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Office Technology

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Office Technology

What Is VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol)? Definition & How It Works

June 16, 2022. 8 MIN READ Written By: Corey McCraw
  • VoIP devices.

    The History of VoIP Over the Last 56 Years

  • woman on a phone

    VoIP vs Landline? Which Works Best for Your Business

  • close up of a man holding a phone

    What Is HD Voice Calling? The Guide for Small Businesses

Meet our Experts

Corey McCraw

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Marianne De Guzman

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Silvana Peters

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Sam Dadofalza

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Elizabeth Kraus

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  • Unified Communications (UCaaS)
  • Voice Over IP (VoIP)
  • Call Center Phone Systems
  • Audio & Video Conferencing
  • Business Email
  • Office Setup
Unified communication, unified communications platform, consistent unified user interface concept.
Office Technology

9 Tips for Using Unified Communications and Collaboration Tools Efficiently

June 29, 2022. 9 MIN READ Written By: Corey McCraw
Finger pressing the enter key with the text "Unified Communication" on it.

Unified Communications: A Guide for Small Businesses

Video call conference mobile apps grouped in icon folder with a cup of coffee in the background.

6 Best Low-cost or Free Unified Communications Platforms

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UCaaS vs CCaaS: Which Is Best for Your Business?

Team communication apps on an iPhone screen.

7 Best Team Communications Apps for Collaboration

A user opens the Microsoft Teams mobile app.

25 Useful Slash Commands in Microsoft Teams to Boost Your Productivity

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8x8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP: Which UCaaS Is Better?

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Buyer's Guide

7 Best Small Business VoIP Services

January 19, 2023. 14 MIN READ Written By: Marianne De Guzman
Hand grabbing the receiver of a phone.

What Is VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol)? Definition & How It Works

VOIP button on the touch screen with a futuristic background

How to Set Up a VoIP System in 7 Steps

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Choosing a Business Phone Number? What You Need to Know

VoIP phone

VoIP Speed Test: Free Network Quality Tool

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VoIP vs Virtual Phone Systems: Which Is Best for Your Business?

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6 Best Virtual Phone Number Providers

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Buyer's Guide

6 Best Call Center Phone Systems

January 24, 2023. 12 MIN READ Written By: Silvana Peters
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12 Best Call Center Phone System Features Your Business Should Have

call center agents

11 Call Center Metrics & KPIs to Enhance Efficiency

female call center agents

6 Best Call Center Phones

A male call center agent using a VoIP Bluetooth headset.

7 Best VoIP Headsets

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6 Best Remote Access Software for Small Business in 2023

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7 Best Auto Dialer Apps of 2023

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Buyer's Guide

6 Best Video Conferencing Software

May 05, 2022. 11 MIN READ Written By: Corey McCraw
Google Meet vs Microsoft teams logo

Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams: Which Is Best for Small Businesses

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6 Best GoToMeeting Alternatives

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Zoom Review: Features, Alternatives & Pricing for 2023

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5 Best HIPAA-compliant Video Conferencing Solutions

Back rear view happy millennial female employee looking at computer monitor, holding online video call negotiations meeting.

How to Record Online Meetings & Share Them With Colleagues

employee having a conference meeting

7 Best Free Conference Call Services

A person using computer sending message with wooden email address symbol.
Buyer's Guide

7 Best Business Email Providers for Small Businesses

October 25, 2022. 18 MIN READ Written By: Elizabeth Kraus
Phone and laptop with email notification icon on screen.

9 Legit Ways to Get a Free Business Email Address

Woman composing email on her laptop.

5 Professional Email Address Ideas & Examples

Email Inbox

How to Create a Professional Email Address in 4 Simple Steps

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Buyer's Guide

5 Best Answering Services for Small Businesses

July 15, 2022. 9 MIN READ Written By: Corey McCraw
Businessman using office gadgets

30 Must-Have Office Gadgets for 2023

Home office setup tips

17 Best Home Office Setup Ideas for 2023 (+ Productivity Hacks)

Geek Squad logo

Geek Squad Prices, Rates, Services & Alternatives

Meet our Experts

Corey McCraw

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Marianne De Guzman

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Silvana Peters

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Sam Dadofalza

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Elizabeth Kraus

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LATEST ARTICLES

Call center representatives working in the office.

February 21, 2022

5 Best Freshdesk Contact Center Alternatives

Freshdesk is a full-featured contact center platform that offers a host of useful functionalities and affordable plans for businesses on a budget. However, many Freshdesk Contact Center alternatives provide more advanced call management features, workforce management tools, and industry-specific offerings. We evaluated five competitors to find the best Freshdesk alternatives and rated them based on pricing options and call center phone system features. : Best Freshdesk alternative for businesses looking for advanced contact center software with multiple automation capabilities : Ideal for support and sales teams that need robust customer relationship management (CRM) integrations : Great for organizations handling sensitive patient information and financial data like healthcare and banking : Best for businesses with high call volumes that need a customizable contact center platform : Best for sales teams looking for a contact center software with sales engagement features Freshdesk Contact Center & Best Alternatives at a Glance See fullscreen table × Talkdesk: Best Overall Freshdesk Contact Center Alternative is the best overall Freshdesk Contact Center alternative for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) looking for a cloud-based contact center with integrated customer experience (CX) applications. It includes native artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for omnichannel engagement, workforce engagement, customer self-service, and employee collaboration. Talkdesk also offers flexible deployment options, enabling companies to extend their on-premise call center into the cloud. Besides AI-powered customer experiences, Talkdesk offers call management features, such as voicemail, click-to-call, IVR, automatic call distributor, call barging, and local caller ID. For businesses with global call volumes, Talkdesk is a better option because of its wider coverage with numbers for over 160 countries compared to Freshdesk Contact Center’s 90 countries. Unlike Freshdesk Contact Center, Talkdesk doesn’t offer straightforward pricing on its website. The displayed prices are based on a three-year contract length, so you have to call the sales team for a customized quote. It’s also worth noting that while Talkdesk boasts of its 100% uptime service level agreement (SLA), it is only offered to Elite subscribers. If you’re looking for more transparent pricing data with end-to-end 99.999% uptime on all plans, is a better alternative. Talkdesk Pricing at a Glance* CX Cloud Essentials: $75 user, per month for voice engagement, studio and routing, studio functions, real-time dashboards, business intelligence, and knowledge management CX Cloud Elevate: $95 per user, per month for digital engagement, quality management, screen recording, automated notifications, virtual agent, self-service portal, and feedback CX Cloud Elite: $125 per user, per month for 100% uptime SLA, custom reporting, and performance management Experience Clouds: If you want all Elite features, contact sales to request a quote for industry workspace, integrations, workflows, and virtual agents, including one add-on package *Talkdesk offers per-hour login consumption and concurrent pricing. Estimated prices are based on a three-year contract length exclusive of usage and telco fees. Talkdesk Features Automatic call distributor: Route inbound calls to specific agents or departments based on agent skills, customer data, business hours, and IVR selection. It comes with call monitoring, call barging, and call conferencing functionality to monitor agent performance. Automated workflows: Simplify workflows by sending recordings and data into your customer relationship management whenever a call ends. When an important event happens, managers will receive a notification, including the number dialed, recording, and call data. Forward-to-phone: Forward phone calls to mobile phones, landlines, or session-initiated protocol (SIP) phones to keep your team connected. This feature is ideal for remote teams who need flexible contact center software that allows them to work wherever they are. CloudTalk: Best for Extensive CRM Integrations is a cloud-based contact center solution that offers native integrations with popular business tools and customer relationship managers (CRMs) like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk. Its CRM integrations automatically log calls and allow your team to make calls directly from the CRM platform and access contact records while using CloudTalk. The first three paid plans come with a free trial (except the custom package). All CloudTalk plans include voicemail, unlimited inbound calling, unlimited call queuing, and call recording. Auto-dialers, queue management tools, and advanced call routing are available in upper-tier plans. CloudTalk’s call center tools support distributed teams as it allows agents to make and receive calls, whether from the desktop browser or mobile app. CloudTalk has limited omnichannel features. Meanwhile, Freshdesk Contact Center offers different packages for its omnichannel contact center, including live chat and social channels. Additionally, users have to upgrade to the second tier to access the IVR menu, compared to other providers like , which offers IVR in its base plan. CloudTalk Pricing at a Glance* Starter: $30 per user, per month for unlimited inbound and intracompany calls, click-to-call, automated call distribution, mobile app, and unlimited call queuing Essential: $40 per user, per month for SMS, advanced analytics, real-time dashboard, skills-based routing, smart queuing, and workflow automation Expert: $60 per user, per month for Salesforce integration, power/smart/predictive dialer, call monitoring, speech-to-text, single sign-on, and unlimited concurrent calls Custom: Contact sales for a quote, custom onboarding, unlimited outbound calls, enterprise-level security, developer support, and custom reporting *Pricing is based on a monthly payment plan. Annual plans are available with up to 25% discount. CloudTalk Features Call flow designer: CloudTalk enables users to create custom workflows to handle inbound calls coming to the contact center. Intelligent call routing includes steps, such as an IVR, a welcome message, business hours, and a time-route that allows you to create custom paths of a call flow, based on a specific time and day. Preferred agent: Assign an agent for each client to make your customer support more personalized and efficient. Customers constantly interact with the same agent or with the most appropriate group of agents who can provide the right support. Three-way calling: Add a third party to an ongoing call when the agent needs extra help to provide a solution or close a deal. It also allows you to place a caller on hold while the two parties communicate. 8x8 Contact Center: Best for Businesses Handling Sensitive Customer Data Unlike other competitors, has fulfilled multiple security and compliance requirements for its platform to protect data and operations from various threats. Businesses that handle sensitive client information will appreciate 8x8 Contact Center’s stringent specifications for securing privacy, financial data, and computer networks. It also meets compliance requirements for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA). Besides its robust security, 8x8 Contact Center offers a feature-rich platform with advanced capabilities like AI-powered self-service, customer experience analytics, and co-browsing. Its entry-level plan includes skills-based routing, which Freshdesk Contact Center offers in its highest-subscription tier. Additionally, all plans include unlimited international calling to certain territories, making it ideal for businesses that handle large volumes of calls from a global consumer base. While 8x8 Contact Center offers a reliable platform for distributed teams, its inclusions, like an unlimited calling plan, are not as useful for businesses with low call volume and tight budgets. Industry-specific integrations are also lacking as 8x8 Contact Center only offers 53 apps. Check out if you’re looking for an extensive contact center for an affordable price with free trials. 8x8 Contact Center Pricing at a Glance* X6: $95 per user, per month, billed annually for skills-based routing, IVR, call recording, reporting and analytics, and CX journey mapping X7: $105 per user, per month, billed annually for chat, email, SMS, co-browsing, omnichannel routing, and social media integration X8: $133 per user, per month, billed annually for quality management, speech analytics, screen recording, and real-time multi-screen monitoring *Users have the option to pay monthly, but 8x8 Contact Center offers a 24% discount for annual billing. 8x8 Contact Center Features Speech and text analytics: Compare insights and create targeted feedback for your agents with automated transcripts. Interactive graphics, walk-through customization, and prebuilt categories will identify calls that require attention and develop best practices. IVR journey maps: Intelligent IVR software allows you to create custom workflows using scripting tools to save time in making adjustments on self-service options. Built-in reporting and analytics tools let you analyze customer journeys within IVR paths. Customer experience analytics: Advanced search and intuitive navigation allow you to identify issues and trends in customer experiences. It also analyzes customer feedback to boost satisfaction ratings and fix issues that cause dissatisfaction. Five9: Best Customizable Contact Center Platform offers a blended contact center solution that handles inbound and outbound calls in a single platform. It comes with an active blending tool that automatically adjusts outbound calls based on the inbound traffic volume. Businesses with a global customer base will appreciate its flexible pricing options, including pay-per-use, customized quotes, and preconfigured bundles. While Five9 offers multiple contact center features, users are allowed to pick which tools to include in their plan. Advanced functionalities include IVR, analytics, reporting, workforce optimization, and multiple outbound dialers. As an intelligent contact center, it is designed to increase business agility by combining the power of AI, automation, and the cloud. It also has a robust omnichannel strategy that includes voice, email, SMS, chat, video, and social. While Five9 offers a feature-packed platform, it requires beginner-level agents to have a high level of technical training to fully utilize its AI-powered contact center. Another drawback is the lack of transparent pricing and feature lists that would not appeal to small businesses or solopreneurs looking for affordable options. If you’re looking for a contact center with detailed pricing and a more straightforward setup process, look no further than . Five9 Pricing at a Glance* Core: All basic tools to operate a blended contact center, including call recording, softphone tools, redundancy capabilities, real-time reporting, and admin tools Premium: Experience omnichannel support and essential quality management with supervisor-enabled capabilities, and customer engagement continuity Optimum: Get full workforce optimization capabilities, workforce management, enterprise quality management, and proactive notifications Ultimate: Access bundled features including workflow automation tools, prepackaged workflow apps, and interaction analytics *Five9 offers flexible pricing options: customized quotes, pay-per-use, and preconfigured bundles. Contact the Sales teams to learn which option suits your needs. Five9 Features Supervisor desktop: A customizable interface that helps contact center managers monitor and evaluate call operations in real time. Dashboard views provide agent status by channel, wait times, campaign status, and the number of queued calls. Intelligent virtual agent (IVA): Free your live agents from repetitive tasks and reduce the time for producing custom voice-overs for self-service scripts. The IVA platform offers a no-code development interface, custom voice avatars, and 25 standard voices. Gamification: Reinforce training and motivate agents with Five9 gamification. Badges, coins, and currency incentivize productivity, while redeemable rewards are available for exchange at the Marketplace for goods, gift cards, and company swag. Kixie: Best for Sales Engagement Features is a cloud contact center software with AI-powered voice and SMS platform built for sales teams. Users have access to a wide range of phone features, such as call coaching, ring groups, call recording, and voice mail drop. While most competitors focus on multi-channel support and workflow engagement, most of Kixie’s features are designed to engage more leads, increase close rates, and train sales reps. For example, Kixie’s flagship feature, its Intelligent AutoDialer, allows sales reps to instantly connect with new leads and automatically trigger calls from the CRM. While Kixie offers a seven-day trial, its subscription plans have no monthly billing option, so users have to choose between a quarterly and annual contract. This payment term is a huge disadvantage for small businesses or solopreneurs looking for commitment-free subscriptions. If you’re looking for a free trial and monthly billing options, check out . Kixie Pricing at a Glance* Integrated: $35 per month, billed quarterly for up to three users, business phone services, text messaging, IVR, sales leaderboard, recorded calls, and missed call alerts Professional: $65 per month, billed quarterly for up to three users for inbound call queues, live call coaching, Intelligent AutoDialer, text templates, and voicemail drop Enterprise: Contact sales for a quote, extended trial, and custom features like automation, auto-dialing, integrations, and automated text messages *Integrated and Professional plans include a seven-day free trial. Kixie offers unlimited minutes on any plan for the U.S. and Canada at $30 per user. Kixie Features Intelligent AutoDialer: Connect with new leads instantly and keep them under control. Kixie automatically connects your agents in real time whenever a lead sees your email, checks out your pricing page, and submits a form. ConnectionBoost: Kixie uses advanced AI and machine learning to help sales teams reach more leads and close more deals. It increases answer rate by dynamically picking a phone number most likely to be answered by a customer from a pool of over 50,000 numbers. Call coaching: Kixie allows contact center managers to listen in on live calls and help them close deals. Lifetime call recordings are stored for evaluation and sales rep training. It also includes detailed reporting and real-time leaderboards for a gamified experience. How We Evaluated the Best Freshdesk Contact Center Alternatives To come up with this list, we analyzed competitors based on the general and advanced features they include for their subscription plans. Since Freshdesk Contact Center is known for its free version and affordable pricing, we also considered third-party integrations, omnichannel support, and customization. Here's a breakdown of how we measured each provider: Bottom Line Finding the right contact center solution is important in maintaining business growth and customer satisfaction. It goes beyond providing basic inbound and outbound communications. You have to explore other essential aspects like multi-channel support and agent assist features. The providers we included offer insights on the best contact center software that works for your small business. Based on our evaluation, is the best overall Freshdesk Contact Center alternative with a total score of 4.31 out of 5. Its cloud-based contact center platform is packed with useful CX functionalities that utilize AI and machine learning capabilities. This provider has a lot to offer in terms of omnichannel engagement, self-service experience, automated workflows, and call management tools. While it doesn’t have a free trial, consider requesting a quote and a demo from its sales team.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

