According to the United States Census Bureau, in August 2021 alone, more than 427,842 new business applications were filed in the US. Many of these new businesses will need a business phone system. Businesses are faced with a range of options when considered a small business phone system.
Business owners would need to consider all options, and their pricing, before making a decision. To make this process easier, we have compared the costs, and features, of Talkroute and RingCentral to assist in the decision making process.
Talkroute
Talkroute is a small business phone system which utilises VoIP to assist small businesses to seem like INC 500 companies. Users gain a Talkroute account, which is accompanied by a user ID and password. The user ID and password, which are unique for each user, assists businesses in easier management of the phone lines.
The pros to using Talkroute are:
- They offer unlimited minutes to the US and Canada
- Their customer support is highly rated
- They are a good choice for entrepreneurs needing just basic phone service
- The system has no hidden fees or unexpected add-ons
The cons to using Talkroute are:
- They only offer a seven-day free trial which is short compared to other business phone systems
Talkroute offers four packages, namely Basic, Plus, Pro and Enterprise.
- The Basic package is $19 per month and offers customer support at all times of the day. The package offers one local or toll-free number, one voicemail box and one account user. 500 SMS and MMS text messages are offered as well as unlimited incoming and outgoing calls. The package also offers unlimited call forwarding and routing, call stacking, custom greetings, as well as desktop, mobile, and web apps for macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux.
- The Plus package is $39 per month and includes all Basic features. The package offers two local or toll-free numbers, unlimited text messaging, as well as three account users and voicemail boxes. A customized caller ID name is offered with an auto attendant/IVR call menu. Finally, the package offers single-digit phone extensions, call blast, live call transfer and the ability to configure hours of operation.
- The Pro package is $59 per month and includes all Plus features. The package offers three local or toll-free numbers, submenus and 10 account users and voicemail boxes. Unlimited multi-digit extensions are offered with company directory and professional voiceover services. Finally, the package offers call recording, scheduled call forwarding and downloadable call analytics.
- The Enterprise package starts at $99 per month and offers all Pro features. The package offers five local or toll-free numbers with 20 account users and voicemail boxes. A service-level agreement and business associate agreement is included, with an account management system, and custom software and solution integrations.
RingCentral
RingCentral offers cloud-based unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform. The platform allows users to connect and manage multiple locations, devices and workers within the cloud phone system. The platform also allows users to customize all aspects of connectivity. It has to be noted that it does not have PBX hardware.
The basic features offered by RingCentral are they offer unlimited phone, conference and video conference calls. They offer SMS messaging, call transcription and voice to email, all while being compatible on iPhones and Androids. The platform also is able to integrate with third-party apps and offers team meeting and collaboration tools, such as file sharing, instant messaging and chat rooms. Finally, RingCentral allows users to make and receive traditional calls through mobile apps without an internet connection.
The pros to using RingCentral are:
It works on all phone, computers, and mobile devices
- It offers 15-day free phone system trial
- It offers clear call quality
- It works through Wi-Fi and cellular data networks
- There are no restrictions on minutes or number of teleconference calls
The cons to using RingCentral are:
- Their billing department has a slow response time
RingCentral offers four packages, namely Essentials, Standard, Premium and Ultimate.
- The Essentials package starts at $19.99 per user, monthly. The package includes all base features, while offering usage for up to 20 users, business phone or toll-free numbers, and unlimited calls and SMSs. The package also offers voicemail-to-text, team messaging as well as document sharing.
- The Standard package starts at $34.99 per user, monthly, and offers support at all times of the day. The package includes all Essentials features, while allowing unlimited users, business phone numbers in over 100 countries as well as unlimited internet fax and audio conferencing. The package alo offers video meetings with up to 100 participants, quality-of-service reports as well as integration with Office 365, Google Workspace, and Slack.
- The Premium package starts at $44.99 per user, monthly. The package includes all Standard features, while offering automatic call recording, single sign-on, and multi-site administration and management. This package offers up to eight-digit extensions with site codes, hot desking, as well as advanced call handling with video meetings being able to host up to 200 participants. Finally, the Premium package offers real-time analytics, CRM integration, industry-specific integration, as well as developer platform and custom integrations.
- The Ultimate package starts at $59.99 per user, monthly. This package is best for large corporations with large teams as it offers all Premium features with device status reports, device status alerts and unlimited storage.
The bottom line
It is clear that RingCentral is more affordable than Talkroute. Although both offer good phone systems and have a large list of pros, either might not be suited to a specific business. Business owners need to assess their needs and goals to successfully choose either of these phone systems if they are being considered.
