Despite Nextiva’s robust offerings, this provider has a steep price point and lacks unlimited texting, a longer meeting duration, and popular app integrations. The best Nextiva alternatives offer pricing and feature sets that are less overwhelming for small businesses and cater to various needs like global calling, automation, and virtual phone numbers.
Based on our evaluation, we recommend the following Nextiva alternatives:
- RingCentral: Best for advanced call management
- Dialpad: Best for artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced phone features
- Zoom Phone: Best for varying local and global call volumes
- Vonage: Best for custom-built communications
- Grasshopper: Best for virtual phone numbers
- GoTo Connect: Best for global reach
- Ooma: Best for basic phone service
Nextiva & Best Alternatives Compared
 4.61 out of 5 | $30.95 |
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 4.62 out of 5 | $30 |
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 4.50 out of 5 | $23 |
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 4.47 out of 5 | $10 |
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 4.44 out of 5 | $13.99 |
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 4.33 out of 5 | $16 |
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 4.30 out of 5 | $32 |
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 4.13 out of 5 | $19.95 |
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Get a closer look at Nextiva as a unified communications solution in our Nextiva review. Find out more about its pricing, pros/cons, features, and customer reviews.
RingCentral: Best Overall for Advanced Call Management
What We Like
- Integrates with 300+ apps
- Advanced call management system
- Multi-level IVR on the base plan
Where It Falls Behind
- Slightly expensive than other competitors
- Lacks unlimited SMS
- Its comprehensive offerings could be overkill for small teams
How It Compares to Nextiva
- RingCentral offers voicemail transcription on all plans, while Nextiva only offers it for Enterprise accounts.
- Both providers have extensive collaboration tools, but RingCentral has a longer meeting duration than Nextiva.
- Both RingCentral and Nextiva have similar price points, which start at around $30 per user monthly.
- Nextiva’s toll-free minute offerings range from 1,500 to 12,500 minutes, while RingCentral only offers up to 100 to 10,000 minutes.
RingCentral is the closest alternative to Nextiva as it shares plenty of similarities in terms of monthly starting price, supported channels, and popularity. However, in our Nextiva vs RingCentral comparison, the latter is superior for its rich call management and phone administration capabilities.
At its entry-level plan, RingCentral provides multi-level IVR, shared lines, call queues, and on-demand call recording. Plus, you get complete video meeting tools and team chat features, such as file sharing and file storage. This provides businesses with greater value for money as they get more than what they paid for.
The main disadvantage of RingCentral is its offerings can be too expensive and complicated for small teams with straightforward phone needs. If you don’t need the bells and whistles of a full-featured VoIP solution, try Ooma. This provider stands out for its low-cost plans, simplicity, and over 50 standard VoIP features.
RingCentral Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Pay annually to save up to 33%. Volume discounts apply for 50+ users.
- Core: $30 for one phone number, 100 toll-free minutes, unlimited local calls, 25 SMS, visual voicemail, call management, multi-level IVR, basic call queues, on-demand call recording, team chat, and 100 video attendees
- Advanced: $35 for 1,000 toll-free minutes, 100 SMS, advanced call routing & monitoring, automatic call recording, hot desking, unlimited efax, advanced integrations, and business analytics
- Ultra: $45 for 10,000 toll-free minutes, 200 SMS, unlimited storage, and device analytics
- Free trial: 14 days
RingCentral Features
The heads up display provides a convenient interface to manage all your extensions’ presence. (Source: RingCentral)
- Heads-up display: Displays up to 100 user extensions’ real-time status. You can also create a list of extensions so you can easily monitor, call, and text them in one place.
- Out of office for phone: When going on vacation, you can set a schedule for when incoming calls should be forwarded to another voicemail, extension, or shared line.
- SMS automation: Create SMS auto-replies to inbound text messages for after-hours or out-of-office. Triggers can be missed calls, a keyword, or a received SMS.
Dialpad: Best for AI-enhanced Phone Features
What We Like
- AI-powered calls and video meetings
- Local numbers in 70+ countries
- Clean and intuitive interface
Where It Falls Behind
- Meeting capacity is limited to 10 participants
- An enterprise account is required for phone extensions
- Toll-free numbers are not a plan inclusion
How It Compares to Nextiva
- Dialpad supports international phone numbers, while Nextiva only offers local and toll-free numbers.
