By S. Lucido-Balestrieri

| 17 Nov 2024

Call Center

Five9 Pricing Breakdown & Plan Comparison for 2024

Five9 promotes itself as “a leader in cloud contact center software,” supporting over 3,000 clients worldwide. But is it really worth the investment?

In this article, we break down Five9’s plan pricing, features, add-ons, and user feedback to help you make the most informed decision if you’re considering this provider’s services.

Key takeaways:

Five9 offers five plans tailored for medium to large businesses, starting at $119 per user/month. The options range from digital-only solutions to comprehensive voice and digital bundles, making it ideal for organizations needing a scalable customer support platform.
Five9 stands out for its omnichannel capabilities, workforce engagement management tools, and AI-driven features. These features help businesses streamline customer interactions across voice, email, SMS, and social channels.
Some notable drawbacks include higher pricing, limitations in integration options, and reported technical issues like call drops and performance slowdowns. Additionally, Five9’s reliance on add-ons for advanced features can increase costs.

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Overview of Five9 Plans & Pricing

Five9’s pricing model charges per user, meaning they set a fixed fee for each person using the service monthly or annually. A per-user subscription lets you scale easily, as you can add or delete users depending on your business needs.

It offers five plans for medium and large businesses, with three available on a quote-based model:

Digital Plan ($119 per user/month): This plan is ideal for companies focusing on digital channels like email, SMS, and social messaging. However, it doesn’t include voice features, so businesses needing calling capabilities should explore other plans.
Core Plan ($119 per user/month): It’s a solid choice for organizations focused on voice-based customer support. It offers inbound and outbound calling along with predictive and power dialers, but without digital channels.
Premium Plan (quote-based): This plan is best for businesses needing a single voice and digital communication channel solution. It includes email but lacks SMS and social messaging.
Optimum Plan (quote-based): It’s a strong option for companies seeking advanced enterprise-level quality management and workforce engagement management (WEM) features.
Ultimate Plan (quote-based): It’s suited for businesses requiring a comprehensive suite of voice, digital, workforce optimization, and analytics tools in one solution. Note that this plan also omits SMS and social messaging.

The table below highlights the key features included in each plan:

5 plans

Feature/Aspect

Annual Pricing

Calling

SMS/MMS

Social Messaging

Mobile/Desktop App

Geo Redundancy

Recording

Predictive Dialer

Power Dialer

Analytics

Workforce Engagement Management (WEM)

24/7 Support

Power Dialer

Pinned

Digital

$119 per user/month

Midsized businesses looking to scale customer support across digital channels.

Core

$119 per user/month

Midsized businesses seeking dedicated, voice-only customer support options.

Premium

Quote-based

Midsized businesses seeking integrated voice and digital channels.

Optimum

Quote-based

Enterprises streamlining contact centers with advanced WEM tools.

Ultimate

Quote-based

Enterprises seeking integrated voice, digital, workforce, and analytics tools.

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Five9 Add-Ons

Aside from its high pricing, Five9 offers a broader range of add-ons than many competitors. We’ll highlight the most relevant features here. Note that pricing isn’t available on their website—you must request a quote. Five9’s add-ons include:

Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA): It uses advanced AI to answer common questions clearly and help customers on both voice and digital channels.
Agent Assist: It provides real-time transcription, guidance, and reminders to agents during customer calls to help them deliver better service.
Digital Outreach: If a call drops or fails, it automatically follows up with customers through email or SMS.
Video Sharing: It lets customers share specific issues through video with an agent.
Social Engagement: It automates responding to brand mentions on social media.
Performance Dashboards: It offers additional analytics and reporting capabilities.
CRM Connectors: It integrates Five9 with popular CRM systems like Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft, Oracle, and Zendesk.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System: It includes speech recognition capabilities.

“Outbound dialing is key to our revenue growth. It gives us that ability, but we can get it elsewhere for 1/3 of the cost.”- Aaron D., Director of Sales at a small business.

