The top 5 alternatives to 3CX for your business communications

Are you on the lookout for an alternative to 3CX and comparing all the different options? Here, we'll guide you through the best options for modernizing your business telephony and boosting your company's performance.

Table of the best alternatives to 3CX

What is 3CX?

With almost 20 years' experience in the business telephony market, 3CX is a Cypriot company that has established itself as a leader, particularly in the hardphone sector, i.e. SIP telephony and telephone system rationalization.

The company provides a software communications solution, but not telephone lines. What's more, 3CX only distributes its paid versions through its network of partners. Still, 3CX's free offer is interesting, as it includes a number of relevant features such as video conferencing and WhatsApp integration.

Why look for an alternative to 3CX?

You're looking for a less rigid solution

Unlike Ringover, Cyprus-based 3CX is not a telephony operator. So when you choose 3CX, you're choosing software only, not a complete solution capable of handling the allocation and management of your lines and numbers.

For a growing company, with all that this entails (adding new lines, configuring accounts and training new recruits, etc.), this can be quite restrictive. Indeed, you'll have to go through an operator, which means that there's a stack of services and intermediaries, making the experience more complex.

What's more, 3CX's fee-based offers are distributed exclusively through a network of partners that's impossible to bypass. So, if you have a problem, you can't deal directly with the publisher. You have to contact their partner who, if they don't have the answer to your question, will most certainly have to refer you to 3CX.

It's That said possible to obtain technical support from 3CX, at a cost of €75 per support ticket. At Ringover, support is free, and you get a dedicated Customer Success Manager for 50 or more licenses.

Looking for software that integrates better with your existing tools?

Unless you have a veritable gas factory, you can't manage your entire business with a single solution.

So it's vital to ensure that your software is fully compatible and can at least communicate with each other. To this end, software publishers generally offer APIs or Webhooks enabling their customers to combine their tools on a day-to-day basis. This is known as tool integration.

However, not all publishers have the same catalog of integrations, and not all integrations are equal in terms of functionality or ease of installation.

Ringover integrations are easy to configure, while 3CX integrations can be extremely complicated to set up, and in some cases you may need to call in an external service provider or the 3CX partner who sold you the solution.

You need clearer pricing

As mentioned above, 3CX doesn't sell its solution on its website. You need to go through one of our partners to acquire the solution.

There are many such partners, classified into different tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium) according to their business objectives and area of expertise. As a result, prices can vary considerably from one provider to another.

It can be time-consuming and complicated to compare several partners and get a clear picture of how much you'll be spending each month on your business communications. Opt for a provider like Ringover, whose offers are clear and easy to understand.

Top 5 alternatives to 3CX

Best alternative No.1: Ringover

The best alternative to 3CX in terms of functionality, flexibility and ease of use is Ringover. Ringover is extremely easy to use and configure, and installing and using the solution don't require any technical knowledge.

Ringover also stands out for its high degree of customizability, enabling companies to respond more precisely to the needs of their prospects, customers and other contacts.

Easy to set up, this 100% cloud-based communications solution offers all the tools needed for perfect management of business telephony, whether for cold calling or after-sales service.

When it comes to clear pricing, Ringover is the clear winner. Companies know exactly how much their telecoms are going to cost them each month, so there are no nasty surprises. And when it comes to support, companies can contact the publisher directly, for free.

Monthly packages from €21 (per month, per user) include essential productivity and collaboration functions, not to mention performance monitoring.

If this all sounds good to you, you can get a personalized quote, where the Ringover teams will put together a custom package that's 100% tailored to your needs.

Key benefits of Ringover

• Free 7-day trial.
• Customized packages available.
• Performance analysis tools.
• Easy integration with your business tools.
• Unlimited calls

Alternative #2: RingCentral

Ringcentral is an American company that was founded back in 1999 and which specializes in business telecommunications. They offer four packages, with prices varying according to the features included, as well as the number of users.

Unfortunately, Ringcentral doesn't offer videoconferencing in its essentials package, nor a multi-level interactive voice server. This means you'll have to use third-party solutions for these needs, or switch to the higher packages to benefit from them.

Plus, even an essential feature like call recording is only available from the Premium package, which costs €22.99 per month/user for 2 to 19 users.

Pros ➕

• Rich catalog of integrations.
• Omnichannel versatility.

Cons ➖

• Customer service is hard to reach.
• Complicated IVR configuration.
• Confusing pricing.

