RingCentral is the leading provider of cloud-based business communications, with its comprehensive approach across phone, video, and messaging. Despite its popularity, small businesses may find it too expensive and overkill for their basic call management needs. Many RingCentral alternatives in the market offer cheaper monthly plans, a straightforward feature set, flexible pricing, and a user-friendly interface.
Based on our evaluation, we recommend the following RingCentral competitors:
- Nextiva: Best for customer communication management
- Zoom: Best for video collaboration
- Dialpad: Best for intelligent communications
- Vonage: Best for customizable subscription plans
- Grasshopper: Best for beginner-friendly phone system
- Phone.com: Best for flexible pricing
- Ooma: Best for home phone service
RingCentral & Best Alternatives Compared
RingCentral & Alternatives | Monthly Starting Price (per User) | Key Features | FSB Rating |
---|---|---|---|
$30 |
| 4.52 out of 5 | |
$30.95 |
| 4.56 out of 5 | |
| 4.56 out of 5 | ||
$23 |
| 4.45 out of 5 | |
$13.99 |
| 4.44 out of 5 | |
$17 (flat rate) |
| 4.33 out of 5 | |
$14.99 |
| 4.31 out of 5 | |
| 4.22 out of 5 | ||
Take our quiz to determine which RingCentral alternative is best for you.
Which RingCentral alternative is right for you?
Nextiva: Best Overall for Customer Communication Management
What We Liked
- It has a unified interface for team and customer interactions.
- It allows unlimited participants in conference calls.
- It has task management capabilities in team chat.
Where It Falls Behind
- It has a high price point, even slightly higher than RingCentral.
- Its voicemail transcription requires an Enterprise account.
- It has limited native third-party integrations.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- RingCentral offers 25 short messaging service (SMS) credits per user on its monthly entry-level plan, whereas Nextiva provides 1,000.
- Unlike RingCentral, Nextiva has its own VoIP hardware.
- RingCentral’s 24/7 support is limited to phone and chat. Nextiva extends this round-the-clock assistance to email.
- Both providers offer a 99.999% uptime guarantee.
Nextiva is our overall best RingCentral alternative as it combines unified communication (UC) capabilities (phone, video, and chat) with customer experience management. It offers a set of features to organize customer communication in one place, including feedback gathering, topic tags, call pop, and sentiment analysis.
With a shared customer management platform, businesses can manage customers’ entire customer journey, including their past interactions, level of satisfaction, and how they feel about the company overall. Customer service teams can quickly address queries, automate surveys, and add tags to customer interactions.
Between RingCentral vs Nextiva, the latter’s monthly plans can be too pricey for small teams on a budget because volume discounts appeal to large businesses. You need to have a team of 20 subscribers or more to get a cheaper deal. We recommend Phone.com if you’re looking for a low-cost alternative to RingCentral. Monthly plans start for as low as $14.99 per user.
Nextiva Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Pay yearly and save up to 22%. Volume discounts apply to five users or more.
- Essential: $30.95 for one phone number, unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada, 1,500 toll-free minutes, unlimited e-fax, video recording, auto-attendant, call log, hold music, team chat, and 45-minute video calls
- Professional: $35.95 for 40 conference participants, 3,000 toll-free minutes, 1,000 SMS/MMS, customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, and multi-level auto-attendant
- Enterprise: $45.95 for unlimited participants, 12,500 toll-free minutes, 2,000 SMS/MMS, voicemail transcription, and single sign-on
Nextiva Features
The Nextiva Call Pop automatically displays the caller’s account information before you pick up the call. (Source: Nextiva)
- NextivaONE app: A unified desktop experience that places all interactions across all channels into a single view. Access all conversations (phone, SMS, video, and email) together with customer experience and productivity tools.
- Call presence: Displays the phone availability of other users, whether it’s busy, unavailable, or ringing. Users can add a message below their status.
- Notes on calls: Add notes while on a call without switching screens. The note is automatically saved with the contact record.
Zoom: Best for Video Collaboration
What We Liked
- Advanced VoIP tools like call monitoring, call park, and call delegation are included in the entry-level plan.
- It is easy to use, especially the setup of call queues.
- It can integrate with over a hundred third-party apps.
Where It Falls Behind
- Its all queue analytics require an extra fee.
- It doesn’t offer unlimited texting.
- Reporting capabilities could be better.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- Zoom Phone’s entry-level plan costs $10 per user, while RingCentral starts at $30 per user monthly.
