RingCentral vs. 8×8: Price, Features, & What’s Best in 2018

RingCentral and 8×8 are VoIP business phone systems with unlimited calling, automated attendants, multiple lines, and more. RingCentral offers four plans starting at $29.99 while 8×8 has three plans starting at $25 per month. RingCentral has a more comprehensive set of included features while 8×8 has a great international calling service with unlimited minutes.

When to Use RingCentral

RingCentral is a leading VoIP provider known for being a robust, complete business phone system out of the box, making it the best to use if you’re a growing business that wants a fully-integrated business phone system to grow as you do. Along with providing a more complete set of features than 8×8, RingCentral’s interface is much more intuitive and easier to use. Further, RingCentral’s volume discounts often bring the monthly price below 8×8’s.

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When to Use 8×8

8×8 is a VoIP provider known for its international calling and is great to use if your company has customers, clients, or vendors outside of the United States. While not as feature-rich as RingCentral, 8×8 international calling is far superior, as you get unlimited international calling for anywhere from 14 to 40 different countries. If you need to reach customers in other countries or plan on expanding globally, 8×8 is definitely the best phone system to use.

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When to Use an Alternative

If you’re a solopreneur or a smaller business and these two options are too robust for your needs or are more than your budget, we recommend Grasshopper. Grasshopper is our recommended virtual phone number provider and offers an easy way for you to get a business number on your existing mobile phone. You can have up to five lines and unlimited extensions with access to features like an auto-attendant and voicemail transcription.

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RingCentral vs. 8×8 at a Glance

How We Evaluated RingCentral & 8×8

When selecting a phone system, it’s important to choose a provider that has everything you need out of the box, provides all the calling abilities you’ll need, and one that is easy to use. We evaluated RingCentral and 8×8 on certain key features such as international calling, an automated attendant, voicemail to email/text transcription and the number of phone lines you can have.

The specific criteria we used to compare RingCentral vs. 8×8 include:

• Price: The setup and monthly costs to use the service, and if any free trials available.
• Number of Phone Lines: How many phone numbers, lines and extensions can be set up for your business’ users.
• International Calling: Is international calling available, and how many countries are included.
• Automated Attendant: Is there a virtual receptionist to answer and filter your calls.
• Productivity Integration: What productivity tools, such as a CRM or document management, are integrated with the service.
• Additional Features: What complementary features are available from each provider.
• Ease of Use: How easy is it to set up, manage your users and administer the system.
• Customer Service: What help is available and how can you get support when you need it.

If you’re a business with a growing international presence, we recommend 8×8 as the best solution for your business. Some of its features are only available with an additional fee on top of your monthly cost, but you can’t go wrong with unlimited international calling. However, if international calling isn’t as important and you need a comprehensive system from the start that includes all the features you want without additional fees, then we recommend RingCentral.

RingCentral vs. 8×8: Pricing & Features

RingCentral and 8×8 both offer different tiers with different prices and features available for each. RingCentral offers volume discounts and your cost can be as low as $19.99 per user per month. 8×8’s plans start at $25 per user per month, and all plans are monthly with no annual agreements needed.

However, RingCentral’s low pricing is available when you have a large number of users and only if you select annual billing. The prices we’ve outlined below reflect monthly billing for up to five users; if you need specific billing details or more information on discounts, you can contact either RingCentral or 8×8.

RingCentral Pricing

RingCentral’s prices are separated into four plans that range from $29.99 to $59.99. All plans include unlimited nationwide calling and certain features. Although it’s a higher starting price than 8×8, it’s a more complete system that doesn’t require additional fees for features you’ll want to use out of the box and volume discounts.

RingCentral Tiered Features

Essentials

The Essentials plan is RingCentral’s starter package. With this plan, you’ll get 100 toll-free minutes, unlimited calling, SMS messages, voicemail to email transcription and conference calling for up to four attendees, all for $29.99 per user per month. International calling is available with this tier, but there are different per-minute calling rates for various countries.

This plan is only available if you have less than 10 users, unlike the Standard or Premium plans or even 8×8’s starter plan that supports as many users as you need. However, this plan is still best suited for a business with a smaller team that needs a simple, comprehensive calling solution. If you need less than five lines, then perhaps Grasshopper might be a better fit for you.

Standard

The Standard package includes everything in the essentials package with more toll-free calling minutes, a multi-level auto-attendant, and starts at $34.99 per user per month. The price can be as low as $29.99 per month if you have over 1,000 users, and it supports as many users as your business needs with internet faxing, reporting and a multi-level auto-attendant.

The features and offerings of this tier are somewhat on par with 8×8’s starter package. However, this plan does provide 1,000 toll-free minutes and the volume discount makes this the best for businesses with a larger team that want the simplicity of RingCentral’s calling and conference system.

Premium

The Premium package is RingCentral’s most popular package. The plan starts at $44.99 per user, per month and allows you to hold conference calls for up to 100 callers, a significant increase over the Essentials or the Standard. Integrations with Salesforce and Zendesk are also available with this tier and while it’s comparable to 8×8’s popular tier, the X5, RingCentral stands ahead with the inclusion of call recording, which is only available for a $10 monthly fee with 8×8.

International calling still carries per-minute fees that vary by country, so 8×8 still has an advantage in that regard. However, if you make a lot of nationwide calls, host audio or video conferences, this is the best plan to choose. The integration with CRMs at this level makes it much easier to associate calls with customers and improve your customer engagement.

