Stuck in the water with an old communications solution? You’ve got plenty of options.
Avaya is a well-known telephony provider offering unified communications, VoIP services, and contact center solutions for companies of all sizes. Avaya helps organizations work efficiently and operate voice services.
However, it might not be the best solution for your company’s needs. Though Avaya supports remote staff, you might seek a more flexible business phone system. Or you might need a more affordable option that supports the third-party integrations your team already uses.
So we’re helping you compare the top 10 Avaya competitors and alternatives to consider. Our list covers the pros and cons, key features, and sample pricing.
By the end of this comparison guide, you’ll better understand which Avaya competitors and alternatives will support your business needs.
Pressed for time? Compare the top three Avaya alternatives to see which features each service offers for the price.
| Service | Nextiva | Aircall | OnSIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price per user | $17.95 | $30 | $49.95 |
| Top Features |
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1. Nextiva
Nextiva is a complete cloud-based communication platform for companies of all sizes. It brings business phone, video conferencing, collaboration tools, and customer experience features in a single solution.
Nextiva earned the title of best business phone system by U.S. News. Product review sites like G2 and Gartner placed Nextiva at the top of the industry.
Small businesses turn to Nextiva for its reliability and all-around performance. It’s not a surprise that it’s no stranger to many in-office deployments and for employees who work from home.
For enterprises, Nextiva makes it easy to upgrade existing on-premises equipment with a scalable and secure business communications solution. For teams thinking about Genesys, a lesser-known Avaya competitor, will appreciate Nextiva’s tight-knit partnership with Five9 for enterprise contact center needs.
Independent VoIP expert Prince Rich shares his in-depth Nextiva review — watch it out below:
Best Nextiva Features
- HD video calls – Host unlimited audio and video meetings, conferencing with messaging, and screen sharing. Host or join a video conference call in just a couple of clicks.
- Advanced call routing – Use an intuitive phone menu system to always send callers to the right department or person. An auto-attendant is a virtual receptionist that saves time and renders a consistent customer experience.
- Call recording – Record calls and store them in the cloud. Call recordings assist with quality assurance, documenting essential details from calls, and legal compliance.
- Mobile apps – Nextiva gives users a convenient VoIP app with all the functionality you’d expect from a business phone (and then some). Available for iOS and Android for free.
- Call forwarding – Direct your inbound calls to any number or device. You can intelligently forward calls based on your availability or a set schedule (business hours, holidays, etc.).
- Call analytics – Be certain who uses their VoIP phone number with real-time call tracking, detailed custom reports, and dashboards. Easily pull inbound and outbound call logs anytime you want.
- Call Pop – Provide a better customer experience by displaying relevant information about a caller before they answer the phone. This screen pop feature is a must-have for sales and customer support teams.
- VoIP integrations – Integrate your cloud phone system with the tools your team already uses, such as Google, Microsoft, & Salesforce CRM.
- Call flows – Effortlessly build out automated call workflows with an intuitive, drag-and-drop call flow editor. Manage inbound calls, so they reach a team or get directed to the customer support team.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Nextiva offers superior reliability with real-time status updates. Thanks to its eight points of presence and carrier-grade data centers, Nextiva offers an impressive 99.999% uptime with built-in 24/7 monitoring. Nextiva has you covered so you can focus on serving customers.
The Nextiva network meets and exceeds the security standards the ISO/IEC 27001 certification sets. Along with 24/7 monitoring and encryption, the communications platform is SOC 2 compliant, PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant.
Nextiva’s award-winning Amazing Service supports customers over the phone, email, and chat 24/7 if you ever need help.
Pros
- Easy and fast setup and professional onboarding
- Unlimited calling, virtual faxing, and business texting nationwide
- Accounts get local phone numbers and a toll-free number at no charge
- 30+ SaaS API integrations for improved workforce productivity
- Product experts offer training, video conferencing, and one-to-many webinars
- Flexible pricing to pay month-to-month or maximize savings with a contract
- Robust call center and contact center solutions to scale your workflow
Cons
- No free plan is available
- Some IT departments wish there were more admin privileges
How much does Nextiva cost?
Nextiva offers three monthly price plans for teams and companies of all sizes and needs. Pricing varies based on team size and whether you choose monthly or annual billing.
There’s something for everyone — here are your options:
- Essential starts at $17.95 per user. It includes unlimited calling, unlimited peer-to-peer video calling, a complimentary toll-free number, voicemail-to-email notifications, integrations with Outlook and Google, and internet faxing. This plan is ideal if you’re starting on a small scale.
- Professional starts at $21.95 per user. This plan also gives you audio and video conference calls, team collaboration, Call Pop, additional voicemail features, and extended integrations. This plan is great for small teams.
