RingCentral alternatives: 10 better options for small businesses

Are you thinking of using RingCentral as a phone solution but weighing your options? Or are you a current RingCentral customer and ready to move on?

In this article, we’ll share ten popular RingCentral alternatives. But first, let’s look at some of the most common reasons businesses move on from RingCentral.

Why most businesses go with RingCentral alternatives

RingCentral supports many must-have cloud-based phone system features. The platform is optimized for professional use, from basic call management and text messaging to an AI contact center add-on that helps teams provide customer support.

However, this legacy phone solution isn’t the best option for growing teams.

Here’s why:

1. RingCentral pricing adds up

The cost of RingCentral is on the pricier side when it comes to business phone systems. Here’s a breakdown:

• Core: $20 per user per month for unlimited calls in the US and Canada and business SMS and MMS
• Advanced: $25 per user per month to access video meetings, unlimited internet fax, automatic call recording, and CRM integrations
• Ultra: $35 per user per month to unlock unlimited storage and device analytics

If you’re weighing the pros and cons of RingCentral, keep in mind RingCentral has separate plans for contact centers, events, video meetings, and conversational intelligence. 

2. Texting creates bottlenecks instead of solutions

With RingCentral, your team can’t share responsibility for incoming text messages from a shared number. This delays your ability to quickly answer customers’ questions and address their concerns.

You’ll also have a set number of business SMS/MMS messages per user.

In the US, your monthly limit is:

• Core: 25 texts per user
• Advanced: 100 texts per user
• Ultra: 200 texts per user

Expect to pay extra if you exceed your plan’s limit (which applies to inbound and outbound messages). You could try to offset the costs by prepaying for text message bundles, which cost an unspecified amount after you sign up.

Customers also report RingCentral TCR registration taking months to get approved in some cases — preventing them from being able to text at all.

3. User experience falls short

RingCentral launched 26 years ago, and it’s kept the user interface and aesthetic of early 2000s web products.

User reviews say it’s clunky and hard to use, which means you may end up wasting money on a service nobody uses. One user cited:

4. Shared numbers are limited

With RingCentral, you can’t tell when someone else is sending a text message or which customer they’re talking to during an active call, which means you may accidentally reach out to the same client twice.

Some of RingCentral’s best alternatives — like OpenPhone — let you see when a colleague is viewing a conversation, typing, or on a call.

This allows you to manage a shared phone number inbox as a team.

5. Best features are locked behind expensive plans

Critical features like advanced call monitoring and handling, AI assistance in writing SMS messages, and unlimited file storage (if you plan on recording calls with RingCentral) are locked behind RingCentral’s higher-tier price plans.

If you want to use the RingCentral Salesforce integration (or another CRM), you’ll have to sign up for the Advanced plan (which starts at $25 per user per month).

6. Unresponsive support compared to RingCentral alternatives

Due to its size, RingCentral’s customer support team can’t effectively support all its customers. Public reviews say it can take days to get a response from the support team.

Here’s an example of how some customers feel about RingCentral’s support:

Still have questions? Find out more about how RingCentral works (and if it will work for your business).

What are the best RingCentral alternatives? 

Many RingCentral alternatives offer more features that will help your business scale. 

Here’s how each compare at a glance:

1. OpenPhone: Best RingCentral alternative for small businesses

Pros

• Unlimited SMS and MMS to the US and Canada
• Available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and the web
• Local, toll-free, and vanity numbers are available
• Integrations with 7,000+ third-party apps, including HubSpot and Salesforce
• Shared phone numbers

Cons

• No verification through two-factor authentication*

*Nearly all virtual phone numbers share this problem. Companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google rarely let you authenticate accounts through a virtual phone number.

OpenPhone is a business phone system built specifically for growing teams. Our VoIP phone platform offers the same features as RingCentral but with a modern user experience. Plus, you don’t have to worry about having to upgrade due to call recording storage limits or needing to send more than 25 text messages per month.

While RingCentral and OpenPhone offer shared lines for incoming calls, OpenPhone lets your team field incoming texts together. This cuts down on your response time and gives customers the level of service they deserve.

Your team can easily collaborate on text messages or customer follow-ups with internal threads. These comments are only visible to your team and let you easily loop in colleagues and assign tasks. 

