FreePBX
Free, open-source web interface for building and managing an Asterisk-based business phone system on your own server, maintained by Sangoma.
FreePBX is a free, open-source web interface for running an Asterisk-based business phone system on your own server, maintained by Sangoma. The software costs nothing and has no limits on extensions or users. You pay for the server, SIP trunks and phones, and optionally for Sangoma support from $399 a year.
Best value PBX if you can run Linux; otherwise pay for hosting.
A free web interface that turns Asterisk into a full business phone system you host and run yourself.
For an IT-literate team, FreePBX gives you a full PBX with no per-user fees, and the feature list matches many paid systems. The price is responsibility: Sangoma's own comparison is blunt that self-installs need Linux and networking skills and leave security, backups, toll fraud and E911 to you. If that list worries you, a hosted FreePBX partner or a cloud phone service will cost more but carry that risk for you.
A complete PBX with no license fees and wide hardware support.
You own the security, backups, toll-fraud risk and E911 setup unless you pay for hosting.
What FreePBX costs
| Item | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| FreePBX software | Free | Full PBX with no limits on extensions, users, queues or IVRs |
| Gold Peace of Mind support | $399 a year per system | 60 minutes of support credit, business-hours SLA |
| Platinum Peace of Mind support | $900 a year per system | 120 minutes, 24/7 response for critical outages, SysAdmin Pro included |
| Commercial modules | Priced per module in Sangoma's store | 25-year or monthly licenses; yearly upgrade fee of 18% to 33% of list price |
| PBXact Cloud (Sangoma-hosted) | Quote | Managed hosting with all commercial modules and SIP trunking |
From FreePBX.org and Sangoma pages, checked 4 October 2026. FreePBX.org blocked our checker, so we read Internet Archive copies of its pages captured in July and October 2026; module prices were not checked.
Self-hosted FreePBX vs hosted options
| Task | Self-installed FreePBX | Third-party FreePBX hosting | Sangoma PBXact Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup skills | SSH, Linux CLI and networking | Hosting platform sets up networking | Hosting platform sets up networking |
| Backups | Your job | Your job | Automated by Sangoma |
| Security and toll fraud | Your job | Your job | Configured by Sangoma; SIP trunking managed |
| Commercial modules | Buy separately | Endpoint Manager and SysAdmin Pro included | All included |
| SSH access | Yes | Yes | No |
From the Cloud and Hosting comparison on FreePBX.org (Internet Archive copy captured 13 July 2026), checked 4 October 2026. Hosting partners offer a 30-day risk-free evaluation.
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