ooma vs google voice

February 17, 2022

Ooma vs Google Voice: Which Is Better for Your Business?

When comparing Ooma vs Google Voice, each provider delivers voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) calling services, but are built on different technology. Ooma is designed to replace a team’s traditional landline phone system in an office environment. Google Voice is better suited as a way to support business calls on an individual’s mobile device. So which one comes out ahead in the Ooma vs Google Voice debate depends on your specific business needs. Based on our comparison, the best use cases for Ooma vs Google Voice are as follows: : Ooma is one of the best VoIP-powered phone systems for small businesses and the better choice for office-based teams who want to take advantage of communications features like call flip and a multi-level auto-attendant. : Google Voice is a highly rated virtual phone system, making it the better option for solopreneurs and small, remote teams. It’s also a great option for those who use Google Workspace apps as it offers seamless Voice-Workspace app integrations Ooma vs Google Voice at a Glance *This plan level is limited to 10 users Best for Pricing: Google Voice When considering pricing, wins out overall. It offers a free version suitable for solopreneurs as well as three distinct paid plans that have quite a few of the features businesses will need. Ooma only has two plans to select from, though both offer a bevy of business phone system features that could be useful. While the Starter plan for Google Voice is only $10, it has limitations that probably wouldn’t work for a mid-sized company. For example, at this tier, you are only allowed to have 10 users. Considering that the base tier of Ooma is $19.95, you’ll start to notice the difference in plan value offered by the two providers and which plans are most comparable. The has no user limits, which is similar to Google’s $20 Standard plan. Still, since Google Voice has a $10 plan option, it wins out in pricing. Additionally, services like number porting are significantly cheaper with Google Voice—with any plan, porting costs $20 per number vs $39.99 with Ooma. To see if it’s the best option for you, read our expert Google Voice review. Best for Calling Features: Ooma As far as vs , both provide subscribers with a wide variety of calling features. This includes unlimited domestic calling and texting within the U.S. and Canada, voicemail, and call forwarding. Ooma additionally allows for unlimited calling to Mexico―a territory that Google Voice doesn’t offer unlimited calling to. Ooma also comes out ahead when it comes to features like call flip, which allows you to transfer to your preferred device mid-call. This makes it much easier to handle customers, even when you’re on the go, and avoid dropped calls if you need to switch from a battery-drained device to a wired phone. Call routing is handled well by both providers. For example, both Ooma and Google Voice have a multi-level auto-attendant to route callers to the right department or extension. These systems also present customers with vital company information, but neither provider has a dedicated interactive voice response (IVR) routing system that implements voice input and self-service. If you need a more complex call routing provider, consider a solution like . GoTo Connect has a dial plan editor that is a very useful tool for small businesses. Best for International Calling: Ooma When it comes to international calling, is the best option for a business that frequently calls outside of the country. There is a free option that offers calling rates similar to , but if you pay for the service, you can easily call up to 70 countries for just the monthly fee. With Google Voice, you can only call the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico without paying a per-minute rate. Some countries are not covered in Ooma’s plans, but if you don’t call excluded locales frequently, Ooma’s international calling plans will save you money in the long run. If you purchase an Ooma Telo for $99.99, which is hardware that you can use to make calls, you will get the Ooma World Plan for a year for $9.99 per month. When it comes to Ooma with an Ooma Telo vs Google Voice with no hardware, it’s clear that Ooma has the better offering. Best for Uptime Reliability: Google Voice Uptime is critical when it comes to doing business since any service unavailability means that you could be missing business opportunities or decreasing customer satisfaction. For this reason, many VoIP providers deliver what’s called a service level agreement (SLA), which guarantees that your service will be available for a certain percentage of the time. With most providers, this starts at 99% uptime. In the Ooma vs Google Voice comparison, is the clear winner for the simple reason that Ooma doesn’t provide an uptime SLA. With Google Voice, service is guaranteed 99.9% of the time, which is decent insofar as these things go. Still, it could be better. With this percentage, you can expect about eight hours of yearly downtime. Compare this with a provider like , whose 99.999% SLA amounts to about five minutes in the same period, and you’ll see why Google’s guarantee could be improved. Best for Virtual Numbers: Ooma Direct inward dialing (DID) numbers, or virtual numbers, allow your business to set up specific numbers that customers use to reach you. This is significantly more convenient and less intrusive than simply providing clients with your personal cell number. Both Ooma and Google Voice provide virtual numbers; however, virtual numbers vary significantly by type. Here are a few to consider: Local virtual number: This provides customers with a phone number that has a local, familiar area code. This way, they can reach you without paying long-distance fees. This is also a useful way to give the impression that your business is more local than it might actually be―your business could be located hundreds of miles away, but you can purchase a number anywhere. Toll-free virtual numbers: Instead of giving the impression your business is local, toll-free numbers promote the idea that your company does business on the national level. And callers will still be able to reach you without paying long-distance fees. Vanity phone numbers: A popular example of a vanity number is 1-800-FLOWERS. This type of virtual phone number has a marketing aspect to it since, if your number also spells something, it’s that much more memorable. These numbers are also typically toll-free. International virtual phone number: International numbers provide overseas customers with a number to reach your business. In a way, they are similar to local numbers. When it comes to virtual numbers, wins out. While Google Voice provides a local number for each user, you don’t have options for toll-free, vanity, or international virtual numbers. Ooma, on the other hand, has both local and toll-free numbers. Still, both lack international and vanity number options. If you’re looking for those, a more complete virtual phone number provider like may better fit your needs. Best Alternatives to Ooma & Google Voice Both Google Voice and Ooma provide competitive solutions for business communication, but they aren’t the right fit for every team. Both providers lack features like an IVR, international numbers, vanity numbers, and high participant count video conferencing. Before settling on one of these providers, consider other virtual phone systems and VoIP solutions that might be a better fit. A few of the best Google Voice and Ooma alternatives include: : Nextiva is a good all-in-one communications solution for businesses. It has features like international calling, international numbers, iOS and Android apps, and high-capacity video conferencing for up to 250 attendees. Nextiva also packs in several integrations, which is very useful for small businesses. Nextiva subscribers also have a much higher number of toll-free minutes, as Ooma only provides up to 500, whereas Nextiva has options for up to 12,500. : Grasshopper is a great option for businesses that need a simple and agile business phone system. It comes out ahead against both Ooma and Google voice as a virtual number provider thanks to features like the ability to set custom business hours and customized greetings. Grasshopper also has a call hold option, a feature missing from Google Voice. : While both Ooma and Google Voice offer international calling, and Ooma offers unlimited international calling in 70 countries, neither offers international numbers. 8x8 is the most well-rounded solution for businesses that need unlimited calling in territories like the U.K., Ireland, and Australia as well as international phone numbers in 120 countries. This includes both toll-free and local numbers. Still want more options? Check out our full list of the best Google Voice alternatives. How We Evaluated Ooma vs Google Voice Both Ooma and Google Voice are good options to consider, but the pricing structure and features may not fit your business needs. As we evaluated these providers and what they offer, we took a deeper look into pricing, international calling, calling features, uptime, integrations, and virtual numbers. Here’s a complete breakdown: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Do both Ooma & Google Voice support traditional landline phones? Yes on both counts. With , you have to purchase an analog telephone adapter (ATA), such as the Poly Obi202. With , this is one of their main selling points since Ooma’s Telo device serves as an ATA and comes bundled with unlimited domestic calling. Does either of these providers offer a free plan? Insofar as Google Voice, anyone with a Gmail address can utilize the free level of to make calls. This is particularly useful if you’re a solopreneur or a freelancer. Still, this might not be as useful for a company with more employees that needs multiple numbers with features like call forwarding, voicemail transcripts, and desk phone compatibility. also offers a free calling solution via the Telo ATA when you purchase the hardware for VoIP calling for a flat fee of $99. However, it doesn’t include some of the advanced calling features of higher Ooma small business phone plans. Still, for some, this is a viable option. Does either offer a free trial? Neither provides a stellar experience when it comes to a free trial. Technically, you can try the Google Voice platform free using the personal edition, but you won’t have many business-ready features. While Ooma offers a free trial of its Premier Plan, it may be overkill for some businesses. Fortunately, you can try any of the plans and take advantage of their 30-day money-back guarantee. Bottom Line With a supporting internet connection, Ooma and Google Voice are some of the best business phone systems for small to mid-size organizations. Each offers free or low-cost VoIP plans for basic business calling with options for scaling upward as needs arise. Each even allows for business overseas with options for international calling. Still, comes out in the lead in our head-to-head comparison. This is thanks to more virtual number options, calling features, and unlimited international calling to 79 locations. There’s also better scaling with Ooma vs Google Voice as it’s easy to go from an Ooma Telo-based system to a system with more enterprise-level features. Also, while it doesn’t have a free trial, Ooma’s money-back guarantee helps businesses evaluate if it’s a good fit for them. Read more in our Ooma review and see if the provider has what you’ll need for business in 2022.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

