How Much Does Ooma Cost?
A one-time purchase of the Ooma Telo includes their award winning and extremely popular home phone service which includes free caller-ID, free call waiting, free voicemail and free e911 emergency services. Beyond this there are many questions surrounding how much it costs to use Ooma Telo phone service . This has always been a popular topic and one of confusion due to the fact that they advertise their basic service as ‘free’ but it actually costs something each month.
Questions about the cost of Ooma’s telephone service may seem simple however they aren’t always as simple as one might think because there are multiple tiers of service and most add-on services come at a different monthly rate depending on which tier of service you have chosen. Most of the add-on features are cheaper if you have the more expensive premier service plan rather than the basic service plan. There are also a bunch of extra add-ons available only if you have the premier plan. A lot of these premium features aren’t even available for purchase if you decide not to upgrade from basic to premier.
Is Ooma Basic Service Really Free?
The first of the two tiers is the home basic service which is actually free. When we say free there is of course a caveat. What we mean is that you don’t ever pay Ooma a monthly fee for the service but there are other costs. These costs include your one-time purchase of their VoIP adapter, porting your number, directory assistance, international calling and re-activation if you ever disconnect your service. You also have to pay the mandatory government taxes and fees each month if you have the basic service, which usually amount to $5-$8 per month and are paid to Ooma and collected by local government agencies. There are other fees that can come up from time-to-time not listed above. Please see our chart below for all of the Ooma costs.
How Much Does Ooma Premier Cost?
Ooma Premier is a step above the basic service and costs $9.99 per month. While this may see like a lot compared to free they do offer a significant discount on other fees if you are a paying customer. One example of this is that they waive the $39.99 porting fee if you have the Premier vs Basic Plan. Little things like this add up and make the actual premier cost very similar to the basic monthly cost. It is important to do the math and figure out whether it will actually cost you less or next to nothing to go ahead and pay for the premier plan and get the price breaks. One quick example is if you have an Alaskan phone number you want to port you will pay the porting fee ($39.99) and also the Alaskan number fee (cost of $29.99 per year). Both of those fees could be avoided if you simply upgrade to the yearly Premier plan (cost of $119.88 pe year) With premier you of course have to pay the monthly government taxes and fees because as we all know, you’re not getting out of giving the government even more of your money. For a list of complete Ooma premier costs see our chart below.
How Much Does The Ooma Telo And Other Equipment Cost?
Finally a question that you would expect a straightforward answer for. Well not quite. The Ooma Telo costs $99.99 +$9.99 shipping for a total of $109.98. While this is the price direct from Ooma you can almost always find better deals on the Internet with various big box internet retailers offering special discounts.
The updated Telo version, tabbed the Telo 2, comes in at almost the same price and we were unable to find any significant differences between it and the original Telo device.
In general you do not need any other equipment besides the Telo unit (any regular phone will work). However Ooma does offer various accessories such as an HD headset, bluetooth adapter, wireless adapter, Ooma Phone, etc… Prices for these vary and can be seen near the bottom of the chart below.
How Much Do International Calls Cost?
International calls can be made one of two different ways. Firstly they are offered at very affordable pre-paid per minute rates. For these you have to have credit deposited in your account in order to dial an overseas number and have the call go through. The other option is to purchase an international calling plan which comes with a set number of minutes each monthly.
How Much Does Ooma Cost For Canadian Customers?
Ooma Rates for Canadian customers are exactly the same amount but in Canadian Dollars instead of US Dollars. As far as offerings theirs are almost exactly the same minus a few less international plans to choose from. For Canadian rates see the chart below.
OOMA TELO MONTHLY AND ONE-TIME COSTS (USA Rates) | |||||||||||||||
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Description | Cost | ||||||||||||||
| Basic Service | Free | ||||||||||||||
| Applicable Taxes and Fees | Varies by locale. | ||||||||||||||
| Ooma Care Phone Support | Free | ||||||||||||||
| Ooma Telo VoIP Adapter | $100 MSRP | ||||||||||||||
| Porting | $39.99 per number (free w/Annual Premier subscription | ||||||||||||||
| Number Change | $39.99 per number | ||||||||||||||
| Phone Number or Caller Name Change | $19.99 per change | ||||||||||||||
| Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico Phone Number | $29.99 per year (free w/Annual Premier subscription) | ||||||||||||||
| Directory Assistance | $0.99 per call | ||||||||||||||
| Reactivation/new service fee | $9.99 | ||||||||||||||
| Extended Warranty | $39.99 per year | ||||||||||||||
Calling Plans | |||||||||||||||
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Premium Services | |||||||||||||||
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Accessories | |||||||||||||||
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OOMA TELO MONTHLY AND ONE-TIME COSTS (Canadian Rates) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Cost | ||||||||||||||
| Basic Service | Free | ||||||||||||||
| Applicable Taxes and Fees | Varies by locale. | ||||||||||||||
| Ooma Care Phone Support | Free | ||||||||||||||
| Porting | CDN$39.99 per number (free w/Annual Premier subscription) | ||||||||||||||
| Number Change | CDN$39.99 per number | ||||||||||||||
| Phone Number or Caller Name Change | CDN$19.99 per change | ||||||||||||||
| Hawaii Phone Number | CDN$29.99 per year (free w/Annual Premier subscription) | ||||||||||||||
| Directory Assistance | CDN$0.99 per call | ||||||||||||||
| Reactivation/new service fee | CDN$9.99 | ||||||||||||||
| Extended Warranty | CDN$39.99 per year | ||||||||||||||
Calling Plans | |||||||||||||||
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Premium Services | |||||||||||||||
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Accessories | |||||||||||||||
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