If you’ve started looking at VoIP phone systems for your Irish business, you’ve probably noticed that pricing is hard to compare. Some providers charge per user, others per simultaneous call. Some quote monthly, others annual-only. Some advertise a low headline price and add on costs for features you’d expect to be included.
This guide explains how VoIP pricing actually works, what you should and shouldn’t be paying for, what hidden costs to watch for, and what a fair price looks like for an Irish SMB in 2026.
How VoIP Providers Charge: The Main Models
Per-User Pricing
The most straightforward model. You pay a monthly fee per person who uses the system — each user gets an extension, can make and receive calls, and has access to the features included in their plan tier.
This is the easiest model to budget for because the cost scales predictably with headcount. A 10-person team paying €15/user/month costs €150/month. A 20-person team costs €300/month. No surprises.
Watch for: Per-user pricing sometimes excludes features that seem basic — call recording, voicemail to email, or CRM integration may be add-ons rather than included. Always check what’s in the plan, not just the headline price.
Per-Simultaneous-Call (SC) Pricing
Instead of per user, some providers charge based on how many calls can happen at once. A 10 SC licence means 10 calls can be active simultaneously across the whole system — regardless of how many users you have.
This model can appear cheaper for larger teams where not everyone is on the phone at the same time. But it’s harder to estimate accurately, and if you underestimate your simultaneous call volume, call quality or availability suffers.
Watch for: This model is common with self-hosted or reseller-deployed systems where implementation and hosting costs are separate from the licence fee — the total cost of ownership is often significantly higher than the licence price suggests.
Bundled Plans (Flat Fee)
Some providers offer a flat monthly fee that covers a set number of users, numbers, and minutes — designed for predictability. These work well when your usage fits neatly into the bundle, and poorly when it doesn’t.
Watch for: Overage charges. If you exceed the bundled minutes or user count, the per-unit cost on overages is often significantly higher than the base rate.
What Should Be Included as Standard
A fair VoIP pricing structure includes these features at the base plan level — not as paid add-ons:
Core features that should always be included:
- Inbound and outbound calling
- IVR / auto-attendant
- Call routing and hunt groups
- Voicemail to email
- Mobile and desktop apps
- Business hours and time-based routing
- Call logs and basic analytics
- Free Irish number porting
Features that are reasonably charged as plan upgrades:
- Omnichannel messaging (SMS, WhatsApp, web chat)
- CRM and helpdesk integrations
- Call centre queues and supervisor tools
- AI transcription
- Advanced call recording storage
Features that should never be charged separately:
- Number porting (this should always be free)
- Setup fees for a standard cloud deployment
- Basic technical support during business hours
- Access to the mobile app
Any provider that charges to port your existing Irish number is out of step with the market. Number porting should be included free as standard — it’s your number, not theirs.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
Implementation and Setup Fees
Some providers — particularly those deployed through resellers — charge a one-time setup fee on top of the monthly plan. This can range from a few hundred euros for a small team to several thousand for a larger deployment.
With a fully managed cloud provider like Dromlik, standard setup is included. The exception is complex integrations — for example, a Microsoft Teams integration that requires significant configuration work may carry a one-time professional services fee, quoted before any work begins.
Reseller Margin
If you’re buying through a reseller or IT partner rather than directly from the provider, you’re typically paying a margin on top of the provider’s list price, plus the reseller’s hourly rate for any configuration changes or support calls. Over a year, this can add up to more than the underlying software cost.
Hosting Costs
Self-hosted VoIP systems (where the PBX software runs on a server you own or rent) carry hosting costs that don’t appear in the software licence price. Cloud-hosted systems from managed providers include hosting in the monthly fee.
Hardware
If the provider requires proprietary desk phones or headsets, factor this in. A 20-person team needing new desk phones at €100–€200 each adds €2,000–€4,000 to the cost of switching. With a provider that works with any SIP-compatible hardware — or no hardware at all, using softphone apps — this cost disappears.
International Calling Rates
Most plans include Irish landline and mobile calls, but international calls are typically metered separately. If your team makes frequent international calls, compare per-minute rates across providers — they vary significantly.
Contract Length and Exit Costs
Annual plans typically cost 15–20% less than monthly plans, which is a genuine saving. But some providers offer only annual contracts with no monthly option, which means you’re committed before you’ve fully evaluated the system. Always confirm whether a monthly option exists, and what the exit process looks like if you decide to leave.
