When moving your business from a traditional phone landline system to VoIP telephony, you generally get two choices – VoIP and SIP trunking. While both systems provide similar internet-driven VoIP calling for the entire network, some factors differentiate them, making it difficult for companies to choose the best approach.
We know how understanding the nuances and distinctions between these two technologies is crucial for businesses seeking to optimize their communication infrastructure.
In this article, we are going to look into the key differences between SIP trunk and VoIP, giving small businesses clear insights which are necessary to make informed decisions regarding their telecommunication strategies.
What is VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol is a form of phone-system technology that enables users to make calls over the Internet. Compared to olden times public-switched telephone networks (PSTN) which make calls through wired landlines, VoIP powers communication by transmitting the data packets wirelessly or via Ethernet.
Over time, VoIP has become increasingly popular among businesses of all sizes because of its cost savings, flexibility, and advanced features, making it a preferred choice for modern telecommunication solutions.
What is SIP trunking?
It is a phone-system structure which links the IP PBX system with both PSTN and the internet, enabling users to call any phone with just an internet connection. For teams that understand SIP trunking to an extent where they know the intricacies of SDN vs SD WAN, it is a known fact it is SIP that powers VoIP to happen by enabling IP PBX system to connect SIP protocol and this VoIP to PSTN.
VoIP vs SIP trunking: The best of both
To understand the difference between SIP trunking and VoIP better, we will need to look into their best offerings.
VoIP pros
- Easy setup
A hosted PBX VoIP service makes it easy to set up a VoIP phone system. With a cloud-hosted PBX system in place, the VoIP provider only has to maintain the PBX, comprising hardware and software upgrades. The fact that the system is not on-premise makes your system up and running in minutes.
- Affordability
VoIP tends to save costs in a number of manners – by eliminating monthly PSTN landline charges, offering unlimited calls through the internet, and by having other money-saving features in place such as routing and conference calling.
- Scalability
By enabling you to add or remove users while managing phone numbers and making it easy to make calls through the internet, VoIP systems establish themselves as more scalable than the legacy PBZ landline systems. They also help avoid the complexities with PRIs which connect landlines to PSTN.
- Third-party integrations
VoIP systems make it easy to combine voice calling with tools like collaboration apps, CRMs, and calendar scheduling apps. Most of the VoIP providers come with a dashboard which combines multiple tools on one interface, enabling agents to work together, serve customers, and get relevant information in one place.
SIP trunking pros
- Multiple add-on features
The majority of the SIP trunking providers offer multiple add-on features like number porting, toll-free numbers, call recording, local numbers in custom areas, etc. The toll-free numbers that you get in the VoIP system help you make and get phone calls at no cost to the customer.
- HD quality
SIP trunking providers use superior-quality codec software that doesn’t detect but also transmits a range of audio frequencies comprising HD voice.
- Countless domestic calls
When you invest in SIP trunking, you usually pay a monthly subscription of pricing per user every month with unlimited callings. If your team has high requirements for outbound and inbound domestic call volumes, you can save a lot of money through SIP trunking compared to any landline phone provider.
- Zero additional hardware
If you opt for a virtual SIP trunking, you will not need any additional hardware – just an IP PBX system and internet connection. Additionally, the team will not also need any phone lines or handsets.
Now that we have looked into the basics of SIP trunking and VoIP, let us get down to the comparison between the two commonly used communication models.
| Factors | SIP trunking | Cloud-hosted VoIP |
| Features | Toll-free phone numbersCall recordingCall analytics | Auto attendant Internal team charsQueuing |
| Communication modes | SMSVoIP telephony | SMSVideoVoIP telephony |
| On-premise hardware requirement | IP PBX | None |
| Integrations | CCaaS, UCaaS, and CPaas | CCaaS, UCaaS, CRM, and Calendar apps |
| Installation complexity | Need professionals support | No experience needed |
To sum up: SIP is a phone-system setup which enables the IP PBX system to make VoIP calls through the internet or PSTN, on the other hand, VoIP is about making calls through the internet.
Going by the comparison chart that we looked into above, cloud-hosted VoIP looks like a better choice for a business. But is this finding accurate? Should businesses dismiss SIP trunking in their VoIP adoption? Let us answer these questions for you in the next section.
When should you use VoIP?
- You don’t have IP PBX – in this case, you will be better off using a cloud-hosted VoIP provider who doesn’t require additional hardware.
- You don’t have any unified communication platform – VoIP providers can offer a range of features and channels you need, including messaging.
When should you use SIP trunking?
- You have an IP PBX system – in this situation, it will be easy to use it for VoIP with a SIP trunk
- You have communication tools minus voice – your UCaaS or communication tools can use a SIP platform to integrate VoIP features along with the pre-available multimedia communications.
Conclusion
While it is true that VoIP and SIP trunking is not directly comparable – SIP uses onsite IP PBX system while VoIP is telephony over internet, there is another side of the coin where businesses can employ VoIP functions through other methods than SIP trunking.
We hope that this article gave you all the necessary information you needed to make the best decision between VoIP and SIP trunking.
Ultimately, the decision will be based on your prevalent and envisioned hardware tech stack in your business.