Here are a few other ways OpenPhone can help your business grow:

• Business hour settings that let you control when you receive calls
• Crystal-clear audio quality so you never have to ask customers to repeat themselves
• Conditional call forwarding and call routing to help direct customers to the right department or rep
• Browser-based, mobile, and desktop apps that let you use OpenPhone on any device
• Toll-free, Canadian, and US numbers
• Multiple phone numbers tied to one account
• Shared phone numbers for customer support
• Lower international call and text rates compared to traditional providers
• Texting automations like auto-replies, scheduled messages, and snippets that help you save time
• AI call tags automatically tag calls with labels like “Billing issue” for better organization
• Salesforce integration that lets you automatically log call activity 
• Access to the OpenPhone API

How to get a virtual number with OpenPhone

Get a virtual phone number in minutes

Try for free

Getting a new phone number from almost anywhere in the world is a simple process when you choose OpenPhone as your virtual phone number provider. Follow these three steps:

1. Create an account with OpenPhone (when you sign up, you get a free seven-day trial).
2. During signup, choose your city or area code in the US to select your preferred phone number.
3. Once the signup process is complete, you’re all set to use your new virtual phone number!

OpenPhone pricing

If you’re looking for a VoIP provider with transparent rates, OpenPhone’s pricing plans offer three tiers with no annual contracts required:

• Starter: $15 per user per month to access shared numbers with up to 10 teammates, calling and messaging to US and Canadian numbers, scheduled texts, and more 
• Business: $23 per user per month to unlock call transfers, phone menus, HubSpot CRM integration, unlimited teammates on a shared number, and more
• Scale: $35 per user per month for AI call tags, dedicated onboarding, and priority chat and email support

See why thousands of businesses use OpenPhone by signing up for a free seven-day trial.

Learn more about OpenPhone vs RingCentral.

2. Ooma: Best RingCentral alternative for overhead paging support

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Supports toll-free phone numbers
• Virtual receptionists

Cons

• Texting requires an upgrade
• Call recording requires an upgrade
• Shared voicemail inboxes require an upgrade

Ooma is another RingCentral alternative that lets you manage calls through US local or toll-free numbers. With its low-tier plan, you can access a mobile app, virtual receptionists, virtual faxing, and overhead paging support.

You can access these features on Ooma’s base plan but not RingCentral’s:

• Advanced ring groups
• Extension monitoring
• Extensions

Unfortunately, Ooma’s cost-effective plans — which are still far pricier than OpenPhone — come at the cost of useful features. The base plan doesn’t offer texting or call recording at all. You also have to upgrade if you want to call and text using Ooma’s desktop app.

Ooma pricing

Let’s break down Ooma’s pricing plans:

• Essentials: $19.95 per user per month for 100 standard phone features, virtual receptionist, mobile app, and music on hold
• Pro: $24.95 per user per month to unlock text messaging, video conferencing, Ooma’s desktop app for calling, call recording, and analytics
• Pro Plus: $29.95 per user per month to access the Salesforce integration, hot desking, call queuing, and shared voicemail boxes

Learn more about how Ooma compares in the Ooma vs RingCentral guide.

3. Dialpad: Best RingCentral alternative for contact centers

Pros and Cons

Pros

• AI scorecards (requires Contact Center plan)
• Call recording

Cons

• Internet fax (paid add-on)
• Clunky and outdated UI
• Additional phone numbers require an upgrade

Dialpad is a newer business phone solution that was established in 2011 and comes with a clunky and outdated UI. Designed with contact centers in mind, it offers features like live speech-to-text, unlimited calling to the US and Canada, and local number support in 70+ countries.

The base phone plan (Dialpad Connect) gives you access to some features only available on higher-tier plans on RingCentral, such as:

• Call recording
• Internet fax (paid add-on)
• Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 integrations

Just keep in mind that most of Dialpad’s best features (like AI-powered customer service scorecards) are locked behind other plans. You may have to mix and match your options to get the right features for your business. And if you want to buy additional phone numbers, you’ll have to upgrade.

Learn more in our guide comparing Dialpad vs RingCentral.

