Google Voice is ideal for small businesses with basic voice-calling needs. However, as your business expands, exploring Google Voice alternatives can offer greater scalability, advanced features, and integration capabilities.
Here’s a table summarizing the pros and cons of Google Voice:
Google Voice’s drawbacks—such as limited CRM integration, lack of innovation, and no call recording—can limit your communication capabilities.
That’s where this guide comes in. We’ll compare the seven best Google Voice alternatives, covering their features, pros, cons, and pricing to help you find the best fit for your growing business.
Top 7 Google Voice alternatives in 2024: A quick comparison
The table below highlights key features, pricing, and limitations of the leading Google Voice alternatives to help you pick the right VoIP solution. Read on for a detailed breakdown of each solution.
1. Plivo
Key features
- Authenticate callers: Plivo’s Verify API combats fraud by validating phone numbers through SMS or voice calls. Integrating it with Plivo’s Voice API adds an extra layer of security and ensures that the phone number genuinely belongs to the user. Plivo offers this service with $0 authentication fees — just pay standard voice charges.
- Conference calling: Plivo allows you to set up secure conference calls with a PIN for multiple participants, eliminating the need for additional authentication methods.
- Voice alerts: You can send voice notifications for order updates, booking statuses, delivery information, flight cancellation/rescheduling, two-factor authentication (2FA) or one-time password (OTP), promotional offers, and account balances.
- Voice surveys: Plivo enables interactive voice surveys to collect information from customers, such as satisfaction scores of a service. You can set up a voice survey system that automatically calls customers with survey questions through an API call.
- Voicemail: Capture important messages from callers when the support team is unavailable. This way, all customer queries are addressed in a timely manner.
- Call forwarding: Forward incoming calls based on agent availability, business hours, or time zones to ensure round-the-clock customer service availability.
- Scalable and multilingual Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus: Plivo’s IVR system routes callers through a menu of pre-recorded messages, replacing receptionists or directing calls based on user input. It can also automate appointment reminders, collect satisfaction scores, or facilitate polling.
- Call insights: Plivo offers a detailed summary of key call quality indicators such as latency, packet loss, and Mean Opinion Score (MOS). Calls are segmented by geolocation, carrier network, and device metadata to ensure superior call health management.
Pros
- Easy to deploy
- Strong customer support
- User-friendly interface
- Competitive pricing
Cons
- Steep learning curve
Pricing
Pay-as-you-go with volume discounts available
Basic plan
Outbound: Starts at $0.0100/min
Inbound: Starts at $0.0055/min
Add-on services include:
- Answering Machine Detection: $0.0000/min
- Call Insights Beta: Basic $0.0000/min
- Premium: $0.0025/min
- Call Recording: $0.0000/min
- Recording Storage: $0.0000/min
- Automatic Speech Recognition: $0.02/15 seconds
- Call Transcription: $0.0095/min
- Conference Calls: $0.0000/min
- Multilingual Text to Speech: $0.0000/min
- CNAM Lookup: $0.00500/lookup
Review detailed Voice API pricing.
Ideal for
Businesses seeking a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective VoIP that integrates seamlessly with existing systems.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4.5/5 (724 reviews)
2. RingCentral
Key features
- Real-time shareable notes: RingCentral allows users to create, edit, and share notes within the platform in real time.
- Detailed summaries: Access over 250 ready-made reports or customize live dashboards using 350+ available metrics to track customer interactions across the entire journey.
- Sentiment analysis: Gain real-time insights on call volumes, agent performance, customer sentiment, and trending topics through conversation analytics.
Pros
- Easy to integrate with existing CRM tools
- Accommodates extensive calling needs in a unified platform
Cons
- Occasional call drops due to connectivity issues
- Poor customer service
Pricing
Ring Contact Center starts at $65/month
Core features include:
- ACD, IVR, skills-based routing
- Voice and 20+ digital and social channels
- Dialer - voice broadcast, preview, predictive, progressive
- Queue callback
- Call recordings
- Real-time and historical reports
- Native integration with RingCentral
Ideal for
Businesses looking for a comprehensive, cloud-based VoIP solution that offers unified communications and collaboration features.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4/5 (136 reviews)
3. Vonage
Key features
- Automatic speech recognition: Vonage API supports self-service in over 120 languages, providing automatic speech recognition for round-the-clock availability and global accessibility.
- Bot integration: It easily integrates with third-party vendors and AI bots in real time, addressing customer queries efficiently.
