyte Connect:

• Pricing : $240 per user per year
• Free plan : None; 15-day free trial
• Provider website : egnyte.com
• Excellent security
• Third-party connections
• Customizable settings
• No zero-knowledge security
• Can be expensive

Egnyte is an enterprise file synchronization and sharing solution (EFSS) designed to support businesses and teams. It has native apps for both Windows and Mac and third-party integrations to Google Workspace and MS Office. Additionally, it supports connections to hundreds of other apps, including Slack, Trello and Zoom, to name a few.

Egnyte’s cloud storage platform supports businesses looking to manage teams on a granular level. It has a built-in task manager and workflow system that, while helpful, are basic and won’t replace dedicated apps. Engyte also lets you manage your account with a robust settings and configurations menu.

Settings and Configurations

Egnyte is also a secure cloud storage solution for businesses. It offers one of the most customizable experiences for user and team management. User types include admins, power users or standard users. Admins can configure options such as password requirements or enable two-factor authentication. 

Other options include setting up email notifications for when you’re approaching the limits of your storage allotment. Additionally, accounts come with a private folder, and admins can adjust its size. Egnyte has a separate section for reports and audits, letting admins monitor everything from storage usage to file-sharing data.

Egnyte has three business plans : Business, Enterprise Lite and Enterprise. The Business plan costs $20 per user per month, billed annually for 10 users (meaning a minimum of $200 per month) that share 1TB of data. Prices increase — significantly, in some cases — with a la carte-style add-ons. You’ll need to contact Egnyte for Enterprise pricing. Our Egnyte review has more details on this service.

• 1-10 users max.
• Price per user; Secure collaboration; Privilege management; Ransomware protection
• Everything in Business; 3rd-party source support; Content lifecycle management; Threat detection
• Everything in Enterprise Lite; Privacy & compliance; Advanced ransomware protection & recovery; Content safeguards

4. Dropbox Business – Best File Sharing for Small Business

More details about Dropbox Business:

• Free plan : None; 30-day free trial
• Provider website : dropbox.com
• Excellent file sharing
• Block-level & selective sync
• No private encryption (yet)

Dropbox Business takes the best Dropbox features — file sharing and collaboration — and adds tools that support productivity and collaboration for teams. The Dropbox Business native apps are a significant feature of the service.

One example is Dropbox Paper, a real-time collaborative web-based document editor. Other native apps include eSign (securely send and receive documents) and Capture, which lets you record your screen.

File synchronization is a strong feature, as Dropbox Business supports block-level and online-only sync. Block-level sync updates only the changes in a given file, while online-only sync lets you determine the folders to sync with a cloud account.

Additionally, for the privacy-minded, Dropbox recently purchased Boxcryptor, with plans to bring private encryption storage to its business plans.

Third-Party Integrations

Dropbox Business supports many third-party integrations. Popular options include Google Workspace and MS Office. Users can create new Google or Microsoft files directly in a Dropbox account when connected.

Other integration options include Slack, Trello and Notion. Most connections work within the respective app by creating a dedicated Dropbox tab or folder. For example, connecting Dropbox Business and Slack lets you share files directly in the Slack app or have conversations within Dropbox using the file preview feature.

Dropbox Business plans have individual and team options, with a separate plan that includes DocSend. The Standard plan comes with 5TB of shared storage for a minimum of three users. It costs $15 per user per month when billed annually. Most Dropbox Business plans have a 30-day free trial . For more information, read our Dropbox Business review .

• minimum 3 users
• Price per user
• Price per user, 30-day free trial (minimum 3 users)
• Price & storage per user, 30-day free trial. (minimum 3 users)
• minimum 1 user

5. Tresorit – Secure Cloud Storage for Business

More details about Tresorit:

• Pricing : $174 per user per year
• Free plan : 3GB ; 14-day free trial
• Provider website : tresorit.com
• Strong security & privacy
• Strong file sharing
• Selective sync
• Not the fastest option
• Can get expensive

Tresorit cloud storage has many tools designed to support businesses and teams. All plans come with encryption for email attachments. Additionally, the downloadable Tresorit Drive app provides access to account documents and folders on computers, even offline. For team managers and administrators, Tresorit has a robust admin center with customization options and account settings.

Perhaps the main drawback to Tresorit is that it charges extra for features that come standard with some of its competitors. The ability to send and receive digital signatures will cost you extra with Tresorit eSign. Additionally, if you want to encrypt the contents of your email in addition to any attachments, you’ll also have to pay for an add-on.

