Vonage $9.99 plan for unlimited US and Canada phone calling - are you paying too much for your Vonage connection?

Voip service provider Vonage has a promotion going on for the unlimited US and Canada calling. They are offering their $24.99 plan for just $9.99 per month for life time. Note that this plan is not the world plan so if you are looking for free calls to India or cheap calling to 60 destinations you are slightly out of luck here.

The summary of this plan is:

1. $9.99 per month for unlimited U.S. and Canada phone calls
2. Unlimited local & long distance phone calls in the U.S., Canada, & Puerto Rico
3. E - 411 (enhanced 411)  Directory Assistance included (Vonage extension extends this to your phone)
4. Readable voicemail transcriptions included
5. Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way Calling, and tons of standard features
6. Unlimited incoming and Vonage-to-Vonage calls

How to get this plan

1. Call Vonage customer care
2. Tell them you want to cancel your subscription
3. when they ask for reason tell them it is too expensive and you are porting number to a cell phone
4. You will be given either the $9.99 deal or some other deal.
5. If you are not given the $9.99 deal ask for it and refuse the other deal.

Vonage still is expensive though

Although $9.99 per month for unlimited calling sounds cheap it is still not that cheap. You pay following fees with Vonage and it bumps it up by about $10 per month.

• Regulatory, Compliance and Intellectual Property Fee $1.99
• Emergency 911 and Information Services Fee $1.99
• Federal Program Fee $1.89
• Sales Tax $0.69
• County Operational 911 Fee $0.23
• State 911 Fee $0.19
• State Lifeline Service Charge $0.01
• State P.U.C. Fee $0.01

Better alternatives to Vonage

There are a few alternatives to Vonage that will save you a lot fo money. We list them below and explain the cost:

Google Voice + Obi Combo: One time setup fee of about $50 + Number porting might cost somewhere around $25. No monthly charges or fees after that. Read about free home phone using Google Voice.

Phonepower: 2 lines for home (landline) phone for just $8.99 per month. Read phone power plan details here.

Ooma: Ooma is one time expense of $100-$250 (based on the device) and you can get free voip based home phone. Read more on Ooma home phone.

NetTalk Duo: NetTalk duo has replaced a lot of magijJack devices. They also offer cheap unlimited international calls for many destinations, you can use this to make cheap calls to India. Calls to USA and Canada are always free though (with yearly subscription of $40 a year). Read more on NetTalk Duo.