NICE CXone Review 2023: Pricing, Features & Pros & Cons
This article is part of a larger series on VoIP.
NICE CXone, formerly called NICE inContact CXone, is a cloud-based customer experience platform equipped with omnichannel routing, workforce engagement, and automation features. In this NICE CXone review, the provider earned a high rating of 4.08 out of 5, achieving perfect scores in general and niche features as well as ease of use. However, it garnered a low score on pricing since it doesn’t have a free plan, and the subscription cost is higher than its competitors.
NICE CXone Review: At a Glance
What We Liked
- Easily navigable interface
- Organized customer feedback management system
- Agent coaching through live supervisor monitoring
- Wide array of integrations with third-party apps, including customer relationship management (CRM) and business process outsourcing tools
What's Missing
- Figures and insights reflecting late in report templates, according to some users
- Lacks design customization options (colors and font styles)
- No free plan
- When you’re looking for an omnichannel customer service platform: The provider lets businesses connect with customers on 30-plus digital channels. Learn more about omnichannel contact centers here.
- Accommodating a high volume of calls: NICE CXone is equipped with advanced customer service features, including automatic call distribution (ACD) and self-service, which help in catering to a huge number of calls.
- Running outbound telemarketing campaigns: NICE CXone is among the best predictive dialer software providers in the market. It uses a patented technology called Personal Connection, eliminating awkward pauses when connecting agents and customers.
- Aiming to have more robust call center reporting: The provider offers over 90 prebuilt custom report templates, which you’ll find helpful in analyzing trends in your contact center. Learn more about call center reporting here.
- When you’re looking for an affordable call center platform: While NICE CXone’s pricing isn’t published on the website, the estimated cost is $100 monthly per feature. Check out this guide on the best call center phone systems to find more affordable options.
- Requiring a no-frills call center platform: NICE CXone is packed with a lot of features that can be overkill for small customer service teams. Choose Freshdesk Contact Center instead for a simpler solution, or check out our top picks for small business VoIP services.
- Streamlining customer communications through artificial intelligence (AI): Although NICE CXone has AI tools, Dialpad’s AI capabilities are more extensive. Read our Dialpad review for details.
NICE CXone Deciding Factors
NICE CXone is an omnichannel contact center platform that supports various communication channels and provides artificial intelligence (AI) tools for agent performance optimization. It offers four pricing plans, but the exact costs are only available upon request. Overall, it’s a great option for companies handling large-scale customer service operations.
Best For | Companies requiring an omnichannel contact center platform to cater to a huge volume of customer communications |
Standout Features |
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Pricing Plans | NICE CXone’s pricing is not published on the website, but the provider offers four plans: Engagement, Essentials, Core, and Complete. The monthly starting cost of a subscription, according to our research, is $100 per feature. |
Annual or Volume Discounts Available | Not available |
Key Integrations | Salesforce, Zendesk, SugarCRM, NetSuite, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 |
Customer Service | 24/7 customer support via phone and live chat |
NICE CXone Alternatives
While NICE CXone has plenty of excellent features, other business communication platforms may be more suitable for certain contexts. The best business phone systems in the market are less expensive, but they also use intelligent routing systems that make customer service delivery efficient. Check out other alternatives below if you need a more budget-friendly solution or require specific customer service management and agent performance tracking tools:
Best For | Small or starting businesses looking for an affordable platform with advanced call routing tools | Companies that frequently make international calls to reach customers | Organizations that need a robust call monitoring system for evaluating agent performance |
Monthly Starting Price | Free; $18 per agent, per month | $85 per user | Customized quote |
Read Review |
NICE CXone pricing earned a low score of 1.5 out of 5 primarily because the subscription cost is not readily available on the website, and businesses need to request a quote. In addition, the monthly estimated price, which is $100 per feature, is higher than other providers like Freshdesk and 8×8. Nonetheless, NICE CXone offers several plans that cater to different budget needs. In addition, it offers a free trial that lasts 60 days.
NICE CXone Plans | Engagement (Omnichannel) | Essentials | Core | Complete |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Teams requiring an omnichannel contact center solution with essential features | Businesses that prefer an omnichannel contact center with basic agent monitoring capabilities | Companies needing an omnichannel contact center solution with a full suite of agent performance management tools | Organizations wanting an omnichannel contact center solution with robust customer analytics |
Open, Cloud-native Platform | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
ACD Digital & Voice Agent | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Self-service Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
90+ Prebuilt Call Center Reports | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Audio Recording | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced |
Screen Recording | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Workforce Management | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Performance Management Reporting | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Customer Interaction & Feedback Analytics | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Proactive outbound and prebuilt CRM integrations are features available as add-ons. To learn more about NICE CXone pricing, click on the plans below:
This plan covers access to digital channels, an integrated softphone, and unified agent desktop and administration. It comes with an ACD digital and voice agent. Subscribers get 5GB of active storage and advanced audio recording as well.
This plan includes all the features in Engagement, except for the ACD digital and voice agent. However, it comes with screen recording and quality management capabilities, which Engagement doesn’t cover.
Everything in Essentials is included in the Core package, plus workforce management and performance management reporting tools.
Everything in Core is included in this plan, plus customer interaction and feedback analytics features.
NICE CXone Features
In this NICE CXone review, the provider’s general and niche features earned perfect scores as the platform offers a wide array of tools that enhance both customer and agent experience. As an omnichannel contact center, NICE CXone offers various interaction channels, letting businesses communicate with customers in their preferred channel, be it voice or digital. The system supports 30-plus digital channels, covering email, live chat, social media, and mobile apps.