Admin Center

Tresorit provides detailed data and analytics through its admin center that support managers and administrators. Every business account comes with access to this managerial tool. The dashboard is a snapshot of high-level account information, showing the number of users, storage used and the number of devices connected.

The admin center provides more granular information in other tabs. The “users” tab lets you manage users and permissions, as well as invite new users to the team. The “security” tab lets account managers enable two-factor authentication requirements for all accounts. Some elements are reserved for the higher-priced plans, such as setting policies specific to account usage or data security.

Tresorit isn’t the most affordable option available and could become cost-prohibitive when accounting for the paid add-ons. On the Business Standard plan, each user gets 1TB of storage; the plan costs $14.50 per user per month when billed annually. We cover more in our Tresorit review .

• Price per user (billed annually), Storage per user, User count: 3-9
• Price per user (billed annually), Storage per user, User count : 10+
• Price per user (billed annually), Storage per user, User count : 100+

Honorable Mentions

While the above five choices are, in our opinion, the best business cloud storage providers, there are a few other options in this crowded and competitive industry that deserve your consideration. Depending on your business’s needs, they might be the perfect fit for you. Two such services are Zoho WorkDrive and pCloud Business.

Zoho WorkDrive

Zoho WorkDrive has a suite of native apps that supports nearly every business function. Many of its apps enhance collaboration and productivity among teams. Navigating around in Zoho WorkDrive is a seamless experience where you can create favorite folders for quick access or add labels to support projects and teams.

Overall, Zoho WorkDrive is an affordable business cloud storage provider; the Business plan costs $108 per year for three users and 5TB of data storage. However, those prices come with limits, so Zoho WorkDrive probably isn’t best for larger teams or complex projects.

pCloud Business

pCloud is an excellent cloud storage provider. Its business plans add a dedicated space to manage teams and users on top of a service with excellent security and file-sharing capabilities.

Within the “business” tab, you can add new members and create teams. Additionally, logs show granular information on user activity. Perhaps best of all, a business account — costing per year for three users and of storage — includes pCloud Crypto, giving teams a private encryption folder.

However, pCloud business does not have any native apps that support collaboration between team members. Additionally, there are no third-party integrations, which could be a deal-breaker for some teams. pCloud supports many file types, but you won’t be able to work with them collaboratively within the app; you can only preview files. We cover the service in detail with our pCloud review .

• + FREE Encryption
• Price per user (minimum 3)
• Encryption for pCloud Drive

How Is Cloud Storage Used in Business?

Most businesses use cloud storage as a repository for project files. Additionally, businesses use these services to support collaboration and productivity among teams. File sharing, both internally and externally, is a critical feature. The more customization and flexibility administrators have to manage users and teams, the better.

Native apps and third-party integrations are important considerations, especially for businesses or teams using a preferred ecosystem like Google or Microsoft. Collaborating in real-time on a document between team members is an excellent feature for business cloud storage.

Final Thoughts: Cloud Storage for Business

Every cloud based storage for business on our list does an excellent job of providing business options with strong security that increase productivity and enhance collaboration. Each service offers a unique value proposition; some are better for small businesses, while others excel at supporting larger teams.

Do you use any of these business cloud storage providers? If so, what has been your experience using a given service? Did we miss a great cloud storage for businesses? Let us know in the comments section below. Thanks for taking the time to read our article.

FAQ: Cloud Storage for Businesses

The best cloud storage solution for a business comes down to a business’s requirements and needs. Sync for Teams and Tresorit are excellent options if top-notch security and privacy are most important to your small business. Egnyte, Box or Dropbox Business will meet your needs if productivity and collaboration are at the top of your list.

The costs associated with business cloud storage vary significantly across different cloud services. Some have additional paid add-ons, which can increase the overall costs. Most have different plan choices that scale up in storage and cost.

Most businesses that operate in today’s digitally-connected world would find it tough to collaborate and share files without using a cloud service. If your business uses computer-based documents or interacts with digital signatures, for example, then moving to the cloud is likely the right choice.

• Top 10 Cloud Storage Security Issues & How to Solve Them in 2024
• Best Lifetime Cloud Storage in 2024: Is it Worth it? 
• How Secure Is iCloud? Is Apple Cloud Storage Safe in 2024?
• Facebook Privacy Settings: How to Make Facebook Private in 2024
• How to Delete Facebook Forever in 2024: Ditching Social Media
• How & Where to Watch Band of Brothers in 2024: Watch Online From Anywhere
• 10 Reasons Why Parental Control Is Important in 2024 and Reasonable Ways to Guard Your Child’s Online Activity
• The 7 Best Parental Control App Options for 2024

Less Annoying CRM Review 2024: Features, Pros And Cons

Updated: May 14, 2024, 2:00pm

Have a question for Kelly Main or our other editors?