Dialpad pricing

Dialpad’s pricing plans offer three different options for you to choose from:

• Standard: $15 per user per month for unlimited calling, unlimited AI Meetings for up to 150 participants, SMS, MMS, and team messaging
• Pro: $25 per user per month to unlock 24/7 live agent support, CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, Zoho), and global SMS capabilities (three-user minimum) 
• Enterprise: Custom quote (100-user minimum) for 99.9% uptime, unlimited ring groups, and dial-by-extension

4. Grasshopper: Best RingCentral alternative for multi-digit phone extensions

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Call recording
• Auto-replies to new customers

Cons

• $500 deposit is required to make international calls
• No shared phone numbers
• No third-party integrations except for Skype and Google Voice

Grasshopper is an older VoIP provider that launched in 2003 and is designed to serve small teams and solopreneurs.

It offers several features you can’t get with a base RingCentral plan:

• Phone number extensions (upgrade required on RingCentral)
• Unlimited SMS (unavailable on RingCentral)
• Auto-replies to new customers (unavailable on RingCentral)

But Grasshopper’s platform and user experience are outdated at best. And it lacks many modern business phone features like shared phone numbers, unlimited call recording storage, and integrations (except for Skype and Google Voice). Plus, if you want to make international calls, you’ll have to pay a $500 deposit.

If you can get past the clunky interface, you can get solid features as a solopreneur.

Learn more in our guide comparing Grasshopper vs RingCentral.

Grasshopper pricing

You have three different Grasshopper pricing plans to pick from:

• True Solo: $14 per month for one user, one phone number, and one extension
• Solo Plus: $25 per month for unlimited users, one number, and three extensions
• Small Business: $55 per month for unlimited users, four numbers, and unlimited extensions

5. Nextiva: Best RingCentral alternative for conversational analytics

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Mobile and desktop apps
• Unified digital user inbox

Cons

• Inbound and outbound voice calls require an upgrade
• SMS and MMS support requires an upgrade
• Voicemail transcriptions require an upgrade

Nextiva is a communications company that was launched in 2006. While it offers basic phone features like inbound and outbound voice calls, you’ll have to upgrade to the Core plan ($30 per user per month) to access them. 

Talk to customers on messaging apps like Facebook or WhatsApp? With Nextiva, you can route all your messages to one inbox on the base plan — a feature RingCentral only offers on its Contact Center plans.

With decent basic features, Nextiva is a solid alternative to RingCentral:

• Threaded conversations
• Call log reports
• Desktop app for voice, SMS, video (requires upgrade)

However, Nextiva’s base plan is missing key features like SMS/MMS support and voicemail transcriptions. If you don’t need to call, text, or send images to customers, this isn’t a bad alternative.

Nextiva pricing

You can choose from four different Nextiva pricing plans:

• Digital: $20 per user per month for unlimited internet fax, auto-attendant, and 24/7 support
• Core: $30 per user per month to unlock SMS/MMS, CRM integrations, and voicemail transcriptions
• Engage: $40 per user per month to unlock unlimited call recording, unlimited video meetings, and Microsoft Teams integration
• Power Suite: $60 per user per month for the inbound sales and service call center, priority and skills-based routing, supervisor dashboard, and ACD callback

Learn more about how these two platforms stack up in our RingCentral vs Nextiva guide.

6. Phone.com: Best RingCentral alternative for HIPAA compliance

Pros and Cons

Pros

• HIPAA-compliant voice
• Fax from your phone

Cons

• HIPAA-compliant video requires an upgrade
• Users cite poor customer support
• Only 500 call minutes per user on the base plan

Phone.com is a HIPAA compliant phone system with a user-friendly interface. With the mid-tier plan, medical-related businesses that handle patient medical records can discuss patients’ health-related issues by video.

You’ll also get features that RingCentral’s Core plan lacks:

• Fax from your phone
• Call recording storage for 13 months

However, their customer support isn’t rated highly, with one user citing:

“The service was fine. The customer service is non-existent. I had to change my debit card due to fraud. I can’t update my new payment method! The online form they provide can’t be used. They can’t help via chat. They can’t answer your calls within 30 minutes of being on hold!! I can’t update my payment method, so my account will just close itself for non-payment!!! What a joke of a company!!”

Just know you may be taking a gamble whenever you need to troubleshoot your service. You can also run into hidden fees if you use their base plan, as it only includes 500 call minutes per user per month. After that, you’ll be charged $0.039 per minute.

