Cloud PBX Providers in Hong Kong Compared: Pricing & Features (2026)

Short answer: Compare cloud PBX providers on number porting, multi-site call flows, after-hours routing, call recording and local support first, then on price. Providers fall into three types: carrier-bundled hosted PBX, independent cloud PBX, and Microsoft Teams Phone. Any line that must stay analogue, such as alarms, lifts and fire panels, needs its own plan before anything is cut over.

What does a cloud PBX replace, and what does it not?

A cloud PBX is a phone system that runs in a provider's data centre instead of on a cabinet in your comms room. Extensions, auto attendants, call queues, voicemail and call recording are delivered as a service, and staff use handsets, a softphone app on a phone or computer, or Microsoft Teams. Brocent's Managed Cloud PBX service is built on Alicloud, AWS and Azure, with a stated 99.99% uptime commitment, local numbers in Hong Kong, China, Japan and Singapore, and integration with Teams through Microsoft-certified session border controllers.

A cloud PBX replaces the PABX itself: the switching, the call routing, the voicemail and the licences tied to old hardware. It does not automatically replace everything that is wired to it. Before you compare providers, list what is connected to your current PABX today:

• Extensions and handsets. How many people, and who needs a desk phone rather than an app.
• Published numbers. The main line, hotlines, direct dial-in numbers and fax numbers.
• Special lines. Alarm dialers, lift emergency phones, fire panels and door entry systems, which often use analogue lines.
• Integrations. Call recording, a reception console, a call-centre queue or a CRM.
• Sites. Which offices share the system, and which have their own.

The special lines matter most. Do not assume that a cloud PBX can take over a lift or fire-panel line. Confirm with the responsible contractor before any cut-over, and keep those lines on their current arrangement until they confirm in writing.

Which types of cloud PBX provider are there?

Rather than ranking named vendors, it is more useful to compare three types and what each does well. Many Hong Kong offices end up with one of them.

Carrier-bundled hosted PBX vs independent cloud PBX vs Teams Phone

• Carrier-bundled hosted PBX. The telecom carrier that supplies your lines also hosts the PBX. It is simple to buy, with one bill and one contract, and number porting is usually straightforward because the carrier already holds the numbers. The trade-offs are less flexibility on features and integrations and a tie between your phone system and one carrier's contract.
• Independent cloud PBX provider. A specialist hosts the PBX on a cloud platform and connects to one or more carriers for lines. It tends to offer more features, easier multi-site design and the freedom to change carriers. You need to confirm who is accountable when a fault could be the PBX or the carrier.
• Microsoft Teams Phone. Calling is delivered inside Teams, using Microsoft's own calling plans where they are offered in your country, or a connection to your own carrier. It suits companies that already live in Teams and want one app. It needs careful design for reception desks, queues, shared lines and recording, which often require add-ons.

Brocent works as an independent provider and also integrates existing PBX systems into Teams. Its Microsoft Teams solutions page explains that option.

What are the ten questions to ask every cloud PBX provider?

Use the same list with each provider so the answers can be compared line by line.

• Numbers. Can you port every number we publish, how long does it take, and what is the plan on cut-over day?
• Sites. Can all our offices share one system, with their own numbers and hotlines?
• After hours. How are calls routed when an office is closed, and can they ring an on-call mobile or a rota?
• Recording. Which extensions can be recorded, where are recordings stored, for how long, and who can play them back?
• Failure. What happens to calls if our internet link goes down?
• Handsets and apps. Which desk phones are supported, and is there a softphone for Android, iPhone and computers?
• Teams. Does it work with Microsoft Teams, and how?
• Reporting. Can we see call volumes, missed calls and queue times per site?
• Support. Who answers a fault call, in which language, and how fast? See the response times at the SLA page.
• Contract. What is the term, how are extensions added or removed, and what happens at exit?

How do you port Hong Kong numbers and a published hotline?

