Grasshopper Alternatives | Phone Systems for Small Businesses

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Investing in business communications software, even a basic VoIP service, can help you transform your customer experience. These tools facilitate communication, improve call quality, and ensure seamless connectivity—giving your customers faster, more reliable service and your team the flexibility to manage calls efficiently.

Whether you’re considering upgrading from a basic phone to a voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) system or searching for a scalable replacement for your current cloud-based phone solution, there’s no shortage of options on the market. Grasshopper is a well-known contender in the cloud phone system market, but it’s not the only solution that’s designed with the needs of small businesses in mind. 

To guide you through the decision-making process, we’ve compared our top Grasshopper alternatives.

TL;DR: Grasshopper Business Phone System Alternatives

1. Aircall

2. Nextiva

3. Dialpad

4. Five9

A Grasshopper Refresher

Grasshopper’s virtual phone system for small businesses allows you to manage your calls and connect your existing line to its platform.

Features

Grasshopper provides VoIP and WiFi calling, which integrates with its softphone via desktop or mobile. Additional features include business texting, call forwarding, voicemail transcription, virtual receptionist, and instant response.

Grasshopper is only available in the U.S. and Canada, and unlimited extensions are only available on its top plan.

Integrations

Grasshopper doesn’t offer CRM integrations, meaning you need to install third-party apps to compensate.

Pricing

Grasshopper pricing starts at $15/month/user (annual billing). 

Why Should your Business Search for Grasshopper Alternatives?

Grasshopper draws in many customers looking for an affordable VoIP provider for small businesses, offering features like call management, toll-free numbers, and an auto-attendant. These tools are helpful for basic call management for businesses with minimal communication needs.

However, Grasshopper falls short in several areas, which may hinder your business as it grows. For example, it doesn’t offer CRM integrations, video conferencing, or call recording—which are essential features for scaling and improving customer interactions. 

Additionally, G2 reviews mention frustrations with its limited texting option, and users note that it’s not the easiest system to set up. If you handle high call volumes or require international phone numbers, you may find that Grasshopper doesn’t meet your needs. In this case, exploring other VoIP providers with more robust offerings could be a better long-term solution for your business.

The 4 Best Alternatives to Grasshopper

We’ve researched best Grasshopper alternatives so you don’t have to. We selected the following Grasshopper alternatives list based on ratings, price, features, and scalable integrations.

Aircall

Aircall’s activity feed gives you a real-time view of all your customer interactions.

Aircall's customer communication and intelligence platform is designed to personalize the customer experience. You get access to over 100 integrations on all plans, helping your team streamline workflows and improve efficiency. Advanced features like smart call routing ensure customers are connected to the right agent quickly, while real-time analytics provides you with actionable insights for optimizing performance. 

The platform also comes with time-saving AI features, including AI-generated call summaries and transcripts, key topic recognition, and talk-to-listen ratios. Powerful coaching tools like call whispering and live monitoring empower you to improve your team’s performance in real time.

With transparent pricing, 24/7 customer support, and 99.95% uptime, Aircall is a reliable cloud phone solution for small and growing businesses. 

• Number of integrations: 100+

• Entry-level features: 50+ features available in the Essentials package, including call whispering, warm transfer, queue callback, Power Dialer, and call center analytics 

• Rating: 4.3 stars

• Pricing: From $30/month/user (annual billing)

For more information on how Aircall stacks up to Grasshopper, read our detailed comparison.

Nextiva

Use Nextiva to manage calls, send text messages, and hold video conferences from your desktop or mobile device.

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Nextiva’s cloud-based Unified Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform allows businesses to manage customer interactions across multiple channels—including voice, SMS, live chat, and social media—all within a single platform. 

It includes AI-powered features like virtual assistants and sentiment analysis to help improve customer engagement. The platform also provides unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, business numbers, and faxing at no additional cost, along with team collaboration tools like one-on-one messaging and group chat rooms.

• Number of integrations: 19

• Entry-level features: Unlimited voice and video calling, voicemail, toll-free numbers, unlimited internet fax

• Rating: 4.5 stars

• Pricing: From $20/month/user (annual billing)

See our Nextiva alternatives comparison for more information.

Dialpad

Dialpad’s AI features summarize your calls and automatically extract action items.

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Dialpad’s AI-powered cloud communications platform provides unlimited domestic calls, business SMS, video meetings, and a dedicated business phone number. Its features include custom call routing, multilevel auto attendants, visual voicemail, and spam call detection. 

Dialpad also offers flexible device switching, allowing users to move between their mobile and desktop device seamlessly.

