8×8 vs RingCentral Price and Features Comparison 2021

8×8 vs RingCentral: which is better? A good VoIP platform can make a big impact on the way you communicate with your business, so picking the right one is important. While you won't got wrong with either 8×8 or RingCentral, it's 8×8 that we recommend over RingCentral, particularly if you're a small business that is concerned about value.

With a starting price per user per month of $12, 8×8 is $8 cheaper per month than RingCentral's best price. Not only that, but 8×8 goes on to beat RingCentral even more considerably on value when it comes to overseas calls. With certain 8×8 packages, calls to overseas territories are included in the base price, while with RingCentral, you'll pay by the minute. If you do a lot of business internationally, then 8×8 is a strong proposition.

We've taken a look at the features, integrations, pricing, support options, equipment and more, so read on to find out which VoIP service is the better fit for you. Or, if you're ready to sign up with a VoIP provider now, use our comparison tool to find the best fit for your business.

In this guide:

• 8×8 vs RingCentral
• Best Value VoIP Provider
• Best for Business Features
• Best for Call Quality
• Best for Equipment
• Alternative VoIP Providers
• Verdict: 8×8 or RingCentral?

8×8 vs RingCentral: Battle of VoIP Providers

When 8×8 and RingCentral step into the ring, it's going to be a close run thing. No one round knock outs here. Both providers offer brilliant services, competitively priced, and are regarded, rightly so, as premium VoIP solutions.

However, it's 8×8 that just clinches the final round. Why? Well, it's thanks to the competitive price from 8×8 – with an entry price of $12, it's a lot more attractive to smaller businesses than RingCentral's lowers price at $29.99 ($19.99 monthly if paid annually).

Not only that, but 8×8's inclusive call rates for overseas calls also makes it a more tempting proposition for those who trade (or want to) globally.

Our one caveat with 8×8 is that the $12 basic tier won't suit larger businesses, and is missing a lot of the features they could be looking for. Not a small business and not doing much overseas business? Go for RingCentral instead.

Of course, 8×8 and RingCentral are just two of the VoIP providers available to your business. For a bespoke quote that covers a wider selection of VoIP platforms, use our free comparison tool.

Best for Value

Winner: 8×8 if you make international calls, RingCentral if you don't

Cost isn't everything when it comes to VoIP, but it can certainly be one of the deciding factors – after all, with most VoIP platforms charging per user per month, the bigger your team, the more that even the smallest cost differences can add up, so lets cut to the chase and see how much 8×8 and RingCentral cost.

8×8 Pricing

8×8 offers three pricing tiers – 8×8 Express, X2, and X4, starting from $12.

8×8 Express is the basic tier, and is priced at $12 per month, per user. For this you'll get voice, video and messaging access, unlmited calling to the US and Canada, auto attendant, call routing, hold music and voice mail.

X2 is the middle tier, and offers everything you'll find in 8×8 Express, as well as extras, for $32 per month. However, it's worth noting that there is a 25% discount for those that wish to pay monthly, making the monthly cost $24 per month. With this you'll get unlimited voice calling to 14 countries, video and audio conferencing, SMS, MMS and Team Chat, business integrations and fax.

X4 is the premium package, priced at $57 per month. Again, there is a 25% discount if paid annually, bringing it down to $44 per month. At this tier you can expect unlimited voice calling to 47 countries, call quality reporting, supervisor analytics, monitor, whisper and barge options.

8×8 also offers a 30 day free trial.

RingCentral Pricing

RingCentral offers four packages, consisting of:

RingCentral Essentials at $29.99 ($19.99 is paid annually). On this tier you can expect unlimited calls within the US/Canada, unlimited SMS messages, voicemail to text, voicemail to email, document sharing call logs and call management administration.

RingCentral Standard costs $37.99 ($27.99 when paid annually). This tier adds a few extra features, such as 24/7 support, multi-level auto attendant, call recording (on demand) and integrations with popular apps such as Office 365, Google Workspace and Slack (note you don't get this on the Essentials package).

RingCentral Premium is priced at $44.99 ($34.99 paid annually). On this level you get single sign on, automatic call recording, real time analytics, CRM integrations with Salesforce and Zendesk, developer platform and hot desking.

RingCentral Ultimate costs $59.99 ($49.99 paid annually). As the price might imply, this is the package that offers everything, so here you can expect all features from previous tiers, as well as device status updates, device status alerts and unlimited storage.

RingCentral offers a free trial period.

For more choices, use our VoIP comparison tool to find the best provider for your business.