A woman answered a telephone call.

February 16, 2022

5 Best MightyCall Alternatives

MightyCall is a business phone system that provides business-friendly, voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) features like auto-attendants and mobile apps. The best MightyCall alternatives also offer capabilities lacking in MightyCall, such as video conferencing and unified communications. We rated the top MightyCall competitors based on pricing, ease of use, and feature sets to help you find the best option for your small business. Based on our research, here are the best MightyCall alternatives: : Top pick overall and best MightyCall alternative for small businesses wanting to mix and match plans for different job roles : Great alternative to MightyCall for companies needing a unified communications and collaboration platform : Best MightyCall alternative for small teams looking for a virtual phone service for use on personal devices : Best MightyCall competitor for online businesses with inbound customer service centers needing integrations with ecommerce platforms : Best free alternative to MightyCall for solopreneurs and Google Workspace users MightyCall & Best Alternatives Compared at a Glance See fullscreen table × is our top pick for the best MightyCall alternative, earning 4.33 out of 5. It is the only provider offering mix-and-match metered and unmetered plans to help you save money. It also offers video conferencing and inbound faxing, two features MightyCall lacks. Phone.com is equally affordable business phone system and provides volume-based discounts and lower pricing for annual billing. Real on to learn more about how each of these MightyCall competitors compares to the lost-cost business phone service: Phone.com: Best Overall MightyCall Alternative is a top small business VoIP service and the best MightyCall alternative because it provides an inexpensive base plan, volume-based discounts, and lower pricing for annual billing. It’s also the only MightyCall competitor offering metered and unlimited plans, allowing you to mix and match subscriptions for different user types. Phone.com’s flexible plan tiers include many valuable features, including video and audio conferencing, an automated attendant, and call forwarding based on business hours. However, Phone.com subscriptions don’t include toll-free minutes or inbound faxing. You’ll also need Phone.com’s Pro version to access customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, and it doesn’t have built-in ecommerce integrations. and are better solutions for integrations, and RingCentral MVP also has toll-free minutes on all plans and unlimited inbound and outbound faxing on Standard and above tiers. Phone.com Pricing at a Glance* Basic Users: $12.99 per user, per month for one number per account, 300 minutes and 1,000 pooled text segments per user, 50 standard VoIP features, an auto-attendant, and video conferencing with 10 participants Plus Users: $19.99 per user, per month for one phone number per person, unlimited minutes and texting, video recording and whiteboarding, 25 video meeting participants, and voicemail transcription Pro Users: $29.99 per user, per month for one phone number per person, unlimited minutes and texting, video recording transcription, CRM integrations, call analytics, and 100 video conferencing participants *Phone.com pricing is based on monthly payments for one to four users. Lower your costs by adding more users and selecting annual billing. Phone.com Features User-based plans: Not every business phone user needs unlimited calling and vast feature sets. With a system like Phone.com, you can select lower-priced metered plans for users who need a line but don’t spend much time answering or making calls. Phone.com also has versions for supervisors with advanced analytics and call recording. Video conferencing: Phone.com and RingCentral are the only MightyCall alternatives with built-in video conferencing services. However, you’ll pay about $10 to $20 more per user for a RingCentral MVP plan with unlimited video conferencing. Phone.com works better for occasional meetings with clients, whereas RingCentral provides better support for remote team collaboration. Follow me: If your organization has a bring your own device (BYOD) policy or supports employee mobility, the follow-me feature is a must-have. An incoming call to your employee rings one device at a time until your team member picks up the line. RingCentral MVP: Best MightyCall Alternative for Unified Communications & Collaboration is a top MightyCall competitor thanks to its expansive feature set with advanced tools for unified communications and collaboration. It offers more communication channels than Aircall or Grasshopper and has a complete toolkit for remote workers with persistent meeting rooms, team chat, and content sharing. RingCentral also stands out because subscriptions include toll-free minutes and built-in integrations with CRMs and productivity platforms. The downside is that it’s a bit more complicated to set up than basic phone systems like . RingCentral MVP also costs more per user than , which offers better volume-based discounts for small teams. Plus, it doesn’t have built-in ecommerce integrations as Aircall provides. However, RingCentral MVP is worth the expense for companies with a distributed workforce that collaborates online frequently. RingCentral MVP Pricing at a Glance* Essentials: $29.99 per user, per month for up to 20 users for unlimited calls and texting within the U.S. and Canada, team messaging, document sharing, and 100 toll-free minutes Standard: $37.99 per user, per month for unlimited internet fax, video meetings with 100 participants, 1,000 toll-free minutes, and 24/7 customer support Premium: $44.99 per user, per month for 2,500 toll-free minutes, conferences with 200 people, automatic call recording, CRM integrations, and call monitoring Ultimate: $59.99 per user, per month for unlimited media storage, device status reports, and hardware alerts *RingCentral pricing is based on two to 20 users with monthly billing. Save up to 33% with annual prepayment and discounts for 100 or more users. RingCentral MVP Features Team Huddle: Keep remote teams connected with a persistent meeting room. Choose participants and add a name for your huddle topic to create a meeting space where employees can pop in and out to instant message or talk in real time. Video conferencing: Meet with up to 200 people (100 more participants than Phone.com) and share screens, co-annotate documents, and chat as a group or one-to-one. RingCentral MVP offers presentation modes, breakout rooms, and whiteboarding to engage attendees and encourage collaboration. Unified communications: Centralize conversations between customers and employees on the RingCentral MVP platform. Your team can find and review interactions across multiple channels, including text, voice, and video. Plus, RingCentral MVP consolidates other communication methods like internet faxing and live chat into a single app. Grasshopper: Best MightyCall Alternative for Virtual Phone Services is the best virtual phone number provider and a top MightyCall alternative for turning your cell phone into a business device. Although other providers offer mobile apps, Grasshopper iOS and Android applications take up less room on personal devices and receive high user ratings. Grasshopper is also the only solution that doesn’t charge per-user fees. You can add an employee mid-month and give them an extension without your subscription price increasing. However, Grasshopper doesn’t offer metered plans or support video conferencing like . It’s also less scalable than a solution like , which adds advanced call handling features on upper-tier versions, such as call whisper and barge, and provides discounts for 100 or more users. Grasshopper Pricing at a Glance* Solo: $31 per month with one phone number and three extensions Partner: $51 per month for three phone numbers and six extensions Small Business: $89 per month for five phone numbers and unlimited extensions *Grasshopper pricing is based on monthly payments. Select annual billing for additional savings. Grasshopper Features Mobility: Grasshopper’s mobile apps conserve space on personal devices, and extensions are customizable. Individual Grasshopper users can create call forwarding rules for their extension according to a schedule and forward calls to multiple devices. Business phone numbers: Grasshopper has a user-friendly number picker on its website and supplies local, toll-free, and vanity numbers with all subscriptions. Users can share lines and add extensions for different employees or departments. Instant response: This feature is unique to Grasshopper and sends a text message when you miss a call. You can customize your text and add a link. Recipients can respond to your message with additional information, so you’re prepared to handle their call as soon as you’re free. Aircall: Best MightyCall Alternative for Ecommerce Integrations automatically connects to popular ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. The built-in integrations provide agents with context before answering the phone, like showing an order number associated with the incoming caller. Your customer service reps can access a complete customer history without leaving the Aircall app. All subscriptions include API and webhook access, which lets you incorporate your business phone system into existing workflows. also integrates with ecommerce platforms, but you’ll need to use third-party services, such as Zapier or Workato. Other MightyCall competitors have limited integrations and don’t provide native support for ecommerce platforms. In addition to ecommerce connectivity, Aircall supports more than 100 integrations with help desk services, productivity suites, and CRM programs. All subscriptions come with features vital to customer service channels, such as call recording, an interactive voice response (IVR) system, and ring groups. However, if your online business makes a significant number of outbound calls, you may prefer a MightyCall alternative with unlimited outbound calling, such as . Learn how these two providers differ in our RingCentral vs Aircall comparison. Aircall Pricing at a Glance* Essentials: $40 per user, per month with a minimum of three users for unlimited inbound calling and text messaging within the U.S. and Canada, one local or toll-free number, call recording, one-year of data storage, and basic analytics Professional: $70 per user, per month with a minimum of three users for advanced analytics, call monitoring, power dialer, Salesforce integrations, call whisper, and queue callbacks Custom: Contact Aircall for a quote that includes a service level agreement (SLA), access to API developer supports, and a very important person (VIP) customer service hotline *Aircall pricing is based on monthly payments. Select annual billing to save up to 29%. Aircall Features Call comments and tagging: Keep track of vital information and add details that support successful outcomes with call comments, tagging, and task assignments. Aircall users can quickly tag a call as a potential customer and assign the follow-up call to your salesperson. Plus, don’t forget to add details from your last call, such as how they found your website or what products interest them. Warm transfer: Unlike Grasshopper and Phone.com, Aircall lets you speak with a co-worker before transferring a call to them. This feature is helpful for customer care centers that require a supervisor to approve returns or discounts. Merchant platform integration: Improve your customer support services by integrating Aircall with your ecommerce tools. Built-in integrations provide caller details, including order number and history, so your agents don’t have to ask the same questions over and over. Google Voice: Best Free MightyCall Alternative for Solopreneurs stands out for its cheap VoIP services and is the only MightyCall competitor offering a free version for individuals. Both MightyCall and Aircall require a minimum of two users, and similar plans for solopreneurs on Grasshopper costs $29 per month. Google Voice screens your calls, announces the name of incoming callers, and supports contact-based call forwarding. As your business grows, paid plans are available as an add-on to Google Workspace. Each subscription provides peace of mind with an SLA that guarantees service uptime, technical support levels, and call quality. While other providers may offer an SLA, you’ll need to contact the company to learn what it includes, whereas Google posts it online. Google Voice Pricing at a Glance* Free: Personal accounts are free for unlimited domestic calling and texting, call screening and blocking, voicemail and voicemail transcription, and call forwarding Starter: $10 per user, per month for up to 10 users for an SLA, user and activity reports, do not disturb (DND), and voicemail transcription Standard: $20 per user, per month for unlimited users, auto-attendants, desk phone compatibility, ring groups, and eDiscovery for calls, text messages, and voicemail Premium: $30 per user, per month for unlimited domestic and international locations, international phone numbers in 13 regions, and BigQuery integrations *Paid Google Voice plans require a subscription to Google Workspace, which starts at $6 per user, per month. Google Voice Features Email notifications: Enable email notifications to receive an alert each time you miss a phone call. This feature works well for solopreneurs who have email open more frequently than the Google Voice app. While traveling, you can check your email from your phone or laptop and see what calls you've missed. Contact-based call management: Custom call forwarding rules help solopreneurs personalize their response to missed calls and manage higher volumes. Create custom voicemails for different contacts, such as a personal message for family members or a professional greeting for VIP customers. You can also forward calls to other devices based on your contact list. Call screening: Learn who’s calling without glancing at your phone using the Google Voice call screening feature. Google automatically announces the name of your caller if they’re listed in your contact book. Google Voice will ask unknown callers to state their names, and you can hear them speak before picking up the call. How We Evaluated the Best MightyCall Alternatives Business phone systems offer various features that work well for different companies and users. We examined general and advanced characteristics to determine the best use cases for MightyCall alternatives while assessing the costs for each plan tier. Additionally, we considered our experience with the platforms and user reviews. Here's a breakdown of how we measured each of these MightyCall alternatives: Bottom Line MightyCall is an affordable phone system that earns high ratings. However, it lacks unified communications and collaboration features offered by some MightyCall competitors. MightyCall also doesn’t work for solopreneurs or large call centers, so it’s less scalable than other virtual phone services in our lineup. is ultra-affordable whether you’re a team of two or 25, and earned our top spot for the best MightyCall alternative. Explore more ratings in our Phone.com review or sign up for Phone.com and give it a try for 30 days. If it’s not a good fit, Phone.com offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

