Last Updated on January 6, 2025 by Ewen Finser
I signed our company up to RingCentral back in 2023. It’s a fairly easy-to-use platform that integrates well with my Hubspot CRM and Slack channels, but after reading around a bit, I realized how expensive it was compared to other companies, especially for such an unreliable product.
So I thought about leaving and finding an alternative, and that’s when the real problems began.
Trust me, everything you’ve heard about RingCentral’s terrible cancellation policies and poor customer service is true, and that only made the decision to leave that much easier.
With that said, I started to do my research and test out some alternatives. Here are my favorites so far…
The TL;DR:
Provider | Best Value Plan | What I like the most | What I like the least |
TalkRoute | $59 p/m for 10 users | User-friendly call management | Limited international calling options |
Nextiva | $40 p/month/user | Lots of integrations w/ other communication tools | Does too much if you just want a VoIP solution |
GoTo Connect | $34 p/m | Great for international calls | Lack of transparent pricing |
Zoom Phone | $20 p/month/user | Super-cheap Zoom add-on | Lacks advanced call routing features |
8×8 | $40 p/month/user | Strong, reliable coverage | Steeper learning curve for beginners |
Ooma | $25 p/month/user | Excellent call-screening features | Fewer features compared to other options |
Grasshopper | $55 p/m for unlimited users | Most beginner-friendly platform | Limited features |
My Fav RingCentral Alternatives: The Breakdown
1. TalkRoute – Best Value RingCentral Alternative
TalkRoute looks like the best value for money for small teams.
I’ve got my eye on the Pro Plan at $59 per month which includes 10 users. None of that paying a monthly fee for each user business – it’s all included, along with 3 toll-free/local numbers, unlimited extensions, and all the usual VoIP features.
I used the free trial to test it out and found it to be pretty intuitive and a breeze to set up. That’s just what I need given that I’m basically a one-man IT department for my business.
If you’re doing business globally, this might not be the one for you as TalkRoute doesn’t allow outgoing international calls. You can only accept inbound international calls on a local number but not a toll-free one.
Other than that, there’s a lot to like and it’s certainly a strong contender for my company’s RingCentral replacement.
2. Nextiva – Best All-in-One Communication Platform
Nextiva tries to place itself as the ultimate one-stop-communications-shop, with voice, video, and team collaboration tools.
I really like that it integrates well with productivity suites and CRM tools like Salesforce and Zendesk, but there are additional fees involved if you need help setting those up.
Since the best plans for actual inbound and outbound calling cost at least $30 per month, those extra set-up fees make it pretty expensive.
If you want to handle your entire communications from one platform, Nextiva is a good choice, but, honestly, ask yourself:
Do you really need things like reputation management tools and social media integrations when you just want to make and receive calls?
3. Zoom Phone – Best Budget Option
We already use Zoom for remote meetings, so checking out the company’s VoIP solutions seemed like a no-brainer.
Obviously, it integrates well with the core Zoom platform, but there’s a distinct lack of advanced call routing features such as multi-level auto-attendants (one of the features I actually love about RingCentral) and call queue prioritization
I could see this one being a great choice for small businesses, especially as it’s super cheap.
If you’re only likely to make calls within the US and Canada, it’s no more than $15 p/m/user for unlimited calls, while unlimited international calling costs just $20 p/m/user.
Still, it’s a pretty basic platform that works well as a Zoom add-on but not so much as a dedicated business VoIP software.
4. 8×8 – Best for Growing Contact Centers
8×8 is another company that keeps its pricing a secret. You can only figure out how much it’s going to cost if you either do a live chat with a sales rep or request a quote…and then end up dealing with a sales rep anyway.
In the end, I got quoted around $40 p/month/user. That puts it at the steeper end of the price range, though I did find a lot to like.
It’s a very reliable service with good-quality call audio, omnichannel routing and queue management features and a whole bunch of other tools that make it a great one-size-fits-all solution for contact centers and customer service operations.
I ruled it out after getting a demo and seeing that it had a more complex UX than other tools. It works well, but the learning curve is just a little too steep for my team, especially as we’re more concerned with outbound sales than incoming customer support.
That said, if you’re tech-savvy enough, it’s a solid contender.
5. Ooma – Best Call-Screening Features
Ooma’s probably better known for their home phone services, but they also offer a good value-for-money business plan.
Given that they operate in the residential market, it didn’t surprise me that they have excellent call-blocking and screening features that do a better job than at least half the alternatives on this list.
Call quality is excellent (if a bit loud for my preference) and the custom call-routing features likewise deserve top marks.
On the downside, the UX feels a little outdated and there are limited integrations with third-party CRMs, but I did find that it does the basics well, which makes it an appealing choice if you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles.
I think if you’re a small business owner looking for reliable service without the need for advanced integrations, then the combination of affordable pricing and solid call quality might make it the best option for you.
6. Goto Connect – Best for International Calling
GoTo Connect is another tool that is trying to be an all-in-one communications hub, with features for WhatsApp, Messenger, and other apps built into its Connect plan.
If you don’t want all that, you can stick with the phone system, which, like Nextiva, is beginner-friendly and packed with useful features.
It also does a much better job than TalkRoute when it comes to international calls. You can make and receive calls from/to anywhere, with competitive call costs and reliable quality.
At first glance, it’s a great tool, with a deep feature set and better-than-average support.
However…
And this is a BIG HOWEVER– there are two things I don’t like about it:
1. The number of minutes included is small – 1,000 shared across your entire account compared to 10,000 with RingCentral.
2. Lack of transparent pricing – Seriously, try this.
Check out the company’s pricing page and see what happens. In my experience, they flash the pricing on the screen for a split second then get rid of it and add a ‘contact us’ button instead.
Why would anybody do that?
I get that it might just be a bug, but if they’re doing that on their pricing page, how can I trust that there are not going to be other bugs I encounter somewhere down the line?
7. Grasshopper – Best for Beginners
Grasshopper gives TalkRoute a literal run for its money and is another great alternative to RingCentral, with unlimited users and four numbers for $55 p/m.
It’s a fairly simple, no-frills VoIP system that’s very easy to use, making it a great starter solution for a small business investing in VoIP for the first time.
One thing I really like is that it hasn’t yet fully jumped on the AI bandwagon like seemingly every other company out there.
Instead, it focuses on the essentials – transfers, voicemail, forwarding, and custom greetings, plus texting and custom queue management features.
If you need more advanced features, such as auto attendants or call analytics, you’re not going to find them here. So it’s perhaps not a good option for larger teams, but certainly a contender for budget-conscious SMBs looking for an affordable package that offers all the basics in one user-friendly platform.
There’s a free trial too, so you don’t have to commit to anything before seeing if it’s a good fit for your business.
Summing up.
After all that, it seems obvious to me that TalkRoute is the best RingCentral alternative for domestic calls. Whether you’re a small team or a larger operation, there’s no better balance of price, simplicity, and reliability.
Only Grasshopper comes close to beating it in terms of cost and simplicity, but it lacks a lot of features, so TalkRoute is still a winner in my book.
That’s the one I’ll be replacing RingCentral with, but if you need something that’s better for international calling, go with Zoom Phone if you’re an SMB on a budget or perhaps GoTo Connect if you’re a bigger operation.
Would love to get your thoughts on these options. Have you used any of these providers? Maybe there’s a better VoIP provider out there I should check out before I switch to TalkRoute?
Let me know!