Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions like Talkdesk create a seamless omnichannel customer journey powered by workforce engagement, team collaboration tools, and AI automation.
Although Talkdesk offers a robust platform, it may not be the best contact center software for your business due to pricing constraints, a lack of integration with your preferred third-party apps, or missing features.
If Talkdesk isn’t a perfect fit for your call center, check out these 10 best Talkdesk alternatives.
Why Talkdesk?
Talkdesk is innovative, easy to use, and a 2023 Gartner Customer Choice CCaaS platform. Talkdesk is an ideal business phone system for SMBs in the healthcare, financial, or retail industries.
Top Talkdesk benefits include:
- Integrations with over 60 business tools (Zendesk, Zoho, Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, HubSpot, etc.)
- Industry-specific packages for healthcare, financial services, and retail businesses
- IIVR system enables users to route calls based on agent skills, selection, business hours, caller data, and more
- Pre-packaged components library and built-in low-code editor to customize the customer journey available to all users
- Advanced customer self-service features including AI-powered virtual agent builder with NLP available in all plans
- 24/7 live customer support
- Basic plan is affordable at $75 per user per month
- High-level HIPAA compliant security via Talkdesk Guardian with 30+ security certifications and advanced threat detection.
That said, there are some areas where Talkdesk falls short:
- No guaranteed uptime SLA except for most expensive plans
- Lack of video conferencing
- Marketing, outreach, and WFM/WEM features like bulk SMS, preview dialing and automated scheduling are only available in the most expensive plan–and customers may only choose one of these features to be included in their package
- Pricing is high compared to competitors
- Limited digital engagement channels (chat, SMS, email) are only included in the mid-range pricing plan and up
- Social messaging (Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, etc) only available as a paid add-on
Best Alternatives to Talkdesk
Below is a list of the best alternatives to Talkdesk.
1. Five9
Five9 is a leading provider of cloud contact center software that uses AI-powered tools, workforce optimization, and automations to offer companies a complete CCaaS solution.
Service channels include voice, email, chat, SMS, or social messaging. With a 99.999% uptime SLA and advanced security features including HIPAA compliance, Five9 is a popular choice for organizations in the healthcare and financial industries.
Plans and Pricing
Five9 offers four different pricing plans:
| Core | Premium | Optimum | Ultimate |
| $149 per month | $169 per month | $199 per month | $229 per month |
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Standout Features
Key Five9 features include:
- Workflow Automations: No-code intelligent workflow automations with multi-event triggers, custom business rules, and in-dashboard connectivity with 50+third-party apps (ideal for automated proactive omnichannel outreach, task assignment, agent scheduling, etc.)
- SMS: Filter and intelligently route SMS messages to the best available agent
- Reporting and Analytics: Real-time and historical reporting tools including 120 out-of-the-box reports and custom dashboards
- Workforce Management Dashboards: Agent wallboards, multichannel forecasting, automated scheduling, real-time adherence monitoring
Customer Support Options
All Five9 customers have 24×7 phone, email, and online support in addition to case management, customer support portal, and a comprehensive knowledge base.
Premium Support options provide direct access to Five9’s senior customer support, a dedicated technical account manager, and turnkey managed service solutions for administrative needs, including moves, adds, changes, and deletes.
Why We Picked Five9
While Five9’s least expensive Core plan is comparable to Talkdesk in price, Five9 advantages over Talkdesk include:
- An affordable digital-only plan with social messaging (Add-on only with Talkdesk)
- 6 types of auto dialers which included in all plans (Premium Talkdesk plans only offer power and preview auto dialers)
- Add-on real-time call center video chat (Not offered by Talkdesk)
Five9 Drawbacks
Five9 drawbacks over Talkdesk include:
- Five9 is more expensive than Talkdesk
- SMS/MMS is only included in the digital plan or as an add-on
- Five9 has fewer pre-built integrations than Talkdesk (though APIs are available)
Best For
Five9 is best for medium-sized inbound, outbound, and blended contact centers or small businesses experiencing rapid growth.
2. Aircall
Aircall is a cloud-based contact center software provider enabling businesses to manage phone calls, text messages, and other communication channels through a single platform.
