RingCentral and Vonage are both leading business phone service providers. When comparing the two solutions, RingCentral provides more robust features, especially for call handling and video conferencing, and offers far more integrations. However, Vonage wins in this comparison because of its more affordable plans and customizable features.
After careful review, the best use cases for Vonage vs RingCentral are as follows:
- RingCentral: Best for businesses that want a unified communications (UC) voice, text, and video conferencing solution with the most advanced features and integrations.
- Vonage: Best for small businesses that want an affordable unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solution that allows users to choose from a suite of features, like advanced call handling and artificial intelligence.
Fit Small Business (FSB) is an authoritative voice for technology advice because of its commitment to providing the best answer to small business owners. We do this by upholding rigorous editorial standards and collaborating across teams to gather the best providers, services, and solutions.
I compiled information on each provider in this article and assessed them using our six-part evaluation criteria. To learn more about how I compared RingCentral vs Vonage, visit the methodology section at the end of this article.
Vonage vs RingCentral At A Glance
Vonage vs RingCentral Pricing & Features |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Our Score out of 5 | 4.14 out of 5 | 4.10 out of 5 |
Monthly Starting Price | $19.99 per line | $30 per user |
Free Trial | ✓ | ✓ |
Unlimited Domestic Calling | ✓ | ✓ |
Team Messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
Video Conferencing | ✓ | ✓ |
Integrations | 20+ Integrations & APIs | 400+ Third-party Integrations |
99.999% | 99.999% | |
Customer Support | 24/7 chat & extended phone support | 24/7 chat & phone support |
Learn More |
Best Alternatives to RingCentral & Vonage
RingCentral vs Vonage is a competition between two of the best business phone systems offering call management and UC features. However, they only provide a 200-participant video conferencing capacity and lack unmetered international calling.
If you’re looking for a VoIP phone system with expansive video capacity, unlimited international calling, or a straightforward phone system, click the tabs for the best alternatives to these providers.
Best for Pricing: Vonage
Vonage vs RingCentral | | |
|---|---|---|
Our Pricing Rating out of 5 | 5 out of 5 | 3.13 out of 5 |
Free Trial | ✓ | ✓ |
Monthly Starting Price |
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Annual Starting Price |
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Pricing Structure | Per-line pricing is based on one to four users and excludes taxes and fees. | Per-user pricing is based on one to 20 users. |
Vonage wins out in pricing because its plans are more budget-friendly and start at just $19.99 per user a month. In contrast, RingCentral’s base plan starts at $30, which is comparable to the price of Vonage’s second-tier plan. However, it’s not a direct comparison, as users get more valuable features and functionality on RingCentral’s plans.
For example, both providers offer unlimited domestic calls in the US, but RingCentral covers the US and Canada. Additionally, many UCaaS features, like video conferencing and team messaging, that RingCentral offers on its base plan are only offered on the highest-tier Vonage Plans. In contrast, Vonage provides more of its services as add-on features.
Many businesses appreciate Vonage’s a la carte pricing options despite the head-to-head value difference. Instead of forcing you to pay a premium for features your business might not need, such as toll-free numbers, call recording, visual voicemail, and upgraded tech support, Vonage provides low-cost plans with optional add-on features.
Best for UCaaS Features: RingCentral
RingCentral vs Vonage | | |
|---|---|---|
Our General Features Rating out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 | 4.38 out of 5 |
Domestic Calling | Unlimited | Unlimited |
SMS Messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
Video Conferencing | Core & Advanced: Up to 100 participants Ultra: Up to 200 participants | Premium & Advanced Plans: Up to 200 participants |
Team Messaging | Available across plans | Available on the Premium and Advanced plans |
✓ | ✓ | |
Call Queues | Available across plans | Add-on feature |
Call Routing | ✓ | ✓ |
Visual Voicemail | Available across plans | Available on the Advanced plan |
Both providers offer essential UCaaS communication channels, including business voice calling, texting, audio conferencing, video conferencing, team messaging, and faxing. However, RingCentral beats Vonage in this category because it provides better call handling and phone system management features.
Each plan offers multi-level IVR, call queues, and visual voicemail. RingCentral plans also allow you to assign extensions. Additionally, while RingCentral provides video conferencing and team messaging across plans, Vonage only offers it on its highest-tier plans.
Although Vonage offers fewer UCaaS features than RingCentral, it still delivers beyond the essentials. Vonage users get SMS and MMS messaging, on-demand call recording, advanced call routing, and virtual receptionist features. However, RingCentral offers many of the same features, so it still wins in this category.
Best for Advanced Features: RingCentral
RingCentral vs Vonage | | |
|---|---|---|
Our Advanced Features Rating out of 5 | 4.25 out of 5 | 2.75 out of 5 |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistance | ✓ | ✓ |
Sentiment Analysis | ✓ | ✓ |
Third-party Integrations | 400+ Third-party Integrations | 20+ Integrations & APIs |
Live Transcription | Available across plans | Add-on feature |
Vonage and RingCentral provide advanced AI features and support for third-party applications. However, RingCentral delivers over 400 integrations and AI assistance across all its plans. In contrast, Vonage users can only access artificial intelligence features with the AI Studio plan. Click on the tabs to compare how they perform in this area.
