Grasshopper is a VoIP provider offering toll-free, vanity, and local numbers in a virtual phone system with unlimited local and long-distance calling.
Although Grasshopper is ideal for entrepreneurs, business owners, and startups that want the credibility a business phone number provides, its limited features mean many teams either outgrow it or prefer Grasshopper alternatives with additional communication channels and advanced functionality.
This article will outline the best Grasshopper alternatives, comparing pricing, features, and pros and cons.
Best Grasshopper Alternatives in 2024
Based on our research, the best Grasshopper alternatives are:
1. Nextiva
Nextiva’s Business Communication platform includes cloud-based VoIP service, video conferencing, team messaging, and SMS–alongside robust calling, video, and messaging features.
Use Nextiva’s features in the desktop or mobile app for iOS and Android, which feature distinct dashboards and portals for agents and administrators. Nextiva offers unlimited calling within the US and Canada, with 24/7 customer support.
Nextiva is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Video conferencing: Nextiva Meetings offers HD audio and video, screen sharing, chat, and file sharing. Easily schedule meetings and integrate them into your existing calendar apps.
- Call recording and logging: Each call is recorded and logged, so administrators and agents can review call recordings later to take notes, analyze agent performance and customer queries, offer agent feedback, and share recordings for training purposes
- Smart automation: Set omnichannel automated outbound messages, surveys, and campaigns combining communication channels, with automated follow-ups and check-ins triggered by time or customer actions
- Call Pop: When users receive an incoming call, Nextiva’s Call Pop launches an automated notification window that gives the agent key information about the caller, including their picture, contact information, CSAT score, account value and history, and notes from other agents
- Reliability: Nextiva’s platform is more reliable than Grasshopper with a 99.999% uptime guarantee, multiple global data centers, and HIPAA compliance
Nextiva Pricing
Nextiva offers 3 pricing plans, ranging from $18.95 to $32.95 monthly per user. Annual and volume discounts are available.
For more information, see our Nextiva pricing guide.
Nextiva Pros
- Supports webinars and conference events
- Dashboards are easy to use
- Dependable uptime and service
Nextiva Cons
- The desktop app was reported to lag occasionally
- Video conferencing requires Professional or Enterprise plan
- Sometimes poor call quality
2. RingCentral
RingEX, a business VoIP phone system and internal team collaboration platform, offers voice calling, SMS, team chat messaging, and analytics dashboards.
The internal chat messaging interface helps employees connect one-on-one or in groups while managing workflows and sharing documents. RingCentral’s VoIP phone service includes advanced features like IVR, call flipping, and visual voicemail, supporting unlimited calls within the US and Canada.
RingCentral is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Dynamic chat capabilities: Create one-on-one and group chat channels to share files, documents, and video-conference summaries, or use collaborative workflow management tools like to-do lists
- Live video rooms: Set ongoing live video rooms in each chat channel, so users can pop in and out of video meetings without generating a new meeting ID every time
- A niche integration: RingCentral has over 300+ integrations, more than most competitor UCaaS platforms
- Advanced call handling: Admins can monitor and manage routing with overflow queues, ring groups, role-based access controls, and live controls like call monitor, whisper, barge, and takeover
- A secure solution: RingCentral offers a higher level of security than Grasshopper with single sign on, end-to-end encryption, and AI-powered spam blocking
RingCentral Pricing
RingCentral offers 3 plans, ranging from $20 to $35 monthly per user.
For more information, see our RingCentral pricing guide.
RingCentral Pros
- All plans include phone, SMS, and chat
- Screens robocalls automatically
- All plans support poplar integrations
RingCentral Cons
- Initial setup can be confusing
- Phone call audio can lag sometimes
- Core-tier analytics lack some important insights
3. Dialpad
Dialpad offers voice, SMS, video meetings, and messaging even in their most basic unified communications plan.
While Dialpad video meetings have a 10-participant maximum, their low-cost plans are a great fit for small companies that don’t plan to host webinars or large-scale meetings. However, with automated transcriptions and up to 25 ring groups, Dialpad can also support medium-to-large business phone networks.
Dialpad is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Real-time meeting and call transcriptions: Dialpad AI automatically transcribes all calls, video meetings, and voicemails in real time–providing agents with an on-screen conversation record that is saved and logged afterward for review
- Live speech coaching: When agents are on a call with customers, AI expedites the support process by analyzing the conversation and automatically suggests relevant scripts from integrated internal knowledge bases
- Auto attendant: Create a self-service audio menu for customers to navigate to voicemails or agents within the company. Create custom messages for certain business hours and set routing priority based on agent idle activity and skills.