Best for Business Features

Call Management

It's no good paying for a VoIP system if it doesn't give you a good level of control over the calls that are coming in, and how your staff are handling them. Thankfully, neither RingCentral or 8×8 will let you down here.

With RingCentral, you can expect a range of features for managing calls, including setting answering rules which routes calls based on caller ID, time and date, call park that allows calls to be held in a virtual location and picked up from any phone in the system, and paging. Naturally there is also the standard features you'd expect, such as call forwarding, delegation, screening, as well as Call Flip, which lets the user move a call from a desk phone to a mobile or softphone.

In all honesty, the offering from 8×8 is very similar, and when it comes to call management the two services are pretty much aligned. Of course, 8×8 offer call routing call flipping, three way calling, blocking and call waiting. You can also expect other industry standards such as whisper, which allows supervisors to speak to call handlers without the caller hearing, and monitoring options.

Messaging – Team Chat

Collaboration is key when it comes to VoIP, and we really like RingCentral's suite of messaging options. Users can message both customers and other employees, and a drag and drop approach makes sharing files easy. Users can also assign tasks directly in the messaging app, with start and end dates, and it's easy to switch from messaging, straight to a video or audio call. The app also integrates with other tools such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

8×8 offers instant 1:1 messaging, as well as team messaging and the ability to share files in public or private rooms. Rooms can be tailored to be open to all, or restricted to select participants.  Naturally, the app integrates with others, meaning that two separate teams within the company could conceivably communicate with each other, even if  they're using two different apps.

Analytics and Reporting

As you'd expect from a decent VoIP solution, both 8×8 and RingCentral have robust options when it comes to reporting. RingCentral's  analytics portal is the go to place for anyone looking for detailed data of call output, quality, availability and more. Users can define who is able to access the analytics portal, and it can be tailored to the needs of the individual. It's also possible to see most used numbers (those that your customers are mainly calling you on), as well as performance reports, which shows call times, volume and more.

Users can also set up subscriptions, which will email reports to users on a regular basis.

The offering from 8×8 is very similar. Users can see and map every user journey to identify trends, and spot bottlenecks such as long call times and dropped calls.  A granular approach means that it's possible to see every step of a customer journey, from where they entered the system, to where they left, including time in self service, being passed between agents, queue time, and so on.  It's also possible to play back the entire call for context.

8×8 also offers a survey option to get the callers perspective on the experience, and collates this data into its own report.

Integrations

Integrations are an key component of VoIP software, as being able to use a VoIP platform alongside other solutions that you use can be a huge time saver, and really speed up your work processes.

Both 8×8 and RingCentral both offer a good selection of integrations, and you won't be left wanting, whichever you go with.

First up, 8×8. It offers integrations with Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Hubspot, Zendesk, Slack, Zoho, and more.

As for RingCentral, it's no slouch either, with connectivity with Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, G-Suite, Zoho and Zendesk, to name a few.

Mobile App

Naturally, every platform worth its salt has a mobile app these days, and Ooma and RingCental are no exception here. Both have apps available on Apple and Android devices, offering key elements of the platform, and allowing users to make and take calls wherever they are.

The 8×8 app is has a very healthy 4.2 rating on the Google Play store, with over 6,000 reviews. On the Apple store, it is rated slightly lower, at 3.7, with over 3,000 reviews.

RingCentral just edges out 8×8 on the Google Play store, with users rating it 4.4 with over 9,000 reviews. Pretty impressive. As for the Apple store, it manages a might score of 4.7, with over 11,000 reviews. It seems that RingCentral's app users are a very satisfied bunch.

RingCentral's app now includes Glip, its free video conferencing service, which is a nice bonus. With over 7,500 reviews on the Apple app store, RingCentral has a very impressive 4.6 rating, and actively replies to queries from reviewers (always a good sign). In a nice display of synchronicity, its app on the Google Play store for Android is also rated 4.6, with a similar number of reviews.

Both platforms appear to be well rated and liked by their audience, but there's not denying that RingCentral has the highest rated apps.

International Calling

When it comes to international calling, 8×8 is a strong contender that RingCentral struggles to stand up against the. The reason for this is that at certain tiers, calls are included to many countries, rather than being charged per minute. With the basic Essentials tier, you only get calls to the US and Canada included. However, with X2, you also get calls to landlines in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom

The X4 tier includes the above, plus Argentina, Chile, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

With RingCentral, calls to countries outside the included US and Canada are charged per minute.

Languages Supported

Naturally, both 8×8 and RingCentral are delivered in English, but if you want to know what other languages both platforms cater for, we've got you covered.

