Seeking a RingCentral alternative? While RingCentral offers a broad range of business communication tools, its pricing and feature limitations may not suit every team.
Users report a clunky interface, cumbersome administration, and limited call recording storage. Strict texting and AI usage caps, along with extra charges for advanced features, can also make costs harder to predict as your business grows.
If you’re looking for more transparent pricing, easier management, or fewer usage restrictions, comparing alternatives may help you find a better fit.
In this guide, we compare nine RingCentral alternatives, covering their pricing, key features, pros, and cons to help you choose a business phone system that fits your team’s needs and budget.
Why look for a RingCentral alternative?
- Advertised prices rarely cover what you need.
- Texting caps on the lower tiers.
- An admin portal that needs training.
- Contract renewal surprises.
1. Vivant: best for multi-office firms and growing practices with no in-house IT team
The best overall phone system for small and growing businesses that are done losing new customers to missed calls, and a strong choice if you’re ready to move on from Nextiva. Vivant answers every customer call, routes it to the right person or department, and texts back when a call is missed.
Vivant’s phone system can integrate AI answering to handle calls and common questions about office hours, location, team members and services. It can text callers self-service links to schedule appointments, request information or access other resources.
If a call needs staff attention, it routes the call to the right department or team member. If staff miss the call, Vivant automatically texts the caller with self-service options so they’re not left waiting.
It’s backed by a 100% uptime guarantee, while the Vivant team handles setup and proactively monitors the system in real time. Multi-office businesses that need reliable, secure communications get the most value from it.
At a glance
- Monitoring: phone services are monitored 24/7, so Vivant catches outages before they reach your business
- Support: a nationwide support team with live humans
- Uptime: 100% uptime guarantee
- Average savings: 20% on your monthly phone bill
Strengths:
- 24/7 AI Receptionist: Answers calls, captures client details and books consultations
- Missed-Call Texting: Automatically texts unanswered callers from your firm’s number.
- Unlimited Business Texting: Send reminders, request documents and reply quickly.
- Call Recording: Record, listen to and download calls.
- Smart Call Routing: Direct callers to the right person or department.
- Work From Anywhere: Use your number on desk phones, mobile and webphones.
- Multi-Office Management: Transfer and manage calls through one portal.
- Call Analytics: Track missed calls, call volume and team activity in real time.
- Managed Setup: Get number porting, customized call flows, and free lifetime maintenance.
- No Hidden Fees: Voicemail transcription, ring groups, E-911 and nationwide calling included.
Advantageous Add-on Services
A business relies on one internet connection for its phones, CRM, booking or POS software, payments, email, and video calls. When that connection fails at a busy moment, sales stall, customer calls go unanswered, and daily operations are disrupted.
Vivant SmartNETWORKS helps prevent those disruptions by designing, deploying, and managing the infrastructure behind your communications and daily operations – including primary internet, backup internet, and network security.
If downtime costs you customers and revenue, reliability is worth more than the lowest monthly price. Choose SmartNETWORKS for reliable connectivity, backup internet, and network security managed by one accountable provider across every location.
2. Nextiva: best for all-in-one customer experience (CX)
Nextiva bundles phone, video, SMS and digital channels in one platform. It suits businesses that want live chat and review management in the same tool as their phones.
Core is $15 per user per month on annual small-business pricing ($23 reference price), with 100 texts per user per month. Call recording is an add-on. Engage, the most popular plan, is $25 ($50 reference price) with 500 texts per user per month, a toll-free number and up to 2,000 toll-free minutes. Scale is $75 per user per month, with unlimited texts, AI transcription and summaries, and contact center features.
Strengths: a wide channel mix, with round-the-clock phone, email and chat support listed in its plan comparison (vendor claim).
Weaknesses: the advertised rates require a paid 12-month (or longer) term and 1-100 employees, and several features are add-ons on Core.
Choose it if: you want phones, texting and customer chat in one platform and are happy to sign an annual term.