- Call flipping: Call flipping enables agents to switch from desktop to mobile with one click during active calls
- Team collaboration tools: During meetings, users can share screens, files, or collaborate and draw on a saveable whiteboard. Hosts can customize screen layouts, backgrounds, hold music, and meeting room URLs.
Dialpad Pricing
Dialpad pricing includes 3 plans ranging in price from $15 to over $25 monthly per user.
For more information, see our Dialpad pricing guide.
Dialpad Pros
- Affordable plans
- Device switching works well mid-call
- Easily navigable user interface
Dialpad Cons
- 10-participant video conferencing maximum
- Transcriptions are often inaccurate
- Setup instructions can be confusing
4. GoTo Connect
GoTo Connect, GoTo’s communication and collaboration solution, combines video conferencing, SMS texting, internal chat, and GoTo’s video-conferencing app, GoTo Meeting.
The service provider’s business phone system includes a phone tree directory, drag-and-drop dial plans, analytics, and a customizable IVR tree for call routing.
GoTo Connect is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Meeting organization: Schedule or set recurring meetings, and easily search contacts to add co-organizers. Users can jump directly from a chat or call into a video meeting
- Multi-level IVR flows: Use a visual flow builder to create an auto attendant menu that routes customer calls anywhere within the company.
- Virtual voicemail with transcription: Use the virtual voicemail box to access missed call information–caller profile, voicemail duration, one-click callback or text, and voicemail transcription
- International calling: All GoTo Connect users have access to free international calling in over 50 countries
- Admin tools: In the admin portal, customize call routing strategies, set up auto attendants, design agent and supervisor dashboards, customize reports, and view analytics across the contact center
GoTo Connect Pricing
GoTo Connect’s pricing includes 2 plans ranging from $29 to $39 monthly per user.
For more information, see our GoTo Connect pricing guide.
GoTo Connect Pros
- Knowledge base for support
- Reliable uptime
- User-friendly interface
GoTo Connect Cons
- Dashboard lacks some customization options
- Minimal integration options
- Meetings lack some security/verification features
5. Zoom One
Zoom One offers an all-in-one collaboration tool that unifies Zoom Meeting video conferencing, Zoom Phone VoIP calling, and team chat capabilities into a single interface.
From the dashboard, easily navigate between these collaborative channels, keeping up with customer and team-member communications. Flip between channels instantly or collaborate on Zoom Whiteboard during and outside of meetings. Perhaps most impressive is Zoom’s massive library of integrations–totaling 1,951 as of this writing.
Zoom One is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Whiteboarding: Zoom’s whiteboard gathers dozens of team members together around a blank canvas to create and ideate, using smart connectors, paint tools, sticky notes, and comments
- Dynamic video features: Zoom Meetings are full of engagement-boosting tools, like breakout rooms, Zoom virtual backgrounds, slide presentations, screen sharing with co-annotation, hand raising, in-meeting polling, and chat
- Advanced chat tools: In Zoom chats, share files, whiteboards, and meeting recordings. Elevate chat to phone or video with one click, search for files, contacts, and messages with keywords, and set user presence and status.
- Voicemail transcription: Zoom automatically transcribes and stores all voicemail message recordings in a searchable virtual voicemail box
- Reporting and analytics: Zoom offers real-time and historical reports for meetings, phone, and chat. For each channel, view usage and adoption metrics, quality reports, infrastructure details, and hardware information.
Zoom Pricing
Aside from a free plan, Zoom One offers 4 pricing plans ranging from $12.49 to $22.49 per user, per month.
For more information, see our Zoom pricing guide.
Zoom Pros
- Offers a free plan
- Whiteboards are shareable outside of meetings
- Tons of integrations
Zoom cons
- Low-tier plans don’t include phone
- Mobile dashboards aren’t user-friendly
- Inbound chat notifications can be too subtle, causing missed chats
6. Vonage
Vonage Business Communications (VBC), Vonage’s web-based UCaaS solution, bundles voice, team messaging, fax, social media, SMS, and video meetings with 99.999% uptime for service in over 40 supported countries.
Vonage Business Communications includes basic phone features like audio conference calling, call blocking, call queuing, and call screening. Vonage integrates with 25 external applications and offers some useful paid add-ons like call recording and conference calling with up to 20 participants.
Vonage is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Advanced call monitoring: The admin portal makes it easy for administrators to monitor and manage routing, queues, phone lines, displays, and user capabilities in real-time. Admin can track analytics, monitor employee call activity, customize calling features, and more.
