The average U.S. homeowner spends $405 on a business phone line. Depending on the type of business line, the size of the phone system, and add-on features, most spend between $152 and $673.
The average business phone line installation cost is $405 but you can expect to pay between $152 and $673, depending on the type of business line, the size of the phone system, and add-on features.
A business phone line is a dedicated line for all your work-related phone communication. It provides a separate business number and usually comes with a way to manage, organize, and review your business calls. The right business phone services, especially VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) plans are affordable and require minimal, if any, renovation. Let’s look at specific costs.
Setting up a business phone line requires a number of important decisions, which will all affect overall pricing. Let’s start with the big one first.
| Type | Advantages | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| VoIP Business Line: | Very few upfront costs, managed through computer, easy to change or customize | $15–$40 per month subscription |
| Analog Business Line: | Not reliant on internet service or quality | $150–$700 installation fee, $15–$40 per month subscription |
This is the biggest decision you can make about a business line, but it’s an easy call for most home offices and similar locations. An online VoIP service is downloaded onto your work computer, and offers phone services with a separate number and minimal costs.
VoIP services come with monthly fees, but low to no startup expenses. All you need is a headset or similar device to connect to your computer, and you’re set. This keeps the costs low except for the monthly VoIP subscription which is very manageable. As a result, this is our default recommendation for a business line.
Analog lines are still an option. An analog line may be an option if:
You want an offline business line that’s more private.
You want a more reliable phone line that doesn’t depend on internet connectivity to operate.
You prefer a more traditional landline-type phone with physical buttons to operate.
However, analogy lines are much more expensive to install, so upfront costs will be much higher. Expect to pay between $150 and $700 per line for full installation, which may not include electrical work.
Since most new business lines are VoIP, a secondary cost concern is internet quality. Some internet connections can handle a VoiP line with no voice quality problems, static, dropped calls, or other issues. But if these problems appear, owners should consider increasing the quality of their internet connection as well as their data limits.
A bump in internet quality can often cost $10 to $20 per month. However, increased internet costs are often deductible for home businesses and similar projects.
VoIP lines only need a headset to work, which also allows you to work at a computer without holding a phone. These headsets typically cost $15 to $30. Highly advanced versions may cost over $100 and include noise filters and other extra features, but those aren’t necessary. Some VoIP services offer hardware along with your service.
Analog phones tend to be more expensive. They are usually offered through the phone service provider and must be compatible with the setup. Some are leased out, but for a full purchase expect to pay around $200.
If you choose an analog business line, you’ll likely need to install a new phone jack in your home office or similar location. This process involves running a line to the room and installing a physical outlet. Installing a phone jack costs between $100 and $265.
For VoIP services, you can add new users depending on your plan, but it’s going to cost up to $50 per month extra for the addition. For traditional business lines, a secondary line tends to cost as much as the first, so expect to pay another several hundred dollars if you want a second line.
Voicemail recordings may come at a slightly added cost, but buyers should expect to pay a bit more for visual voicemail. This service, available through VoIP lines, allows you to see and organize voicemails in a similar way to emails. It often offers automatic voice-to-text translation. Expect to pay around $3 to $5 per month for visual voicemail.
Texting is another must-have option for most business lines, especially those used for frequent communication. Texting support allows you to continue conversations via SMS messages, send out texts to customers or partners, and even manage sales via text options. It’s an important part of any business line option, and often costs several dollars per month.
Simultaneous calls allow you to field multiple calls at once, an important feature for a busy home office. You don’t necessarily need a separate business line for this feature, especially with holding features, but you will likely need to pay more for the ability.
Many services offer optional training to show people how to use business phone systems, which can be more complicated than your average phone. This training may add extra fees, especially if it’s live or if you need to train a couple of other employees in addition to yourself. Formal training services can cost several hundred dollars.
Analog business line costs can vary considerably based on your region and the installation location in your home. VoIP subscriptions are less likely to vary but you may still see different pricing depending on geographical locations, especially when it comes to tax fees.
Long-distance calling refers to calls from outside your region which requires switching to a different call management center or different servers. Analog business lines charge extra when making long-distance calls. VoIP centers charge less for long-distance calling and offer more long-distance calling for free especially if it’s in North America. VoIP services may add the ability to make free international calls for a few dollars per month.
An analog line requires a physical phone jack. If your office space doesn’t already have one, you’ll need to get the line installed and that’s a job best left up to the electric professionals. Homeowners shouldn’t try to manually change, split, or extend their phone lines for any reason. Hire an electrician instead to handle the installation.
If you already have a phone jack or are using VoIP services instead, this is an ideal DIY project. You can arrange for service, pick a package, and choose your own phone hardware if necessary. It’s a little more complex than managing service for a cellular plan, but still very comparable.
Ongoing costs are vital to maintain a business phone line. Budget monthly expenses for this feature, which typically include:
Monthly service fees: A business line typically ranges between $15 and $40 per month, depending on the type of plan that you get. That range applies to both business lines and VoIP services.
