RingCentral vs Grasshopper: Which Is Best for Your Business?

Grasshopper and RingCentral are two top voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) platforms that differ in cost, features, and benefits for small businesses. Grasshopper offers a budget-friendly, no-frills VoIP solution, while RingCentral is packed with advanced capabilities in terms of call management, communication channels, and integrations, making the cost per user more expensive.

Based on our comparison, the best use cases for Grasshopper vs RingCentral are as follows:

• RingCentral: Better for companies willing to pay more for a feature-rich VoIP solution
• Grasshopper: Best for startups that only require the basics of a VoIP platform

RingCentral vs Grasshopper at a Glance

Starting Price	$29.99 per user*	$31**
Free Trial	14-day free trial (inclusive of five phone lines that can be configured with 50 free outbound minutes per line)	7-day free trial (inclusive of one dedicated number with three extensions and 100 minutes)
Ease of Use	Easy	Very easy
Call Management Features	Auto receptionist, answering rules,call screening,call tracking and reporting, advanced call forwarding, and call transfer	Auto receptionist, simultaneous call handling,call screening,call reporting,call forwarding, call transfers, and instant response
Communication Capabilities	VoIP calling, voicemail, automated greetings, business texting, video meetings, audio conferencing, and outbound and inbound fax	VoIP calling, voicemail, automated greeting, business texting, and virtual fax (inbound)
Integrations	200+ apps	2
Analytics & Reporting	Advanced	Basic
Scalability	Exceptional	Limited
Hardware	✓	N/A
Customer Support	24/7 toll-free hotline Live chat	24/7 toll-free hotline Self-service
For More Information	Visit RingCentral	Visit Grasshopper

*RingCentral pricing is for one to 20 users, billed monthly. Save up to 33% by paying annually.
**Grasshopper pricing includes one phone number and three extensions, billed monthly. Save 10% with annual billing.

Take our quiz to find out which is better for your business: RingCentral or Grasshopper.

Best for Pricing: Grasshopper

Grasshopper Monthly Pricing:   All plans come with unlimited calls within the U.S. and Canada, business texting, voicemail, and one or more toll-free or vanity phone numbers. Solo: $31, offering one phone number and three extensions Partner: $51 for three phone numbers and six extensions Small Business: $89 featuring five phone numbers and unlimited extensions

RingCentral Monthly Pricing (per User):   All plans come with business phone or toll-free numbers, unlimited calls within the U.S. and Canada, business texting, team messaging, file sharing, call management, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Essentials: $29.99 for up to 20 users and 100 toll-free minutes Standard: $37.99 with no limit on the number of users, business phone numbers in over 100 countries, unlimited internet fax, unlimited audio conferencing, video meetings with up to 100 participants, and 1,000 toll-free minutes Premium: $44.99 inclusive of advanced call handling features, customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, video meetings with up to 200 people, and 2,500 toll-free minutes Ultimate: $59.99 for unlimited media storage, 10,000 toll-free minutes, and device status alerts and reports

RingCentral pricing is on a per-user basis, while Grasshopper has a flat fee for the number of phone extensions. It may seem like the RingCentral service is more budget-friendly, but looking closely, Grasshopper wins in terms of cost per user and significant savings.

Consider Grasshopper’s Small Business plan, priced at $89 for five phone numbers and unlimited extensions with annual payment. Following RingCentral’s pricing structure, it will technically cost $18 per user, lower than RingCentral’s Essentials plan, which costs $29.99 monthly.

Instead of choosing a RingCentral plan upgrade to accommodate more users in your team, consider Grasshopper packages that provide unlimited extensions. It’s a cost-effective solution, especially for those who have team members who don’t necessarily need a dedicated line.

However, take note that adding phone numbers on Grasshopper costs $10 a month. You’re free to choose local, toll-free, and vanity numbers. For RingCentral, you’ll pay $4.99 for toll-free numbers and $14.99 for international toll-free numbers.