Aircall features include call routing, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), call queuing, call recording, and analytics. Starting at $30 per user per month, Aircall has some of the lowest prices in the CCaaS space.
The provider also offers live customer support to all users and has an impressive number of native features and integrations.
Plans and Pricing
Aircall offers a traditional three tiered pricing model with annual discounts:
| Essentials | Professional | Custom | |
| Annual Price | $30 per user/month | $50 per user/month | Contact Aircall |
| Monthly Price | $40 per user/month | $70 per user/month | Contact Aircall |
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Standout Features
Key Aircall features include:
- After Call Work (ACW): Prevents agents from receiving their next call to complete after-call work like post-call notes, call tagging and filtering, task/follow-up assignment, CRM updates, etc.
- Call Monitoring: Enable managers monitor live calls or assist agents in real-time via chat messaging, call whisper, or call barge
- Conference Call: Collaborate with up to five participants per call, place callers on hold, remove or add participants, or dial new numbers during an active conference call
- Call Queueing: Personalize call hold time with custom music, greetings, or messages, set maximum hold times, enable automated callbacks (Professional and Custom Plans only)
Customer Support Options
Essential Plan customers can access email and phone support alongside live group onboarding sessions, while Professional Plan users also have a dedicated account manager and a personalized onboarding session.
Custom plan users have priority support.
Why We Picked Aircall
Aircall advantages over Talkdesk include:
- Over 100 integrations (many more than Talkdesk)
- Least expensive Talkdesk competitor (perfect for startups and small call centers with limited budgets)
Drawbacks of Aircall
Aircall drawbacks over Talkdesk include:
- Lack of workforce management tools, whereas (Talkdesk Elite plan includes WEM features)
- Minimal security features (Talkdesk Guardian provides high-level security)
Best For
Aircall is best for startups and small businesses needing an intuitive, affordable contact center solution with essential VoIP features. For businesses that have no use for advanced features such as video conferencing, conversational AI, or workforce management, Aircall is a solid choice.
3. Dialpad
Dialpad’s voice and digital CCaaS platform uses AI and NLP-powered tools like real-time sentiment tracking, AI coaching, and self-service digital agents to improve the customer experience across voice calling, webchat, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, and more.
Dialpad’s advanced WEM capabilities include forecasting, agent scheduling, and behavior adherence/scorecards.
Plans and Pricing
Dialpad does not publish its contact center prices online, but offers two bundled plans:
| Pro | Enterprise |
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Standout Features
Key Dialpad features include:
- Custom Call Queues: Set call queue maximums for wait time and number of callers, upload custom greetings and hold music, create custom routing rules (longest Idle, fixed order, round robin, etc.)
- Speech Coaching: Automated in-call AI-powered agent speech quality reminders automatically triggered when agents speak too quickly or speak uninterrupted for too long
- Sentiment Analysis: Real-time phone call sentiment (positive or negative customer mood) detection tool that identifies the specific sentence used to classify a conversation as good or bad
- Manager Alerts: Custom in-dashboard, email, SMS, and Slack performance monitoring alerts for KPIs and SLA thresholds (calls received, agent duty status, queue size, wait time, etc.)
Customer Support Options
The most basic Dialpad plan comes with 24/5 customer support through live chat and the web.
Pro and Enterprise customers get 24/7 chat/web coverage, along with phone support.
There’s also a detailed online Help Center database.
Why We Picked Dialpad
Dialpad advantages over Talkdesk include:
- Custom integrations with open APIs and nearly 100 out-of-the-box integrations (Much more than Talkdesk)
- More AI-powered tools than Talkdesk, including post-call summaries, speech coaching, and built-in digital deflection
- More digital channels than Talkdesk, including Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Webchat, and video conferencing
Drawbacks of Dialpad
Dialpad disadvantages compared to Talkdesk include:
- Lack of transparent pricing (Talkdesk offers affordable, transparent pricing and plans)
- Complicated installation, training, and set up process, unlike Talkdesk’s intuitive platform
Best For
Dialpad is best for SMBs looking to implement/improve omnichannel services at their contact center.
