For the first time, Jive enters the arena for a Head-To-Head comparison with top business provider Nextiva. Nextiva has a number of high-profile clients, including Burger King, IBM, Allstate Insurance, Acura, and Delta Airlines. Jive, a broadband provider in addition to being a VoIP provider, has partnerships with Level 3, Verizon Business, XO communications, among others. Let’s see the Tale of the Tape for more:
| Features/Services |   |
 |
| Monthly Cost of Cheapest Service | $19.95/mo [Price is per line for 21-100+ Lines] | $21.95/mo (51+USERS) |
| Amount of Lines Per Pricing Tiers | 1-4, 5-20, 21-100+ | 1-4, 5-9, 10-24- 25-49, 50+ |
| Monthly Price per Extension, Unlimited U.S. & Canada Plans | 1-4 Lines: $34.95/mo 5-20 Lines: $29.95/mo 21-100+: $19.95/moUnlimited Plan – US/Canada/Puerto Rico: $29.95/month with at least 4 lines |
1-4 users, $29.95/mo 5-9 users, $25.95/mo 10-24 users, $23.95/mo 25-49 users, $22.95/mo 50+ users, $21.95/mo |
| Metered Plans | SIP Trunking plans start at $14.95 | n/a |
| Free Mobile App Compatibility | iOS, Android | Compatible with SIP clients |
| Call Group/Simultaneous Ring | Free | Free |
| Call recording | $5.95, or free w/ Call Center plans | $0.02/min, no setup fee |
| Cloud integration | Yes | Yes |
| Conference Bridge | 15-way calling included, up to 294 callers for $19.95/mo | Unlimited Conference Bridges |
| Contract | No Contracts | No Contracts |
| Fax Options | Free with Nextiva Office Plan Otherwise: 500 Pages – $4.95/mo 1000 Pages – $12.95/mo 3000 Pages – $29.95/mo |
Free |
| Group Paging/Intercom | Push-to-talk included | Free |
| Number Porting | Free | $15.00 |
| On-Hold Music | Choice of three, plus option of uploading your own music | Choice of eight, plus option of uploading your own music |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| Softphone | Compatible with SIP clients | Compatible with SIP clients |
| Switchboard Software for Live Receptionist | Free | n/a |
| Tech Support Hours & Location | Mon-Fri: 9AM-9PM EST US Based |
24/7, US Based |
| Toll Free | Number provided free [Inbound calls are .025 cents/min] |
$4.95/mo [Inbound calls are .03 cents/min] |
| Trial | 30-Day Trial w/ Full Refund Guarantee (up to 500 minutes) | n/a |
| Voicemail Transcription | Free | To email only – Free |
| More Details | |
|
Shared Features – Standard Call Features, Advanced Call Hunting, Auto Attendant, Call Analytics, Call Rules, Desktop Integration, Dial-By-Name Directory, virtual Fax, Enhanced Voice Mail, Find Me/Follow Me, Holiday/Custom Scheduling, Intercom, Music, Remote Access, Speed Dial, Virtual Extensions, Web Portal
Nextiva NextOS Features – Mobile App, Receptionist Console, Video Voice Messaging
Jive Core Features – LDAP Integration
The Final Bell: Both NextOS and the Jive Core feature extensive call rules, customized scheduling options, call queue options, and other features that you can control directly from their respective online portals. Jive uses a visual dial plan editor, so you can get a visual representation of call flows. Nextiva uses its “receptionist console” to achive the same thing. Both Nextiva and Jive have special holiday and after hours customization, which hasn’t been on our radar lately.
Jive has LDAP integration. LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. It is an application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol network. In simpler terms, it’s a kind of internal directory. Nextiva is compatible with LDAP applications, but does not support it natively.
If there’s one area where Nextiva really comes ahead, it’s transparency. Jive’s website is very tight-lipped on features and pricing. I was able to figure out many of their features by finding the user guide to Jive Core, and their online live chat. Other information I was able to glean from their blog archives., dated as back to March of 2012.
It is absolutely perplexing that Jive makes no mention of a mobile app whatsoever. Again, by drilling way down to their “supported devices” page in the Jive Core user’s manual, I was able to ascertain that “most SIP compatible devices will work with Jive Core, and way down at the bottom, they recommended Bria Mobile.
Jive is a clear winner on price for small businesses. Also, their tech support is 24/7 and still US-based. It has a lot going for it. Jive Core may be able to go feature for feature with NextOS. Having seen the videos for Jive Core, it looks like a basic do-it-yourself Asterisk video. Nextiva, in my mind, is the way to go. Because Nextiva’s feature-rich NextOS 3.0 does do it better. NextOS (easy on the eyes) has a clean, crisp GUI that looks like it’s made for a business person, not a programmer, to use.
Related:
– Nextiva Reviews
– Jive Communications Reviews
– Nextiva Website First Impressions
– Jive Communications Website First Impressions