Pros
- Syncs with laptops, desktops, and mobile devices
- User-friendly interface
- Integrates well with existing business systems
Cons
- Dropped calls due to poor connectivity at times
- Lacks advanced features like call analytics and admin controls
Pricing
Pay-as-you-go; starts at $0.0078/min
Ideal for
Businesses seeking flexible and scalable communication solutions with robust VoIP features.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4.1/5 (85 reviews)
4. Twilio
Key features
- Flexible IVR: Twilio's IVR enables responsive, text-to-speech experiences in hundreds of languages, making global customer interactions seamless.
- Data safety: It uses temporary phone number proxies to ensure secure communication, protecting both customer and business data.
- Global conferencing: Twilio supports multi-party calling for up to 250 participants, with PCI and HIPAA compliance for data safety.
Pros
- Easily integrates with existing business systems
Cons
- Poor customer support; relies heavily on AI
- More expensive compared to competitors
- Complex user interface
Pricing
Pay-as-you-go
- Outbound: $0.0140/min
- Inbound: $0.0085/min
Ideal for
Businesses with a flexible budget looking for a dependable VoIP solution.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4.2/5 (471 reviews)
5. Telynyx
Key features
- Smart IVR: Build a multi-level IVR phone tree to intelligently route your calls via voice commands.
- Answering machine detection: Leverage advanced AI to detect voicemail systems with exceptional accuracy.
Pros
- Cost-effective
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Difficult to implement without technical knowledge
- Quality of support can vary
Pricing
Starts at $0.002/min + SIP trunking fees for outbound calls
Ideal for
Businesses seeking a VoIP system with IVR capabilities to handle high call volumes.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4.7/5 (407 reviews)
6. Grasshopper
Key features
- Simultaneous call handling: Manage multiple calls at once to avoid busy signals.
- Ruby-receptionists: Receptionists coded in Ruby answer customer calls to your Grasshopper number when your agents are unavailable.
- Custom greetings: Record professional greetings to welcome customers when they call.
Pros
- Good virtual phone system
Cons
- Slight delays in communication compared to calling directly
- No call recording capabilities
- Frequent disconnects requiring re-logging in
Pricing
- True Solo: $14/month
- Solo Plus: $25/month
- Small Business: $55/month
Souce: G2
Ideal for
Solopreneurs who need a simple and reliable communication system with voice calling.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4/5 (147 reviews)
7. OpenPhone
Key features
- Call sharing: Share calls with your team to get feedback, onboard new hires, or improve performance.
- Audio transcripts: Analyze conversations with time-stamped transcripts for quick access to specific details.
- Automated messages: Enable automatic call recording to make sure you never miss recording important conversations.
Pros
- Good customer support
- Simple implementation
- Intuitive interface that enhances communication
Cons
- Delays in number porting
- Poor voice quality due to connectivity issues
Pricing
- Starter: $15 per user/month
- Business: $23 per user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
All plans include:
- One new local or toll-free phone number per user
- Calling and messaging to US and Canadian numbers
- Voicemail transcripts
Ideal for
Small to medium businesses seeking an easy-to-use, reputable VoIP system.
Ratings & reviews
G2: 4.7/5 (1,807 reviews)
When to look for a Google Voice alternative
Google Voice can be a great fit for solopreneurs, but as your business grows, it might not meet all your needs. Here’s why you might want to explore the best alternatives to Google Voice.
Expand your VoIP’s feature set
Do you need to reach customers worldwide or send SMS/MMS to non-US residents? Alternatives to Google Voice offer advanced features such as custom call routing, IVR, detailed call insights, or integrations with CRM systems. These features can enhance your communication strategies and improve customer experience.
Manage high call volumes effectively
Users highlight connectivity issues as one of the top drawbacks of Google Voice. As your business scales, you’ll need a VoIP solution to handle high call volumes without compromising quality or reliability.
Integrate with other business tools easily
Effortlessly syncing your VoIP with your CRM or automating workflows is crucial for smooth operations. Unfortunately, Google Voice doesn’t integrate with many CRM tools.
Access round-the-clock customer support
If you require dependable, 24/7 support to minimize downtime and resolve issues quickly, it might be time to switch. The best Google Voice alternatives offer comprehensive support to keep your communication systems running smoothly at all times.
Why Plivo is the smart choice for your VoIP needs
Plivo stands out as one of the best alternatives to Google Voice, offering easy integration with both browser-based and mobile apps. With seven regional points of presence, Plivo ensures low latency and exceptional voice quality through optimized call routing.
Plivo’s Voice API provides global coverage, reaching customers in over 220 countries and territories across 900+ networks. We also feature real-time, data-driven routing and 24/7 customer support, ensuring reliable performance and expert assistance whenever needed.
Thousands of businesses trust Plivo for their communication needs. See if it’s the right solution for you: Request a trial today.
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