Best Call Center Software Providers

If you’re after versatile and reliable call center software, our research suggests RingCentral is the best option out there. It offers a range of advanced features, like omnichannel routing and real-time analytics, as well as plentiful optional add-ons, making it a safe bet for small and large businesses alike.

If you’re after a slightly more affordable option, Aircall is another stellar choice that’s kitted out with advanced interactive voice response (IVR) technology.

Whether you’re managing a team of five or 500, call center phone systems help businesses to streamline communication with their customers in the most affordable way possible. From basic softphone and call center features to advanced analytics and IVR, the software makes light work out of managing calls, leaving agents with more time to tend to customer queries.

However, it can be hard for businesses to pin down a solution that aligns with their specific needs. To help, we’ve ranked and reviewed the top call center phone systems, below. You can also use our free comparison tool to receive custom telephone system quotes for your exact requirements.

In this guide:

• Best Call Center Phone Systems: Ranked
• Best Call Center Phone Systems: Reviews
• Benefits of Call Center Phone Systems
• Methodology: How We Test Call Center Phone Systems
• Verdict 
• Frequently Asked Questions

Best Call Center Phone Systems: Ranked

Best Call Center Phone System Reviews

According to our research, the top call center providers is RingCentral, but there are many other high-quality options out there. Aside from determining the best call center phone overall, we also identify the main strengths of each piece of software. Use the jump links below to learn more about each solution.

1. RingCentral Contact Center – Best call center software overall
2. Aircall – Best for CRM integrations
3. Freshdesk – Best value call center software
4. 8×8 Contact Center – Best help and support options
5. Zendesk – Best reporting and analytics features
6. Five9 – Best for work optimization

RingCentral Contact Center

• Prices from: Available on request
• Best for: Overall call center software

RingCentral is best known for producing industry-leading VoIP solutions, but the provider offers a very competitive call center software package as well. RingCentral Contact Center is an omnichannel solution that allows customers to reach out to you in a number of ways, including live chat tools, voice calls, social media, emails, and SMSes.

According to our research, RingCentral’s customer support options scores 5/5, and it’s also one of the easiest platforms to use on this list. This makes it a great option for businesses using call center software for the first time. In addition, it has an impressive suite of features and a large app gallery, which lends itself to call centers with extensive or complex needs.

Due to its versatility, 24/7 help options, and reasonably priced plans, we think it’s the #1 call center software out there. However, businesses should note that while the solution is generally quite affordable, lots of features (including predictive and progressive dialers) come at a premium, bumping up the price of the service overall.

RingCentral Features

• Omnichannel routing
• Real-time analytics and reporting
• Workforce optimization tools
• Management interface
• Advanced interactive voice response (IVR) system
• Call monitoring
• Screen recording

RingCentral Pricing

RingCentral Contact Center is available in four packages: Essentials, Standard, Premium, and Ultimate. The prices of these plans are not available online, so businesses will have to contact sales for a quote.

• Essentials – The provider’s Essential plan includes automatic call distribution features, making it easier for callers to connect to live agents, as well as IVR tools.
• Standard – RingCentral Standard offers everything in the Essentials tier, with additional omnichannel routing features and advanced voice recording.
• Premium – The provider’s Premium offering includes everything in the previous plans with additional quality management features.
• Ultimate – RingCentral Ultimate includes the provider’s full suite of call center tools, including workforce and performance management features.

Aircall

• Price: from $30 per user, per month
• Best for: CRM integrations

Aircall is an intuitive cloud-based contact center that integrates with Hubspot’s customer relationship management (CRM) system.

With real-time reporting and in-depth analytics, teams can effectively monitor call activity and make informed decisions. This system also offers impressive calling features including local phone numbers, custom call waiting and messages, call reporting, and click-to-call, which is great for businesses handling a large number of calls. In fact, we’ve awarded Aircalls a score of 4/5 for its feature set, which suggests its toolkit is more advanced than rivals like Freshdesk and Zendesk.

Moreover, Aircalls’s unique app marketplace lets companies connect the service with a number of different integrations like Hubspot, Salesforce, and Shopify, extending the use of the software even further.  

Despite the software’s robust offering, Aircall does lack certain advanced call center features. This prevents it from defeating our current champ, RingCentral.

Freshdesk

• Price: From $15 per user, per month
• Best for: Overall value

If you’re looking for comprehensive call system software, Freshdesk is another safe bet. Formally known as Freshcaller, Freshdesk is scalable, easy to use, and prides itself on being a “minimum-fuss” customer support platform on its website. Despite its simple interface, Freshdesk doesn’t skimp on advanced features. From its AI-driven voice capabilities to After Call Work (ACW) tools, the software is packed with a number of features designed to help you stay on top of your customer service game.

