A better alternative to Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a virtual phone service geared toward small businesses. It works with existing landlines or mobile services. In addition to being a virtual phone system, Grasshopper also has a mobile app that allows you to make and receive calls from your business number. Grasshopper allows you to use your personal phone number to take business calls and alerts you when an incoming call is business-related.

Additionally, Grasshopper allows you to make and receive calls from anywhere via desktop or mobile apps. It doesn’t offer analytics features. Pricing starts at $26 per month.

Grasshopper offers call features such as extensions and transfers, but it isn’t a unified communication service since it doesn’t combine phone service with CRM and video conferencing.

Grasshopper offers phone systems for small businesses looking to streamline their operations. Key features include:

• Desktop and mobile apps. Access Grasshopper on desktop, iPhone, or Android device.

• Voicemail transcription. Read voicemails and save time you would have spent listening to the message.

• Simultaneous call handling. Take calls from multiple customers at the same time.

• Custom greetings. Record messages to greet your customers.

• Reporting. Gain insights to your business interactions to make informed decisions.

• Ruby receptionist. Live U.S.-based receptionists can help answer your calls.

• Business texting. Provide updates and send replies via text messaging with your business number.

• VoIP/WiFi calling. Make and receive calls when cell reception is poor via the internet.

• Virtual fax. Receive faxes delivered as PDF attachments right to your email inbox.

• Incoming call control. Screen callers, block calls, and set up custom schedules for your business hours.

• Business phone number. Port your own number or choose from an inventory of vanity, local, or toll-free numbers.

• Call forwarding. Route calls to your phone or to a team member.

• Voicemail. Set up a voicemail for business calls and get MP3s of your messages via email.

• Extensions. Create extensions with their own call forwarding rules.

• Call transfers. Place callers on hold and transfer them to another number as needed.

• Instant response. Automatically send a text to new callers when you can’t answer a call.

Aircall is an alternative to Grasshopper’s phone system and offers comprehensive software with numerous key features. For businesses looking to operate a classic virtual phone system, it offers:

• Business hours. Set customized schedules to confirm exactly when each of your numbers is available to receive calls.

• Voicemail. Record, upload, or write the script for a customized message to greet callers when you’re away.

• Call routing. Direct calls to the correct teammates every time by customizing distribution and ring rules.

• Interactive voice response (IVR). Set up a smart IVR directory that automatically guides callers to the correct team on their first try.

• Extensions. Assign everyone on the team a personalized three-digit extension their colleagues can quickly dial.

• Blocklist numbers. Eliminate spam callers and bots so you can focus more on the conversations your business cares about.

• Shared contacts. Create and share selected contacts with your team so everyone can follow the conversation.

• Warm transfer. Give your teammates the option to quickly speak to one another before transferring a live call.

• Shared call inbox. Get a complete perspective of calls that require a follow-up and archive old assignments as you go.

• Call commenting & assignment. Assign a call to a teammate, leave them an explanatory comment, and the call will pop up on their to-do list. For businesses looking to operate a call center, Aircall offers features that improve productivity and analytics capabilities:

• Real-time modifications. Toggle your system settings at any time, including adding new numbers or users in a single click.

• Call queuing. Give inbound callers the option to remain in queue until one of your agents is available to talk.

• Ring groups. Route calls to teams grouped by location, language, skill, or any other trait you’d like.

• Parallel calls. Put your current conversation on hold and simultaneously start a separate call with a third party.

• Unlimited concurrent calls. Take or place as many calls as you would like—simultaneously—on the same phone number.

• Queue callback. Give callers the power to opt out of a waiting line and receive your outbound reply at a later time.

• Time-based routing. Set team and/or individual working hours to assure calls are routed only to available employees.

• Call recording. Review call recordings to help confirm details, monitor quality, and guide training sessions.

• Pause-resume recording. Keep your callers’ sensitive information secure by temporarily pausing call recording as needed.

• Call center analytics. Keep track of all your call center metrics—such as wait time, missed call rate, and call volume—in one place.

• Live feed. Gain a real-time perspective of team activity so you can shift resources and optimize productivity.

• Call monitoring. Accelerate employee training and boost call quality assurance by monitoring live calls.

• Call whispering. Secretly speak to teammates while they are on a live call so you can provide timely advice.

There are several similarities between Grasshopper and Aircall. Here’s a broad overview:

• Features. They both offer classic phone system features, with Aircall offering a wider, more comprehensive variety.

• Deployment & support. They’re both SaaS, cloud-based software available on desktop (Mac, Windows) and mobile (Android, iPhone). They both offer email/help desk features, provide users with FAQs and forums, have knowledge bases, phone support, 24/7 live representatives, and chat functionality.

• Training. They both offer some degree of training to use their software.

• Pricing. They start at similar price points (Aircall at $30/per month per user and Grasshopper at $26/per month per user). Both companies offer free trials.

There are several differences between Grasshopper and Aircall. Here’s a broad overview:

• Features. Aircall offers auto-dialing, call monitoring, call recording, call transfer, queue management, video conferencing, or call center capabilities, while Grasshopper doesn’t.

• Deployment & support. Grasshopper can be used on iPads. Aircall cannot.

• Training. Aircall offers more support than Grasshopper via in-person or live online training, videos, and guides. Grasshopper only offers documentation.

• See this comparison or this comparison on these independent sites for more information.

Hopefully, now you have the information you need to decide which phone software company is best for your business.

If you’re a small business looking for basic phone software functions absent analytics capabilities, live onboarding support, and don’t need to integrate digital resources such as CRM systems or field multiple calls from clients and customers, Grasshopper may be the right choice for you.

It’s a reliable product with basic functions suited to small businesses who want to get started with a no-frills phone system.

If you run a small, medium-size, or enterprise business and stand to benefit from a cost-effective call management solution, Aircall’s cloud-based VoIP service may be right for you. Aircall unifies business communications and integrates with 100+ business applications to offer unprecedented versatility and flexibility.

If you’re looking for data insights into your business via analytics capabilities and would enjoy market-leading enterprise infrastructure, consistent 99.99% uptime via distributed data centers (7 worldwide), clear in-app notifications, and dedicated onboarding managers with easy integration, Aircall may be the right choice for you.