Item: Google Voice
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Voice offers phone, text, and voicemail options for personal and company use. While some services may require you to link a paid phone line, there’s no cost to use Google Voice itself. I use Voice for my personal voicemail, but I also implemented it in my office to allow my whole team to have easy access to send and receive text messages through the same number. It’s affordable and efficient.

Pros and Cons

You can use Voice as a voicemail for both a Google line and any lines you may have purchased elsewhere. It has visual voicemail, which is great.
Google Voice allows you to send texts either on a phone or desktop.
It’s free! Whether you’re an individual or a member of an organization, that’s always a plus.

The biggest (and maybe only) weakness Google Voice has is that there’s a cap on how many texts you can send in a 24 hour period, but there’s no warning that you’re approaching your limit.

Return on Investment

Most Voice functions come at no cost, thereby reducing your organization’s net communication spending.
Free text messaging function allows my organization to stay more closely in touch with customers at no cost, boosting ROI.

Alternatives Considered

EZ Texting

I primarily use Google Voice for texting, but I’ve also used EZ Texting for similar purposes. The main difference is that Google Voice excels at individual communications, while EZ Texting is best for mass texts. Google Voice texting does not cost anything, whereas EZ Texting charges per text.

Support Rating

Google makes great products, but on the rare occasion that you have a problem, it’s virtually impossible to get in touch with anyone.

Key Insights

Do you think Google Voice delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Google Voice's feature set?

Yes

Did Google Voice live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Google Voice go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Google Voice again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Google Voice is great for communicating with a relatively small number of individuals. There’s no mass texting ability and, if you do need to communicate with a large number of people on an individual basis, you will quickly max out your daily limit. If you want to text a large number of people, you’ll probably want to invest in a different service or create multiple Voice numbers. I have no qualms about Voice’s voicemail functionality, but phone calls will come at a cost unless you are using Voice as an intermediary for a paid line.

Intuitive, functional, and free!

Overall Satisfaction with Google Voice