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EMAK vs Bell for dental clinics: an honest comparison.
Bell sells traditional business lines and a Webex-based cloud system. We compared them with EMAK on price, contract, features, reliability and support.
Our verdict
Bell's traditional lines are reliable and keep working during a power outage, with 24/7 repair. For a clinic's front desk, EMAK includes far more for less: no 3-year term, free installation, texting, recording, fax and an AI receptionist on every plan.
Best for EMAKClinics that want modern front-desk tools, texting and AI, with no contract and no installation fees.
Best for BellA line that must keep working during a power outage, such as an alarm line, or clinics bundling everything with Bell.
Scorecard: EMAK ahead on 7 points, Bell ahead on 3, 0 ties.
EMAK vs Bell: the scorecard.
Point by point, including the ones we lose.
| What matters to a clinic | Ahead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Price per phone | EMAK | $900 per extension over 3 years at EMAK vs $1,400.48 per line at Bell, before any increases. |
| Contract | EMAK | None at EMAK; 3 years at Bell, with possible yearly increases. |
| Installation | EMAK | Free at EMAK; $125 per line at Bell. |
| Features included | EMAK | All included at EMAK; per-feature fees on Bell's basic line. |
| Texting and missed-call text-back | EMAK | Included at EMAK; not advertised by Bell for business lines. |
| Call recording and AI receptionist | EMAK | Included at EMAK; not advertised by Bell for business lines. |
| Fax | EMAK | eFax and fax machines at EMAK; a traditional fax line at Bell. |
| Works during a power outage | Bell | Bell's copper lines keep working; an Internet phone system needs power and Internet. |
| Repair and support hours | Bell | Bell advertises 24/7 support and same-day repair. |
| Bundling | Bell | Bell bundles lines with Internet and mobile. |
EMAK vs Bell pricing.
Bell publishes prices for its business lines; its cloud system has no current small-business price online.
| Item | EMAK | Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $25 per extension (2–10); $34.95 for one | $35.43 per fully-featured line; $25.43 with Bell Internet |
| Installation | Free | $125 per line |
| Term | None | 3 years |
| 3-year cost per phone | $900 per extension | $1,400.48 per line ($1,040.48 with Internet), before increases |
| Features on the basic line | All included | Caller ID $15.50, voicemail $12, call forwarding $13, call waiting $12, 3-way calling $12, hunt group $9.75 a month each |
A phone line and an extension are not the same thing: a line carries one call at a time, while an EMAK extension is a person or a phone. Compare against your own Bell bill; we will do it with you for free. EMAK pricing
Contract, renewal and cancellation.
EMAK
- No contract, ever: month to month.
- No fee to leave, and your numbers come with you.
- Free installation and free number transfer.
- 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
Bell
- Published line prices come with a 3-year term.
- Up to $10 a month more per service each year.
- $125 installation per line.
- Bell Total Connect: early-termination fees apply, per its last published conditions.
Features, in detail.
"Not advertised" means we could not find it on their website; it does not mean it cannot be done.
Calls
| Feature | EMAK | Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited calling in Canada and the US | ✓ | ✓ |
| Caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding | ✓ | Included on the fully-featured line |
| Phone menu (auto attendant) | ✓ | Not advertised for lines |
| Call queues | ✓ | Not advertised for lines |
| Call recording and transcription | ✓ | Not advertised |
| Mobile and computer app | ✓ | Not advertised for lines |
| Works during a power outage | Needs power and Internet; calls can ring cell phones | ✓ |
Texting, fax and AI
| Feature | EMAK | Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Texting from the clinic number | ✓ | Not advertised |
| Automatic text after a missed call | ✓ | Not advertised |
| Fax | eFax and fax machines, $14.95 a month per fax line | Traditional fax line |
| AI receptionist | Claio, Doc Clik or any AI agent | Not advertised |
| Waiting-room paging (Algo, Sonos) | ✓ | Not advertised |
Loi 5 and Law 25
Patient data and privacy.