- Zoom Phone supports unlimited regional calling in one of 48 supported countries and territories. RingCentral only offers an allowance of 1,000 regional calling minutes per user.
- The maximum number of video meeting participants in Zoom is 1,000, while RingCentral only accommodates 200.
- RingCentral only allows a year of cloud recording retention. Zoom keeps cloud recordings at the pre-configured retention period.
Zoom is primarily known for its video conferencing service thanks to its generous free plan, intuitive interface, and rich video meeting tools. Built-in collaboration tools allow teams to share screens simultaneously, co-annotate on documents, and ideate on a digital whiteboard. Other interactive tools include automated captions, breakout rooms, and remote control.
Although it has evolved into a full-fledged UC platform, Zoom remains heavily focused on video communication, such as webinars, events, and conferencing rooms. Lower-tier plans are limited to video and chat, while higher tiers add business phone features.
On the other hand, remote users may find its mobile app lacking due to limited options and inconsistent user experience with the desktop version. If you frequently host meetings on the go, Vonage is a more user-friendly alternative. It easily integrates with mobile devices, allowing users to collaborate from anywhere.
Zoom Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Pay annually and save up to 16%.
- Basic: Free for 40-minute meetings, 100 attendees, whiteboard, team chat, local recording, breakout rooms, multi-share, automated captions, and file sharing
- Pro: $14.99 for 30-hour meetings, 5GB cloud storage, artificial intelligence (AI) companion, unlimited clips, toll-based dial-in, polling, co-host, and streaming
- Business: $21.99 for 300 attendees, custom mail domain, recording transcripts, and admin portal
- Business Plus: Custom pricing for 10GB cloud storage and translated captions
- Zoom Phone features: Unlimited local calling, SMS/MMS, voicemail transcription, call monitoring, business hours routing, call recording, and reporting
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for 500 users and unlimited cloud storage
Zoom Features
Zoom AI Companion can generate quick chat responses with the right length and tone based on your prompts. (Source: Zoom)
- Shared line group: Enables admins to share a direct phone number, extension, and voicemail with a group of users or common area phones. You can set routing rules and business hours to shared line groups.
- AI Companion: Works as an artificially intelligent (AI) assistant that can handle a whole range of time-consuming tasks. Ask it to present you a meeting summary, ideate on a whiteboard, and compose chat responses.
- Clips Plus: Allows users to record, share, and edit short-form video messages. This feature supports asynchronous communication, where employees can connect and access content regardless of location or time zone.
Dialpad: Best for Intelligent Communications
What We Liked
- Its neat and simple interface facilitates effortless navigation.
- It offers free number porting for US numbers.
- All plans feature compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards.
Where It Falls Behind
- It only accommodates up to 150 meeting attendees.
- Internet fax requires an extra fee.
- Only the Enterprise plan has phone extensions.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- Dialpad offers a 100% uptime guarantee, while RingCentral provides a 99.999% uptime service level agreement (SLA).
- Dialpad’s subscription rate starts at $15 per user, while RingCentral costs $30 per user monthly.
- Dialpad and RingCentral comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards.
- Both RingCentral and Dialpad support international SMS.
Dialpad is known for its extensive artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for voice, video meetings, and real-time analytics. AI tools include real-time call transcription, live coaching, voicemail transcription, sentiment tracking, and real-time analytics. Built-in speech recognition helps deliver real-time insights and automate workflows across employee and customer experiences.
Additional phone numbers can be pricey with Dialpad since the monthly fee starts at $15 per user. Users must upgrade to the second-tier plan to purchase more numbers, whether local, toll-free, or international. Phone.com is a much cheaper option, which offers additional phone numbers for only $4.99 per month.
Dialpad Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Annual billing plans start at $15 per user.
- Standard: $23 for one local number, unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada, multi-level auto-attendant, visual voicemail, custom call routing, SMS/MMS, team chat, five-hour video calls, call transcriptions, and real-time analytics
- Pro: $35 for hold queues, 25 ring groups, international SMS, and CRM integrations
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for extensions, and unlimited ring groups
- Free trial: 14 days
Dialpad Features
Dialpad utilizes AI for voice conversations, video meetings, and real-time analytics.
(Source: Dialpad)
- Fallback options: Configure how inbound calls are handled when operators are unavailable during business hours. Fallback options include voicemail, another number, or automated response.
