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.
Rain is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on sales, such as VoIP and video conferencing.
This article is part of a larger series on Unified Communications.
GoTo Connect (formerly Jive) is a unified communication (UC) software with collaboration and call center features. It lets users manage calls, texts, voicemail, audio conferences, and virtual meetings. It costs $24 per seat, per month for two to 10 users. If you are looking for an affordable unified communication solution for your business with an international reach, GoTo Connect is worth considering.
What We Recommend GoTo Connect For
GoTo Connect is a cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) and unified communications software accessible through voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) hardware, desktop, and mobile devices. With the flexible offerings, it is worth considering for businesses with multiple locations or remote employees.
When to Use GoTo Connect
- Businesses looking for a VoIP service with a video conferencing feature: GoTo Connect lets users host video conferences and virtual meetings. While it only allows four participants for base plan users, it still isn’t bad compared to other providers—like RingCentral— that only offers this in a more advanced plan. GoTo Connect made it to our list of the best small business VoIP services for its platform’s optimized audio and video conferencing features. It is also one of the best video conferencing software for small businesses.
- Companies with an international presence looking for a unified communications tool with unlimited overseas calling: GoTo Connect provides users subscribed to its Standard and Premium plans unlimited calls to over 50 countries. GoTo Connect made it to our list of the best services for VoIP international calls and best hosted PBX providers for this unlimited offering, unlike most providers—such as Nextiva or RingCentral—that charge international calls by the minute.
- Small teams, freelancers, and solopreneurs on the go who need an affordable, unified communications (UC) solution: GoTo Connect is a budget-friendly UC platform accessible across various devices, including smartphones. It also features team collaboration capabilities, like screen sharing, drawing tools, and remote desktop control. With its ease of access, it is an excellent choice for those who don’t want to tie their productivity to their desks alone.
When GoTo Connect Might Not Be a Good Fit
- Businesses looking for a scalable unified communications system that they can utilize for the long term: While GoTo Connect provides an impressive set of features, it still cannot beat RingCentral in terms of integrations, automations, and variety of features. Its plans are packaged for those with growing needs, targeting small business owners up to enterprise-level ones. You can also check out our head-to-head GoTo Connect vs RingCentral comparison for more information.
- Google Workspace users looking for a free, basic VoIP platform: If you are using Google Workspace in your business, Google Voice is the best choice for you. It integrates well with other apps in the suite, such as Google Calendar and Gmail. While it offers cheap paid plans, it also has a free version perfect for those who just need the basics, such as calls and voicemails.
- Businesses with a global presence looking for a more affordable option with international phone numbers available: GoTo Connect lacks international phone numbers, unlike other cheaper alternatives like 8×8. Apart from this advantage, 8×8 has lower rates compared to GoTo Connect. Both providers offer unlimited calling to overseas locations.
Want to know more about unified communications systems? Read our guide on what unified communications is, how it works, and other information, like top features.
GoTo Connect Overview
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Affordable pricing, with monthly billing option | Lacks international phone numbers, unlike 8x8 and Dialpad |
| Simple and easy to use | Entry-level plan’s maximum number of meeting participants is limited to four |
| Visual dial plan editor available | Only the most expensive tier provides advanced call management tools like listen, whisper, and barge |
| All plans include unlimited extensions | Video conferencing tool limits simultaneous webcams to 25 |
| Unlimited calls to over 50 countries included in the higher plans, unlike other providers that charge per minute, such as Nextiva | Has fewer capabilities than cheaper alternatives like Dialpad |
| One-day deployment | |
| Third-party app integrations and API are available | |
| Offers a 14-day free trial | |
GoTo Connect Pricing
GoTo Connect offers three plans that start at $22 per user, per month when billed annually. This rate is applicable for accounts with two to 10 users. However, customers are allowed to register one to over 100 seats. Discounts are available for longer contract length and more registered users.
