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Our research shows that RingCentral provides the best softphone app for businesses, as it offers the best customer support and high scalability, and integrates easily with popular software your business is likely already using.
Other worthy picks include 8×8, for its unbeatable security and large features catalog, as well as Vonage, which is best for training employees and for its inbound-call features.
We know softphone apps are growing in leaps and bounds thanks to the rise of hybrid work – but not all of them will be a good fit for your business. You can find out which ones are, however, by using our free comparison tool. All you have to do is answer a few questions about the size of your business and the features you need most – which takes just seconds. On this page, we list our top picks.
| Price from The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Best app for | Free Trial | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST OVERALL  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| RingCentral | 8×8 | Zoom Phone | Vonage | Counterpath Bria | ZoiPer | GoTo Connect | Line2 | 3CX |
| $4.95/user/month | $49.95 one-time cost | $175/10 users/year | ||||||
| Overall softphone functionality | Sales teams | Value for money | Retail, training, and customer service | Affordability | Security | Scaling | Value for money | Windows users |
| 15 days | 30 days | None | 14 days | Free plan | Free plan | Free demo only | 30-day money back guarantee | Free plan |
What Is A Softphone Software?
A softphone is a software-based phone. It sends and receives phone calls over the internet instead of traditional physical telephone lines. You can use a softphone app from your smartphone or from a desktop computer. Softphones are a great fit for any business that offers customer service, sales, or support. Benefits include lower costs, more features, and more flexibility, since workers can place calls from any device with the app, rather than from the same terminal every time.
Softphones are easy to use with handsets and headsets, but any extra hardware is not required. Softphones can also be bundled into a more complex communication software, allowing workers to handle phone calls, video meetings, and more from the same interface. Prices vary, but typical costs can range between $10 and $30 per user, per month.
Best Softphone Apps
If you already have a business VoIP provider, you'll probably have a softphone app included in your service package. If you’re already with RingCentral then, for example, it would make sense to stick with their app, as this will offer optimal integration with your existing phone system.
Alongside these provider softphone platforms, we’ve also listed several other standalone apps that can be used regardless of which VoIP service you use. We're confident that you’ll find exactly the right solution for your requirements – whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, head of a sales team, or part of a large enterprise. Here are Tech.co's top picks:
- RingCentral Office – best overall softphone app for businesses
- 8×8 Softphone App – best for sales teams
- Zoom – best value for money
- Vonage – best for training features
- Counterpath Bria Teams – best for affordability
- ZoiPer 5 PROÂ – best for security
- GoToConnect – best for scaling
- Line2 – best for customizability
- 3CX Softphone – best for Windows users
We conducted a whole bunch of research to put together this article about the best softphone apps for businesses. We've checked which options are best for features like cost, customizability, and security. However, we'd advise getting a free quote tailored to your business (it takes less than a minute!) so you'll know exactly how much you'll be paying.
Expert Tip
Some softphone apps have robust security, collaboration, and team management features, which make them ideal for scaling alongside your business – but not all providers offer packages that will be able to cater to rapidly expanding companies. If you're on track to grow significantly in the next year, ensure you're not investing in a VoIP system incapable of joining you on the journey.
1. RingCentral Office
Best overall softphone app for business
Price: $20 per user per month
The RingCentral softphone application is the best choice for most businesses since it offers the best customer support, the ability to support a rapidly scaling operation, and the external connectivity to ensure it will work with your existing software and infrastructure. It performed the best out of the 12 softphone app providers we've tested with an overall score of 4.7/5.
Add up all those benefits, and you have a VoIP solution that will streamline your business and spur long-term growth. In fact, RingCentral was awarded a test high 4.9/5 for scalability thanks to a broad range of management features such as call transcripts and monitoring, as well as robust security tools for securing employee accounts such as multi-factor authentication.
RingCentral's softphone app operates on web, desktop, or mobile (Windows, Mac, iOS and Android) and provides a seamless, high-quality experience, whether you need it for video or audio call softphone functionality. The app is free, although you'll need to sign up to RingCentral Office to use it.
The app is bound to improve your team's communication and collaboration, and is worthy of the top spot on this list. And with a 4.5-star average customer rating across the App Store and Play Store, it seems most users would agree with us.
RingCentral lets you switch devices during a call, as well as access files and add guest users – all of which are super useful and make the overall call experience smoother. There are voicemail-to-text and voicemail-to-email options, and you can even listen to your voicemails inside your web browser.