Freshdesk is a comprehensive cloud-based customer support platform that provides all the basics a contact center needs. The service features a healthy range of CRM tools that improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and deliver automated functions. Freshdesk starts at one of the lowest prices in the industry, making it better for smaller operations than services like RingCentral and Aircall. What’s more its been given a 4.8/5 score for scalability, which suggests it’s able to effortlessly scale alongside your business.

Freshdesk Features

• Intelligent ticket assignment
• Agent collision detection
• Multichannel support – Email, phone, chat and social media
• Speech-enabled IVR
• Voicebot tools
• Security profiles
• Supports Windows and MacOS

Freshdesk Pricing

Freshdesk is available in four packages: Free, Basic, Pro, and Enterprise.

• Free – Freshdesk’s free plan offers users to buy local numbers, buy-toll free numbers and inbound caller ID, but it lacks the advanced features available in higher tiers.
• Growth – Freshdesk is available at $15 per user, per month (when charged annually), and comes with up to 2000 free incoming minutes per month, as well as number porting, voicemail, and basic call queue tools.
• Pro – Freshdesk Pro will cost businesses $39 per user, per month (when charged annually), and includes everything in the Basic tier with additional holiday routing, call barging, and advanced call metric features. Freshdesk Pro also provides users with 3000 free incoming minutes each month.
• Enterprise – Finally, Freshbook’s comprehensive package will cost businesses $69 per user, per month (when charged annually), offers 5000 free incoming minutes per month, and includes additional omnichannel routing and speech-enabled IVR capabilities.

8×8 Contact Center

• Price: From $85 per user, per month
• Best for: Help and support options

Serving businesses since 1987, 8×8 is another leading VoIP solution with a dedicated call center package. Guaranteeing users an impressive 99.999% uptime, it is one of the most reliable services we’ve researched, and its expansive calling features make it suitable for small and large call centers alike. 8×8 Contact Center also offers omnichannel routing, providing customers with opportunities to reach out by phone, text, email, and social media. What’s more, our research team awarded the provider a customer support score of 5/5 – placing the system’s help and support options at the top of this list.

Despite the software’s top-tier features and stellar support, its call center packages are not as affordable as many of its rivals. This hurdle prevents 8×8 Contact Center from appearing any higher on our list.

8×8 Features

• Real-time reporting
• Multi-channel engagement
• Mobile and desktop apps
• Voicemail-to-email functionality
• Internal team messaging and file-sharing
• Number porting
• Integrations including SalesForce, Zendesk, and Netsuite

8×8 Pricing

8×8’s only offers two plans catered to call centers: X6 and X7.

• X6 – 8×8’s cheapest call center package will cost businesses $85 per user, per month. This plan offers basic calling features, call analytics, and lots of management options including omnichannel and skills-based routing.
• X7 – 8×8’s premium call center plan retails at $110 per user, per month and includes all the trimmings of the X9 package, with additional chat, email, and social media channels and co-browsing options.

Zendesk Talk

• Price: From $49 per user, per month
• Best for: Reporting features

Zendesk Talk is another cloud-based call center software with many versatile functions. Created by the bright minds at Zendesk, the platform also welcomes multi-channel customer communication and offers an abundance of high-tech features like IVR tools and an application programming interface. Tech.co’s research suggests the package has the best call center metrics too, with Zendesk’s real-time reporting and motoring features making it simple and fast for managers to monitor call performance.

Zendesk Features

• Omnichannel routing
• Advanced reporting
• IVR tools
• Calling web widget
• Voicemail and text messaging
• Click-to-call
• Outbound caller ID
• Mute and call forwarding

Zendesk Pricing

• Suite Team – Zendesk’s cheapest call center plan is available for $49 per user, per month, and offers reporting and analytic functions, ticketing systems, and 50 MB of data storage per agent.
• Suite Growth – This plan costs businesses $79 per user, per month, and includes everything in Zendesk’s Suite Team package with 50 MB of extra storage and customizable integrations.
• Suite Professional – Zendesk’s premium plan costs $99 per user, per month. It contains everything featured in Suite Growth with additional IVR tools, integrated community forums, and HIPAA compliance.

Five9 Contact Center

• Price: From $149 per user, per month
• Best for: Work optimization tools

Five9 is a solid call center software provider that offers all the tools you need to manage teams and handle large call volumes. The service contains basic softphone features, work optimization capabilities, and even a blended call center which allows agents to handle customer calls in multiple channels.

Unfortunately, Five9’s pricing tiers are pretty steep, making it a less affordable option for smaller call centers. In fact, our research suggests awarded the system a pretty dismal value for money score of 3/5, making it by far the least economical option on this list.

Also, you will need to fork out for the Premium plan to unlock omnichannel support, while these features are available with providers like Freshdesk for as little as $69 per user, per month.