- Dialpad has more extensive AI-powered offerings than Nextiva.
- Dialpad offers international SMS and calls, while Nextiva only supports metered global calling.
- Both providers have message threading capabilities for team chat.
While AI has become a common niche feature among VoIP phone systems, Dialpad utilizes AI at every step, from transcribing calls to tracking keywords, and detecting caller sentiments. With its built-in speech recognition, Dialpad analyzes conversations with customers in real time and processes voice and message data to collect and transcribe it accurately.
The good thing about Dialpad is that it doesn’t require users to upgrade to premium plans to enjoy its advanced AI features. At only $23 per user monthly, you get full access to call summaries, live transcriptions, and real-time analytics.
While most providers offer toll-free numbers and extensions as part of their monthly plans, Dialpad has additional charges for these features. If you don’t want to pay extra for your business phone number and extensions, try Grasshopper. This Nextiva alternative has rich phone number options and extensions, all for flat monthly pricing.
Dialpad Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Annual billing plans start at $15 per user.
- Standard: $23 for one local number, unlimited calls to the US and Canada, multi-level auto-attendant, visual voicemail, custom call routing, SMS/MMS, team chat, five-hour video calls, call transcriptions, and real-time analytics
- Pro: $35 for hold queues, 25 ring groups, international SMS, and CRM integrations
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for extensions, and unlimited ring groups
- Free trial: 14 days
Dialpad Features
Dialpad offers two types of channels—public and private. (Source: Dialpad)
- Exec-assistant pairings: Assign a team member to answer your incoming calls, screen calls, manage call volume, and schedule video meetings. A single assistant can manage calls on behalf of multiple executives.
- Message threading: Conduct focused and organized conversations within topic-based channels. It serves as a centralized space for team discussions instead of getting lost in group chats and email chains.
- Automatic spam call detection: Dialpad relies on a spam score system for inbound calls to determine whether they should enter a meeting. Calls with a spam score of 100 are automatically blocked.
Zoom Phone: Best for Varying Local & Global Call Volumes
What We Like
- Unlimited outbound calling
- Mix and match metered and unmetered plans
- Affordably priced for small businesses
Where It Falls Behind
- Lacks free phone number
- Limited app integrations
- Call management could be better
How It Compares to Nextiva
- Zoom Phone provides metered and unmetered call plans, while Nextiva only has unlimited monthly plans.
- Zoom Phone’s monthly plans are more budget-friendly, whereas Nextiva reserves cheaper plans for larger teams.
- Zoom Phone has all-inclusive packages for its business phone, while Nextiva distributes VoIP features across higher-level plans.
- Zoom Phone offers unlimited international calling as an add-on, whereas Nextiva charges per minute.
Typically, VoIP providers like Nextiva only offer unlimited domestic calls, restricting teams with unique calling requirements. Zoom Phone addresses this need by allowing a mix and match of metered and unlimited local and international calls. All plans have the same calling features but differ in terms of call plans for inbound, outbound, and regional calling.
For instance, sales teams that make regular outgoing calls should select the US & Canada Unlimited, which includes unlimited domestic calling and outgoing calls. Global Select, on the other hand, allows unlimited outgoing calls in any of the 48 countries supported.
Unlike its video conferencing counterpart, which has up to 2,000 integrations, Zoom Phone only has 100 supported apps. This can limit businesses wanting to connect multiple apps with their phone system. For better integration possibilities, choose RingCentral, which integrates with over 300 third-party software, including customer relationship management (CRM) and productivity tools.
Zoom Phone Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Contact the sales team for annual billing discounts
- Pay as You Go: $10 for metered outbound calling, phone extension number, and SMS/MMS
- Unlimited: $15 for unlimited outbound calling, phone extension number, and SMS/MMS
- Pro Global Select: $20 for metered outbound calling and unlimited domestic calls in one of the 40 countries supported
Note: All plans include unlimited internal calling, HD calls, number porting, voicemail transcription, auto-attendant, IVR, call monitoring, call recording, business hours routing, call park, team chat, and hot desking.
Zoom Phone Features
Multi-layer pie charts display overall call quality across all Zoom Phone users.
(Source: Zoom Phone)
- Elevate to meeting: Seamlessly switch a phone call to a Zoom video meeting without asking attendees to manually join. The other user can join from the Zoom desktop or mobile app or external phone service.
