VoIP Texting: How It Works, Best Practices, and Top Providers

Customers may miss a phone call, but that does not mean the conversation has to stop. Texting gives them the freedom to read and respond when they have time, whether they are confirming an appointment, asking a question, or following up on a purchase.

Voice over Internet Protocol texting brings calls and messages into the same VoIP service. Teams can use a shared business number to support customer communication by continuing conversations after missed calls, sending timely updates, and managing replies without using personal phone numbers.

This guide explains how VoIP texting works, how it differs from cellular SMS, and how businesses can use it while meeting messaging requirements.

What Is VoIP Texting?

Voice over Internet Protocol texting, or VoIP texting, is a method of sending and receiving SMS messages via your phone number provided by a VoIP provider.

Depending on the provider and number eligibility, you can use a new virtual number or text-enable an existing business number. This VoIP text messaging service combines calling and texting within the same business communications platform.

There’s no need to pick up a mobile device or have a dedicated business cell phone. You can use the service from an internet-connected device once your provider activates the required texting capabilities.

How VoIP texting works

VoIP texting uses a virtual phone number to send and receive messages through an internet connection instead of relying entirely on a mobile phone and SIM card. A business can assign the number to one employee or a group of users. Because the VoIP texting system runs in the cloud, authorized employees can access conversations from multiple devices with suitable internet connectivity.

Here is how it works:

1. The user creates a message. The employee opens the provider’s VoIP app or team chat app, enters a phone number or selects an existing contact, and writes the message.
2. The app sends the message to the VoIP provider. The platform transmits the VoIP text over Wi-Fi or another internet connection to the provider’s messaging system.
3. The provider routes the message. The provider sends it through its messaging partners and cellular networks to the recipient’s mobile number. This step lets the customer receive the message through their regular texting app.
4. The platform delivers the reply. When the customer responds, the provider routes the reply to the business’s virtual phone number. The assigned user or group receives a notification, and more than one person may be able to view and manage the conversation.

Although VoIP calls and texts may appear in the same app, voice calls and SMS use different delivery paths. Calls transmit voice data over the internet, while texts must pass through the provider’s messaging infrastructure before reaching the recipient’s mobile network.

Want to learn more about the tech behind VoIP texting? 

Related: What Is VoIP? The Newbie’s Guide to Voice over IP

SMS vs. MMS vs. team messaging

Many VoIP platforms support SMS, MMS, and team messaging, but businesses use each one for a different type of conversation. These options extend beyond the calling functions associated with traditional phone numbers.

Short message service (SMS): Sends text-based messages from a business number to a customer’s mobile number. Like traditional SMS, one SMS segment can contain up to 160 GSM-7 characters. Longer messages and texts that contain Unicode characters may use multiple segments.

Multimedia messaging service (MMS): Lets businesses add images, GIFs, audio, video, and longer text to mobile messages. VoIP providers and mobile carriers set their own limits for file types and attachment sizes.

Team messaging: Keeps employee conversations within the VoIP platform. Team members can send direct messages, participate in group chats, and share files without texting a mobile number.

Messaging type	Used for	Recipients	Supported content
Short message service	Reminders, alerts, confirmations, and short follow-ups	External mobile phone numbers	Text and links
Multimedia messaging service	Product images, visual updates, and other media-rich messages	External mobile phone numbers	Text, images, GIFs, audio, and video, depending on the provider
Team messaging	Internal discussions and collaboration	Employees who use the same platform	Text, links, files, and other supported media

SMS and MMS reach the recipient’s regular mobile messaging inbox. Team messages stay inside the business communication app, where only authorized users can view them.

VoIP Texting vs Traditional SMS Over Cellular

VoIP messaging and cellular SMS both deliver text messages to a recipient’s regular messaging inbox. However, senders create and manage those messages through different systems. The main difference between VoIP SMS and traditional SMS services is in how the sender accesses and manages the service.

With cellular SMS, people send messages through a mobile carrier using a phone number linked to a SIM or eSIM. They usually send and receive texts on a mobile phone through traditional cellular networks, although some carrier services can sync messages across several devices.

With VoIP texting, businesses send SMS and MMS through an internet-based phone platform. Employees can use the company’s business number from desktop, web, and mobile apps without needing a dedicated cell phone. Multiple employees can also manage conversations from the same number and connect message history with other business tools.

In this way, VoIP texting offers greater flexibility for teams that need shared access and streamlined communication.