Here’s a quick breakdown of NICE CXone features:
NICE CXone has a robust call management system complete with essential voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) features, namely ACD, interactive voice response (IVR), voicemail, call forwarding, and call monitoring. Its call reporting and analytics capabilities include prebuilt and custom reports on several key metrics. With this feature, it’s easy to measure agents’ level of competence and create training programs to further improve performance.
Here are some more call management features at NICE CXone:
- Call queue
- Caller ID
- CXone attendant (auto-attendant)
- Agent state (call presence)
- Call suppression
- Conference bridge
- Call recording
- Call whisper
- Call barge-in
- Do Not Call (DNC)
NICE CXone features an IVR studio, where you can map out an entire call flow. (Source: NICE)
Beyond basic VoIP capabilities, NICE CXone features tools that make contact center operations more efficient. Using the platform, it’s possible to provide self-service to customers, run outbound calling campaigns, and ensure ample staffing.
Here are some of the specific niche features:
NICE CXone features a Virtual Agent Hub that allows you to use the provider’s bot SmartAssist or choose other bot providers like Amazon AWS Lex, Google DialogFlow, Microsoft Azure Bot, or IBM Watson Assistant. With chatbots, it’s easy to facilitate self-service and help customers find the answers or services they need. These bots, powered by artificial intelligence, understand human language and differentiate languages.
NICE CXone SmartAsssist provides virtual agents that facilitate self-service in chats. (Source: NICE)
This smart automation robot features a comprehensive suite of tools aimed at improving agent performance. The tool has the following capabilities:
- NEVA Discover: Collects data about employees’ desktop activities, helping you identify process execution gaps and implement improvements
- NEVA Create: Facilitates process automation, boosting agent productivity
- NEVA AI: Uses natural language processing, text and predictive analytics, and sentiment analysis to further improve automated processes
NEVA provides meaningful insights about agent activities and performance. (Source: NICE)
NICE CXone’s predictive dialer is a patented technology that offers a unique feature: It eliminates the pause that commonly happens when the system finds an available agent. This keeps customers from hanging up and boosts agent productivity. The auto-dialer features a list management system, enabling your customer service team to group contacts and create the right messaging for specific contacts.
NICE CXone’s predictive dialer offers agents the option to proceed with the call or place the call back in the queue. (Source: NICE)
This is NICE CXone’s agent interface allowing company representatives to manage all communications across different channels. With every customer interaction in one place, agents do away with switching between different platforms, maximizing productivity.
MAX also displays customer data, letting team members better understand the context of customer concerns and personalize their messages. This ultimately improves average handling time (AHT) and customer satisfaction score (CSAT).
MAX lets agents handle customer communications in different channels, whether it be a phone call or a web chat. (Source: NICE)
NICE CXone’s customer service got a 3.75 out of 5 rating as it offers different customer support channels, except for email. These channels include live chat and phone, which are accessible 24/7. The provider has an exclusive online hub for its subscribers, serving as a help center and community platform.
The CXone Customer Community features discussion threads about different topics, where subscribers and the provider’s subject matter experts are free to interact and offer advice to one another. This online platform also contains webinar announcements, allowing subscribers to register for virtual events aimed at teaching users how to maximize certain features.
We scored NICE CXone a perfect score on ease of use because the setup and navigation of the platform are straightforward and simple. It doesn’t require sophisticated know-how to operate. Being familiar with the tool takes only a few minutes, thanks to the neat, intuitive interface.
The main tab located on the left side of the dashboard contains all the navigation options you need to perform tasks, which include the following:
- Admin: Lets you view key information about team members
- ACD: Lists down all the contact center’s communication campaigns
- Reporting: Allows you to track metrics
NICE CXone has a simple, neat interface and facilitates easy navigation through the main tab. (Source: NICE CXone YouTube)
We gave NICE CXone a nearly perfect expert score as the majority of online reviews in third-party review sites had positive sentiments. Many users complemented the ease of use, appreciating the fact that there’s little to no training required to operate it. Others liked how it seamlessly integrates with other NICE platforms, including the workforce management software. Here are the user ratings on NICE CXone reviews at third-party platforms:
- G2: 4.3 out of 1,564 reviews
- GetApp: 4.2 out of 5 based on 528 reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.6 out of 10 based on 760 reviews
How We Evaluated NICE CXone
To come up with an objective evaluation of NICE CXone, we looked at several factors, namely pricing, features, ease of use, and quality of customer service. We also checked the ratings in reliable review platforms to understand what actual users think of the contact center solution.
Here’s a breakdown of the factors we used to assess NICE CXone:
20% of Overall Score
We evaluated how accessible the provider’s pricing point is by looking at the cheapest cost available, the number of plans, and the availability of a free version. We usually give more points to providers that offer annual and volume discounts.
25% of Overall Score
We checked the availability of basic VoIP features, namely ACD, call monitoring, and call activity analytics. We also considered if the provider offers omnichannel support.
20% of Overall Score
The niche capabilities we considered include virtual assistant, workforce management, and outbound dialers. We also evaluated the range of integrations with third-party platforms.
10% of Overall Score
We checked the types of customer support the provider offers, particularly looking for the availability of live chat, phone, and email. We give more points to providers that operate 24/7 customer service.
10% of Overall Score
We determined the level of expertise required to set up and operate the platform. Higher points were given to the provider for its intuitive interface.
15% of Overall Score
Our expert score covers our evaluation of the platform’s standout features and value for money. We also referred to third-party review sites to assess NICE CXone’s popularity and ease of use.
Bottom Line
A complete contact center platform, NICE CXone supports omnichannel customer service and provides AI tools to improve agent performance. It suits companies that want to streamline and simplify communications across different channels, like voice, chat, and social media. Since its pricing model is based on features used, it benefits organizations requiring a scalable contact center solution. Make use of NICE CXone’s 60-day free trial today to see if it fits your needs.