Why Smart Teams Switch from Vonage to Clerk Chat

Vonage’s advertised price is just the beginning. The “Advanced” plan starts at $24.49 per user/month, but must‑have features like call queues, call recording, or AI virtual assistants cost an extra $4.99–$49.99 per month. Vonage also locks you into a one‑year contract and charges an early‑termination fee if you leave. Clerk Chat charges $10/user/month for unlimited messaging, AI and RCS with no hidden fees or long‑term commitments.

For a team of 10 users, Vonage’s base cost and common add‑ons add up to about $5,034/year. The same team on Clerk Chat pays from $1,000/year, saving over $3,800, or ~70 %. Even without add‑ons, Vonage’s base rate still costs nearly twice as much as Clerk Chat, so larger teams save even more over the course of a year.

Yes. Every Clerk Chat plan includes unlimited SMS and RCS texting. Vonage treats messaging and AI as optional extras – their AI assistant and business inbox are add‑ons and customers have seen texting suspended entirely during 10DLC issues.

Vonage’s implementation of 10DLC has been plagued by miscommunication and security lapses. In May 2024, customers at George Mason University could not send or reply to text messages for four days because Vonage told them their 10DLC registration was approved when it wasn’t. Later in September 2024, Vonage paused all U.S. SMS messaging for nearly three months after a phishing incident. Clerk Chat handles 10DLC for you and secures approval in under 48 hours so you can start texting immediately.

Clerk Chat customers get personal, responsive support from real people. There’s no phone tree and no endless hold music; our team typically responds within minutes. Vonage users complain about hour‑long waits in chat queue and unhelpful or unresponsive agents – one long‑term customer described the support as “lazy and irresponsible”. When something goes wrong at 2 AM, you’ll be glad you chose Clerk Chat.

Yes. Many customers are trapped in Vonage’s one‑year agreements. Clerk Chat offers month‑to‑month plans with no commitment, and our onboarding specialists can help you port numbers and messaging campaigns without downtime. Reach out to sales@clerk.chat and we’ll design a migration plan that avoids early‑termination penalties wherever possible.

Absolutely. Clerk Chat supports number portability from major carriers and even hard‑to‑move channels like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Twilio or Bandwidth. Vonage customers often report that they cannot bring existing numbers and that Vonage has discontinued its SMS offering, leaving them without a texting channel. Switching to Clerk Chat means you keep your numbers and gain reliable, modern messaging.