How much does VoIP service cost?
Get to know the cost of owning a VoIP service along with their features and benefits.
If you know anyone who’s still using a landline or an on-premise phone system for their business, the first question that will (or should) probably come to your mind is "Why?"
After all, they’re paying more for a less effective product—there are better options, where they’re a small to mid-sized business,
There are secure, reliable, and cheap VoIP services out there—that are infinitely better than old-school phone systems
It’s not a question of which one is better (traditional vs VoIP) anymore. What they should be asking are two simple questions:
- How much would it cost to move to a VoIP phone system?
- How much would it cost in the long run?
Do you know the answers? Let’s find out.
How much does VoIP cost?
VoIP costing is divided into two stages:
- Costs during installation
- Costs after installation
During the VoIP installation stage
There’s a kind of stigma that comes with the word “installation.” For a lot of people, this is when you’d have to spend a lot of money for hardware and equipment or software with licenses—in many office-related systems, you’d have to spend for both
The old days of on-premise phone systems
There’s a reason why you’ll usually see only big companies and corporations using on-premise VoIP phone systems. We’re talking about multiple bulky servers, PBX boxes— and a lot of wires.
Then there are the people needed to actually install it. You can’t do it by yourself, so you’ve got to hire experts to do it for you. Which means spending even more money.
You haven’t used the phone system yet, and you’ve already spent thousands of dollars.
Moving to the cloud
The good news? That doesn’t have to be a thing anymore. The best VoIP phone systems are cloud-based, meaning the service is hosted in a secure data center by the provider, and can be delivered to your company via the internet.
You don’t have to buy any hardware or equipment—the VoIP provider takes care of all that. All you need is a stable internet connection.
Factors to consider during the installation stage of VoIP
The truth is that “installing” a hosted VoIP phone system is almost entirely free. Anything you might have to pay for isn’t really for installation. They’re for add-ons like phone numbers and VoIP phones.
To help you understand the potential costs, here are some of the things you need to consider when installing voice over IP technology.
Do I have to pay for phone numbers?
Most providers give you a free local or toll-free number when you sign up for their VoIP phone system. If you want more business phone numbers, you’ll have to buy them (which you can usually do anytime from your VoIP account). These are normally charged per month, and will be included on your monthly bill.
If you have an existing phone number, you can also port or transfer it to your new VoIP phone system—free of charge. You can ask your provider about their number porting process.
How much is the actual installation?
Well, it’s free because (again) there’s no actual “installation” that needs to happen. The entire process goes like this:
- Sign up
- The VoIP phone system is activated
- The end
Yep, you read that right. It’s that simple.
Once your account is activated, all the features included in your VoIP plan are activated too. Now you can start configuring the system based on how you want it to work.
What you’ll mainly spend money on will be towards making sure you have an internet connection stable enough to handle the number of VoIP users in your company.
Building a robust company local area network (LAN) can really help you manage VoIP traffic better in your physical office. (But you should invest in that regardless of whether you’re getting VoIP or not.)
You may also want to invest in QoS (quality of service) routers, which are routers you can set to prioritize VoIP calls over other internet traffic like downloads and streaming. This is optional, though.
Do I need to hire someone to set up and configure the service?
You don’t need an expert to set up and configure your VoIP phone system (or at least, you shouldn’t). In fact, you don’t need any special IT skills. You can simply go to your online account’s dashboard to set it up. You can even grant administrator privileges to trusted employees so they can help you.
From your admin dashboard, you can do things like:
- Set up how your auto-attendant answers and directs calls
- Set company greetings
- Add, delete, and assign phone numbers and virtual extensions to people or departments
- Define the roles and permissions of each user
You can do even more from the dashboard, depending on your provider and account.
Top VoIP providers will go the extra mile—they’ll typically also help new customers set the system for no extra charge. So, if you need a walkthrough, contact your provider and they should be happy to help.
Do I need a special phone for VoIP?