Alternative 3: Cloudtalk

Cloudtalk is a solution developed by a company based in the Slovak Republic. It's a 100% cloud-based platform that has been designed for companies of all sizes.

Overall, it's a decent solution and, like 3CX, it has the advantage of being fairly flexible.

That said, the Cloudtalk platform is regularly criticized for its bugs and call quality.

On the price side, the company presents three offers, with prices varying according to the features included. The cheapest offer, however, costs €25/month/user. It's possible to personalize the offer.

Pros ➕

• Intuitive interface.
• Omnichannel versatility.

Cons ➖

• Call quality.
• Approximate technical support.
• Lack of pricing transparency.

Alternative 4: Vonage

Vonage is an American company founded in 1998 and was one of the forerunners of IP telephony. Over the last decade, the company has made a wave of acquisitions to consolidate its position and become one of the leaders in cloud communications.

Vonage offers a wide range of solutions for all types of businesses, from APIs to contact center software and conversational sales tools.

Vonage Contact Center software is available in 4 packages (Express, Essentials, Select and Premium), with prices unfortunately not listed on their website.

Pros ➕

• Salesforce integration available in the basic package.
• Flexibility.

Cons ➖

• Frequent bugs.
• Unintuitive interface.
• Lack of price transparency.

Alternative 5: Mitel

Active in the business telecoms market since the early 1970s, this Canadian company has played a key role in the democratization of cloud telephony.

Like 3CX, Mitel is a hardphone specialist, but also provides a software interface and other tools for collaboration and omnichannel communication. The company is a long-standing partner of operators such as Orange and Bouygues Telecom.

Pros ➕

• Hardphone specialist.
• Reliability.

Cons ➖

• Choosing the right formula can be confusing.
• The basic package may not include all essential features.

Summing it up: What's the best alternative to 3CX?

When it comes to the three points mentioned above (pricing, integration, flexibility), Ringover's solution stands out as a clear winner in the hunt for the best alternative to 3CX.

Ringover has the benefit of being both a software publisher and a telephone operator. You can deal directly with Ringover and fine-tune your offer to exactly what you need. In terms of scalability, this solution also delivers the goods, letting you easily add and remove phone lines as and when you need (portability, mobile numbers, foreign virtual numbers, etc.).

Finally, the software boasts an easy-to-use interface. You can try Ringover right now, without having to enter any bank details.

FAQ — Alternatives to 3CX

How much does 3CX cost?

The basic 3CX solution, called 3CX Free, is completely free and limited to 10 users. However, it's also very limited in terms of functionality, although it does include WhatsApp integration.

The second 3CX package is called 3CX Pro. It includes all the features of Startup Free, plus additional features such as multi-level IVR, call routing and dual listening. 3CX Pro costs €145/year.

Watch out: If you exceed the number of simultaneous calls allowed, you'll have to pay more. To upgrade to 8 simultaneous calls, you'll need to spend €265/year.

Please note that the Pro package includes telephone integration with your CRM, as well as call recording.

To get the benefits of a more complete solution (3CX SMB) that caters to 20 users, and to access IVR features, you'll need to spend €275. However, please beware of the number of simultaneous calls made as this is also limited.

Finally, 3CX offers an even more complete package called Enterprise, enabling you to take advantage of skills-based routing or videoconferencing for up to 250 participants for €180/year (4 simultaneous calls).

It's worth remembering that the paid versions of 3CX are distributed and installed exclusively by the company's partners.

On top of the prices shown on the website, your budget will almost certainly have to be increased for the cost of installation, training and technical support services.

Another thing worth considering is that 3CX is not an operator, so you'll need to initially get your phone lines set up with another service provider.

Can I get technical support from 3CX?

Yes, but it does come at an added cost. If you've subscribed to one of 3CX's offers, the best thing to do is to contact the service provider who sold you the solution for any queries and support.

However, if you want to deal directly with 3CX for a technical problem, you'll have to

spend €75 per support ticket.

Who are 3CX's main competitors?

Contenders for 3CX are constantly emerging, but some, such as Ringcentral, Ringover and Cloudtalk, are certainly pulling ahead of the rest. These alternatives have the advantage of offering clearer, more flexible solutions, which is generally what you'll be looking for!

There are also alternatives such as Mitel and Vonage that you can consider, but there's a certain lack of pricing transparency that tends to raise red flags.

Sources

1. https://www.ringcentral.com

2. https://www.cloudtalk.io

3. https://www.vonage.com

4. https://www.mitel.com

5. https://www.3cx.com