There is a lot of competition in the VOIP service market today where it seems like almost everyone is offering VOIP service for your home. You see the ads on TV, you get flyers with your Mastercard statements every month, and it is hard to tell which ones are real and which are simply marketing hype. How can you tell which is the real deal?

To begin with at the very core of it, you need to realize that almost all the VOIP services usually work as advertised. But studies have shown that more than 90% of the time where there is a problem, the problem is not with the VOIP service but really is with the high speed Internet connection of the user, and if that is bad, there is not a VOIP service on the planet that will work well there. If satellite high speed is all you have, don't even think about VOIP because it is almost guaranteed to not work well, if at all.

So if your DSL or cable high speed Internet connection is reliable and stable, then how can you make an informed decision as to which VOIP service gives you the best value? You can start by looking at the feature set, which unfortunately is pretty much the same with all of the major ones, where they include unlimited local and long distance calling within continental US, voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, and three way calling. Really, what else do you really need?

So how else can you make a determination? Look at the price. Now things start to get more interesting, since pricing varies quite a bit for basically the same service, depending on the VOIP provider. From the industry leaders, you have Vonage, Earthlink VOIP and Packet8 which each costs $24.99 per month. You have Comcast and Charter which cost $29.99 per month. All of these providers do a fair amount of advertising, especially Vonage, and it would appear that you, the consumer, is being asked to help pay for their cost of advertising, doesn't it?

You need to be aware of our Editor's Choice Top Pick and Best Pick option for the best VOIP service offering. The cost is $19.99 per month and they provide even more features than the ones mentioned above, since they also include unlimited calling to both Canada and Puerto Rico as well as within continental US. Additionally if you wish to save even more, you have the option to pay for a year upfront, which brings the monthly cost down to less than $17.00 per month.

This company does not spend a lot of money on advertising at Frys or Best Buy or Circuit City, nor on TV ads, nor on worthless flyers in your credit card statements. The money they would have spent on advertising goes to providing you with a better price on your VOIP service. Isn't that the way it should be?

Nobody wants to spend more than they need to and VOIP is no different in that way. If your high speed Internet is reliable and stable, see what we recommend for residential VOIP service and you will see why they have earned our Best Value recommendation.