A PBX (private branch exchange, also sold in Kenya as a PABX) is the switch that connects your office phones to each other and to the outside world: it gives staff extensions, rings the right person, queues callers and plays a menu. In 2026 a Kenyan business has four ways to get one: an analogue PABX box, an IP PBX appliance (Grandstream, Yeastar), PBX software such as 3CX on a server, or a cloud phone system. The first three are only the switch: you still buy phone lines or a SIP trunk, numbers and installation separately. A cloud phone system like Sautikit includes the switch, a Kenyan number at KES 500 a month, free inbound calls and outbound calls at KES 3.00 a minute billed per second, with apps for staff instead of desk hardware. For most offices under 50 people, cloud is now the cheaper and faster path.
Strip away the brand names and every PBX does the same five jobs:
- Extensions. Each staff member gets a short internal number (101, 102) so colleagues can call each other without paying for a call.
- Routing. An incoming call to your main number rings reception, a team, or a specific person, in order or all at once.
- Queues. When everyone is busy, callers wait in line instead of hearing an engaged tone.
- Menus (IVR). "Press 1 for sales, 2 for accounts" sends callers to the right desk.
- Recording, voicemail and business hours. Calls are recorded, missed calls go to voicemail, and after-hours calls follow a different rule.
What no PBX does on its own is connect you to Safaricom, Airtel or Telkom customers. That needs a phone line, and in Kenya that is where most of the hidden cost sits.
The beige box in the server room. It connects to copper or GSM lines and wired handsets. It still works, but parts and technicians are getting harder to find, it cannot follow staff onto their mobiles, and adding a line means a technician visit. Most Kenyan resellers now quote IP systems instead.
A small box that runs PBX software and talks to IP desk phones over your office network. Grandstream's UCM6300 series, for example, has 1 to 8 FXO ports for ordinary phone lines and is "based on Asterisk version 16", according to Grandstream's own datasheet. You buy the box, the handsets, the lines and the installation. Yeastar lists "Bring Your Own Trunk & Numbers" as a feature, which tells you the lines are your problem.
The switch runs as software. 3CX is the name most Kenyan businesses hear from resellers. As listed on 3cx.com's price list on 5 November 2026, a system for 8 simultaneous calls (up to 40 users) costs $300 a year on Basic, $395 on PRO or $575 on AI, before tax, with "Hosted by 3CX" adding $295 a year at that size. FreePBX is free open-source software maintained by Sangoma, but someone has to install and run it. Neither includes a phone number or a minute of calling. Our full breakdown is in What is 3CX? and Sautikit vs 3CX.
The switch, the number and the minutes come as one service. There is no box, no server and no licence. Staff answer on the SautiKit Phone app on the web, Android, Windows or iOS and macOS (beta), or on any SIP desk phone they already own. You pay a monthly number rent and per-second calls from a prepaid KES wallet.
The table compares what you pay before the first call connects. "Quote" means the price is set by a reseller or installer and is not published.
| Cost item | Analogue PABX | IP PBX appliance | 3CX / FreePBX software | Sautikit cloud |
|---|
| Switch | Box, quote | Box, quote | Licence from $300/yr (3CX Basic, 8 calls) or free (FreePBX) | Included |
| Server | Not needed | The box | Your server, or $295/yr hosted (3CX, 8 calls) | Not needed |
| Phone number | From your telco | From your trunk provider | From your trunk provider | KES 500/month, live in seconds |
| Inbound calls | Telco rate | Trunk rate | Trunk rate | Free |
| Outbound calls | Telco rate | Trunk rate | Trunk rate | KES 3.00/min, per second |
| Handsets | Required | Required | Optional | Optional, free apps |
| Installation | Technician, quote | Installer, quote | Reseller, quote | None, self-serve |
| Currency | KES | Often USD hardware | USD licence | KES, M-Pesa or card |
The pattern is the same across the first three columns: the switch is the visible price, and the line, the minutes and the installer are quoted separately. That is why two "PBX quotes" for the same office in Nairobi can differ by a factor of three.
Yeastar is the IP PBX brand Nairobi shops stock most. These are the prices one Nairobi reseller, Yealink Shop Kenya, listed on 5 November 2026, before tax:
| Yeastar model | Listed price |
|---|
| S412 | KSh 30,000 |
| S20 | KSh 35,000 |
| S50 | KSh 60,000 |
| P550 | KSh 65,000 |
| S100 | KSh 90,000 |
| P560 | KSh 113,000 |
| S300 (60 concurrent calls) | KSh 145,000 |
| P570 | KSh 217,000 |
Prices vary by shop: the same day, Wavetech listed the P570 at KSh 185,000. The box is only the switch. Before it makes a call you add:
- IP handsets for staff who want a desk phone;
- a SIP trunk and numbers from a provider (compared in SIP trunk providers in Kenya);
- installation and configuration by the reseller.
Every box is also sized by concurrent calls. The S300 above carries 60 at once; when they are all in use, the next call cannot get through until one ends. So does a 3CX licence (8, 16, 24 simultaneous calls) and most Kenyan SIP trunks (4, 8, 16 channels). Sautikit has no channel count to buy: you pay KES 500 a month for the number and the minutes you use.