8×8 supports English, Japanese, French, Canadian French, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian and Spanish.

RingCentral supports English (US), English (UK), German, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), French, French Canada, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Dutch.

Best for Call Quality

There's no denying that VoIP call quality has come along way from its early days, and is now indistinguishable from a traditional landline – your customers won't notice the difference. However, there can be some variation in call quality between providers still, so it's important to know that the VoIP provider you opt for can deliver.

8×8 includes reporting that allows users to analyse and view data related to call quality, as well as offering suggestions for resolving any recurring issues. Calls are assigned their own quality rating, from poor to excellent, which makes spotting those crackly calls a lot easier when you're pulling off reports. Data nerds can drill down into the details of just why a call wasn't up to scratch using various included parameters, such as time of call, IP address, network packet loss ratio, location of call and more.

RingCentral offers Quality of Service diagnostics with its Standard, Premium and Ultimate tiers, allowing you to see the rating of individual calls for quality. If they don't meet up to the expected standard, RingCentral offers a troubleshooting guide to ensure your calls are hitch-free in the future.

Best for Customer Support

8×8

8×8 packages give users access to comprehensive and thorough training tools, including 24/7 online training that can be completed at the employee's own pace, with topics that cover everything a new member of staff would need to know.

This is coupled with virtual, trainer-led courses at convenient dates for your business, in various time zones, which offer blended learning bonus modules for new systems administrators.

There is also an 8×8 certification system, which will contribute to your system administrator knowledge.

Support options

• Phone: 1-408-687-4120
• Email: support@8X8.com
• Live chat support
• 24-hour support line

Training options

• Online training videos
• Online training manuals
• Virtual live courses
• Certification scheme

RingCentral

RingCentral hosts its online training resources on what it calls ‘RingCentral University', essentially a central resource for all things RingCentral. If you can't find the answer to your question here, then chances are it simply doesn't exist.

Users can register to access webinars to get up to speed, from beginners (‘Onboarding: RingCentral Coffee Kick Off') to slightly more advanced topics such as anything from call queue management to scaling your customer experience with your business. There are even regular drop in sessions where users can ask a RingCentral trainer that question that has been bugging them.

In addition to the webinars, there are also online courses, including one aimed at those working from home.

Support options

• Phone: 1-888-528-7464
• Community-led support
• Live chat support
• 24-hour support line

Training options

• Central training resource
• Webinars
• Drop in sessions
• Online courses

Phone Handsets and Hardware

Whichever provider you choose to go with, you'll have plenty of choice when it comes to hardware. Both 8×8 and RingCentral have a good selection of phones and other equipment that should suit your needs and budget.

8×8 phones are primarily provided by three brands – Cisco, Poly and YeaLink – all well recognised names in the VoIP world. The pricing runs from around $100 for an entry level phone, such as the Cisco 7811, to around $350 for a more advanced model, like the Cisco 8861.

8×8 also offers a financing option to. Equipping your office with a set of new phones could be expensive, but it can lessen the blow to play for it monthly rather than outright, especially for a fledgling business. Some phones can be purchased for $5 a month.

As well as VoIP phones, 8×8 also offers other equipment, such as conference phones, like the Poly Trio 8500, which suits small to medium conference rooms, with a range of 14 feet.

To get an idea of what equipment you'll need, and how much you'll have to spend, use our free comparison tool for a quote.

RingCentral offers a lot of the same models as 8×8, but has a wider range when it comes to choice. It includes brands such as Polycom, Cisco, Unify and Yealink. Its cheapest model, the Polycom VVX 150 is priced at $89.

RingCentral phones can also be rented from the company instead, which could be a savvy move for businesses who aren't sure how many model to commit to, or who might want to upgrade quickly.

As well as phones, RingCentral also offers conference phones,  (Polycom models), wireless headsets, and paging systems.

Alternative VoIP Providers

RingCentral vs Ooma

If you're wondering how RingCentral stacks up against other providers, then we have the answer, as we've researched plenty of other VoIP providers, here at Tech.co. One of RingCentral's closest competitors is Ooma. While it's a close run thing, we found that Ooma just edged out RingCentral, and it mainly came down to price.

While we can't help but be impressed by the volume of integrations, and features that RingCentral offers, it simply can't compete with Ooma on value. In our research we found that not only was the monthly cost of Ooma cheaper than Ringcentral, it also had lower rates for international calls. In the long run, users could find themselves paying considerably less for Ooma than RingCentral, especially if they make a lot of international calls.