Ask here for a chance to be featured in a story.

Send a note to Kelly Main, Rachel Williams and our other editors. We read every email.

Keep reading Forbes Advisor for the chance to see the answer to your question in one of our upcoming stories. Our editors also may be in touch with follow-up questions.

Our Verdict

Less Annoying CRM is a popular customer relationship management (CRM) platform—particularly for those who prioritize ease of use and affordability. It stands out for its inclusion of unlimited contacts, pipelines and custom fields. However, its plan has a maximum of 10 users and it does not offer a mobile app, so it’s not ideal for larger teams or those with on-the-go staff. While it is generally easier to use than your average CRM, that does not mean it’s the only user-friendly CRM on the market—nor is it the most affordable. To help you decide if it’s right for you, we put it to the test with our hands-on Less Annoying CRM review.

• Budget-friendly plan starting at $15 per month
• Unlimited contacts
• Unlimited pipelines
• Unlimited custom fields
• Free 30-day trial
• No free plan
• Enterprise-level plan required for those with 10-plus users
• No 24/7 support
• No mobile app

Table of Contents

Less annoying crm: at a glance, how less annoying crm works, less annoying crm core features, what sets less annoying crm apart, less annoying crm pricing and plans, less annoying crm setup, customer service and support, less annoying crm alternatives and how they compare, who is less annoying crm best for, frequently asked questions (faqs).

• Less Annoying CRM is a popular CRM that is very simple yet customizable.
• It is designed to be one of the most user-friendly CRMs, making the learning curve minimal and easy to start.
• In terms of features, it stands out for unlimited contacts, pipelines and custom fields.
• Less Annoying CRM ranks as one of the best simple CRMs according to the experts at Forbes Advisor.

Less Annoying CRM boasts a budget-friendly plan that’s $15 per user per month and a longer-than-average 30-day free trial to help new users test-drive the software and see if it’s right for them. It comes with unlimited contacts, pipelines and custom fields as well as a very helpful task management and calendar feature that helps you and your team stay on top of their to-do list. As it is a simple CRM, it is also user-friendly with a minimal learning curve.

Less Annoying CRM is not without its disadvantages. To start, there’s no free plan, and though it offers a solid 30-day free trial, many of its leading competitors offer a free plan. Pricing aside, its biggest downfall is that it has a very limited feature set―one of the most limited I’ve seen. It doesn’t offer built-in email marketing or drip campaigns, project management, inventory management, advanced workflow automations, lead generation or the ability to send estimates, quotes and invoices. On top of that, it does not have a mobile app, nor does it have 24/7 support―or support via live chat.

Featured Partners

monday sales CRM

Free; $9 per user per month for basic features

On monday.com's Website

Free; $15 per user per month (billed annually)

On HubSpot's Website

$14 per user per month (billed annually)

On Pipedrive's Website

$25 per month per user for basic features

On Salesforce's Website

Less Annoying CRM is a generalist CRM that offers all the key features a business needs to manage contacts more effectively. What’s nice about it is that while it is on the simplistic end of CRMs, it is still very customizable and due to its simplicity, it is also very easy to learn how to use. So, while it does not have the most impressive feature set, it offers a few core CRM features and does them very well. Its dashboard displays tasks and your various pipelines—including stages. This makes it easy to quickly see what you need to do and where contacts and leads are.

If you have used other CRMs before, you may quickly notice that Less Annoying CRM offers far fewer features than most. So while its short roster of features includes contact management, pipelines, tasks and calendar management, analytics and reporting, it does not offer many of the features that are becoming commonplace among CRMs, such as built-in email marketing with drip campaigns, project management or vast workflow automations.

Contact Management

As a CRM, contact management is its core feature. What I like about Less Annoying CRM’s contact management is that it is very streamlined with a simple contact management dashboard that lists your contacts and provides a search bar that allows you to search contacts by name, email, phone number and more. It also has a section displaying recently added contacts and starred contacts for quick reference. It is possible to email contacts from their profile and log outgoing emails. Users can also add contacts to groups and link contacts to one another using the relationships feature.

However, compared to other top CRMs, it lacks several contact management tools. For example, while you can add tasks and attachments, there is no click-to-call option, nor is there the ability to create automated communications, such as sales and marketing campaigns in general (and never mind from the contact’s profile). It also lacks lead routing, which is a helpful tool for teams, nor does it offer the ability to assign leads to team members.