Having a one on one virtual meeting.

February 16, 2022

The 6 Best Dialpad Alternatives

Dialpad’s features are very comprehensive, especially for small businesses, but its limited video conferencing and minimum user requirements may mean it’s not the best solution for everyone. The best Dialpad alternatives have both quality voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) and unified communications (UC) features, but without the limitations. We found the top Dialpad competitors and ranked them based on cost, features, and ease of use. These five best Dialpad alternatives for small businesses include: : The overall best Dialpad alternative : Best Dialpad alternative for businesses looking to utilize third-party integrations : Best Dialpad alternative for businesses looking for international calling : The Dialpad competitor best for businesses that need easy-to-set-up call routing options : Best Dialpad alternative for businesses that need a wide array of bundled plan features Dialpad & Best Alternatives Compared at a Glance See fullscreen table × Nextiva: Best Overall Dialpad Alternative When comparing apples to apples, is the best overall Dialpad competitor with its comparable uptime, international calling features, and unified communications functionality. In fact, whereas Dialpad tends to focus on being a business phone system with add-on unified communications as a service (UCaaS) features, Nextiva provides UCaaS features pretty much out of the box, at least after the Professional plan level. As we covered in our Nextiva Review, it’s a great option for businesses looking for scalability, with four distinct plan tiers that have published pricing information. Nextiva also offers volume discounts, so as your business grows, you’ll start to see a lower cost per user. Features like an auto-attendant, unlimited voicemail, and internet fax are all available immediately with Nextiva, so it serves as a good solution for businesses looking for telephony features. There are even a few call center add-ons available with Nextiva that provides some wiggle room should your call levels increase. Also, through its CoSpace app, Nextiva provides task management features, a team calendar, scheduling for meetings, video conferencing, and chat. Overall, similar to a provider like , Nextiva provides new businesses with the tools they need to communicate and collaborate professionally. Nextiva Pricing at a Glance* Essential: $18.95 per user, per month for unlimited video and voice calling, unlimited fax, voicemail-to-email notifications, and toll-free numbers Professional: $22.95 per user, per month for unlimited video conferencing for up to 250 participants, unlimited conference calls for up to 40 participants, call pop for up to 250 contacts, and professional setup Enterprise: $32.95 per user, per month for unlimited voice and video conferencing, unlimited call recording, unlimited call pop, voicemail transcription, voice analytics, and single sign-on (SSO) Ultimate: $57.95 per user, per month for pipeline management, customer journey analytics, and automated surveys *Pricing is based on annual payment for 20 to 99 users. Monthly payment at a higher cost is also an option. Nextiva Features HIPAA compliant internet fax: Allows businesses with confidential information to easily send documents via fax without violating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance laws. Call pop: This feature displays information about a contact so you can look at it before placing a call. These details will inform you about past calls, purchases, and engagement to better prepare you for the next call. Voicemail transcription: Voicemail transcription allows you to read voicemails while checking your email instead of taking the time to listen to each one. It’s also then easier to cut and paste text to contact records or forward the information to the appropriate team member. RingCentral MVP: Best Dialpad Alternative for Integrations At its base, UCaaS provider (which stands for Message, Video, and Phone) shines when it comes to integrations. The provider has all most businesses need, such as Salesforce, Zoho CRM, and Zendesk. This, along with its overall scalability, are among the reasons it tops our list of the best VoIP services for small businesses. In addition to this, there are more than 200 ready-made third-party integrations in the RingCentral App Gallery. Additionally, RingCentral has an open application programming interface (API), allowing IT teams to connect with the software that isn’t available through the App Gallery. This ensures that users are more than capable of connecting their favorite software for convenience. Like , RingCentral MVP has four plan tiers, so it’s easy to scale when you need new features. Also, like and Nextiva, RingCentral MVP becomes cheaper when you opt for annual billing. The inclusion of toll-free minutes even at its basic Essentials plan can be extra-compelling for businesses looking to expand their calling options to the national level. RingCentral MVP provides useful tools when it comes to small business communications, and like Dialpad and Nextiva, plans include calling to the U.S. and Canada. Insofar as unified communications features, RingCentral MVP provides video conferencing for up to 200 attendees, team messaging, a mobile app, and some task management. Similar to Nextiva, GoTo Connect, and Dialpad, RingCentral also has internet faxing. RingCentral MVP Pricing at a Glance* Essentials: $19.99 per user, per month for unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, and document sharing for up to 20 users Standard: $27.99 per user, per month for phone numbers in over 100 countries, unlimited internet fax, unlimited audio conferences, and video conferences with up to 100 participants Premium: $34.99 per user, per month for advanced call handling features, video conferences with up to 200 participants, automatic call recording, real-time analytics, and multi-site admin and management options Ultimate: $49.99 per user, per month for device status reports and alerts as well as unlimited storage *Pricing is based on an annual payment plan for two to 20 users, saving about 33% per year. RingCentral MVP Features Multi-level auto-attendant: Your auto-attendant greets customers and ensures they are directed to the correct department. Advanced call management controls: RingCentral MVP offers features like call whisper, call barge, and call takeover, allowing authorized users to monitor the discussion and provide coaching to agents to help guide the conversation with customers. Real-time analytics: Real-time data helps you gain insight into the calls occurring, the data collected in the calls, and statistics about call center metrics that your agents should be following. 8x8: Best Dialpad Alternative for International Calling When it comes to generating an international presence, is one of the best VoIP services for international calling, as well as one of the best VoIP/UCaaS options for small businesses overall. In addition to providing dialing opportunities at metered rates in 120 countries, the service also grants unlimited calling in 48. Besides having the ability to call numerous countries, 8x8 also has direct inward dialing (DID) numbers in 120 countries. Your customers can use these toll-free and local numbers in their local areas to reach your business without having to pay international calling rates. In addition to global calling, 8x8 is a powerful VoIP/UCaaS solution. Calling is free in the U.S. and Canada, similar to other cheap VoIP services, and virtual fax is available as well. Plus, you can mix and match 8x8 plans among users based on the features they need in order to save money. Likewise, video conferencing is excellent with 8x8. It supports both high-definition (HD) video and audio, and higher-tier plans have a 500-participant cap. Team collaboration features are also available as well as user presence so that your team always knows who is available. 8x8 also has dedicated plan tiers for contact centers. This is useful for businesses with high call volumes, and there’s also included software via the Frontdesk app that clearly displays for supervisors and receptionists which agents are available. Other contact center as a service (CCaaS) features include monitoring software that allows you to listen in on calls and whisper or coach your team members. Unlike and , 8x8’s contact center features have transparent pricing published on their site. 8x8 Pricing at a Glance* 8x8 Express: $15 per user, per month for up to 10 users, unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, intelligent call routing, and music on hold X2: $24 per user, per month for unlimited voice calling to 14 countries, video meetings with up to 500 participants, team messaging, and 99.999% uptime guarantee X4: $44 per user, per month for unlimited voice calling to 48 countries, supervisor analytics, advanced call management features, and 8x8 Frontdesk *Pricing is based on annual payment that allows you to save up to 25%. 8x8 Features Custom greeting: Get professionally recorded greetings to give customers a great first impression of your business. You can customize menu prompts and on-hold music as well. Skill-based routing: Send calls to agents who have the right skills to assist their needs. Using this type of routing increases productivity and customer satisfaction. HD audio and video: Having clear audio and video ensures that meetings can go on without issues. There will be no delay, even when screens are being shared and files are being transferred. GoTo Connect: Best Dialpad Alternative for Call Routing As part of GoTo ecosystem of VoIP/UCaaS solutions, is one of the most-supported solutions out of this list of Dialpad alternatives. This provider, formerly known as Jive, bundles in VoIP and UCaaS features, making it a worthy Dialpad competitor. Call routing is critical for businesses so that customer satisfaction and the overall experience remain positive. With GoTo Connect’s Dial Plan Editor, you can quickly create menus and submenus and decide where incoming calls are routed as they come in. Like , GoTo Connect has unlimited calling capabilities to foreign countries―this time, to 52 unique territories. Still, unlike 8x8, it doesn’t have options for international numbers. Like other providers, such as fellow LogMeIn virtual number provider , GoTo Connect has unlimited extensions. Unlike Grasshopper, this feature is available at all plan tiers. This compares very favorably to Dialpad, which only has extensions for the Enterprise plan, and even then, you’re required to have at least 100 users. While LogMeIn has a video conferencing-first solution with GoTo Meeting, video conferencing through GoTo Connect is very robust. At the maximum level, GoTo Connect users can host meetings with up to 250 participants. Additionally, there are options for unlimited meeting durations—Dialpad’s add-on service caps out at five hours. GoTo Connect Pricing at a Glance* Basic: $22 per user, per month for local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, smart call routing, unlimited extensions, and 40-minute meeting durations for up to four participants Standard: $26 per user, per month for unlimited auto-attendant greetings, unlimited ring groups, international calling in 50+ countries, and unlimited meeting durations for up to 150 participants Premium: $39 per user, per month for up to 250 meeting participants, call analytics, call management features, customizable admin control, and real-time queue updates *Pricing is based on annual payment for two to 20 users. GoTo Connect Features Smart call routing: Calls automatically go to an available agent so that customers don’t have to wait on hold for long. Customizable dial plans: This helps make sure that call flow is intuitive, even during times when the office is closed, like on weekends and holidays. Caller hold time report: This information is presented to agents so that they know how long customers have been waiting before they get on the line with them. With this information, agents can resolve the call as quickly as possible. Vonage: Best Dialpad Alternative for Bundled Features With each subscription, users are immediately treated to over 50 business phone and UCaaS features, with more available on an a la carte basis. This provides a fully functional business communications system without a bunch of features that are seldom used. As a result, Vonage offers the best plan bundles of all Dialpad alternatives. Like most providers in this roundup of Dialpad competitors, Vonage has a 99.999%, aka “five nines,” uptime service level agreement (SLA). This means that yearly service downtime equates to about five minutes. While this is slightly lower than Enterprise tier’s 100% uptime guarantee, most will agree that five minutes doesn’t amount to much service unreliability. Additionally, the uptime guarantee is available at every tier, which isn’t an offer available from providers like 8x8. Vonage stands out as one of the best call management systems thanks to features like call flip, follow me, call screening, busy lamp field, call blocking, and caller ID. This ensures that you have complete call control from start to finish. There’s also a multi-level auto-attendant with options for free, professionally recorded greetings on the higher-end plans. Vonage Pricing at a Glance* Mobile: $19.99 per line, per month for unlimited calls and short message service (SMS) texts, access to the Vonage App Center, and unlimited team messaging Premium: $29.99 per line, per month for unlimited meetings for up to 100 participants, customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, and a multi-level auto-attendant Advanced: $39.99 per line, per month for visual voicemail, call groups, and up to 15 hours of on-demand call recording *Pricing provided is based on one user. Vonage Features SmartWAN: This tool provides a clearer image during video calls by prioritizing bandwidth and encryption needs while preventing congestion. Call announce: Tells agents who is calling so they can be better prepared for calls before they are connected to them. On-demand call recording: Any call can be recorded, but with this feature, you choose what calls are recorded instead of recording every call. How We Evaluated the Best Dialpad Alternatives Deciding which provider is best for small businesses is a tough proposition because each of these Dialpad competitors offers something different. For this reason, we used objective rating criteria, our own firsthand experiences with each of these Dialpad alternatives, and online reviews to determine a score for each provider. From that, we developed the best use cases for each one. Out of the Dialpad competitors we reviewed, stood out as the best Dialpad alternative with a score of 4.52 out of 5. Nextiva delivers strong dialing and UCaaS features and has a standout performance when looking at international dialing, virtual numbers, and integrations. Here's a breakdown of how we measured each provider: Bottom Line VoIP/UCaaS providers deliver robust business communications features to small businesses. is a standout solution for many businesses, but its limitations on internet faxing and its 100-participant video conferencing cap may not be your cup of tea. Fortunately, several Dialpad competitors more than make up for these potential shortcomings. leads the pack among the best Dialpad alternatives based on our thorough research. It has robust video conferencing, internet faxing, excellent call features and routing, and team collaboration through CoSpace. It also has great uptime, easy-to-use mobile apps for both iOS and Android, and every plan comes with visual voicemail. Get started with Nextiva today by signing up for their 14-day trial.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