3. Dialpad: best for AI-first teams
Dialpad Connect is Dialpad’s business phone product, with built-in AI for live transcription and call summaries. Standard costs $15 per user per month billed annually or $27 billed monthly. Pro adds CRM integrations for $25 annually or $35 monthly, and Enterprise is custom-priced through sales.
Strengths: AI features built into the phone app and a 14-day free trial.
Weakness: a big gap between annual and monthly prices ($15 vs $27 on Standard).
Choose it if: AI transcription and summaries are your top priority and your team is comfortable managing its own software.
4. Zoom Phone: best for video-first teams
If your company already lives in Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone adds calling to the same app and admin portal.
US & CA Unlimited adds Phone to Workplace Basic (meetings capped at 40 minutes) for $16 per user per month billed annually or $18 billed monthly. Pro Plus bundles Phone with Workplace Pro for $20.50 annually or $24 monthly. Business Plus bundles Phone with Workplace Business, adding SSO and unlimited online fax, for $24.50 annually or $29 monthly.
Strengths: one app for meetings, chat and calls, with unlimited auto attendants and call recording on all three plans.
Weakness: on Zoom’s pricing page, live phone support is tied to accounts spending more than $200/month.
Choose it if: your team runs on Zoom and mainly needs calling inside that app.
5. 8×8: best for international calling
8×8’s X Series plans are known for unlimited calling to many countries on higher tiers. 8×8 does not appear to publish US list prices, and both plans are quote-based.
Strength: a strong fit for teams that call internationally.
Weakness: because pricing comes through a sales quote, side-by-side comparison is harder.
Choose it if: international calling is a large share of your call volume.
6. Ooma Office: best for small offices with desk phones
Ooma Office is a simple, month-to-month phone system for small businesses. Essentials costs $19.95 per user per month, with unlimited calling in the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, a virtual receptionist and a mobile app. Pro ($24.95) adds a desktop app, call recording and up to 250 texts per account per month. Pro Plus ($29.95) adds call queues, CRM integration, hot desking and up to 1,000 texts per account per month.
Strengths: no contract required and straightforward pricing.
Weaknesses: text allowances are per account, not per user, and additional phone numbers are $9.95/month each.
Choose it if: you’re a small office that wants low-cost desk phones with no contract.
7. Aircall: best for CRM-heavy sales and support teams
Aircall is a cloud phone system built around integrations with CRMs and help desks. Essentials is $30 per license per month billed annually, with a 3-license minimum, 250+ integrations, call recording and 50 AI Voice Agent minutes per month. Professional ($50 per license per month, annual) adds smart routing, a power dialer and AI call summaries. Enterprise is custom-priced, with a 25-license minimum, SSO and an enterprise SLA.
Strengths: deep CRM and help desk integrations, and unlimited calls within the US and Canada.
Weaknesses: a 3-license minimum on every plan, monthly prices higher than annual (annual billing is 25% cheaper), and extra numbers at $6/month each.
Choose it if: your sales or support team lives in a CRM and needs calling built into it.
8. Quo (formerly OpenPhone): best for startups
Quo is an app-based business phone service built for small, fast-moving teams. Starter costs $15 per user per month billed annually or $19 billed monthly, with one number per user and email support. Business ($23 annually, $33 monthly) adds phone menus, call transfers, CRM integrations and live chat support. Scale ($35 annually, $47 monthly) adds priority support and inbound phone support.
Strengths: simple setup, a 7-day free trial, and calling and texting to US and Canadian numbers included (fair-use policy).
Weaknesses: texting requires carrier registration ($19.50 one-time plus $1.50-$3/month), and inbound phone support is only on Scale.
Choose it if: you’re a startup that wants a lightweight, app-only phone number for each teammate.
9. Microsoft Teams Phone: best for Microsoft 365 shops
Teams Phone adds a business phone system to Microsoft Teams. All prices are per user per month, paid yearly. Teams Phone Standard is the phone system only (you bring your own carrier or add a calling plan). Teams Phone with Calling Plan (US) costs $17, with a phone number and 3,000 outbound domestic minutes (US, UK, Canada). The domestic and international plan costs $34 and adds the option of 600 outbound international minutes.
