RingCentral is a popular VoIP provider that businesses love for its professional call features. However, the company aims its services at midsize companies with hundreds of employees and separate branches. People who run smaller businesses or startups won’t need all of the advanced features—or to pay the higher price.
Anyone looking for the best RingCentral alternatives will appreciate the other offerings on this list. If you need a VoIP provider that’s more affordable and offers more features than a landline, but can’t justify the cost of RingCentral, then check out these options. They’re evaluated according to features, customer support, quality, and cost to ensure you get what you need.
Here’s How We Evaluated These RingCentral Alternatives
When looking at alternatives to RingCentral, ensure you get what you need from the provider instead of cutting corners and getting lackluster service. With that in mind, we evaluated the RingCentral competitors based on six key factors:
- Features
- Customer support
- Cost-efficiency
- Call quality
- Ease of use
- Integration
Features
Features are crucial because you want the services you need to ensure your business seems professional. You may need multiple lines, call waiting, and call forwarding. However, features like text messaging and voicemail transcriptions can streamline your business operations even more.
Customer Support
Switching to a new phone provider involves a learning curve, but having quality customer support can make a difference. You also want to ensure your plan includes customer service for troubleshooting issues that can impact your business.
Cost-efficiency
The primary reason for getting a VoIP provider over traditional service is the price. You want to pay an amount that fits into your budget. However, you need to balance the cost against the features to ensure you get everything from one provider without needing additional services to streamline your business.
Call Quality
A business needs clear methods of communication, so call quality is crucial. You don’t want static or interrupted calls pushing customers away from your company. You also need to know that employees can communicate without interference.
Ease of Use
The best alternative to RingCentral is easy to use, so you can start service and immediately benefit from the features. Needing to take days or weeks to train employees and learn the ins and outs of the system can negatively impact your business’s profitability.
Integration
While VoIP can elevate your business’s efficiency, integrations help even more. You can integrate certain services with tools you already use, like your CRM, Google Docs, Slack, Salesforce, and Zendesk.
Top 9 RingCentral Alternatives You Should Check Out
There are many RingCentral competitors, but they don’t all offer the services you’d get from the original option. With the previous factors in mind, we chose the nine best alternatives that can benefit your business.
Monster VoIP
Monster VoIP is the best alternative to RingCentral because it’s easy to switch your office lines with next-day activation. The team works with your employees to ensure everyone understands the software, including call recording, forwarding, and holding music. You’ll have impressive call clarity and can host video conferences on the same platform.
Monster VoIP also provides dozens of integrations, including HubSpot, Microsoft Office 365, Zoho, and Salesforce. Best of all, when you have an influx of calls, they’re automatically queued to keep customers satisfied while you help others. The ability to send calls directly to free agents decreases that wait time and ensures you’re providing top-notch service to your customers.
Other benefits include 24/7 customer support, an encrypted network so your calls stay private, and the systems can scale on demand – making it an ideal option for both small and large businesses. Additionally, Monster VoIP runs on a large, geo-redundant network – meaning your calls will always be stable with pristine quality and no downtime. To get started with Monster VoIP, click here to see pricing and select your plan.
Dialpad Ai Voice
Dialpad Ai Voice greatly simplifies phone services by using automation in an innovative way. It uses Google Cloud for the utmost security and uptime. You can contact customer service 24/7 if you face an issue, but the platform is very user-friendly. Businesses can do all communication on the platform, including texts, phone calls, and video conferences.
Everyone on your team can access Dialpad Ai Voice through a web browser, ensuring all employees see the same data in terms of contacts, messages, and transcriptions. The features are impressive, and the app integrations continue to grow, so this is a quality VoIP option for a small to midsize business.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper, delivers premium quality at a low price. One downside to the service is that you still need an existing phone line, landline or cell. Once established, you can use the mobile app from your device to manage your call forwarding.
Since Grasshopper offers a free trial, you can try it to see if it provides what you need. It might not be robust enough for your business needs without the ability to use the service to send texts or make video calls. However, for solo entrepreneurs or very small startups, it can effectively bridge the gaps in your team communication.
GoTo Connect
GoTo Connect was one of the biggest names in video conferencing before Zoom blew onto the scene. However, many small businesses still use GoTo Connect for its reliability and quick setup. It offers services like an auto-attendant, call forwarding, and virtual voicemail. You can access the platform through the cloud and via a mobile app.
Customer service is one of this provider’s biggest perks. You can contact them at any time through several outlets, including over the phone, via email, or by submitting a help ticket. The basic plan is affordable and provides what many small businesses need, but you can scale up to higher-tier plans that offer even more features without breaking your budget.
