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.
Our team tested and evaluated numerous business VoIP systems that do what Grasshopper does, only better. Here are our favorite Grasshopper alternatives.
Grasshopper Alternatives At A Glance
Pricing | Key Features | Best For | |
Nextiva | $20-$60 per user/mo. |
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Contact centers and SMBs looking for a CX platform with built-on reputation and social media management |
RingCentral | $20-$35 per user/mo. |
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Large businesses and enterprises that need a scalable UCaaS solution |
Dialpad | $15-$25 per user/mo. |
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SMBs that need an affordable AI-powered business phone system |
GoTo Connect | Quote-based pricing |
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Global companies that need international calling capabilities and video conferencing |
Zoom Phone | $10-$22.49 per user/mo. |
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Small businesses looking for a phone system with flexible pricing options and robust team collaboration tools |
Vonage | $13.99-$27.99 per user/mo. |
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Mobile-first SMBs and startups that want a highly customizable platform |
8x8 | Quote based pricing |
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Large businesses and contact centers that need affordable global coverage and advanced self-service tools |
Ooma | $19.95-$29.95 per user/mo. | Team chat
Hot desking Call queueing |
SMBs that use VoIP hardware like deskphones |
How I Evaluate and Test the Alternatives
- Pricing+Value: I evaluated the pricing plans of the alternatives, including features, add-ons, and hidden fees to determine overall value
- Voice Features: I compared alternative platform voice features to Grasshopper features, looking closely at AI-powered capabilities and call flow management tools
- Communication Channels: I looked at each provider’s available communication channels, including voice calling, business texting, email, video conferencing, social media, etc.
- Ease of Use: I tested the platforms to determine the intuitiveness of desktop and mobile apps, the length of the setup process, and overall ease of use
- Customer Support: I looked at the customer service hours and channels, and contacted customer support ourselves to evaluate the quality of provider support
- Integrations: I compared the number of available integrations for each provider, the depth of the integrations, and the availability APIs, webhooks, etc.
- Hardware Compatibility: I looked at hardware type and brand compatibility, available Device as a Service plans, and provider-made equipment
- Security+Reliability: I evaluated the security and reliability of each provider, looking at SLA uptime guarantees, POPs, data encryption, HIPAA certification, etc.
Top Grasshopper Alternatives
I'll now go into more detail about my favorite 8 Grasshopper alternatives. These providers offer reliable phone service like Grasshopper, but go above and beyond with things like AI-enabled features, video conferencing, team chat, advanced security, and more.
Nextiva
What I Liked:
- Supports webinars and large virtual events
- Dashboards are easy to use
- Dependable uptime and reliable service
What I Disliked:
- The desktop app lags occasionally
- Video conferencing requires Professional or Enterprise plan
- Sometimes poor call quality
Nextiva Business Communication includes cloud-based VoIP service, video conferencing, team messaging, and SMS–alongside social media and reputation management features.
What I liked about Nextiva is that it offers many features in both the desktop and mobile app for iOS and Android, with distinct dashboards and portals for agents and administrators. Grasshopper and Nextiva both offer 24/7 customer support on multiple channels including phone, email, livechat, and social channels.
Nextiva is more expensive than Grasshopper, especially given that voice calling requires users to purchase the $30/user/month Core plan. However, Nextiva offers many features that Grasshopper does not, including review and reputation management, unlimited video meetings, and team chat.
Standout Features
- 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
Why Nextiva is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- Reliability: Nextiva’s platform is more reliable than Grasshopper, with a 99.999% uptime guarantee, multiple global data centers, and HIPAA compliance
- Digital Only Option: Unlike Grasshopper, Nextiva offers a digital-only option (no voice or text) that includes many customer experience management tools like group email, shared inboxes, and messaging capabilities
RingCentral
What I Liked:
- All plans include phone, SMS, and chat
- Screens robocalls automatically
- All plans support popular integrations
What I Disliked:
- Initial setup can be confusing
- Phone call audio can lag sometimes
- Core-tier analytics lack some important insights
RingEX, a business UCaaS platform, offers voice calling, SMS, team chat messaging, and analytics in one platform.
Like Grasshopper, RingCentral’s VoIP phone service includes IVR, call flipping, and visual voicemail, supporting unlimited calls within the US and Canada. But unlike Grasshopper, RingCentral offers video conferencing, real-time analytics, and an internal chat messaging interface that helps employees connect one-on-one or in groups to manage workflows and share documents.