Nope! VoIP phone systems will work on your laptop or mobile device. You just need to download the softphone app and install it on your computer or smartphone.
But if you’re looking for something a little fancier, there are devices that are specially designed to enhance the VoIP experience. The cost can range from as low as US$60 to as high as US$1,000, depending on the features. The most popular brands are Polycom, Cisco, and Yealink.
There are different types that you can choose from like:
- Desk IP phones – They look like regular phones but are actually special computers that help you make VoIP calls. The best ones support HD call quality, and some even have LCD screens for special functions like caller ID. If you want the familiarity of regular landlines while getting the best VoIP experience, then you should look into getting desk IP phones.
- Conference phones – Also called starfish phones because of their shape, these are VoIP phones with a speaker and a mic with a large area of audio pick up. These phones are perfect for facilitating conference calls.
- Receptionist IP phones – These are desk IP phones with an attached module used for easy manual routing of calls.
As you can see, you’re basically getting your VoIP phone system installed for free—all you need to pay for are additional phone numbers, VoIP devices, and a stable internet connection
The VoIP post-installation stage
Once your VoIP phone system is installed and configured, it’s time to use it. Because VoIP servies are usually subscription-based, you’ll be charged a regular fee until you decide to cancel.
Depending on your provider and the plan you choose, you can be billed monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually.
(Most subscribers choose a per-month bill for budget flexibility.)
How much is VoIP monthly?
One thing you should know is that most VoIP providers charge on a per-user per-month basis instead of charging you for the collective minutes spent by your whole business.
On average, the monthly per-user charge is around $25. This normally includes unlimited outbound calling (U.S. and Canada), toll-free minutes, and basic features like auto-attendant, call forwarding, call screening, and caller ID.
Aside from the features above, RingCentral has plans that include unlimited business SMS, virtual fax, and video meetings. Higher tiered plans have even more toll-free minutes, a higher number of allowed video conference participants, and additional features like automatic call recording and single sign-on (SSO).
How much are long-distance call charges?
Most VoIP providers offer unlimited calling across the U.S. and Canada at no extra charge. For businesses that make a lot of outbound calls, this is pretty much a must-have. That’s especially important because traditional carriers automatically charge you long-distance fees when calling phone numbers with different area codes. Voice over IP nips that in the bud.
But what if you’re calling outside those countries?
Like regular carriers, VoIP providers have international rates. However, VoIP international call rates are typically lower.
Basically, with VoIP:
- calls within the U.S. and Canada are considered local calls
- calls outside the U.S. and Canada are still considered international calls, but the rates are dramatically lower
RingCentral has different international calling plans you can choose from. You can pay-as-you-go with international call credit bundles, or get an unlimited international call plan if you’re always calling outside the U.S. and Canada.
What are toll-free minutes?
If you plan to build a national presence, a toll-free number is a must.
Toll-free numbers are phone numbers with distinct three-digit prefixes (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, and 844) that anyone in the U.S. and Canada can dial without being charged for the call. This allows your business to be accessible to almost anyone for free (on the part of the caller, at least).
This is, of course, where toll-free minutes come in. You usually have an allotted number of toll-free minutes per month included on your VoIP plan. Toll-free calls are automatically deducted from these. When you exceed the allotted minutes, you’ll be charged accordingly.
RingCentral has affordable high-volume toll-free minute bundles that you can purchase on top of the toll-free minutes included in your subscription plan. You can change your bundle anytime to meet your business needs.
What is the cost of getting technical support?
With traditional on-premise systems, repair and maintenance requires expensive expert help. You can either hire a full-time team or you can hire contractors, but either way, you’ll be spending thousands of dollars per year. That doesn’t even include the hardware (parts and replacements) and software (new upgrades and updates) needed by the system.
With VoIP, the management and maintenance of the system falls on the provider, not you. This includes all updates and upgrades, which will automatically be rolled out to all customers at the same time. In other words: no extra fees.
When you encounter a problem, just call your VoIP provider to get help from their expert technical support rep for free.