Find out if this is the right provider for your business by using our free comparison tool, which will match you to a softphone app based on your answers to a few quick questions about your business. Or, take a look at the different RingCentral pricing plans for yourself:
Pricing
RingCentral Office is available in three plans: Core, Advanced and Ultra. The prices discussed below are based on two to 20 users when paid annually.
The Core plan starts at $20 per user, per month for up to 20 lines. If you need more than this – on any RingCentral plan – you'll have to contact sales and get matched to a plan/price. The Core plan includes unlimited calls within the US/CA, voicemail-to-text transcription, messaging, and document sharing. Use business SMS messaging sparingly, though: You'll be restricted to 25 per user per month.
The Advanced plan costs $25 per user, per month and adds plenty of useful features including call queues, ring groups, call barge and whisper, call monitoring, analytics, and a selection of integrations for CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, and both external and internal live chat. Business SMS is 100 per user per month.
The top tier plan, Ultimate, is $35 per user, per month and will grant you access to RingCentral's business analytics platform, plus unlimited storage, device-level analytics and alerts, and other advanced features and reporting functions enterprises need, such as end-to-end encryption for video meetings. Business SMS is 200 per user per month.
Features
- Up to 20 lines are available (sales team must be contacted if you need more)
- Voicemail-to-text functionality
- Business SMS texts
- Document sharing
- Team messaging
RingCentral competes with the best video conferencing platforms on the market.
What's new for RingCentral?
August 2023: Previously “unlimited” business SMS messaging is now capped at 25, 100, or 200, depending on the plan.
Pros:
- Affordable pricing plans
- Dual functionality with phone and video
- Large feature set
Cons:
- Learning curve for beginners
- No flexibility on VoIP provider
2. 8×8 Work
Best for sales teams
Price: $24 per user, per month
8×8 is a great pick for sales teams, given its peerless ratings across four categories: Our researchers found 8×8 was the best VoIP software for and security tools (5/5), as well as tying with RingCentral for scalability (4/9/5). This is in part thanks to excellent collaboration features like a team messenger and task manager, and training features like call recording and monitoring, which will benefit growing teams that need to quickly upskill increasing numbers of fellow staff.
Those are all top concerns for sales teams, which need maximum functionality while keeping data secure and retaining the ability to grow quickly down the road. Customer support can also be a dealbreaker for many businesses without in-house IT support, and 8×8 scores a perfect 5/5 again. You can contact 8×8 by phone, email, and live chat, and there's even 24/7 live support, which helped it achieve top marks in this assessment area.
8×8's mobile app, 8×8 Work, offers a great visual voicemail setup which makes it easy to check in on your messages without dialing in. Plus, you'll have access to other advanced features, like transcription and an auto attendant, which our testers think could make your life a bit easier. You can also create your own public and private chat rooms.
8×8 Work works on iOS and Android, as well as Windows and Mac. However, again, this is not a standalone softphone, and is only available to those with a paid 8×8 X Series subscription or a free 8×8 Express trial.
Pricing
8×8 offers five different pricing plans. The X2 plan costs about $24 per user per month and includes features like voicemail transcription, single sign-on and call activity analytics, as well as unlimited calling in 14 countries and unlimited calling within the US and Canada. The X4 plan will run you $44 per user per month. It does, however, offer robust analytics along with unlimited calls to 48 countries, and includes even more communication features than the X2 plan.
8×8's “Contact Center” plans – the X6, X7 and X8 – incrementally increase access to more advanced business features. The X6 plan ($85 per user, per month) lets you access things like call activity analytics, supervisor analytics, contact center reporting and analytics, and single sign-on. The X7 ($110 per user, per month) adds omnichannel routing of voice, chat, emails, SMS, social media, and messaging applications, while the X8 plan ($140 per user, per month) includes features like an auto dialer, quality management, and speech analytics.
Features
- Auto attendant
- Transcription
- Visual voicemail
- intelligent call routing
- Content & file sharing
- On-hold music
- Team messaging
Read more about 8×8 in Tech.co's independent review.
What's new for 8×8?
August 2023: Prices are no longer available online, and the above estimates are subject to change. You'll have to contact 8×8 for a quote to confirm how much your plan will cost. The X8 plan has an auto dialer.
Pros:
- Great telephone system features
- Easy to use and setup, even for beginners
- Full control over schedule and meetings
Cons:
- Occasional connectivity problems
- No VoIP provider flexibility
3. Zoom
Best value for money
Price: $10 per month
Unless you've been living under a rock since 2020, you're likely familiar with Zoom as a popular web conferencing tool. Its meteoric rise during the pandemic made it the go-to option for video chats, thanks to its notable ease of use and affordability. It boasts an incredible 3.3 trillion meeting minutes each year.