Number porting is where cloud PBX projects most often slip. The numbers that customers know must keep working on the day the old system is switched off. Treat the process as its own work stream:

• List every number first, including the ones nobody remembers, such as a fax line or a back-office direct number.
• Ask the provider for the porting process in writing, including the lead time, the documents the current carrier needs and who submits the request.
• Plan a cut-over window outside business hours, with a fallback so calls to the main number and hotline can be diverted if something fails.
• Keep the old lines alive until the new system has handled real calls for a few days.

Porting rules and lead times depend on the carriers involved, so confirm them with each carrier rather than relying on a general estimate.

What do after-hours routing and call recording involve?

For an office that publishes a hotline, after-hours handling is part of the service people experience. Common patterns are an auto attendant that gives opening hours and a menu, a rota that rings on-call staff in order, and voicemail that is emailed to a shared mailbox. Ask the provider to show the call flow for each of your sites as a diagram, because a diagram exposes gaps that a feature list hides.

Call recording raises both a practical and a legal question. Recordings can be personal data, so tell callers that the call may be recorded, restrict who can play recordings back, and set a retention period that matches your policy. The retention period affects storage cost, so ask how the provider charges for it.

Handsets, Teams calling or softphones: which should staff use?

Decide this by role rather than by habit. Reception and hotline staff usually need a desk phone or a console for speed and reliability. Office workers who are often away from their desks do well with a softphone app on their mobile or computer. Companies that already run on Microsoft 365 may prefer calling inside Teams. Brocent's service includes a unified communications softphone for Android, iPhone and computers, and it can connect an existing PBX to Teams using certified session border controllers.

How much does a cloud PBX cost?

Cloud PBX is normally priced per extension per month, with separate charges for trunk channels, call minutes, numbers, recording and any platform fee. The cheapest quote on a per-extension basis is not always the cheapest overall, because queues, recording and extra numbers are often priced separately.

For orientation, Brocent's telephony page publishes indicative market-reference rates, ahead of a full pricing update. As shown there in October 2026, a basic extension is in the range of US$10 to 20 per extension per month, a queue extension with call queue and IVR US$15 to 35, a SIP trunk US$15 to 30 per channel per month, and a hosted PBX per-extension rate of US$5 to 15, with the platform fee quoted per deployment. These are reference ranges, not a quote, and final pricing is confirmed during scoping.

Cost per extension versus cost per site

A property-management company with a head office and nine estate offices should compare two views of the same quote. Cost per extension shows the unit economics. Cost per site shows what each small office actually pays once it needs its own hotline, an after-hours rota and a few queue extensions. Ask for both, and ask whether a quiet site can use a lighter package than the head office.

What happens when the internet goes down?

A cloud PBX depends on your internet connection, so plan for failure rather than hoping it does not happen. Practical measures include a second internet line or a mobile backup router at each site, automatic diversion of the main number and hotline to mobiles when the link fails, and softphone apps on staff mobiles that keep working on mobile data. Ask each provider to describe its failover behaviour in writing and to test it during the pilot.

How should a multi-site call flow be designed?

A company with a head office and several branch or estate offices has to decide how calls move between sites. Draw the flow before you ask for quotes, because the design drives both the price and the user experience.

• One system, many sites. All offices share a single cloud PBX with a common extension plan, so staff dial a short extension to reach a colleague anywhere. This is the usual answer for a group that wants one directory and one set of reports.
• Local numbers per site. Each site keeps its own published number or hotline, which the system routes to that site's staff, so customers still dial the number they know.
• Shared overflow. If a busy site cannot answer, the call rolls to a central team or another site rather than ringing out.
• Shared out-of-hours service. Several small offices can share one on-call rota, which is cheaper than staffing each one.
• Mobile and home workers. Staff who travel keep their office extension on a softphone app, so callers do not need to know where they are.

The right pattern depends on how customers reach you. Estate offices with a public hotline need reliable routing at each site, while a head office with an internal-only extension plan can be simpler.

What should a pilot and cut-over plan include?

A pilot lets you test the system with real calls before the old PABX is switched off. Insist on one, and agree what success looks like in writing.