I was most impressed, however, with RingCentral’s AI Assistant, which leverages artificial intelligence to transcribe and summarize calls, take notes, capture action items, draft texts, and translate copy.
Standout Features
- Advanced call handling: Admins can monitor and manage routing with overflow queues, ring groups, and role-based access controls. Live call monitoring, call whisper, call barge, and call takeover are also available
- Dynamic chat capabilities: Create one-on-one and group chat channels to share files, documents, and call/meeting summaries, and to-do lists for streamlined task management
- Live video rooms: Set persistent, always-on live video rooms in each chat channel that let users pop in and out of video meetings without generating a new meeting ID every time
- AI Assistant: Automatically transcribes calls and meetings in real-time, takes notes, extracts action items, drafts SMS and team chat messages, and more
- Advanced analytics: Access real time QoS reporting, adoption and interaction analytics, and device status along with an interactive map tool, alerts, and more
Why RingCentral is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- Security: RingCentral offers a higher level of security than Grasshopper with single sign on, end-to-end encryption, and AI-powered spam blocking
- Integrations: RingCentral has over 300+ integrations, while Grasshopper has only a handful of pre-built integrations with third-party apps
Dialpad
What I liked:
- Affordable plans
- Device switching works well mid-call
- Easily navigable user interface
What I disliked:
- 10-participant video conferencing maximum
- Transcriptions are often inaccurate
- Setup instructions can be confusing
Dialpad offers voice, SMS, video meetings, and messaging even in their most basic unified communications plan.
Dialpad’s 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.
I included Dialpad on this list as it offers some innovative features that Grasshopper doesn’t have, as well as a basic video conferencing platform for up to 150 participants and team messaging. While Dialpad is a little more expensive than Grasshopper, it still offers very affordable pricing compared with other alternatives on our list.
Standout Features
- 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
Why Dialpad is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- Team collaboration tools: During video 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, while Grasshopper does not offer video conferencing
- Speech analytics: Dialpad provides real-time call transcription and speech analytics that offers ongoing agent assistance as well as post call summaries and custom moments. Grasshopper does not include these features
GoTo Connect
What I Liked:
- Knowledge base for support
- Reliable uptime
- User-friendly interface
What I Disliked:
- Dashboard lacks some customization options
- Minimal integration options
- Expensive and lack of transparency in pricing
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, like Grasshopper, includes local and toll-free numbers- but GoTo Connect also includes toll-free minutes in all plans. GoTo Connect also offers a phone tree directory, drag-and-drop dial plans, analytics, and a customizable IVR tree. Grasshopper only includes basic call forwarding and custom greetings.
Best of all, GoTo Connect offers unlimited international calling to over 50 countries. International calling is included with all GoTo Connect plans, making it a great choice for global enterprises.
Standout Features
- 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
- 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
- Video meetings: For up to 250 participants with screen sharing, in-meeting chat, end-to-end encryption, closed captioning, and AI-powered meeting summaries
Why GoTo Connect is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- 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
- Scalability: GoTo Connect users can scale up from a phone system to a complete CCaaS suite with campaign management tools, auto dialing, and more
Zoom
What I Liked:
- Offers a free plan
- Whiteboards are shareable outside of meetings
- Tons of integrations
What I Disliked:
- Low-tier plans don’t include phone
- Mobile dashboards aren’t user-friendly
- Inbound chat notifications can be too subtle, causing missed chats
Zoom Workplace is an all-in-one collaboration tool that unifies Zoom Meeting video conferencing, Zoom Phone VoIP calling, and team collaboration tools into a single interface.
I liked how easy it was to navigate between these collaborative channels on the Zoom dashboard, keeping up with customer and team-member communications. I was able to flip between channels instantly or collaborate on the Zoom Whiteboard during and outside of meetings. Perhaps most impressive is Zoom’s massive library of integrations–totaling 1,951 as of this writing.
Another reason our team chose Zoom for this list was affordability. Zoom is one of the only providers that can beat Grasshopper on price, thanks to its $10/user/month Metered Zoom Phone plan.