Phone.com pricing

• Basic users: $15 per user per month for 500 pooled call minutes (shared between users), 50 standard voice features, video recording with 10 participants, and one phone number per account
• Plus users: $22.50 per user per month to unlock unlimited minutes, one phone number per user, video conferencing (with 25 participants, HIPAA Compliant, video recording), and conversational text messaging 
• Pro users: $33.33 per user per month to unlock call recording, call analytics, CRM integrations, and video conferencing (with 100 participants, HiFi transcription, whiteboard, live streaming)

Discover how these two platforms stack up in our Phone.com vs RingCentral guide.

7. Google Voice: Best RingCentral alternative for Google Workspace users

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Unlimited calls to the US 
• Integrates with other Google apps

Cons

• No auto-replies
• No scheduled texts
• Call recording requires an upgrade

Google Voice’s platform is a solid choice for a business phone system, but there’s a catch: you’ll have to pay for a Google Workspace and Voice account. It comes with nearly all the basic features, including:

• Unlimited calls and texts to the US 
• Voicemail to text
• Call recording (requires upgrade)

Unfortunately, Google Voice is missing a few options that many businesses need. For instance, it lacks toll-free phone numbers and texting automation features like auto-replies, scheduled texts, and snippets.

And it only integrates with Google apps like Google Meet, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar, which means you can’t connect the platform with a CRM like HubSpot.

And remember: Google Voice’s free plan wasn’t meant for business use. You won’t get essential business features like call recording, phone menus, and ring groups.

Google Voice pricing

If you’re still interested, Google Voice’s paid plans offer three different options :

• Starter: $10 per user per month for access for up to 10 team members, unlimited calls in the US and Canada, and business SMS 
• Standard: $20 per user per month to unlock ring groups, multi-level auto attendants, and unlimited users 
• Premier: $30 per user per month to unlock advanced reporting and automatic call recording

Don’t forget to budget at least $6 per user per month for Google Workspace.

You can read more about Google Voice vs RingCentral in our guide.

8. Vonage: Best RingCentral alternative for desk phones

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Unlimited domestic calling
• Mobile and desktop apps

Cons

• Simultaneous ring requires an upgrade
• Desk phone support requires an upgrade
• Team messaging requires an upgrade

Vonage was launched in 2001 and is a legacy business phone service. Like RingCentral, Vonage offers pretty basic features on each plan, including:

• A mobile and desktop app
• Unlimited domestic calling and SMS
• Virtual receptionists

But beware: while Vonage for Business does let you connect to a desk phone, you have to upgrade to the Premium plan, which costs $29.99 per user per month. Also, if you want your team to share responsibility for taking incoming calls, simultaneous ring is only available on their highest-tier plan.

You also have to upgrade to the second-most expensive plan just to unlock team messaging, which is a feature OpenPhone provides on its base plan.

Vonage pricing

Vonage’s pricing has three primary subscription plans based on the number of users you have.

Here’s how much you’ll pay if you have a team of four or fewer users:

• Mobile: $19.99 per line per month for voicemail, virtual receptionists, and desktop and mobile apps
• Premium: $29.99 per line per month to access team messaging, desk phone support, CRM integrations, and single sign-on 
• Advanced: $39.99 per line per month to access call recording (15 hours max per month), visual voicemail (with transcriptions), and simultaneous ring

Check out our guide on Vonage vs RingCentral for more info on how these two providers compare.

9. Phonexa: Best RingCentral alternative for outbound sales

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Call recording
• Call scoring to identify coaching opportunities 

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• No shared phone numbers
• Expensive pricing plans

Phonexa is a marketing automation platform that provides tools for businesses operating in the insurance, home services, and healthcare spaces. Its tools help businesses optimize outbound sales campaigns and include a cloud phone system, automated accounting, click tracking, call tracking, and more. 

It’s a cloud-based Private Branch Exchange (PBX) that lets you stay connected to your phone system from anywhere without needing any extra hardware or phone lines installed. Plus, it offers features like call recording and rep scoring to help you identify coaching opportunities so you can make better sales calls. 

However, some users report that the platform’s extensive features have a steep learning curve, and it doesn’t offer shared phone numbers for team collaboration, making it more difficult for reps to work together to solve customer problems.

