Call and Message 160+ Countries With RingCentral Alternative

If you’re not new to the VoIP telephony market, you surely heard of Dialpad. It’s a reliable, unified telephony solution with simple built-in AI, and advanced analytics. A live chat, phone hotline, and knowledge base makes it a great deal for customer support teams. 

Dialpad’s scalability fits both small and large businesses.

What is Dialpad missing?

While offering a Power dialer, it lacks a Smart dialer and a Predictive dialer. The power dialer just works in Salesforce. Unlike the CloudTalk app, the Dialpad app only allows users to only dial manually. 

The Preferred agent feature only works through API. 

Dialpad also lacks a visual flow editor for Call flow designer. Sending SMS outside of the US and Canada isn’t possible, although this feature is soon coming to the UK.

The provider offers a limited integration stack, and Voicemail drop just comes with Dialpad Sell.

How is Dialpad priced?

Paid plans start at just $15 per user per month for the Standard Plan, and you can mix and match different packages. 

The Pro plan is $35 per user per month. 

Pricing for the Enterprise plan is determined on a case-by-case basis. 

Dialpad Conclusion

While having some great calling, performance tracking, and productivity tools, Dialpad only offers one auto dialer. It also has its gaps in sending SMS, which you can only do in the US and Canada. The integration portfolio is not too rich.

Dialpad even offers a free unlimited video calling pack for personal use.

JustCall is a modern call center solution that provides all the basics for small businesses. MMS messaging; SMS automation; call tracking, recording, and monitoring; and integrations with several CRMs and helpdesks come standard with their lowest-tier, $20-per-user-per-month subscription plan.

What makes JustCall unique?

JustCall stands out amongst its competitors in 3 specific areas:

• Auto and predictive dialing,
• telemarketing management,
• apps for desktop and mobile devices.

What is JustCall missing?

Although many useful basic features are available with JustCall’s entry-level package, there are some important ones that are kept behind a paywall. Even if you shell out for their highest-tiered plan, you’ll still have to pay additional fees for the use of call routing and voice transcriptions.

Furthermore, JustCall’s country coverage is quite lacking. They only offer local numbers in 70 countries worldwide, while many of their competitors offer numbers in over 100 — including CloudTalk, which offers numbers in over 160 countries worldwide.

How is JustCall priced?

Justcall’s most basic plan costs $24 per user per month. 

Their intermediate plan costs $48 per user per month, and their most advanced plan requires prospective customers to contact one of their agents for pricing information.

JustCall Conclusion

JustCall is a fine VoIP service for those who are just starting out. Bear in mind, though, that many useful features are kept locked behind a paywall. We recommend having your checkbook at the ready if you decide to use this service.

Grasshopper is often the go-to VoIP solution for smaller businesses looking for call center software to streamline their operations all around the world. But is their business model really as SMB-friendly? Let’s see.

What is Grasshopper missing?

There is a downside to Grasshopper’s simplicity, however, and it’s this: The solution lacks several core VoIP features users may expect, including:

• call recording
• power dialers
• and even click–to–call.

Furthermore, a fair few users complain that the app could benefit from some deeper reporting features.

How is Grasshopper priced?

Grasshopper offers users 3 pricing options for monthly and annual payments, respectively.

1. The Solo plan starts at $29, paid monthly or $26 annually.
2. The Partner plan starts at $49 monthly and $43 annually.
3. Finally, the Small Business option will cost you $89 per month or $80 per year.

Grasshopper Conclusion

Grasshopper is a perfectly viable VoIP call center solution for smaller businesses, with most of its utility coming from its easy-to-navigate interface and a fair selection of key features. However, the trade-off is that you miss out on many more advanced VoIP features, and at a potentially higher price too.

Vonage is among the best-known virtual phone providers in the world. They’ve been in the business for over 20 years and have established an enviable reputation as a market leader

What makes Vonage unique?

