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The 10 best CallHippo alternatives for 2024

CallHippo alternatives

When you’re searching for a business phone solution, CallHippo can be appealing because it caters its plans to specific business needs. One set of plans can support call center features, while another is an everyday phone system — but both have limitations that can hold your business communications back.

We’ll introduce you to 10 CallHippo alternatives that can get you the business phone solution your team needs without hefty add-on costs. Then e’ll explore what CallHippo has to offer, what it doesn’t, and where additional fees apply.

10 best CallHippo alternatives for both contact centers and small businesses

Great cloud phone systems shouldn’t be packed with add-on costs — and many offer features that anyone can use, whether you run a contact center or own a small business. Here are 10 CallHippo alternatives that can help you improve your business communication without making your bill unpredictable.

1. OpenPhone

CallHippo alternatives: OpenPhone

OpenPhone is a business phone system that can help your team scale fast and do more with its time. Every plan includes free calls and texts to US and Canadian numbers — and every user comes with a free US, Canadian, or toll-free number. That way, you can easily scale your phone communication as your team grows. 

If you want to work together as a team or build out a lean contact center, you can also share phone numbers to collaborate on conversations in real time. With shared numbers, your team can work from a shared inbox and be on separate calls at the same time. 

Any team can also speed up their workflow by taking advantage of text message auto-replies and auto-attendants (IVR) in OpenPhone. Call recording, voicemail transcriptions, and integrations with tools like Slack, Zapier, and email come standard with every plan, too.

With an upgrade, you can access features like call transfers, round-robin, and (coming soon!) call monitoring. Our Business plan also unlocks integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Gong to further power up your business communications.

Key features

  • Free calls and texts (SMS and MMS) to US and Canadian numbers
  • One free local (US or Canada) or toll-free number per user
  • Desktop, browser, iOS, and Android apps
  • Shared phone numbers
  • Business hours
  • Auto-attendant (IVR)
  • Auto-replies, snippets, scheduled text messages, and many more time-saving features
  • Voicemail transcriptions and call recordings
  • Integrations with Slack, Zapier, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Gong
  • Call analytics

Pricing

OpenPhone pricing
  • Starter: $15 per user per month
  • Business: $23 per user per month
  • Enterprise: Contact for custom pricing

Sign up for a free trial of OpenPhone for seven days.

2. RingCentral

CallHippo alternatives: RingCentral

A basic RingCentral plan supports a handful of features that small businesses need, including voicemail transcriptions and unlimited calls in the US and Canada. As your team grows, you can use this CallHippo alternative to build a call center without losing out on those features. However, you’ll need to upgrade at least two tiers.

Only Premium and Ultimate plans (starting at $34.99 per user per month) offer access to analytics, CRM integrations, and advanced call handling features like call whispering and monitoring. While this might still offer some savings compared to CallHippo, you can get far better value with other VoIP providers.

If your team needs reliable storage and texts more than a handful of times per month, you should consider other solutions. RingCentral’s Essential plan only includes 25 text messages per user per month — and only stores call history for up to 90 days unless you upgrade to their highest tier subscription. 

Key features

  • Unlimited calls in the US and Canada
  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Call monitoring (upgrade required)

Pricing

CallHippo alternatives: RingCentral pricing
  • Essentials: $19.99 per user per month (max 20 users)*
  • Standard: $27.99 per user per month* for on-demand call recording
  • Premium: $34.99 per user per month* for CRM integrations and advanced call handling
  • Ultimate: $49.99 per user per month* for unlimited storage

*Pricing for teams of 1-20 users

3. CloudTalk

CallHippo alternatives: CloudTalk

CloudTalk is call center software that helps businesses support clients around the world. You can get local numbers and free inbound calls in a large number of countries. Unlimited outbound calls are also available, but you’ll need to upgrade to the most expensive plan and pay a flat fee on top of your subscription.

Compared to CallHippo, CloudTalk has more contact center features that come standard, like caller ID and smart call distribution. However, you miss out on basic features. Unlimited call recording storage, the option to set business hours, and SMS are only available with an upgrade. Even then you’ll still need to pay per text message. There’s also a high price tag on plans that support Salesforce integrations (at least $50 per user per month).

