Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| The formula | Break-even seats = per-location monthly price ÷ per-seat monthly price |
| Who uses per-location | Dental-focused vendors such as Weave and Mango Voice; patient-engagement suites such as RevenueWell and NexHealth |
| Who uses per-user | General business phone systems (RingCentral, Nextiva, Dialpad, Zoom Phone) and healthcare messaging platforms (Spruce Health); ZentryVoice |
| ZentryVoice price | $20 per user per month, month-to-month; texting and eFax $15 per practice per month each |
| What tips the math | Setup fees, annual contracts, bundled desk phones and which add-ons the per-location plan already includes |
| Who it fits | Per-user: offices of roughly 2 to 9 seats per site. Per-location: offices above the break-even that plan to stay there |
What is the difference between per-user and per-location pricing?
Per-user pricing charges for each seat, and per-location pricing charges for each office. The difference sounds small, but it decides who pays more.
A seat on a per-user plan is one extension with its own voicemail, login and, usually, mobile and desktop apps. Ten people need ten seats. Two people need two. The monthly bill tracks headcount, which is why every general business phone system in the Practice Phone Price Index uses this model.
A location on a per-location plan is one office address. The vendor charges a flat monthly fee for the site, and the number of people using it does not change the price. This model is common among dental-focused vendors. Weave’s entry plan is reported at $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13). Mango Voice publishes a flat $119 per month (published, checked 2026-10-13) for “your practice”. Patient-engagement suites such as RevenueWell and NexHealth also price per location, although their phone functions are add-ons rather than full phone systems.
Neither model is a trick. Per-location pricing reflects how a dental office actually works: many people share a few phones, and the vendor’s cost is tied to the office more than the headcount. Per-user pricing reflects how a general business works: each employee has a desk, a device and a line.
The question for a practice is simply which one costs less at its seat count. That has a formula.
What is the break-even seat count, and how do you calculate it?
The break-even is the number of seats at which both models cost the same for the month. Below it, per-user is cheaper. Above it, per-location is cheaper.
Break-even seats = per-location monthly price ÷ per-seat monthly price
Using the two dataset figures above, Weave’s reported entry plan is $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) and a ZentryVoice seat is $20. Dividing the first by the second gives a break-even of just under 10 seats per site.
Two adjustments make the formula fair.
First, add per-practice add-ons to the per-user side when the per-location plan already includes them. Weave’s entry plan includes texting and fax. ZentryVoice sells texting and eFax at $15 per practice per month each, per practice rather than per seat. Subtract the add-on total from the per-location price before dividing. That moves the break-even down to roughly 9 seats.
Second, spread one-time fees over the comparison period. Weave’s reported implementation fee is $500–$750 (reported one-time implementation fee (costbench, iplum); per location for multi-location groups, checked 2026-10-13). Over 36 months that adds a modest monthly amount to the per-location side, which pushes the break-even back up by a seat or so. ZentryVoice’s desk phones are optional and one-time at $119 each, and apply to any plan that uses them.
The same arithmetic works for any pair of vendors. Mango Voice’s flat Phone Suite at $119 per month (published, checked 2026-10-13) crosses a $20 seat at about 6 seats, or about 5 once texting and eFax are added to the per-user side.
What does the comparison look like at 2, 5 and 15 seats?
The three worked examples below use the same scenario sizes as the Price Index. The ZentryVoice side is computed from the published price list and includes texting and eFax, so it matches what Weave’s entry plan bundles. The Weave side uses the reported per-location figure and does not change with seat count.
2 seats (a solo practitioner and one front-desk person). ZentryVoice with texting and eFax comes to $70 per month. Weave’s reported entry plan is $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) regardless of seats. The per-user plan costs about a third as much.
5 seats (a typical single-site office). ZentryVoice with texting and eFax comes to $130 per month, against the same $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13). Per-user is still cheaper, by roughly a third of the per-location price.
15 seats (a large single site or a small group on one bill). ZentryVoice with texting and eFax comes to $330 per month. The per-location plan at $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) is now the lower monthly figure, by a clear margin. The per-user plan has passed the break-even.