• Pick a pilot group that includes a hotline user, a reception user and a mobile user, so every call pattern is exercised.
• Test the failure cases on purpose, such as unplugging the internet link, to see what the diversion does.
• Check call quality at busy times and from the sites with the weakest connections.
• Confirm the recording and reporting work as described, including who can play back and export recordings.
• Train staff on the new handsets and apps before the cut-over, not after.
• Cut over in batches where there are many sites, so a problem affects one office rather than all of them.
• Keep a rollback plan and the old lines active until the new system has handled real traffic for several days.

What should a cloud PBX contract say?

The contract decides what happens when something goes wrong, so read it as carefully as the feature list.

• Service levels. Look for availability commitments, fault response and resolution times, and how they are measured. Brocent states a 99.99% uptime commitment for its cloud PBX platform.
• Fault ownership. If a call fails, the provider should own the investigation across the PBX and the carrier, or state clearly where its responsibility ends.
• Term and changes. Check the minimum term, the notice period, and how extensions can be added or removed at each site.
• Numbers. Confirm that your numbers can be ported out at the end of the contract, and at what cost.
• Data. Confirm who owns call recordings and call records and how they are returned or deleted at exit.
• Pricing. Ask which charges are fixed and which depend on usage, such as call minutes or extra storage.

How do you reduce phone fraud and security risks?

Any phone system connected to the internet is a target. Toll fraud, where criminals use a hijacked account to place expensive calls, is the best-known risk. Ask each provider how it limits international calling by default, how it detects unusual call patterns, and how administrator accounts are protected with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. Keep the list of people who can change call routing short, and review it when staff leave.

Case study: ten offices, one dying PABX

*This is an illustrative example, not a named client.* A property-management company ran a head office and nine estate offices on a PABX that its maker no longer supported. Each estate office needed a published hotline, after-hours forwarding to on-call staff and call recording for complaints. The company listed its numbers and special lines, asked three providers the same ten questions, and moved the offices over in two batches, keeping the lift and alarm lines on their existing arrangement until the contractors confirmed the change.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cloud PBX?

A cloud PBX is a business phone system hosted by a provider and delivered over the internet. It handles extensions, auto attendants, queues, voicemail and recording without a PBX cabinet in your office.

How do I choose a cloud PBX provider?

Compare providers on number porting, multi-site call flows, after-hours routing, recording, failure behaviour and local support. Then compare price per extension and per site. Use the same ten questions with every provider.

Can we keep our phone numbers?

Usually yes, through number porting, but the process and lead time depend on the carriers involved. Ask for the porting plan and cut-over window in writing and keep the old lines active until the new system is proven.

What does cloud PBX cost per user?

It depends on the type of extension, trunk channels, numbers, recording and platform fees. See the indicative reference ranges above and the telephony page, and ask for a quote based on your sites.

Does it work with Microsoft Teams?

Yes. A cloud PBX can connect to Teams through certified session border controllers, so staff can call extensions, landlines and mobiles from Teams. Teams Phone is a separate option that delivers calling inside Teams itself.

What happens when the internet goes down?

Calls depend on your connection, so plan a backup line or mobile router and automatic diversion of key numbers to mobiles. Test the failover during the pilot.

Can calls be recorded?

Yes. Decide which extensions are recorded, tell callers, restrict playback to named staff and set a retention period. Confirm how recordings are stored and what the provider charges for storage.

Can a cloud PBX run a customer hotline for several estates or branches?

Yes, provided each hotline is designed as its own call flow. Give every published hotline a named owner, an opening-hours schedule, an after-hours route, a fallback if nobody answers and a recording policy. Test each one during the pilot by calling it at different times of day, and ask the provider for a per-hotline report on answered and missed calls.

Next steps

Read what the service includes on the Managed Cloud PBX page, see how calling fits with Microsoft 365 on the Teams solutions page, and compare how other firms approached it in the posts on cloud PBX for a Hong Kong restaurant chain, cloud PBX in Singapore and a 400 hotline for a China office. For a scoped quote for your sites, talk to a consultant.