Best for Call Management: RingCentral

Interactive voice response (IVR) Automatic call distributor (ACD) Business hours Call blocking Call forwarding and flipping Call queues Call recording Call routing and answering rules	Virtual receptionist Business hours Call blocking Call forwarding Call queues

In the area of call management, we choose RingCentral over Grasshopper. RingCentral has all the advanced call management features you want in a VoIP service, which also explains its higher price point. It accommodates higher call volumes because of its robust interactive voice response (IVR) and automatic call distributor (ACD) systems. And with an efficient call distribution system, your business creates a better customer experience. Read our RingCentral review to learn more about its call management features.

Aside from the capabilities listed above, the platform has open APIs and extensive integrations, expanding what you can do on the VoIP system. For instance, with customer relationship management (CRM) integrations, you’re able to respond to customer queries better.

In contrast, Grasshopper is more straightforward than RingCentral, offering the basic VoIP features businesses look for in a phone system. While this is a letdown for some, those transitioning to a VoIP system would find the no-frills platform easy to navigate and use. Its call capabilities include Ruby receptionist, which automatically sends a text to callers when the business can’t respond to a call.

Grasshopper also offers simultaneous call handling, wherein the virtual receptionist forwards the call to the next available number when a caller reaches a busy line. This setup works best for businesses with low incoming call volume. Check out this comprehensive Grasshopper review to learn if its basic features fit your needs.

Best for Communication Capabilities: RingCentral

Unlimited business calls and texts within the U.S. and Canada Voicemail transcription Automated greeting Business texting Team chat and file sharing Audio conferencing with up to 1,000 participants Outbound and inbound fax Video meetings with up to 200 people Digital whiteboard Breakout rooms Screen sharing Call and meeting recording	Unlimited business calls and texts within the U.S. and Canada Voicemail transcription Automated greeting Business texting Audio conferencing with up to 10 people Virtual fax (inbound)

Because of its unified communications features, RingCentral wins in this category. It seamlessly integrates voice, video, personal and team messaging, and file sharing, allowing businesses to perform all their communications on one platform. You’ll be able to hold video meetings without switching to Zoom or Skype. If you use these tools frequently, you save money as you do away with third-party platforms.

On the other hand, Grasshopper accommodates essential communication channels: calls, SMS, inbound fax, and audio conferencing for a small group of people. If your business only requires basic texting and calling, it’s worth considering Grasshopper’s straightforward offering. With this, you won’t need to pay more for features you won’t use.

Best for Integrations: RingCentral

Customer relationship management (CRM): Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho CRM with Video Productivity: Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Zapier, Canvas Collaboration: Slack, Hangouts Chat, Google Workspace, Trello Bot, OneDrive Analytics: Chorus.ai, Cloze, New relic, Prodoscore, Gong	Google Voice Skype

RingCentral outperforms Grasshopper in this category, given its extensive range of integrations. Aside from the software listed above, the platform integrates with tools for automation, calendaring, customer support, developer tools, marketing automation, SMS, and storage. Moreover, with RingCentral APIs, you have the option to customize apps and support different business requirements.

Meanwhile, Grasshopper integrations only consist of Google Voice and Skype. If your business relies on other tools, like CRM, you get more value when choosing RingCentral. Consider these top Grasshopper alternatives if you’re looking for a VoIP system equipped with more integrations.

Best for Ease of Use: Grasshopper

The basic feature set helps new users navigate the platform easily.	While the platform has an intuitive interface, RingCentral’s extensive feature set takes getting used to.

Both RingCentral and Grasshopper are easy to use, as they feature a simple, intuitive design. Since Grasshopper offers only the basics of a VoIP platform, navigating it is pretty straightforward. On the left side of the Grasshopper app, you’ll readily see all its functionalities: the dialer, messages, recent (history), and inbox.

