Phone.com and Grasshopper both facilitate business phone calls, but cater to different needs. Phone.com is a complete phone system offering teams a professional number as well as advanced features like video conferencing and call attendants. In contrast, Grasshopper is an affordable virtual phone system that allows you to make and answer business calls, but does require you have an existing line such as a personal mobile phone number.
The best use cases of either option are:
- Phone.com: Better option for growing, office-bound companies that need a full-solution voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service
- Grasshopper: Best option for field-based teams of two or three needing basic business calling functionality
Phone.com vs Grasshopper at a Glance
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Pricing | $10.39 to $23.99 per user, per month | $26 to $80 per month for up to 5 numbers and unlimited extensions |
Ease of Use | Easy | Easy |
Call Handling Features | Advanced—custom rules, call recording, screening, and scheduled greetings | Basic—instant response, custom greetings, and call transfers |
Communication Channels | Call, SMS, fax, and video conference | Call, SMS, and fax |
Call Quality | Reliable calls and HD voice | Reliable calls and adequate call quality |
Conferencing Capabilities | Three-way calling or up to 10 video participants using UberConference | Plans support six to 1,000 audio callers and 100 to 200 video participants |
Mobile App Features | Less intuitive app that has calling, texting, and video conferencing | Intuitive mobile app that has all of Grasshopper’s core functionality |
Integrations | Includes Zapier, Zoho, PieSync, and a public API | Limited |
Customer Support | 24/7 U.S.-based support | 24/7 U.S.-based support |
Best Price: Phone.com
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Phone.com’s plans start at $10.39 per user, per month when billed annually. | Grasshopper’s plans start at $26 per month for one number and three extensions when billed annually. |
Phone.com is the more affordable option for solo operators. However, keep in mind that Phone.com’s Basic plan ($10.39 per user, per month) is a limited plan, meaning you’ll only get 300 pooled minutes and 1,000 pooled texts per month. You’ll have to upgrade to the Plus plan ($15.99 per user, per month) to get access to unlimited minutes and text messages.
That said, it’s worth noting that Grasshopper’s plans are priced based on the quantity of business phone numbers you need rather than users. For example, you can get three phone numbers and six extensions with unlimited minutes for $44 per month with its partner plan. In contrast, Phone.com charges $47.97 for the same three users.
Even so, you get a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to Phone.com. This standalone VoIP service provides phone numbers, video conferencing, automated attendants, and even live receptionist add-ons. Grasshopper plans are also not designed for more than five business phone numbers, making Phone.com the better long-term choice for teams expecting to scale.
Winner: Phone.com provides more features and functionality, giving it a slight edge in terms of value for small businesses on a budget.
Best Call Handling Features: Phone.com
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Phone.com provides a solid set of call handling features that are an excellent middle ground between a full-feature VoIP system and virtual phone service. | Grasshopper provides the basic VoIP call handling functionality bundled with a few advanced features like custom greetings and incoming call control. |
Phone.com gives you a great set of call handling features to improve your customer call experience from before you answer to after you hang up. You can establish call handling rules, record conversations, schedule greetings, build automated attendants, and play hold music for callers on wait.
Grasshopper is a virtual phone number provider with basic functionalities like call forwarding and transfers, as well as custom greetings and instant responses. Side by side with Phone.com, it’s just a tad bit behind when it comes to call handling functionality.
On the other extreme, you have full-feature VoIP systems (like RingCentral or Nextiva) that give you complete control over your call experience. You can monitor and jump into ongoing phone calls, temporarily park calls, flip your calls from one device to another, and more.
Winner: Phone.com takes the win here for a slightly more robust set of call handling features that give users a bit more control over the caller experience.
Best Communication Channels: Phone.com
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Phone.com provides call, SMS, fax, audio conferencing, and video conferencing. | Grasshopper provides call, SMS, and fax. |
If you’re just looking to use your phone for business calling and texting, then Grasshopper will have all you need. However, if you’d like to expand to audio and video conferencing, you’ll need to go with Phone.com.
