8×8 vs Ooma: Which Is Better for Small Businesses in 2023?
Corey McCraw is a staff writer covering VoIP and Unified Communications. Corey has over a decade of experience in marketing, tech writing, and corporate communications and has even penned content for the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative.
With more than five years of content writing experience, Sam covers office technology topics at Fit Small Business, including business phone systems and unified communications as a service (UCaaS).
This article is part of a larger series on VoIP.
8×8 and Ooma are top voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) providers offering unlimited calls within the United States, user-friendly mobile apps, and conferencing. In this 8×8 vs Ooma comparison, we found that 8×8 is superior, given its wider variety of phone numbers, a larger meeting capacity, and more robust third-party integrations. With Ooma, your business gets access to an extensive range of proprietary VoIP devices and huge discounts on units.
- 8×8: Better for establishing or expanding international presence and connecting with remote team members via video conferencing
- Ooma: Better for organizations that require reliable and cost-effective VoIP phones for their business communications
8×8 vs Ooma at a Glance
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Monthly Starting Price per User | $15 | $19.95* |
Free Trial | 30 days | 30 days |
Virtual Phone Numbers | Local, toll-free, vanity, and international numbers | Local, toll-free, and vanity numbers |
Call Management | Auto-attendant, call forwarding, call transfer, call park, hunt and ring groups, call queues, voicemail transcription | Virtual receptionist, call forwarding, call transfer, call park, paging and ring groups, three-digit extensions |
International Calling | Unlimited calls to 48 countries with the highest-tier Business Communications plan | Unlimited calling to Mexico and Puerto Rico; calls to 200+ international locations are charged per minute |
Video Conferencing | 500 participants | 100 participants |
Integrations | Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Google Workspace, 1CRM, Copper, Freshdesk, HubSpot, and Zapier | Salesforce, Google Workspace, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Zapier |
Uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA) | 99.999% | Not available |
Customer Support | 24/7 customer support with X series plans | 24/7 customer support via phone |
For More Information |
*Applicable taxes and fees are not included.
Best Alternatives
If you have specific business needs that neither 8×8 vs Ooma accommodates, consider other communication platform options. Other business phone systems, such as the ones listed below, feature more extensive third-party integrations, a bigger toll-free minute allowance, and various tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI):
- RingCentral: RingCentral is a unified communications (UC) platform offering a full suite of video conferencing and team messaging features. It’s superior to 8×8 and Ooma in terms of integrations. The phone system works with 200-plus business tools and allows businesses to use open application programming interfaces (APIs). Read our RingCentral review for more details.
- Nextiva: While featuring robust video conferencing, team messaging, and task management capabilities, this UC solution offers a generous toll-free minute allowance. If you frequently get numerous calls from non-local customers, choose Nextiva’s Enterprise plan to take advantage of the 12,500 toll-free minutes. Our Nextiva review will help you learn more about this system.
- Dialpad: This phone system is equipped with AI-powered features, such as real-time call and voicemail transcriptions, automated post-call summaries, live speech coaching, and real-time analytics and reporting. Through these tools, team members are able to improve business conversations and overall productivity. Find out more about its capabilities in our Dialpad review.
Best for Pricing: 8×8
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Business Communications*:
| Ooma Office**:
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*Monthly pricing for X2 and X4 plans are based on monthly billing; save up to 23% with annual payments.
**Applicable taxes and fees are not included.
When comparing 8×8 vs Ooma pricing, 8×8 offers more money savings. Its base-level plan is priced at $15, which is more affordable than Ooma’s package, which starts at $19.95. Although an entry-level plan, it packs valuable capabilities, like HD video conferencing and a unified mobile, desktop, and web app—features Ooma provides only in its more expensive subscriptions.
Aside from the affordable, feature-rich starter plan, 8×8 offers discounts for businesses choosing the annual billing cycle. The X2 plan comes with 15% savings, while the X4 package provides 23% savings. Ooma doesn’t have discounts on annual billing.
On top of these, 8×8 allows you to mix and match plans when you choose the X2 and X4 packages. With this, you only pay for the tools you need for business communications.
Best for Virtual Phone Numbers: 8×8
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Both 8×8 and Ooma offer a variety of virtual phone numbers, but 8×8 has a slight edge because it has local phone numbers in over 100 countries. It covers Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Latin America, making it an excellent VoIP platform for businesses wanting to establish and strengthen their global presence.
8×8 allows businesses to forward calls from an extension, an auto-attendant, or a ring group to an international number. The provider’s technical support team enables this feature after reviewing and processing requests.
As for other types of virtual phone numbers, both 8×8 and Ooma provide local, toll-free, and vanity numbers. To get an 8×8 phone number, you must log into the Admin Console, go to the “Phone Numbers” option in the main menu, and click the “Claim Phone Numbers” button. On Ooma, you’ll see a number search tool on their website, where you can select phone number options when you sign up for the subscription plan.
Pick a local, toll-free, or vanity number from Ooma’s number search tool. (Source: Ooma)
Best for VoIP Calling & Call Management: 8×8
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In terms of call management, 8×8 wins over Ooma since its niche capabilities listed in the table above offer more value for businesses—prompting quicker, better customer service and needs-based training opportunities. Unlike Ooma, 8×8 has call monitoring features, allowing businesses to quickly identify and respond to problems and effectively coach agents.
8×8’s analytics is also more advanced than Ooma’s since it analyzes user speech and identifies content trends. It comes with quality management, enabling managers to assess team members’ performance.