- Enterprise starts at $31.95 per user. You get unlimited participants for voice and video conferences, call recording, voicemail transcription, and even more integrations. This price plan is best for both small and large teams.
2. Mitel
Mitel is another Avaya alternative that offers cloud-based and on-premises PBX solutions. They’re focused on making collaboration easy for larger organizations. Mitel serves small businesses, midsize, and enterprise businesses.
Best Mitel Features
- Team conferencing – Run online meetings, share your screen, track your agenda, and join easily from the communication platform.
- Call management – Put phone calls on hold, join a call, park or unpark a call, or answer a call based on the extension or group.
- Dialer apps – With softphone apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android phones, you can communicate from anywhere with an internet connection.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
MiCloud Connect, Mitel’s cloud-based PBX, has 14 data centers around the world, hosted on Google Cloud Platform. Mitel is SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant. It offers 24/7 customer support available by phone.
Pros
- Typically high uptime and reliability
- Enterprise integrations with the likes of Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce
- Users like the powerful dialer functionality
Cons
- Requires a detailed onboarding and setup cycle
- Lack of transparent pricing on the website
- Difficult to get in touch with customer support
How much does Mitel cost?
Mitel offers three plans. You don’t have to commit to a single plan. Instead, you can add users to different plans at the same time, so you only pay for the plans and features you need.
- Essentials – The lowest plan starts at $20.99 per user per month and includes basic PBX features, collaboration, and conferencing.
- Premier – This plan starts at $26.59 per user per month and includes all Essentials functionality, as well as call recording, voicemail transcription, and integration with your CRM.
- Elite – Starts at $38.49 per user per month and includes all cloud telephony features.
3. Aircall
Aircall is cloud-based call center software for teams. Their goal is to make phone support easy to manage. Aircall integrates with key business tools like CRM platforms and helpdesk solutions (and many others).
Best Aircall Features
- IVR routing – Automate call filtering with Interactive Voice Response (IVR). It lets callers interact with a computer before reaching a rep and helps you respond efficiently.
- International numbers – Get local and international numbers for your business in more than 100 countries, so you can always maintain a local presence.
- Extensions – Give team members a personalized three-digit extension so they can quickly reach each other.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Aircall reports 99.99% uptime thanks to seven worldwide data centers provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, according to StatusGator, Aircall experiences reliability issues on a monthly basis. These are mostly small delays and network issues.
Aircall uses AWS as a hosting provider, which holds certifications like ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and FedRAMP for a secure setup. It is also HIPAA and GDPR-compliant.
Aircall operates a knowledge base and offers phone, chat, and ticket requests for support.
Pros
- Users say it’s easy to set up and deploy
- A growing ecosystem of third-party integrations
- Users like the Power Dialer and call coaching features
Cons
- Poor customer support reviews; many say reps upsell rather than help
- Reviewers say the system is “buggy,” “unreliable,” and “down every week”
- Users report unorganized and inaccurate data transfer between integrations
- Many believe it offers the same features as less expensive options
How much does Aircall cost?
Aircall offers two predetermined pricing plans, along with a custom quote option if you need a more customized package. Plans come with a free trial.
- Essentials – Starts at $30 per user per month and includes unlimited inbound calls (minus toll-free), integrations, call recording, IVR, voicemail, click-to-dial, and phone support.
- Professional – Starts at $50 per user per month and adds advanced call analytics, call monitoring, call tagging, and advanced sales features to the mix. You also get a dedicated account manager.
4. OnSIP
OnSIP is a hosted PBX phone system for remote teams. It’s designed for small and medium businesses. Their VoIP solutions promise a complete phone system replacement in less than an hour, including softphone apps, useful call management features, and video conferencing.
The company was most recently acquired by Ooma. Intrado acquired OnSIP two years earlier. This suggests that the company is at least in a state of constant change and trying to prove the numbers out.
Best OnSIP Features
- Website chat – Website visitors can voice or video chat with your sales team. The Pro version also includes screen sharing and analytics.
- Voicemail-to-email – Receive voicemail messages in your email inbox so you can read and reread them in a place you already check regularly—and respond faster.
- Auto-attendant – Give your callers a call flow so you can intelligently route inbound calls to the right person or team.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
OnSIP leases two data centers in the United States and operates its own redundant physical networks and systems with hardware from Dell, Cisco, and Juniper. OnSIP is also PCI and HIPAA-compliant.
When it comes to customer support, OnSIP has a page for real-time assistance that lists team members you can connect with over the phone or a video call.
