TalkRoute VoIP Review 2024

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Overview

TalkRoute at a Glance

What is TalkRoute?

TalkRoute is a VoIP service founded in 2011 that’s used by thousands of businesses across the US. It offers comprehensive business plans that include talk, text, and video conferencing, plus features like call recording, call routing, extensions, and more. TalkRoute offers local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, or you can port your business’s existing phone numbers.

TalkRoute is a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses that want an affordable phone service. TalkRoute’s pricing is competitive, and you get many features to help your business communicate internally and with customers.

Larger businesses may find that TalkRoute lacks essential features, such as single sign-on and integration with customer relationship management or helpdesk software.

TalkRoute features

TalkRoute is packed with features. Let’s take a look at everything this VoIP service has to offer.

Desktop, mobile, and web apps

TalkRoute offers apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers as well as iOS and Android smartphones. It also has a web app that you can access on any device. I found the user interface to be streamlined and easy to navigate.

Calling Features

TalkRoute offers all of the calling features most businesses need. 

You’re able to create auto-attendants so that callers receive a custom greeting and menu options when they call. You can have up to 10 menu options per menu and create an unlimited number of sub-menus for complex call routing.

What’s more, you can route calls to any US or Canadian phone number and set up ring groups to have multiple devices ring for an incoming call. You can also set hours for each of your numbers or devices to control how incoming calls should be forwarded.

TalkRoute also lets you add single-digit or multi-digit extensions to make it easy to route calls around your office. Employees can transfer live calls to each other or send a live call to a voicemail inbox. You can even conduct an attended transfer in which one employee speaks with another before transferring a caller.

You can turn on call recording for all calls. TalkRoute offers unlimited storage space for recordings and voicemail inboxes.

Phone numbers

TalkRoute offers local, toll-free, 800, and vanity phone numbers. You can also port your existing business phone numbers. If you decide to leave TalkRoute in the future, you’re free to take your numbers with you.

Text messaging

TalkRoute lets you text customers from any of your business’s phone numbers. You can send up to 500 monthly messages with a Basic plan or unlimited messages with any premium plan.

TalkRoute supports both SMS and MMS messages. Incoming texts can be copied to an employee’s email inbox so messages are never missed.

Video conferencing

TalkRoute includes video conferencing for up to 100 participants at a time. You can chat during meetings, share your screen, launch a virtual whiteboard, or record a meeting. I like that users who don’t have TalkRoute can join a meeting from their browser without downloading any software.

Notably, TalkRoute doesn’t support audio conferencing outside of video meetings.

User permissions

TalkRoute lets you tightly control what permissions your employees have while using the software. For example, you can control which employees have access to call recordings for specific phone numbers or limit which employees can text from a specific number.

Communication analytics

TalkRoute offers detailed data about your calls, including the date and time, duration, caller ID, and more. A built-in analytics dashboard lets you filter through this data to see how much time any employee is spending on the phone and how many calls are going to voicemail.

Virtual receptionist

TalkRoute offers virtual receptionists through Smith.ai as an optional add-on. Virtual receptionists can answer incoming calls 24/7 and route callers to the right employee or voicemail inbox.

Integrations

TalkRoute integrates with Zapier, which you can use to connect TalkRoute to most popular business productivity software. However, this isn’t as seamless as using native integrations and requires a Zapier plan.

Is TalkRoute Safe and Reliable?

TalkRoute uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for all calls, video conferences, and online messages. There’s currently no way to set up two-factor authentication or single sign-on for your account.

TalkRoute has a clear privacy policy that explains that your data is never sold but may be shared with third-party vendors when required to provide services such as data analysis.

In testing TalkRoute, I didn’t have any issues with service outages. Reviews from customers also indicate that downtime is rare. TalkRoute’s Enterprise plan includes a service-level agreement, but its other plans don’t.

How TalkRoute Works

TalkRoute offers a seven-day free trial so you can test out the service and decide whether it’s right for you. You can use any of the TalkRoute apps with a temporary number to test out their features. TalkRoute also offers a live demo so you can explore all of the software’s features and ask questions.

TalkRoute has no contracts or commitments, and all plans are paid monthly. If you decide to switch to another VoIP provider, you can take your TalkRoute numbers with you. So there’s very little risk to giving TalkRoute a try.

How to Get Started With TalkRoute

You can get started with TalkRoute by signing up for a plan online. You’ll need to create a new account with your email, then choose whether you want a local or toll-free number or to port your existing number. After that, just enter your name, company name, and billing information to activate your VoIP plan. I found the whole process takes less than two minutes. 

