Nextiva vs RingCentral: Price, Features & What’s Best in 2020

Nextiva and RingCentral are robust and reliable business phone systems with features like call auto-attendant services and unlimited domestic calling. Nextiva’s volume discounts for larger teams make it an attractive choice for growing businesses, while RingCentral’s power video chat and file sharing functionality make it ideal for companies doing business with remote employees and clients.

Nextiva vs RingCentral at a Glance

*Pricing is on a 36-month contract. Monthly plans are available at an extra cost, and volume discounts are also available as more users are added.
**Pricing is on an annual basis. Monthly plans are available, and volume discounts are available as more users are added.

When to Use Nextiva

Nextiva is good for teams that are looking for solid phone service and plan on sticking with it for a while. Prices start at $27.95 per month for the most basic plan. Standard features include voicemail-to-text and voice-mail to-email, MS Outlook and Google integrations, and more video calling accommodations than RingCentral. As such, it is good for teams that need to hold large meetings and can afford a 36-month commitment.

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When to Use RingCentral

Companies of all sizes can appreciate the many robust features of RingCentral, but it’s better suited for people who do a lot of business across the country. We find that, between the pricing plans available, the features offered, and the usability of the service, it is the more attractive overall choice for most people. RingCentral offers a better overall value to business customers.

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Nextiva vs RingCentral: Pricing & Features

Nextiva and RingCentral’s basic plans come close in terms of price, but we find that RingCentral offers a better overall value as a small business VoIP service considering its features and smooth user experience. Both services offer several tiers of service that unlock different features. However, RingCentral offers a better deal because of the fact that they do not require such a long commitment for their annual plans.

Nextiva Strengths & Weaknesses

Nextiva Pricing

Nextiva offers three service packages that range in price based on number of users, feature tier, billing cycle preference, and length of agreement.

• Essentials Plan: Costs between $19.95 and $34.94 per user, per month
• Professional Plan: Costs between $20.95 and $37.95 per user, per month
• Enterprise Plan: Costs between $27.95 and $44.95 per user, per month

You must agree to a 36-month contract to receive the lowest-cost service.

Nextiva Features

• Call management: Nextiva’s call management features, like hold, mute, and transfer, are available with every plan, and additional call management features like voice analytics and professionally recorded messages can be as basic or as advanced as the plan you choose.
• Toll-free calling: Nextiva’s Essential plan offers 1,000 toll-free minutes compared to RingCentral’s Essentials plan at 100 minutes.
• Mobile apps: Nextiva’s mobile app connects seamlessly with your devices (e.g., your laptop, tablet, and smartphone). SMS, group chats, and team messaging features in the app let you stay connected to your teams and clients no matter where you are.
• Call transfer: You can easily transfer calls to whichever device you choose straight from the app.

To learn more about Nextiva’s pricing, features, or what other users are saying, visit our Nextiva reviews page.

RingCentral Strengths & Weaknesses

RingCentral Pricing

RingCentral offers four service packages that can vary in price depending on feature tier, number of users, and billing cycle agreement.

• Essentials Plan: Is only available for teams of 19 or less and ranges in price from $19.99 to $29.99 per month.
• Standard Plan: Ranges in price from $22.99 to $49.99 per user, per month
• Premium Plan: Costs between $32.99 and $54.99 per user, per month
• Ultimate Plan: Priced between $42.99 and $69.99 per user, per month

RingCentral Features

• Call management: This includes basics like call transferring, forwarding, and hold, along with unlimited SMS messaging and call transcription.
• Collaboration tools: RingCentral’s entry plan includes team messaging and document sharing. More advanced plans include unlimited audio conferencing and video meetings with hundreds of participants supported by Zoom video conferencing technology.
• Phone numbers: Local, toll-free, and vanity numbers are offered through RingCentral, though RingCentral also supports international calling should you need to call overseas, matching several other RingCentral alternatives on the market.
• Mobile apps: RingCentral’s mobile app syncs with tablets and laptops, providing controlling features like contacts and extensions and the capability to make softphone calls. This feature makes it a good option if you want to combine the service with a business cell phone plan.

You can check out our RingCentral reviews page to learn more about RingCentral’s plans, benefits, and see what other customers have to say about the business phone service.

Nextiva vs RingCentral: Customer Service

24/7 service is a huge benefit of both Nextiva and RingCentral. Since real-life business hours aren’t always a set 9-to-5 schedule, 24/7 customer service from both companies makes it convenient for customers.

Nextiva Customer Service

• Offers a help desk ticketing system and live chat support between the hours of 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Arizona time.
• If you’ve got a quick question regarding how to use the service, you can search through Nextiva’s support page to find the answer.

RingCentral Customer Service

• RingCentral’s higher-tiered customers have access to 24/7 support.
• Other support requests can be made through RingCentral’s support system by filling out an online support request, emailing, or calling.
• You can also browse through the RingCentral University page to quickly find answers to questions.

How We Evaluated Nextiva vs RingCentral

To compare Nextiva and RingCentral, we needed to consider the direct cost of the service, as well as if any free trials were available. However, as both services have pricing structures that can vary wildly, to provide a more balanced summary, we focused most of our evaluation on the benefits of each service for teams of one to 50 users willing to enter an annual agreement.

We also played special attention to the following elements:

• Call management functionality like call forwarding, blocking, and holding functions
• Voicemail handling, voicemail-to-email, and voicemail transcription offerings
• Service limits like user caps or international calling restrictions
• Additional features like conference calling, automated attendants, and software integrations
• Availability of a mobile app
• Ease of use
• Customer service

When to Use an Alternative Option: Virtual Phone Service

While both solutions are easy to use and offer excellent customer service, both Nextiva and RingCentral are considered complete business phone systems and may be more robust than smaller teams need. If you prefer not to use desk phones or don’t need more advanced features like team messaging or screen sharing, a virtual phone service might be a better option for your business.

Virtual phone services allow you to manage business and personal calls on a single device. Grasshopper is one such service starting at $26 a month for one number and three extensions. Each plan comes with features like call transferring options, custom greetings, and voicemail transcription, giving you many of the benefits of a complete phone system without the complicated pricing or additional equipment requirement. Visit Grasshopper to learn more.

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Bottom Line

Both Nextiva and RingCentral offer incredible service at competitive prices. With RingCentral, you get a full-scale voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) system with exciting, robust features, but Nextiva offers many of the same or similar features for less money. Its low prices are ideal for businesses in a phase of growth or development.

Of the two, we have determined that RingCentral represents the better overall value for most customers. It has a lower starting price, a smoother user interface (UI), and a wealth of powerful business communication features. Check out RingCentrals’s 15-day free trial to get started today.

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