8×8’s voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) unified communications system is well-known for its international calling advantages, but top 8×8 alternatives might be better for your small business. Other solutions may integrate with your favorite tools, provide better customer support, or offer niche capabilities. You may also want certain features only found on more expensive 8×8 plans, such as a multi-level auto-attendant, at a lower cost.
Based on our research, the best 8×8 alternatives include:
- Nextiva: Best overall 8×8 alternative, and great option for companies wanting plans with professionally recorded greetings, toll-free minutes, and built-in customer relationship management (CRM) tools
- RingCentral: Top 8×8 competitor for organizations looking for a VoIP business phone system with full-featured video conferencing software
- Dialpad: Best 8×8 contender for small teams with fewer than 20 users needing advanced features on a budget
- GoToConnect: Better option for companies making a high volume of international phone calls and that also want to offer toll-free numbers to customers
- Vonage: Most affordable for large teams and best 8×8 alternative for organizations wanting to customize their phone package or develop application programming interfaces (API) integrations
How We Evaluated the Best 8×8 Alternatives
The best 8×8 alternatives offer reliable VoIP services and multi-channel unified communications (UC) features. We examined each competitor by looking at pricing and types of general features. Plus, we considered other in-demand characteristics like high-definition (HD) video conferencing and international calling. Finally, we gave each provider an expert score based on overall features, ease of use, and value.
Nextiva received a score of 4.55 out of 5, making it the best 8×8 alternative. It offers four affordable plans with volume discounts for five or more users. Nextiva supports up to 250 video conferencing participants, and all plans come with toll-free minutes. It’s also the only vendor providing professionally recorded greetings for your auto-attendant. Learn more in our Nextiva review or get started with a no-risk, seven-day free trial.
Here’s a breakdown of how we measured each provider:
25% of Overall Score
We examined the scalability of each vendor and rated those with free trials and cheaper annual pricing higher. We also checked out the per-user costs for each tier, including the availability of discounts for yearly billing.
30% of Overall Score
We confirmed whether 8×8 competitors include unlimited domestic calling and short message service (SMS) texting. VoIP services with meeting recording or uptime service level agreements (SLAs) scored higher, as did those with in-depth analytics and team chat with presence.
25% of Overall Score
We considered mobile applications and international calling features in our comparison. 8×8 competitors with HD video conferencing, internet-protocol (IP) phone connectivity, and mobile applications ranked higher as well.
20% of Overall Score
We calculated our expert score by giving points to services with standout features and better ease of use, based on our own firsthand experience with the product. We also rated the best 8×8 alternatives on overall value for the money, popularity, and user reviews.
*Percentages of overall score
Nextiva: Best Overall 8×8 Alternative
Nextiva
Overall Score: 4.55
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Unlimited internet fax and on-hold music comes with all subscriptions
- 24/7 phone, chat, and email support is standard with all plans
- Built-in task management and customer relationship management (CRM) tools
What’s Missing
- Fewer integrations than other VoIP providers
- Doesn’t offer international phone numbers or unlimited global calling
- Essentials plan has fewer features than other entry-tier packages
How It Compares to 8×8
- All Nextiva packages include toll-free minutes, whereas 8×8 packages don’t come with any.
- 8×8 audio and video conferences can have 500 participants, whereas Nextiva supports up to 250 video attendees but unlimited audio participants.
- Nextiva supplies professionally recorded greetings—8×8 charges for this service.
- Nextiva’s upper-tier plans include sales management features at a lower price than 8×8.
- Nextiva plans with Salesforce and HubSpot integrations cost less than similar 8×8 subscriptions.
Nextiva is the best overall 8×8 alternative because it has tons of standout features. For instance, there’s a Nextiva customer relationship manager (CRM) that can be purchased as an add-on per user, but is also included in upper-tier plans, task management tools, and professionally recorded greetings. Plus, you get unlimited one-to-one video calling beginning in the lowest-tier Essentials plan.
