Grasshopper is a small business voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) platform that differentiates itself from competitors with its budget-friendly plans and easy-to-use service. However, scaling teams and businesses with more robust communication needs often outgrow Grasshopper’s functionality. Small businesses in need of video conferencing, built-in automated attendants, and powerful call management features will need to consider a Grasshopper alternative.
We found the best Grasshopper alternatives and their use cases are:
- Google Voice: Better for new businesses with tight budgets
- RingCentral: A more sensible choice for established teams that want united-communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) functionality
- Nextiva: Better for organizations that need a capable, dedicated VoIP system
- Phone.com: Better for businesses with low monthly call volumes that want to save moneye
- Vonage: A more ideal choice for teams that want to tailor-make their own plan with à la carte pricing
- Talkroute: A more appropriate choice for organizations with call center operations
How We Evaluated Grasshopper Alternatives
The future of business communications is VoIP, and that’s leading to an eruption of new and evolving platforms and providers. However, not every tech tool that promises VoIP functionality will provide the features your business needs. That’s why price can’t be your only (or most important) consideration.
The best VoIP platforms have to bundle feature-rich solutions into an easy-to-use (and affordable) service. Grasshopper alternatives need to provide industry-competitive features, reliability, and ease of use—and they need to do it without breaking small business budgets.
We used a rubric to compare top competitors, and Google Voice came out on top as the best overall Grasshopper alternative for small businesses with a score of 4.18 out of 5. Google Voice’s affordable pricing plans (plus its free plan) deliver user-friendly communication solutions and top-notch Google integrations at a fraction of the cost.
Learn more about how we determined our scores by clicking on the following tabs:
25% of Overall Score
We compared each provider’s pricing plans to see which platforms provide the most value for money. We looked at things like free plans, volume pricing discounts, and annual discount agreements.
25% of Overall Score
We analyzed which platforms have the best call management features, communication solutions, and administrative control. We focused on things like automated attendants, call forwarding, video conferencing, international calling, reporting, and customer support.
25% of Overall Score
We looked to see which solutions provided advanced features that went above and beyond the base-expected functionality. These features include integrations, open APIs, real-time analytics, advanced call handling, single sign-on (SSO), and more.
25% of Overall Score
We didn’t just take the provider’s word for it—we dug deeper. We tried the products ourselves and gave merit to what other customers and users had to say by sifting through reviews. This helped us score the platforms based on standout features, value for money, popularity, and ease of use.
Google Voice
PROS
- Free plan available
- Low-cost, entry-level plans
- Integrates smoothly with Google Workspace apps
CONS
- No toll-free numbers
- No multi-extension support
- Google customer support can be unreliable
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 4.20 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 2.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
Grasshopper offers affordable pricing for their service plans, which you can learn more about in our full review. However, the fact that it costs money in the first place makes it inaccessible to smaller startups and solo workers. Fortunately, Google Voice offers unlimited domestic calls, a local phone number, and Google product integration free of charge. It may have a simplistic feature set, but for those with basic needs, it’s our top overall pick.
Google Voice Pricing
- Personal: Free for one user only
- Starter: $10 per user, per month for up to 10 users, 10 domestic locations, unlimited calling and SMS, and Google integrations
- Standard: $20 per user, per month for unlimited users and domestic locations, a multilevel auto-attendant, desk phone support, and Ring Groups
- Premium: $30 per user, per month for unlimited users, domestic locations, international locations, and advanced reporting
Google Voice Features
- Google integrations: Integrate Google Voice into all your Google Workspace apps for a seamless backend experience. Grasshopper lacks such integrations with Google products.
- Video conferencing: Google Voice offers video calling via Google Meet integration, while Grasshopper does not offer any kind of video conferencing.
- Affordable pricing: Grasshopper lacks a free option, but Google Voice lets you get started with calling and texting at no cost.
RingCentral
PROS
- Combines calling, SMS, team messaging, faxing, and video conferencing in one platform
- Customer relation management (CRM) integrations and open APIs for a range of applications and use cases
- Free unlimited cloud storage
CONS
- May be overwhelming for some small business use cases
- Somewhat clunky user interface
- Expensive compared to Grasshopper
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.40 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 3.25 | OUT OF | 5 |
Grasshopper provided all of the calling, texting, and voicemail functionality a small business user could need. However, it doesn’t offer much besides basic telephony features. For teams that need more advanced communications modules like video conferencing and team chat, RingCentral would be a more sensible option. This VoIP service does not require an existing line like a virtual phone system, and also offers far more functionality. It’s much better for businesses that need unified communications features.