Basically, you can use the service without worrying about having to deal with technical issues— you can always get help from your provider.
RingCentral has an award-winning customer support team that you can call 24/7. And it’s not just for technical issues; you can also ask about best-practice recommendations for your VoIP phone system.
How much does a VoIP service cost?
It varies by provider, but the structure is usually similar. Let’s take RingCentral as an example. It would depend on:
- the plan you choose
- the number of telephone numbers you got
- the VoIP phones you bought or rented, and
- the toll-free minutes you need
Let’s see how this works out.
Say you’re a 10-user company. You need two toll-free company phone numbers, but you don’t need VoIP phones for them (since they can just use the RingCentral app on their cell phones). Let’s say you chose RingCentral Standard and need 2,000 toll-free minutes per month. How much would you spend monthly?
| Cost | Quantity | Price per item | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| RingCentral Standard Plan | Quantity10 users | Price per item$34.99 per user | Total$349.90 |
| Toll-free numbers | Quantity2 telephone numbers | Price per item1st telephone number = free 2nd telephone number = $4.99/month |
Total$4.99 |
| Softphone | Quantity10 users | Price per itemRingCentral app is free | TotalFree |
| Toll-free minutes | Quantity2,000 minutes | Price per item1st 1000 minutes = included in the monthly fee 2nd 1000 minutes = $29.99 per month |
Total$29.99 |
| Total cost per month | $384.88 |
*based on current plans and pricing; may be subject to change
As you can see, you’ll only be spending $384.88 per month to equip your 10 employees with an industry-leading VoIP phone system
Compared to on-premise systems, which would cost thousands of dollars to set up and a couple of hundred more to maintain each month, you’re getting a lot more bang for your buck.
What are you getting with RingCentral?
When you subscribe to RingCentral, you get a secure and reliable cloud communications solution that includes enterprise-grade VoIP, cloud PBX, business texting, internet fax, online meetings, and over 50 other communications and collaboration features.
Try it out with a free trial and get a free local or toll-free number—no installation fees. Just subscribe, then use!
RingCentral MVP™* plans for your small business
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- No limit on number of users
- Business phone numbers in over 100 countries
- Unlimited internet fax
- Unlimited audio conferencing
- Video meetings with up to 100 participants
- Up to 24-hour meeting duration
- Quality-of-service reports
-
Popular integrations including
Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack,
and more - 24/7 support
Best value
Premium
Message, Video, Phone, Open API
$34.99
off
$34.99
/user/month
**
Everything in Standard, PLUS
- Automatic call recording
- Single Sign-on
- Multi-site admin and management
- Up to 8-digit extensions with site codes
- Hot desking
- Advanced call handling including whisper, barge, and more
- Video meetings with up to 200 participants
- Real-time analytics
- Popular CRM integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, and more
- Industry-specific integrations with Canvas, Smarsh, and more
- Developer platform and custom integrations
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Pricing
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Annually: $19.99/user/mo
Monthly: $29.99/user/mo |
Annually: $27.99/user/mo
Monthly: $37.99/user/mo |
Annually: $34.99/user/mo
Monthly: $44.99/user/mo |
Annually: $49.99/user/mo
Monthly: $59.99/user/mo |
Business phone or toll-free numbers
One phone number for calling, team messaging,
and video
meetings access.
Each user gets a dedicated phone number at no additional cost. Essentials
edition doesn't include video meetings.
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Toll-free
minutes
Inbound Toll-free
minutes
Included minute allotment varies by tier. Toll-free minutes
are pooled across the account, regardless of number of lines. Additional minutes available for purchase.
Learn
more
Included minute allotment varies by tier. Toll-free minutes
are pooled across the account, regardless of number of lines. Additional minutes available for purchase.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Unlimited calls within the US/Canada**
Unlimited calling/phone calls within the US
and CA. Plus, choose from affordable and convenient international calling plans
that fit your business. Terms and conditions may apply.