However, Zoom has been busy building out its business offerings, and Zoom Phone represents an excellent VoIP option with a solid softphone app to go along with it. In our research, Zoom Phone ranked highly across most categories, netting an overall score of 4.4/5, our third-best ranking.
In fact, Zoom Phone was considered the best value option in our VoIP research with a 5/5 value-for-money score, which is saying something considering the competition. Despite having a low starting price, it has a vast array of outbound communication features, including voicemail-to-text, ring groups, call queues, and spam prevention on all of its plans. That high value-to-cost ratio makes it a standout pick for softphone “switchers” – businesses that aren't happy with their current service and need something that costs less or accomplishes more.
As for the actual app, Zoom is notorious for offering easy-to-use interfaces that even the most novice of beginners can figure out. With high ratings across both the App Store and the Play Store, there's a good reason why Zoom is near the top of this list.
Pricing
Zoom Phone has three pricing plans: the Metered plan, the Unlimited plan, and the Pro Global Select plan. The Metered plan costs $10 per user, per month, the Unlimited plan costs $15 per user, per month, and the Pro Global Select plan costs $20 per user, per month.
You may have noticed that Zoom Phone is one of the cheapest on this list. In fact, it's easily the best value, undercutting many providers on price while still providing a lot of features. Counterpath Bria Teams is the only noteworthy softphone app that's more affordable, and it doesn't have nearly as many features. Simply put, if value for money is important to you, Zoom Phone is a no-brainer.
Features
- Call recording
- Single sign-on
- Holiday and business hours routing
- 256-bit authentication encryption
- 24/7 live chat and phone customer support
- Integrates with Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft, and Google
Highlights
- Very low starting price ($10/user/month)
- Highly scalable, with features for growing businesses
- Excellent average customer score
Key Features
- Unlimited users on all plans
- Salesforce, MS Teams & Zendesk integrations
- Lots of management features like call transcripts
- Pricing starts at $10/user/month
- Unlimited plan from $15/user/month
- Select plan ($20/user/month) with unlimited calling to 40+ countries
4. Vonage
Excellent training features
Price: $19.99 per user, per month
Like RingCentral and 8×8, Vonage has solid features and scores 4.5/5 for scalability. Our testers found it to be the best software for onboarding new employees, and it stands out more generally for staff training features thanks to well-crafted tools for handling inbound calls, from call transcripts to call recording.
This excellent selection helped Vonage to a 4.4/5 score for overall features, the third highest out of the 12 VoIP providers we tested.
Retailers will find Vonage useful: Upskilling employees is important for retail businesses, which often have lower-skilled workforces, some of which will be young or working part-time. Plus, retail teams deal with a higher-than-average number of inbound calls when compared to other industries, so Vonage's wealth of features for dealing with incoming customer calls will be incredibly useful.
Vonage is another good candidate for switchers, since it allows a fast-scaling business to thrive once it has outgrown its previous softphone provider.
Pricing
Vonage offers three plans: Mobile, for $19.99 per user per month; Premium, for $29.99 per user per month; and Advanced, for $39.99 per user per month. All plans mention that “taxes and fees” are an additional cost on top of this monthly charge.
Mobile will include core functionality: Unlimited domestic calls, voicemail, spam prevention, call queue, caller ID, video calls, SMS messaging, transcripts, recording, and analytics. Premium adds custom greetings, a virtual receptionist, unlimited meetings for up to 100, CRM integration, and ring groups, while Advanced adds call recording.
Features
- Unlimited Calls and SMS
- Unlimited Team Messaging
- CRM Integration
- Call Recording
- Multi-level auto attendant
- Custom Call lists
- Call Monitoring
Highlights
- 2.4 million worldwide customers
- Unlimited calls in the U.S. and Canada
Key Features
- Customizable conference groups
- Unlimited team messaging
- Pricing starts from $19.99/user/month
- Per user price decreases based on the number of users
5. Counterpath Bria Teams
Best for affordability
Price: $4.95 per user, per month
Counterpath Bria Teams is a carrier-grade SIP softphone application for Windows, Mac, and iOS/Android devices. It includes a range of features specifically designed for business users, and can be deployed within an enterprise environment.
Counterpath Bria Teams is the most affordable service on the list, even if you opt for the higher tier plan that includes web conferencing. Naturally, it's missing some of the more advanced features, but if your budget is a concern, you can't do much better than Counterpath Bria Teams, particularly if you're a small business.