RingCentral Pricing*
- Essentials: $19.99 per user, per month with up to 20 users and 100 toll-free minutes; unlimited domestic calls, unlimited business SMS, and team messaging are included, as well as basic features like voicemail-to-text and file sharing
- Standard: $24.99 per user, per month with no limit on users and 1,000 toll-free minutes; expands features to include unlimited internet fax and audio conferencing, as well as 100-participant video meetings and basic CRM integrations
- Premium: $34.99 per user, per month with no limit on users and 2,500 toll-free minutes; includes functionality like advanced call management, single sign-on (SSO), 200-participant video meetings, advanced integrations, and access to open APIs
- Ultimate: $49.99 per user, per month with no limit on users and 10,000 toll-free minutes; includes unlimited storage, device status reports, and alerts
*Pricing is calculated based on an annual billing basis for an estimated two to 20 users. Monthly pricing rates are available on RingCentral’s pricing page.
RingCentral Features
- Advanced call handling: Take complete control over your calls with features like monitor, whisper, barge, and takeover. These features simply aren’t available in any version of Grasshopper.
- Robust open APIs: Develop a custom-made communications solution for your platform and services with powerful APIs and extensive documentation. Grasshopper also offers some helpful API tools for developers.
- Hot desking: Empower users to access their voicemails, extensions, and greetings from a shared phone, a feature that’s missing from Grasshopper.
To learn how your business can benefit from RingCentral’s extensive set of features, you can go to our RingCentral user reviews page.
Nextiva
PROS
- User-friendly apps
- 250-participant max video conferencing
- A la carte pricing is available to build your own plan
CONS
- Lacks advanced call management features
- Weak international calling support
- Premium tiers are more expensive than competitors’
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.40 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 3.13 | OUT OF | 5 |
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system, which means that it needs an existing phone line to forward all calls from. While this isn’t a deal-breaker for smaller teams, it can quickly complicate things for growing teams. For those use-cases, we recommend Nextiva, which is a dedicated VoIP service provider that also offers team messaging, toll-free numbers, and video conferencing for hundreds of people at once.
Nextiva Pricing*
- Essential: $21.95 per user, per month for unlimited phone calling, video calling, internet fax, and team messaging
- Professional: $25.95 per user, per month for unlimited video conferencing with up to 250 participants, unlimited business SMS, Call Pop (250 contacts), and 3,000 toll-free minutes
- Enterprise: $35.95 per user, per month for unlimited conference calls and participants, 12,500 toll-free minutes, Call Pop (unlimited contacts), voice analytics, and call recording
- Ultimate: $65.95 per user, per month for support ticket management, automated surveys, and advanced analytics
*Pricing is for a prepaid 36-month agreement for five to 19 users. Pricing goes down as you add more users.
Nextiva Features
- One-stop shop: Nextiva offers many things Grasshopper does not, such as dedicated phone lines, video conferencing, and team messaging
- Call Pop: Instantly see important caller details on your screen before you answer the phone so you’re always prepared for the next conversation. This is ahead of Grasshopper, which restricts your control to viewing call logs.
- Higher participant maximums: Enjoy 250-participant max video conferencing rooms and more toll-free minutes than other competitors. Grasshopper has no video conferencing.
Phone.com
PROS
- Budget-friendly pricing plans
- Offers vanity numbers
- Pay for the minutes you need
CONS
- Does not offer international numbers in all locations
- Outdated user interface
- Limited plans can get expensive
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.40 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 3.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
Grasshopper can provide a solid value if your team has high monthly call volumes. However, if you don’t find yourself making many calls, then you could be effectively paying for time you don’t need. Those users might be better served by Phone.com, a phone service provider which offers cheap monthly packages with finite bundles of minutes. They offer a flexible alternative to the unlimited packages available on the market today.