Key features

  • Unlimited inbound calls in the US and Canada (toll-free numbers excluded)
  • CRM integrations (upgrade required)
  • Call monitoring (upgrade required)
  • SMS (upgrade required)

Pricing

CallHippo alternatives: CloudTalk pricing
  • Starter: $25 per user per month
  • Essential: $30 per user per month for text messages and unlimited call recording storage
  • Expert: $50 per user per month for Salesforce integration and call monitoring
  • Custom: Contact for pricing to get custom reports and access to flat-fee outbound calls

4. Nextiva

CallHippo alternatives: Nextiva

If you want a CallHippo alternative that includes video calls with every plan, Nextiva can be a good choice. Nextiva supports unlimited video and phone calls in the US and Canada. However, you do need to upgrade to send texts and record calls.

Other basic phone features are hidden behind upgrades, too. Nextiva bundles call recordings and voicemail transcriptions in their most expensive plans, which come standard with other VoIP phone services.

Key features

  • Unlimited calls in the US and Canada
  • Salesforce and HubSpot integrations (upgrade required)
  • Call recording (upgrade required)
  • SMS & MMS (upgrade required)

Pricing

CallHippo alternatives: Nextiva pricing
  • Essential: $23.95 per user per month*
  • Professional: $27.95 per user per month* for SMS and Salesforce and HubSpot integrations
  • Enterprise: $37.95 per user per month* for call recording and voicemail transcriptions

*Pricing for teams of 1-4. Nextiva charges higher prices for smaller teams.

5. Aircall

CallHippo alternatives: Aircall

Aircall is a cloud-based phone system that includes contact center features like IVR, call queueing, and warm transfers with every plan. Call recording also comes standard, though you’ll need to upgrade to get unlimited storage. Plus, you’ll need to manually request access to recordings that are older than six months — even with the most expensive plan.

With an upgrade, you can unlock even more call center features like Salesforce integration, queue callback, and a Power Dialer feature that lets you dial curated lists of phone numbers with a click. This is great if you’re doing a lot of outreach, but if you’re using a toll-free number, you’ll have to pay for inbound calls. This added cost can make Aircall’s already high costs inaccessible to small businesses or any other team looking to scale cost-effectively.

Key features

  • Unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada (unlimited outbound calls require upgrade; inbound toll-free calls excluded)
  • Call recording (upgrade required for unlimited)
  • Slack, HubSpot, and Zendesk integrations

Pricing

Aircall pricing
  • Essentials: $30 per month per user (minimum three users)
  • Professional: $50 per month per user for a Salesforce integration and unlimited call recording (minimum three users)
  • Custom: Contact for pricing to get API developer support and priority customer support

6. Freshdesk

Freshdesk

Like CallHippo, Freshdesk has a “free” plan. However, that plan doesn’t include a single free phone number or call minute — but with an upgrade, you can access 2,000 free call minutes, warm transfers, and call recording. When you upgrade more, you can access even more call minutes and features like call monitoring, routing automations, and IVR.

While Freshdesk can be a decent CallHippo alternative for some, Freshdesk isn’t free of add-on charges. Call recording, call monitoring, outbound calls, and voicemail transcriptions come with per-minute costs. 

Plus, if you want to use an existing number on Freshdesk to avoid disrupting the customer experience, you’ll need to upgrade and pay phone number porting fees.

Key features

  • 2,000 free inbound call minutes (upgrade required)
  • Call recording (upgrade and per-minute fee required)
  • Call monitoring (upgrade and per-minute fee required)

Pricing

Freshdesk pricing
  • Free: $0 per user per month
  • Growth: $15 per user per month for 2,000 free incoming minutes per month and call recording
  • Pro: $39 per user per month for 3,000 free incoming minutes per month and routing automations
  • Enterprise: $69 per user per month for 5,000 free incoming minutes per month and speech-enabled IVR

7. Google Voice

Google Voice

Using Google Voice as a CallHippo Alternative may seem like a clear choice if you’re already using Google services, like Gmail or Google Docs. Every plan covers unlimited calls and texts (for US users only), and call forwarding and voicemail transcriptions are included, too. However, you’ll need to upgrade to access call recording and ring groups — and beyond that, there aren’t a lot of features that foster collaboration or efficiency. Integrations with third-party business apps outside the Google ecosystem aren’t available, and contact center needs like call monitoring aren’t either.