With Vonage, you know what you’re getting when you sign up. As arguably the most well-established player in the VoIP space, Vonage offers its customers stability and reliability in business communication.

A lot of great features come standard with Vonage, including phone calls, messages, an auto-attendant, CRM integrations, voice and video conferencing, and call forwarding services. 

What is Vonage missing?

Unfortunately for customers, Vonage has capitalized on its reputation by charging much more for its services than other comparable virtual phone software providers. 

Vonage pricing also includes many hidden fees that make the service far more expensive than expected.

This can be a real downside for small businesses that need to be more discerning about how and where they expend their resources.

How is Vonage priced?

All of Vonage’s plans require prospective customers to contact a Vonage representative in order to receive a pricing quote. 

Vonage Conclusion 

Vonage has achieved legacy status in the virtual phone software industry, and their platform is reliable, easy to use, and effective. However, the company’s basic plans come with limited features, and adding more features to your plan often incurs significant additional costs. 

 However, unless you’re willing to invest a significant amount of resources into your virtual phone software setup, we’d recommend looking elsewhere. 

8×8 is an evergreen telephony solution with a strong focus on integrations and analytics. The provider is well-suited for enterprises, but lower-tier subscriptions also work for smaller organizations.

What is 8×8 missing?

Office is required: You need an office in the location where you want to call in order to get a number from there. 

Geographical restrictions for SMS: You can only use an SMS feature within the US and 8×8 does not cover costs for mobile numbers in Brazil.  

Integrations: 8×8 doesn’t partner with telco companies, which means that users can’t get native integration with certain solutions. For example, Whatsapp. Non-native integrations must be set up by the tech team.

Features: 8×8 is missing some features like call tagging for more efficient calling processes, call masking for protecting your personal information or API for connecting CloudTalk with any tool you love. Automation tools like IVR, skill-based routing or automated callback come only with high-tier plans. You have to pay extra in order to get call recording.

A crucial restriction, mainly for big international companies, is that there are regional constraints on unlimited calling. Users with the basic Express plan can only use unlimited calling in the US and Canada.  

How is 8×8 priced?

The cheapest, Express 8×8 plan starts at $15 for both monthly and annual subscription. Though, it only comes with basic features.

Higher tier plans will cost you from $24 to $44 per month, billed annually, and $28 to $57 billed monthly. These include more advanced features, such as multi-level auto attendant, and data history.

8×8 Conclusion

8×8 shines in analytics and integrations but stays behind in the amount of productivity features. There’s also a lack of flexibility to consider, and a few feature accessibility restrictions that may be dealbreakers for international companies. 

Price is affordable when you only need a basic Express pack, but for more advanced tools, you’ll have to reach deeper into your wallet.

GoTo Connect is a frequent go-to choice for scaling businesses. Let’s take a closer look at this VoIP provider’s offering, examine its strengths and weaknesses, and determine whether it delivers on its promises. 

What makes GoTo Connect unique?

Something every GoTo Connect will appreciate is the free-of-charge onboarding assistance you receive when you first join.

From that point, users can enjoy a strong mobile experience, great predictive dialers, and a reliable selection of knowledge base and training videos.

What is GoTo Connect missing?

One of the first downsides users will notice when using GoTo Connect is the solution’s lack of integrations.

There are a fair few features missing that you can expect to find with other providers, including call notes/tags, call masking, business hours, or even caller ID.

How is Go To Connect priced?

GoTo Connect offers users the choice of 3 plans, their pricing depending on how many agents you decide to onboard. For this comparison, we chose the 2-10 agent option, as it tends to be the most frequently used.

The Basic plan can support up to 20 users and costs $18 for annual and monthly payments alike.

Standard costs $29 regardless of payment frequency and can support unlimited agents.

The same applies to Premium, which will run you $43.

GoTo Connect Conclusion

GoTo Connect offers an approachable VoIP experience – both financially and from an onboarding standpoint. However, the lack of several key features and integrations might be reason enough to consider an alternative.