Pros
- Easy setup and straightforward interface
- Simple APIs for developers to build RTC applications of their own
- Reviews mention quick customer service responses
Cons
- Reviewers say sound frequently cuts out and calls drop
- Users claim it’s difficult to change names/extensions after agent turnover
- Call recording storage required third-party storage APIs – Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Google Cloud Storage, or Rackspace
- Video chat only available in the most expensive plan
How much does OnSIP Cost?
OnSIP provides three pricing options, but you can customize any plan by adding specific features for an additional upcharge.
- Basic Plan – Starts at $49.95 per month per account, plus 3.2 cents per minute. Many features on this plan have limited capacity and come with additional costs if you want to increase them.
- Unlimited Plan – Costs $18.95 per month per user and includes new desk phones or headsets for new accounts. However, there’s a five-user minimum to use this plan.
- Sayso Voice & Video Chat – Costs up to $49.95 per month and allows you to receive voice and video calls directly through your website.
5. Phone.com
Phone.com is a VoIP phone service for U.S.-based customers. They serve entrepreneurs and growing businesses, offering easy implementation and enterprise features at a fraction of the cost.
Best Phone.com Features
- Audio conferencing – Connect up to 300 participants from anywhere in the world in high-definition voice quality. Make your meetings password-protected for maximum security.
- Call queues – Route incoming calls to a specific group of phone numbers and connect with the first available agent.
- Custom (vanity) numbers – Easy-to-remember phone numbers, like 800-FLOWERS.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Phone.com does not disclose its redundancy methods but reports high uptimes. Phone.com uses high-grade SSL encryption and triple DES encryption for video meetings. Phone.com is PCI, HIPAA, and HITECH compliant. It also offers multilingual 24/7 support over chat, phone, and email.
Pros
- Competitive pricing
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Volume discounts
Cons
- Reviews on social media mention that the system is “not user-friendly” and difficult to set up and fully integrate
- Minute bundles and extensions get expensive for larger businesses
- Advanced features only available as an upcharge or in the highest-priced plan
- Mixed reviews on customer support
How much does Phone.com cost?
Phone.com offers three pricing plans, two of which are metered, and one is unlimited. All plans include 50 features.
- Basic – Priced at $14.99 per user per month. It includes 500 pooled minutes and 1,000 text messages each month and one local or toll-free number.
- Plus Account – Costs $19.99 per user per month. Compared to the Base Account, it comes with unlimited minutes and text messages, as well as premium hold music and the voicemail-to-text feature.
- Unlimited Extension – At $29.99 per user per month, you get 100-participant video conferencing, call recording, CRM integration, and call analytics (along with everything included in metered plans).
6. CallHippo
CallHippo is a worthy Avaya alternative. They make it easy to get a phone number in 50+ countries around the world. According to CallHippo, you can buy a cloud phone system and get it up and running in just a few minutes.
Best CallHippo Features
- Call barging – Monitor your reps’ calls silently.
- Call analytics – Track the performance of your phone support. Measure indicators like the percentage of missed calls, agent call load, average handle time, and more.
- Global Connect – Know the timezone of international contacts so you can always call at the right time.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Based on CallHippo’s status page, they’ve only had one major outage in 2020, although their uptime data is limited. There’s no information on the data centers they use or their security compliance and certificates. CallHippo offers 24/7 support through its support portal.
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Fast customer support times
Cons
- Users say the phone app and system routinely crash; reviews also mention sudden call drops and low-quality calls
- Most features only available in the highest-priced plan
- Customers have reported cases of overbilling on review sites
How much does CallHippo cost?
CallHippo’s pricing is divided into three plans. However, you can create a tailor-made solution with additional features like call and voicemail transcription, call tracking insights, phone number masking, click-to-call, and more for an extra fee per month.
CallHippo’s standard plans are:
- Bronze – Starts at $20 per user per month and includes a free number, forward-to-device, SMS (with additional charges), voicemail, teams, shared inbox, and call quality enhancement. This plan is ideal for small teams.
- Silver – Costs $30 per user per month and includes call recording, IVR, call queueing, working hours, call cascading, pause-resume recording, and more. This plan is aimed at fast-growing teams.
- Platinum – For $50 per user per month, you get Power Dialer, call transfer, conference calling, external call routing, reports via email, forwarding to multiple devices (with call forwarding charges), call barging, and call whisper. It’s aimed at large SMB sales, support, and marketing teams.
7. 8×8
8×8 is a provider of cloud-based business phone systems. Their services include voice, video, messaging, and contact center solutions. They also offer real-time business analytics and intelligence across channels.
Best 8×8 Features
- All-in-one app – Use a single app for desktop and mobile for collaboration over voice, video, private chat, and team chat.