All subscriptions offer a persistent chat space where team members can join spontaneous conversations mimicking in-person experiences. Nextiva also supplies the most toll-free minutes out of all of the best VoIP service providers.
Nextiva’s Professional plan is a good fit for small to mid-sized businesses wanting advanced capabilities, like a multi-tier auto-attendant and the Call Pop feature, which automatically summarizes caller data on your agent’s screen. Select the Enterprise or Ultimate versions to access sales management features, including live sales forecasting and automated follow-up tools.
Nextiva’s upper-tier packages also come with voice analytics and custom reports, which help your company assess and improve customer experiences. However, Nextiva doesn’t offer the cheapest VoIP services.
Dialpad is more budget-friendly for small teams, whereas Vonage is the least expensive plan if you have 20 or more users. You also won’t find unmetered international calling with any Nextiva subscriptions. In this case, check out GoToConnect, as it provides unlimited international calling to 52 countries.
Nextiva Pricing at a Glance*
- Essential: $30.95 per user, per month for unlimited domestic calling within the U.S. and Canada, unlimited one-to-one video calls, unlimited internet fax, 1,500 toll-free minutes, and an auto-attendant
- Professional: $35.95 per user, per month for 3,000 toll-free minutes, 250 video meeting participants, texting, one professionally recorded greeting, and 250 Call Pops
- Enterprise: $45.95 per user, per month for 12,500 toll-free minutes, call and meeting recording, unlimited Call Pops, three professionally recorded greetings, voice analytics, and integrations
- Ultimate: $75.95 per user, per month for three professional greetings, custom reports and dashboards, NextOS customer survey tools, and analytics
*Plan prices are based on one to four users with monthly billing. Nextiva offers yearly prepayment and volume discounts. For an unlimited time, prices for Professional and Enterprise plans with yearly prepayment are $20.95 and $26.95, respectively, regardless of the number of users.
Nextiva Features
Example of a custom analytics dashboard (Source: Nextiva)
- Professional greetings: Deliver an outstanding first impression by uploading your script and choosing from five voice talents. Nextiva records your greeting, provides a file, and uploads the recording to your account.
- NextOS Analytics: Gain insights into employee activity and the customer experience with customizable dashboards, wallboards, and reports. NextOS analytics visualizes survey, CRM, chat, and voice data.
- Nextiva CRM: Keep customer data in front of your agents with Nextiva’s built-in CRM. It supports customer journey mapping, offers a customizable database, and includes real-time data. A built-in CRM reduces your reliance on third-party software, and Nextiva’s CRM goes beyond the less detailed contact databases offered by other VoIP services.
RingCentral: Best 8×8 Alternative for Video Conferencing
RingCentral
Overall Score: 4.50
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Performance reports track more than 30 key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Persistent video meeting featured called Team Huddle
- More integrations than any other provider on our list
What’s Missing
- Doesn’t provide unmetered international calling on any subscriptions
- More expensive than providers like Dialpad
- CRM integrations require higher plan tier subscription
How It Compares to 8×8
- RingCentral supports up to 1,000 audio conference attendees versus 500 with 8×8.
- 8×8 integrates with 58 third-party applications, whereas RingCentral connects to 293.
- Although 8×8 has higher video participant limits than RingCentral, it lacks RingCentral’s presentation modes.
- RingCentral subscriptions include up to 10,000 toll-free minutes—8×8 plans don’t come with any.
RingCentral’s video conferencing software earns a top spot for best video conferencing software because it includes breakout rooms, dial-in numbers, and high definition (HD) quality video and voice. The Team Huddle features provide a persistent video meeting similar to Nextiva’s regular chat space, enabling more natural remote workplace interactions.
Choose phone numbers in more than 100 countries on RingCentral’s Standard, Premium, and Ultimate packages. Premium and Ultimate users can also automatically record calls, integrate with third-party CRMs, and access real-time analytics. Unlike Nextiva’s Essential plan, RingCentral Essentials doesn’t include unlimited fax, and it’s more expensive than the base plan from Dialpad, which comes with 100 inbound and outbound faxes.