Phonexa pricing

Phonexa offers four different pricing plans. Each plan provides access to its complete suite of eight tools that charge per usage. The more expensive the plan you choose, the higher the discount you’ll get.

• Lite: $250 per month and a $500 set-up fee for its entire suite of eight tools

• Premium: $500 per month and a $1,000 set-up fee for its entire suite of eight tools,

• Enterprise: $1,000 per month and a $2,000 set-up fee for its entire suite of eight tools

• Custom: Custom quote for its entire suite of eight tools

10. Ringover: Best RingCentral alternative for frequent international calls

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Unlimited calls to 110 destinations
• Local phone numbers available from 43 countries

Cons

• Call groups require an upgrade
• Native integrations require an upgrade
• General blocklist requires an upgrade

Ringover is an AI-driven conversation platform designed for staffing and sales teams. What sets it apart? You can have local numbers from 43 countries and make unlimited calls to 110 destinations on its base plan. Plus, it provides features like phone menus that let callers route themselves to the right person or department, saving your reps time from having to transfer calls.

However, some key features require an upgrade. For example, call groups and native integrations are only available on higher-tier plans. 

Another major limitation is around SMS. If you purchase European numbers through Ringover, you can only send text messages to phone numbers located within that same country. 

Ringover pricing

Ringover offers three different pricing plans for you to choose from:

• Smart: $21 per user per month for unlimited calls to 110 destinations, local numbers from 43 countries, and IVR and call forwarding
• Business: $44 per user per month for local numbers from 65 countries, two integrations, and advanced analytics
• Advanced: $54 per user per month for power dialer, call campaigns, voicemail drop, and three integrations

How we ranked RingCentral alternatives

Here’s how we ranked the best RingCentral alternatives:

1. Reliability: System issues like downtime can hurt your reputation. Over time, it leads to lost customers and directly impacts your bottom line.
2. Value for money: How much does the VoIP system return for each dollar invested? Does it save you enough money by reducing costs or offering better functionality?
3. Budget: Low pricing shouldn’t be the most important thing on your list, but you should avoid hidden fees and excessive costs. 
4. Third-party integrations: We checked for tools commonly used in growing a team’s tech stack since business phone integrations can simplify workflows. 
5. Ease of use: Complex systems can mean increased spending on training the staff. The result could be a lower ROI. 
6. Customer support: Is customer support easy to reach? They should be able to offer quick solutions when you need them most.

What to look for in a RingCentral alternative

Struggling to choose the right RingCentral competitor?

You should make a decision by considering these factors:

1. Collaboration features

The right cloud phone system should serve all your communication needs, including chatting with your coworkers without switching applications.

Be sure your RingCentral alternative comes with usable collaboration tools, including threads, mentions, direct texting, and more. The best phone services give your team the visibility needed so you’re not duplicating any work.

For example, OpenPhone lets you easily see when a teammate is actively replying to a contact over text. 

2. Business and communication tools

Great customer experiences should be prompt, professional, and positive. Your VoIP service should take more work off your plate by letting you set up auto-replies and Zapier workflows.

3. Scalability and cost

You should be able to upgrade your communication solution whenever you’re ready — and not a minute before. If a provider locks essential features behind higher tiers to ‘force’ you to upgrade, you may want to consider an alternative.

4. Ease of use

A steep learning curve can cost you time, money, and effort to get your team up and running. But with an intuitive business phone system, this won’t be an issue.

5. Integrations with your existing tech stack

Get OpenPhone notifications for new voicemail, texts, and missed calls in any Slack channel

The last thing you need is yet another siloed collaboration tool — and you shouldn’t have to pay extra for essential integrations. The best RingCentral alternatives come with the basic connections your business needs and then let you unlock more as you grow.

OpenPhone: The best RingCentral alternative

If you’re looking for a RingCentral alternative, look no further than OpenPhone. 

With OpenPhone, you can upgrade your business communications by making it easier than ever to build relationships with your customers. This means you can access your calls, texts, and team messages in one easy-to-navigate app. Plus, you’ll enjoy all the features your business needs at a low cost — without hidden fees.

Ready to make the switch? Start a free trial of OpenPhone today.

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