GoTo Connect Plans | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Small businesses looking for a basic cloud-based phone system with video conferencing and chat | Teams with over 20 users looking for a more advanced VoIP platform with real-time analytics | Those looking for an advanced phone system with customizable contact center features |
Monthly Pricing ($/User/Month)* | $24/user/month | $29/user/month | Starts at $39/user/month |
Annual Pricing* ($/User/Month) | $22/user/month | $26/user/month | Starts at $39/user/month |
No. of Custom Auto-attendant Greetings | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
No. of Customizable Dial Plans | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Toll-free Minutes | Additional 3 cents/minute | 1,000 minutes/user** | 1,000 minutes/user** |
Meeting Duration | 40 minutes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
E-fax | N/A | ✓ | ✓ |
Real-time Analytics | N/A | ✓ | ✓ |
Customizable Admin Controls | N/A | N/A | ✓ |
*Rates displayed are applicable for accounts with two to 10 users. Annual pricing is paid in full at the beginning of the billing cycle.
**Excess usage costs 19 cents per minute.
GoTo Connect’s plans are packaged based on a business’ growing needs. Its features and inclusions unlock and increase in more expensive plans. For instance, its entry-level plans include all the essentials, including VoIP calling, video conferencing, team messaging, business texts, and business voicemail. Other business phone system providers—such as RingCentral—offer video conferencing in higher tiers.
Considering other RingCentral competitors? Read our list of the best RingCentral alternatives to learn which is the best for your business.
GoTo Connect is also an excellent choice for small teams looking for an affordable unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solution. Its entry-level plan is cheaper and provides more value than alternatives like Grasshopper. For better comparison, when a customer registers only one seat, GoTo Connect’s entry-level plan costs $26 per month when billed annually. Meanwhile, Grasshopper costs $29 per month with only three extensions vs GoTo Connect’s unlimited number of extensions.
Moreover, GoTo Connect’s price range is similar to most alternatives geared more to small business needs like Vonage—with three pricing tiers. Its rates do not have steep price jumps for premium tiers, unlike Nextiva. Additionally, its affordable fees are impressive given that they provide unlimited international calling to over 50 countries for its more advanced tiers, as opposed to 8×8’s maximum of 47.
GoTo Connect VoIP Phones
GoTo Connect supports various VoIP hardware from popular providers, such as Yealink, Cisco, and Poly. These devices include desk phones, conference phones, and cordless phones, ranging from $119 to $899.
Utilizing VoIP hardware is helpful for those with onsite employees. This preconfigured device ensures static-free and high-quality calling. If you are always on the go, there is no need to purchase this hardware as you can still access your VoIP’s capabilities through desktop, laptop, or mobile devices.
Looking for more platform options? Check out our guide on what UCaaS is and how united communications helps businesses, and see which of the top providers mentioned match your needs.
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 callings—and features, such as an easy-to-use dial plan editor. This provider is best for small teams looking for a budget-friendly platform to help them manage and unify their business communications.
GoTo Connect comes with a drag-and-drop visual dial plan editor that lets you create and customize your call flows.
(Source: GoTo Connect)
GoTo Connect’s strengths include its unlimited international calling, unlimited extensions, and dial plan editor. Additionally, apart from its third-party software integrations, GoTo provides a Developer Center—similar to RingCentral’s—where a GoTo Connect API is available. Let’s discuss more of its features below.
General Features
GoToConnect lets users call their customers and colleagues with any of their devices that are connected to the internet. Additionally, they can access its call management features, such as call queues, ring groups, custom dial plans, auto-attendant recorded greetings, call forwarding, and smart call routing. Audio-conferencing through VoIP or dial-in with numbers for over 30 countries is also available.
GoToConnect lets you save contacts and tag them as a “Favorite” for easier access and calling.
(Source: GoToConnect)
Users can port their existing phone numbers or choose local, toll-free, and vanity numbers. An unlimited number of extensions are also available. Advanced capabilities for premium plans include e-fax, hotdesking, call recording, real-time analytics, caller hold time report, and paging.
Looking for more flexibility in your business communications? Check out our guide on the best hosted PBX providers to find out which product matches your needs.
Cloud Contact Center
All Premium users can access GoTo Contact, its customizable cloud contact center platform with tools like call analytics, interactive voice response (IVR), and automatic call distribution. It also comes with advanced capabilities, such as listen, whisper, and barge, inbound and outbound call monitoring, and supervisor dashboard.