GoTo Meeting logo as feature image.

February 10, 2022

GoTo Meeting Review: Is It Right for Your Business?

GoTo Meeting is a virtual meeting platform that offers business communication and collaboration tools all under one roof. It provides standard video conferencing features, such as screen sharing, note taking, whiteboard, and cloud recording. Paid plans start at $12 per user, per month, billed yearly. In our GoTo Meeting review, we found the platform lacks more advanced features offered by competitors, but is a solid video conferencing choice for small to mid-sized businesses on a tight budget. GoTo Meeting Overview What We Recommend GoTo Meeting For is a video conferencing software that covers all the basic features of a cloud-based unified communications platform. It includes several key features, such as crystal-clear audio, high-definition (HD) video, background noise suppression, and keyboard and mouse sharing. With its encrypted sessions, meeting locks, and the ability to dismiss attendees, users can rest assured that meetings are safe and only accessible to authorized attendees. When to Use GoTo Meeting Remote teams looking for reliable video conferencing software: GoTo Meeting is one of the best video conference software for its rich account management features that allows you to monitor and troubleshoot online meetings. The admin center provides access to diagnostic reports, security options, and usage details. This makes it ideal for small businesses or remote teams who don’t have full-time IT support. Small businesses looking for a low-cost virtual meeting solution with large participant capacity: GoTo Meeting makes it to our list of the best Zoom alternatives for hosting mid to large-sized meetings. Monthly pricing starts at $12 to $16 per user, per month (billed annually), making it cheaper than similar providers. Its enterprise package allows up to 3,000 meeting participants, compared to , which only supports up to 1,300 attendees through the large-meeting add-on. Businesses in the financial and healthcare industries handling sensitive data: GoTo Meeting comes fully loaded with security features to ensure worry-free video conferences. For instance, GoTo Meeting allows hosts to lock meetings and dismiss attendees for secure and uninterrupted sessions. It also tops our list for the best HIPAA-compliant video conferencing solutions as it offers complete privacy protection for patient data. Solopreneurs or remote teams that host meetings anywhere: GoTo Meeting has a mobile app that allows remote teams to host meetings from anywhere regardless of distractions and bandwidth limitations. It features a commuter mode that turns your screen into a color-coded audio/mute button and saves up to 90% bandwidth for better call quality. This puts GoTo Meeting on our list of the best Microsoft Teams alternatives with its mobile conferencing features. When GoTo Meeting Might Not Be a Good Fit Businesses that need advanced collaboration tools without upgrading to the higher tier plans: While GoTo Meeting offers a host of collaboration tools, users have to upgrade to higher plans to access all the advanced features. This incurs added costs for small businesses to get all the premium features. If you want access to a wide range of video conferencing features without upgrading to higher plans, choose . Individuals who need to customize webcam background during virtual meetings: GoTo Meeting doesn’t come with settings for changing your webcam background during meetings. You have to download a third-party app to blur, replace, or customize your background. If you’re looking for a platform that allows users to modify their virtual background, check out . Businesses that require real-time transcriptions in other languages: Although GoTo Meeting offers automated transcription, the language option is limited to English. If you’re looking for a provider that offers live transcription in multiple languages, consider , which offers up to 28 languages for transcription. GoTo Meeting Pricing offers more affordable packages than other video conferencing providers on the market, yet brings a handful of useful features. Pricing starts at $12 per user, per month, billed annually, which gives users access to essential video meeting tools. You may sign up for a free trial for 14 days and host three-person meetings for 40 minutes, with access to screen sharing, voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) audio, and chat messaging. Upgrading to the Business plan gives access to GoTo Meeting’s latest collaboration features, like note taking, smart assistant, and commuter mode. Users have to upgrade their subscriptions to get the most out of their meetings and unlock the more premium features. Large teams needing more features and larger meeting capacities will want the Enterprise plan. Pricing is unpublished, so you will need to contact the sales team to request a quote. *GoTo Meeting’s plans are billed in full annually. The Professional plan costs $144 per organizer, per year, and the Business plan costs $192 per organizer, per year. GoTo Meeting Video Conferencing Add-ons GoTo Meeting offers two add-ons for Professional and Business users. Meanwhile, Enterprise users have access to custom packages and bundled discounts on meetings, webinars, phones, and room solutions. Here are the following add-ons offered to GoTo Meeting paid plan users: GoTo Webinar: GoTo Meeting offers a separate product for organizing virtual events. It allows you to host webinars with up to 100 participants and access webinar templates, flexible scheduling, and interactive features, such as multi-presenter and event analytics. Pricing starts at $20 per month. Toll-free numbers: Toll-free numbers provide the option to dial in toll-free in over 50 countries. Call Me: Call Me allows the organizer and attendees to get a call from GoTo Meeting and automatically connect to the audio conference by simply picking up the phone. Payment terms for Toll-free and Call Me vary based on the paid plan. For Professional plan users, the organizer is charged on a monthly pay-as-you-go basis. Business users are charged $5 per organizer, per month for included minutes in the U.S. and Canada. International participants will be charged on a pay-as-you-go basis. GoTo Meeting Features is a video conferencing software with basic collaboration features. All plans include HD video, enhanced audio, screen sharing, unlimited meetings, and breakout rooms. While GoTo Meeting’s offerings are attractive to businesses with tight budgets, it’s important to consider which features support your collaboration needs. For example, specific inclusions like unlimited cloud recording are only available in higher tiers or as an additional subscription, such as and . GoTo Meeting Alternatives is a video conferencing platform built for remote teams. However, this won’t be a great fit for those looking for certain features, such as a free plan, virtual background, and multi-language transcription. Here are a few providers to consider if GoTo Meeting isn’t right for your business needs. What Users Think of GoTo Meeting reviews show that thousands of users have utilized this platform for meeting teams and clients online. Review sites reveal a mixture of good and less favorable comments, but overall, GoTo Meeting has received fairly high ratings. Many users praised the platform’s HD video quality and the lack of connectivity issues. They also appreciate the excellent set of features it offers unlike other video conferencing solutions. GoTo Meeting earned the following average ratings on these popular review sites at the time of publication: TrustRadius: 7.9 out of 10 stars based on 1616 reviews G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars based on 12,861 reviews GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 9,124 reviews Gartner: 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 1,029 reviews Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 9,126 reviews Software Advice: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 9,129 reviews While GoTo Meeting received a high average rating, some users have complaints about the user interface (UI). Users described the UI as dated, complex, and confusing, resulting in an unprofessional feel. After using GoTo Meeting, many developed a greater preference for Zoom because of its robust features and overall UI. Bottom Line is an excellent option for small to mid-sized businesses looking for basic video conferencing features for less money. It offers budget-friendly plans and a simplified video meeting platform built for remote workers. If the set of features and the overall user experience isn’t enough for you, consider or to access more collaboration features and inclusions.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

Hand pointing to a web telephone icon connected to multiple users.