4. Twilio Flex
Twilio Flex is an omnichannel contact center platform that leverages a variety of communication channels including webchat, video and chatbots.
Twilio Flex combines an out-of-the-box contact center solution with customizable automations built via APIs, plugins, and integrations.
Twilio users can add on features as needed, and completely customize the user interface, reporting, and customer self-service experience–making Twilio one of the most flexible platforms in the CCaaS space.
Plans and Pricing
Twilio Flex offers two pricing plans and a free trial with 5,000 free active user hours. Instead of offering feature-based plans, Twilio Flex users can choose to pay a monthly or hourly rate.
Per-hour pricing is $1/hour per active user and is best for contact centers that need to scale up or down with seasonal changes.
Monthly pricing is $150/month per named user regardless of volume or activity.
Standout Features
Key Twilio Flex features include:
- Omnichannel Support: Web-based agent desktop for customer interactions across email, voice, video, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, web chat, and more–plus customer interaction history and real-time team collaboration tools
- Intelligent Routing: Template-based or custom omnichannel routing rules (skills-based, priority-based, support escalation, etc.)
- Reporting and Analytics: Built-in real-time analytics tools enable businesses to make data-driven decisions that optimize agent performance and customer experience
- Video Applications: Create custom video apps with unique layouts and virtual background, enable noise cancellation, automatically adjust video bandwidth
Customer Support Options
All Twilio users can contact customer support by submitting a ticket to Twilio’s web console and have access to Twilio’s knowledge base.
Twilio offers 3 live support plans:
- Production: $250/month, includes response time of 3-9 hours and live chat support
- Business: $1500/month, includes response time of 1-3 hours and phone support
- Personalized: $5000/month, includes response time of 1-3 hours, technical account manager, support escalation line, and quarterly status review
Why We Picked Twilio
Twilio advantages over Talkdesk include:
- As it is based on APIs, Twilio APIs offer more flexibility and customizability than Talkdesk
- Twilio offers more communication capabilities than Talkdesk, including chatbots, video functionality, and web chat
Drawbacks of Twilio
Disadvantages to Twilio when compared to Talkdesk include:
- Live support not included, users must purchase a customer plan (Talkdesk offers live phone support to all users)
- A steeper learning curve that, unlike Talkdesk, requires developer to set up
Best For
Twilio is best for teams that need a custom solution and have an IT team to implement it.
5. NICE CXone
NICE CXone is a virtual call center solution and communication platform designed to create seamless customer journeys while speeding up the resolution process.
NICE CXone users have access to a number of self-service features like conversational AI chatbots, virtual agents, and AI-powered call routing.
The platform also includes a robust stack of analytics tools including customer journey analytics, voice of the customer, performance analytics, and interaction analytics.
Plans and Pricing
Nice CXone does not publicize its prices, so companies must contact Nice CXone for a customized quote.
However, CXone offers 4 bundled plans: Customer Engagement, Essentials, Core, and Complete.
The Customer Engagement plan has a voice-only (includes ACD voice agent and self-service IVR), digital-only (includes digital channels and digital ACD but no ACD voice agent, self-service IVR or ports), and omnichannel version (includes ACD digital and voice agents, digital channels, self-service IVR, and advanced recording).
Below is a breakdown:
| Customer Engagement | Essentials | Core | Complete |
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Standout Features
NICE CXone key features include:
- Conversational AI Bots: No-code chat and voice bots free up agents by handling routine self-service requests such as password resets, balances transfers, status updates, and scheduling
- Multichannel Service: 30+communication channels in a unified digital inbox (voice, SMS, MMS, webchat, Twitter, Youtube) plus interaction history, sentiment analysis, CRM integration data, etc.
- Quality Management: Core+Complete have advanced agent coaching tools triggered by insights from quality management dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), agent scorecards, average handle time (AHT), and average customer sentiment
- Workforce Management: AI-powered omnichannel forecasting and agent scheduling based on preset agent skill sets, qualifications, availability, and other business rules
Customer Support Options
Nice CXone offers customer self-service via group discussions, user guides, and training materials. Customers can also send messages and submit tickets online. For 24/7 omnichannel technical support, customer support packages are available for purchase.