Want to learn more about the distinction between a unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS)? Check out our article, UCaaS vs CCaaS: What the Difference Is & When to Use Them, to learn more.
GoToConnect lets administrators easily review assigned queues from its dashboard.
(Source: GoToConnect)
If you are looking specifically for a cloud contact center solution, you can also reach out to its sales team to tailor a plan that matches your needs. However, note that the Basic plan users aren’t allowed to access GoTo Contact. Meanwhile, those subscribed to the Standard tier can purchase this product as an add-on.
Searching for other options? Read our list of the best call center phone systems to determine the service and product that suits your business.
Video Meetings
GoToConnect users can host video conferences with four up to 250 participants, four to 25 simultaneous web cameras, and a 40-minute to unlimited meeting duration. Its platform lets you control what you are displaying for your participants. Additionally, it comes with many team collaboration functionalities, such as screen sharing, drawing tools, and keyboard and mouse controls.
GoToConnect lets virtual meeting hosts and participants collaborate on-screen through drawing tools, including a pointer, pen, highlighter, and spotlight.
(Source: GoToConnect)
GoToConnect allows users to share their desktops, laptops, and mobile phone screens. You can also set up a customized background and switch presenter roles while in a meeting. Participants and hosts aren’t required to download software to join or manage a virtual meeting, as you can access it from any browser.
Need a virtual meeting platform for your business? Read our list of the best video conferencing software to determine which works best for your business.
Admin Controls
GoToConnect’s admin tools help users manage its PBX’s capabilities, including conferencing, IVR, caller ID, dialing, incoming phone calls, and voicemails. It also enables account administrators to handle phone numbers and multiple phone lines utilized across your business.
GoToConnect lets users modify their settings in real time, including configurations for voicemail and fax.
(Source: GoToConnect)
GoToConnect provides portals for users and administrators. It comes with a web-based user portal where agents—even without admin permissions—can change their settings for the Find Me/Follow Me, voicemail, and fax-to-email capabilities.
Additionally, its web-based admin portal lets users with administrative permissions make real-time and universal changes to the PBX system from any device connected to the internet. These configurations include customizing the dial plan, setting up new devices, adding or deleting users, updating call filter settings, and changing music on hold.
GoTo Connect Alternatives
 |  |  |
Best for: Teams looking for an exceptional overall package of features, usability, and affordability | Best for: Organizations that have an international presence that need an unlimited overseas calling feature | Best for: Best for companies wanting a solid package with a free, professionally recorded voice greeting |
Starting price: $29.99 per user, per month | Starting price: $19.99 per line, per month | Starting price: $23.95 per user, per month |
Looking for other options? Check out our list of the best small business VoIP services to find out which product matches your needs.
What Users Think of GoTo Connect
The majority of GoTo Connect reviews commend its excellent ease of use and comprehensiveness. It works best for small businesses looking for an affordable VoIP service to help them manage omnichannel communications from any device. Businesses that don’t need enterprise-level providers like RingCentral and Nextiva find GoTo Connect’s capabilities enough for their needs.
At the time of publication, GoTo Connect has earned the following scores on popular user review sites:
- GetVoIP: 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 124 reviews
- Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 590 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.4 out of 10 stars based on 156 reviews
- G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 669 reviews
- GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 591 reviews
- VoipReview: 4.7 out of 5 stars based on 278 reviews
- Software Advice: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 45 reviews
Many users appreciate its simple, easy-to-use platform and reliability. They like that they can manage calls, video meetings, texts, chat messages, and faxes from anywhere. Meanwhile, there are mixed views on its customer support. Some commended its customer service team for being responsive—resolving their issues promptly. However, other users had the opposite experience, expressing disappointment due to the long wait time before they could reach the company.
Bottom Line
GoTo Connect is an excellent choice for small businesses with an international presence due to its unlimited overseas calling feature for over 50 countries. Its product inclusions and capabilities are beneficial for those with remote teams as it lets them collaborate and manage the overall system regardless of their locations.
There are cheaper competitors, like Dialpad, which provides international phone numbers that GoTo Connect lacks. Still, GoTo Connect is worth looking into due to its balance of price and features. Those interested may try its platform for free for 14 days to determine if it’s a good match for their needs.