What VoIP Costs at Different Team Sizes
Using Dromlik’s pricing as a concrete Irish benchmark. Note that add-ons — AI Receptionist, call recording upgrade, and AI transcription — are charged per system, not per user, so their cost doesn’t increase with headcount.
Sole Trader or 2–5 Person Team
Recommended: Nucleus plan Cost: €15/user/month (monthly) or €12/user/month (annual) What you get: Full business phone system — calling, IVR, routing, voicemail to email, call recording, mobile and desktop apps, Teams integration Local Irish number: +€5/month per number Total for a 3-person team: €45/month on monthly billing, €36/month on annual
5–20 Person SMB
Recommended: Nucleus or Orbit depending on CRM and messaging needs Nucleus cost: €15/user/month monthly / €12/user/month annual — core telephony for teams that primarily need calls and routing Orbit cost: €27/user/month monthly / €22/user/month annual — adds omnichannel messaging (SMS, WhatsApp, chat), CRM integrations, call centre queues, and AI transcription Total for a 10-person team on Orbit: €270/month on monthly billing, €220/month on annual Add AI Receptionist (system-wide): +€100/month regardless of team size
20–50 Person Business
Recommended: Orbit Total for a 30-person team on Orbit: €810/month monthly, €660/month annual With AI Receptionist and call recording upgrade: €950/month monthly, €800/month annual
Dromlik’s AI Receptionist (€100/month), call recording upgrade (€40/month), and AI transcription upgrade (€20/month) are flat system-wide costs — they don’t increase as your team grows. For larger teams, this makes them increasingly cost-effective per person.
50+ Person Organisation
Recommended: Orbit with call recording upgrade and AI transcription Core cost for 50 users: €1,350/month monthly, €1,100/month annual AI Receptionist: +€100/month (system-wide) Call recording upgrade: +€40/month (system-wide) AI transcription upgrade: +€20/month (system-wide) Total with all add-ons: €1,510/month monthly, approximately €1,260/month annual
The Real Cost of a Cheap Phone System
The lowest-priced option isn’t always the cheapest in practice. A few scenarios where cutting costs on a phone system ends up costing more:
A system your team can’t configure themselves. If every change — a new routing rule, an updated greeting, a new user — requires a support ticket or a reseller call, those hours add up. A slightly more expensive system that’s genuinely self-service, or one where the provider manages changes for you, is often cheaper in total.
No CRM integration. Manual call logging for a 10-person sales team adds 20–30 minutes per person per day. At an average fully-loaded cost of €25/hour, that’s over €1,000/month in wasted time — far more than the cost difference between a basic plan and one with CRM integration.
Missed calls due to poor routing or no AI coverage. In sectors where a missed call is a missed lead — trades, professional services, restaurants, estate agents — the cost of poor call handling is measured in lost revenue, not monthly fees.
A Checklist Before You Sign Up
Before committing to any VoIP provider, confirm the following:
- ☐ Is number porting free, and do they manage the process for you?
- ☐ Are Irish local numbers available across the area codes you need?
- ☐ Is data hosted within the EU?
- ☐ Is there a monthly billing option, or is it annual-only?
- ☐ What are the exit terms?
- ☐ Is setup included, or is there an implementation fee?
- ☐ Is technical support included, or charged per incident?
- ☐ Does the mobile app work on iOS and Android without additional cost?
- ☐ Is call recording included, or a paid add-on?
- ☐ Is there a free trial before you commit?
Dromlik’s Pricing at a Glance
| Nucleus | Orbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | €15/user/month | €27/user/month |
| Annual billing | €12/user/month | €22/user/month |
| Irish local numbers | €5/month per number | €5/month per number |
| Number porting | Free | Free |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| AI Receptionist | +€100/month (system-wide) | +€100/month (system-wide) |
| Call recording upgrade | +€40/month (system-wide) | +€40/month (system-wide) |
| AI transcription upgrade | +€20/month (system-wide) | +€20/month (system-wide) |
| Extra AI minutes | +€80 per 200 mins | +€80 per 200 mins |
| Free trial | 7 days | 7 days |
See the full pricing breakdown at dromlik.ie/pricing.
Get a clear picture of what it costs for your team
Talk to the Dromlik team about your team size, call volumes, and integration needs — we’ll give you an exact monthly figure with no hidden extras.