VoIP messaging	SMS over cellular
Sends messages through an internet-based business phone platform	Sends messages through a mobile carrier
Works across desktop, web, tablet, and mobile apps	Primarily works through a SIM- or eSIM-enabled mobile phone
Lets multiple employees use a shared business number	Usually links one number to one user or mobile line
May offer shared inboxes, assignments, templates, and automated workflows	Mainly supports direct, individual conversations
Connects message history with CRM and customer support tools	Usually stores messages in the phone or carrier’s messaging service
Requires a text-enabled number and may require business sender registration	Uses the mobile number and carrier service linked to the SIM or eSIM
Keeps employees’ personal phone numbers private	May expose a personal number if the sender does not use a separate business line

Recipients do not need a VoIP app to read the message. They receive it as a regular SMS or MMS unless the business uses a separate app-based messaging channel. Services such as Google Voice may also provide internet-based texting, but their business features, number support, and usage policies differ from full VoIP platforms.

Ways To Use VoIP & Texting Together

Businesses can use VoIP texting to reach customers, answer customer inquiries, and support timely customer outreach without relying only on phone calls. We’ve highlighted common scenarios where you can benefit from VoIP texting functionality.

1. Customer support

When you need customers to provide photos or extra information for support cases, asking them to take a photo, send it to their email, download it, and upload it to a support link is a time-consuming process.

The customer who called for help is now doing all the heavy lifting and becoming frustrated. Instead, you could text them a link so they can upload the photo directly. Teams can also use automated responses to acknowledge a request before an employee takes over.

There’s also the major advantage of being able to send photos via MMS messaging. When field engineers, for example, are on-site with a customer, they can send photos directly to technical engineers to diagnose problems, removing the need to bring a piece of equipment back to the office and shortening the overall repair time.

 

2. Prospect follow up

After you’ve spoken with a prospect who agreed to receive texts, send them a message instead of picking up the phone or adding them to your next email campaign. When you hang up after a phone call, select the contact from your address book and start typing personalized messages in your VoIP app. Some platforms also connect with CRM and marketing tools to preserve the conversation history.

The recipient can review the information and respond without answering another call or searching through an email thread.

3. Appointment reminders

If you had the power to decrease the number of missed appointments, you’d welcome it with open arms, right?

It’s one thing for customers or patients to book appointments, but it’s another for them to show up. You can use automated messages or manual texts to remind customers a week, day, or hour before an appointment, decreasing the probability of a no-show.

When you’re on a live call with a patient and book the next appointment, decrease the likelihood of them noting down the wrong time or date by sending an SMS while on the call.

Likewise, you can simplify the steps for booking repeat appointments. When a patient needs to book a new appointment on a regular basis, you can send them a link via SMS so they can choose their appointment time. You save time on making calls that don’t connect, and patients can schedule appointments in their own time.

4. Text back after missed calls

How many times have you received notifications of a missed call only to call back and have nobody answer? Phone tag or voicemail tennis, whatever you call it, is unproductive.

It may also be that you don’t know who the missed call is from. So, you return the call, nobody answers, and you’re none the wiser.

Instead, you can send a text acknowledging that you missed the call and inviting the caller to call back at suggested times. You might have a gap between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., or you may only be contactable during the night shift.

Or, if you’re tied up on another call, send an SMS to say you’re currently engaged and will call them back as soon as you get the chance. You can even use automation features so that when you miss a call, the caller automatically receives a text message.

Benefits of VoIP Texting

While there may be some limitations to using SMS messaging with VoIP numbers, the benefits outweigh them.

The key advantages include providing a better, more personalized customer experience and introducing a multichannel approach to your sales and support processes. At the same time, you’re making productivity gains by achieving the same or better outcomes in fewer calls and clicks. When teams respond with relevant context, the added channel improves customer satisfaction and keeps conversations moving.

• Higher customer satisfaction: Follow up and streamline support, sales, and appointment processes by introducing a written format alongside a verbal communication channel.
• Simplified group texts to staff: Send one-to-many messages instead of informing colleagues about issues or offers one at a time.
• Personalized customer care: Integrate with CRMs, ticketing systems, or any software with open APIs to customize offers and use information such as customer names, company names, and existing products in messages.
• Improved sales engagement: Follow up with prospects who have agreed to receive text messages.
• Lower communication costs: Resolve short questions through text when a phone conversation is unnecessary.

How To Set Up VoIP Texting

Follow these four steps to begin sending texts from your business phone number:

Step 1. Choose a VoIP provider.

First, you need to choose a VoIP phone service provider. Make sure it supports VoIP phone numbers with SMS and MMS, along with the advanced features your workflows require. If you already have a VoIP provider, ask whether it offers a suitable VoIP texting service for your expected use.

If you don’t have a VoIP provider and are currently considering moving from a traditional phone system to the cloud, this is the perfect time to make sure you transition to a single provider for both your calling and texting requirements.