Google Voice also has an additional fee to keep in mind before you can subscribe to their services. You must have an active Google Workspace subscription (starting at $6 per user per month). 

Key features

  • Unlimited calls to the US and to Canada from the US
  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Call recording (upgrade required)

Pricing

Google Voice pricing
  • Starter: $10 per user per month (max 10 users)
  • Standard: $20 per user per month for ring groups and auto-attendant
  • Premier: $30 per user per month for international locations and automatic call recording

Every plan requires an additional Google Workspace subscription (starting at $6 per user per month).

8. Vonage

Vonage

Vonage is an older CallHippo alternative that lets you connect with a wide range of third-party apps with every plan. For example, contact centers can connect with a speech analytics tool, while small businesses can connect with tools like Slack and Zapier. With an upgrade, you can also connect to CRMs, though an extra add-on fee may be required ($4.99 per month for Vonage’s Salesforce integration).

The Vonage Unified Communications tool itself is pretty bare-bones. You’ll get unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada, but you’ll need to upgrade to the most expensive plan or purchase add-ons for call recording and voicemail transcriptions.

Key features

  • Unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada
  • CRM integrations (upgrade required)
  • Call recording (upgrade or add-on required)

Pricing

Vonage pricing
  • Mobile: $19.99 per line per month*
  • Premium: $29.99 per line per month* for CRM integrations and auto-attendant
  • Advanced: $39.99 per line per month* for on-demand call recording (15 hours) and voicemail transcriptions

*Pricing for teams of 1-4

9. Grasshopper

Grasshopper

Grasshopper isn’t built for contact centers, but it’s a well-known CallHippo alternative for small businesses. Unlike other VoIP providers, it offers the same features with every plan, including unlimited calls in the US and Canada, call forwarding, and voicemail transcriptions. You only need to upgrade if you want more virtual numbers.

Unfortunately, this means there’s no way to access more features by upgrading. Add-on features like call blasting (ring groups) and extra numbers are available for an extra cost, but you’ll still miss out on auto-replies, call recording, and more. 

Keep in mind also you shouldn’t expect anything from Grasshopper’s product roadmap. Since being acquired by LogMeIn, Grasshopper hasn’t released any new features. 

Key features

  • Unlimited calls in the US and Canada
  • Voicemail transcriptions
  • Call blasting (add-on required)

Pricing

Grasshopper pricing
  • Solo: $28 per month for one number and three extensions
  • Partner: $46 per month for three numbers and six extensions
  • Small Business: $80 per month for five numbers and unlimited extensions

10. AVOXI

Avoxi

When you sign up for AVOXI, you can get features like call recording, ring groups, and call routing on every plan. However, its lowest-tier plan isn’t actually free like it’s marketed to be. In fact, every plan requires an additional $9.99 in monthly admin fees — and you’ll need to pay monthly for your phone number and call minutes if you have a “free” plan.

If you upgrade, you can access more features that can benefit small businesses and contact centers alike, including warm transfers, call monitoring, and integrations. However, you can only access 60 days of call recording max, even if you upgrade to the most expensive plan.

Key features

  • Unlimited calls in the US and Canada (upgrade required)
  • Call recording (30-day storage)
  • Business app integrations (upgrade required)

Pricing

Avoxi pricing
  • Launch: $0 per user per month*
  • Contact: $19.99 per user per month (minimum three users)* for unlimited calls in the US and Canada and integrations
  • Engaged Enterprise: $39.99 per user per month (minimum three users)* for queue callback and unlimited data storage

*In addition to fees for calls in the USA and Canada, a monthly $9.99 platform fee applies to every account.

