RingCentral vs 8×8: Which Is Best for Business Phone Service in 2021

RingCentral vs 8×8 compares two of the world’s leading communications platforms. Each caters to different types of businesses, so which is better for your small business depends on a range of factors. If budget, ease of use, or international calling is your most important consideration, choose 8×8. If you want robust functionality and integrations that can scale as your business grows, you’ll find that RingCentral has all the features your business will ever want.

Both communication platforms share commonalities, but also have subtle nuances that might make one more appropriate for your business than the other.

• RingCentral: Best for small businesses that need high-end call management features as well as extensive integrations and an open API
• 8×8: Best for budget-conscious companies or businesses that do a high volume of international calling

RingCentral vs 8×8 Business Phone Service at a Glance

Price	$19.99 to $49.99 per user, per month*	$12 to $44 per user, per month*
Annual Subscription Discount	Yes	Yes
Ease of Use	Easy	Very easy
Communication Channels	Call, text  fax, video, messaging	Call, text, fax, video, messaging
Standout Features	Extensive integrations, open API, video conferencing up to 200 participants, hot desking	Monitor, whisper, barge, video conferencing up to 100 participants, Switchboard Pro
Customer Support	24/7 chat and phone support	24/7 chat and phone support
Reliability	99.999% uptime	99.99% uptime
	Visit RingCentral	Visit 8x8

*Price based on annual billing rate with an estimated two to 20 users.

How We Evaluated RingCentral vs 8×8

RingCentral and 8×8 are both powerful VoIP solutions for small businesses that provide calling, texting (SMS), team messaging, faxing, and video conferencing. However, there are a few differences between the platforms that might make them more suitable as the best VoIP provider for your business.

To identify those differences and key characteristics, we looked at the fundamental criteria which are important to most small businesses. This includes pricing, general and advanced voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) features, ease of use, and customer support. We also analyzed the product ourselves and learned from other real-life users about their experiences using these two tools.

Click the tabs below for more information on our evaluation criteria:

Best for Pricing: 8×8

RingCentral has relatively competitive pricing for its tiers, but can't beat the cost of 8x8's entry-level or premium plans.	At just $12 per user, per month, 8x8 provides one of the industry's lowest entry-level prices for a business phone system.

It’s hard to compete with 8×8’s entry-level 8×8 Express plan. For just $12 per user, per month, your business gets calling, texting, video conferencing, and team messaging. On top of that, the Express plan includes features like an auto-attendant, intelligent call routing, music on hold, and more.

RingCentral’s starting price of $19.99 is far more than 8×8’s Express Plan, but it’s still reasonably priced, especially when comparing what is included. You’ll get unlimited calling and texting, and you’ll also get team messaging and file sharing with RingCentral’s lowest-tier plan. At first glance it might seem like RingCentral’s premium plan is more expensive than 8×8’s, but it’s actually cheaper in certain scenarios.

RingCentral’s Premium plan costs just $34.99 per user, per month, but it delivers everything (and more) that 8×8’s X4 plan does for $44 per user, per month. RingCentral users can upgrade to the most expensive Ultimate plan at $49.99 per user, per month, but that only unlocks device status reports, alerts, and unlimited storage.

Winner: 8×8 wins for providing budget-friendly plans that don’t hide fundamental features behind premium tiers.

Best for Ease of Use: 8×8

RingCentral provides everything a business needs from its communication program, but having so many features might be overkill for some small businesses.	8x8 provides the right balance between features and usability to create a positive user experience on desktop or mobile apps.

RingCentral and 8×8 both provide businesses with a range of fundamental and advanced features, but RingCentral’s apps can feel a bit cluttered for users who don’t need to take advantage of everything the platform includes. On the other hand, 8×8’s user interface feels just right in terms of the amount of features offered without sacrificing ease of use.

8×8’s user interface on both mobile and desktop apps is clean and uncluttered. Users will find it easy to navigate and find what they’re looking for. RingCentral has a modern interface that is simple to use, but it can be hard to find what you’re looking for amid all the features the platform has to offer.

Winner: 8×8 takes the edge for ease of use thanks to its user-friendly interfaces and toned-down functionality.

Best for Call Management Features: RingCentral

RingCentral provides the most comprehensive set of end-to-end business calling features.	8x8 offers a competitive lineup of call management features, and is one of the few business phone systems to provide monitor, whisper, and barge features.

RingCentral and 8×8 both provide a competitive set of call management features. You’ll find each offers auto-attendants, call monitoring, whisper functionality, and barge capabilities. However, RingCentral takes the edge due to a few extra offerings.

RingCentral offers a multi-level interactive voice response (IVR) system, overflow call queues, permission-based access control, and advanced real-time call analytics. 8×8 provides supervisor call analytics, but its insights and data don’t go quite as deep as RingCentral’s device status alerts and reporting metrics.

Winner: RingCentral wins for providing the complete call management experience. Your business gets control over the call experience from before the agent picks up to long after the call finishes, and everything in between.

Best for International Calling: 8×8

RingCentral offers international and toll-free numbers, but you'll pay international rates for every minute based on the country's calling rate.	8x8 provides international calling to more than 200+ destinations with unlimited calling (at no additional cost) to 47 unmetered countries.

