Skip to content

Grasshopper vs Phone.com: How do these phone systems compare?

Grasshopper vs Phone.com

You’ve thought of finding the phone system that’ll work best for your team. The problem is, there are a ton of options to choose from and not very much guidance to help you make a sound decision.

If Phone.com and Grasshopper are on your shortlist,  this guide can help you break down the difference between these two options. What are their strengths? What features set them apart? We answer these questions and more in this Grasshopper vs. Phone.com guide. 📝

Plus, find out the Grasshopper and Phone.com alternative that might work better for you and your team depending on the non-negotiable features you’re looking for. 

Switch to OpenPhone: The best Grasshopper and Phone.com alternative

get a business phone number with OpenPhone

1. Pricing: Which option delivers more value?

Winner: Grasshopper

At a glance, both Grasshopper and Phone.com’s pricing can be a lot to take in. While they do offer a variety of options to meet your business needs, it can be confusing if you’re looking for more straightforward phone plans. 

Grasshopper pricing

Grasshopper’s pricing depends on how many numbers you have. Their lowest tier plan is $28 per month and gives you one phone number with three extensions. You can get five numbers for $80 per month. If you want to add more phone numbers that exceed your team’s user count, you’re looking at an additional $10 per number per month. That’s a lot of extra fees. 

Grasshopper vs Phone.com: Phone.com pricing

Phone.com’s basic plan ($12.99 per user per month) offers 300 total minutes and monthly 1000 text segments — meaning when you send a message that’s more than 160 characters it’s broken up into segments. If you need to call or text more than your quota you’ll have to pay overage fees or upgrade. We know, not a lot of functionality or VoIP service for your buck. 

To add, any additional phone numbers are $5 per number per device each month. The complicated Phone.com plans also carry over to their international rates. For example, one area code in Ontario is free while another is 3.9 cents per minute. 

Phone.com’s plans aren’t necessarily designed to scale if your team grows in size or you’re looking for a comprehensive option that won’t limit you by capping video conferencing participants and limiting voice features. On the other hand, Grasshopper is a VoIP business phone service solution that’s tailored for small businesses but with way too many extra fees for what you get. 

2. Features: Which wins out?

Winner: Toss up

At first glance, it might seem like Grasshopper offers a slew of useful phone features depending on which Grasshopper plans you’re eyeing. Yet when you dig a bit deeper you come upon some shortcomings. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

  • There’s no access to call recordings
  • You can’t text someone outside the US or Canada
  • Toll-free and Canadian phone numbers do not support MMS messages
  • Messages and calls are in separate inboxes, making it difficult to add context to conversations
  • Any collaborative phone call features will cost you $10 per month and are only available for up to 15 users on any team
Calling someone in the Phone.com browser app

Now, how does that compare to Phone.com? While Phone.com does offer a lot more features, it still comes with a few noticeable limitations. Much like Grasshopper, Phone.com doesn’t support MMS.

Calls and messages are also in separate inboxes.
If you want to access call recordings, you’re looking at paying extra. Unless of course, you upgrade to their most expensive top-tier plan. In case you want to have a shared phone number on the platform, it’s an extra $5 per month regardless of the plan you choose. 

On top of that, Phone.com users are vocal about major issues with its support team and the in-app experience not being intuitive. Here are a few:

“Recording and using messages and setting up the phone trail is a nightmare.” (Review from Capterra)

“Absolutely NEVER would have chosen Phone.com had we known the hassle this was going to be. No one in their right mind would rationally choose phone.com.”(Review from Capterra)

The winner in the features category differs depending on what features you’re willing to forgo based on your needs. However, with solutions like OpenPhone, you don’t have to give up and settle. 

3. Integrations: What tools connect with each platform?

Winner: Phone.com

Both phone providers also come with their limitations when it comes to integrations. For example, you have to go with Phone.com’s Pro plan to get access to integrations with Zapier, Zoho, and Chrometa. 

Grasshopper, however, only allows call forwarding with other providers like Skype and Google Voice. So if you’re going to need more integration features than that, Grasshopper phones might not be your go-to phone option. 