Step 2. Get a new number, or keep your existing one.

Once you’ve chosen a provider, it’s time to think about phone numbers. You have two choices here:

1. Use a new virtual number: Receive a new phone line for your outbound campaigns.
2. Port your existing phone number: Keep your current number by moving it between networks (this may take a few weeks to set up).

Number porting involves asking your old provider to release the number from their infrastructure and your new provider to migrate it into theirs. Depending on the history of your phone number and where it currently resides, this might speed up or delay the process. Make sure you speak to your new provider when preparing to keep an existing number.

Step 3. Complete 10DLC registration.

Businesses sending application-to-person messages through standard U.S. 10-digit local numbers generally need A2P 10DLC registration. Toll-free numbers use a separate verification process, while short codes follow their own approval process.

Using such a number, however, comes with compliance regulations. Businesses submit their brand and campaign information through their messaging provider or campaign service provider for registration with The Campaign Registry. The 10DLC registration process has two parts:

• Brand registration: Businesses must identify themselves to the carrier networks.
• Campaign registration: Businesses must give examples of the messages they’re sending and show proof that consumers opted in to receive their text messages.

When you’re set up with 10DLC, you can begin texting from your VoIP line. 

Step 4. Start sending texts from your VoIP system.

In the NextivaONE app, navigate to Messages and follow the following instructions:

• Tap the Messaging tab.
• Select the blue New message button.
• Select up to 10 contacts if you need to send the same message to multiple recipients.
• Write your message and use the paperclip icon to attach a file.
• Select an outbound number if you have multiple numbers available.
• Select the send icon.
• Nextiva currently supports BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, MP3, WAV, and MP4 attachments up to 1 MB.

VoIP Texting Best Practices

Customers should recognize who sent a message, understand why they received it, and know how to stop future texts. Following these practices can also reduce complaints and lower the risk of carrier filtering. Claims of faster message delivery should still be tested because routing, registration, and receiving carriers affect delivery speed.

Get clear consent before texting

Choose an opt-in process that fits the message type and follows applicable laws. Tell customers which business will contact them, what messages they can expect, how often you may text, whether message and data rates apply, and how they can request support or opt out. Keep a record of the date, source, and wording of each opt-in.

Only use consent for the purpose the customer agreed to. For example, permission to send an appointment reminder does not give you permission to add the customer to a promotional campaign.

Introduce the business and provide an opt-out

Customers may not recognize an unfamiliar number, so name your business in the first message. Include clear opt-out instructions, such as “Reply STOP to opt out,” when required. Set up your platform to recognize common opt-out requests and stop future messages promptly.

Match the number and workflow to the use case

Use one-to-one or shared-inbox texting for customer conversations. For automated or higher-volume messages, use an approved A2P campaign, toll-free sender, or short code. Do not use a standard VoIP texting feature as a replacement for a bulk SMS marketing platform.

Keep messages concise and useful

State the reason for the message and the next step near the beginning. Avoid unnecessary attachments, excessive capitalization, public link shorteners, and several separate texts when one concise message will do. Carriers may treat these patterns as spam, and longer messages may use more billable segments.

Protect customer information

Never ask customers to send passwords, full payment card details, or sensitive health information through ordinary SMS. Apply proper security measures, including limited employee access, multifactor authentication, message-log reviews, and retention periods that meet your privacy and compliance obligations.

Monitor delivery and response data

Track delivery failures, opt-outs, complaints, response times, and unresolved conversations. Remove invalid numbers and investigate sudden changes before sending more messages. If employees share a business number, assign each conversation to one person to prevent duplicate or conflicting replies.

Limitations of Using SMS Messaging With VoIP Numbers

Like all technologies, there are some limitations you must be aware of. Here are the things to consider when deciding whether VoIP texting is right for your small business or enterprise:

• Texting limits and fees: Plans may include a monthly allowance, per-message charges, carrier fees, fair-use limits, or caps based on messaging volume. Businesses contacting people outside their home market should also check international SMS fees.
• SMS functionality: Most VoIP providers support voice calls, but not all include SMS or MMS on every plan or phone number.
• File and format limits: MMS size limits and supported file formats differ among providers and receiving carriers.
• Message segmentation: Long messages may be divided into several SMS segments and counted or billed separately.
• Number support: A provider may support local 10-digit numbers but not short codes, toll-free texting, landlines, or international messaging.
• Recipient consent: Businesses must maintain records of consent for sending text messages for commercial purposes, such as marketing campaigns.
• Carrier filtering: Unregistered campaigns, prohibited content, sudden volume spikes, link shorteners, or poor opt-out handling can cause delays or blocking.
• Internet and platform dependence: This internet dependency means employees need internet access and access to the VoIP app to send or review messages, even though recipients receive ordinary carrier texts.