8×8 offers some of the best international calling advantages of any business phone system. With 8×8, you get unlimited calling to specific countries (at no extra cost) for up to 47 unmetered destinations. However, their X2 plan only offers unlimited calling to 14 countries—you’ll need to upgrade to the X4 plan for unlimited calling to more countries. Check 8×8’s international calling rates to see which countries are listed as metered and unmetered, and their calling rates.

RingCentral offers users international numbers (starting at $5.99 per user, per month) and toll-free numbers ($14.99 per user, per month with a one-time $25 setup fee). All international calls are charged at the current rates published in RingCentral’s international rates table. Unfortunately, there’s no unlimited free international calling outside of the United States and Canada.

Winner: 8×8 is the leading provider for international calling, allowing businesses to make unlimited calls to 47 destinations at no extra cost.

Best for Available Communication Channels: Tie

RingCentral lets businesses call, text, fax, video conference, team message, and file share.	8x8 offers calling, texting, faxing, video conferencing, team messaging, and file sharing.

When comparing RingCentral vs 8×8’s available communication channels, it’s a tie. RingCentral and 8×8 both provide a robust set of business communication channels:

• Voice calling
• Texting
• Faxing
• Video and audio conferencing
• Team messaging
• File sharing

While each platform provides similar communication channels, RingCentral does have slightly higher limits. With video conferencing, you’ll get to host up to 200 active participants per meeting on RingCentral’s Premium plan; with 8×8, you can only host up to 100 active participants per video conference.

Winner: It’s a tie. Both 8×8 and RingCentral provide a similar set of communication options with only very slight differences.

Best for Scalability: RingCentral

RingCentral becomes the more affordable option if you want the most complete set of features.	8x8 starts as the more affordable option, but it becomes more expensive when comparing RingCentral’s Premium plan to 8x8’s X4 plan.

At the entry level, 8×8 offers a more affordable pricing package. 8×8’s Express plan provides everything your business needs to launch its communication program at just $12 per user, per month. However, once you scale and need additional features and functionality, 8×8 becomes the more expensive solution.

RingCentral provides unlimited scalability to businesses of all sizes. It can be an expensive entry-level solution for businesses with limited needs, but there’s no size business RingCentral can’t scale to handle. With extensive third-party integrations and an open API, any size company from startup to enterprise level can make RingCentral their complete VoIP communication platform.

Winner: RingCentral is the best option for businesses that want to grow their teams and communication options.

Best for Help Resources & Customer Support: Tie

RingCentral offers 24/7 chat and phone support, as well as a catalog of documentation and support resources.	8x8's customer 24/7 chat and phone support are reliable and responsive. They don’t have as extensive documentation as RingCentral, but they make up for it with high-quality support.

RingCentral’s 24/7 chat and phone support have a solid reputation for handling customer issues in a timely fashion. However, the platform’s most exceptional support is in its extensive library of documentation and video tutorials. If there’s something you need help with, there’s a good chance RingCentral already published a resource to help solve your problem.

8×8 doesn’t have the same comprehensive support documentation as RingCentral, but it makes up for it with a high-quality, responsive customer service team. Looking through popular review sites, customers mostly have good things to say about their interactions with 8×8’s support team.

Winner: Both platforms offer similar customer support options. RingCentral’s comprehensive documentation goes head to head with 8×8’s quick customer service team.

Best Alternatives

RingCentral and 8×8 are both VoIP providers that solve a wide range of business use cases, but there’s a chance you’re looking for something a little different. Here are a few other alternatives to consider:

• Nextiva: Nextiva is a powerful RingCentral alternative that provides high-end call management features, integrations, APIs, and a comparable set of communication channels. However, Nextiva offers a more modern user interface and advanced features at lower tiers.
• Grasshopper: Unlike RingCentral and 8×8 business phone systems, Grasshopper is a budget-friendly, easy-to-use virtual phone system. It’s a good option for professionals who want to add a business number to their personal phone and get business phone features like custom greetings and extensions for call routing among team members.
• Ooma: Ooma offers a simple VoIP solution that makes choosing a pricing tier refreshingly uncomplicated. It’s easy to set up and provides businesses with all the fundamental features they need, making it the perfect choice for small businesses that prioritize ease of use above all else.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is 8×8 better than Zoom?

8×8 and Zoom serve different purposes and businesses. While 8×8 is a comprehensive VoIP business phone system, Zoom is primarily used for video conferencing, with few other intended uses. Check out our comprehensive Zoom review to see if it’s the right video conferencing option for your business.

What is the difference between RingCentral & Zoom?

RingCentral is a full-featured business phone system, while Zoom is a video conferencing software solution with minimal additional communication functionality. If you want more details about the video conferencing and other features available to you as a RingCentral subscriber, read our detailed RingCentral review.

How much does 8×8 cost?

8×8 has plans ranging in price from $12 to $44 per user, per month; however, price only scratches the surface when it comes to value. Our 8×8 review explains everything that’s included for its users.

Bottom Line

The right VoIP business service empowers better conversations, at scale, at an affordable price. 8×8 and RingCentral are both powerful, cloud-based unified communication solutions, but if you’re looking for a feature-rich, scalable solution, you’ll be better off with RingCentral vs 8×8. On the other hand, if your business is focused more on international calling, monthly cost, and ease of use, 8×8 is the better choice.