RingCentral vs 8×8: Price, Features & What’s Best in 2019

RingCentral and 8×8 are VoIP business phone systems with features like unlimited calling, automated attendants, and multiple lines. RingCentral starts at $29.99 per month and is designed to scale with growing teams. 8×8 offers unlimited international calling for as low as $25 per month, making it great for organizations with an overseas business presence.

When to Use RingCentral

RingCentral is a leading voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) provider that offers a complete business phone system best for growing businesses. The phone system offers features like large conference support, video conferencing, an open API, and unlimited texting. It also comes with a free toll-free number with a new account and pricing plans starting at $29.99 per user, per month, with discounts for larger teams.

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When to Use 8×8

8×8 is a complete VoIP system that offers unlimited calling for up to 47 countries, reducing fees when making calls outside of the United States, and making it best for those who make calls internationally. Plans start at $25 per user, per month, and also come with calling features like an auto-attendant, CRM integration, and access to the service via a mobile app.

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When to Use an Alternative Option

If you’re a solopreneur or a smaller business, you may not need the more robust calling features found in either complete VoIP service. In this case, consider Grasshopper. It provides a local or toll-free number on your existing mobile or landline phone without requiring you to purchase additional equipment. It even supports up to five lines and unlimited extensions, and includes an auto-attendant and voicemail transcription. Click here to get started today.

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RingCentral vs 8×8 at a Glance

How We Evaluated RingCentral vs 8×8

We evaluated RingCentral and 8×8 on certain key features such as available phone numbers, international calling, an automated attendant, conferencing, usability, and voicemail-to-email transcription. Both services offer a strong set of features like supporting toll-free numbers and a mobile app, so to determine the best, we also considered the overall user experience.

Therefore, we evaluated RingCentral and 8×8 based on the following criteria:

• Price: We compared the price of each provider for service offered.
• Ease of use: VoIP services should be easy enough to set up and operate for users of all skill levels.
• Call management: We looked at call management features like call forwarding, screening, and voicemail.
• International calling: We looked at whether each service offers international calling,
• Automated Attendant: VoIP systems should offer the ability to build and deploy voice menus for users.
• Software integrations: We reviewed the different applications that each platform can connect to.
• Device support: We examined the types of devices that customers can use each service on.
• Customer service: We looked at the help available to users of each platform.

When comparing RingCentral vs 8×8, RingCentral’s feature set, along with the fact that it offers a toll-free number, makes it an ideal choice for most small businesses. It also has a better user interface (UI) and can be less expensive than 8×8 when you account for volume discounts. However, the fact that 8×8 offers unlimited international calling makes it an attractive option for companies with an international presence.

RingCentral vs 8×8: Pricing & Features

RingCentral and 8×8 both offer multiple tiers of service at different price points. They also offer features like a free telephone number, multiple extensions, and call conferencing. RingCentral offers more choices in the types of phone number you can have as well as more integrations thanks to its open API. 8×8, on the other hand, has a lower starting price, but does not have the volume discounts as low as RingCentral.

RingCentral Pricing

RingCentral’s prices range from $29.99 to $59.99 per user, per month. All plans include a local or toll-free number, unlimited nationwide calling, and conferencing. It’s one of the more expensive services on the market, but it offers a complete feature set and a fantastic user interface. It also offers volume discounts that bring down the overall costs.

RingCentral Tiered Features

Essentials

The Essentials plan is RingCentral’s starter package. It offers 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. It also offers the choice of a local or toll-free business number, which is something that costs extra with 8×8.

Unlike the Standard or Premium plans, this plan is only available if you have less than 10 users. On the other hand, 8×8’s starter plan supports as many users as you need. Still, this plan is great for smaller teams that need a simple, comprehensive calling solution. It also offers use of RingCentral’s mobile app, which is generous considering not all alternative VoIP providers include mobile apps in their lowest tiered plan.

Standard

The Standard package starts at $34.99 per user, per month, and includes everything in the Essentials plan, but adds more toll-free calling minutes and a multi-level auto-attendant so you can build out voice menus for your callers. It also comes with internet faxing and reports.

Unlike 8×8’s intermediate plan, RingCentral offers reports on call information such as call logs and call time. However, it lacks the unlimited international calling offered by 8×8. Still, this package is a good fit for general business users who want a powerful suite of general VoIP features.

Premium

The Premium package is RingCentral’s most popular tier of service. The plan starts at $44.99 per user, per month, and allows you to hold conference calls for up to 100 callers. This is a significant increase over the Essentials and Standard tiers. It also offers integrations with Salesforce and Zendesk so that you can connect call data to those systems.