Intermedia
Intermedia is a VoIP provider with several tiers of service, so you can use this plan as a startup and continue to scale as your business grows. It’s easy to set up and use immediately, either on a desktop or mobile app. Features include call transfer, auto-attendant, and hold music. Premium features like call recording and voicemail transcription are basic with Intermedia.
One of the best things about Intermedia is its uptime, advertised as 99.999%, with 24/7 customer support that includes live chat. When you use Intermedia for calls, you can have 200 people in the same group and 100 for video conferences, so this is a product your entire team can use with ease.
Mitel MiCloud Connect
Mitel MiCloud Connect is a Canadian communications company that uses Google Cloud as its foundation. Every plan includes basic features like caller ID, speech recognition, and call routing. You can review all call data from a central dashboard that updates in real time.
The main drawback of Mitel MiCloud Connect is that you can’t price it against the competitors. The company doesn’t post prices online, so you need to contact them directly for information on the package that fits your business.
Nextiva
Nextiva is a big name in the VoIP industry, offering services that rival the video chats and texting of Dialpad Ai Voice. There are different plans meant to integrate with the foundation your business uses, like Microsoft or Google. This integration pulls in contact information and CRM data so you can access all communications in one place.
This service is the closest rival to RingCentral on the essential plan level, but it offers more premium services. However, you’ll pay more for those plans than you would for any RingCentral service, so you need to weigh the benefits against your budget.
Ooma Office
If your business relies on computer access more than phone service, Ooma Office is a good option. You don’t have to sign a contract to start using one of the two affordable plans, so it’s easy to use Ooma Office for your business. Basic features include call transfer, call blocking, and holding music. You can also activate the auto-attendant when you’re unavailable.
For midsize businesses, the upgraded plan includes call recording and voicemail transcription to ensure your company runs efficiently. However, there’s no texting with this service. If you’re using it through your computer anyway, it’s not a big strain to use email instead, but the lack of messaging can be a deal-breaker for business owners on the go.
Vonage Unified Communications
Vonage Unified Communications started in 2001 as a VoIP for residential properties. When it added features for businesses, it started offering the ability to pick and choose your service. This means you can pay a low price for a basic plan or add more features for the most premium option that meets all your business needs.
Options include video conferences, group chats, file sharing, phone calls, and toll-free numbers. However, customer IT support costs extra, so you’ll have to factor that into your budget. If you pay for it, the service includes virus removal and third-party integrations.
Zoom
Zoom gained popularity as a video conferencing platform, but it also has VoIP services. The basic service includes business features like auto-attendants, call recording, and voicemail transcription. However, the platform isn’t very user-friendly. It’s tough to integrate it with other apps, so you might struggle to simplify your communication platforms.
Zoom’s basic plan is more affordable than RingCentral, so it wins over a lot of users based on price alone. That monthly fee also includes security and customer support, so you can confidently use this provider for important business calls. It’s also a benefit that you can have unlimited users on the account for a set price instead of paying per employee.
The Verdict: Which Is the Best Cloud-Based Communications Solution Alternative to RingCentral?
The best alternative to RingCentral is Monster VoIP. It’s affordable and offers all users easy access to the same features to elevate your business. You can contact support 24/7 for help with an issue you encounter. If you need to scale up your features or user base, you can make immediate changes—which also reflects how the service starts, with next-day activation.
The plan is affordable, with a discount for more users and annual billing. You can also add international calls or toll-free rates at a low cost. To make your small business seem more professional, sign up for Monster VoIP and see how this service can benefit your business.
RingCentral Alternatives: FAQs
While the best RingCentral alternative is Monster VoIP, you might still want more information. Check out the answers to these frequently asked questions before you boost your business with VoIP.
What’s the cheapest alternative to RingCentral?
If you want a dedicated plan instead of a pay-as-you-go option, you’ll want to choose Monster VoIP as the cheapest alternative that still offers the features your business needs to maintain a professional appearance. You can build a basic plan through Vonage Unified Communications to keep it affordable, but it likely will not include all the services you need to streamline your workflow.
Do all of these platforms offer training to new customers?
Yes, any time you subscribe to a new service, you’ll get training to ensure you use it properly. There are so many great features in each plan that you want to know you’re using it to its fullest potential.
Do any of these platforms offer free trials or demos?
Some companies, like Dialpad Ai Voice, offer a free trial so you can test the platform with no risk. Other platforms, like Monster VoIP, offer demos for a specified period, giving you a chance to see how the service can improve your business. The trial includes training and access to all features so you know what you need to build a custom plan for your company.
