Sipgate vs Google Voice (2026): An Honest Comparison for Calling Germany
May 15, 202616 min readBubblyPhone Team
Verified May 2026 comparison. Sipgate is Germany + UK only (not DACH). Free Starter tariff dead since Sept 2022, partial reversal May 2023 — new customers locked out. Real entry €25.90/mo (2-user min). Google Voice first-party in Germany since Feb 2022.
TL;DR — Sipgate vs Google Voice (2026)
- Sipgate is Germany + UK only in 2026 — not DACH. Austria operations were discontinued on 31 December 2013. Switzerland exists only as a wholesale SIP-trunking service.
- Sipgate's free Starter tariff died on 8 September 2022 for new customers. After backlash, the company reversed on 2 May 2023 for existing customers (who keep it indefinitely) — but new customers are still locked out.
- Real Sipgate entry price: Business S €12.95/user with a hard 2-user minimum = €25.90/month ex-VAT (~$30.30 at 1.17 EUR/USD) or €30.82 incl. German 19% VAT. Solo German founders cannot buy a single seat.
- Pick Sipgate if: you're a German SMB needing full +49 PBX features (landline flat, IVR, call recording, BNetzA-compliant 110/112), 2+ users, want German-language support and GDPR-native AI via Mistral.
- Pick Google Voice if: you're a US-based solo user ($10/mo Voice Starter Personal launched 2025), an already-Workspace team in Germany, or you need numbers in countries Sipgate doesn't cover.
- Pick neither (use BubblyPhone) if: you only need outbound calling to Germany — the Skype Out replacement for the German diaspora and occasional callers. ~$0.05/min landline, no subscription, no 2-user minimum.
Almost every “Sipgate vs Google Voice” comparison article on the SERP gets at least three things wrong. They describe Sipgate as a DACH-region company (it's Germany + UK only since Austria was discontinued in 2013). They claim Sipgate still has a free Starter tariff (only existing customers from before September 2022 keep it). And they say Google Voice isn't available in Germany (it's been on the first-party calling list since the February 2022 European Voice update). This guide corrects all three with verified May 2026 facts, sourced from sipgate.de/preise, workspace.google.com/products/voice, and Google's own Workspace supported-countries page. We also cover something nobody else mentions: Sipgate's AI Assist tier offers a choice between OpenAI EU and Mistralas the underlying LLM — a real GDPR differentiator Google Voice can't match.
Sipgate's 2022–2023 Starter tariff death: the timeline
Sipgate's legacy free Starter / Basic tariff was a meaningful German consumer VoIP option for over a decade — free +49 mobile or landline-style number, pay per-minute outbound. Then:
- 8 September 2022: Sipgate announced the Starter tariff would be discontinued for new sign-ups. The German tech press (teltarif.de, heise.de) covered the move as a controversial pivot away from the consumer market.
- 2 May 2023: After significant customer backlash, Sipgate partially reversed: existing Starter customers as of the announcement date can keep the free tariff indefinitely. New customers remain locked out.
- 2024–2025:Sipgate began progressively culling dormant Starter accounts that hadn't made an outbound call in extended periods. Existing Starter holders who use the line regularly continue to keep it.
- 2026: The only way for a new user to enter the Sipgate ecosystem is either (a) the Sipgate Business product (€12.95+/user, 2-user minimum) for companies, or (b) the separate Satellite app for individual consumer second- numbers.
Most comparison articles still recommend “just sign up for Sipgate's free Starter tariff” — you can't, unless you signed up before September 2022.
Sipgate verified facts (May 2026)
- Founded: 2004 in Düsseldorf, Germany — one of the longest-running independent SaaS phone platforms in Europe. Self-financed (no venture-capital rounds).
- HQ: Düsseldorf. UK office for the British market.
- Geographic footprint: Germany + UK only as of 2026. Austria operations were discontinued on 31 December 2013 following RTR regulatory rulings. Switzerland exists only as a wholesale SIP-trunking service at sipgatetrunking.co.uk (~£12.90 per Swiss number), not a consumer or SMB product.
