I've deployed or tested 12 different Asterisk-based PBX systems over the years. Some are excellent. Some should have been buried a decade ago but keep showing up in "best PBX" listicles written by people who never installed them.
Here's the real list — with honest opinions.
Asterisk vs FreePBX: They're Not the Same Thing
This trips up everyone. Including people who should know better.
Asterisk is the telephony engine. It handles calls, routes them, connects SIP trunks. No GUI — you configure it by editing .conf files in /etc/asterisk/. For example, to create a basic queue:
; /etc/asterisk/queues.conf
[support]
strategy=rrmemory
timeout=15
retry=5
member => SIP/1001
member => SIP/1002FreePBX is a web interface that generates those config files for you. Click buttons, get a working PBX.
Asterisk = engine. FreePBX = dashboard. You need both (or you need to enjoy editing text files at 2am).
Open-Source PBX Systems That Actually Work
Still Active and Maintained
| Name | My Take | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| FreePBX | The default choice. Not always the best one. | Sangoma-owned. Version 17 + Asterisk 22. Moved from CentOS to Debian — finally. Massive module ecosystem, but some paid modules feel like they should be free. |
| VitalPBX | The one I'd pick for a new deployment today. | Multi-tenant out of the box. Cleaner UI than FreePBX. Growing fast — their community doubled in 2025. |
| Issabel | Solid if you need UC (telephony + email + IM). | Fork of Elastix after 3CX killed it. Active Latin American community. |
| Wazo | For developers who want API-first. | REST API, WebRTC, integrations. Successor to XiVO. Not for someone who wants to click through a GUI. |
| Incredible PBX | Fun for homelab. I wouldn't run production on it. | Runs on a Raspberry Pi. Asterisk 22 + FreePBX 17. Great for learning. |
| NethVoice | Niche — Italian company, Italian community. | Part of NethServer. CTI panel is nice. |
| iVozProvider | The serious multi-tenant option. | Kamailio + Asterisk. Built for telecom operators running hundreds of tenants. |
Dead Projects (Stop Recommending These)
| Name | Years Active | What Happened |
|---|---|---|
| Elastix | 2006–2016 | 3CX bought it. Killed the open-source version. Issabel forked it just in time. |
| trixbox | 2004–2012 | Was Asterisk@Home. Fonality bought it, pivoted to hosted, let it die. |
| AsteriskNOW | 2007–2019 | Digium's official distro. Became FreePBX Distro. Nobody misses it. |
| PBX in a Flash | 2008–2019 | Evolved into Incredible PBX. Its legacy lives on. |
| XiVO | 2010–2017 | Became Wazo. Better name, same DNA. |
If someone recommends trixbox or Elastix in 2026, they haven't touched a PBX in a decade.
Commercial Asterisk PBX Systems
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Hardware Appliances
| Company | Product | Honest Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Sangoma | PBXact | FreePBX with support contract and hardware. Worth it if your boss needs a vendor to blame when things break. |
| Grandstream | UCM6300 Series | Cheap hardware, decent features. Video conferencing built in. The web UI feels like 2015 — but it works. |
| Yeastar | P-Series | Polished. Their Linkus mobile app is genuinely good. Best out-of-box experience for SMBs. |
| Xorcom | CompletePBX | Asterisk + Astribank (analog line gateway). Niche: offices with legacy analog phones. |
Software Platforms
| Company | Product | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Switchvox (Sangoma) | Turnkey PBX | Mid-size offices wanting zero config headaches |
| Thirdlane | Multi Tenant PBX | Service providers selling hosted PBX |
| BiCom | PBXware | White-label PBX for resellers |
| *astTECS | IP PBX + Dialer | Call center solutions, popular in India |
Common Confusion: These Are NOT Asterisk
I see this mistake weekly on Reddit:
- —FusionPBX → runs on FreeSWITCH, completely different engine
- —3CX → proprietary. They bought Elastix but threw away the Asterisk code
- —Kamailio / OpenSIPS → SIP proxies, not PBX systems. They route SIP traffic but don't handle calls
If your stack uses Kamailio in front of Asterisk — that's fine, but Kamailio alone is not a PBX.
How to Pick the Right One
Under 50 employees? FreePBX or VitalPBX. Both free. VitalPBX if you're starting fresh, FreePBX if you need a specific module from their ecosystem.
50–500 employees? VitalPBX (multi-tenant) or Yeastar P-Series (if you want hardware + support). Grandstream UCM6300 if video matters.
Service provider / telecom? iVozProvider or Thirdlane. Both handle multi-tenant at scale.
Tight budget, learning, homelab? Incredible PBX on a Raspberry Pi. Seriously — $50 and you have a full PBX.
The Monitoring Problem Nobody Mentions
Here's the thing — you can pick the perfect PBX and still have no idea what's happening inside it.
How many calls are your agents handling per hour? What's the average wait time in your support queue? Which trunk is dropping calls?
Most Asterisk PBX systems give you CDR logs — a giant table of raw call records. That's like reading server access logs to understand your website traffic. Technically possible. Practically useless for daily decisions.
A 50-agent center that loses just 5% of calls to excessive queue wait times wastes roughly $4,000/month in potential revenue (at $2 average revenue per call × 40 lost calls/day × 20 working days).
Astervis connects directly to any Asterisk-based PBX and turns raw CDR data into 30+ real-time charts: queue heatmaps, agent performance dashboards, trunk analytics. Self-hosted on your server, installs in 5 minutes.
If you're running any PBX from this list with a call center or support team — the 14-day trial is free.
Related: How to Monitor Asterisk Queues in Real Time · Asterisk CDR Reporting Guide · Building a Call Center KPI Dashboard
Stop guessing. Start monitoring.
See your Asterisk call center's real performance — queue wait times, agent activity, trunk usage, and 30+ charts. Self-hosted on your server. Install in 5 minutes. No credit card required.
From $119/mo flat. Unlimited operators. 14-day free trial.