Five9 Features

• Blended contact center
• Agent desktop plus
• Intelligent Routing
• On-Screen Caller Info
• Real-time reporting
• Historical data
• Workforce management tools
• Quality control

Five9 Pricing

• Core – Five9’s cheapest call center plan comes in at a not-so-cheap $149 per user, per month. This tier contains basic conference call features like softphone, call recording, and blended contact center tools, as well as real-time reporting and analytics.
• Premium – Fine9’s premium plan costs businesses $169 per user, per month, and features everything in the Core package with additional omnichannel support and quality management.
• Optimum – This plan retails for $199 per user, per month. It contains everything in the previous tier with additional workforce optimization tools to streamline call center management.
• Ultimate – Finally, Five9’s most expensive package is $229 per user, per month, and it contains the provider’s full suite of features with additional access to workflow apps like Proactive Notifications.

Benefits of Call Center Phone Systems

Compared to traditional call center systems that rely on bulky, physical hardware, there are countless benefits to VoIP call center software.

Fortunately for businesses, call center technology has come a long way in recent years. Modern-day VoIP systems enable businesses to make calls from any desktop computer that can be integrated with an IP telephone. Unsurprisingly, this unlocks tons of advantages that can’t currently be matched by the traditional telephone. Here are just a few:

Greater Flexibility

Cloud and VoIP systems offer much greater flexibility for businesses. Software programs can be integrated, providing greater operational efficiency. Other systems – including email, CRM, conferencing, agent-to-customer live chat, and other customer service functions – can also be integrated.

VoIP technologies allow a representative to multi-task. An agent can speak to a customer while easily accessing other resources like customer records, order history, and any data they need to answer the customer’s questions.

On top of all that, mobile app integrations can allow both managers and representatives to communicate while on the move.

Higher Productivity

Any operation can benefit from an easy boost to productivity. Call center software greatly increases productivity by allowing agents to attach documents to customer records, attend virtual meetings, and share customer and business information with ease.

Call center representatives need to access information and multi-task without any interruptions or issues. With this software, they’ll be able to get the info they need, when they need it.

Improved Communications

Thanks to the technology that supports cloud and VoIP solutions, call clarity is much better. You’ll see far fewer distorted phone calls, dropped calls, and poor connections… not to mention the headaches that go along with them. The result? Better communication, and a higher standard of customer care.

Cost Savings

The upfront and ongoing operating costs tend to be lower for VoIP systems than for hardwired phone centers. Your business will be in the black sooner, leaving you a profit that can go towards invesing in other areas.

Easier Installation

As all of the software is managed externally, both VoIP and browser-based software solutions are super easy to install and manage. All you have to do is ensure that you’re downloading the latest updates, and you’re all set.

Businesses also won’t need to worry about vast telephone networks or complex IT requirements. Browser-based software can be up and running in a matter of minutes, with no need to hire an in-house IT employee.

Read our reviews of the best multi-line phones.

Methodology: How We Test Call Center Phone Systems

The difference that quality call center software can make to a business is night and day. We know this more than anyone at Tech.co, and this is why we put each software provider through the wringer to help you make the most informed decision possible. 

First, we conduct rigorous desk-based research on the leading providers by assessing their packages, reading their small print, and surveying their customer reviews on Trustpilot and Trustradius. Then, we compare each provider against key criteria including reliability, price, help and support options, feature set, external connections, and ease of use. 

We use these findings to award each system a unique five-star score across all of these areas, as well as a score for their overall offering. These ratings are then used to rank each provider in order of quality to see which options are stronger overall. Additionally, these category scores can be used to help call centers find solutions that match up best with their specific needs. 

This is how we rate call service software providers, but we rank and review products a little differently throughout our site, depending on what matters the most to our readers. To learn more about what goes behind our product recommendations, learn more about our research process here.

How to Find the Best Call Center Phone System

Picking the right contact center phone system can significantly boost the speed and performance of your team. However, given the large and growing number of providers to choose from, setting on that perfect solution can feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

If you’re struggling to land a call center phone system, here are some key factors to consider when browsing the market:

• Customer support options – Finding a provider with an excellent customer service team is a necessity for any fast-paced call center team. Whether large or small, your team will inevitably need experts on hand to deal with requests related to your phone systems. Therefore, finding a provider that includes quality 24/7 support through a number of channels is a must.
• Features – Call center software providers will offer a range of features depending on what they specialize in. These might range from CRM integration to mobile app integration, or from call queuing to advanced automation of common tasks.
• Integrations  – Unless you find software that’s truly a jack of all trades, it’s wise to look out for solutions with solid optional add-ons. This way, you can increase the versatility of your system by connecting it with useful CRM, help desk, and productivity tools.
• Cost – Call center prices can vary sharply between provider, depending on the features included, the functionality each feature offers, the quality of support, and the number of agents per month who’ll be using the service. Some vendors will include a minimum cost – usually around $2,000 – making them cost-effective only for mid-size or larger operations.

Additional factors to consider include the level of security offered, the ease of setup and the learning curve required, whether you’ll get a free trial to test-run everything, and the amount of uptime you can expect from your future provider.

FAQs