Line2 delivers a solid, no-frills business voice over IP (VoIP) service focused on small teams rather than large user pools. But even small customers may miss integrations with third-party apps, as Line2 doesn’t offer them. There’s also no collaboration or video conferencing, which might be a deal-breaker with so many employees now working from home.
Those sound like major dings if you’re shopping for a full cloud PBX, but that’s not the type of service Line2 is selling. This service began as a second number you could add on top of your cell or desktop phone with its own greeting and voice mailbox. Line2 has since grown it to support all the basic features you’d find in a voice-only business VoIP service. So if you’re looking to empower a small team with a software voice client they can use on their desktops or mobile devices, Line2 fits the bill.
But for most small to midsize businesses (SMBs), this basic feature set isn’t enough to challenge our Editors’ Choice winners in this category, RingCentral Office for large businesses and Intermedia Unite for smaller companies.
(Editors’ Note: Line2 is owned by J2 Global, the parent company of Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag.com.)
Line2 Pricing and Plans
Line2 has changed its pricing since our last review. Currently, there are three pricing tiers. The prices appear low at first glance, but some might still find them a little on the high side considering the features. For instance, the entry level Starter plan begins at $14.99 per user per month. That’s roughly the same price as Freshcaller. Line2 provides unlimited calls and texts at this tier, while Freshcaller gives you only 1,000 incoming minutes per month. Then again, Freshcaller is aimed at call centers, so it includes a number of features that Line2 lacks, especially around call routing.
The next level is the Growth plan, and it runs $19.99 per user per month, adding an auto-attendant and a call scheduler to the features you’ll find in the Starter package. Call scheduling lets you automatically forward calls based on the time of day.
At the top end is the Business tier, which costs $24.99 per user per month. It includes call recording, voicemail transcriptions, and analytics-style reporting. However, that price is only three dollars less than the entry level price of our small business Editors’ Choice winner, Intermedia Unite, which offers a much longer list of features, especially around conferencing and third-party integrations with apps like Microsoft Teams and Slack.
So while Line2’s pricing is lower than many of the other players, some of its competitors do offer significantly more features for only slightly more money.
The Line2 User Experience
Features aside, Line2 probably offers the easiest setup process of any VoIP product we’ve reviewed. Part of that is because this is a software-only solution. The only hardware option you’ve got is a desktop PC or a mobile device, like a smartphone or tablet.
Desktop users can download a Line2 softphone client for either Apple macOS or Microsoft Windows, and there are also dedicated mobile apps available for Apple iOS and Google Android. Install the softphone, login with your user credentials, and you’re all set. Since Line2 is built mainly for small user groups, you don’t need to worry much about optimizing your network, which makes setup a lot easier.
And while Line2 lacks integration with third-party apps, it does allow syncing your contacts with a Google Workplace account or Microsoft Outlook client. This isn’t bi-directional, so you can’t add or edit contacts from Line2 and see them reflected in either Google or Microsoft. But you can add an unknown phone number to whichever account type you’ve got linked. You’ll need to enable the sync feature in Line2 and then login to your Google or Microsoft account to start the process.
The desktop client looks essentially like a regular phone’s dial pad, so it’s familiar and easy to learn. There are all the usual buttons for Conference calling, Hold, Mute, and Transfer. There’s also a Merge button that lets you merge calls to add more people. You can add up to 99 callers this way.
The client includes texting, which is unlimited, supports team texts, and works on both desktops and mobile devices. There’s also faxing, but this is limited to receiving faxes on your assigned number and then having them emailed to your inbox. Call recording and voicemail transcription require an upgrade from the basic account.
Line2 System Administration
Since it’s not intended to support large user pools, Line2’s administration features are fairly basic. You’ll perform all routine user administration using the admin portal. Once logged in, you’ll have access to all the users associated with your account.
The Phone System section is where you can add custom greetings and manage your account’s phone numbers. Line2 organizes phone groupings as a new Phone System. A unique phone number identifies each Phone System and these can be toll-free.
As you’d expect, Line2’s reporting is sparse in the basic version, but you can upgrade to the analytics option if you need more. Basic reporting consists of call usage by phone number, extension, or user. The only available customization is by date range. Since small teams likely won’t need extensive analysis of their phone usage, that should suffice for most customers.
Can Basic Voice Work for You?
Line2 supports all the basic telephony functions you’d expect from a desktop phone with texting, some contact integration, and limited faxing thrown in. So the question you’ll need to answer is whether that’s enough for you. If you need the advanced call routing, collaboration, and video conferencing that more robust services offer, then you should opt for one of those, notably our business VoIP Editors’ Choice winners, Intermedia Unite or RingCentral Office. But if you’re looking for something with a short feature stack that’s easy to learn and quick to configure, Line2 is a good bet.