- Current product line:
- Sipgate Business — the main B2B product (covered below)
- Satellite — separate consumer eSIM second-number app, €4.99/month Flatrate+ tier
- Trunking-only products for SIP integrators in the UK
Sipgate Business pricing (verified February 2026)
| Tier | €/user/mo ex-VAT | Includes | Seat minimum | Real entry cost (ex-VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business S | €12.95 | PBX, voicemail, web/app, call routing | 2 | €25.90/mo |
| Business L | €17.95 | Above + DE landline flatrate, IVR, hunt groups | 2 | €35.90/mo |
| Business XL | €22.95 | Above + EU landline flatrate, advanced PBX | 2 | €45.90/mo |
| Enterprise | Quote-based | Custom contract, SLA, dedicated support | 25+ | Enterprise sales only |
Then add-ons stack on top:
- +€9.95/user/month for DE mobile flatrate (not included in L or XL)
- 3 ct/minute add-on for call recording
- +€9.95/month for AI transcription
- +€19.95/month for full AI Assist (summaries, sentiment, action items) — you choose between OpenAI EU and Mistral as the underlying LLM
German 19% VAT applies on all consumer-billed tiers (Business is billed ex-VAT to VAT-registered companies). For a solo German founder, the real minimum entry to Sipgate Business is €25.90/month ex-VAT or about €30.82/month including VAT— roughly $30 USD at current 1.17 EUR/USD — for two seats you don't need.
Google Voice in Germany — the 2026 facts
For the full Germany picture see our Google Voice in Germany guide. The headline facts:
- Germany has been on Google's first-party Voice calling list since the February 2022 European Voice update. Many German comparison articles are still operating on the “Voice is not available in Germany” assumption that hasn't been true for over four years.
- Workspace Voice tiers in Germany: Starter $10, Standard $20, Premier $30 per user/month — billed in USD even for German customers. Plus Workspace base (~$7/user/month).
- No 0800 toll-free numbers on Voice Germany.
- No SMS on +49 numbers. SMS is limited to US-linked accounts.
- Mobile (06/07) and nomadic (09) numbers cannot be ported in — only PSTN-issued geographic landlines qualify. Most modern German numbers won't port.
- Personal Google Voice and the 2025 Voice Starter Personal are both US-only.
- BNetzA-compliant emergency calling (110/112) via the registered service address, with the standard nomadic-VoIP power-outage caveat.
Side-by-side feature comparison (verified May 2026)
| Feature | Sipgate Business | Google Voice (Workspace, Germany) |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic footprint | Germany + UK only | 14 first-party countries + 20 SIP Link |
| Real entry price | €25.90/mo (2-user min × €12.95) | $10/mo solo (Voice Starter Personal US-only) or ~$17/mo solo Workspace (Germany) |
| Seat minimum | 2 seats hard minimum | 1 seat |
| +49 inbound numbers | Yes — full geographic + 0800 toll-free + mobile via partner | Geographic only (no 0800, no mobile) |
| German number porting in | Full porting (geographic, mobile, nomadic) | Only PSTN geographic; 06/07 mobile and 09 nomadic excluded |
| SMS on +49 numbers | Yes | No (SMS only on US-linked accounts) |
| PBX / call-routing features | Full PBX (IVR, hunt groups, queues, call recording add-on) | Ring groups + auto-attendant (basic) |
| AI features | AI Assist €19.95/mo with OpenAI EU or Mistral LLM choice (GDPR-native) | Voicemail transcription; basic call recording |
| Emergency calling (110/112) | Full BNetzA-compliant routing | Yes, with power-outage caveat |
| Support language | German-language, German business hours | English (German via Workspace partners) |
| Free trial | No free trial; demo on request | 14-day Workspace trial |
Sources: sipgate.de/preise, Google Voice supported countries (official), Voice pricing, teltarif.de coverage of 2022/2023 Starter tariff changes. Last verified May 2026.
Where Sipgate clearly wins
- German number depth. Sipgate issues full +49 geographic (Orts- netzrufnummern), 0800 toll-free (Numero Verde), and mobile numbers via carrier partnerships. Google Voice in Germany is geographic-only with no 0800 and no mobile. For a German SMB that needs to be reached on a proper German business phone setup, this is decisive.
