VoIP Add-Ons Cost: What You Really Pay for Extra Features

When you sign up for a VoIP add-ons cost, extra features you pay for on top of your base VoIP plan, like call recording, auto attendants, or advanced analytics. Also known as VoIP feature tiers, these aren’t optional luxuries—they’re often the reason your monthly bill spikes without you realizing it. Most providers advertise low base rates, but then lock you into paying for everything that makes the system actually useful. You think you’re getting a cheap phone system, but then you need call recording for compliance, an auto attendant to handle after-hours calls, and call analytics to track team performance. Suddenly, your $15/month plan turns into $60—with no clear breakdown of what each piece costs.

It’s not just about the price tag. The real problem is SIP trunking, the backbone that connects your VoIP system to the public phone network. Some providers bundle it in, others charge per channel. If you’re a small business with five lines, you might pay $10 per trunk. But if you scale to 20 lines, that’s $200 extra—just to keep calls flowing. And don’t get started on call recording, a common add-on that stores every call for compliance or training. Some providers charge per minute recorded. Others charge per storage gig. One company I talked to paid $300 a month just to keep 600 hours of recordings—because they didn’t realize they could set retention limits.

These add-ons aren’t bad by themselves. Auto attendants save hours of receptionist time. Call queues reduce customer frustration. But you’re being sold them as if they’re free upgrades. In reality, they’re profit centers for your provider. The best way to fight back? Know what you actually use. If you don’t need call analytics, skip it. If your team never uses voicemail-to-email, turn it off. And always ask: is this feature included in the base plan, or is it a pay-per-use add-on? The difference can be hundreds a year.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of every VoIP feature ever made. It’s a real-world look at the add-ons that actually matter—and the ones that are just noise. From EHS cables that control your headset to Wireshark filters that expose hidden network issues, these posts cut through the marketing fluff. You’ll see how overage charges sneak in, how SRTP encryption affects performance, and why porting your number can cost more than you expect. No theory. No jargon. Just what you pay, why you pay it, and how to stop paying for things you don’t need.