Refer to 8×8 Work’s analytics to see important call data, such as total inbound, total answered, and total abandoned calls. (Source: 8×8)
Aside from the robust call management features, 8×8 wins in VoIP calling because it offers unlimited international calling. When you choose the X4 plan, you’re able to connect with customers and colleagues in 48 countries, including China, Japan, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. This is the reason it’s one of our top picks for small business VoIP services.
As we compared the niche capabilities of Ooma vs 8×8, we also took note of the call management features they share:
- Auto-attendant
- Extensions
- Voicemail
- Call forwarding
- Find me/Follow me
- Ring and hunt groups
- Call queues
- Music on hold
- Call transfer
- Call recording
- Call park
- Call flip
- Call blocking
- Overhead paging
- Paging groups
- Call analytics
- Conference bridge
- Hotdesking
Best for Hardware: Ooma
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Although both providers have hardware offerings, Ooma offers first-party hardware. It facilitates a safe, seamless VoIP experience for businesses as the devices are preconfigured to the software. At the same time, Ooma Office is compatible with a range of third-party devices, including Grandstream, Yealink, and Cisco. Its Enterprise solution supports Polycom, Mitel, Jabra, and Netgear.
Aside from the range of devices offered, the provider regularly provides discounts for its devices. Its buy one, get one deal carries $600 to $800 savings for 10 bundled phones. The provider’s risk-free 30-day return policy is a plus, helping businesses buy units with peace of mind.
Ooma lets businesses choose and buy IP phones from their website. (Source: Ooma)
8×8’s hardware catalog features Poly, Yealink, and AudioCodes. Although it offers different payment plans, it lacks bundle pricing, which could benefit businesses buying multiple devices. Hence, for this round of Ooma versus 8×8 comparison, Ooma wins in the hardware category.
Best for Video Conferencing: 8×8
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When comparing 8×8 versus Ooma’s video conferencing capabilities, 8×8 emerges as the better provider because of its large meeting participant capacity and interactive environment. 8×8’s maximum number of conferencing attendees is 500, while Ooma only accommodates up to 100.
8×8’s video conferencing feature comes with breakout room capabilities. (Source: 8×8)
8×8 creates a highly engaging, collaborative atmosphere in meetings because it features virtual backgrounds, live emoji reactions, hand-raising, screen sharing, instant polls, and breakout rooms. Moreover, businesses are able to broadcast sessions on YouTube, allowing more team members and customers to engage in the meetings. On the other hand, Ooma’s collaboration tools are limited to in-meeting chat and screen sharing.
Ooma allows screen sharing in online meetings. (Source: Ooma for Business YouTube)
Best for Integrations: 8×8
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Looking at the provider’s integrations, we found that 8×8 works with more third-party business tools than Ooma. Ooma only integrates with a few customer relationship management (CRM) systems and productivity tools, whereas 8×8 natively connects with workforce management, customer service, team messaging, and single sign-on providers.
Users are able to maximize 8×8’s phone capabilities on the Salesforce platform. (Source: 8×8)
8×8 also works seamlessly with the automation tool Zapier, enabling users to connect 8×8 to over 5,000 apps. Ooma, on the other hand, integrates with the automation tool IFTTT.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does 8×8 record all calls?
Yes, but the call recording feature is only available in 8×8’s X2 plans and higher. To activate automatic call recording, follow these steps:
- Go to the Users option and select the Edit icon.
- Click the “Call Recording Settings.”
- Set the recording mode to “Record all Calls for this User.”
Become more familiar with this provider’s other features by reading this in-depth 8×8 review.
What is the minimum internet speed for 8×8?
In general, the required internet connection speed for VoIP is 5 to 25 Mbps of download speed. 8×8 offers a VoIP speed test tool on its website, giving businesses an overview of its connection upload and download speeds, latency, jitter, packet loss, and quality of service (QoS) factors that measure your network’s VoIP readiness.
Can I use Ooma outside the U.S.?
As long as you have a stable internet connection, you’re able to use Ooma and maximize its features anywhere in the world. When using the platform for calls outside the U.S., you’ll be charged per minute. However, calls to Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico are free of charge.
Learn more about the provider’s calling features by checking our Ooma review. If you want more solution options for overseas calling, check this list of the best services for VoIP international calls.
How We Evaluated 8×8 vs Ooma
To provide an objective Ooma vs 8×8 comparison review, we identified criteria points that reflect small businesses’ priorities when choosing a VoIP provider. These include pricing, general features, collaboration tools, and overall ease of use and popularity.
Here’s a complete breakdown of these factors:
- Pricing: To evaluate how accessible the platform’s pricing point is, we considered the cost of each provider’s entry-level and second-tier plans. We checked if they offer a free plan and annual and volume discounts.
- General features: This category consists of basic VoIP features, such as unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada, uptime SLA, and mobile apps. We also took into account each platform’s call management features.
- UC features: We looked at the availability of team messaging and video conferencing features. We favored the provider that offers robust capabilities, such as larger meeting participant capacity and advanced in-meeting collaboration tools.
- Expert score: Our expert score includes our evaluation of the providers’ standout features, popularity, and ease of use. We also considered their value for money.
Bottom Line
8×8 and Ooma are business phone systems offering robust features for team and customer communications. However, 8×8 is the better overall option because it provides a variety of virtual phone numbers, including international numbers, excellent calling and call management capabilities, a large meeting participant capacity, and several third-party integrations.
However, if you prefer a VoIP provider with a reliable and extensive hardware catalog, Ooma is the better, more practical option. Take advantage of its bundled discounts to supply the devices your team needs.