If the standard offering doesn't quite live up to your initial expectations, this softphone application can also be customized with a number of add-ons, such as screen share or contact management, to boost its functionality.
Pricing
Counterpath Bria offers a lot of pricing plans, but only two of them are aimed at small businesses. The Counterpath Bria Teams plan will cost you $4.95 per user per month and offers all the basic business phone functionality, whereas the Counterpath Bria Individual retails at $2.95 and is ideal for traveling business people.
If you're looking for the best free softphone, Bria is worth considering: The Bria Solo Free plan costs nothing, and delivers standard audio and video calls for one device.
Features
- Three devices per user
- Transfer and forward functionality
- Meeting recording
- Cloud admin portal
- Team messaging
- HD Team Voice & Video Calls
- Chat Rooms
Pros:
- Most affordable option available
- High quality audio and video
- Excellent battery efficiency
Cons:
- Limited messaging features
- Not very customizable
6. Zoiper 5 PRO
Best for security
Price: $49.95 one-time cost
The Zoiper 5 PRO softphone application replaces the former Zoiper 3, Zoiper Classic, and Zoiper Web apps, which have been discontinued. It comes as a free version for non-commercial calls on iOS or Android, or as a fully-fledged VoIP package for businesses as Zoiper 5 PRO – complete with custom branding so you can put your business's logo and name.
Upgrading to Zoiper 5 PRO enables functionality on Windows or Mac as well as iOS/Android devices, provides military grade encryption for added security, and grants access to unified communications functionality. We must admit, the interface is a bit outdated, which can be a turn off for business communication but from a security standpoint, it's one of the best free softphones you can buy.
Unique to this list, Zoiper is a one-time purchase, after which you can place free calls between Zoiper users, and benefit from no recurring monthly fees. Zoiper 5 PRO also works with Asterisk, Freeswitch, Cisco CallManager, 3CX, Elastix, and most other modern SIP based PBXs.
Pricing
Zoiper offers its service for a one-time fee, giving you access to everything forever without a monthly bill. You can expect to pay $49.95 once for Zoiper 5 PRO.
Features
- Click 2 Dial CRM integration
- End-to-end military-grade encryption
- Auto answer
- Advanced audio features
Pros:
- Military-grade encryption
- Advanced audio features
- No monthly cost (one-time fee)
Cons:
- Big cost up front
- Outdated interface
7. GoTo Connect
Best for scaling
Price: $24 per user, per month
GoTo Connect is the phone system arm of the GoTo brand, which offers a wide range of communication tools for businesses around the world. This app in particular sets itself apart with a strong showing in three categories tested by our researchers: It has great security tools, a high customer satisfaction rating, and a good value in relation to its cost — all of which help make it the best pick for companies that are scaling rapidly.
Plus, team messaging features and an intuitive app interface make it easy to connect with your team, which helped GoTo score 4.4/5 for scalability and means this software is more suitable for rapidly expanding teams than most of the others we tested. By way of comparison, Google Voice only scores 2.9/5 for scalability.
Another benefit to GoTo Connect is the vast array of integrations that comes with it. Salesforce, Slack, Google Workplace, and Windows 365 are all supported, as well as GoTo Meeting and other apps in the GoTo brand family.
Pricing
GoTo Connect offers two pricing plans. The Basic plan will cost you $24 per user, per month, and offers a basic phone system for your business. The Standard plan is just a small jump from there at $29 per user, per month, and adds advanced features like call recording and real-time analytics.
Features
- Port existing number
- Route incoming calls to multiple phones
- Auto attendants
- Call queue
- Team messaging
What's new for GoTo Connect?
August 2023: GoTo Connect has discontinued its $43 per user Premium plan.Â
Pros:
- Lots of integrations
- Multiple device functionality
- Easy to port old number
Cons:
- Connectivity problems
- No search function for contacts
8. Line2
Best value for money
Price: $15.99 per user, per month
This softphone is only available to Line2 Pro subscribers. The Pro Plan provides an affordable, fully-featured solution for VoIP, and offers many great features for mobile workers.
Line2 represents one of the more affordable options on the list, particularly given everything you get in the plan. Even the higher tier plan is more affordable than half the options on this list, and it offers some serious heft as far as analytics, call quality, and telephone features are concerned. You can even set up a vanity number, if that's something that piques your interest.
As part of the Line2 Pro Plan service, the softphone application provides an ideal solution for mobile workers who want to enjoy the full benefits of a VoIP service when they are away from their desks or working in the field.