Per-user versus per-location monthly cost at three seat counts, single site, texting and fax included on both sides
| Seats | ZentryVoice (per user, texting + eFax) | Weave entry plan (per location, reported) | Cheaper model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $70 | $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) | Per-user |
| 5 | $130 | $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) | Per-user |
| 15 | $330 | $199 per location per month (reported, checked 2026-10-13) | Per-location |
| Break-even | about 9 seats with add-ons, about 10 on seat price alone |
The table leaves out two things that matter over a contract term. Weave’s reported term is annual (reported: 1-year minimum, auto-renew, billed monthly), and its reported setup fee is $500–$750 (reported one-time implementation fee (costbench, iplum); per location for multi-location groups, checked 2026-10-13). ZentryVoice has no annual term and no setup fee is shown in the table. At 15 seats, the per-location plan still wins over 3 years even after the setup fee. At 2 or 5 seats, the setup fee and the annual term widen a gap that was already large.
What else changes the answer besides the seat count?
Seat count is the biggest variable, but five others can move the break-even by several seats.
- Which add-ons each plan includes. Per-location dental plans usually bundle texting, fax and desk phones. Per-user plans vary: some include texting and fax on every tier, others sell them separately, and AI features are often an extra line. Compare equal bundles, not headline prices. The hidden costs guide lists the common extras.
- Setup and implementation fees. A one-time fee of a few hundred dollars matters a lot at 2 seats and very little at 15. Spread it over the months you expect to stay.
- Contract term. An annual auto-renewing term is a cost if the office shrinks, moves or changes vendors mid-term. Month-to-month plans carry no such cost. ZentryVoice is month-to-month at $20 per user per month.
- Shared extensions. On a per-user plan, a front desk that rotates three part-time staff through one phone can use one shared seat with a shared voicemail. That lowers the effective seat count. People who need their own voicemail and mobile app each need a seat.
- Number of sites. Most per-location plans charge per site, and setup fees are often per location as well. A three-site group on a per-location plan pays three location fees. A per-user plan charges for the people, wherever they sit. For a group with a few people at each site, per-user pricing can win at every location even when total headcount is high.
A sixth factor is growth. An office at 8 seats that plans to add two hygienists next year is at the break-even already. One that plans to stay at 8 is not.
Which model fits which practice?
The models sort practices by size and by how they staff the phones.
Per-user pricing fits solo and small-group practices, roughly 2 to 9 seats per site, and multi-site groups with small teams at each location. It also fits any office that wants to add or remove seats month to month without renegotiating. Medical, legal and financial practices, where each professional needs a private voicemail box and a mobile app, tend to use every seat they pay for.
Per-location pricing fits single-site practices with more seats than the break-even, especially where many staff share a few phones and nobody needs a personal extension. Larger dental offices fit this description more often than medical or legal ones. The bundled desk phones, onboarding and practice-management integrations that per-location vendors offer are part of what the flat fee buys. Weave’s and Mango Voice’s integrations with Dentrix, Eaglesoft and Open Dental are published strengths that a per-user phone system may not match.
If the office sits near the break-even, the decision turns on the add-ons, the term and the growth plan rather than the monthly figure. The Practice Phone Price Index shows per-seat equivalents for every vendor in the dataset at 2, 5 and 15 seats, so the break-even can be read for any pair.
How ZentryVoice handles this
ZentryVoice prices per user and has no per-location fee. A seat is $20 per user per month and includes voicemail transcription, AI call summaries, live reporting and soft extensions on desktop, iOS, Android and web. Texting and eFax are $15 per practice per month each, charged once per practice rather than per seat, so they do not scale with headcount.
- Term: month-to-month, with a 30-day trial. Seats can be added or removed as the roster changes.
- Hardware: optional desk phones at $119 one-time, pre-provisioned. Many practices run desk phones at the front desk and soft extensions elsewhere.
- Support plans: optional, tiered by extension count at $15, $20 and $30 per month for up to 4, 8 and 16 extensions.
- Above 16 extensions: contact sales for a tailored quote.
The pricing page has a calculator that computes the monthly, first-year and 3-year totals for any seat count. The 3-year comparison of one platform against separate vendors applies the same figures to a 5-seat office. Vertical guides for dental, medical, law and financial practices cover the compliance side.