- Real number porting.Sipgate accepts inbound porting of German mobile (06/07), nomadic (09) and geographic numbers per BNetzA rules. Google Voice explicitly excludes European mobile, nomadic and VoIP numbers from porting — most modern German numbers cannot move to Google Voice at all.
- SMS on German numbers. Sipgate supports SMS on +49 numbers domestically. Google Voice supports SMS only on US-linked accounts. For customer-support workflows in Germany, this is a hard requirement Google Voice fails.
- Full PBX features.Hunt groups, IVR menus, call queues, call recording, queue callback, voicemail-to-email. Google Voice Workspace has ring groups and a basic auto-attendant but isn't a call-center product.
- GDPR-native AI via Mistral choice.Sipgate's AI Assist (€19.95/month) lets the customer choose between OpenAI EU and Mistral AI(Paris-founded, EU-sovereign) as the underlying LLM. For German enterprises with DPO scrutiny around US-cloud data processing, the Mistral option is a real differentiator. Google Voice transcription is Google first-party; there's no equivalent LLM choice.
- German-language support and German business hours. Sipgate customer service speaks German natively. Google Workspace support in Germany runs through partner channels and is primarily English.
Where Google Voice clearly wins
- Solo users and 1-seat teams.Sipgate's hard 2-user minimum locks out solo founders, freelancers, individual consultants, and the entire self-employed (Selbstständig / Einzelunternehmen) market. Google Voice starts at 1 seat. The new $10/mo Voice Starter Personal (US users) and the ~$17 all-in Workspace + Voice Starter for German users have no minimum.
- Geographic footprint. Sipgate is Germany + UK only. Google Voice covers 14 first-party countries (US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark) plus 20+ SIP Link countries. If your team has members or contacts in countries beyond Germany and the UK, Google Voice is the broader option.
- Already-paying-for-Workspace. If your team is already on Google Workspace for Gmail, Drive, Docs, Meet, adding Voice is one more line item under the same admin and billing. Sipgate is a separate vendor with separate SSO, billing, and identity.
- Enterprise compliance breadth.Both are GDPR-compliant via DPA. Google Voice adds SOC 2, ISO 27001/17/18, HIPAA BAA support across all paid tiers, and FedRAMP authorisation on Workspace Government. Sipgate is GDPR and relies on the EU-sovereign Mistral angle for the AI-data argument — strong but narrower.
Where both lose — and BubblyPhone fits
The audiences both products fail to serve in Germany:
- Solo users who can't use Sipgate (2-user lock) and aren't in the US for personal Voice.
- German diaspora abroad who want to call Germany cheaply without a German address for service registration.
- Skype Out refugees — Microsoft retired consumer Skype on 5 May 2025. The Skype Out customer who used to top up €10 and call German landlines or mobiles has no clear replacement in either Sipgate (€25.90/mo minimum, 2-user lock) or Google Voice Germany (no SMS, no mobile porting, no 0800).
- Anyone making occasional Germany calls (a few hundred minutes per month) who doesn't want a recurring subscription at all.
For those cases, BubblyPhoneis the right shape of tool. We don't issue +49 inbound numbers, don't do SMS, and don't replace a German business PBX. What we do: pay-as-you-go outbound calling from any browser at ~$0.05/min to German landlines, ~$0.04–0.06/min to German mobiles, no subscription, 30 free minutes on signup, no card required, no app for your relatives in Germany to install. As we positioned in our Aircall vs Google Voice comparison: Sipgate is built for German SMBs of 2+ people. Google Voice is built for Workspace teams or US solo users. BubblyPhone is built for people who just need to dial Germany.
Auf Deutsch:Sipgate und Google Voice sind beide gute deutsche Geschäftstelefon-Lösungen, aber bedienen unterschiedliche Zielgruppen. Sipgate eignet sich am besten für deutsche KMUs mit zwei oder mehr Mitarbeitern, die volle +49 PBX-Funktionen, deutsche SMS und einen deutschsprachigen Support benötigen — mit einer realen Mindestgebühr von €25,90/Monat zzgl. MwSt. Google Voice ist seit Februar 2022 in Deutschland verfügbar (nicht erst seit 2025, wie viele Artikel falsch behaupten) und eignet sich besser für Einzelnutzer, bestehende Workspace-Teams oder international tätige Unternehmen. Für ehemalige Skype-Out-Nutzer, die einfach nur nach Deutschland anrufen wollen, ist BubblyPhone die ehrliche dritte Option — ca. $0,05/Min. Festnetz, ohne Abonnement.