Pricing
Line2 offers one price plan, with a discount for yearly billing. Billed monthly, Line2 costs $15.99 per month, though it costs just $13.75 per month when billed yearly. Either way, you'll get access to unlimited SMS and calls within the US and Canada, call blocking, call screening, voicemail transcriptions and recordings, call forwarding, and caller ID.
Features
- Voicemail transcription
- Auto attendant
- Advanced call usage reports
- Vanity numbers
- Team messaging
Pros:
- Mobile office with business-grade features
- Competitive pricing plans
- Easy to use interface
Cons:
- No VoIP provider flexibility
- Complicated login process
9. 3CX Softphone
Best for Windows users
Price: $175 per 10 users, per year
3CX is all about that Windows life. It integrates with Windows 365 seamlessly, and the entire app can be set up in a just a few clicks, which is always great for beginners. However, if you're working with any operating system other than Windows, feel free to move along.
The pricing is the unique part of 3CX. It's free for the first year, which is obviously attractive, but it's not without its caveats. The functionality is certainly a bit limited compared to the more expensive options available, and the interface leaves a lot to be desired in terms of staying on the modern style. Still, for the price, it's a solid enough option to get you through the day.
Pricing
3CX offers three paid plan options for most businesses: Small Business, starting at $175 per ten users, per year;Â Professional, starting at $145 per ten users, per year; and Enterprise, starting at $180 per ten users, per year. Once you pass ten users, those blanket costs increase: Startup costs $275 per year for between ten and twenty users (the cap), while Dedicated and Enterprise both increase costs incrementally, even supporting thousands of users.
Small Business has call queues, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, listen in, call whisper, call barging, and video conferencing for up to 25 participants. The Professional plan adds advanced features including integrations for Microsoft 365 and CRM, call recording, hot desking, SMS, and a cap of up to 100 participants on video conference. Enterprise adds custom phone logos, Microsoft Teams, skill-based routing, and start/stop call recording.
The service also offers a permanent free plan with limited features.
Features
- Integrates with Windows 365
- Call recording
- Auto attendant
- Screen sharing
What's new for 3CX?
August 2023: 3CX has changed its plan names and gotten rid of the cap of 120 users that its non-Enterprise plan once had. It has also made the prices for its Enterprise plan public, giving potential users more transparency.
Pros:
- Integrates with Microsoft 365
- Easy to use, intuitive user interface
- Free for first year
Key Features:
- Outdated interface
- Confusing, albeit affordable pricing model
Best Softphone Apps for iPhone and Android
The best softphone app for iPhone and Android is RingCentral, as it allows you to access plentiful features, low costs, and a vast number of integrations, no matter which device you use.
Again though, RingCentral isn't the only softphone app that works on both iPhone and Android, and you might need a different set of features, a lower price point, or some different integrations. Luckily for you, there are quite a few providers on this list that offer both iOS and Android apps.
In fact, if you're worried about any of these providers offering only one type of app, you're in luck! Every single provider on this list offers both an Android and iPhone app, so no need to check on your equipment ahead of time.
Here's a quick look at the interfaces you'll get from our top three picks, RingCentral, 8×8, and Vonage.
You can check ratings and reviews on the App Store and the Google Play Store to further verify that the softphone apps are still maintained and functional, and that the features you need are included in mobile as well as desktop. They're all free to download, so if the VoIP service offers a free plan or free trial, you can use this to test out the mobile app.
Don't forget to compare softphone providers to see how much it will cost your business.
How We Research VoIP Software
Tech.co's in-house research team compared all the top VoIP software providers against each other. To do that, we needed to break down all the core categories that mattered the most to consumers. We settled on seven main areas of investigation:
- Price – What is the overall cost to the business, given the price and the value offered?
- Features – What can the platform do?
- External connections – Does the platform integrate with existing communication infrastructure?
- Customer support – How does the provider help if something goes wrong?
- Security – How secure is your data on the platform?
- Scalability – Can the software keep up with a fast-growing company?
- Customer score – How have other users rated the platform?
Once each provider was tested and researched, we gave them a 5-star rating for each area listed above, as well as an overall 5-star rating that factored in all 7 research categories. In the end, RingCentral came out ahead, with 8×8 and Vonage close behind.
We discuss our research process in more depth over here, so you can learn more about how we rate and rank these softphone apps and VoIP providers.
Verdict: What Is the Best Softphone App?
You've made it this far, which means you're definitely in need of a softphone app to improve communication at your business. RingCentral isn't the only worthwhile option. If you want to take the next step towards actually signing up, you can fill out our free survey and get matched to the best softphone app provider for your business's needs.
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