Calendar and Tasks

Less Annoying CRM has a simple calendar and task feature designed to help users keep track of tasks, events, meetings and more in a user-friendly way. In my experience, it is very simple and easy to use. Adding tasks and calendar events is a breeze.

When creating a calendar event, users can create events for a specific period of time, all day or recurring, and send reminders and add others to the event. When users create tasks, these show at the top of the calendar on the day the task is due. What I like about this is that there’s a checkbox beside the task so users can mark tasks as completed upon completion.

Sales Pipelines

In my opinion, one area where Less Annoying CRM falls a bit flat is with its pipelines feature. Not only is it not particularly intuitive, but it’s also not the most useful pipeline management tool I’ve seen. Unlike most CRMs that display pipelines allowing users to view all stages and their contents, Less Annoying CRM lacks this functionality. Instead, pipelines are attached to contact’s profiles and manually updated, meaning that pipeline stages do not change automatically based on designated triggers. In short, I wouldn’t call Less Annoying CRM’s “pipeline” a true pipeline but, rather, sets of milestones.

To manage pipelines, users must first go to a contact’s profile and then “Attach” a pipeline. To create custom pipelines, go to “Settings” from the left-hand vertical menu and click “Pipeline” under “Feature settings.” There, you can select the option to “Create another pipeline.” However, it’s worth reiterating that it’s not your traditional sales pipeline and instead better resembles milestones.

Less Annoying CRM has a built-in reporting feature, although it feels lackluster compared to many of its competitors that offer far more in-depth analytics and reports. Instead, Less Annoying CRM’s reporting feature is limited and includes basic information about pipeline stages. However, I like that it offers an activity report that displays all user activity within a set time frame and a task report, essentially serving as your digital to-do list.

What sets Less Annoying CRM apart from the competition is that it is a very uncomplicated CRM. While its more feature-packed CRM counterparts tend to get complex to set up or fussy to use, Less Annoying CRM is very simplistic. This makes it a good choice for those who want an easier way to organize leads and stay on top of tasks.

Unlike most CRM systems of its kind, it does not offer tiered pricing and plans. Instead, it has one plan. It costs $15 per month per user with monthly billing and includes full access to Less Annoying CRM, including unlimited contacts, pipelines and custom fields. It also includes reporting as well as calendar and task management. It’s worth noting that it has a maximum of 10 users, so businesses with teams larger than 10 will need to contact Less Annoying CRM for pricing, which is a bit annoying for such a small number of users.

Getting started with Less Annoying CRM is quick and easy. To start, complete the one-page registration form to sign up for its free 30-day trial. Upon doing so, you will be directed to your new user dashboard which provides guides to help walk users through the steps to set up Less Annoying CRM.

I found its video guides helpful. Its contact import feature is very user-friendly and it imports contacts from far more sources than most CRMs. For example, you can import from another CRM, Google, Outlook, LinkedIn, Mac Contacts or spreadsheets. Additionally, adding custom fields and creating sales pipelines is straightforward, thanks to its videos.

Ease of Use

In general, I find Less Annoying CRM to be easy to use. Its interface is well-organized and clutter-free, making it easier to quickly find the features and tools you are looking for. I particularly like that it has a search function built into the left-hand vertical menu so users can locate contacts quickly. However, I will say that part of what makes Less Annoying CRM so easy is that it is very simplistic and does not offer a breadth of features as many other CRMs do. So yes, it is very uncomplicated, but it is also not very robust.

For example, the user dashboard has four main menu options: the home page (your user dashboard), contacts, calendar and reports. Meanwhile, the majority of the top CRMs have all of those features, plus many others, such as email marketing, advanced workflows and automations, project management, inventory management and team collaboration.

Less Annoying CRM has all of the necessary security measures in place to help ensure the safety of users and their data. In addition to its security protocols, it allows users to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and select auto log out based on the amount of inactivity. While it allows admins to add new users with access permissions, these permissions are fairly limited.

For example, new users can have view or edit access, obtain admin control, export or delete data and share contacts and calendars. Although it has a few options, its user role and permissions are not as advanced as those of top CRMs.

Less Annoying CRM support is available by email and phone. Unfortunately, it does not offer live support, which is my favorite support channel for acquiring assistance quickly with small issues or questions. In addition to its lack of live support, I don’t like that its support hours are fairly limited.