- Visual voicemail: Provides an overview of your voicemails, including their text transcripts. Forward them in messaging threads and share the audio and text versions of the voicemail.
- Simultaneous ring: Send incoming calls to multiple devices simultaneously. Set calls to ring on your computer, tablet, laptop, or smartphone.
Vonage: Best for Customizable Subscription Plans
What We Liked
- It offers 40-plus standard VoIP tools.
- It can accommodate up to 200 video meeting participants.
- It features an intuitive app interface.
Where It Falls Behind
- It only integrates with 20-plus third-party solutions.
- On-demand call recording is locked behind the most expensive plan.
- Some add-ons are default features in other VoIP providers.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- Vonage follows an a la carte pricing structure. RingCentral charges per user.
- RingCentral offers unlimited calls in the US and Canada. Vonage extends this feature to Mexico.
- Unlike RingCentral, Vonage offers unlimited texting.
- Both providers offer a 99.999% uptime guarantee.
What sets Vonage apart from various VoIP phone systems in the market is the level of customization it offers. It has a wide range of add-on features to expand the functions of your monthly plan, so you don’t have to upgrade to higher tiers to unlock a specific feature. Add-ons include virtual assistant, call recording, call queue, and virtual extensions.
With its a la carte pricing, choose from three prebuilt packages and add more features and third-party integrations as your business needs change. This saves you from the cost of paying for tools you don’t need.
Unfortunately, toll-free numbers and minutes are not part of its service plans. You have to purchase toll-free numbers at $39.99 per month, which can get very pricey if you need multiple phone numbers. Consider Nextiva, which provides complimentary toll-free numbers and a generous toll-free minute allowance on all plans.
Vonage Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Discounts are available for new accounts and bulk subscriptions.
- Mobile: $13.99 for unlimited calls within the U.S. and Canada, unlimited SMS/MMS, mobile app, and up to 43 voice features
- Premium: $20.99 for 200 video attendees, virtual receptionist, access to Vonage App Center, analytics, reporting, and desk phone compatibility
- Advanced: $27.99 for on-demand call recording, call group, and voicemail transcription
Vonage Features
Vonage’s modern and intuitive interface lets you easily switch between calls, chats, and meetings. (Source: Vonage)
- Do Not Disturb (DND): Temporarily prevents all incoming calls from ringing your phone. All calls are sent to voicemail, so you still get all your messages.
- Call announce: Announces the custom tag assigned to a phone number to prepare you in advance about the purpose of the call. It works with call screening, giving you the option to answer the call, transfer it to another agent, or send it to voicemail.
- Call groups: Distribute calls to a group of phone lines to ensure no incoming call is missed. You can add agents with the same skill set in the same call group.
Grasshopper: Best for Its Beginner-friendly Phone System
What We Liked
- It supports local, toll-free, and vanity numbers.
- It has better customer engagement via instant response or automated SMS.
- All plans have 24/7 customer support in multiple channels, namely phone, email, and chat.
Where It Falls Behind
- It doesn't have international numbers.
- It has no team chat and video conferencing.
- It lacks call recording.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- Grasshopper charges a fixed monthly fee for unlimited users, while RingCentral operates on per-user pricing.
- Unlike RingCentral, Grasshopper offers unlimited texting when you choose the all-inclusive Solo Plan costing $29 a month.
- Grasshopper provides professional phone greeting recording services, while RingCentral doesn’t.
- With Grasshopper, you can get live receptionist services. RingCentral doesn’t have this service.
Grasshopper is an easy-to-use solution for phone and text messaging. This provider is ideal for businesses that prefer the simplicity of a virtual phone system but don’t need an extensive array of features.
All-inclusive plans include basic VoIP features like call forwarding, voicemail, custom greetings, and call transfer. Pricing varies based on the number of extensions and phone lines included per plan—no monthly add-on fees.
One major drawback of Grasshopper is the lack of video conferencing and team chat, which major VoIP providers like RingCentral offer. If your company needs access to all communication channels, choose a provider like Nextiva that lets you manage all conversations in one place with phone, video, SMS, and productivity tools.
Grasshopper Monthly Pricing at a Glance Save 10% with annual billing.
