GoTo Connect Review: Is It Right for Your Business?
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.
Marianne is a staff writer at Fit Small Business who covers business phone services, VoIP, and video conferencing tools.
This article is part of a larger series on Unified Communications.
GoTo Connect is a cloud-based voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) provider best for small teams looking for an affordable phone system and companies needing unlimited overseas calling. Based on our GoTo Connect review, this provider scored high in pricing, general and niche features, and customer service. However, it got a lower score in ease of use because of its steep learning curve.
GoTo Connect Review: At a Glance
Overall Score:
4.30 / 5
What We Like
- Unlimited extensions on all plans
- Unlimited calls to 52 countries
- Customizable call flows
- Easily scales into a contact center solution
What's Missing
- No international phone numbers
- Entry-level plan limits meeting capacity to four people
- Only supports 30 third-party integrations
- User interface is not intuitive enough
When to Use GoTo Connect
- Virtual numbers: This provider offers local, toll-free, and vanity numbers with every plan tier.
- International calling: It offers affordable plans with unlimited overseas calling.
- Hosted PBX (private branch exchange): GoTo Connect is one of our top hosted PBX providers for its rich video meeting features.
When to Use an Alternative
- You need international phone numbers: 8×8 offers phone number support in 100+ countries.
- You’re looking for extensive third-party integrations: RingCentral connects with 300+ business applications.
- Your team desires robust unified communications: GoTo Connect has no cloud storage and collaboration tools, so check this guide for alternatives.
GoTo Connect Deciding Factors
GoTo Connect offers cloud-based PBX and unified communications (UC) services accessible through desk phones, desktops, and mobile devices. Its three pricing packages have affordable fees compared to enterprise-level providers like RingCentral and Nextiva. While it doesn’t have rich collaboration features, it provides more value than alternatives like Grasshopper, especially regarding call management features.
Best For | Companies with international presence and small teams looking for an affordable UC platform |
Standout Features |
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Pricing Plans |
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Annual or Volume Discounts Available | Discounts are available for annual billing and volume purchases |
Key Integrations |
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Customer Service | Phone and email support is available on weekdays from 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time |
GoTo Connect Alternatives
Despite GoTo Connect’s flexible offerings, it doesn’t have robust integrations, international phone numbers, collaboration tools, and live chat support. If these are what you need, here are the top three alternatives to consider:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Teams looking for an exceptional overall package of features and usability | Organizations wanting to establish a virtual presence in global locations | Companies needing an all-in-one platform for team collaboration and customer engagement |
Starting Price ($/User/Month) | $32.99 | $15 | $30.95 |
Learn More |
GoTo Connect pricing consists of three monthly plans ranging from $27 to $43 per user. Features and inclusions unlock and increase when you subscribe to their more expensive plans. For instance, the entry-level plan includes all the essentials, such as VoIP calling, video meetings, and team chat, while the Premium plan comes with customizable contact center features. Discounts are available when you add more registered users.
GoTo Connect Plans | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Small teams looking for a basic phone system with video conferencing | Small businesses needing unlimited international calls | Those looking for an advanced phone system with customizable contact center features |
Monthly Pricing ($/User/Month)* | $27 | $32 | N/A |
Annual Pricing ($/User/Month) | $24 | $29 | $43 |
No. of Custom Auto-attendant Greetings | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Ring Groups | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
International Calling | Charged per minute | 50+ countries | 50+ countries |
Toll-free Minutes** | 3 cents/minute | 1,000 free minutes | 5,000 free minutes |
Meeting Duration | 40 minutes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Meeting Participants | 4 | 150 | 250 |
Real-time Analytics | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
*Pricing is based on two to 10 users.
**If the allotted minutes are used up, an additional charge of 1.9 cents per minute applies.
Click on the options below for more information on GoTo Connect’s plans and inclusions:
Basic
This entry-level plan lets you access GoTo Connect on any device via the web, mobile, and its softphone app. Upon signing up, choose local, toll-free, or vanity numbers, depending on what suits your business. International call rates apply per country, and toll-free calls cost 3 cents per minute. Video/audio meetings support up to four participants with a maximum duration of 40 minutes. Other features include one ring group, one call queue, and team messaging.
Standard
Upgrading to the Standard plan provides unlimited access to custom dial plans, ring groups, call queues, and custom greetings. Additional features include call recording, analytics, and call management. Users also get free unlimited calls to 52 countries and 1,000 toll-free minutes. The maximum capacity for video meetings is 150 participants, with no limits on meeting duration.
Premium
GoTo Connect Features
GoTo Connect is a cloud-based phone system that offers many features for managing calls, texts, chat messages, voicemail, e-fax, and video conferences. Given its affordable price range, it has impressive inclusions like unlimited overseas calls and features like an easy-to-use dial plan editor. However, integrations are limited to 30 business apps, including Zendesk, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and Zapier.
GoTo Connect offers a variety of call management features to ensure a smooth call handling process. These include custom auto-attendants, hotdesking, custom greetings, call forwarding, call filtering, and a dial-by-name directory. Its highlight feature is the dial plan editor that lets you manage call flows in a visual drag-and-drop interface. This allows you easily direct calls to specific extensions, departments, voicemail boxes, and ring groups.