Strengths: native to Teams, with a 99.999% uptime SLA (vendor claim).
Weaknesses: a separate Microsoft Teams license is required on top of these prices, and calling plans have minute caps.
Choose it if: your company is standardized on Microsoft 365 and has someone to manage Teams admin.
Why the cheapest plan is rarely the cheapest bill
- Texting caps run out fast: lead follow-ups, appointment reminders and document requests add up. Ooma has no texting on its base plan, and RingCentral caps it at 25 to 200 per user per month, depending on the plan. Vivant does not cap business texting.
- Recording limits: RingCentral’s base plan keeps recordings for only 90 days, and Ooma and Nextiva record only on higher plans. Vivant includes recording on Professional.
- Add-ons: e-fax, call queues and extra texting are sold separately by most vendors.
- Setup takes staff time: a system that the office manager must configure, update and troubleshoot costs paid staff hours. Vivant sets up the system, monitors it 24/7 and maintains it for free for life.
- Downtime has a cost: a missed call from a prospective customer is lost business. Vivant is the only provider here with a 100% uptime guarantee.
How to choose a RingCentral alternative
- Add up the real per-user cost, including add-ons, texting limits and extra numbers
- Check whether the advertised price needs an annual contract
- Confirm unlimited calling covers the places you actually call
- Ask who monitors your phone service and how outages are handled
- Ask how you reach support and whether you’ll talk to a live person
- Check what is guaranteed in writing for uptime
- Make sure the plan works for every office or location you run
How to Migrate from RingCentral
A move from RingCentral does not need to cause downtime. Check your contract for the term end date and the auto-renewal terms, so a renewal does not surprise you. Do not cancel RingCentral yet. If you cancel before your numbers port, you can lose them.
Next, collect your RingCentral account number, port-out PIN, a recent bill, and a list of all your numbers. Export your call recordings early, because the base plan keeps them for only 90 days. Also export your voicemails, contacts, and call flows. The data must match your RingCentral account exactly, or the port can be rejected.
Before you go live, register for business texting (10DLC) again, test each line, and update your E911 addresses. When all your numbers ring on the new system, cancel RingCentral in writing.
Vivant’s managed setup does this work for you. We port your numbers, rebuild your call flows, and coordinate the full migration, with free maintenance for life
FAQ
What is the best RingCentral alternative for small businesses? For multi-office firms and growing practices with no in-house IT team, Vivant is our top pick. Plans start at $29.99 per user per month, with unlimited calling, the mobile and desktop apps and a 100% uptime guarantee on every plan.
Is there a cheaper alternative to RingCentral? Several providers advertise lower entry prices than RingCentral’s $20 Core plan (annual billing), including Nextiva, Dialpad, Zoom Phone, Quo and Ooma. Compare what’s included, though: texting caps, annual contracts and add-ons change the real cost. Vivant customers save 20% on their monthly phone bill on average.
What kind of support does Vivant offer? Vivant’s phone services are monitored 24/7, so Vivant catches outages before they reach your business. When you need help, you reach a nationwide support team with live humans.
How reliable is Vivant compared with RingCentral? RingCentral advertises a 99.999% uptime SLA. Vivant offers a 100% uptime guarantee, backed by a redundant system on every plan.
What’s the best RingCentral alternative for Microsoft 365 users? If your company is standardized on Microsoft 365, Teams Phone keeps calling inside Teams. Plans with a Microsoft calling plan start at $17 per user per month (paid yearly), and a separate Teams license is required.
Which RingCentral alternative is right for you?
The right RingCentral alternative depends on your team’s communication needs and budget. With Vivant, you get unlimited business texting, proactive system monitoring, and a dedicated team to manage your transition from start to finish.
We’ll transfer your numbers, configure every line, and coordinate the migration to help keep your business connected throughout the process.
Wondering if you could get more for your money? We’ll review your current RingCentral bill for free and identify opportunities to reduce your communication costs.
Get your free cost analysis today.
