Hosted PBX is powerful where connectivity is stable. Local PBX still makes sense where ISP quality, control, or compliance dominate. This is the 8-criterion matrix 912 uses on telephony engagements — score your environment, read the lean, and skip the wrong-architecture rebuild a year in.
8 decision criteria, both sides
Internet dependency, branch growth, remote/mobile, capex, opex, control surface, mobile fit, Wi-Fi fit — with the lean each criterion produces.
Interactive 5-question scorer
Rate your environment in two minutes. The score lands on Local fit, Hybrid fit, or Hosted fit with a documented next step.
Action ladder per result tier
Concrete next steps — what to evaluate, what to procure, what to test before any phone arrives on site.
SIP trunk and Wi-Fi prerequisites
The two prerequisites teams underweight and pay for after the rollout. Surfaced before procurement, not after.
When hybrid is the honest answer
Multi-site businesses often land in the middle. A phased plan beats a forced choice; the matrix shows where to put the boundary.
What you get
A decision matrix for choosing hosted 3CX or local IP PBX based on internet stability, branch growth, remote work, and maintenance burden.
Files delivered
No download required — use the complete resource on this page.
Next action
Use the resource, then review the related service path: /services/ip-telephony.
This is ungated on purpose. Use it directly in the browser, then turn the result into an internal action plan.
The matrix
Read each row, mark which side fits your environment, and note the lean. The interactive scorer above turns the totals into a tier; this section gives you the reasoning behind the score.
Hosted 3CX
High — voice rides on the WAN. A failing primary link drops every extension unless a documented LTE or secondary fibre failover is in place.
Local PBX
Lower — internal calls stay up on the LAN even if the WAN is down. External calls still need a working SIP trunk or PSTN line.
Lean · Local where ISP quality is unreliable; hosted where you can stand up a second carrier.
Hosted 3CX
Strong — new branches connect by registering extensions to the cloud tenancy. No new PBX hardware per site.
Local PBX
Weaker — each branch typically needs its own PBX or a documented SIP/VPN extension story.
Lean · Hosted where the business plans to open or move sites; local where the footprint is stable.
Hosted 3CX
Strong — softphone and mobile app extensions are first-class. Workforce-distributed companies see the largest gain here.
Local PBX
Possible — modern IP PBX supports remote extensions but firewalls, NAT, and certificate handling become an in-house responsibility.
Lean · Hosted where remote and field staff need a desk extension on the phone in their pocket.
Hosted 3CX
Lower — desk phones and a switch are the main hardware line items. No on-site PBX appliance.
Local PBX
Higher — PBX appliance or server, gateways, SIP trunk hardware, plus desk phones.
Lean · Hosted where capex is constrained and the company prefers monthly cost; local where capex is preferred and amortised across 3-5 years.
Hosted 3CX
Monthly per-extension licence plus SIP trunk. Predictable but ongoing.
Local PBX
Annual maintenance, occasional firmware support, SIP trunk. Lower long-run cost on a stable user count.
Lean · Hosted for sub-30 extensions; local often crosses over above that depending on licence tier.
Hosted 3CX
Vendor-shaped. Most call rules, IVRs, and integrations are available but live inside the vendor portal.
Local PBX
Operator-shaped. Direct access to dial plans, recordings, SIP headers, and integrations with internal systems.
Lean · Local where compliance, recording residency, or deep integration matter; hosted where defaults are good enough.
Hosted 3CX
High — the mobile app is the headline feature.
Local PBX
Moderate — depends on vendor stack and on a publicly reachable SBC or VPN path.
Lean · Hosted where managers, sales, and field staff dominate the user mix.
Hosted 3CX
Good — Wi-Fi handsets register over the WAN. Requires a verified Wi-Fi coverage survey first.
Local PBX
Good — Wi-Fi handsets register locally. Same Wi-Fi coverage prerequisite applies.
Lean · Tie. The decision driver is Wi-Fi survey quality, not the PBX model.
Action ladder
Score 0–35
Control and internet independence matter more than remote flexibility. Often a single-site or low-WAN-quality environment.
Next step
Evaluate a local IP PBX (3CX self-hosted, Yeastar, or equivalent) with a documented SIP trunk and a remote-extension story for when it is needed.
Score 36–70
You need some cloud flexibility but should protect critical voice routes. Often multi-site with mixed reliability.
Next step
Stand up hosted 3CX with backup internet on every branch, or a phased design where headquarters stays local and branches move to hosted first.
Score 71–100
Your needs point toward cloud-managed telephony with mobile access and scalable extensions across distributed staff.
Next step
Prioritise SIP trunk design, call-routing rules, and a Wi-Fi coverage survey before phone rollout. Validate the LTE-failover failover on each branch router.
Ready to talk about this in context for your business?
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