Why We Picked NICE CXone
Advantages of NICE CXone over Talkdesk include:
- More omnichannel functionality than Talkdesk (like WhatsApp, chat, and email)
- More self-service tools than Talkdesk (like chatbots)
- Mre advanced analytics than Talkdesk (Performance, interaction, and customer journey analytics, 90+ customizable report templates)
Drawbacks of NICE CXone
Disadvantages of NICE CXone when compared to Talkdesk include:
- Lack of transparent pricing compared to Talkdesk
- Talkdesk is easy-to-use, while NICE CXone has a high learning curve with a crowded interface
Best For
Due to its steep learning curve, advanced features, and higher price tag, NICE CXone is best for enterprises and large call centers needing deep insight into customer behavior.
6. Genesys
Genesys is a contact center software platform focused on enhancing agent and customer experience with self-service voicebots and chatbots and live communication across SMS, live chat, email, web messaging, and social media.
Genesys cloud also offers workforce management tools such as screen and interaction recording in its CX3 plan. Genesys’ platform is secure, with 13 compliance certifications including HIPAA.
Plans and Pricing
Genesys offers three different pricing plans, with CX2 and CX3 plans available in digital only and voice + digital versions:
| CX1 | CX2 | CX3 |
| $75 per mo/user | $95 (digital only)-
$115 per mo/user |
$135 (digital only)-
$155 per mo/user |
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Standout Features
- Chatbots and Voicebots: Dialog Engine Bot Flows uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to create chatbots/voicebots and analyze customer intent
- Agent Assist: Proactively provides live agents with personalized recommendations and guidance on next-best actions in context during interactions
- Speech and Text Analytics: Natural language understanding (NLU) sentiment analysis, transcription, and topic spotting to identify trends in agent/customer behavior
- Predictive routing and engagement: Leverages AI to match each customer to the best available agent, personalize customer communication, and engage with customers at an ideal part of the customer journey
Customer Support Options
Genesys users have 24/7 access to Genesys’ knowledge base which includes FAQs, articles and videos.
Live phone support is available–but only 5 days a week during business hours.
Why We Picked Genesys
Genesys is similarly priced to Talkdesk, but here some advantages with Genesys:
- Genesys offers advanced self-service features that Talkdesk doesn’t such as voicebots and chatbots
- Genesys offers more communication channels than Talkdesk, with web chat, messaging apps, and co-browse
Drawbacks of Genesys
Disadvantages of Genesys over Talkdesk include:
- Difficult set-up process
- Genesys has many fewer integrations than Talkdesk, and therefore won’t work for teams needing multiple integrations
Who it is Best For
Genesys is best for SMBs needing an affordable contact center solution with workforce management, omnichannel and self service capabilities in addition to inbound/outbound calling functionality.
7. 8×8
8×8 is a leading CCaaS provider with a reliable and secure platform known for its affordable pricing and global reach, enabling companies to make international calls to over 55 countries.
8×8 offers all users a 99.999% uptime guarantee as well as advanced security features including single-sign on (SSO) and HIPAA compliance.
8×8 also has a plethora of communication features including cross platform team messaging, video conferencing, and IIVR (Intelligent Interactive Voice Response.)
Plans and Pricing
8×8 has three pricing plans with contact center functionality:
| X6 | X7 | X8 |
| $85 per user/mo. | $110 per user/mo. | $140 per user/mo. |
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Standout Features
Key 8×8 contact center software features include:
- Video Meetings: Unlimited meeting duration with up to 500 participants plus features like screen sharing, virtual background, audio/video/desktop recording, audio sharing, live streaming via YouTube, end-to-end encryption, meeting lock, participant lobby, and participant restrictions
- Cross Platform Team Chat: Universal team chat space automatically adds users from company directory, one-click voice/video calling, conversation threads, file sharing, etc.
- Advanced Analytics: Customizable, AI-powered intelligence and reporting includes topic trending, customer behavior analytics, automated SLA notifications, etc.
- Intelligent IVR: Powered by Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), includes pre-built and customizable IVR templates for scheduling appointments, sending bill reminders, etc.