- Analytics – See aggregated analytics for all your cloud communications. Identify trends, solve issues, and make the best decisions based on accurate data.
- Video conferencing – Schedule meetings from Google and Microsoft calendars, create dedicated virtual meeting spaces, and record meetings on the cloud for easy reference.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
8×8 uses multiple redundant hardware and software systems to prevent downtime during outages. However, uptimes are not disclosed. 8×8 is HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO 27001 compliant and meets NIST/FIPS encryption standards, as well as FCC and CSA standards. They offer 24/7 support over the web, live chat, and phone, as well as a knowledge database.
Pros
- Easy setup
- Feature-rich desktop and mobile apps
- Helpful customer service
Cons
- Reviewers report connectivity issues and dropped calls that tend to occur right after updates (which they claim are “constant”)
- Users mention long wait times for customer support
- Customers wish there was more support for third-party integrations
How much does 8×8 cost?
8×8 gives you three plans to choose from based on your needs:
- Express – Starts at $15 per user per month for up to five users. It includes unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, auto-attendant, hold music, voicemail, HD audio and video conferencing, and team messaging. This plan does not provide 24/7 customer support.
- X2 – Priced at $28 per user per month, you’ll receive unlimited voice calls to 14 countries, multi-level auto attendant, call queues, voicemail transcription, third-party integrations, and features from the Express plan.
- X4 – For $57 per user per month, you get unlimited voice calling to 48 countries, call quality reporting, supervisor analytics, call whisper, call barging, and features from the lower-priced plans.
Related: 8×8 Pricing: Is It Worth It?
8. Zoom
Zoom is a well-known video meeting software solution, but they also offer a virtual phone system called Zoom Phone. It’s a VoIP service provider with enterprise-class features that lets you streamline voice communications.
Best Zoom Phone Features
- Elevate to a meeting – You can turn a phone call into a full-featured Zoom meeting without asking participants to join manually. Great for calls that spontaneously turn into more in-depth meetings.
- Voicemail notification and transcription – Get notified of your new voicemail messages and manage them from any device.
- Integrations – You can integrate your phone service with a CCaaS solution, your CRM, Google, Slack, and more.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Zoom uses nine geographically distributed data centers to provide stable service. Zoom experienced quite a few security issues in recent years; they finally rolled out end-to-end call encryption using AES256 in late 2020. Zoom is SOC 2, CCPA, GDPR, HIPAA, PIPEDA, and PHIPA compliant.
Zoom users have access to support from their Knowledge Base, Zoom Community, and chatbot. They can also submit web tickets. Only subscription plans greater than $50/month receive live chat support. Only customers with subscription plans greater than $200/month can access live phone support.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Easy to switch between devices in real-time
- Good audio quality
Cons
- Reviewers say the setup is complicated and admin menus are confusing
- Users notice that frequent updates often cause the system to crash
- Some reviewers believe customer support is “unsatisfactory”
- Not cost-effective to scale
How much does Zoom Phone cost?
Zoom Phone offers three pricing plans, but you can also request paid add-ons like toll-free numbers, additional phone numbers, hardware leasing, premier developer support, and more. Their standard plans include:
- U.S. & Canada Metered – This pay-as-you-go plan starts at $10 per user each month. It includes a U.S. & Canada number, domestic SMS and MMS, inbound calling, business integrations, and outbound metered calling.
- U.S. & Canada Unlimited – Starting at $15 per user per month, this plan offers unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada and the same features in the basic metered plan. You can also add-on calling to 19 more countries.
- Pro Global Select – Pricing starts at $20 per user per month and gives you a direct dial number, unlimited domestic calling in 40+ countries, and everything from the other plans.
Related: Zoom Phone Pricing: Is It Worth the Cost?
9. Vonage
Vonage Business offers a range of business communication features, including unified communications, a cloud contact center, and communications API. Their solutions support flexibility, mobility, and collaboration.
Best Vonage Features
- Call flip – Seamlessly transfer calls from mobile to desk phone or vice versa.
- Vonage Reach – SMS automation for creating meaningful engagement in every stage of the customer journey.
- Call logs – Get detailed call records to see call activity, directions of calls, call duration, and call volume to ensure you add or reduce your agent capacity as needed.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Vonage is powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and uses multi-level fail-safes, backups, and disaster recovery procedures. Their average uptime is 99.999%. Vonage is HIPAA, HITECH, HITRUST, and PCI compliant.
Vonage offers technical support 24/7 over the phone. They also let you create a case through their support portal.
