Google Voice vs Quo (formerly OpenPhone): which business line fits a contractor

Google Voice or Quo: what is the real difference?

Google Voice is a calling add-on for companies that already run on Google Workspace. Quo is a standalone business phone and texting app. Both give each user a business number on their cell phone and computer, and both transcribe voicemail. They part ways on two things a contractor feels quickly: what you can do with texting, and what the true monthly bill is once Workspace is counted.

Google writes Voice's texting rules for one-to-one conversations. If you plan to send appointment reminders, review requests or seasonal texts from software, Voice is the wrong line for it. Quo sells texting to businesses outright, publishes the carrier registration fee, and sets its limits in a fair-use policy.

Everything below comes from Google's and Quo's own pages, terms and help articles, or from review sites, all read on October 31, 2026. All prices are US list prices, before tax.

What does Google Voice really cost?

Google's Voice page lists three business plans:

• Starter, $10 per user a month: up to 10 users, unlimited domestic calling and US texting, call transfers, three-way calling, call recording and desk phone support.
• Standard, $20: unlimited users, auto attendants, ring groups with call queuing, Gemini call notes, eDiscovery and SIP Link.
• Premier, $30: adds automatic call recording, transcription and AI notes, international billing locations and BigQuery reporting.

The page says business plans require a Google Workspace plan billed separately. Workspace's pricing page showed Business Starter at $7 a user a month, Standard at $14 and Plus at $22, under a toggle labeled as saving 16% with a one-year commitment, and lists Voice under add-ons sold separately. So the floor for a business user is about $17 a month: $7 for Workspace plus $10 for Voice Starter. An auto attendant and ring groups, which a company with an office line usually wants, mean Voice Standard, or about $27 a user with Workspace Starter. Workspace offers a 14-day trial, and new customers may see introductory discounts.

The same page also shows plans for individuals: a free Basic plan that needs an existing mobile number, Starter at $10 a month, and Standard at $10 a month for six months and $20 after. Those are personal accounts, not a team phone system.

What does Quo cost?

Quo needs no other suite. Its pricing page shows Starter at $15 per user a month billed annually or $19 billed monthly, Business at $23 or $33, and Scale at $35 or $47. Starter gives each user a local or toll-free number, calling and texting to the US and Canada, voicemail transcripts and manual recording. Business is where call transfers, phone menus, custom ring orders, automatic recording, AI call summaries and HubSpot and Salesforce connections arrive. Additional numbers run $5 a month each, and the free trial lasts 7 days.

For a like-for-like line with a phone menu, compare Quo Business at $23 a user on annual billing with Google Voice Standard plus Workspace Starter at about $27. For a bare number with calling and texting, Quo Starter at $15 sits just under Voice Starter plus Workspace at $17. If your company already pays for Workspace for email, the Voice add-on is the only new cost, and Google gets cheaper.

What are the texting rules on each?

This is where the two diverge most.

Google Voice. Google's acceptable use policy says not to send spam, large numbers of commercial messages or automated messages, and lists sending messages through an automated process, such as a script, among the examples. Its texting help page says group texts can include up to 7 other people, that texting on paid subscriptions is available only in the US, and that sending the same message to many people, sending links or sending many texts in a short time can get you blocked for about 24 hours, with suspension for repeat behavior. Section 8.9 of the service terms Google applies to Workspace, last modified on October 12, 2026, lets Google block messages it determines are used for bulk, automated or unsolicited commercial messaging. We found no 10DLC registration step or fee on Google's pages.

Quo. Texting to US and Canadian numbers is unlimited under Quo's fair use policy, which sets no numeric cap, though Quo reserves the right to impose limits and charge overages. The policy bans cold messaging, texts without consent and opt-out wording, and auto-dialers. Business texting registration is priced on the pricing page: $19.50 one time for the carrier review, then a monthly messaging fee of $1.50 to $3 depending on use case. Automated texts sent through its API, Zapier or Make cost a cent per segment.

So the line to draw is simple. A one-person shop that texts customers back by hand can live with Voice's rules. A company that wants missed-call texts, reminders or review requests going out from software needs a line built and registered for business texting. Our guides to 10DLC registration and texting consent rules cover the rest; they are general information, not legal advice.

What happens to the number if you switch?

Google Voice. Section 8.5(b) of the Workspace service terms lets you ask for your numbers to be released to another provider and makes you responsible for porting fees. Under section 8.5(b)(ii), a Voice number that hasn't been ported out before the user's license ends or expires may be released, and 8.5(a)(iv) says inactive numbers may be removed from your account. Google's porting help page says Workspace users should contact their administrator to port a number, that personal accounts pay $3 for unlocking a number (free if it was ported in), and warns that a number which began on Google Voice may be refused by some other services. The order matters: start the port while the Voice license is active, and cancel afterward.

Quo. Quo's port-out article only lets paid, active accounts move a number out, and not during the trial. After you submit a form, Quo says it replies with the account number and PIN for the receiving carrier within 24 to 48 business hours, and most transfers finish in 1 to 14 days. Quo's pages give different holding periods after a cancellation: 60 days on the pricing FAQ, a 30-day maximum (14 days after failed payments) in the subscription article, and no more than 45 days in its terms. Those terms also set a 30-day window to request a data export after termination.

Our guide to what happens to your phone number when you cancel covers the same question for other vendors.

What do reviewers say?

Google Voice has a large rating base in Apple's App Store: 4.3 out of 5 from 62K ratings on October 31, 2026. Its Trustpilot page is small and unclaimed, with a 2.8 TrustScore from 9 reviews; recent complaints there describe failed identity checks, support that is hard to reach, autopay failures and voicemail playback with no sound.

Quo had a 4.2 TrustScore on Trustpilot from 1,122 reviews, 72% of them five-star and 19% one-star, and it replies to every negative review. Reviewers praise quick setup, a clear app and helpful support staff. Complaints in October 2026 mention service interruptions, unreliable outbound texts, slow answers on a refund and support that is hard to reach by phone.

Which should you choose?

Choose Google Voice if your company already runs email and calendars on Workspace, you text customers one at a time by hand, and you want calling managed from the same admin console as your email accounts.

Choose Quo if you plan to send business texts from software (reminders, missed-call replies, review requests), you don't use Workspace, or you want a documented port-out process and published texting fees.

Either way, put the number and the admin login in the company's name, write down the port-out steps, and check the business phone number guide before you choose an area code.

Or skip the setup work: our business phone service puts the number in your company's name, with routing, missed-call text back and texting registration done.

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