SIPdia vs MicroSIP: A Fair Comparison

MicroSIP and SIPdia rarely compete for the same user, because they do not share a platform. MicroSIP is a small, free, open source softphone for Windows that has been maintained for many years and offers an unusually long codec list. It suits Windows users, people who want GPL software, and administrators who need a lightweight client on many PCs. SIPdia is a closed-source freemium client for macOS, iPhone and iPad with TLS and SRTP on its free plan, and it is still in release preparation. It suits Apple users who want a native client with CallKit and menu bar integration. If you have both Windows and Apple devices, you may end up using one of each.

Side by side

SIPdia facts come from the SIPdia product fact sheet. MicroSIP facts come from the official pages linked in each cell. "Not documented" means the official pages we reviewed do not state it.

	SIPdia	MicroSIP
Platforms	macOS 14+, iOS/iPadOS 17+	Windows 7 and later; Linux, macOS and BSD via Wine; Android, iPhone and iPad not supported (home)
Pricing model	Freemium. Free: one account. Premium: recording, more accounts, forwarding and DND. No prices published yet.	Free; no price shown; donations requested (home)
Open source	No. Closed-source app built on baresip (BSD licence)	Yes. GNU GPL v2 (home)
Transports	UDP, TCP, TLS	UDP, TCP, TLS and a UDP+TCP mode (help)
Media encryption	SRTP, Optional or Required. No ZRTP	SRTP optional or mandatory, DTLS-SRTP; ZRTP not documented (help)
Codecs	Opus, G.711 ulaw and alaw	Opus, G.711 A-law and u-law, G.722, G.721.1 (as listed), G.723, G.729, GSM, AMR, AMR-WB, iLBC, Speex, SILK, Linear PCM (home)
Multiple accounts	Yes, all registered at once. Free: one account. Premium: unlimited	Several accounts can be created, one active at a time (help)
Transfer	Blind and attended	Blind and attended in Call Manager mode; attended via feature codes in Single Call mode (help)
Hold	Yes	Yes, in Call Manager mode; switching calls holds the previous one (help)
Call recording	Local WAV recording, Premium	Yes, manual or all calls, free (help, changelog 3.19.10)
Push notifications on mobile	No. App must be open	Not applicable; no mobile app (home)
Release status	In release preparation, not yet downloadable	Shipping; version 3.22.23 dated 1 November 2026 (downloads)

Where MicroSIP is stronger

Open source and free. MicroSIP's GPLv2 licence lets anyone inspect and build it, and every feature on the official site is available at no cost, including call recording. SIPdia is closed source and charges for recording and for more than one account.

Codecs. MicroSIP lists Opus, G.711, G.722, G.729, GSM, AMR, iLBC, Speex, SILK and more. SIPdia ships Opus and G.711 only and leaves out G.722 and G.729 for licence reasons. If your PBX or trunk insists on G.729, MicroSIP has it and SIPdia does not.

Windows. MicroSIP is a native Windows application. SIPdia has no Windows build at all, so a Windows user has no SIPdia option.

Additional media encryption modes. MicroSIP documents DTLS-SRTP in addition to SDES SRTP. SIPdia documents SRTP only.

Maturity. The official changelog runs through version 3.22.23 dated 1 November 2026 and shows years of incremental fixes. SIPdia is at version 1.0 and has not been released.

Where SIPdia is stronger

Apple platforms. SIPdia runs natively on macOS 14 and later and on iOS and iPadOS 17 and later. MicroSIP's site points Mac users to Wine and lists iPhone and iPad as not supported, so SIPdia is the only one of the two that exists on a phone.

Simultaneous account registration. SIPdia registers all configured accounts at once and lets you pick the "From" account per call; the free plan allows one account and Premium removes the limit. MicroSIP's help says that several accounts can be created but only one can be active at a time.

Transfer and hold without a mode switch. In SIPdia, hold, blind transfer and attended transfer between two open calls are always available. MicroSIP's help explains that multi-call handling, hold and attended transfer live in its Call Manager mode, while the default Single Call mode is deliberately basic (attended transfer there relies on PBX feature codes).

Phone-side integration. On iOS, SIPdia uses CallKit so calls appear on the system call screen and lock screen while the app is open, and it supports CarPlay audio and headset buttons. On macOS it adds a floating incoming-call window on every Space, a menu bar icon and keyboard shortcuts. These are platform features MicroSIP cannot offer because it does not run there.

Things both do

• Register against standard SIP servers such as Asterisk, FreePBX and Issabel.
• Offer UDP, TCP and TLS transports.
• Encrypt media with SRTP, with an optional and a required or mandatory mode.
• Support Opus and G.711.
• Provide hold, blind transfer and attended transfer (MicroSIP in Call Manager mode).
• Record calls locally (MicroSIP free; SIPdia in Premium).
• Stay small and single-purpose: neither is a full unified communications suite.

Who should choose which

Choose MicroSIP if you are on Windows, want GPL software, need G.729 or G.722, want recording at no cost, or need a client you can deploy today. It is also the obvious pick if you want to read the source.

Consider SIPdia if you are on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, want several accounts registered at once, value CallKit and macOS integration, and can keep the app open to receive calls since there are no push notifications yet. Pay for Premium only if you need recording, more than one account, or forwarding and DND through feature codes.

For a mixed Windows and Apple office, running MicroSIP on the PCs and SIPdia on the Apple devices against the same PBX is a reasonable plan once SIPdia ships. Our guide to choosing a SIP softphone covers how to test transport, codec and NAT settings before you decide.

Next steps

• Review the SIPdia feature list and pricing.
• Check the download center for release status.
• MicroSIP's official site and help are linked in the sources below.