When it comes to texting and calling, both channels provide unlimited domestic options. Both platforms can handle international calling too, but you’ll have to pay additional rates. For Grasshopper, you’ll also need to contact the support team to enable international calling on your account.
Winner: Phone.com wins for delivering more communication channel options to satisfy a broader range of business use cases.
Best Call Quality: Phone.com
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Phone.com provides reliable uptimes, few dropped calls, and HD call quality. | Grasshopper provides reliable uptimes, few dropped calls, and adequate call quality. |
Calling is the primary feature of any VoIP business phone system, so you need to ensure your provider delivers top-notch reliability and call quality. Fortunately, Phone.com and Grasshopper both have great reputations for excellent phone call quality.
Phone.com takes a slight edge thanks to its HD voice technology, but it’s not substantially different from Grasshopper. You’ll notice slightly crisper voice communication, less static, and fewer background noises.
Winner: Phone.com beats Grasshopper when it comes to call quality due to its HD voice technology.
Best for Ease of Use: Grasshopper
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Phone.com’s platform is easy to use, but additional functionality and features can clutter the interface. | Grasshopper’s platform provides a simple, easy-to-use interface for both desktop and mobile. |
Phone.com and Grasshopper both provide easy-to-use platforms, but Grasshopper’s simpler features and functionalities make it slightly less cluttered and easier to navigate. Still, both services have created exceptionally straightforward applications, especially compared to more advanced unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers.
Grasshopper’s apps have fewer call handling functionalities compared to Phone.com, making it easier to navigate setting up your schedules and auto-attendants. Read our comprehensive Grasshopper review to learn more about the features and benefits it offers.
Winner: Grasshopper wins for having a more intuitive, user-friendly interface on both its desktop and mobile apps.
Best Mobile Apps: Grasshopper
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Phone.com’s mobile app brings all its cloud communication features onto your iOS or Android device. | Grasshopper’s mobile app is the central location of all your VoIP communications. |
Grasshopper and Phone.com built their mobile apps to be the primary interface for small businesses to conduct their communications. Whether you need to set up your account, change your settings, or handle inbound or outbound communications, the mobile app has everything you need.
Unlike other VoIP applications, Phone.com and Grasshopper have put a lot of time and effort into creating all-in-one mobile apps. It doesn’t feel like an afterthought or a secondary feature—it feels like the primary hub of account management and communication execution.
Winner: Grasshopper takes the lead thanks to its slightly more intuitive mobile app interface.
Best Customer Service: Tie
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Phone.com provides 24/7 U.S.-based support. | Grasshopper provides 24/7 U.S.-based support. |
When it comes to customer support, both platforms offer 24/7 U.S.-based support. However, there’s not a lot of documentation for contacting support on either service. It appears you’ll have a phone number to contact the customer service team, but that’s it.
Other VoIP platforms provide a broader range of customer support communications, like text, email, or in-app or in-browser chat.
Winner: It’s a tie—both services provide the same level of customer support.
Best Alternatives
Some small businesses might need a more comprehensive business phone system than what Phone.com or Grasshopper can deliver.
If you are looking around for other options, here are a few more robust full-featured VoIP providers as alternatives to Grasshopper and Phone.com:
- RingCentral: RingCentral provides customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, video conferencing for up to 200 meeting participants, and a wide range of call handling features. When it comes to scalability, it’s hard to beat RingCentral.
- Nextiva: Nextiva provides everything a fast-growing business needs for end-to-end business communications. Whether you need video conferencing, team chat, or file sharing, this unified communications platform has it all.
- 8×8: Business owners who need unlimited international calling will love 8×8’s functionality for calling up to 47 countries.
However, keep in mind that these alternatives are quite a bit more expensive than Phone.com and Grasshopper, especially if you want all the features they offer.
Bottom Line
Phone.com and Grasshopper are both trusted VoIP services that offer industry-leading VoIP solutions—you won’t go wrong choosing either one. Most small businesses with limited calling and texting needs will find that Phone.com delivers all the features and functionality they need at affordable prices. However, if you’re focused on ease of use and a sleek, intuitive mobile app, then Grasshopper will provide everything you need.