February 10, 2022

The 6 Best Talkroute Alternatives

Although Talkroute is an affordable virtual phone system, it lacks integrations, 24/7 phone support, and metered subscriptions, which might make going with a competitor the better option. We identified the top Talkroute alternatives and explored the similarities and differences between each provider’s voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) features, functionality, and subscription pricing. Based on our criteria, here are the best options: : Best overall Talkroute alternative and best system for small teams : Best Talkroute alternative for organizations looking for one-click integrations : Most affordable Talkroute competitor for teams needing flexible mix-and-match plan options : Top alternative to Talkroute for toll-free minutes and large video meetings : Best low-cost Talkroute alternative for small teams wanting multi-level automated attendants : Free Talkroute alternative for solopreneurs wanting a second phone number for business with call recording Talkroute Alternatives Compared at a Glance See fullscreen table × Grasshopper: Best Overall Talkroute Alternative for Small Teams is one of the best business phone systems for entrepreneurs and small businesses wanting to pay one flat fee instead of per-user pricing. It works well for small teams who are able to share five business phone numbers and have the option to add extensions for different departments or users. All Grasshopper packages have the same features, such as auto-attendant menus, voicemail transcriptions, call reports, and automated text replies. Grasshopper and services include your choice of a local, toll-free, or vanity number. In contrast, and don't support custom numbers, and and charge an additional one-time fee. However, you’ll pay per-minute rates to call customers in Alaska and Hawaii and need to put down a $500 deposit that goes toward your metered international minutes. Grasshopper also stands out for its multi-channel customer support options. You can reach customer service 24/7 using your preferred channel, from social media to live chat. Other Talkroute competitors don’t provide phone support on the base plan or encourage users to reach out through Facebook or Twitter. Grasshopper Pricing at a Glance* Solo: $31 per month for one phone number and three extensions Partner: $51 per month for three phone numbers and six extensions Small Business: $89 per month for five phone numbers and unlimited extensions *Pricing is based on monthly payments. Choose annual billing to save over 10%. Grasshopper Features Rotational Extensions: Contact Grasshopper to enable Rotational Extensions to distribute calls equally to your employees and departments. For instance, if your sales department has five employees, it will send each incoming call to a different employee extension. Instant response: Use the instant reply feature to text when you miss a customer’s call. Your text can include an image or hyperlink. Recipients can respond to your message with additional details. Customer service: Grasshopper offers more customer service channels than other Talkroute alternatives. The U.S.-based call center is available 24/7, and you can connect via live chat, phone, Twitter, email, and Facebook. Aircall: Best Talkroute Alternative for Integrations is an excellent choice for companies that want to incorporate voice conversations and data into their existing workflows. It integrates with the most third-party apps out of all Talkroute alternatives. In comparison, connects to 19 apps, and only supports customer relationship management (CRM) software integrations on the Pro version. Plus, you can create custom solutions with API access with all Aircall packages. While Aircall's base plan costs more than other Talkroute competitors, it's also packed with features like call recording, an IVR system, and data recording storage. The Professional package adds call monitoring, a power dialer, and call whisper. Aircall also provides international phone numbers that you can add during or after signing up. However, Aircall requires that you have a minimum of three users, so solopreneurs or small firms may prefer the more affordable system. Aircall Pricing at a Glance* Essentials: $40 per user, per month with a minimum of three users for unlimited calling, call recording, unlimited incoming texts, 4,000 outbound texts, voicemail, and more than 95 integrations Professional: $70 per user, per month for call monitoring, call whisper, unlimited data recording storage, advanced analytics, Salesforce integration, and a power dialer Custom: Request a custom quote for unlimited calls worldwide, a service level agreement (SLA), and API developer support *Pricing is based on monthly billing. Prepay annually and save up to 29% Aircall Features Call routing: Configure your IVR system’s call routing to send calls to specific extensions based on a preset order or custom rules for individuals or lines. Select the Professional plan to access advanced routing tools, including time-based routing. Plus, your employees can toggle their user presence on or off to manually manage their availability. Integrations: Aircall integrates with help desk solutions, CRMs, recruiting tools, and ecommerce platforms. Integrations let your team make calls within their favorite tools, such as Microsoft Teams or Happy Fox. Likewise, you can use help desk, recruiting, and ecommerce integrations to view detailed contact records while on a call. Conferencing: Connect with five people during an audio call or application-sharing session. Aircall syncs data to your CRM and logs participant lists, call recordings, call comments, and conference tags. Phone.com: Best Talkroute Alternative for Flexible Plan Options is the only Talkroute alternative that lets you mix and match plans with video conferencing capabilities. It works great for teams with full- and part-time employees. You also have the option to add a shared phone line for a receptionist’s desk or a meeting room for only $5 per month. Phone.com offers the lowest rates for companies with 25 or more users yet doesn’t skimp on features. All plans include video and audio conferencing, an auto-attendant, and in-meeting chat. You’ll pay $299.75 per month (total) for 25 users on Phone.com’s unlimited Plus plan with annual billing. In comparison, unlimited Essential package costs $473.75, and is $500. Only comes close, as it offers sales promotions on bundles with multiple users and numbers that share 30,000 minutes. In addition, Phone.com is the only Talkroute competitor offering free calls to landline numbers in Germany, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, France, and Italy. Explore other affordable options in our guide to the best cheap VoIP services. Phone.com Pricing at a Glance* Basic: $12.99 per user, per month for one phone number per account, 300 minutes, 1,000 text segments, and video conferencing with 10 participants Plus: $19.99 per user, per month for one phone number per user, unlimited minutes and texting, video recording, video meetings with 25 participants, and VoIP desk phone compatibility Pro: $29.99 per user, per month for call recording, call analytics, CRM integrations, video conferencing with 100 participants, and voicemail transcription *Pricing is based on monthly billing for one to four employees. Save 20% with annual prepayment and by adding more users. Phone.com Features Video conferencing: Meet without time limits on all Phone.com plans and share screens or documents and instant messages during meetings. Upgrade to the Plus or Pro versions for video recording and whiteboarding features. Similarly priced Talkroute alternatives like eVoice and Google Voice don’t include video meetings. Follow me: If you or your employees are constantly on the go and switching between devices, Phone.com’s follow me feature can help. It rings your devices in a preset order so you never have to miss a call. VoIP phones: Talkroute doesn't sell or rent VoIP desk phones, so Phone.com is a better alternative if you want to equip your office with new hardware. It offers a nice selection of conference, cordless, and desk phones. Nextiva: Best Talkroute Alternative for Toll-free Minutes & Large Video Meetings is the only provider among the best Talkroute alternatives to include toll-free minutes with subscriptions, and it offers the highest video conferencing capacity. You can connect with up to 250 people via video compared to 100 on Phone.com. Other Talkroute competitors don’t include video conferencing with any plans. Nextiva also earns a spot on our best small business VoIP services list. It’s a feature-rich unified communications (UC) platform with integrated group and team messaging, unlimited faxing, and file sharing. Nextiva does cost more than other Talkroute alternatives, but the built-in conferencing and collaboration tools can improve efficiency and productivity, lowering your labor costs. is a less expensive option but limits video participants to 100. Nextiva Pricing at a Glance* Essential: $30.95 per user, per month for unlimited calling within the U.S. and one-to-one video calls, 1,500 toll-free minutes, auto-attendant, team messaging, and unlimited internet fax Professional: $35.95 per user, per month for unlimited texting and 250-participant video meetings, audio conferences with 40 attendees, 3,000 toll-free minutes, and one professionally recorded greeting Enterprise: $45.95 per user, per month for call and video recording, audio calls with unlimited attendees, 12,500 toll-free minutes, voice analytics, and three professional greetings Ultimate: $75.95 per user, per month for NextOS surveys, including templates, analytics, personalized landing pages, and survey scheduling *Prices are based on one to four users with monthly billing. Discounts are available for additional users and annual prepayment. Nextiva Features Integrations: Although Nextiva offers fewer integrations than Aircall, you can still connect with several help desk and CRM tools. You can pull up caller data from Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk or start calls right from Microsoft Teams. Team collaboration: The Nextiva Cospace app is a virtual workspace for your team. Users can create to-do lists, assign tasks to others, and sync all meetings to your Google calendar. In addition, you’ll never miss a conversation as all files, discussions, and links are saved to the app. Desk phones: Like Phone.com, you can purchase VoIP equipment from Nextiva. However, Nextiva also offers equipment with a monthly payment plan and can convert your traditional desk phones for VoIP use. eVoice: Best Low-cost Talkroute Alternative for Multi-level Auto-attendants All Talkroute alternatives offer plans with an automated attendant, but they lock multi-level attendants behind higher plan tiers. In contrast, has one all-inclusive package, and you can set up several menus and submenus for advanced call flows. Create dialing orders to send calls to different lines or devices based on numerous schedules for after work, vacations, and more. While you can’t host video meetings in eVoice, you can connect with employees and customers in audio conferences. In contrast, costs more than double for audio conferencing with 40 participants. If you want video and audio conferencing on one platform, consider . It supports up to 300 audio and 100 video participants. eVoice Pricing at a Glance* Elite Monthly: $14 per user, per month for unlimited calls, audio conferencing with 94 participants, 40 voicemail transcriptions per month, auto-attendant, and a free custom greeting *Price is based on monthly billing plan. Speak to an eVoice sales representative for annual pricing and bundled packages with more than 10 phone lines. eVoice Features Advanced call routing: eVoice supports many call routing options, such as routing according to the type of contact. Set up separate schedules for personal, vendor, and customer calls or create multiple schedule-based profiles. Voicemail transcriptions: Transcribe up to 40 voicemails per month and have them sent to your cell phone as a text message or to your email. You’ll pay more per month with other Talkroute competitors with voicemail-to-text or email features. Call blocking and screening: Block unwanted numbers or entire area codes on eVoice. Plus, your auto-attendant can prompt callers to give their name, and you can choose to accept, decline, or route the caller to voicemail. Google Voice: Best Free Talkroute Alternative for Solopreneurs is a scalable option for entrepreneurs. The free plan includes a complimentary phone number and unlimited calling and texting. As your company grows, you can add up to 10 users to the Starter plan or move up to the Standard package with advanced features for call routing, including an auto-attendant and ring groups. Unlike , Google Voice doesn’t support desk phones on the base plan. However, if your business requires an SLA for service quality, Google Voice is your best option, as it’s included on the Starter version. In comparison, Aircall locks it behind its custom enterprise package. Google Voice also integrates seamlessly with Google tools, allowing you to start a call right from your email and schedule meetings in your calendar. While it lacks integrations with CRMs and help desk tools, you'll appreciate a phone system that doesn't have a steep learning curve if your team uses Google products. Google Voice Pricing at a Glance* Free: Get a free personal account for unlimited calling and texting, voicemail, call screening and blocking, voicemail transcription, and call recording Starter: $10 per user, per month for up to 10 users for voicemail transcription, do not disturb (DND), SLA, and user and activity reporting Standard: $20 per user, per month for unlimited users, ring groups, desk phone compatibility, auto-attendants, and eDiscovery for calls, text messages, and voicemail Premium: $30 per user, per month for unlimited domestic and international locations, international numbers in 13 countries and territories, and exporting to BigQuery *Paid Google Voice subscriptions require a Google Workspace license starting at $6 per user, per month. Google Voice Features Voicemail transcripts: Get an unlimited number of voicemail messages transcribed and read them right from your Google Voice inbox. This feature comes with paid and free versions, whereas it’s a premium feature on eVoice. Call screening: When a call comes in, Google Voice will prompt the caller for their name and announce it to you. You can accept the call, reject it, or route it to voicemail. If the caller comes from a known contact or a business on Google Maps, Google automatically announces the name without asking the caller. Mobility: Use your personal cell phone, tablet, or computer to make and receive calls. Google provides iOS and Android applications or works in a web browser. Mobile apps also come with other Talkroute alternatives, but Google Voice stands out for its ease of use. How We Evaluated the Best Talkroute Alternatives Our Talkroute review explains some of the general and advanced features we assessed relative to Talkroute competitors. We then identified the best alternatives to Talkroute based on comparable features, cost and overall value, types of call management tools, and customer support services. is the best Talkroute alternative with 4.3 out of 5 stars. It has easy-to-use mobile and desktop apps with basic VoIP features, so your team can share phone calls and keep business calls separate from personal ones. Unlike Talkroute, Grasshopper provides 24/7 phone support, and you can also reach out on social media, email, and live chat. Here's a breakdown of how we measured each provider: Bottom Line is a virtual phone number provider offering call management features, including live call transfer and a multi-level auto-attendant for Pro users. However, it lacks unlimited internet faxing and high-capacity video conferences. In some cases, a Talkroute competitor is a better fit. is the best Talkroute alternative because it provides 24/7 U.S.-based customer service through multiple channels, including social media. Like Talkroute, you won't pay a per-user fee. Instead, you can choose from plans with various numbers and extensions. Learn more by signing up for a seven-day free trial.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