Customer Support Options
All 8×8 contact center customers have access to 24/7 live customer support via web case, chat, and phone. 8×8 also offers self service with an AI powered virtual assistant, knowledge base and community forums.
Why We Picked 8×8
8×8 is slightly more expensive than Talkdesk, but offers advantages including:
- 99.999% uptime SLA and SSO across all plans
- Video conferencing platform (Not available with Talkdesk)
- 8×8 includes advanced features that Talkdesk doesn’t, such as cross platform team messaging, social media messaging, and predictive/progressive auto dialing
Drawbacks of 8×8
Disadvantages of 8×8 compared to Talkdesk include:
- More expensive than Talkdesk and includes features smaller businesses won’t need
- Frequent customer complaints of untrained and unreachable customer service agents (Talkdesk is known for its fast customer service)
Best For
8×8 is best for SMBs and enterprises that need a secure, reliable and robust contact center platform with multiple channels, advanced analytics and video conferencing.
8. Freshdesk
The Freshworks an all-in-one contact center solution Freshdesk offers advanced VoIP telephony features including AI-powered voice bots, speech-enabled IVR, and real-time call monitoring dashboards.
Freshdesk Contact Center is also a part of Freshdesk Omnichannel, which includes multiple channels such as Whatsapp, Google Business Messages, Facebook Messenger, SMS, and Email, as well as workflow automations and support bots.
Plans and Pricing
Freshdesk is one of the few CCaaS providers to offer a pay-per-minute plan (agent licenses are free). In addition to its free plan, Freshdesk has three different bundled plans, below is a breakdown:
| Free (pay per minute) | Growth | Pro | Enterprise | |
| Annual Price | $0 | $15 per agent/mo. | $39 per agent/mo. | $69 per agent/mo. |
| Monthly Price | $18 per agent/mo. | $47 per agent/mo. | $83 per agent/mo. | |
| Included minutes per month | None | 2,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 |
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Standout Features
Key Freshdesk contact center software features include:
- Real-Time Analytics: 360-degree-view of KPIs with visible data restriction, incoming call assignment, custom views and filters, call monitoring, and call barge
- Multi-Level IVR: Allows customers to interact with pre-recorded call menu options via phone keypad or speech for self-service and 24/7 support (Enterprise plan only)
- AI-Powered Voicebots: Conversational AI-powered voicebots from Freddy AI provide natural-sounding automated customer support and improve over time with machine learning and customer feedback
- Call Notes: Agents can take and review in-call notes without leaving the main dashboard. Notes are automatically saved and synced across CRM tools, and can be shared or transferred to another agent along with the call itself
- Voicemail Transcription: Automatically converts voicemail messages to text, stores transcriptions and audio files in call metrics dashboard along with the call summary and other key
Customer support options
Freshdesk offers a number of customer self-service options including a knowledge base, community and FAQs. Customers can also submit support tickets online or contact Freshdesk by phone 24/7.
Why We Picked Freshdesk
Advantages of Freshdesk over Talkdesk include:
- Freshdesk offers some of the lowest prices in the CCaaS space–even lower than Talkdesk
- Freshdesk is part of a larger suite of digital customer support products which offer digital sales, marketing, and IT management tools (Talkdesk only offers contact center and WFM tools)
Drawbacks of Freshdesk
Disadvantages to Freshdesk over Talkdesk include:
- Freshdesk does not offer WFM or WEM tools (Talkdesk does)
- Freshdesk limits minutes on all plans (Talkdesk does not)
Who it is Best For
Freshdesk is best for SMBs looking to expand, as it offers more communication channels and more robust analytics (including live call tracking and data scoring) than Talkdesk. It also offers access to sales tools, marketing and campaign management features, and help desk capabilities.
9. Nextiva
Nextiva is a cloud-based business phone service that offers a user-friendly omnichannel contact center platform.
Offering workforce optimization and management tools like multi-channel staff forecasting, scheduling, and agent coaching, Nextiva is also a highly reliable solution with a 99.999% uptime and 24/7 live customer support for all users.