Pros
- Easy setup
- Clean user interface and app
- You can make changes to your account via the online portal
- Friendly customer service
Cons
- Reviews mention “choppy” sound quality and dropped calls
- Customers say Vonage numbers get flagged as spam more than other VoIP services
- Admin reviewers say the apps take up a lot of RAM, slowing down systems
- 24/7 support is only a premium feature
- Many reviewers mention long wait times for customer support/issue resolution
How much does Vonage cost?
Vonage offers three pricing plans and allows users to customize each plan with add-on features for an additional price.
- Mobile – Starts at $19.99 per month per line. Features include unlimited calls (in the US, Canada, and Mexico), unlimited SMS (in the U.S. and Canada), their app center with 20+ integrations, and unlimited team messaging.
- Premium – Starts at $29.99 per month per line. On top of all Mobile features, it adds availability on IP desk phones, as well as unlimited video conferencing for up to 100 participants, auto-attendant, and CRM integrations.
- Advanced – Starts at $39.99 per month per line. This plan adds call recording, call groups, visual voicemail, and white-glove setup to the mix.
10. Dialpad
Dialpad is a cloud communication platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). It’s built for startups, small businesses, and larger firms. Dialpad connects people through voice, video, messaging, and online meetings.
Best Dialpad Features
- Screen capture – Record agents’ entire screens during customer calls so you can better understand agent performance and give valuable feedback.
- Voice Intelligence (Vi) – Automated note-taking, customer sentiment detection, and other intelligent features that make agents more efficient.
- Call blocking – Automatically block spammy inbound calls based on a spam score. You can also send them to voicemail or get the caller to state their name before you answer.
Reliability, security, compliance, & support
Dialpad uses a global network of data centers, which gives them redundancy and protects against downtime. The company claims a 100% uptime Service Level Agreement for their Enterprise users. Dialpad is SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA/BAA compliant.
When researching Dialpad, you’ll find that it offers online support through its customer portal. But only their Pro and Enterprise plans include 24/7 phone support.
Pros
- AI-powered features like real-time transcription and post-call summaries
- High uptime and reliability for Enterprise users
- Easy deployment
Cons
- Many reviewers claim the software has a steep learning curve
- Reviews mention dropped calls, poor audio quality, and app glitches
- Customers wish there was an auto-creation of leads when you take an inbound call from an unknown contact
- Users say customer support often takes 5-7 days for a resolution
How much does Dialpad cost?
Dialpad offers three plans with a range of features and with a minimum number of licenses for the higher tiers. Standard and Pro come with a free 14-day trial.
- Standard – Pricing starts from $23 per user per month. This includes unlimited calling (in your country, the US, and Canada), SMS, and MMS (US and Canada only), basic call controls, voicemail greetings, voicemail transcription, web and chat support, and Microsoft and Google integrations.
- Pro – Starts at $35 per user per month and requires a minimum of three licenses. This plan includes everything in the Standard plan, plus local support in 70+ countries, global SMS, Salesforce integration, APIs, off-hours routing, and 24/7 live agent support.
- Enterprise – A minimum of 100 licenses. This plan includes all of Dialpad’s features from the Pro plan and data retention policies, additional third-party integrations, and priority live agent support. For pricing, you’ll need to contact their sales team.
Avaya Isn’t the Only VoIP Solution …
Avaya has been around for a while and has much to offer, but it falls short when compared to Nextiva. Nextiva is a top-rated and recommended VoIP service with award-winning 24/7 customer support.
On GetVoIP, Nextiva earned a 4.7 out of 5-star rating, with over 93% of customers recommending it. When the two providers were compared on Gartner Peer Insights, Nextiva was by far the more recommended choice.
Real Nextiva users say our VoIP solution makes their lives easier, helps them increase productivity, and makes tough transitions to remote work or cloud migrations faster and simpler.
Related: Top Avoxi Alternatives & Competitors to Explore in 2024
Experience Why More Customers Recommend Nextiva
Nextiva puts security and reliability at the forefront. With 24/7 network monitoring, there’s no need to worry if your business phone service is working. And if you need help, Nextiva’s Amazing Service is there for live customer support.
Plus, Nextiva offers 40+ VoIP features your team can leverage to streamline business communications and maximize every opportunity when connecting with customers. If you’re looking to make the most out of communication and collaboration over the phone, video, and messaging, check out Nextiva’s pricing and find a plan that’s right for your business needs.
Related: Top 8 Talkdesk Alternatives for Contact Centers on a Budget
Avaya, Mitel, Aircall, OnSIP, Phone.com, CallHippo, 8×8, Zoom, Vonage, and Dialpad have no relationship with Nextiva, Inc. and are the registered trademarks of their respective owners.