- Shared line groups: Enables admins to share a direct phone number, extension, and voicemail with a group of users. Set routing rules and apply custom business hours.
- Quality dashboards: Monitor the overall quality of phone calls and categorize data by extension, phone user, call queue, or auto receptionist. You can diagnose and troubleshoot network issues and call quality.
Vonage: Best for Custom-built Communications
What We Like
- A la carte pricing model
- Flexible app integrations
- Pre-built 43 VoIP features and 20 app integrations
Where It Falls Behind
- Toll-free numbers are a paid add-on
- Lacks auto-attendant on the base plan
- A minimum of a one-year contract is required for new accounts
How It Compares to Nextiva
- Vonage offers unlimited SMS/MMS on its entry-level tier, while Nextiva unlocks it on advanced plans.
- Unlike Vonage, Nextiva offers a free local or toll-free number option
- Both providers offer voicemail transcription only on the highest tier.
- Nextiva provides generous toll-free minutes, whereas Vonage does not.
Vonage is popularly known as a communications platform as a service (CPaaS) that uses developer tools to embed voice, video, or SMS on existing applications. Its key component, called application programming interface (API), can be integrated into your app or website, giving it the ability to accept calls or send text messages.
While APIs are common offerings among full-fledged unified communications (UC) providers, Vonage has a more comprehensive API offering. It extends to in-app voice calling, session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking, user verification, and video meetings.
The customizable nature of Vonage can be a bit complex for small businesses lacking an in-house dev team. If you simply need a phone system for making calls and sending SMS, check out Grasshopper. This virtual phone service offers a full range of telephony features for a fixed monthly price for unlimited users.
Vonage Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Discounts are available for new accounts and bulk subscriptions.
- Mobile: $13.99 per user for unlimited calls within the US and Canada, unlimited SMS, unlimited team messaging, access to Vonage App Center, and up to 43 voice features
- Premium: $20.99 per user multi-level auto-attendant, 100 video attendees, desk phone compatibility, and CRM integrations
- Advanced: $27.99 per user for on-demand call recording, call group, and visual voicemail
Vonage Features
The Vonage virtual assistant utilizes AI to engage in human conversations. (Source: Vonage)
- AI Virtual Assistant: Uses a voice-driven customer self-service to facilitate conversations and answer customer inquiries immediately without involving a live person. This is useful in managing high volumes of inbound calls and eliminating hold times.
- Call announce: Once you assign a custom tag to a phone number, this feature will play the custom tag the next time you get a call from the same phone number. This type of call alert will help you determine the purpose of a call before it’s connected.
- Call rerouting: Automatically detects loss of phone connectivity in the event of a power outage or poor internet connection. If this happens, this feature will reroute your calls to an alternate phone number of your choice.
Grasshopper: Best for Virtual Phone Numbers
What We Like
- Bundled toll-free numbers and extensions
- Unlimited users for a fixed monthly fee
- No extra charge for toll-free vanity numbers
Where It Falls Behind
- Limited VoIP features
- No app integrations
- Lacks team chat and video calling
How It Compares to Nextiva
- Grasshopper is a virtual phone provider, while Nextiva is a unified communications solution.
- Grasshopper charges a flat monthly pricing for unlimited users, while Nextiva uses a per-user pricing model across all plans.
- Grasshopper has local, toll-free, and vanity phone numbers, whereas Nextiva only has local and toll-free options.
- Both providers offer professional voice recording services.
It’s hard to find an affordable virtual phone provider like Grasshopper with cloud-based phone number options for no additional fee. All plans give users local, toll-free, and vanity number options once they sign up for a plan. If you want to share phone number responsibility across your team, you can opt for higher-tier plans so multiple users can use the same phone number for a fixed monthly price.
We also recommend Grasshopper for small businesses needing a straightforward phone system with no extra features like video meetings and team chat. Its simplicity makes it easier to use whether you’re on desktop or mobile.
However, Grasshopper may be a less fitting choice if you’re looking for a scalable phone system that can adapt to your complex and changing business needs. Consider RingCentral instead, which offers an all-inclusive unified communications service for meeting various communication requirements.
Grasshopper Monthly Pricing at a Glance Get an extra $75 off annual plans in addition to your 10% annual discount.