- EMAK stores data in Canada: databases on servers it manages in Beauharnois, Quebec; recordings, voicemails and faxes in Canadian data centres in Quebec and Ontario.
- Every view or download of a fax or recording is logged with the user, time and IP address.
- EMAK does not use your calls to train AI, and says publicly that it is not SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified.
- Bell does not publish where Bell Total Connect data is stored. Webex, the platform it is built on, offers Canadian data centres, but we could not confirm Bell uses them.
What Loi 5 asks your clinic to check before choosing a phone system →
Support, setup and hardware.
EMAK
- Support
- Dial *611 from any EMAK phone. Last year: 31-second average wait, 94% of calls answered live.
- Language
- French and English, from a team in Montreal.
- Setup
- Free installation. Phones, greetings, fax and paging are set up and tested before switch day.
- Numbers
- Free transfer, usually about five business days.
- Phones
- Yealink, Poly and Cisco phones and headsets, or keep compatible IP phones you already own.
Bell
- Support
- 24/7 support and same-day repair (conditions apply).
- Language
- French and English.
- Setup
- $125 installation per line; online ordering paused at the time we checked.
- Reliability
- Copper lines work during a power outage and with alarm systems.
What customers say.
EMAK
5.0 average on Google across 135 reviews, including dental clinics such as Clinique Yulsmile and BOCA Dental. More than 300 Quebec dental clinics use EMAK.
Bell
We found no reviews specific to Bell's business phone lines. Public complaint statistics about Bell mostly concern consumer services, so we do not use them here.
Which one should your clinic choose?
Choose EMAK if
- You do not want a 3-year term or $125 per line to install.
- You want texting, recording and an AI receptionist included.
- You want to manage phones, greetings and faxes yourself, online.
- Your team works from several rooms, locations or home.
Choose Bell if
- A line must keep working during a power outage, for an alarm system for example.
- You want 24/7 same-day repair on a traditional line.
- You bundle everything with Bell Internet and mobile.
Switching from Bell.
Send us a recent bill
We list your numbers, lines, fax and paging, and check any contract end date with you.
We set everything up first
Phones, greetings, fax and the AI receptionist are ready and tested before switch day. Moving your numbers is free.
Switch day
Your numbers move over, usually in about five business days, and your current lines work until the switch.
Before you switch, check:
- Your contract end date and any early-exit fee.
- Every number you use: main line, fax, toll-free, text-enabled numbers.
- Which phones you own and which are leased.
- Who needs access to faxes and recordings.
- Whether you keep one Bell line for an alarm system.
EMAK vs Bell: your questions.
How much does a Bell business line cost?
Bell lists its fully-featured business line at $35.43 a month, or $25.43 with Bell Internet, on a 3-year term, plus $125 installation per line.
Is EMAK cheaper than Bell for a dental clinic?
Over three years, a Bell fully-featured line costs $1,400.48 with installation, before any increases. An EMAK extension costs $900, with every feature, free installation and no contract.
What about Bell's cloud phone system?
Bell sells Bell Total Connect with Webex. Its small-business page does not publish a current price; the last published conditions mentioned $125 installation per line and early-termination fees.
Can we keep our phone numbers when we leave Bell?
Yes. Moving your numbers to EMAK is free and usually takes about five business days. Check your Bell agreement for its end date first.
What happens during a power outage?
A traditional copper line keeps working; an Internet phone system needs power and Internet. With EMAK, calls can ring your team's cell phones instead. Some clinics keep one traditional line for their alarm system.
Does Bell offer texting from a business number?
Bell does not advertise texting for its business lines. At EMAK, texting from your clinic number and automatic texts after a missed call are included.
How we compared
EMAK wrote this page, so read it knowing we are one of the two companies compared. Every fact about Bell comes from its own website, pricing page or terms, checked on September 24, 2026, and is linked below. Where we could not find something, we say "not advertised" rather than guess. Prices exclude taxes. If anything here is out of date or wrong, write to us and we will correct it.
Sources: Bell fully-featured line · Bell basic line · Bell Total Connect · Bell small-business support