Learn more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Enhanced Business SMS
Designed to meet latest carrier requirements and improve deliverability. Included SMS allotment
varies by tier. Additional SMS available for purchase. Available upon request.
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Voicemail-to-text
Automatically convert voicemail messages into text form so users can screen
messages easily and respond to the most important call first.
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Visual voicemail and voicemail-to-email
Access voicemail messages from your desk and
mobile phones, email, desktop app, and online account.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Team messaging
Collaborate more effectively with colleagues,
clients, and contractors with team messaging, task assignment, calendar sharing,
and more. Also, utilize out-of-the-box integrations with Jira, Asana, Box,
Google Drive, OneDrive, and more.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Document sharing
Access
documents and files stored on your computer or your Google Drive, Box, OneDrive,
and Dropbox accounts and easily share them with your team members.
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Call management and phone system
administration Sophisticated call management, enabling you
to configure your phone system across the entire company, regardless of location
or device. Optimize communication with custom admin and user configurations
online or using the mobile app.
Call management features include:
*Not available with Essentials.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Whether you're an Apple or Android user, you can use your smartphones and
tablets to make and receive calls, join and host meetings,
team message coworkers and partners, send and receive faxes and texts, set up
and join conferences, and configure phone system settings, notifications, and
voicemail.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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High-definition (HD) voice
To consistently deliver the highest HD quality possible, RingCentral utilizes
the Opus Interactive codec for audio and video, as well as the G.722 codec for
audio.
Learn more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Call log reports
Get a complete record of all your inbound and
outbound calls and faxes. View the name of the caller, the number or extension
dialed, as well as the time, date, and duration of the call.
Learn
more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Phone rental options: desk and
conference phones Rent any desk phone or conference phone for a
low monthly price.
Contact sales for details and pricing.
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more
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Add Video Pro and Video Pro+ users
Administrators can add Video Pro and Video
Pro+ users from within MVP.
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Unlimited internet fax
Send and receive faxes from your computer, mobile device, Microsoft Outlook,
cloud storage providers (such as Dropbox), and more.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Unlimited audio conferencing
Host an
unlimited number of audio conference calls, with up to 1,000 attendees per
conference. Each user gets unique host and participant access codes.
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Video meetings and participants
Hold video meetings with screen sharing,
in-meeting public and private chat capabilities—anytime, anywhere, on any
device.
Maximum
number of participants varies by the video platform:
Premium with RingCentral Video (up to 200) Standard with RingCentral Video (up to 100) |
Available as an add-on
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Up to 100 people
per video meeting
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Up to 200 people
per video meeting
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Up to 200 people
per video meeting
|
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High-definition (HD) video
RingCentral delivers crystal-clear HD quality video and voice.
Learn more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Quality-of-service reports
Gain the ability to proactively review
overall RingCentral system health and diagnose quality issues impacting users. A
holistic overview of quality measured by location, endpoint, codec, ISP, and
more enables
easier monitoring and faster troubleshooting.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Popular integrations including Microsoft 365,
Google Workspace, Slack, and more
RingCentral offers the largest ecosystem of integration apps in the
communications and collaboration space to maximize productivity and efficiency.
Get integrations for bots, AI, analytics, archiving, automation, productivity,
and more.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
|
Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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24/7 support
Unlimited chat and phone support.
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Multi-level auto attendant
Answer callers automatically with customized
greetings, and ensure every call is directed to the right employee or
department.
Learn
more
Auto-attendant is a virtual receptionist
service that greets your callers and routes them to employees, departments, or
to any phone in the world (i.e. an employee's mobile phone, an office deskphone,
or a virtual phone on the RingCentral app).
With the multi-level auto attendant feature, you can create rules to handle
incoming calls for multiple office locations or language selections. For
example:
“Press 1 for our New York office. 2 for Chicago office. 3 for Los Angeles
office.” OR
“Press 1 for English. Marque 2 para Español.”