- True Solo: $16 for one user, one phone number, and one extension
- Solo: $31 for unlimited users, one phone number, and three extensions
- Partner: $51 for unlimited users, three phone numbers, and six extensions
- Small Business: $89 for unlimited users, five phone numbers, and unlimited extensions
- Free trial: 7 days
Note: All plans include business SMS, call forwarding, voicemail, efax, call transfers, custom greetings, and reporting.
Grasshopper Features
Automatically respond to new customers even when you’re busy with Grasshopper’s instant response feature. (Source: Grasshopper)
- Instant response: Sends an automatic text message to your new clients if you miss their call. Present your company brand by adding custom texts, images, and website links.
- VoIP + Wi-Fi calling: In case of poor cell reception, this feature provides you the option to use the internet to make calls instead of your cellular network or traditional phone line.
- Virtual auto-attendant: Manage incoming calls with an automated phone system and customize it with extensions, professional greetings, and call forwarding rules.
GoTo Connect: Best for Global Reach
What We Like
- Unlimited calls to 50+ countries
- Local, toll-free, and vanity number options
- Unlimited phone extensions
Where It Falls Behind
- Lacks plan scalability
- No unlimited SMS
- Requires a plan upgrade for full-featured call management
How It Compares to Nextiva
- GoTo Connect offers vanity numbers, while Nextiva can only port in vanity numbers.
- Volume discounts at GoTo Connect start at two to 10 users, while Nextiva provides discounts starting at five to 19 users.
- Both providers come with built-in video meetings and team messaging.
- GoTo Connect supports unlimited meeting duration, whereas Nextiva video meetings only last for 45 minutes.
GoTo Connect is our top Nextiva competitor for businesses with an existing global market. Upgrading to the second-tier Standard plan includes unlimited calls to over 50 countries, including Australia, China, France, Germany, and Italy. This allows you to call your international customers for free without worrying about costly per-minute charges.
Both GoTo Connect and Grasshopper have noticeably similar features since they are part of the GoTo family of apps. However, GoTo Connect delivers more advanced features in terms of call management, video conferencing, and team chat.
While GoTo Connect supports text messaging, monthly SMS credits are limited to 40 to 80 credits per user. If you’re running an SMS marketing campaign, you need a provider like Grasshopper that allows unlimited text messaging. It also comes with a unique SMS feature called instant response that lets you send automatic messages to missed calls from new clients.
GoTo Connect Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Save up to 11% by paying yearly and get additional discounts for more than two users.
- Basic: $32 for up to 20 users, one phone number, call routing, unlimited extensions, call forwarding, instant response, one phone greeting, one ring group, 40 SMS credits, one call queue, team chat, and 150 video attendees
- Standard: $43 for call recording, real-time analytics, 1,000 toll-free minutes, 250 video attendees, and 80 SMS credits
GoTo Connect Features
GoTo Connect provides a drag-and-drop canvas to change and update call flows. (Source: GoTo Connect)
- Paging: Enables you to contact one or multiple team members instantly by communicating over a two-way speakerphone. To successfully page, a system admin should assign your desk phone with a paging profile.
- Customizable dial plans: Customize how you handle incoming calls using a visual dial plan editor. Map out call flows and set various patterns for weekends, holidays, and after-hours.
- Caller hold time report: Indicates how long a caller has been put on hold before the employee picks up the call. This provides the employee with a heads-up on the amount of time the customer waited.
Ooma: Best for Basic Phone Service
What We Like
- Unlimited calls to U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico
- Base plan includes 50+ voice features
- Free number porting
Where It Falls Behind
- Very limited third-party integrations
- Base plan has no video meeting capability
- Clunky interface
How It Compares to Nextiva
- Ooma’s pricing is more suitable for small business budget, while Nextiva only gets cheaper if you’re eligible for volume discounts.
- Like any VoIP provider, Nextiva offers unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada, whereas Ooma also includes Mexico and Puerto Rico.
- Ooma requires users to pay $15 to $30 for its toll-free calling plan, while Nextiva includes it as part of its plans.
- Nextiva integrates with several commonly used CRM apps compared to Ooma.
Ooma delivers a basic phone service with features that won’t overwhelm a small team. The entry-level plan comes with 50 essential VoIP features, such as auto-attendant, extension dialing, call forwarding, and voicemail. This removes the need for upgrading to advanced plans to get all the call management features, unlike most competitors that force users to upgrade.