The Dial Plan Editor lets you customize your call flows entirely using elements like sound clips, voicemail, queue, schedule, and auto-attendant. (Source: GoTo Connect)
One of GoTo Connect’s strengths is its unlimited calls to 52 countries. While most competitors only offer a local or toll-free number upon sign-up, GoTo Connect has a vanity number option for added customization. Desktop and mobile apps are available to help you efficiently access your phone system wherever you are. It is also compatible with over 180 desk phone models.
Here are other standout features of GoTo Connect:
Video Meetings
GoTo Connect lets you host video meetings for up to 250 participants. Presenters share their screens through their desktop or mobile screens. Drawing tools, such as a pointer, pen, highlighter, and spotlight, are available to help you illustrate your point during presentations. Participants aren’t required to download an app to join meetings since it works in a browser.
GoTo Connect lets you host meetings with up to 25 simultaneous webcams. (Source: GoTo Connect)
Cloud Contact Center
All Premium users have access to its customizable cloud contact center platform with tools like call monitoring, call analytics, and a supervisor dashboard. It comes with agent effectiveness reporting that displays agent-specific performance to drive insights for training and customer service.
The supervisor dashboard displays agent activity and real-time metrics, such as the number of total calls, callers in queue, and longest wait time. (Source: GoTo Connect)
Admin Controls
GoTo Connect has an intuitive admin portal that lets users customize its phone system capabilities, including interactive voice response (IVR), conferencing, recording, and voicemail. It also enables account admins to handle phone numbers and multiple phone lines across your business. Other admin configurations include updating call flows, assigning extensions, and creating user profiles.
The web-based admin portal lets you view your current users and add new ones if needed. (Source: GoTo Connect)
Real-time Analytics
The analytics page allows administrators to identify call patterns and activities by day, time, and location. Speech and text analytics provide an in-depth understanding of customer interactions. Reporting features include historical call logs to help compare previous performance with current statistics.
GoTo Connect lets you check real-time statistics like average handle time, the number of logged-in agents, and total calls. (Source: GoTo Connect)
GoTo Connect’scustomer service channels are limited to phone and email support, which are available on weekdays from 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Despite the lack of live chat support, many users commended its customer service team for being responsive and resolving their issues promptly.
At first glance, GoTo Connect’s user interface looks simple and easy to use, whether you’re on a browser or a softphone app. However, online reviews show that many users experience a bit of a learning curve when searching for information and configuring the settings. Some say it needs more improvement when it comes to intuitiveness. Still, a comprehensive knowledge base is available to easily configure your phone system and manage its user access.
Most GoTo Connect reviews reveal that most customers use its platform for remote communication needs. They like how easy it is to manage calls, video meetings, texts, chat messages, and faxes from anywhere. Many users also appreciate its flexibility, customer service, quick setup process, and customization options. However, there are also negative reviews about occasional glitches, learning curves, and a lack of robust integrations.
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on 1,038 reviews
- Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 based on 629 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.1 out of 10 based on 243 reviews
How We Evaluated GoTo Connect
To get a deeper look at GoTo Connect, we explored the platform ourselves and looked through online reviews from verified GoTo Connect users. From there, we considered key factors, such as pricing, general and niche features, customer service, and ease of use.
Learn how we evaluated GoTo Connect by clicking on the tabs below:
20%
Pricing
25%
General Features
20%
Niche Features
10%
Customer Service
10%
Ease of Use
15%
Expert Score
20% of Overall Score
GoTo Connect got high points for its pricing since its entry-level plan costs less than $30 than other leading VoIP providers. While it doesn’t have a free plan, we checked the availability of a free trial, scalable pricing options, and the ability to pay monthly or quarterly.
25% of Overall Score
We checked for valuable features that enable users to manage their flow of inbound and outbound calls. These include an auto-attendant, call forwarding, and voicemail. We also looked at the overall usability of its desktop and mobile app.
20% of Overall Score
We examined advanced features that make GoTo Connect stand out from other competitors. We awarded additional points for the availability of international calling, vanity numbers, call reports, and video meetings.
10% of Overall Score
Customer support is critical for businesses that are first-time users of cloud-based phone service and those who don’t have an in-house tech team. With this, we checked the types of customer service channels offered by GoTo Connect and their availability during weekdays, weekends, and holidays.
10% of Overall Score
To measure the platform’s usability, we explored the different functionalities of GoTo Connect and considered the personal experience of its users. We checked how easy it is to configure call handling rules and analyzed the technical skills required to troubleshoot phone system issues.
15% of Overall Score
We analyzed GoTo Connect’s overall performance by comparing it with our previous experiences in using other business phone systems like RingCentral and 8×8. From there, we shared our thoughts about its key features, value for money, and popularity.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
GoTo Connect reviews show it’s an excellent fit for businesses looking for an affordable UC solution with broad global coverage for unlimited international calling. It also offers excellent tools for customizing call flows, extracting call reports, hosting video meetings, and customizing admin controls. However, you might want to look elsewhere if you’re looking for robust integrations, international SMS, and team collaboration features.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial to determine if it matches your business needs.