CloudTalk vs. Five9: What’s the Better Choice?

Short Overview of CloudTalk’s Plans and Pricing

CloudTalk offers 4 pricing plans, ranging from $25 to $50 per user/month, designed for growing SMBs and global teams seeking advanced voice features at an affordable price. Here’s a breakdown of CloudTalk’s packages:

Starter: It’s a great fit for companies just beginning their operations, small teams with basic communication needs, and businesses working with limited budgets seeking affordable solutions.

Key Features: Unlimited inbound and intracompany calls, Call Flow Designer, Click-to-Call, Voicemail

Price: $25 per user/month
Essential: This plan is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that need more advanced communication features than those offered in the Starter plan. It provides enhanced capabilities without the complexity of larger systems.

Key Features: Callback, SMS/MMS, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Skill-Based Routing, Integrations + Open API.

Price: $30 per user/month
Expert: It’s especially suited for companies with complex call routing needs, businesses handling high call volumes, and organizations that require advanced analytics and reporting.

Key Features: Power Dialer, Smart Dialer, WhatsApp Inbound & Outbound Messages, Call Monitoring, VIP Queues

Price: $50 per user/month
Custom: : The Custom plan is tailored for large enterprises’ contact centers and companies needing tailored reporting, integrations, and premium support.

Key Features: Custom Onboarding, Unlimited Outbound Calls with Flat Rates, Enterprise-Level Security, Developer Support.

Price: Varies based on features, number of users, etc.

“Overall, CloudTalk has been a strategic win for our business. Data-driven insights, a user-friendly interface, and cost efficiency—it’s the trifecta for any call center looking to improve performance.”– Sienna B., Call Center Manager at a midsized company.

CloudTalk vs. Five9: Pricing Comparison

Feature/Aspect

CloudTalk

Five9

Starting Price

$25 per user/month

$119 per user/month

Inbound Calls

Unlimited in all plans

Included in Digital and Custom plans

Mobile Apps (iOS, Android)

International Numbers

160 + countries.

150+ through an external provider

Toll-Free Numbers

From the Essential plan
($30 per user/month)

As an add-on

Integrations

35+, from the Essential plan
($30 per user/month)

6, as an add-on

IVR

From the Essential plan
($30 per user/month)

As an add-on

Power Dialer

Available from Expert plan ($50 per user/month)

Included in all plans except Digital ($119 per user/month)

Smart Dialer

Advanced Analytics

From the Essential plan
($30 per user/month)

Only included in the Ultimate plan
(quote-based)

Social Messaging

WhatsApp Integration

Available from Expert plan ($50 per user/month)

Only in Digital plan ($119 per user/month)

24/7 Support

From the Essential plan
($30 per user/month)

Included in all plans ($119 per user/month)

CloudTalk Vs. Five9: Key Insights

Find below the main takeaways to help you choose between Five9 and CloudTalk:

Pricing: CloudTalk’s entry-level plan is $94 less than Five9’s, making it a more budget-friendly choice for SMBs.
International Numbers: For global businesses or those planning to expand internationally, CloudTalk offers 160, while Five9 provides only 150, accessible via integration with an external provider, Global Call Forwarding.
Sales Dialers: Both CloudTalk and Five9 include Power Dialers, but CloudTalk makes it available starting from the Expert plan at $69 less per user per month than Five9.
Integrations: CloudTalk supports 35 integrations compared to Five9’s six. CloudTalk also includes integrations from its Essential Plan, while in Five9, they are available as an add-on.

“It’s a very simple system to use and set up. We were well-informed of the process and supported from the beginning. The support we received made the system easy to set up and run, all while being affordable within our budgets.”- A user review from G2.

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Five9 Best Features

As we’ve discussed, Five9 offers a wide range of advanced features. However, there are a few that rise above the rest. Five9’s top 3 best features include:

Omnichannel communication: Five9 supports multiple channels, including voice, SMS, email, chat, and social messaging. This makes connecting with customers and leads much easier, as you don’t have to switch applications to contact them.

