Your current phone system might still cover the basics — but for many businesses, it’s becoming clunky, unreliable, and costly to maintain. It wasn’t built for today’s remote and hybrid ways of working, and every time the topic of upgrading comes up, the same question stops you in your tracks: “How much is this actually going to cost?”
At Babble, I work with businesses every day that are upgrading from legacy PBX or SIP systems to cloud-based solutions. Some have 5 users, some have 500 — but the goal is the same: build a setup that’s flexible, resilient, and future-ready. Most upgrades are either cost-neutral or result in savings, once you factor in what you're already spending to maintain ageing tech.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand what influences migration costs to a cloud-based phone system, how those costs compare to maintaining a legacy PBX or SIP setup, and what to consider when budgeting.
Most small and medium size businesses don't switch to a cloud-based phone system - known in the industry as UCaaS - because they fear it is too expensive. Especially if you're already paying for on-prem system support, SIP lines, and occasional engineer callouts. The goal for many UCaaS (cloud phone system) migrations at Babble is to deliver a solution that falls within, or is close to, your current monthly spend. You may not even need to increase your telecom budget at all unless you’re scaling up significantly or adding advanced features.
Even then, you're gaining a more flexible and future-ready platform in return. UCaaS is priced as a monthly operational expense (OPEX), making it more predictable than the capital-heavy PBX model, where monthly maintenance costs will fluctuate.
Once you understand the baseline costs, it’s helpful to know what makes some businesses pay more than others, and where you might save.
Your price isn’t just about user numbers—it’s about what you need your system to do, and what you already have in place.
Typically, prices fall somewhere between £20–£35 per user per month. But that’s only part of the picture. While most businesses focus on the monthly cost, it’s also important to consider any initial migration or setup fees, especially if your current system needs upgrades or custom configuration.
There’s no single “sticker price” for migrating to a cloud phone system, because every business starts from a different point. Your total cost will depend on your current setup, how many users you have, what equipment you already own, and whether any upgrades or integrations are needed. In smaller deployments, these setup costs may be minimal or even waived. For larger, more complex rollouts, implementation typically starts around £300 and scales with need, but this is always scoped and agreed upfront.
For example, a 5-user estate agency and a 100-user logistics firm might adopt the same cloud phone system — but they won’t pay the same per user. Larger businesses often already have high-speed broadband and benefit from economies of scale. Smaller teams may pay a bit more per user, but typically need simpler setups.
Most per-user prices include more than just a phone line. They typically cover features like voicemail-to-email, call forwarding, mobile access, and even handset rental. In many cases, training, support, and even basic implementation are bundled in. What matters most is building the right solution around your needs, not forcing you into someone else’s template.
For businesses under 20 users, we typically complete the full switch within 3-4 weeks.
Larger, more complex deployments of 100+ users or multiple sites can take 2-3 months to plan, configure, and launch — especially if there's advanced call routing, analytics, or integrations involved.
Start budgeting and planning at least 1–2 quarters ahead, especially if:
It’s tempting to avoid switching just to “save the hassle.” But legacy systems carry their own risks:
But what about the cost of doing nothing? Every missed call, lost sale, or delayed response adds up — not just in money, but in reputation and reliability. With UCaaS, downtime doesn’t have to take you offline — your team can stay connected from anywhere.
If you’re still unsure whether now’s the right time to move away from your legacy system, start by asking this: What are we already spending, and what are we getting for it?
That £500/month on SIP lines, maintenance, and emergency engineer callouts might seem manageable — until you realise it adds up to £6,000 a year invested in ageing infrastructure that could fail at any moment, taking your phones and your revenue down with it. UCaaS offers a way out of that cycle. It’s about building a more resilient, flexible, and cost-predictable setup for how your team actually works today.
At Babble, we’ll help you make the switch with clarity and control. No assumptions. No one-size-fits-all packages. Just a clear plan that shows where you can save, what’s possible, and how to move forward.
You don’t have to make the leap alone. We’re here to guide the process — not pressure it.