Decision tree: which one is right for you?
Pick Sipgate if:
- You're a German SMB with 2+ people (the hard minimum).
- You need full +49 PBX features — geographic, 0800 toll-free, mobile, IVR, hunt groups, call recording.
- You need SMS on a German number for customer support, 2FA, or marketing.
- You want German-language support and German business-hours coverage.
- Your DPO requires the option to choose Mistral over OpenAI for AI call processing (GDPR-sovereign).
Pick Google Voice if:
- You're a solo user in the US ($10/mo Voice Starter Personal).
- You're a German solo founder or freelancer who can't buy a 2-user Sipgate plan — Google Voice Workspace Starter is ~$17/mo all-in for one seat.
- Your team already runs on Google Workspace and you want Voice as another admin-managed product.
- You need inbound numbers in countries beyond Germany and the UK (one of GV's 14 first-party countries or 20+ SIP Link countries).
- You don't need SMS on the German number or rich PBX features.
Pick neither (use BubblyPhone) if:
- You only need to call Germany, not be reached on a +49 number.
- You're a Skype Out refugee after the 5 May 2025 shutdown.
- You're part of the German diaspora abroad (US, Switzerland, Austria post-2013, Canada, Australia) calling back home.
- You make a few hundred minutes per month and don't want a subscription.
- You're a 1-seat team or a freelancer that Sipgate's 2-user minimum disqualifies.
2026 freshness anchors — what changed since most articles were written
- 8 February 2022: Google Voice expands first-party calling to the European batch including Germany. Most German comparison articles are still operating on the “not available in Germany” assumption that hasn't been true for 4+ years.
- 8 September 2022: Sipgate announces Starter tariff death for new customers.
- 2 May 2023: Sipgate partially reverses — existing Starter customers keep it indefinitely; new customers stay locked out.
- 2024: Sipgate begins progressively culling dormant Starter accounts.
- 5 May 2025: Microsoft retires consumer Skype globally. Neither Sipgate (€25.90/mo lock) nor Google Voice Germany (no SMS, no mobile, no 0800) fills the Skype Out consumer gap. BubblyPhone is the closest fit for the pay-as-you-go-to-PSTN refugee.
- 2025 (mid-year): Google launches the $10/mo Voice Starter Personal plan (US-only). Strengthens Google Voice's solo-user position, doesn't affect the German market directly.
Just need to call Germany?
BubblyPhone is the third option for callers who don't fit the Sipgate or Google Voice model. 30 free minutes on signup, no card required, no subscription, no 2-user minimum, ~$0.05/min to German landlines.
Get 30 Free Minutes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still get the free Sipgate Starter tariff in 2026?
No, not as a new customer. Sipgate killed the Starter tariff for new sign-ups on 8 September 2022. After customer backlash, they reversed on 2 May 2023 — but only for existing Starter customers as of that date. New customers remain locked out and Sipgate has been progressively culling dormant existing accounts. The only path into the Sipgate ecosystem for a new customer in 2026 is Business S at €12.95/user with a 2-user minimum, or the separate Satellite app (€4.99/month consumer eSIM second-number).
Is Sipgate still available in Austria and Switzerland?
No. Sipgate's Austria operations were discontinued on 31 December 2013 following RTR regulatory rulings. Switzerland exists only as a wholesale SIP- trunking service (~£12.90 per Swiss number on sipgatetrunking.co.uk), not a consumer or SMB product. As of 2026, Sipgate operates in Germany and the UK only. Many comparison articles still describe Sipgate as a DACH product — that's been wrong for over a decade.
Why does Sipgate require a 2-user minimum?
Sipgate has positioned its Business product as a team telephony platform, similar to Aircall's 3-seat minimum philosophy. The 2-user floor enforces this at billing time and means solo founders, freelancers, or one-person limited companies cannot use Sipgate Business at all. For solo users, Sipgate now points to its separate Satellite eSIM app (€4.99/month consumer product), but Satellite isn't a business PBX. Google Voice Workspace Starter at $10 with a 1-seat minimum is the more practical solo-user option.