• Number of integrations: 70+

• Entry-level features: Unlimited calling, SMS, and MMS; call and voicemail transcription; video meetings; web and chat support

• Rating: 4.4 stars

• Pricing: From $15/month/user (annual billing)

See our Dialpad alternatives comparison for more information, or check out an in-depth review of Dialpad vs. Aircall.  

Five9

Keep track of important customer details within Five9’s platform.

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Five9’s comprehensive cloud-based contact center platform is designed to simplify business communication management. It supports multiple channels, including phone, email, SMS, chat, and social platforms, to enable seamless customer interactions. 

Key features include inbound and outbound calls, call recording, 24/7 support, and integrations with tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Microsoft Teams.

• Number of integrations: 5

• Entry-level features: Skills-based routing, preview dialing,  Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA), blended inbound/outbound calls, call recording, geo-redundancy

• Rating: 4 stars

• Pricing: From $119/month/user

See our Five9 alternatives comparison for more information, or check out an in-depth review of Five9 vs. Aircall.  

How to Choose Between All These Alternatives

Now that you have the details about these Grasshopper alternatives, it’s time to compare your options to help you make a choice. 

Features

While each Grasshopper alternative brings something different to the table, the solution you choose should include a few core aspects, including:

• Basic phone features: Core functions like voicemail, call transfer, caller ID, and call waiting are non-negotiables.

• Productivity features: Tools like call recording, voicemail-to-email, and call logs help track customer interactions, streamline workflows, and improve call management and customer support automation.

• Collaboration tools: Video conferencing, team messaging, and shared inboxes enable seamless communication and collaboration among remote or hybrid teams.

• Integrations: Connect your phone system with your CRM and other business tools to provide personalized service and streamline operations.

• International calling: Access to international phone numbers allows for global customer reach.

• Call center features: Features like intelligent call routing, IVR, and detailed analytics ensure efficient call handling and better customer service for businesses with high call volumes.

• Virtual phone numbers: These enable businesses to establish a local presence in different regions without physical offices.

• Analytics: Detailed reports on call performance empower businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimize communication strategies.

• Auto-attendant: A virtual receptionist to direct calls to the appropriate department helps manage call traffic and reduce wait times.

• Call forwarding: This feature redirects calls to other numbers, ensuring you never miss a customer call or potential sale. 

• Call routing: Automatically routing calls to the right team members or departments based on rules like time, location, or issue priority ensures quick customer assistance.

Integrations

Grasshopper offers relatively few integrations but offers its own add-ons with complex billing structures, like call blasting, voice studio, extra extensions and numbers, digital listings management, and Ruby Receptionists. 

The alternatives on this list offer more integration options than Grasshopper, but Aircall has the largest selection by far, with over 100 plug-and-play integrations—all of which are available on even the most basic payment plan. With Aircall, you can track metrics, manage your team, and boost productivity all from one place, no matter your budget.

Pricing

Getting the best value for your money is important for any organization, but it’s especially crucial for small businesses. Grasshopper pricing starts at $14 per month (billed annually). But the lowest tier plan is quite limited, offering only unlimited domestic calling, one toll-free number, and phone support. 

Additional features come with extra fees, such as Call Blasting for $9/month, additional phone numbers for $9/month, Voice Studio for $75/order, Ruby Receptionist starting at $160/month, and Digital Listings Management for $75/year.

In contrast, Aircall’s industry-leading cloud-based phone solution provides in-house support, training, and access to 100+ integrations for all customers, regardless of which plan they choose—ensuring you get more value and flexibility without hidden costs.

“We've tried Dialpad, Grasshopper, Freshcaller, and more, but Aircall's live and post-call tagging, note-taking, and call assignment features are the best out there.”

—Maita L

Why Aircall Is the Ideal Alternative to Grasshopper

Aircall’s customer communication and intelligence platform empowers your team to have better conversations. You can integrate existing business tools, CRM systems, and third-party applications with just a few clicks, so your agents always have the information they need to provide the best possible customer support. 

Benefit from smooth collaboration within your business and improve your workflows, team alignment, and the customer experience with clear and uncomplicated collaboration tools. These include features like warm transfers (which allow your team to talk to each other before handing over a call) and call commenting and assignment (which keeps the whole team updated on every call).

Plus, track live call metrics to reduce opportunities for error and find ways to constantly refine your customer service offering. Aircall scales with your growing business to help you provide exceptional customer experiences and make more sales. 

19,000 customers and counting trust Aircall for their customer communication needs. Find out for yourself how we can help you hold better conversations and boost customer satisfaction. Try Aircall for free.

Published on February 11, 2025.