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Professional implementation
Get the most out of RingCentral with a
portfolio of professional and personalized services, ranging from planning,
designing, and implementation to project management, ongoing support, and
consulting.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Call recording
Automatic call recording: Set your
RingCentral phone system to automatically record inbound and outbound calls for
individual users or inbound calls for departments.
On-demand call recording: Allows Users to
manually record phone calls anytime using an IP Phone provisioned with
RingCentral, Forwarding Number, or RingCentral Phone for Mobile.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
|
On-demand
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Automatic
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Automatic
|
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Compatible with RingCentral Rooms™ (add-on)
Turn any space into a conference room.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Compatible with RingCentral Room Connector (add-on)
Room Connector allows room conferencing systems on legacy hardware with SIP-based endpoints (third party endpoints) to connect and access video meetings on RingCentral.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Single Sign-on
Users can log in to RingCentral automatically with their corporate credentials.
Reduce the IT cost of assisting in password recovery and benefit from a central
authentication point that securely accesses your RingCentral service from any
device.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Multi-site admin and management
Get the flexibility to manage and support
your branch offices based on their unique operational needs.
Learn
more
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Up to 8-digit extensions with site codes
Simplified intra-site dialing for large multi-site customers.
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Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Hot desking
Allows users to log in to shared phones to access their own RingCentral
extensions, voicemail and greetings, and other features.
Hot desking lets employees share office desk phones while keeping their separate
extensions, greetings and voicemail access.
It enables companies to save costs of desk phones while still letting their employees remain productive. |
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Advanced call handling including whisper, barge,
and more
Advanced call management controls (monitor,
whisper, barge, takeover) to allow authorized users to listen in on employee
calls with clients to monitor the conversation, provide coaching, and facilitate
discussion.
Other
features include overflow call queues, user groups, and role-based access
control with customized roles/permissions.
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Real-time analytics
Gain
real-time insights into your RingCentral system and gather business-relevant
data, alerts, and reporting metrics.
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Popular CRM integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, and more
Bring the functions and features of
RingCentral MVP into your business apps such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Microsoft
Dynamics, ServiceNow, etc.
Learn more
|
Available as an add-on
|
Available as an add-on
|
Included in plan
|
Included in plan
|
|
Industry-specific integrations with Canvas, Smarsh, and more
Bring the functions and features of
RingCentral MVP into your vertical's business apps such as Canvas, Smarsh, etc.
Learn more
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
|
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Developer platform and custom integrations
RingCentral APIs let you create your own
custom applications and seamlessly integrate business communications into your
key business processes, so you can automate workflows, drive efficiency, and
gain valuable
insight from communications data.
Visit
Developer Portal
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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Included in plan
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Device status reports
Monitor
hard phone registration status globally and gain visibility into your devices'
history.
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
|
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Device status alerts
Set up
automated monitoring rules and receive notifications when devices are offline.
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
|
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Unlimited storage***
Store an unlimited* amount of documents, spreadsheets, presentation files,
contracts,
invoices, images, videos, and recordings.
*Retention period applies.
Store an unlimited* amount of content within your RingCentral app. This could be
documents, spreadsheets, presentation files, contracts, invoices, images, or
videos that you send as attachments within messages; or these could be the
recordings of your video meetings.
*Retention period applies. |
Available as an add-on
|
Available as an add-on
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Available as an add-on
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Included in plan
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The search for the world’s easiest meetings platform is over.
Michael Moxley
Vice President
Our opportunities for connection have increased 5x, and in a mere 14 months we’ve achieved ROI of 35% cost savings with RingCentral.
Randy Boyd
Infrastructure Architect
Since we replaced the landline phones across our locations with RingCentral, we’re already seeing a cost saving of 20%.
Bron McCall
CTO
RingCentral has dramatically improved our efficiency and customer service. We’ve added 10% to our bottom line, easily, and reduced employee stress levels!
Ed Sieber
Owner and President
Message. Video. Phone. Together.
A seamless solution to unleash the power of cloud business communications.
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