Calls
IP phone or softphone? Desk phones for a call centre
10 November 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer
An IP phone, also called a VoIP phone or desk phone, is hardware that needs a number and a line. A softphone is software on a computer or phone. For five people, SautiDesk Basic is KES 5,500 a month on 10 November 2026 with one business number, and the headset is the only hardware.
An IP phone, a VoIP phone and a desk phone are the same thing: a physical telephone that sends calls over an internet connection using SIP, with a screen, a handset and a network port. A softphone does the same job in software, on a computer or a mobile phone. Both need a phone number and a line from a provider, and neither one includes them. For a call centre the real question is what sits around the call: the ticket, the history and the WhatsApp thread of the customer.
What an IP phone is, and what it still needs
A desk phone is hardware, and the makers describe it in terms of accounts and ports. Yealink’s T31P datasheet lists up to 2 SIP accounts, and its T33G page lists up to 4. Grandstream’s GRP2612 datasheet lists 4, and Fanvil’s X3U datasheet lists 6 SIP lines, all read on 10 November 2026. A SIP account is one line, and the phone registers to it with a username and password given by a provider.
None of those makers publishes a handset price on the pages read for this guide, and Yealink says its phones are sold to businesses through authorised partners, so what a handset costs in Kenya is set by the seller. Our guides to Yealink phones and to Grandstream, Yealink and Fanvil set out the models.
A handset does not include a number. The line comes from a provider. A Sautikit number is KES 500 a month with no set-up fee, incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are KES 3.00 a minute billed per second. The phone registers to it at server sip.sautikit.com, port 5080, UDP, with a generated username and password, as the Sautikit guide for connecting a desk phone shows.
What a softphone is
A softphone is software that makes and takes calls. There are two kinds. The first is a standalone SIP app such as MicroSIP on Windows or Zoiper, which registers to a number with a username and password in the same way a desk phone does. Sautikit has guides for both: MicroSIP and Zoiper. The second is a softphone built into the software the team already works in, which is what a SautiDesk agent uses.
A SautiDesk agent, working in the call centre software, signs in from the browser, or from the Android app on Google Play, puts on a headset and answers the business number there. The iPhone and Mac apps are in TestFlight beta. Calls ring the next free agent, and the customer’s history opens with the ring. Desk phones connect to a Sautikit number, and SautiDesk agents use the browser or the app.
Five people: the monthly cost, side by side
SautiDesk Basic is KES 1,000 per person a month, so five people are KES 5,000, and one business number is KES 500 a month: KES 5,500. On Pro, at KES 3,000 per person, five people are KES 15,000 and KES 15,500 with the number. Calls are KES 0.05 per second outgoing, which is KES 3.00 a minute, and incoming calls are free. A ten-minute outgoing call is 600 seconds, or KES 30.
| Desk phones on a Sautikit number | SautiDesk Basic | SautiDesk Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business number | KES 500 | KES 500 | KES 500 |
| Five people | Not applicable | KES 5,000 | KES 15,000 |
| Monthly total before calls | KES 500 | KES 5,500 | KES 15,500 |
| Ten-minute outgoing call | KES 30 | KES 30 | KES 30 |
| Hardware to buy | Five handsets, at a price the seller sets, plus a network port for each | A headset for each person | A headset for each person |
| Tickets, WhatsApp, SMS and email on the same screen | No, a handset only places and takes calls | Yes | Yes |
| Reports, live floor view, campaigns | No | No | Yes |
The first column is a line and nothing else. It is the right shape for a reception desk or a small office that wants a few phones on one number. The SautiDesk columns are a team product: five people, each with a seat in the queue, a ticket for every customer and the same screen for calls, WhatsApp, SMS and email.
What changes for a call centre
- Who answers. A desk phone rings at a desk. In SautiDesk a call rings the next free agent, wherever the agent signed in, on a laptop or the Android app.
- What the agent sees. A desk phone shows a caller ID. SautiDesk opens the customer’s history with the ring, and a missed call becomes a ticket with an owner, so it is not lost.
- Channels. Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat become one ticket per customer on SautiDesk. A handset covers calls only.
- Setting up a new agent. A handset needs a device, a username, a password and a network cable. A SautiDesk person is invited by email and signs in from the browser. See call queues and ACD.
- Supervising. SautiDesk Pro adds the live floor view, listening in on calls and reports by agent. A handset has none of that on its own.
Headsets either way
A headset is the one piece of hardware both routes share. Yealink’s UH36 datasheet lists USB-A and USB-C plugs and a 3.5 mm jack for a PC or smartphone, and it connects to Yealink desk phones through its YHC20 controller. Grandstream, Fanvil and Yealink desk phones list a headset port or support for wireless headsets through an EHS adapter. A SautiDesk agent needs a headset, a browser and an internet connection.
When a desk phone still makes sense
A reception desk, a warehouse counter or a shared lobby phone is a place where a handset on the wall is the right shape, and a Sautikit number is the line for it: register the phone and it rings. A team can use both. Desk phones connect to a Sautikit number, and the people who work customers’ tickets use SautiDesk in the browser. Details of the number are on sautikit.com.
Start on SautiDesk
- Pick Basic at KES 1,000 per person a month, or Pro at KES 3,000 if you want reports, the live floor view and campaigns.
- Add your people. Each person signs in from the browser, with a headset.
- Choose a Kenyan number for calls and SMS at KES 500 a month.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number and your support email address.
- Top up your balance by M-Pesa or card, then answer your first call in the browser.
Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat are on both plans. The business phone numbers page covers the number, and the pricing page has the full list. The guide to starting a call centre in Kenya covers the rest.