Nextiva, RingCentral, Grasshopper, Quo, Talkroute, and UniTel Voice offer different approaches to business calling.
This guide compares options for offices, remote employees,
entrepreneurs and small teams.
Start with the way your business handles calls. An office
replacing a PBX may need desk phones, extensions, call queues
and centralized administration. A solo business owner may
simply need a separate business number, professional greetings
and calls delivered to an existing smartphone.
Provider information reviewed:
.
Prices and features can change.
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current terms, features and total price before ordering.
These are not six identical services. Nextiva
and RingCentral belong on the shortlist for office phone
system requirements. Grasshopper, Quo, Talkroute and UniTel Voice
offer alternatives for businesses focused on mobile calling,
shared conversations or professional call routing.
Cloud Phone Systems for Offices and Growing Teams
Compare these providers when your requirements extend beyond
a second business number to employee calling, office call
handling and a broader communications platform.
Business phone and customer communications
Nextiva
Consider for: teams that want business calling, video,
messaging and room to add customer communication tools.
Nextiva's business plans start with Core for everyday
communications. Engage adds tools for handling more
customer interactions, while Scale brings a broader
customer experience platform with advanced routing and AI
transcription and summaries.
Features to compare
Core includes voice calling, business SMS, video
meetings, call routing, team chat and a mobile app.
Engage adds customer-to-team SMS, toll-free numbers
and minutes, and advanced reporting.
Scale adds features such as skills-based routing,
blended inbound and outbound calling, and AI summaries.
XBert AI Receptionist is offered as an add-on.
Advertised annual starting prices: Core $15,
Engage $25 and Scale $75 per user/month.
Nextiva's annual small-business pricing eligibility
specifies new customers with 1–100 employees and a
minimum paid term of 12 months.
Check before choosing: SMS allowances, recording,
CRM integrations and other capabilities vary by plan
or may require additional fees. Business phone plans
and contact center plans are separate offerings.
RingEX is RingCentral's current business communications
platform name. It brings calling and collaboration
together across desktop and mobile applications, with
support for compatible desk phones.
Features to compare
Business calling with unlimited external calls within
the United States and Canada.
Auto-attendant, meetings and team messaging capabilities.
Integrations with business applications and CRM platforms.
Advanced and Ultra packages add administrative and
analytics capabilities for more complex organizations.
Optional products include AI Receptionist and
enhanced call queue and business texting tools.
Pricing: compare the current Core, Advanced and Ultra
offers on RingCentral's website. Annual payment,
selected package and add-ons affect the total cost. Use certified
professionals for PBX integrations.
Check before choosing: confirm which integrations,
analytics and call handling features are included in
your quoted package. Do not assume every advertised
AI or customer engagement feature is part of the base plan.
Virtual and App-Based Phone Services for Small Businesses
Compare these services when your priorities are a separate
business number, professional call handling or customer
conversations shared across a small team.
Entrepreneurs and mobile businesses
Grasshopper
Consider for: solo business owners and small teams that
want a professional business number without building
an office phone installation.
Grasshopper focuses on separating business communications
from personal calls and making a small business easier
to reach. Compare its current plans against the number
of people, phone numbers and extensions you need.
What to compare
Business number and extension requirements.
How employees receive calls while working remotely.
Voicemail and business messaging requirements.
Monthly versus annual billing and current trial terms.
Pricing: view Grasshopper's current plan selector for
True Solo, Solo Plus and Small Business pricing,
included numbers and extensions.
Check before choosing: compare your required call
handling and collaboration features with the selected
plan. A mobile-focused virtual phone service should
not automatically be treated as a replacement for
every office PBX function.
Video overview; older videos may show previous plans.
Watch on YouTube
.
Shared calling and texting
Quo
Consider for: teams that want to share business numbers,
call history, texts and customer context in an app-based
workspace.
Quo, formerly OpenPhone, works on mobile and desktop
devices using an internet connection. Shared numbers
let teammates see conversations and coordinate
responses without relying on separate personal phones.
Features to compare
Local, toll-free and custom vanity number options.
Separate business and personal calls and voicemails.
Custom greetings based on business hours.
Routing to available employees or voicemail.
An app for making and receiving business calls.
Annual pricing per user/month: Starter $15,
Business $23 and Scale $35.
Monthly billing: $19, $33 and $47 respectively.
Check before choosing: phone menus and call transfers
require Business or higher. Messaging registration,
additional numbers, automated SMS and AI answering
usage can add costs.
Consider for: entrepreneurs and small teams that want a business
number, professional call routing and the flexibility to answer
calls using existing phones or business calling apps.
Talkroute combines business calling, texting and video meetings
with desktop, mobile and web apps. Its plans include a set number
of users, making it worth comparing with services that charge
a separate full subscription for every employee.
Features to compare
Basic includes one phone number, one voicemail box,
unlimited US and Canada calling, and 500 text messages
per month.
Call forwarding and routing let you direct business calls
to existing phones, while apps provide another way to
manage business communications.
Plus adds a call menu, single-digit extensions,
simultaneous ringing, live call transfers and
business-hours settings.
Pro adds unlimited menus, multi-digit extensions,
call recording, scheduled call forwarding and reporting.
Desktop, mobile and web apps, along with video meetings,
are included in all three standard plans.
Monthly plan pricing: Basic $19 with 1 user,
Plus $39 with 3 users, and Pro $59 with 10 users.
Additional users cost $5 per user/month.
These are plan prices, not per-user starting prices.
Check before choosing: compare included phone numbers,
voicemail boxes and monthly texting allowances.
Call menus and live transfers require Plus or higher;
call recording and scheduled call forwarding require Pro.
Confirm any charges for additional numbers, messaging
registration or usage beyond your plan's allowances.
Consider for: entrepreneurs and small businesses that
want a business number, custom greetings and calls
routed to available people.
UniTel Voice positions its service around helping
business owners handle calls professionally using
existing devices. Its website emphasizes personal
customer support and assistance getting started.
Features to compare
Local, toll-free and custom vanity number options.
Separate business and personal calls and voicemails.
Custom greetings based on business hours.
Routing to available employees or voicemail.
An app for making and receiving business calls.
Pricing: request or review the current UniTel Voice
plan details for your users, expected call volume
and required features.
Check before choosing: ask about included minutes,
overage rates, messaging, additional numbers and
the devices supported by your selected service.
Use these six providers as a shortlist, not a universal
ranking. Compare the exact plan against how your employees
work and how customers contact your business.
Office calling and collaboration:
compare Nextiva and RingCentral.
A separate business number for an entrepreneur:
compare Grasshopper and UniTel Voice.
Desktop, mobile and web apps, along with video meetings: compare Talkroute.
Shared customer calls and texts:
include Quo.
Questions to Ask Before Ordering
Which plan includes the call routing, recording,
texting and integrations we actually need?
What is the complete price, including equipment,
taxes, fees, add-ons and usage charges?
What billing commitment applies, and what happens
if we reduce users or cancel?
Can we keep our existing numbers, and what is the
transfer process?
What setup assistance and ongoing support are included?
All prices shown are in US dollars. Advertised rates
may depend on billing term, eligibility or selected
package. Taxes, fees, equipment and optional services
may increase the total. The provider's current order
terms control pricing and included features.