Is Google Voice really available in Germany?
Yes, since the February 2022 European Voice update. Germany is on Google's first-party calling country list (per Google's official Workspace supported-countries page, last verified May 2026). Google issues +49 geographic numbers directly to Workspace customers. Many German comparison articles still claim “Voice is not available in Germany” — this has been wrong for over four years. The actual limitations on Voice Germany are: no 0800 toll-free, no SMS on +49 numbers, and no porting of German mobile (06/07) or nomadic (09) numbers. See our full Google Voice in Germany guide for details.
What's Sipgate's AI Assist Mistral option about?
Sipgate's AI Assist add-on (€19.95/user/month on top of base) provides call summaries, sentiment analysis, action items, and transcription. Unusually, customers can choose between two underlying LLMs: OpenAI EU (US-founded but EU-hosted instance) or Mistral AI(Paris- founded, EU-sovereign). For German enterprises with DPO scrutiny on US-cloud AI data processing, the Mistral option is a meaningful GDPR-sovereign differentiator. Google Voice's transcription runs on Google first-party and offers no equivalent LLM choice.
Can I port my German number from Sipgate to Google Voice?
Mostly no. Google Voice's number-porting requirements explicitly exclude European mobile, nomadic, and VoIP numbers — which means German 06/07 mobile, 09 nomadic, and most modern VoIP-issued geographic numbers cannot be ported in. Only PSTN-anchored geographic landlines from traditional copper carriers qualify, and even then with full Letter of Authorisation paperwork. For most Sipgate customers with modern German numbers, porting to Google Voice isn't a viable migration path.
Does Sipgate support German emergency calling (110 / 112)?
Yes — Sipgate is a fully BNetzA-licensed German VoIP operator with full 110 (police) and 112 (fire / medical) routing per BNetzA's Notruf 2.0 technical regulation, using the registered service address. Google Voice in Germany also supports 110/112 with the same registered-address routing, but with the standard nomadic-VoIP caveat: emergency calls won't work during power, internet, or Voice service outages. Both products comply; Sipgate has a longer operational track record in Germany specifically.
Did Skype shutting down change my options for calling Germany?
Yes. Microsoft retired consumer Skype on 5 May 2025. Skype Out was the standard cheap way to call Germany from abroad — you topped up Skype Credit and dialled. Microsoft Teams Free does not replicate Skype Out. Neither Sipgate (€25.90/month minimum with 2-user lock) nor Google Voice Germany (no SMS, no 0800, no mobile porting) fills that consumer pay-as-you-go gap. BubblyPhone at ~$0.05/min for German landlines and ~$0.04–0.06/min for German mobiles, with no subscription and 30 free minutes on signup, is the closest direct replacement.
Which one supports German SMS on +49 numbers?
Sipgate. Google Voice does not support SMS on German +49 numbers — SMS is limited to US-linked accounts. For customer-support workflows, 2FA delivery, or marketing texts on a German number, Sipgate Business is the only one of the two that works. Note that for SMS on non-German European numbers, see also our Aircall vs Google Voice comparison — Aircall does SMS in 14 European countries domestically.
Has Sipgate been acquired or is it still independent?
Sipgate is still independent in 2026. The company was founded in Düsseldorf in 2004 by Tim Mois, Thilo Salmon and others, and has remained self-financed with no venture-capital rounds. This is unusual in the SaaS phone market where Quo, Aircall and similar competitors have raised $100M+ each. Sipgate's independence is part of why it's able to take consumer-unfriendly product decisions (like the 2022 Starter tariff death) without external pressure — both a strength and a weakness depending on perspective.
Related Resources
Google Voice in Germany
First-party +49 since Feb 2022 + BNetzA context
Quo vs Google Voice
Different comparison — SaaS phone after the OpenPhone rebrand
Aircall vs Google Voice
Call-center platform with the 3-seat minimum
Google Voice Worldwide Hub
Full country list and per-market guides
Skype Shutdown Alternatives
May 2025 retirement — migration paths
BubblyPhone Rates
Per-country pay-as-you-go pricing