- True Solo: $17 for one user, one phone number, and single extension
- Solo: $34 for unlimited users, one phone number, and three extensions
- Partner: $56 for unlimited users, three phone numbers, and six extensions
- Small Business: $92 for unlimited users, five phone numbers, and unlimited extensions
- Free trial: 7 days
Note: All plans include business SMS, call forwarding, voicemail, e-fax, call transfers, custom greetings, simultaneous call handling, and reporting.
Grasshopper Features
The Grasshopper softphone app makes it easy to separate business or personal communications. (Source: Grasshopper)
- Custom greetings: Set up a phone greeting for your welcome message, voicemail, or away message. Upload an audio recording or tap into Grasshopper’s professional voice actors in the Voice Studio.
- Voicemail transcription: Receive the text version of a voicemail without playing the audio file. Transcribed voicemails can be accessed on the desktop and mobile app.
- Business texting: Send unlimited text messages with your Grasshopper phone number. Send an automatic reply to missed calls from new callers. MMS is available for local numbers only.
Phone.com: Best for Flexible Pricing
What We Liked
- Annual and volume discounts are available.
- It has international numbers in over 40 countries.
- It has unlimited meeting duration.
Where It Falls Behind
- Its call analytics is locked behind the highest-tier plan.
- It has limited app integrations.
- It lacks team chat.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- RingCentral’s entry-level plan is twice the rate of Phone.com: $30 per user vs $14.99 per user a month.
- Unlike RingCentral, Phone.com offers discounts for bulk purchases of phone numbers.
- Phone.com provides the option to get live receptionist services, whereas RingCentral doesn’t.
- Phone.com offers local rates for calls to certain countries, namely Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, RingCentral offers 1,000 regional calling minutes per user.
Phone.com caters to businesses with limited budgets that only want to pay for what they need. It uses a pricing model that not all VoIP providers offer—metered plans for users making occasional calls and unlimited plans for those spending plenty of time calling clients. Plus, you can mix and match plans and upgrade, add, or remove users based on your needs and budget.
One major disadvantage of Phone.com is that native integrations are limited to five applications, including Zoho and Zapier. If you’re looking to integrate your phone system with your existing business apps, choose Zoom. It has over 2,000 connected applications, including popular solutions like Slack, Salesforce, and Google Workspace.
Phone.com Monthly Pricing at a Glance (per User) Save up to 15% by paying yearly. Volume discounts apply to five users or more.
- Basic: $14.99 for one phone number per account, 500 pooled minutes, auto-attendant, call transfer, caller ID, call waiting, hold music, greetings, 10 video attendees, and audio conferencing
- Plus: $21.99 for unlimited domestic calls, voicemail transcription, 25 video attendees, and desk phone compatibility
- Pro: $31.99 for call analytics, call recording, 100 video attendees, and Zapier integration
Phone.com Features
Send and receive text messages directly from your Phone.com account via a web browser. (Source: Phone.com)
- Call analytics: Measure call performance based on duration, direction, and time of day. You can choose from three graph types to manage your calls visually.
- Call screening: When you pick up a phone call, you will hear an audio message about the caller ID and the number dialed. You can accept or reject the call, and while you’re deciding, the caller will hear a ringtone.
- Schedules: Manage how incoming calls are handled based on the time and day the call is received. Route calls to specific menus, greetings, numbers, or extensions.
Ooma: Best for Home Phone Service
What We Liked
- It includes 50-plus standard phone features.
- Its office plans have 500 toll-free minutes per month.
- It offers local, toll-free, and vanity numbers.
Where It Falls Behind
- It has limited app integrations.
- The maximum video meeting participant capacity is 100.
- It lacks a desktop app on the base plan.
How It Compares to RingCentral
- RingCentral offers unlimited calling in the US and Canada. Ooma extends this feature to Mexico and Puerto Rico.
- Unlike RingCentral’s UCaaS platform, Ooma offers an auto dialer, which streamlines customer outreach efforts.
- Ooma offers a residential plan that doesn’t have monthly charges. RingCentral doesn’t have a free plan.
- Both providers support intercom paging.
Ooma provides free residential phone service through VoIP technology through your home’s internet connection. This works for solopreneurs or freelancers running their businesses at home. With a one-time purchase of the Ooma Telo device for $99.99, you get free U.S. calls, HD voice quality, an answering machine feature, and low-cost international calls.
If you need more advanced communication features, upgrade to its Office plans with over 50 VoIP phone features. However, between Ooma Office vs RingCentral, Ooma’s collaboration features are not as comprehensive as RingCentral’s. We recommend Nextiva, a virtual collaboration tool featuring video conferencing, team chat, and task management.