International calling still carries per-minute fees that vary by country, which makes it look inferior to 8×8. However, if you make a lot of nationwide calls, or host audio or video conferences, this is the best plan to choose. The CRM integration makes it much easier to turn callers into documented sales prospects as well.

Ultimate

There are no major feature differences between the Ultimate plan and the Premium. Instead, this plan allows for 200 users in conference calls and provides 10,000 toll-free minutes, which is more than the Premium plan. This is one of the most expensive business phone system packages on the market.

This plan has a slight advantage over 8×8’s highest plan in some ways. It support up to 200 users in conference calls, whereas 8×8 supports only 100. This is the best for larger teams that want to hold frequent conferences.

8×8 Pricing

8×8’s pricing is broken down into three different calling tiers. Prices range between $25 and $55 per user, per month, and all plans include an auto-attendant and unlimited international calling to anywhere from 14 to 42 countries. It’s one of the more moderately priced systems of its kind.

8×8 Tiered Features

X2

The X2 package costs $25 per user, per month, and provides an auto-attendant along with standard calling features such as voicemail and call forwarding. This plan has several advantages over RingCentral’s starter plan due to unlimited international calling to 14 countries, access to the auto-attendant, CRM integration, and 1GB of cloud storage.

However, this feature is missing a free toll-free number, which is offered by RingCentral. If having a nationwide phone presence is important to you, then you’ll have to pay an additional fee. Still, this is a good plan for those who want to make frequent calls to other countries without spending a lot of money.

X5

The X5 package costs $35 per user, per month, and includes everything in the X2 package. It also includes an additional 4GB of storage and unlimited calling to 32 countries, and comes with automatic call recording (like RingCentral’s Premium plan).

Unlike RingCentral, there are no volume discounts available with this plan. It also lacks the voicemail-to-email transcription found in the Premium version of RingCentral. Still, the scope of countries supported by this plan make it ideal for those with overseas operations.

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 that it supports unlimited calling to 46 countries. You can also have up to 100 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 well-established businesses that have international customers, partners, and vendors. This plan shines with its contact center features that aren’t available with the X2 or X5. With that said, there are many complaints from customers about the overall user experience of 8×8’s desktop and mobile interfaces.

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

RingCentral and 8×8 are both cloud-based VoIP services, so setting up and using either of them should be a simple process. With that in mind, RingCentral has one of the best management interfaces on the market, which gives it the edge over 8×8.

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 documentation to learn what you’re trying to do.

8×8 Ease of Use

8×8 provides one free hour of training from a technical specialist to get you familiar with your account and ensure that you’re running smoothly. This is helpful, because the interface isn’t as user-friendly as RingCentral. Navigating through the system’s options is a frustrating process, and it does not offer modern colors and fonts like RingCentral does.

RingCentral vs 8×8 Customer Service

Both services provide 24/7 support both in the U.S. and abroad. They both also provide a comprehensive online knowledge base that provides information about all the features and settings, and multiple ways to get in touch with a technician. However, the inclusion of the RingCentral University feature gives that solution the advantage.

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 administrators or other users might face while setting up the system. You can also view user guides, setup guides, and software updates for the desktop app.

8×8 Customer Service

8×8 provides 24/7 support as well as phone or chat support. There is also a community forum where you can discuss issues with other business owners and users of the system. Getting help from other customers is helpful, but not as much as just getting help from the company itself.

RingCentral vs 8×8 Customer Reviews

Both RingCentral and 8×8 have mixed reviews of their systems. Both have their fair share of customer complaints when it comes to downtime, price, and customer support helpfulness. Because RingCentral has a higher user rating according to Fit Small Business readers, we’ve determined it as the winner in this category.

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. They also liked being able to easily find the features they need in the intuitive online portal. For a more opinions, check out our RingCentral user reviews page.

“We use RingCentral and especially enjoy that calls are recorded and can be answered from an app,” said Todd Layne of Todd Layne Cleaners. ”They also have a nice texting feature that our customers use to interact with my staff. Other productivity tools and teleconferencing features are also helpful.”

8×8 Customer Reviews

Our readers aren’t very impressed with 8×8, giving it just a 2 out of 5-star rating. Several users say that the service suffers frequent outages and that support is remarkably unhelpful. For more information, visit our 8×8 user reviews page.

Bottom Line: RingCentral vs 8×8

When comparing 8×8 to RingCentral, both provide business phone numbers, 24/7 customer support, and call management features to support businesses at any stage. However, though 8×8 has unlimited international calling options and a lower starting price, RingCentral gets our recommendation because of its phone number options, volume discounts, and best-in-class user 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 the clear winner. They offer a 15-day free trial that allows you to experience all that RingCentral has to offer. Click the button below to get started.

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