Employeess having a group meeting via online.

February 9, 2022

5 Best Softphone Apps for Small Businesses

A softphone app lets you use your cell phone, tablet, or computer to make and receive business calls. The best softphone apps integrate with your other business software, include toll-free minutes and international calling, and have flexible plans or pricing options so you can get the most value for your money. We compared several options and identified the five best softphone apps based on features like these as well as affordability and overall ease of use: : Overall best softphone app and best for integrating phone system, project, and customer management tools : Top softphone app for organizations with a global customer base : Most affordable softphone app by mixing metered and unlimited plans : Best simple softphone app for small teams able to share phone lines : Best softphone app that works with existing business phone systems See fullscreen table × *Some providers offer discounts for annual prepayment or higher numbers of users (volume), or both. Nextiva: Best Overall Softphone App *Nextiva pricing is based on two to two to 99 users with monthly billing. Pay annually to save much more. is one of the best business phone systems thanks to its options for professionally recorded greetings, call flip, and numerous integrations. Nextiva also stands out because of its superb support—even with the base plan, phone, email and chat support is available. Other providers, like GoTo Connect, only provide this extensive level of support at higher plan tiers. Unlike , which can only forward calls to devices with an existing phone number, Nextiva completely replaces your current phone system. Plus, all plans include at least 1,500 toll-free minutes. In comparison, also provides toll-free minutes, but you’re limited to 5,000 on its highest plan tier versus 12,500 with Nextiva. Explore more user ratings and features in our Nextiva review. Nextiva Features Integrations: Integrated phone systems streamline your group’s workflows by reducing app switching and syncing data. Out-of-the-box integrations mean you can connect your customer relationship management (CRM) or project management tools with just a few clicks. APIs let your developer team add voice, video, or instant messaging to your most-used devices. Nextiva has integration options in categories such as CRM, help desk, productivity, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Unified communications: Nextiva puts several voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) communications channels on one platform, including one-to-one and group messaging, video, voice, unlimited electronic faxing, and texting. Combine this with two-sync for your CRM to easily track conversations across many channels. Softphone apps: Nextiva apps allow your employees to use their favorite (and most convenient) devices to join video meetings, collaborate with their co-workers, and answer incoming calls. Nextiva’s softphone app consistently is recognized for its ease of use. GoTo Connect: Best Softphone App for Unlimited International Calling *GoTo Connect pricing is based on two to 10 users with monthly billing. Prepay annually to save up to 12%. Per-minute international calling rates add up quickly if your customers live outside of the U.S. However, solves this problem by providing unlimited international calling to 52 countries on two out of three plans. Plus, you don’t need to put down a deposit as and require. GoTo Connect subscriptions include advanced features that other softphone apps charge more for. GoTo Connect Premium costs $39 per user, per month for two to 10 people with monthly billing. It has live metrics, call whisper and barge, and short message service (SMS) queues. A comparable plan from Nextiva is $40.95. GoTo Connect Features International calling: Unmetered international calling means you don’t have to worry about unpredictable per-minute charges on your bill. Softphone apps with unlimited international calling are rare. 8x8 and GoTo Connect are the only providers with this service. But, only GoTo Connect supports unmetered calls to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Croatia, Estonia, and French Guiana. Contact center tools: GoTo Connect Premium delivers insights about your call center while empowering supervisors to make decisions based on real-time data. Customizable dashboards keep important metrics on the screen, and managers can listen to calls, coach agents, and join a call. Video meetings: Although GoTo Connect supports fewer participants than 8x8's 500, it has a higher capacity than Nextiva or Phone.com. Cloud recordings are stored for one year, and mobile users can join a meeting and share their screen. Phone.com: Best Softphone App for Metered & Unlimited Calling Plans *Phone.com pricing is based on one to four users and monthly billing. Save 20% with annual prepayment. All packages include an automated attendant, video conferencing, and inbound faxing. It’s one of our picks for the best small business VoIP services, as are and , but only Phone.com offers metered plans. Plus, you can mix and match calling packages to meet different needs. As such, Phone.com provides the most affordable subscriptions on our list. Unlimited packages support sales, marketing, and customer service teams that need to connect via video, phone, or text without time limits. For part-time staff, contractors, and remote employees who may make an occasional call or use different software, the budget-friendly metered plan is a good fit. Phone.com also doesn’t restrict the number of users on base plans, meaning you could add 25 metered users for $179.75 per month with annual billing. In contrast, some providers, like , cap their lowest-priced subscriptions to 20 users. Phone.com Features Small team scalability: Get the most value out of your phone system by selecting plans based on employee usage. International calling: Phone.com charges U.S. local rates to landline numbers in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. In comparison, GoTo Connect offers it in 52 countries. However, you’ll pay more than $29 for service with GoTo Connect versus $12.99 to $19.99 with Phone.com. Mobile apps: Turn any smartphone into a business phone with Phone.com’s iOS and Android apps. Users can view their business calls, texts, and voicemails (and respond to customers) without carrying a second cell phone. Grasshopper: Best Softphone App for Sharing Phone Lines *Grasshopper pricing is based on monthly payments. Select annual billing to save more than 10%. is the best virtual phone number provider because it’s easy on your budget and supports toll-free, vanity, and local phone numbers. It’s the only softphone app on our list that doesn’t charge per-user fees. Instead, the Partner and Small Business subscriptions bundle multiple lines and extensions into one flat rate. Other applications, including Nextiva, are more complicated to set up than Grasshopper due to their advanced feature sets. Grasshopper keeps it simple with basic VoIP calling, texting, and incoming fax capabilities. And you can reach out to U.S.-based customer support teams 24/7 on your preferred channel, an option that’s more limited with other providers. Grasshopper Features Unlimited extensions: While other softphone apps include unlimited extensions, you’re still paying a per-user fee. Grasshopper’s pricing model is different―with the Small Business plan, you can assign your small sales team one phone number and give each employee their own extension. Use your other four phone numbers to direct calls to different departments or allow your sales reps to have extensions on other lines. Customer service: Your small team may not include technical support employees, making your softphone app’s customer service essential. Grasshopper lets your team request assistance using their preferred channel. The U.S.-based contact center provides customer service through phone, live chat, email, Twitter, and Facebook. Desktop and mobile apps: Turn your personal device into a business tool with Grasshopper’s softphone apps. It shows you which line or extension your customers call, provides transcribed voicemails, and lets you adjust your user settings. You can even sign and email faxes and portable document formats (PDFs). Counterpath Bria: Best Softphone App for Use With Existing VoIP Phone Systems *Counterpath Bria pricing is based on annual billing. is the only softphone app that works with an existing phone system, making it the best fit for organizations with multiple locations and phone services. Instead of downloading up to five different apps on your devices, Counterpath Bria consolidates all communications into a single application. It supports most major VoIP systems and popular features, such as call recording, video conferencing, and team messaging. Like , you can use Counterpath Bria APIs to set up custom integrations with your technical support, help desk, or project management tools. In addition, the persistent chat rooms promote spontaneous interactions among remote employees, and users can seamlessly move from a chat to a video call. Counterpath Bria Features Call management: Use the Counterpath Bria softphone apps to transfer calls, place callers on hold, or record conversations. Integrated contact lists and presence data show you who’s available to take the call. Multi-account Functionality: Respond to customers from multiple business locations without confusing them with unknown phone numbers. Simply toggle between business phone systems right from the Counterpath Bria app. Remote teamwork: The team messaging and collaboration features let employees drag and drop files and share screens. Users can switch devices without restarting conversations and jump into a video or audio call with a single click. How We Evaluated the Best Softphone Apps The best softphone apps turn your smartphone or computer into a tool for business communication and collaboration. However, softphone apps vary widely in price, function, and overall usability. We assessed the best softphone apps based on pricing and feature sets while reviewing standout features, popularity, and ease of use. Learn how we evaluated the best softphone apps for small businesses by clicking on the tabs below: Bottom Line Softphone apps enable your team to work from anywhere using smartphones, tablets, laptops, or computers. The services come at different price points, and some, like Nextiva, can replace your current phone system, whereas others, like Counterpath Bria, work with your existing VoIP phone service. earns 4.39 out of 5, making it the best overall softphone app. It integrates with multiple third-party platforms and includes toll-free numbers, even at the base level. The mobile and desktop apps receive high user ratings and unify conversations from different channels onto one platform and device. Try it out by signing up for a seven-day free trial.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

Customer support agents taking calls.