IP PBX or 3CX route. A Yeastar P550 box is KSh 65,000 at one Nairobi shop, or a 3CX Basic licence for 8 simultaneous calls is $300 a year, both as listed on 5 November 2026. Add a server or hosting, a SIP trunk contract, numbers from the trunk provider, IP handsets if you want desk phones, and the reseller's installation fee. Four of those six lines are quotes, so you only know the total when the reseller sends it.
Sautikit route. One shared business number is KES 500 × 12 = KES 6,000 for the year. Inbound calls are free however many you take. If the team makes 2,000 minutes of outbound calls a month, that is KES 6,000 a month, billed per second so a 40-second call costs KES 2.00, not a full minute. Staff install the free app; nothing is installed in the office.
These are the names you will meet in Kenyan quotes, and how each one connects to a Kenyan number:
- Yeastar (P-Series, S-Series). IP PBX boxes from KSh 30,000 to over KSh 200,000. Bring your own trunk. Setup: Connect a Yeastar P-Series PBX.
- Grandstream UCM. IP PBX boxes built on Asterisk, with ports for ordinary phone lines. Setup: Connect a Grandstream UCM.
- 3CX. PBX software, licensed per year in US dollars by simultaneous calls, sold through partners. Setup: Connect 3CX to a Kenyan SIP trunk.
- FreePBX. Free open-source software on Asterisk; you run the server. Setup: Connect FreePBX.
- Avaya IP Office. Common in larger offices and hotels. Setup: Connect Avaya IP Office.
- Panasonic and NEC. Analogue and hybrid PABX boxes, still in many older offices.
- Sautikit. Cloud: the switch, a Kenyan number and the minutes in one account, answered on the SautiKit Phone apps or any SIP desk phone. Claim a number.
Hosted options such as Cloud One's business suite run 3CX or a similar PBX for you on a contract; see Sautikit vs Cloud One.
Less than you might expect. A Sautikit number can:
- Ring several people. Forward to one or more phones, in order or all at once, first answer wins (forwarding guide).
- Queue callers. Put callers in a queue with hold music while the team is busy, then fall back to voicemail.
- Reach desk phones by extension. A desk phone registered to your number answers on a short extension, and any phone that registers with a SIP username and password works: see the Grandstream phone guide.
- Follow business hours. Different routing after hours, set per number.
- Answer with AI. A managed AI agent can take every call, or only after hours, and hand over to a person with a summary (AI agents).
- Record calls. 100 MB of recording storage is free (kept 24 hours); paid tiers keep recordings for 3, 14 or 60 days.
- Ring on every device. One line can have several devices, laptop and phones, ringing together.
If you have a working 3CX, Yeastar, Grandstream UCM or FreePBX system and trained staff, you do not need to replace it to cut your call costs. Each Sautikit number comes with SIP credentials (server sip.sautikit.com, port 5080, UDP, plus a generated username and password). Any PBX that registers with a username and password can use the number as its line, so inbound calls become free and outbound calls cost KES 3.00 a minute billed per second. Step by step: Use Sautikit as a SIP trunk and Connect a Yeastar P-Series PBX. Test a call before you move your main number.
- Do you already own a working PBX? Keep it and swap the line to a Sautikit number.
- Do staff work away from their desks? Pick cloud: the app rings on their phone wherever they are.
- Do you want a single bill in shillings? Cloud, paid by M-Pesa. Licences and hardware are usually priced in dollars.
- Do you need it live this week? Cloud is live in minutes. Box and software projects run through a reseller's schedule.
- Is this really a call centre for a team of agents? Look at Helloduty, the call-centre product that runs on Sautikit voice.
None in practice. PABX (private automatic branch exchange) is the older name from when switchboards became automatic. Kenyan suppliers use both words for the same thing: a system that gives your office extensions and routes calls.
It depends on the type. PBX software like 3CX starts at $300 a year for 8 simultaneous calls on the Basic edition (3cx.com, 5 November 2026), before tax, and you add a trunk, numbers and installation. Appliances and analogue boxes are priced by quote. A Sautikit cloud phone system costs KES 500 a month per number, with free inbound calls and outbound at KES 3.00 a minute billed per second, and no installation.
On 5 November 2026 one Nairobi reseller listed the Yeastar S20 at KSh 35,000, the P550 at KSh 65,000, the P560 at KSh 113,000 and the P570 at KSh 217,000, before tax. Handsets, a SIP trunk, numbers and installation are extra.
As many as its size allows. Boxes, 3CX licences and SIP trunks are each sized by concurrent calls, and when they are all in use the next call cannot get through. Sautikit numbers have no channel count to buy.
An IP PBX is a PBX that carries calls over your data network instead of copper phone wiring. It connects IP desk phones and softphone apps, and reaches the outside world through a SIP trunk. Grandstream UCM, Yeastar and 3CX are common IP PBX options in Kenya.
A voice call needs a small, steady connection rather than a fast one. If your office fibre drops, a cloud phone system keeps working because staff can answer on the mobile app over mobile data, which an on-premise box cannot do once its own link is down.
No. Staff can answer on the free SautiKit Phone app on the phones and laptops they already have. Existing IP desk phones keep working too, as long as they register with a SIP username and password. Keep your old number forwarded to the new Sautikit number while customers update their records.
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