Zoom’s AI Companion also impressed our team, as it offers powerful generative AI functionality like assistance with drafting chats and emails, post meeting summaries, task extraction, voicemail prioritization, and a video meeting chatbot to catch up latecomers.
Standout Features
- 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.
- 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
Why Zoom is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- 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
- Flexible pricing options: Zoom users can choose from an affordable metered or unlimited Zoom Phone plan, or get a complete UCaaS platform with Zoom Workplace
Vonage
What I liked:
- 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
What I disliked:
- Expensive plans
- Video lacks audience-engagement tools
- No call or voicemail transcription
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 is comparable to Grasshopper in that it includes basic phone features like audio conference calling, call blocking, call queuing, and call screening. I liked that Vonage offers more integrations than Grasshopper, with 25 external applications (compared to Grasshopper’s 2) as well as REST APIs.
I also liked Vonage’s flexible pricing model, which offers affordable basic plans with some useful paid add-ons like call recording and conference calling with up to 20 participants.
Standout Features
- 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
Why Vonage is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- Flexible pricing: Vonage offers many features as add-ons, so users only pay for the tools they need. Users can choose the very affordable Mobile plan ($13.99 per user/month) or can opt for the Premium or Advanced plans which add on team messaging and video conferencing
- A completely custom platform: Vonage allows users to customize a communications platform using REST APIs or out-of-the-box integrations
8x8
What I liked:
- Quick, easy dashboard setup
- Excellent voice quality
- Mobile and desktop app ease of use
What I disliked:
- Voicemail setup can be difficult
- Lack of transparent pricing
- No option to delete old SMS messages
8x8 Work bundles voice telephony, team chat, video, and SMS. While I was unimpressed with 8x8’s lack of transparency in pricing, I did like that 8x8 offers unlimited calling in 48 countries, a 99.999% uptime guarantee, and AI-enabled features. 8x8 provides users the foundation to connect with global customers and team members.
8x8 includes features to assist both supervisors and agents. Supervisor tools include video screen customization and supervisor analytics, while agents benefit from the easy-to-use dashboards, receptionist console, and guidance from conversational AI.
I also liked 8x8’s video conferencing platform, which offers in-meeting chat, recordings, transcripts, noise suppression, and meeting summaries for up to 500 meeting participants.
Standout Features
- Universal messaging: Send chat messages across applications like Salesforce, Slack, and more. 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
- Receptionist console: Allows front desk workers to check employee presence and availability, transfer calls, or direct calls to an AI attendant or queue
Why 8x8 is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- 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
- 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. It allows up to 500 participants, a higher limit than most competitors like GoTo and RingCentral
Ooma
What I liked:
- Great sound quality
- Dashboard is easy to use
- Easy mid-call device switching
What I disliked:
- Lacks some video engagement features
- Essentials plan does not include a desktop app
- Minimal integrations
Ooma is my final pick because its UCaaS small business phone plans offer a strong balance between collaboration and contact center features.
I liked Ooma’s mobile- and desktop-friendly agent dashboard, which encompasses chat, voice, video, and SMS. Ooma also helps agents easily track their communication tasks and empowers admins with routing tools like drag-and-drop IVR, ring groups, and analytics. These analytics can be easily sorted, customized, and scheduled into auto-delivered reports–all features that Grasshopper doesn’t offer.
As I expected, Ooma is a little pricier than Grashopper, but it still offers lower prices than competitors like 8x8 and GoTo Connect. Additionally, Ooma includes unlimited calling in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, while Grasshopper only includes unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada. Ooma also includes a minimalistic video conferencing platform with its Pro and Pro Plus plans.
I also appreciated that Ooma has its own brand of IP phones that work perfectly with Ooma’s virtual phone system. New users can often get deals on hardware when they sign up for service.
Standout Features
- 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 user 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
- Manageable video meetings: The Ooma Meeting dashboard gives admins and team members a view of all scheduled meetings, joinable with one click
Why Ooma is a Good Alternative to Grasshopper
- 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, while Grasshopper does not offer CRM integrations
- 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
Which Grasshopper Alternative Fits Your Business Best?
Grasshopper is a great choice for startups, entrepreneurs, and solopreneurs that need a simple voice only solution, but its lack of video conferencing software and advanced analytics may be a deal breaker for SMBs looking to scale soon. Here’s a few more things to keep in mind when selecting a provider for your business.
- 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
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