Ooma Monthly Pricing at a Glance Volume discounts apply to over six registered users
- Basic: Free for U.S. and Canada calling, call waiting, call logs, call hold, voicemail, caller ID, and call blocking
- Premier: $9.99 for enhanced caller ID, custom call blocking, advanced voicemail, call forwarding, and multi-ring
Office Plans
- Essentials: $19.95 per user for one toll-free number, 50-plus phone features, ring groups, call blocking, and virtual receptionist
- Pro: $24.95 per user for SMS/MMS, hybrid ring groups, call recording, call analytics, voicemail transcription, and 25-attendee video meetings for four hours
- Pro Plus: $29.95 per user for call queues, call screening, 100-attendee video meetings for 12 hours, team chat, hot desking, and CRM integrations
Ooma Features
The Ooma desktop app lets you easily access your company directory. (Source: Ooma)
- Hot desking: Temporarily log into an unassigned desk phone and use it to handle calls as though it were your primary phone. This works for remote teams working at different locations.
- Find me, follow me: Create rules on how you want to receive incoming calls in specific locations and which devices will ring. Forward calls to specific devices and ring them at once or in a specific order.
- Digital call deflection: Allow customers to shift the conversation from voice call to text message. This is useful for reducing customer wait times.
How We Evaluated the Best RingCentral Alternatives
To arrive at our unbiased score, we compiled a list of the top RingCentral competitors and created a rubric using a set of criteria—pricing, general features, niche features, ease of use, customer support, and our expert rating. We narrowed down our options by choosing the top seven highest-ranking providers.
Learn how we evaluated the best RingCentral alternatives by clicking on the tabs below:
30% of Overall Score
To see if VoIP solutions are budget-friendly for small businesses, we checked the cost of entry-level subscription plans and gave higher points to providers offering rates less than RingCentral, especially those with less than $10 per user. We likewise favored those with annual and volume discounts.
We looked into the availability of a free trial or plan so businesses could test-drive the solution before committing to a monthly subscription. The RingCentral free account trial lasts 14 days, so we gave more points to those with a longer duration.
20% of Overall Score
The general features we looked at were tools for handling phone calls: unlimited domestic calling within the US and Canada, auto attendant, toll-free minute allowance, and call monitoring. We checked each vendor’s audio conferencing participant capacity and if they offer unlimited international calling.
15% of Overall Score
The advanced features we considered were unified communications tools, namely team chat, video conferencing, and text messaging. We also noted how robust the AI tool is and if the vendor offers a wide range of third-party integrations.
10% of Overall Score
We determined the ease of use by considering the learning curve in setting up and navigating the system. We assigned more points to those with a modern, intuitive interface.
10% of Overall Score
Small businesses without in-house information technology (IT) departments rely on third-party providers to assist with technical concerns. Thus, we checked the customer support channels available and if the vendor offers 24/7 service.
15% of Overall Score
Our expert score includes an assessment of the provider’s value for money, unique features, and ease of use. We also examined reviews on third-party websites to evaluate their popularity among business professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. Ooma is an excellent free alternative to RingCentral. Its home phone plan doesn’t have monthly charges, only a one-time fee of $99.99 for the analog telephone adapter (ATA), which you can plug into your landline phone system to allow internet-based calls.
However, note that this VoIP solution only has limited call management features. If you’re looking for the same advanced functionalities found on RingCentral, check out the paid alternatives we listed in this article. Zoom Phone, in particular, has a very affordable monthly subscription rate: $10 per user.
Yes. RingCentral uses various security measures to ensure secure communications across all channels. These include network security, toll fraud protection, penetration testing, data encryption, and incident response. Visit the RingCentral Trust Center to learn more about its security policy controls across all RingCentral platforms.
While RingCentral offers a full suite of communication features, smaller companies with limited budgets find its subscription packages too pricey. All plans have a strict cap on business SMS, and features like auto-call recording, internet faxing, and business analytics won’t be available without an upgrade. These capabilities do come with other VoIP providers.
Bottom Line
RingCentral is an all-in-one business communication solution for managing large call volumes and distinct collaboration needs. But if you’re looking for another option, we pick Nextiva as the best RingCentral alternative due to its generous toll-free minutes, intuitive user experience, and seamless integration with customer management tools. Book a demo with the sales team to learn more about its platform.