Easily navigate Grasshopper’s desktop app, since all the features are displayed on the left side panel. (Source: Grasshopper)

As for RingCentral, the advanced feature set means more tabs and icons you need to be familiar with. You also need to set up routing and answering rules and connect your apps, including CRM, productivity, and collaboration tools, to make the most of the system. It will take time to get used to using the platform and maximize the features it offers. If you’re looking for other feature-rich platforms, consider these RingCentral alternatives.

RingCentral’s desktop app is packed with unified communications features, including messaging, calls, and video meetings. (Source: RingCentral)

Best for Hardware Options: RingCentral

RingCentral lets businesses buy or rent a range of VoIP phones and headsets.	Grasshopper doesn’t provide first-party hardware.

For this round of Grasshopper vs RingCentral, the latter beat the former in its hardware offerings. The options include:

• Poly, Unify, Cisco, Yealink, Polycom, and Avaya IP desk phones
• Poly Rove and Yealink cordless VoIP phones
• Unify, Polycom, Avaya, Cisco, and Yealink receptionist IP phones
• Poly Trio, Polycom Trio, and Yealink conference phones
• Poly, Jabra, and Yealink headsets

The plug-and-play IP desk phones cost $100 to $600, while the conference phones can go up to $1,200. While Grasshopper supports third-party hardware, you’ll save more money with RingCentral devices’ bundle discounts.

Best RingCentral & Grasshopper Alternatives

Although RingCentral and Grasshopper are top choices for a VoIP platform, there are many more options on the market to select from to fit your needs. Perhaps you’re looking for a solution with more advanced unified communications features or a lower price point for your small team. Consider these Grasshopper and RingCentral alternatives:

• 8×8: This VoIP solution is cheaper than RingCentral and Grasshopper. Its basic plan costs $15 a month, per user. While affordable, it has a rich feature set, especially in call handling and management. It supports calls, messaging, and video meetings. Read our extensive review on 8×8.
• Vonage: This phone system packs several features, as it has unified communications capabilities, like RingCentral. Its most basic plan includes unlimited calls and SMS. The video conference can host up to 100 people and is available on its $29.99 Premium plan, slightly more expensive than RingCentral’s Standard plan. To know more about this VoIP solution, see this Vonage review.
• Google Voice: An ideal solution for solopreneurs, this platform allows you to get a free local business number for inbound and outbound calls, voicemails, and texts. If you’re eyeing this platform, let this Google Voice review help decide.

How We Evaluated RingCentral vs Grasshopper

To provide a comprehensive evaluation of Grasshopper vs RingCentral and help you decide which one’s better for your business, we looked at different important criteria points.

Here’s a complete breakdown of these factors:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I port my existing number to Grasshopper & RingCentral?

Yes, it’s possible to port existing numbers to the VoIP systems. For Grasshopper, there’s no cost for transferring numbers within the vendor’s coverage area. However, if the numbers are not in their coverage area, you need to order a new local number. Meanwhile, RingCentral shoulders the cost of number porting.

Which provider is more reliable: Grasshopper vs RingCentral?

Both providers offer a 99.999% uptime guarantee in their service level agreement (SLA). This equates to less than 26 seconds of downtime a month.

Do you need a VoIP phone to use Grasshopper & RingCentral?

No, these VoIP systems can be used over web-based softphone applications. Even without a dedicated VoIP phone, you can access Grasshopper and RingCentral on your desktop and mobile as long as you have the software and a reliable internet connection.

Bottom Line

The answer to the question, which is better: Grasshopper vs RingCentral, largely depends on your unique business requirements. In general, Grasshopper is the better option for a small team that only needs basic calling and texting features. Without the extra features found in other business phone systems, you save more in the long run and allow team members to become familiar with the platform quickly.

On the other hand, choose RingCentral for dealing with a high call volume to take advantage of the advanced call management features. The platform is also ideal when you want a VoIP system that supports other communication channels, including team messaging and video meetings. Explore more business phone systems available in the market today.