Workforce Engagement Management tools: Five9 WEM offers precise forecasting and scheduling tools, real-time monitoring, and intraday management. This ensures optimal staffing so suitable agents with the right skills are available when needed.

AI-Powered features: Although they come at an additional cost, they offer advanced AI features such as Intelligent Virtual Agent, real-time transcription, and call summarization.

Five9 Pros & Cons

Based on Five9’s reviews and feedback, here are the main pros and cons:

PROS: 

Ease of use: Many users praise Five9 for being user-friendly and easy to learn. The interface is described as intuitive, allowing agents to quickly become proficient with the system.
Features: Users highly value features like Call Routing, Call Recording, Monitoring, and quality management tools.
Customer support: Many reviews mention positive experiences with Five9’s customer support team, praising their responsiveness and helpfulness in resolving issues.

CONS:

Technical issues: Some users have faced issues such as call drops, login problems, and disconnections.
Performance issues: Some users mention that the system takes time to load and freezes up.
Integration and customization limitations: There are complaints about difficulties syncing Five9 with other systems like Salesforce, leading to duplicate records.

The Ultimate Call Solution for Small Businesses with Big, Global Plans

As the article shows, Five9 is a solid choice for medium and large enterprises seeking a solution with calling and digital features. However, its price range may not suit smaller companies looking to expand globally with advanced voice tools. Additional add-ons can also increase overall Five9’s costs further.

If you’re an SMB looking for a cost-effective option, CloudTalk is your power move — with 35 + integrations, 160 international numbers, advanced analytics, and everything you need to scale up confidently.

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FAQs

Is Five9 a CRM tool?

Five9 is a cloud contact center, not a standalone CRM, but integrates with top CRMs like Salesforce and Zendesk to boost customer interactions and productivity.

Is Five9 HIPAA compliant?

Yes, Five9 is HIPAA-compliant. It protects health data with strict safeguards and enters client agreements to ensure PHI security.

What does Five9 dialer pricing cost for your business?

Five9 includes the dialer feature in the Core Plan ($119/user/month) and the Premium, Optimum, and Ultimate quote-based plans.

How much is the Five9 predictive dialer?

As mentioned above, Five9 includes the predictive dialer in the Core Plan ($119/user/month) and the Premium, Optimum, and Ultimate quote-based plans.

What’s the price of Five9 agent assists feature?

Five9 doesn’t list standalone pricing for its Agent Assist feature, which is offered as an add-on. Contact their support team to confirm current pricing details.

What’s the price of the Five9 IVR feature?

Like other add-ons, Five9 doesn’t specify pricing for its IVR feature—contact support for detailed pricing information.

What’s the cost of the Five9 IVA feature?

As with other add-ons, Five9 doesn’t disclose pricing for its IVA (Intelligent Virtual Agent) feature. Reach out to support for more detailed pricing information.

What’s the price of Five9’s API?

Five9 includes API access in higher-tier plans (Optimum and Ultimate), with costs depending on plan level, usage, and custom integration needs. For specific pricing, contact Five9.

Is Five9 still worth it?

Five9 is ideal for medium-large businesses needing voice and digital features, though its cost may not suit smaller, growth-focused companies.

What is the best Five9 alternative?

The best Five9 alternative is CloudTalk, offering affordable plans,35+ integrations, 160 international numbers, advanced analytics, and scalability for SMBs.

What is Five9’s rate limit?

Five9’s rate limit information isn’t publicly detailed. For specific rate limit details, check their API documentation or contact support.

What things should you keep in mind before committing to Five9?

Consider Five9’s higher starting price, additional costs for add-ons, and whether its features align with your business’s size and growth needs.

How does Five9’s contact center pricing compare to other VoIP providers?

Five9’s pricing for their virtual contact center solution is higher, starting at $119/user, compared to other providers like CloudTalk, which starts at $25/user. Add-ons can further raise costs.