You can start using TalkRoute right away through the web app or download the desktop and mobile apps. If you need more phone numbers or users for your business, you can purchase those in your TalkRoute dashboard.

All numbers and users are paid monthly, so you can add or remove them at any time in the future. If your business is growing, you can also customize permissions to control which employees can access each phone number your business owns.

After you have all the phone numbers you need, you can set up a greeting and menu for your business’s main phone number, plus record messages for each voicemail inbox. You can also set up hours and rules for call forwarding and turn on call recording. All of these settings are easy to configure using the TalkRoute app.

TalkRoute Customer Service

TalkRoute offers customer support by phone, live chat, and email from 9am-7pm (CT) Monday-Friday and 10am-5pm Saturday. I called and was connected with an agent in under a minute. Connecting to an agent through live chat was equally fast. TalkRoute typically responds to emails within a few hours.

I also found TalkRoute’s online help center to be very useful. It includes FAQs as well as detailed tutorials to help you set up your TalkRoute account. The tutorials are filled with screenshots, so it’s easy to follow the steps.

How to Cancel or Pause a TalkRoute Subscription

All TalkRoute subscriptions are paid monthly, so you’re free to cancel your subscription at any time. There are no long-term contracts at TalkRoute. The company doesn’t offer prorated refunds if you cancel before the end of a month.

Is There a TalkRoute App?

TalkRoute offers apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers and iOS and Android smartphones.

The TalkRoute mobile app lets you place and answer calls, send texts, connect to video meetings, access your voicemail and call recordings, and view your call history. I found that it’s very user-friendly and works a lot like the native phone and text apps on Android.

The mobile app also lets you customize your VoIP system settings. You can record menus and greetings, set up call forwarding rules, and adjust user permissions.

TalkRoute Pricing

How Much Does TalkRoute Cost?

TalkRoute offers four plans that allow for different numbers of users and phone numbers. Higher-priced plans also unlock features like extensions, live call transfers, and call recording.

You can add phone numbers and users to any plan. TalkRoute charges $5 per additional user per month, $5 per additional phone number per month, and $5 per additional voicemail inbox per month.

The Basic plan is an affordable option for small businesses that just need reliable phone service. The Plus and Pro plans offer more features for medium-sized businesses and the ability to transfer calls between employees. You may be able to get more favorable pricing with the Enterprise plan if you have more than 20 employees.

Overall, TalkRoute’s pricing is below the industry average, especially for businesses with 10 or more employees.

What can you do with TalkRoute for free?

TalkRoute offers a seven-day free trial that includes access to all TalkRoute features and a trial phone number. You can’t set up additional phone numbers, but you can explore all of the account settings including call forwarding.

Optional add-ons

• Additional users: $5/user/month

• Additional phone numbers: $5/number/month

• Additional voicemail inboxes: $5/inbox/month

• Virtual receptionist: From $255/month (through Smith.ai)

TalkRoute Alternatives

How Does TalkRoute Compare to Other VoIP Providers?

TalkRoute vs RingCentral MVP

RingCentral MVP is a powerful VoIP platform for large businesses. Its upgraded plans offer tools that TalkRoute can’t match, including webinars, 300+ integrations, and support for multiple office locations. However, RingCentral MVP is pricey, so TalkRoute is a more affordable option for small businesses that don’t need these premium features.

TalkRoute vs Vonage

Vonage charges for its VoIP service based on the number of phone numbers rather than the number of users you have. So it can be more affordable than TalkRoute if you have many employees but only a few phone numbers. Note that while video conferencing is included in all TalkRoute plans, it’s an upgrade with Vonage.

TalkRoute vs GoTo Connect

GoTo Connect offers a contact center add-on that can be important for growing businesses with a large customer base. For most small and medium-sized businesses, however, it’s more expensive than TalkRoute and offers similar features. Text messaging also isn’t unlimited with any GoTo Connect plans.

TalkRoute Visit Site

Bottom Line (Is TalkRoute Worth It?)

TalkRoute is an affordable VoIP service for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers a wide range of tools for managing incoming calls and ensuring that your customers are always connected to the right person. Plus, I like that TalkRoute is reliable and easy to use.

I found that TalkRoute does have some limitations for fast-growing businesses. It lacks integrations other than Zapier and can’t support a call center or audio conferencing. However, it also doesn’t require any long-term commitments. So you can take advantage of TalkRoute’s affordable plans now and switch to a more advanced VoIP service when the time comes.