For example, since it is based out of the Central time zone, support was not available when I tried to contact support at 10 a.m. Eastern time. This is disappointing since, in my opinion, support should be available within standard working hours across the United States. However, this also means that support will be available after 5 p.m. ET, which may be helpful for businesses that work frequently beyond business hours.

Less Annoying CRM vs. Zoho CRM

Less Annoying CRM has stiff competition when it comes to Zoho CRM. Much like Less Annoying CRM, Zoho CRM is one of the highest-rated CRMs in the market and it stands out as one of the most user-friendly. On top of that, it offers a free forever plan so users can get started at no cost. It offers far more features than Less Annoying CRM, such as the ability to build out and deploy automated workflows and email marketing campaigns, inventory management and project management. Zoho CRM is more feature-rich and affordable, making it a good choice for those who like the simplicity of Less Annoying CRM but with more features.

Less Annoying CRM vs. Pipedrive

When comparing Less Annoying CRM to Pipedrive, the two user-friendly CRMs cost nearly the same, about $15 per month, but Pipedrive requires annual billing, while Less Annoying CRM is commitment-free with month-to-month billing. Although Pipedrive offers more features than Less Annoying CRM, it is arguably as easy to use, if not easier, because it has a drag-and-drop interface, making it very intuitive. Pipedrive also offers project management and drip marketing campaigns, making it a more robust option than Less Annoying CRM.

Less Annoying CRM vs. HubSpot

There’s no way around the fact that Less Annoying CRM pales in comparison to HubSpot in terms of features. HubSpot is more than your average CRM—it’s a sales and marketing machine that is designed to supercharge sales with lead generation tools, advanced automations and a sophisticated ecosystem of sales and marketing tools. It is possible to use HubSpot’s contact management feature solely, making it a good choice for growing businesses that want a CRM that can scale with them. Meanwhile, Less Annoying CRM is the better option for those who want a pure CRM that focuses on managing contacts more efficiently without all the bells and whistles.

Less Annoying CRM is best for individual users and small teams looking for a no-headache CRM to manage contacts better with little to no learning curve. It’s very limited in terms of features, but it is ideal for the user looking for an online planner to organize contacts and stay on top of tasks.

While Less Annoying CRM is a quality CRM, it more or less only offers contact and task management, making it more like a modern-day organizer that contains all contacts and upcoming events and to-dos. That said, it’s a solid choice for those looking for just that. However, it likely won’t be sufficient for businesses with teams of 10 or more looking for a CRM complete with sales and marketing tools.

Does Less Annoying CRM offer a free plan?

Less Annoying CRM does not offer a free plan. However, it does offer a free 30-day trial (no credit card required) to give users a better idea of whether it’s right for them. Once the free trial is over, it costs $15 per user per month.

What are the best alternatives to Less Annoying CRM?

The best alternative to Less Annoying CRM is Zoho CRM because it offers a free plan, is arguably as user-friendly and has far more features and tools. Other top alternatives include Freshsales for sales teams and Insightly for those with multiple teams and departments using a CRM.

What are the best free CRMs?

There are several solid CRMs that offer free plans, such as Zoho CRM, monday.com, Insightly, Freshsales, HubSpot and Bitrix24. Each offers varying features, user limits and contact limits, so to find out which is right for your business check out our guide to the best free CRMs .

• Best CRM Software
• Best CRM for Small Business
• Best Open Source CRM
• Best CRM For Real Estate
• Best Marketing CRM
• Best Social Media Management Software
• Best Simple CRM
• Best Customer Data Platform
• Best Mortgage CRM
• Salesforce Review
• Zoho Review
• Monday.com Review
• HubSpot CRM Review
• Pipedrive Review
• Zendesk Sell Review
• Bitrix24 Review
• Zoho Desk Review
• Benefits of CRM
• What is CRM Integration?
• Creating a CRM Strategy
• CRM Analytics Guide
• Customer Journey Map
• 10 CRM Best Practices
• CRM Data Types
• Customer Onboarding
• Customer Segmentation
• CRM Implementation
• What Is Churn Rate?
• What Is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?

Next Up In CRM

• Best CRM Software For Small Business
• The Best Live Chat Software
• Pipedrive Pricing Plans Guide
• Salesforce Pricing: Everything You Need To Know
• Freshsales Review: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons
• NetSuite Review: Features, Pricing & More

Paycom Vs. Paylocity (2024 Comparison)

What Is White Hat SEO?

NordPass Vs. LastPass (2024 Comparison)

7 Best Constant Contact Alternatives Of 2024

Oracle Vs. Salesforce (2024 Comparison)

How To Make A Resume (With Free Template)