Ultimate

There are no major feature differences between the Ultimate plan and the Premium. This plan does allow for 200 users in conference calls and provides a whopping 10,000 toll-free minutes—significantly more than the Premium plan. The price starts at $59.99 and goes as low as $49.99 if you have more than 1,000 users.

This plan has a slight advantage over 8×8’s highest plan in some ways, with support for 200 users in conference calls whereas 8×8 supports only 50. So, this is the best for large corporations with high call volumes or those that spend a lot of time on the phone with customers.

8×8 Pricing

8×8’s pricing is broken down into three different calling plans, the X2, X5, and X8. The prices range between $25 and $55 per user, per month and all plans include auto-attendant, access to the mobile app and unlimited international calling to anywhere from 14 to 42 countries (based on the plan you choose).

8×8 Tiered Features

X2

The X2 package costs $25 per user, per month and features an auto-attendant and standard calling features such as voicemail and call forwarding. This plan has a clear advantage over RingCentral’s starter plan because it gives you unlimited nationwide and international calling to 14 countries, access to the auto-attendant, integration with Salesforce and Zendesk, 1GB of file storage, and can be used with as many users as you need.

This plan is a great option for companies that are just beginning to expand globally. There are no volume discounts available, but compared to the X2 and X5 plans, this is a cost-friendly option for businesses looking for international calling.

X5

The X5 package costs $35 per user, per month and includes everything in the X2 package. This plan includes an additional 4GB of storage and unlimited calling to 18 more countries than the X2. An advantage that this plan has over RingCentral’s most popular plan is the option of an operator switchboard, a sophisticated management tool that supplements the auto-attendant and streamlines call management.

There are no volume discounts available with this plan, but the call recording and switchboard features provide value to a company that wants to ensure that all calls are properly handled. This is the best package for a company with an international workforce that needs to be able to keep all team members in sync and monitor call activity.

X8

The X8 package costs $55 per user, per month and includes all the features in the X5 package. The difference between this and the other plans is the unlimited calling to 46 different countries, and you can have up to 50 attendees in a conference call. Also available with this package is a virtual office supervisor, which is an automated system that provides a real-time overview of all call activity.

This is the best package for a well-established business that has international customers, partners, and vendors. This plan shines with its contact center features that aren’t available with the X2 or X5. While RingCentral offers similar contact center features, they are only available with a different Contact Center subscription. With 8×8, it’s included with the X8 package.

RingCentral vs. 8×8: Setup & Ease of Use

RingCentral and 8×8 are both cloud-based providers, so there won’t be a complicated setup process, expensive hardware or wiring issues to worry about. You can use just your internet connection to use either service and both offer an online portal for setup and account management.

RingCentral Ease of Use

RingCentral’s interface is incredibly intuitive and user-friendly. It provides clear sections, tool tips that explain each icon, and simple commands that make the system easy to follow. RingCentral also provides how-to videos for each step of the setup process, so you won’t have to search through options and the documentation to learn what you’re trying to do.

8X8 Ease of Use

8×8 provides a better introduction to its platform with one free hour of training from a technical specialist to get you familiar with your account and ensure that you’re running smoothly. Although the interface isn’t as user-friendly, the guided setup is great for those who prefer hands-on learning and assistance with the initial setup.

RingCentral vs. 8×8 Customer Service

There isn’t much to set these two providers apart in regards to customer service. They both provide 24/7 support, which is a mix of both U.S.-based and international support, a comprehensive online knowledge base that gives loads of information about all features and settings, and multiple ways to get in touch with a technician.

RingCentral Customer Service

RingCentral provides many resources through their customer support center. Along with 24/7 phone and chat support, you can enroll in RingCentral University to get answers that address issues that your administrator or other users in the business might face while setting up the system. You can also get user guides, setup guides and software updates for the desktop app.

8×8 Customer Service

8×8 provides round-the-clock support; in addition to easy phone or chat support, 8×8 also has a community forum where you can discuss issues with other business owners and users of the system. This is a great feature because there will be times when it’ll be easier to speak with a peer—another business owner—to see how they resolved certain issues than to try explaining a certain issue to a technician.

RingCentral vs. 8×8 Customer Reviews

Both RingCentral and 8×8 have mixed reviews of their systems and customer support. Both offer calling features that satisfy many business owners, but also miss the mark on several items with a lack of volume discounts with 8×8 and RingCentral being too robust for some users.

RingCentral Customer Reviews

Companies that use RingCentral feel that it’s a great cloud phone system for businesses. Many were happy with the volume discounts applied as they took on more employees, and being able to easily find the features they need in the intuitive online portal. For a more detailed summary of what users think of RingCentral, check out our user reviews of RingCentral.

8×8 Customer Reviews

Business owners who use 8×8 were satisfied with the cost of the service and the many international calling options available. Those who were unhappy with the service cited issues with reliability and service uptime. For a more in-depth summary of what users think of 8×8, see our user reviews of 8×8.

Bottom Line

It’s a close competition between RingCentral and 8×8. Both provide easy to use systems, 24/7 customer support, and a wide variety of features to support businesses at any stage. While 8×8 has excellent international calling options and more integrations, RingCentral gets our recommendation because of its competitively priced packages, volume discounts and user-friendly interface.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive suite of features, a smooth and simple user interface that makes startup and account management easy, and volume discounts to support you as you grow, RingCentral is a clear winner. They offer a 15-day trial that allows you to experience all that RingCentral has to offer at no cost to you. Signup using the button below to get started

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