Phone.com Pricing*
- Base Account: $10.39 per user, per month for 300 minutes, 1,000 texts, and access to all Phone.com standard features
- Plus Account: $15.99 per user, per month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and voicemail-to-text functionality
- Pro: $23.99 per user, per month for video transcriptions, call analytics, and CRM integrations
*Pricing is on an annual basis. Monthly rates are available on Phone.com’s pricing page.
Phone.com Features
- Live receptionist: Have a real person answer your calls and guide callers to the right extension or voicemail box. In comparison, Grasshopper only offers an automated receptionist.
- HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance: Secure your protected healthcare data and conversations with top-notch HIPAA-compliant policies and protocols. Grasshopper is not HIPAA compliant.
- Vanity numbers: Find the perfect global and toll-free numbers, or create your own custom-made vanity number unlike with Grasshopper, which only offers toll-free and local numbers.
Read our Phone.com vs Grasshopper article to find out which one is the best option for small businesses.
Vonage
PROS
- A la carte pricing available
- Robust team messaging tools
- Complete package of communication channels
CONS
- Advanced features make plans expensive
- Automated attendant only available on premium tiers
- Difficult to understand which features come with which plans
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.40 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 3.44 | OUT OF | 5 |
One of Grasshopper’s best strengths is perhaps the fact that all packages offer the same feature set. However, if your needs are minimal, you could be paying for functionality you don’t even want in the first place. As an alternative, Vonage offers low starting costs with the ability to add individual features on an a la carte basis. This makes it one of the most flexible Grasshopper alternatives on the market.
Vonage Pricing*
- Mobile: $14.99 per user, per month for unlimited calling, texting, and team messaging
- Premium: $24.99 per user, per month for video conferencing, multilevel auto-attendants, CRM integrations, and IP desk phone capabilities
- Advanced: $34.99 per user, per month for call recording, group calls, visual voicemail, and a white-glove setup
*Pricing is calculated based on a monthly billing basis for 20 expected users.
Vonage Features
- Call Announce: Learn why a caller is calling before you pick up with custom tags associated with specific phone numbers. This novel features cannot be found in any version of Grasshopper.
- Call Flip: Transfers calls from your desk to mobile or mobile to desk with ease, which Grasshopper lacks.
- Complete call management control: Unlike Grasshopper, Vonage offers the ability to park, queue, wait, hold, route, forward, monitor, or continue calls—take full control over the calling experience.
Talkroute
PROS
- Includes call center features
- Easy to use
- Flexible, affordable plans
CONS
- Limited international calling support
- Requires premium tiers for many basic features
- Integrations only available on the Enterprise plan
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 3.40 | OUT OF | 5 |
| General Features | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Advanced Features | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
Call center teams have unique needs. They need to handle a large call volume via call queuing, and they also benefit from things like call scheduling and shared inboxes. While Grasshopper doesn’t have such functionality, services like Talkroute are designed to cater to the unique needs of call centers.
Talkroute Pricing*
- Basic: $19 per month for one local or toll-free number, one account user, and 500 monthly text messages
- Plus: $39 per month for two local or toll-free numbers, three account users, unlimited texting, automated attendants, and call blasts
- Pro: $59 per month for three local or toll-free numbers, 10 account users, call recording, multilevel automated attendants, multidigit extensions, and call analytics
- Enterprise: $99 per month for five local or toll-free numbers, 20 account users, voice-over services, and software integrations
*Pricing is calculated based on a monthly basis.
Talkroute Features
- Voice Studio: Receive professional in-house voiceover services for up to 5 audio clips, which is above and beyond what Grasshopper offers.
- Call center functionality: Utilize call transfers, queuing, scheduling, forwarding, shared inboxes, and more to better manage your workflows. Such functionality simply isn’t found in Grasshopper.
- Phone numbers: Choose between toll-free, vanity, 800, and local virtual numbers. This is ahead of Grasshopper, which offers no such vanity choices.
Bottom Line
Grasshopper is a great VoIP solution for small businesses and solopreneurs, but as your team and needs scale, you’ll have to upgrade. Fortunately, various platforms are available to satisfy diversified budgets, use cases, industries, and business sizes.
Google Voice’s easy-to-use, affordable platform makes it the best option when it comes to basic business communication. Plus, it integrates smoothly with the entire suite of Google apps, simplifying your tech stack. Give Google Voice a try for free on their personal plan, and then upgrade to a professional package when you’re ready to adopt it for your business.
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