An alternative option to Grasshopper vs Phone.com: OpenPhone

We’ve highlighted the pricing, integrations, and features of both Phone.com and Grasshopper. However, if those options still don’t fulfill your phone system wishlist there’s a better third option. Enter OpenPhone in all its glory. 

And, hey, we don’t say that lightly. Here’s how OpenPhone tops each platform. 

1. Easily stay up to date on all conversations

With OpenPhone, anyone on your team can move conversations forward and see the complete history of communication between anyone on your team and a contact. Not only that, OpenPhone inboxes include all the messages, calls, and voice messages from a specific number in one place.

Staying in the loop with OpenPhone is easy too. In case you aren’t near the app, you can send voicemail, text, and any missed call notifications to your preferred email address or Slack channel. ✅

2. Get clear pricing upfront

When you’re trying to make the best decision on a business phone solution, the last thing you want to do is spend all your time figuring out how much you’ll actually pay. 

OpenPhone offers transparent pricing so you know how much you’re investing upfront. Once it’s time to scale your phone system as your team grows, you’ll know exactly what costs you’ll incur. 

OpenPhone pricing

Our plans start at just $15 per user per month with free calling and texting to the US and Canada. Any additional numbers that exceed your team’s user count are $5 per number per month. You can also easily check out our international rates here. 

3. Make collaborating with your team on communication effortless

As you saw earlier in this Grasshopper vs Phone.com guide, extra fees apply for shared numbers. With OpenPhone, you can share your phone number on our Starter plan to split responsibility for fielding calls and incoming messages. 

Best of all, the line is never busy. Your team can be on separate calls at the same time. 

Easily collaborate with the rest of your team on external communication and assign tasks using threads and mentions

4. Save time on all your communication tasks

Often, different phone apps will dangle the option of being able to record all your phone calls for additional fees. OpenPhone doesn’t have the same approach.

Instead, you can  record individual calls as you need to and opt to auto-record all the calls that come in once you configure your settings (which is easy to do!)

The best part? Call recording comes with our Starter plan. No need to pay extra on limited voice call options. 

OpenPhone also gives you other ways to save hours over time on your external conversations.  Auto-replies come in handy when you’re handling an influx of calls and you happen to not be available. 

Did you know you can also use snippets? Snippets help you create base responses to repetitive questions and interactions. Thousands of our customers use snippets including marketing, sales, operations, and even customer support teams to respond faster. 

5. OpenPhone is the #1 business phone solution

If you’ve come across OpenPhone before, it’s probably not surprising when we say that our customers — whether they’re small teams or entrepreneurs — love us and have voted us the #1 business phone system on G2. 

Have questions about CRM integrations, local numbers, or anything else? Our customer support team is ready to help and available via text or email.  

All that said, here’s how Grasshopper vs Phone.com vs OpenPhone compare at a glance. 

 OpenPhoneGrasshopperPhone.com
PricingStarts at $15 per month per userStarts at $28 per monthStarts at $12.99 per month per user
Unlimited calling to US & CanadaX
SMS/MMS to US & CanadaLocal numbers only
Voicemail to textRequires upgrade
Set business hours
Additional phone numbers$5 per month per number$10 per number$4.99 per month
Call recordingX$7.99 per month
Shared phone numbersX$5 a month
Auto-attendant (virtual receptionist)
Auto-repliesX
Slack integrationXX
Zapier integrationX
CRM integrationRequires upgradeXRequires upgrade
iOS and Android apps
Browser app
Desktop apps

Grasshopper vs Phone.com vs OpenPhone: Which is best for entrepreneurs and growing teams?

Once you try OpenPhone, it’ll be hard to imagine your team using another desktop or mobile app to send text messages, have access to unlimited minutes, and make international calls. 

Our virtual phone system is flat out simple to ease–meaning easily onboarding your teammates and streamlined communication workflows come with the territory. 

Sign up for your free trial today to learn more about our sophisticated business features.

 

4.8/5 - (5 votes)