February 9, 2022

6 Best CloudTalk Alternatives

CloudTalk is an excellent cloud-based call center solution for businesses with a global customer base. However, its pricing and set of features do not match businesses that need to support multiple communication channels or have more advanced needs. We examined various platforms to help you look around for the best CloudTalk alternatives—prioritizing the availability of essential call management tools and their pricing options. According to our research, the best CloudTalk competitors include: : Best overall CloudTalk alternative and excellent option for those with unlimited international calling needs : Best option for businesses with tight budgets looking for an omnichannel contact center : Top alternative for companies with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) needs like workforce management tools : Best for those handling highly sensitive client information, including healthcare and finance organizations : Top contender for unlimited local calling and software integrations : Ideal for sales teams looking for a call center solution with excellent auto-dialing features CloudTalk & Best Alternatives at a Glance See fullscreen table × GoTo Connect: Best Overall CloudTalk Alternative for Small Businesses is a cloud-based business phone system with call center and video conferencing features. It is the best overall CloudTalk alternative due to its great balance of affordable pricing and comprehensive features, including virtual meetings. Additionally—unlike CloudTalk, which charges per minute—it offers unlimited calls to up to 52 countries, perfect for those with high global call volumes. While hardware isn’t required, those who prefer to utilize one can choose from more than 150 desk phone models. Additionally, GoTo Connect makes it easy for users to customize call flows with its virtual drag-and-drop editor. It also integrates with popular software, like Slack and Salesforce, for a more efficient workflow. However, its low-cost entry-level plan comes with a lot of limitations. For example, it only allows a maximum of four video conferencing participants and only one customized call flow. Moreover, advanced call management features—such as listen, whisper, and barge—are only available in the most expensive tier. If your business doesn’t have a tight budget and has a great need for these tools, you can check out alternatives like . GoTo Connect Pricing at a Glance* Basic: $29 per user, per month for one customizable call flow through the GoTo Connect dial plan editor, unlimited extensions, one ring group, and 40 minutes of video conferencing with four participants Standard: $39 per user, per month for unlimited customized call flows, unlimited ring groups, unlimited international calls to up to 52 countries, and unlimited video conferencing duration with 150 participants Premium: Starts at $49 per user, per month for a customizable cloud contact center platform *Prices are applicable for monthly billing and one user. Annual and volume discounts are available. GoTo Connect Features Business phone system: Choose local, toll-free, or vanity phone numbers for your virtual phone system that you can access from any device. You can also port your existing number, customize call flows, and set up your e-fax. Call center features: Manage large call volumes with tools like unlimited call queueing, wait time announcement, precall announcement, and advanced ring strategies. Video conferencing: Host virtual meetings to up to 250 participants, with one-click screen sharing and unlimited duration. Discover more plan inclusions and capabilities through our GoTo Connect review to find out if its packages work for you. Freshdesk Contact Center: Most Affordable Omnichannel Contact Center provides an intuitive platform that seamlessly integrates with other Freshworks products, such as Freshsales and Freshservice. It is the most budget-friendly option for businesses that need an omnichannel solution supporting calls, emails, and social media messages. Its paid plans have the lowest per-user monthly fees that start at $18 per agent, great for those wanting to utilize a basic cloud-based solution for their call management needs. Those who want to try it out can also sign up for a 21-day free trial or its free plan if its inclusions fit their current needs. Its plans are packaged in a way where premium plans and more incoming call minutes are locked in higher tiers. While CloudTalk has more international phone number coverage, Freshdesk Contact Center isn’t too far behind with its support for over 90 countries. However, if your business receives high inbound call volumes, you might need to look into CloudTalk more. It provides unlimited inbound call minutes in all plans, unlike Freshdesk Contact Center, which comes with limited incoming call minutes even at its highest subscription tier. Freshdesk Contact Center Pricing at a Glance* Free: Free for an unlimited number of agents, unlimited concurrent calls, call blocking, inbound caller ID, call metrics, custom greetings and messages, and GDPR compliance Growth: $18 per agent, per month for 2,000 incoming call minutes, team routing, basic reports, most third-party software integrations, and 100 per minute API limits Pro: $47 per agent, per month for 3,000 incoming call minutes, interactive voice response (IVR) phone trees, custom reports, all third-party software integrations, and 400 per minute API limits Enterprise: $83 per agent, per month for 5,000 incoming call minutes, speech-enabled IVR phone trees, omnichannel routing, service-level breached call reports, and 500 per minute API limits *Rates are exclusive of per-minute fees. Freshdesk Contact Center Features Inbound and outbound call management: Handle outgoing and incoming calls with features like call queues and power dialing. Call monitoring: Ensure ideal customer experience by monitoring your team’s performance through tools like call barging and detailed real-time reports on agent activities and call metrics. Affordable pricing: Freshdesk Contact Center is among the most budget-friendly call center software for businesses with growing needs. Read our Freshdesk Contact Center review for more details and to determine if its offerings suit your needs. Talkdesk: Best AI-powered Call Center offers a contact center platform with comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features, such as virtual agent and workforce management tools. It provides flexible deployment options—allowing it to be built in the cloud, on-premise, or with a combination of both. Apart from a more robust set of capabilities compared to CloudTalk’s, it also allows more integrations with third-party tools and provides access to an API for more customized and advanced connections. Unlike CloudTalk, Talkdesk does not display straightforward pricing, and those interested need to talk to a sales representative to request a customized quote. However, it does provide a starting fee estimate of $75 per user, per month—applicable for three-year subscriptions. This steeper price point and the lack of a free trial makes it a good choice only for companies with higher budgets and advanced needs. Talkdesk Pricing at a Glance* CX Cloud Essentials: $75 per user, per month for voice engagement, call routing, business intelligence, API access, and third-party app integrations CX Cloud Elevate: $95 per user, per month for voice and digital engagement, quality management, screen recording, and a virtual agent CX Cloud Elite: $125 per user, per month for custom reporting, performance management, 100% uptime service level agreement (SLA), and one add-on, like customer experience analytics Experience Clouds: Customized pricing for industry workspace, industry integrations, industry workflows, industry virtual agents, and an add-on, such as workforce management *Estimated rates exclusive of usage and telco fees and are applicable for subscriptions with a minimum contract length of three years. Talkdesk also provides concurrent and per-hour login consumption pricing. Contact its sales team for a customized quote. Talkdesk Features Voice and digital engagement: Send and receive calls, chats, texts, and emails in a single platform so you can reach your customers in their preferred channel. Workforce management: This AI-powered tool lets you optimize team management and automate work scheduling for more efficient operations. Third-party app integrations and API access: Integrate Talkdesk with your customized applications—through APIs and SDKs—and popular apps, such as Salesforce, Slack, and Zendesk. 8x8 Contact Center: Best for Businesses Handling Sensitive Client Data boasts a reliable platform with 99.999% uptime SLA and numerous security and compliance certificates for various industries. Examples are compliance with the HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, FISMA/NIST SP 800-53 R4, and CPNI. Those with strict data compliance standards can consider 8x8 Contact Center as their communication solution. Additionally, offers a reliable platform that supports omnichannel engagement, including calls, texts, social media channels, emails, and chats. While most of the providers in this list come with usage-based pricing for calls, 8x8 Contact Center offers unlimited calling to 48 countries. This inclusion is great for businesses with an international customer base handling high call volumes. While 8x8 Contact Center provides omnichannel messaging management tools, it is only available in higher plans that can be steep for those with tight budgets. Additionally, it doesn’t provide free trials, unlike other providers like CloudTalk. It also charges added fees for premium capabilities—like long-term media storage. 8x8 Contact Center Pricing at a Glance* X6: $125 per user, per month for unlimited calls to 48 countries, post-call survey, 99.999% uptime SLA, and preview, progressive, and predictive dialers X7: $138 per user, per month for skills-based routing, omnichannel routing, and co-browsing X8: $175 per user, per month for quality management, speech analytics, screen recording, and real-time multi-screen monitoring *Users can mix and match plans and the number of licenses according to their needs. 8x8 Contact Center Features Omnichannel routing: Unify your multi-channel communications to provide ideal customer experiences across channels, such as voice, messaging apps, social media, email, and SMS. Native CRM and CRM integrations: Consolidate your customer data and call center functionalities in a single platform through its built-in customer relationship manager (CRM) or by integrating its system with popular CRMs, like HubSpot. Customer experience analytics: Identify opportunities for customer experience improvements through a complete visualization of their journey. Aircall: Best for Unlimited Local Calling & Software Integrations is a cloud-based call center solution with business phone system features, including toll-free, local, and international numbers, collaboration, and analytics tools. It can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection through mobile and desktop devices. Unlike most providers that charge calls per minute, Aircall comes with unlimited calling features within the U.S. and Canada—great for those handling high local call volumes. While Aircall is an excellent option for support and sales teams, its advanced tools and price can be too much for those with average call volume and tight budgets. Moreover, it lacks capabilities that other providers, like , offer, such as internet fax, video conferencing, team messaging, and file sharing. Aircall Pricing at a Glance* Essentials: $40 per user, per month for unlimited calls within the U.S. and Canada, one-year data recording storage, call queueing, API access, and integrations with 95+ third-party software Professional: $70 per user, per month for unlimited data recording storage, queue callback, call whisper, advanced analytics, and a power dialer Custom: Customized pricing for features and inclusions bundled according to your needs *SMS and international calling bundles are available as add-ons. Aircall Features Queue callback: Offer your callers an option to leave the waiting line and receive your response at a later time. Power dialer: Make calls in rapid succession with a powerful sales dialer that automatically adds numbers from any webpage. Third-party software integrations, webhooks, and API access: Make your workflows more efficient by integrating your own apps or existing third-party software through one-click installations, webhooks, and APIs. Want to learn more about this platform? Check out our Aircall review for a comprehensive discussion on its features, pricing, and what users think about its system. Kixie: Best for Sales Teams That Need Auto-dialing is a cloud-based platform with voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP), contact center, and team management tools. While most contact centers are heavily focused on managing messages across channels, a lot of Kixie’s features are beneficial for sales teams. Most tools aim to improve team performance, better answer rates, and higher lead conversions, including auto-dialing, live coaching, and real-time dashboards. Unlike most providers, Kixie requires a minimum quarterly contract, which can be a disadvantage for those who do not want to be tied to longer contracts. However, it does provide a seven-day free trial that can help users determine if its platform is an excellent match to their needs. Kixie Pricing at a Glance* Integrated: $35 per user, per month on a quarterly basis for business phone services, text messaging, IVR, missed call alerts, ring groups, and a sales leaderboard Professional: $65 per user, per month on a quarterly basis for local presence dialing*, live call coaching, Intelligent AutoDialer, text templates, and instant website lead caller Enterprise: Customized pricing with an extended trial period for custom features, like automations, integrations, and auto-dialing *Additional charges apply for some features, like unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada and local presence dialing. Kixie Features Sales leaderboard: Motivate your agents by displaying a leaderboard showcasing all agents’ names and photos, including call duration, total connections, and total calls. Intelligent AutoDialer: Automatically connect your sales teams with your leads with its auto-dialer. It triggers calls from your customer relationship management (CRM) system once a lead conducts certain activities, such as checking your pricing page or submitting a response to your form. AI-powered spam detection: Instantly get rid of numbers with a low connection rate with this AI-powered feature that helps you lessen the chances of your numbers getting marked as spam. How We Evaluated the Best CloudTalk Competitors To find out the top alternatives, we analyzed call center software with inclusions similar to CloudTalk’s. These call center features include unlimited call queues, international phone numbers, third-party software integrations, and automated call distribution (ACD). We also recognized CloudTalk’s feature gaps—such as clear and reliable uptime SLA. According to our analysis, is the best alternative to CloudTalk—scoring 4.26 out of 5. It offers budget-friendly plans with a 14-day free trial. Its set of tools are also comparable to CloudTalk’s, which addresses the need to manage high call volumes, agent performance, and workflows. Learn more about how we determined our scores by clicking on the following tabs: Bottom Line is an excellent call center solution for businesses looking for an affordable platform to route callers to the most appropriate agents. It also provides tools that help develop better agent performance and workflows. While it provides wider international phone coverage, it charges overseas calls per minute. This type of billing can blow up costs for those with high outbound minutes. platform is comparable with CloudTalk and it makes it the best alternative for international calling needs. It offers unlimited calls to 52 countries and features that CloudTalk lacks, such as video conferencing. Sign up for its two-week free trial to determine if it satisfies your current business needs.

WRITTEN BY: Corey McCraw

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