Another highlight feature of Ooma is its internet protocol (IP) phone paging, which includes features like paging group and overhead paging support. This makes it easy to communicate with your workforce and lessens hold time for internal calls when making announcements.
Unfortunately, Ooma’s interface appears outdated compared to modern VoIP services. If you want to skip the learning curve, go for Grasshopper. This provider offers a dedicated desktop and mobile app that lets you easily set up and configure your call flows.
Ooma Monthly Pricing at a Glance Volume discounts apply to over 6 registered users
- Essentials: $19.95 for one toll-free number, 50+ phone features, ring groups, call blocking, and virtual receptionist
- Pro: $24.95 for SMS/MMS, hybrid ring groups, call recording, call analytics, voicemail transcription, and 25-attendee video meetings for four hours
- Pro Plus: $29.95 for call queues, call screening, 100-attendee video meetings for 12 hours, hot desking, and CRM integrations
Ooma Features
The Ooma Office app lets you easily differentiate between business and personal calls.
(Source: Ooma)
- Digital call deflection: Allows the customer to move a phone call to text messaging with a single key press. For instance, if a customer calls the virtual receptionist, they have the option to receive an SMS containing the link to order online instead.
- Call leaderboard: Provides valuable information and metrics on how Ooma users are using your company’s phone lines. These include the number of calls that are internal, incoming, outgoing, and missed.
- Call forwarding (offline mode): Automatically redirects calls to the user’s landline or cell phone when your Ooma devices are offline.
How We Evaluated the Best Nextiva Alternatives
We conducted an in-depth review of dozens of small business VoIP services and UC providers to develop this list of top alternatives to Nextiva. We focused on service providers with features you can’t find with Nextiva, such as vanity phone numbers, unlimited international calling, and broad third-party integrations. We ranked them based on pricing, general and advanced features, and ease of use.
Learn how we evaluated the best Nextiva competitors by clicking on the tabs below:
15% of Overall Score
When we looked at Nextiva competitors, we considered pricing an essential consideration for solopreneurs and small businesses. We gave points to providers offering free trials, volume discounts, and reduced annual pricing rates.
25% of Overall Score
The best Nextiva alternative should offer features similar to Nextiva, like audio/video conferencing, team chat, calling, and text messaging within the U.S. and Canada. We looked at other general features like uptime service level agreement (SLA) and recording features.
20% of Overall Score
We analyzed which of the leading Nextiva alternatives has the most extensive lineup of advanced features, such as virtual phone numbers, unlimited international calling, IVR, and app integrations.
10% of Overall Score
An easy-to-use interface is a key consideration for businesses who are transitioning from Nextiva to a new service provider. Since usability is Nextiva’s strongest feature, we looked for platforms that deliver the same level of ease of use.
10% of Overall Score
We looked at the types of support channels the provider offers, including phone, live chat, and an email ticketing system. Additional points are awarded if all support channels are available 24/7.
20% of Overall Score
Each provider received points according to our personal experience with the platforms and customer feedback on ease of use, service delivery, and standout features.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
With a monthly starting price of $30.95 per user, Nextiva is relatively more expensive than other VoIP services. The per-user fee only gets cheaper if you’re signing up five or more users, making Nextiva geared towards larger teams. Also, most of the essential VoIP functionalities like voicemail transcription, call recording, and CRM integrations are locked behind more expensive plans.
You may cancel your Nextiva service at any time by calling its customer care department or emailing the notice of your intent to cancel. You are eligible for the money-back guarantee provided that you haven’t used the first 500 minutes of your unlimited plan, you did not receive a free device, and you’re not subject to a minimum commitment contract.
Yes. Nextiva is a full-featured VoIP solution with key phone features, such as auto-attendant, call routing, call forwarding, and voicemail. It also functions as a productivity app with its team chat and video meeting functionalities, as well as a contact center system provider.
Bottom Line
Nextiva is a promising business communications and collaboration software, but many of its essential features require a plan upgrade, which can be expensive for budget-conscious teams. Among our top seven picks, we choose RingCentral as the best Nextiva alternative, given its advanced call management system, rich integrations, and excellent ease of use. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to give its comprehensive services a try.