RingCentral provides an AI assistant with all of its RingEX plans. The assistant takes notes, provides closed captioning, and creates video highlights for audio and video calls. The Ultra plan also includes AI assistance with drafting and translating SMS or chat messages to improve communication between team members.
RingCentral’s AI assistant can improve your messaging with tone suggestions. (Source: RingCentral)
In comparison, the AI virtual assistant in Vonage’s business phone system streamlines workflows and facilitates conversations without human interaction. The virtual assistant can answer calls and route them to a live agent when necessary. However, users must program their agent with the AI Studio or pay a monthly fee of $1,000 to work with an expert developer.
Use agent templates to build a bot in the Vonage AI Studio. (Source: Vonage)
Overall, Vonage AI is best for businesses looking to implement a virtual assistant for workflow automation, such as routing calls or answering questions. In contrast, RingCentral’s AI assistant serves as a helpful companion to improve collaboration and communication within a team.
When considering the adoption of AI, it’s important to evaluate your business needs and how you plan to use this technology before choosing a provider.
Both Vonage and RingCentral offer sentiment analysis as an add-on feature. For RingCentral, sentiment analysis is included with conversational intelligence or RingSense, a feature you can add to any RingEX plan to analyze customer interactions or other forms of business communication.
Use sentiment analysis to assess the energy and emotion of your calls. (Source: RingCentral)
Like most of Vonage’s AI features, sentiment analysis is accessible by programming a bot to analyze conversations and customer interactions. You can also program the bot to route your calls to specific agents or voice mailboxes based on the sentiments and emotions of the caller.
When it comes to integrations, RingCentral is the leading VoIP solution, not just compared to Vonage but also compared to most VoIP and UCaaS providers. Businesses can connect RingCentral to over 400 applications, ranging from customer relationship managers (CRMs) to customer support tools to analytics software.
Easily integrate with popular CRMs and file-sharing services. (Source: RingCentral)
While Vonage doesn’t offer the massive app gallery that RingCentral does, it still provides top-notch integrations with leading business applications. These applications include Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, HubSpot, Zapier, and Zendesk. In addition, Zapier can be used to facilitate thousands of integrations.
Access integrations with the Vonage mobile application. (Source: Vonage)
Check out Vonage’s UC integrations and RingCentral’s App Gallery, published by each provider, to ensure they connect with the apps your business or industry relies on.
RingCentral offers live transcription for both audio and video calls, with AI-generated meeting summaries and call notes for virtual meetings. Specifically, this feature converts speech or audio into a text document, creating detailed reports of discussions, with keywords, dates, action items, and takeaways.
RingCentral’s AI Assistant generates meeting notes and transcripts. (Source: RingCentral)
Vonage also offers live captions and call transcription, but it requires setting up an application programming interface (API) to access these features. For example, the Live Captions API can be programmed to caption audio streams in multiple languages. Users with access to on-demand call recording can also configure their service to transcribe calls, but these features are not as accessible as RingCentral’s AI assistant.
Best for Ease of Use: Tie
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Our Score: 4.38 out of 5 | |
Vonage users enjoy a simple, clean interface across mobile and desktop applications but will need to navigate APIs to configure advanced features. | RingCentral has a modern user interface, but the abundance of features and onboarding process can be overwhelming. |
Vonage and RingCentral are tied for ease of use, with both platforms offering user-friendly features with some advantages and disadvantages for small business owners. One of the advantages of using Vonage is the simplicity of its interface. Users find the applications easy to navigate, and Vonage provides the documentation needed to support its customers.
Using the Vonage knowledge base, you can learn what you need to get started, such as managing the Vonage business phone system, features, settings, and technical support. But, one of the disadvantages of Vonage is the inclusion of add-on features that require user configuration.
Visit the admin portal for video tutorials and additional support. (Source: Vonage)
For example, the Vonage AI Studio provides a low-code platform to create and integrate artificial intelligence features, like virtual agents. While some users might enjoy developing their own AI agent, others can have difficulty accessing these features without additional assistance, which can be prohibitive.
RingCentral also provides a modern, easy-to-use interface. However, users have noted that navigating the platform can take some time. Additionally, RingCentral has a steep learning curve, and some users struggle with the wide range of tools and features they need to explore and configure.
Learn how to navigate the admin portal with knowledge base resources. (Source: RingCentral)
For users who need more assistance learning how to navigate these features, RingCentral University offers a knowledge base that houses documentation for basic and advanced features, which is broken down for general users and administrators. Additionally, RingCentral provides express onboarding resources and assistance.