RingCentral is scalable, offering four plans and a separate contact center solution (also with four tiers). If your company is growing quickly and you need to handle higher call volumes efficiently, the advanced features can help your business and agents stay on track. Discover more features that might make it the best 8×8 alternative for your business in our RingCentral review.
RingCentral Pricing at a Glance*
- Essentials: $29.99 per user, per month for up to 20 users for unlimited calling and texting within the U.S. and Canada, 100 toll-free minutes, document sharing, team messaging, and visual voicemail
- Standard: $37.99 per user, per month for 1,000 toll-free minutes, unlimited audio conferencing, video meetings with 100 participants, and Google Workspace, Slack, and Microsoft 365 integrations
- Premium: $44.99 per user, per month for 200 video participants, 2,500 toll-free minutes, single sign-on (SSO), real-time analytics, CRM and industry-specific integrations, application programming interfaces (APIs), and hotdesking
- Ultimate: $59.99 per user, per month for 10,000 toll-free minutes, unlimited media storage, and device status reports and alerts
*RingCentral prices are based on two to 20 users with a monthly payment. Volume discounts apply for 100 or more users, and you can save up to 33% with annual billing.
RingCentral Features
Example of a Quality of Service report (Source: RingCentral)
- Video meetings: Choose Standard or higher plan tiers to connect with internal and external collaborators via video. Chat one-on-one or with the group during a meeting, share your screen, or pull up a whiteboard.
- Advanced analytics: Real-time dashboards track call queue trends and agent performance. Look at company number usage, quality of service, abandoned call rate, or average handle time with prebuilt reports.
- Integrations: RingCentral has more integrations than 8×8 and other business phone systems. It connects to CRMs like Salesforce and Zendesk along with industry-specific tools such as Canvas. Integrating your existing software with your VoIP system can increase productivity by improving employee workflows.
Dialpad: Most Budget-friendly 8×8 Alternative for Small Teams
Dialpad
Overall Score: 4.17
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Dialpad’s base plan comes with text messaging, unlike Nextiva
- Offers a developers hub and a sandbox for testing
- Lowest-priced starter plans for small teams when paid annually
What’s Missing
- Integrates with fewer apps than RingCentral
- Single sign-on (SSO) integrations only come with Enterprise plans, requiring a minimum of 100 users
- Restricts video meetings to 10 participants and five hours
How It Compares to 8×8
- A multi-level auto-attendant comes with all Dialpad plans, whereas it’s only available on 8×8 X Series packages.
- Dialpad’s Pro plan comes with integrations and costs $2 less when paid monthly than the 8×8 X2 version.
- Dialpad integrates with LinkedIn and Twitter for meetings, but 8×8 doesn’t.
- Dialpad doesn’t offer unmetered international calling like the 8×8 X Series packages.
If your team has 19 or fewer users, Dialpad’s Basic plan is the cheapest 8×8 alternative, yet it doesn’t skimp on features. For $15 per user, per month with annual billing, Dialpad integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. It also has voicemail transcription, speech coaching, and click-to-call. Similar plans from RingCentral cost $27.99 while GoToConnect charges $26.
Likewise, the mid-tier package costs less than similar plans from Vonage, GoToConnect, and RingCentral. Only Nextiva offers more features at a similar price point. However, Azure, Okta, and OneLogin integrations aren’t available unless you have 100 or more users. Instead, consider GoToConnect, as it includes single sign-on (SSO) support on all plans.
For companies with 20 or more users, Vonage is another affordable 8×8 alternative. It costs about the same as Dialpad’s base plan and is more customizable, making it a great option for seasonal businesses.
Dialpad Pricing at a Glance*
- Standard: $20 per user, per month for unlimited calling and texting within the U.S. and Canada, voicemail transcriptions, a multi-level auto-attendant, call recording, and 45-minute video meetings
- Pro: $30 per user, per month (three-license minimum) for international phone numbers and text messaging, CRM integrations, APIs and webhooks, and desk phone support
- Enterprise: Request a custom quote for 100 or more users for SSO integrations, unlimited ring groups, and a 100% uptime service level agreement (SLA)
*Dialpad plans are based on a monthly payment. You can save $60 per year with annual billing.