- A unified agent interface: Business Inbox aggregates incoming customer messages from all digital channels–chat, SMS, even social media–and organizes them in one omnichannel inbox for quick support-team viewing and response through that same channel
- Click-to-dial: Vonage offers a click-to-dial browser plug-in that enables agents to automatically dial any onscreen number with one click
- Flexible pricing: Vonage offers many features as add-ons so that users only pay for the tools they need
- A completely custom platform: Vonage allows users to customize a communications platform using REST APIs or out-of-the-box integrations
Vonage Pricing
Vonage’s Basic plan covers the fundamental collaboration features–phone, chat, and SMS. Plans start at $19.99 monthly, per user.
For more details, check out our complete breakdown of Vonage's pricing and plans.
Vonage Pros
- Includes chat, SMS, and phone in the basic plan
- Click-to-dial is beneficial on any webpage, not just on the Vonage website
- Large pool of available international numbers
Vonage Cons
- Expensive plans
- Video lacks audience-engagement tools
- No call or voicemail transcription
7. 8x8
The 8x8 X Series business communication plans bundle voice telephony, team chat, video, and SMS. With a network spanning 48 countries and a 99.999% uptime guarantee, 8x8 provides users the foundation to connect with global customers and team members.
Supervisor tools include video screen customization and supervisor analytics, while agents benefit from the easy-to-use dashboards and guidance from conversational AI.
8x8 is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Feature-rich video: 8x8 HD video, accessible on desktop or mobile, includes virtual backgrounds, advanced moderation controls like meeting lock and lobbies, and even live streaming to Youtube
- Universal messaging: Send chat messages across applications like Salesforce, Slack, and other platforms. You can also create public and private messaging rooms
- Call handling: Forward, transfer, block calls, or initiate 3-way calls with one click
- AI-powered insights: AI analyzes call transcriptions to identify commonly used customer keywords and customer sentiment, providing immediate feedback to help agents navigate conversations
- Analytics: Access real-time and historical contact center metrics, including customized queue dashboards, call quality and device reporting, speech and sentiment analysis, agent call statistics, and channel usage data
8x8 Pricing
8x8 offers 5 X-Series plans starting at $24 monthly per user for the X2 plan.
For more information, see our 8x8 pricing guide.
8x8 Pros
- Quick, easy dashboard setup
- Excellent voice quality
- Mobile and desktop app ease of use
8x8 Cons
- Voicemail setup can be difficult
- Connectivity or service can be weak in some locations
- No option to delete old SMS messages
8. Ooma
Ooma’s UCaaS small business phone plans offer a strong balance between collaboration and contact center features.
With a mobile- and desktop-friendly agent dashboard encompassing chat, voice, video, and SMS, Ooma helps agents easily track their communication tasks. Ooma also empowers admins with routing tools like drag-and-drop IVR, ring groups, and analytics that can be easily sorted, customized, and scheduled into auto-delivered reports.
Ooma is a Good Grasshopper Alternative if You Need:
- Manageable video meetings: The Ooma Meeting dashboard gives admins and team members a view of all scheduled meetings, joinable with one click
- Advanced caller ID: Caller Info Match provides agents with background and key information about customers and prospects by connecting with your CRM software and social media platforms like Facebook and Linkedin
- A desktop app: The Ooma desktop app makes it easy to make and receive video calls, control and view agent availability status, track and listen to voicemails, and create chat groups
- A mobile app: The mobile app allows users to see availability, initiate chats, create chat groups, receive and transfer calls as a softphone, call teammates with one click, and listen to voicemails while reading their transcriptions
- Advanced call analytics: Ooma’s automated analytics include a wide library of pre-made reporting templates and customizable options. Sort calls by day, user, ring group, or call queue, and filter real-time and historical reports by chosen metrics
Ooma Pricing
Ooma offers 3 small business phone system plans, from $19.95 to $29.95 monthly per user.
For more information, see our Ooma office pricing guide.
Ooma Pros
- Great sound quality
- Dashboard is easy to use
- Easy mid-call device switching
Ooma Cons
- Lacks some video engagement features
- Essentials plan does not include a desktop app
- Minimal integrations
Which Grasshopper Alternative Fits Your Business Best?
- For large businesses and enterprises: RingCentral and 8x8 have highly secure and reliable platforms with plenty of advanced features
- For small and medium sized businesses: Nextiva and GoTo Connect both offer live customer support and CCaaS platforms that can be added on as the company scales
- For startups and solopreneurs: Ooma and Vonage are basic, user-friendly solutions with affordable pricing
- For remote teams: Zoom One offers a powerful video conferencing solution along with a plethora of team collaboration tools like team chat, document sharing, and whiteboarding