To use the Launch plan, you need to buy a subscription that includes your first phone number and a set number of call minutes. See below for two examples of how pricing can vary based on the area code you want.

Avoxi pricing plans

You can choose one of these subscriptions if you want a local number in the US or Canada:

  • Basic: $7.99 per month for 327 minutes
  • Connect: $16.99 per month for 826 minutes
  • Standard: $25.99 per month for 1,506 minutes
  • Advanced: $43.99 per month for 2,642 minutes
  • Premium: $70.99 per month for 4,862 minutes
Avoxi subscriptions

These subscriptions are available for toll-free numbers in the US and Canada (Basic plan unavailable for 800 numbers):

  • Connect: $16.99 per month for 762 minutes
  • Standard: $25.99 per month for 1,332 minutes
  • Advanced: $43.99 per month for 2,361 minutes
  • Premium: $70.99 per month for 4,213 minutes

Why businesses use CallHippo alternatives

CallHippo alternatives: CallHippo dashboard

CallHippo offers its business phone system based on two different use cases — a call center solution and an office phone system. However, there’s no way to combine the best features of each into one powerful plan.

As the name suggests, CallHippo’s call center solution is designed for large contact centers that make a lot of calls and send bulk texts. However, while sales and customer support teams can use this solution to access more call routing features and take more than one call at a time, they can’t get unlimited call minutes. 

CallHippo alternatives: CallHippo’s payment plans

Per-minute fees can quickly add up despite the call center solution’s lower starting prices.

The $0 basic call center plan they share on their site also isn’t free. You have to pay at least $8 per number per month to access their bare bones base plan that includes call forwarding and click to call

Here are some of the key features you get access to on their higher tier plans:

  • Basic: $0 per user per month (plus phone number fees starting at $8 each per month)
  • Bronze: $16 per user per month for paid call recording and business hour settings
  • Silver: $24 per user per month for free, downloadable call recordings and call queuing
  • Platinum: $40 per user per month for call whisper and warm transfer

On the other hand, CallHippo’s office phone system — which is more tailored to small businesses — includes unlimited calling in the US and Canada, but there are strict limits to the number of users you can have on your team. For example, you can only have up to 10 users on their least expensive plan ($30 per user per month). Plus, routing features aren’t advanced at all.

CallHippo alternatives: CallHippo subscription

The office phone system also comes with higher price tags:

  • Starter: $30 per user per month (max 10 users)
  • Professional: $38 per user per month for unlimited call history and free call recording (max 50 users)
  • Ultimate: $42 per user per month for custom greetings and phone support (max 50 users)

The Ultimate plan — the most expensive CallHippo subscription — is the only office phone system plan that supports custom integrations.

Whether you choose the call center software or office phone system, you won’t be able to send and receive videos, pictures, and other files over text. MMS isn’t supported at all. You need to upgrade for basic call recording features, too. Plus, lots of costly add-ons are needed for features that other service providers offer for free.

CallHippo alternatives: CallHippo's add ons

For example, you’ll have to pay:

  • $12 per number per month for custom caller ID (plus a one-time $100 setup fee)
  • $15 per month for SMS services (no MMS)
  • $1.50 per user per month for voicemail transcriptions
  • $25 per account per month for call tracking insights
  • $15 per user per month to give users access to the web app
  • $15 per month for transcriptions of recorded calls

The bottom line on CallHippo

There are more effective virtual phone systems than CallHippo that can help you avoid dozens of extra fees every month.

The best CallHippo alternative: OpenPhone

OpenPhone mobile app

There are a number of CallHippo alternatives that can help you avoid expensive add-ons for basic features. However, if you want a combination of the best features that call center software and small business phone systems have to offer, many VoIP providers require you to upgrade to their most expensive plans.

With OpenPhone, you can easily access features that every team needs. Shared phone numbers — which let your team collaborate and more easily have the context they need — are available with every plan. Automations, on-demand call recording, and many integrations are included, too. You’ll only need to upgrade as your team scales and you want to unlock more integrations and advanced features. Try out OpenPhone for yourself or with a handful of your teammates by signing up for a free, seven-day trial.

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