Dialpad Features
Example of how to review call recordings and transcriptions (Source: Dialpad)
- Click-to-call: Allow customers to click a button on your website or online ads to connect to your team. Dialpad can track call traffic from in-app or in-browser calls and route callers to specific groups.
- Call recording and transcription: Unlike some providers that lock call recording behind higher tiers, real-time call and meeting transcriptions come with all packages. While reviewing your recording, you can highlight action items, add notes, assign tasks, or forward the message to your team.
- International SMS: Dialpad is the only 8×8 alternative that lets customers within the U.S. and Canada send and receive international business text messages. As such, Dialpad is a great option for staying connected with customers worldwide.
GoToConnect: Best 8×8 Alternative for International Calling
GoToConnect
Overall Score: 4.06
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Up to 250 video conferencing participants
- Meeting bundles with other GoTo products and LastPass security tools
- All GoToConnect versions come with unlimited extensions
What’s Missing
- GoToConnect’s base plan supports fewer video conferencing participants than RingCentral’s entry-tier version
- Doesn’t offer international phone numbers
- Internet fax isn’t available with the base plan
How It Compares to 8×8
- GoToConnect offers unmetered calling to 52 countries versus 48 with 8×8.
- GoToConnect’s Standard and Premium packages include toll-free minutes, whereas 8×8 doesn’t offer toll-free minutes with its subscriptions.
- 8×8 and GoToConnect both offer discounts for annual billing, but GoToConnect also provides volume-based discounts.
GoToConnect is the only 8×8 alternative that supports international calling to 52 countries. In comparison, Nextiva, Vonage, Dialpad, and RingCentral charge per-minute fees for calling global locations. In addition, if you have 20 or more users and pay annually, subscriptions with unlimited international calling are only $23 per user, which costs less than similar plans from other VoIP providers with metered international calling.
GoToConnect also includes 1,000 or 5,000 toll-free minutes, which is fewer than Nextiva and RingCentral, but is still a nice amount for low-volume users. Explore more differences in our GoToConnect vs RingCentral comparison.
GoToConnect is among the easiest platforms to use. Calling and conferencing features work equally well regardless of whether you’re using the mobile or desktop application. Plus, you’ll spend less time clicking through tabs to find the right tool.
If you want to add a password manager or webinar software, GoToConnect bundles start at $32 per user, per month. Combining services can save your business money and reduce the number of monthly vendor payments.
GoToConnect Pricing at a Glance*
- Basic: $24 per user, per month for unlimited calling and texting within the U.S. and Canada, video conferences for 40 minutes with four attendees, unlimited extensions, an auto-attendant, and team messaging
- Standard: $29 per user, per month for unlimited calling to 52 countries, unlimited call queues and ring groups, 150 participants in video meetings, call recording, and 1,000 toll-free minutes
- Premium: $39 per user, per month for real-time queue updates, 5,000 toll-free minutes, call analytics, and call management features like listen, whisper, and barge
*GoToConnect pricing is based on two to 10 users. You can save 12% with annual billing or take advantage of volume-based discounts.
GoToConnect Features
Example of how to set up the Find me/Follow me feature (Source: GoToConnect)
- International calling: If your team frequently calls regions such as India, China, or the U.K., using a GoToConnect plan can provide substantial savings over metered subscriptions. Most other VoIP services cost more and charge by the minute for international calls.
- Caller hold time reports: Give your agents instant insights by showing employees how long a person has been on hold before your agent picks up the phone. When combined with integrations to your CRM, your agents are better equipped to personalize their approach to callers.
- Find me/Follow me: Let your remote employees set up multiple secondary numbers, including another internal extension, a voicemail box, or an external number. Configure incoming calls to ring various phones in a certain order or simultaneously.