Additional subscriptions: It’s common to have ongoing expenses for specific features you need. These features can easily raise monthly fees by $20 or more, depending on the number of them.
Maintenance: Traditional landlines have required maintenance fees, while VoIP services may bundle these fees up in support or similar services. Sometimes maintenance fees will be a separate line item in the bill, or they may be considered part of the overall monthly service fee.
Business lines, especially in flexible VoIP packages, have many add-ons you can choose from. These popular options cost a few extra dollars per month and you can bundle them into you plan.
Upgrading phone models: If you are getting phone hardware as part of a service package, you can usually pay more to upgrade to a more expensive phone model with additional features or a new design.
Auto-responses and AI: These responses can answer phone calls for you and direct callers to signal their intent or even interpret their needs and direct them to the right course of action. When properly set up, they can be an immense timesaver for a busy office.
Call announcements: Announcements alert users to incoming calls and help them track calls more easily.
Custom hold music: The feature lets you pick your own audio to play when holding.
Call recording: This add-on allows for recording call audio (see applicable state laws on recording audio with permission) and storing that audio.
Call logs: Logs are a history of past calls and who made them. More advanced log services offer call analytics to show how calls are managed (uncommon for small setups).
Contacts: This feature allows you to manage a separate contact list specifically for phone contacts.
Call screening and tagging: Screening and tagging services help pinpoint the most important calls and flag them for interaction. They may be bundling with automatic responses.
Call groups: The ability to make group calls is often an add-on for services like VoIP phone plans.
Spam protection: This feature adds a filter to automatically detect and remove spam calls, including automatically ignoring anonymous calls and similar features.
Insurance: Some phone plans may require or provide insurance options as well to protect against liability, hardware damage, etc.
Failover: Failover services convert VoIP services to a cellular connection in case your internet goes down, allowing you to maintain phone services.
Autodialing: Autodialing can automatically call or text long lists of numbers with ways to route the best responses to users for live interactions.
Local number customization: This matches the business area code with the area code of the customer you are calling to make it seem like a local call.
Worried about spending too much on a business line? Try these tips to cut your costs while still keeping the features that you need.
Choose VoIP: A traditional business line with a new phone jack isn’t necessary in today’s online world. VoIP is an effortless way to cut initial costs and focus on monthly subscriptions.
Stick with one line: With features like call waiting and other call management, a small business rarely needs more than one business line.
Cut down on the add-ons: We listed a lot of add-ons, but only a few are required for a business line. Stick to the vital add-ons like voicemail and text, and avoid those that don’t apply to your business plans.
Buy your own equipment: See if you can modify your plan to ditch the company-provided hardware and purchase your own, especially for VoIP services. You can usually find deals or use a headset that you’re already comfortable with.
Pick the long distance bundle you need: Only pay for long distance if you need it for coast-to-coast communication or calls to other countries. Look for bundles that have only the regions you need, and services that offer North America calls for free.
Bundle phone and internet or business/personal phone plans: Bundling services with the same provider usually unlocks discounts and rebates. Take a look at your current internet and phone providers to see what business phone services they offer and how much you can save when bundling.
Look into yearly contracts: Contracts are sometimes a pain, but a business phone plan is usually a long-term plan, so don’t be afraid to extend your contract for an annual period instead of going month-to-month. There are usually discounts to be had.
Take a close look at your bill: Look at the details for every charge and add-on. You can often find unnecessary charges or services you can drop and contest to streamline your bill and save money.
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to costquotes@angi.com. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.
For the average home office, you should only need one line. It’s uncommon to need more than one business line for a small or starting business. The exception is for the hard workers who manage multiple businesses out of their home and want a separate line for each to keep everything separate. In that case, it’s relatively easy to add another line with VoIP, but significantly more expensive for an analog/hardwired phone system.
Many VoIP solutions advertise themselves for a team or office, which can cost thousands of dollars. But if you look for small business VoIP solutions, you can find many that offer a single line fit for a home office or sole proprietorship. That can include companies like RingCentral, OpenPhone, and even Zoom—along with traditional phone service providers you may already be using.
VoIP phone services are so common and affordable that it’s unlikely you’ll need a hardwired business phone. Some people may want to avoid VoIP services for reasons of online privacy or to make sure network outages never affect their calls. Otherwise, it’s rare to use an analogy or hardwired system for your first business line.
Yes, you can add a business line to your personal phone service. Adding more lines is a common choice and you should consider how many lines you need when first choosing your service. However, it’s common for home businesses or small offices to only need one line, especially when starting out.
It’s a good idea if you receive regular calls from customers, clients, or other important contacts. If phone calls are a daily occurrence for your business, no matter the field, then a separate business line will help you keep things organized. It also gives your business a more professional appearance, improves the security of sensitive business information, can help you manage costs more accurately, and may even be a good idea on the legal front.