7 Best VoIP Texting Providers

The right provider should support your messaging volume, preferred channels, business locations, and existing communication tools. Some platforms combine texting with voice calls and team messaging, while others focus on basic SMS or customizable messaging APIs.

The table below compares seven VoIP texting providers by their ideal use case, starting price, and key features.

Provider	Best for	Starting price	Key features
Nextiva	Best overall VoIP texting service	$15 per user/month annually	Business SMS and MMS, voice calls, team messaging, mobile app, and a shared SMS inbox on eligible plans
RingCentral	Larger businesses	Varies by plan	Business SMS and MMS, team chat, administrative controls, and optional high-volume and programmable messaging
Dialpad	AI-powered communication	$15 per user/month annually	SMS and MMS, bulk messaging, team messaging, AI-powered calling features, and desktop and mobile apps
Zoom Phone	Businesses already using Zoom	$16 per user/month annually	Domestic SMS and MMS on eligible plans, business calling, call recording, Zoom Meetings, and app integrations
Google Voice	Basic US business texting	$10 per user/month	SMS from US numbers, business calling, voicemail transcription, call forwarding, and Google Workspace integration
Quo, formerly OpenPhone	Small teams and shared numbers	$15 per user/month annually	SMS and MMS, shared numbers, scheduled messages, automatic replies, templates, and shared contacts
Twilio	Custom messaging workflows	From $0.0083 per US message	Programmable SMS and MMS, messaging APIs, automated notifications, international global coverage, and pay-as-you-go pricing

Nextiva is the best overall option for businesses that want texting, voice calls, team messaging, and customer conversations in one platform. Its plans support different stages of growth, from basic business SMS to shared inboxes that let multiple employees manage customer messages.

RingCentral may suit larger businesses with higher messaging volumes, while Dialpad is a good fit for teams interested in AI-powered communication. Zoom Phone makes sense for companies already using Zoom, and Quo gives smaller teams shared access to business numbers and conversations.

Google Voice covers basic US calling and texting needs but offers fewer automation and international messaging options. Twilio provides greater control over automated messages and custom workflows, although it requires more technical setup than a standard VoIP texting service.

Before choosing a provider, confirm its messaging limits, country coverage, registration requirements, and additional fees.

How to Choose a VoIP Texting Provider

Start with how your team plans to use business texting, then compare the features and costs that support those workflows.

1. Confirm number eligibility and coverage. Check whether the provider can activate texting on your existing local or toll-free number. If you communicate with customers worldwide, verify supported destinations and country-specific restrictions instead of assuming global coverage.
2. Calculate the total messaging cost. Look beyond the monthly subscription price. Compare included SMS and MMS usage, segment counting, overage rates, registration charges, carrier fees, additional numbers, and high-volume messaging costs.
3. Test team workflows. Make sure employees can manage conversations without duplicating work or missing replies. Useful features may include shared inboxes, assignments, internal notes, collision detection, role-based access, scheduled messages, templates, and desktop and mobile apps.
4. Review integrations and automation. Check whether the platform can record messages in your CRM or help desk, send approved reminders, route incoming replies, and preserve the full conversation history.
5. Check compliance support. Ask how the provider manages A2P 10DLC registration or toll-free verification, opt-out requests, consent records, prohibited content, data retention, encryption, and requirements for your industry.
6. Run a controlled pilot. Test the service with a small group before moving all customer conversations. Review outbound delivery, inbound replies, number recognition, MMS quality, conversation handoffs, reporting, and customer support response times.

Experience the Best VoIP Provider For Businesses

Whether you want to improve customer service or lower your missed appointment rate, VoIP texting is the perfect solution for small businesses and enterprises alike.

When looking for a VoIP texting provider, you need someone who has been there and done that. Nextiva brings business calling and SMS into one platform, giving employees a single place to manage customer conversations.

When you choose Nextiva for business SMS as well as VoIP, you benefit from:

• Voicemail transcriptions: Get an email or SMS message with an accurate voicemail transcript.
• Business text messaging: Exchange SMS text messages with customers and team members from your desktop or mobile app.
• App integrations: Sync your business communications with popular CRM, customer support, and team collaboration tools.

Eligible business numbers can be assigned to licensed employees who need texting access through Nextiva’s mobile, web, and desktop apps.

Related: Best Business Text Messaging Tools for 2024 [Free & Paid]

Frequently Asked Questions About VoIP Texting