Vonage: Best 8×8 Alternative for Plan Customization & APIs
Vonage
Overall Score: 3.68
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Developer portal with API documentation
- Lowest-priced plans for teams with 20 or more users
- More than 50 VoIP features come with subscriptions
What’s Missing
- Visual voicemail is only available on the advanced tier
- Add-on packages drive the monthly per-user price up
- Vonage charges a monthly fee for some integrations
How It Compares to 8×8
- Vonage users can call Mexico for free, whereas 8×8 charges per-minute fees unless you’re using an unlimited international calling plan.
- Integrate more than 20 third-party apps with Vonage’s base plan. In contrast, 8×8 integrations require an X Series subscription.
- Vonage lets you customize plans with various a la carte features; 8×8 doesn’t.
- Although Vonage subscriptions don’t include unlimited international calling, you can purchase add-on global calling plans.
Vonage is the most affordable 8×8 option for companies with 20 or more users that want a feature-rich plan at a low monthly price. It’s also a good option for seasonal businesses that need to add call groups or call queues during peak seasons but don’t need the extra features or expense year-round.
The lowest-tier Vonage Mobile plan is $14.99 per user, per month if your business has 20 or more users. This makes it the cheapest package for larger teams among the best 8×8 alternatives and even a penny cheaper than the 8×8 Express package. With that said, at checkout you will be offered several add-ons that can quickly drive the real monthly per-user cost higher.
Vonage Mobile comes with a business phone number and lets you connect up to five devices, including cell phones, tablets, and Chromebooks. Vonage subscriptions include click-to-call, unlimited team messaging, and unmetered calls to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Plus, you can get started with Vonage’s voice, video, and SMS APIs for free with no credit card required, making Vonage an excellent choice for developers who want to create a custom system.
However, Vonage may not be the best option if you want toll-free numbers and minutes or do a lot of faxing. For instance, it costs $14.99 per month to add a U.S. fax number and $25.99 for 1,000 toll-free minutes. In comparison, Nextiva includes unlimited faxing and 1,500 toll-free minutes in its Essential plan, which is $25.95 per user, per month, or $18.95 with annual billing.
Vonage Pricing at a Glance*
- Mobile: $14.99 per user, per month for unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, unlimited SMS and team messaging, and integrations with more than 20 applications
- Premium: $24.99 per user, per month for unlimited video meetings with 100 participants, a multi-level auto-attendant, IP phone compatibility, and CRM integrations
- Advanced: $34.99 per user, per month for 15 hours of on-demand call recording, call groups, and visual voicemail
*Pricing based on 20 users and monthly plans; there is no discount for annual prepayment. The Mobile plan costs $17.99 per month for five to 19 users, or $19.99 per month if you have fewer than five users. Contact sales for pricing and volume discounts for 100 or more users.
Vonage Features
Example of a VonageReach lead generation message (Source: Vonage )
- A la carte options: Customize your VoIP calling package by adding features like voicemail transcription or text-to-pay, or add services such as information technology (IT) support or professionally recorded greetings. Add or remove premium services right from your admin dashboard.
- VonageReach: Automatically text reminders to clients with upcoming appointments or broadcast a message to leads about a new promotion using VonageReach. You can even send pictures and configure actions like click-through tracking.
- Scalability: Vonage offers call center solutions and APIs along with three unified communications subscriptions. These let you incorporate VoIP features into existing tools and equip your agents with capabilities required for higher-volume contact centers.
Bottom Line
8×8 is an excellent unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provider but can be overkill for small teams, and higher tiers get expensive even though they are packed with unique features, including a call center. The best 8×8 alternatives offer many options for VoIP communications and so might be a better fit if you want toll-free minutes, a built-in CRM, or a wider variety of integrations.
Nextiva stands out among 8×8 competitors for its user-friendly interface and free professionally recorded greetings. Unlike 8×8, Nextiva also provides toll-free minutes with all subscriptions and many features, such as voice analytics, are available on plans that cost less than 8×8. Check out Nextiva’s free trial and see if it’s the best VoIP service for your company.
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