Best 6 Call Center Software Providers: Pros, Cons & Pricing 2024

If you’re after versatile and reliable call center software, our research suggests RingCentral Contact Center is the best option out there. It offers a range of advanced features, including interactive voice response (IVR), chat, and workforce and project management tools, 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 with a lower entry price.

If you manage a call center, customer service, or sales business in 2024, it’s likely a standard VoIP phone system will fall short of meeting your needs. Dedicated call center software offers all the trappings of a VoIP system, with additional call management and customer support capabilities targeted at improving communication with customers and clients. Pairing this software with the best VoIP desk phones for small businesses can further enhance call clarity and agent efficiency, ensuring seamless communication in a high-pressure environment.

From advanced analytics to 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.

Read on to learn about the industry’s best call center solutions. Or, 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

According to our research, the top call center provider 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.

Best Call Center Phone System Reviews

We’ve deep-dived into the best call center phone systems to help you determine which provider best suits your business’s unique needs. 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 Contact Center – 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

1. RingCentral Contact Center

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

RingCentral is best known for producing an industry-leading telephony solution –RingCentral VoIP – but the provider offers feature-rich call center software (RingCentral Contact Center), and AI-focused call center software (RingCX) 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 SMSs. RingCentral offers some of the best customer support out there. Its phone line and live chat are open 24/7, and the provider also lets you answer queries using its AI-powered chatbot via the RingCentral app.

RingCentral Contact Center is super easy to get started on too. Its dashboard is easy to navigate, and its AI platform RingCX is very intuitive as well, combining a variety of communication tools into one unified interface.

RingCentral’s stripped-back, intuitive software and suite of AI-powered automation features – from predictive call routing to IVR  – make it a great option for businesses using call center software for the first time.

Moreover, in addition to RingCentral’s already impressive suite of features, its app gallery lets businesses augment the service with over 400 pre-built integrations, including business staples like Microsoft Teams and Canvas. This wealth of integrations also makes RingCentral a great option for larger call centers or those handling specific functions, like business process outsourcing (BPO), inbound centers, and healthcare call centers.

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.

Alongside RingCentral’s calling features, the platform made it easy for me to create and assign tasks. Source: Tech.co user testing

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. According to RingCentral’s website, its monthly packages start at $65 per user, per month, but the prices of most of the 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.

2. 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.

3. Freshdesk Contact Center

• 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, our research found that Freshdesk has been designed to scale up as your businesses’ needs evolve, due to its free and paid packages and wealth of external integrations. This makes the call center software a great options for start up call centers that are anticipating future growth.

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.

4. 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 found that 8×8 offers the best help and support options out of any provider on this list, including 24/7 support via live chat, phone line, and email, a useful knowledge base, and a community forum.

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 the 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

Sending instant messages to my team was simple with 8×8. Source: Tech.co user testing

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.

Learn more about how much the provider costs in our 8×8 pricing guide.

5. 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.

6. 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. Unlike providers like Freshdesk, the provider completely lacks free tiers too, 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 Core plan costs $175 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, but lacks chat and messaging capabilities.
• Digital – Five9’s Digital package is basically the inverse of its Core plan. It costs the same ($175 per month) but contains a suite of messaging features, including live chat, email, and social messaging, but no voice-calling tools.
• Premium – Fine9’s premium plan is priced on a case-by-case basis. It features everything in the Core package with additional omnichannel support, instant messaging, and email tools.
• Optimum – This plan is also priced on a case-by-case basis. It contains everything in the previous tier with additional workforce optimization and quality management tools to streamline call center management.
• Ultimate – Finally, Five9’s most comprehensive package offers all of the provider’s basic functions, including inbound and outbound calls, instant messaging, and enterprise quality management, but lacks SMS/MMS and social messaging tools. Prices for Ultimate are also custom.

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. 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 as they’re able to seamlessly integrate into other systems like email, CRM, conferencing, and agent-to-customer live chat. VoIP technologies are able to be used on a range of technology from smartphones to laptops as well, enabling remote or hybrid teams to communicate on the go.
• Higher 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, as browser-based software can be up and running in a matter of minutes.

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.

Call Center Phone Systems: Top Features To Look Out For

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, understanding which features to consider can be hard, especially if its your first time buying a system.

Here are some call center features to consider when browsing the market:

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – IVR is software that allows customers to interact with automated menus, using voice commands or phone keyboards. The capability is rarely found outside of call center systems, and it is a useful way to resolve customer queries without needing to put them through to a live agent.
• Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) – ACD is a key feature in call center software designed to effectively manage and route incoming calls to the appropriate agent. The capability typically does this by identifying the caller using their Caller ID or Automatic Number Identification (ANI), before placing the call in a queue and routing the call to the most suitable agent.
• Skills-based routing (SBR) – SBR is an advanced call distribution strategy that directs incoming customer inquiries to the most suitable agent, based on their expertise and skillset. The feature often relies on data from IVR systems and requires companies to assess the skills of their agents.
• Advanced analytics – Sophisticated analytics and reporting tools are valuable to call centers in myriad ways. Not only do data gathering and reports help to ensure agents are meeting their targets, but predictive analytics capabilities also uses machine learning to predict call volumes and customer behaviour, helping agents prepare for the future.
• CRM integrations – CRM systems help to optimize call center operations by giving agents access to customer data during calls. This makes it easier for call centers to tend to customer queries in a more personalized manner, without having to ask the caller tons of questions.