Plans and Pricing
Pricing for Nextiva’s contact center platform starts at $50 per agent per month, but companies must request a custom quote. There are four bundled plans offered by Nextiva, below is a breakdown:
| Core | Premium | Optimum | Ultimate |
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Standout Features
Key Nextiva call center software features include:
- Workflow Automation Suite: Automated workflows, real-time visualizations, pre-built integrations
- Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA): Available as an add-on, uses AI and machine learning to comprehend human speech and respond naturally, ideal for automating simple/recurring customer support requests
- Screen Pops: Shows agents essential native and CRM-integrated customer information during a live call, including phone numbers, past purchases, help desk tickets, and more
- Intelligent Routing: Directs calls to the appropriate agent based on their skills, the time of day, caller ID, and IVR input (skills based routing also applied to chat, SMS, and email communications)
Customer support options
All Nextiva contact center users have access to 24/7 live support as well as self-service customer service. A technical account manager (TAM) can be purchased as an add-on.
Why We Picked Nextiva
Advantages to Nextiva include:
- Nextiva offers a guaranteed uptime of 99.999% to all users whereas Talkdesk only offers a guaranteed uptime for its most premium plan
- For users that need access to unified communications as a service (UCaaS) features such as video conferencing and team collaboration, Nextiva Contact Center can be integrated with Nextiva’s VoIP service, whereas Talkdesk does not offer these features at all
Drawbacks of Nextiva
Disadvantages to Nextiva include:
- Nextiva offers many fewer integrations than Talkdesk
- Nextiva only includes its workflow automation suite in its “Ultimate” plan, while Talkdesk includes its automation designer (including workflow automation) in all plans
Best For
Nextiva is best for small support teams and SMBs that need a basic and affordable solution without a lot of extras.
10. RingCentral
RingCentral is one of the most established service providers in the cloud-based communications space, best known for its UCaaS platform, RingCentral MVP.
Its contact center solution is highly secure, reliable and packed with advanced features including conversational AI, workforce management, and real-time AI coaching. RingCentral offers over 30 communication channels like webchat, social media and messaging apps. RigCentral security features include end-to-end encryption, single sign on, and AI-based spam blocking. Ringcentral guarantees an uptime of 99.999%.
Plans and Pricing
RingCentral does not publicize its Contact Center prices, but offers 4 bundled plans and add-ons to create a customized solution:
| Essentials | Standard | Premium | Ultimate |
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Standout Features
Key RingCentral features include:
- Smart routing: Enables users to route inbound calls to queues based on agent skill, language, or channel (plus automatic callbacks)
- Artificial Intelligence: Virtual agents to provide customer support 24/7, live assist agent with guidance and coaching tools, AI-powered analytics monitor communication, trends, and customer sentiment
- Pre-built and custom reports: Over 100 pre-built reports to gain insight into contact center operations, plus custom reporting with 250+ metrics
- Auto Dialing: Progressive, preview, predictive, and TCPA safe dialer modes
Customer support options
RingCentral offers 24/7 live phone support for all contact center customers. Customer service can also be reached via live chat, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. RingCentral also has a robust knowledge base and user community.
Why We Picked RingCentral
Advantages of RingCentral over Talkdesk include:
- Performance management tools like agent coaching, feedback and gamification (Unavailable with Talkdesk)
- RingCentral’s MVP service with video calling is available as an add-on
- 30+ digital channels (Talkdesk only offers 3)
- Toll-free numbers and competitively priced bundled minutes (Talkdesk does not)
Drawbacks of RingCentral
Disadvantages of RingCentral include:
- RingCentral is more expensive than Talkdesk and is not transparent with its pricing
- Some users complain RingCentral customer service is poor, while Talkdesk receives high ratings for customer service
Who it is Best For
RingCentral is best for enterprises that require a high level of security and customization.
How to Choose the Right Alternative to Talkdesk
When choosing a contact center provider consider pricing and the features your team needs now and in the future.
Our quick cheat sheet for choosing the best Talkdesk alternative is:
- Providers known for quality customer service: Nextiva and Five9
- Providers that cater to startups and small businesses: Aircall and Freshdesk
- Providers that offer a high level of customization: Twilio Flex
- Providers that cater to large companies and enterprises: RingCentral
- Providers that cater to SMBs: Genesys and 8×8