Best for Customer Support: RingCentral
RingCentral vs Vonage | | |
|---|---|---|
Our Customer Support Rating out of 5 | 5 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 |
Phone | 24/7 phone support | Extended phone support |
Live Chat | ✓ | ✓ |
Email | ✓ | ✓ |
Knowledge Base | ✓ | ✓ |
RingCentral and Vonage offer extensive customer support features, including live chat, phone, email, and community resources. However, RingCentral has a slight edge by offering 24/7 phone and chat support for troubleshooting urgent issues. RingCentral users with complex problems that are not sensitive also have the option to use its ticketing system and file a case online.
For Vonage users, Vee, the virtual assistant, is always available to answer questions about your plan. You can also send a support ticket through your account or call customer service from Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 12 AM, and Saturday to Sunday, 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern Time (EDT). In case of emergencies, support is available outside of these hours.
Both Vonage and RingCentral provide a comprehensive knowledge base with video tutorials, downloadable resources, and articles organized by support topic. Additionally, users can help each other by posting and responding to questions in the Vonage Business Cloud Community or the RingCentral community forums.
Expert Choice: Vonage
Vonage vs RingCentral | | |
|---|---|---|
Rating out of 5 | 4.06 out of 5 | 3.75 out of 5 |
Standout Features | Vonage offers phone number porting, call handling, advanced call routing, and virtual receptionist. | RingCentral provides AI assistance, unlimited storage, hotdesking, team messaging, and real-time analytics. |
User Reviews | 4.0 average | 3.6 average |
Read Our Review |
Although Vonage and RingCentral provide excellent VoIP services for small business owners, Vonage wins the expert score because of a few essential differences. Specifically, Vonage and RingCentral differ in price, features, and popular reviews. For example, RingCentral is significantly more expensive than Vonage, which can be prohibitive to budget-conscious business owners.
When it comes to features, RingCentral includes essential VoIP features, like call queues and virtual extensions, on the base plan. However, these features are paid add-ons for Vonage plans. Consequently, as your business grows or if you need to add features, you may pay more with Vonage over time.
These differences are also reflected in the user reviews. Although users critique Vonage’s lack of features on the base plan, they also give it more favorable reviews than RingCentral for its pricing. Small business owners also tend to critique RingCentral because it is more expensive than competitors.
Therefore, I recommend Vonage for solopreneurs or small teams interested in creating a custom business phone system and saving money on up-front costs. But, if you need robust VoIP features and advanced artificial intelligence, RingCentral is a better option.
Methodology: How I Evaluated Vonage vs RingCentral
In this comparison, I looked at the key features of a cloud-based communications system, specifically pricing, features, ease of use, and customer support. Then, I compared how Vonage and RingCentral performed in these categories to help determine the best option for your small business.
Here’s a complete breakdown of these factors:
20% of Overall Score
I compared each pricing tier and the value for money of each option. Then, I confirmed whether the provider offered free trials and annual discounts, giving more points to those who offered both.
25% of Overall Score
I analyzed the UCaaS solutions of both phone systems to see if they provide fundamental features like unlimited domestic calling, automated attendant, call queue, audio and video conferencing, and voicemail transcriptions.
20% of Overall Score
Integrations and artificial intelligence (AI) are crucial to a company’s tech stack. Therefore, I considered AI features like live transcription, meeting summaries, and sentiment analysis. Then, I recorded the number and type of integrations to determine which provider integrates best with other third-party software.
10% of Overall Score
Each provider was assessed based on how user-friendly the mobile and desktop interface is to users of varying technical skills. I also analyzed whether onboarding or access to advanced features required assistance or if users could set up and operate the phone system independently.
10% of Overall Score
I analyzed the capacity and quality of user support, such as customer service features, community forums, and knowledge base accessibility. More points were given for 24/7 support offered across plans, compared to providers with priority support packages for an additional cost.
15% of Overall Score
I utilized product demos, events, and hands-on experience to evaluate the user interface for each platform. Then, I reviewed the setup process to see which is faster and simpler to get up and running. Finally, I analyzed user reviews and evaluated the features and pricing based on their value to small business owners.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
RingCentral has multiple competitors, depending on the arena of competition. For international calling and front-desk support, 8×8 is a top competitor, while Dialpad and Nextiva stand out for customer experience and artificial intelligence features. Additionally, Vonage is a budget-friendly RingCentral competitor for small businesses.
Vonage is often used by individuals who want a mix-and-match business phone system with customizable features. This platform is also more affordable than other VoIP phone services, allowing business owners to integrate communication APIs into their phone systems. As a result, Vonage is an excellent option for solopreneurs and small teams.
VoIP is often cheaper than a landline phone because it reduces the cost of implementing a business phone system. While landlines require physical set-up, maintenance, and hardware purchases, you can use a VoIP phone service with any device that connects to the internet. Therefore, many business owners can save money by switching to a VoIP phone provider.
Bottom Line
The competition between Vonage vs RingCentral was a close call, but Vonage won out because of its budget-friendly pricing and customizable features. However, those in need of more extensive third-party integrations and advanced UCaaS features are better off choosing RingCentral.