The VoIP Advisors vs Software Advice
We're one of the two options on this page, so read this with the skepticism that deserves. We've still written it the way we'd want to read it: Software Advice wins some of the rows below, in writing, with reasons.
The short version
- Use Software Advice if — You're shopping for multiple software categories at once and want one matching conversation that covers all of them under a Gartner brand.
- Use us if — Telecom and connectivity is your actual project — phone system, SIP, circuits, SD-WAN — and you want specialists quoting the whole stack, not just the app layer.
- Honestly, either — Nothing stops you from taking their software matches and bringing the phone-system shortlist to a specialist advisor for the telecom half.
At a glance
| Software Advice | The VoIP Advisors | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Gartner-owned software marketplace + phone consultations | Independent telecom advisor and quote broker |
| Scope | Every software category; telecom is one of hundreds | Telecom and connectivity only — 200+ providers |
| How they make money | Vendors pay for matched leads | Carrier-partner commissions when you buy — no client fees |
| The advice | Generalist analysts matching you to paying vendors | Specialists who quote, implement and answer for the outcome |
| Pricing data | Guidance during consultation | Published negotiated-rate benchmarks + renewal tracker |
| After you sign | Match complete; vendor takes over | Advisor accountable through implementation and renewals |
What Software Advice is
A Gartner-owned software-matching marketplace: buyers describe their needs, get a free phone consultation, and are matched to vendors — across hundreds of software categories, business phone systems among them.
Gartner company (acquired 2014). Free to buyers; software vendors pay for qualified leads. Your requirements get matched to vendors in the paying network.
Where Software Advice is better than us
Yes, really — a competitor comparison that never concedes anything is an ad.
- Multi-category coverage. If you need a CRM, a helpdesk and a phone system, one Software Advice conversation covers all three. We do telecom and connectivity, period.
- The Gartner brand and review volume. For buyers who need institutional cover for a vendor choice, a Gartner property carries weight a boutique advisor can't match.
- Speed of vendor contact. Their funnel connects you to vendor sales teams fast — sometimes same day.
Where we're the stronger choice
- Specialist depth. Telecom is one of their hundreds of categories; it's the only thing we do. That shows in the parts of a phone project that hurt: porting, QoS, circuit selection, contract terms.
- We're not reselling your lead. Their matched vendors pay to receive you; our rankings and shortlists come from live deal experience and every provider in the portfolio competes on your quote.
- Connectivity under the phone system. Phones ride on internet circuits — we quote those, plus SD-WAN, security and colo when the project needs them.
- Real pricing data published upfront, plus an advisor who answers for the renewal in year three.
Our honest verdict
If you're buying a stack of software and want one generalist conversation, Software Advice is the right tool and we're not — we'd be a worse version of it. When the project is actually telecom — multi-site phones, SIP, the circuits underneath — a generalist marketplace matches you to vendors; a specialist advisor runs the deal, the porting and the renewal with you. Use them for breadth; use us for depth.
What we'd do today
- Separate your project into software decisions and telecom decisions — they fail in different ways and need different specialists.
- For the telecom half, write down seats, locations, integrations and any number porting (that's the step that breaks timelines).
- Get competing quotes through a telecom advisor so at least two providers bid, with circuits included if bandwidth is marginal.
- Negotiate renewal caps into the contract — year-two and year-three increases are where phone deals quietly get expensive.
Software Advice is a trademark of its respective owner; this page is editorial commentary, not an affiliation or endorsement in either direction. We've written it to be fair — including the rows they win — because a comparison you can't trust is worth nothing to either of us.