Top 10 Cisco Call Center Alternatives in 2025

Looking for the top Cisco Call Center alternatives? Primarily built for large-scale enterprises, Cisco is an advanced contact center solution with omnichannel communication, AI-driven analytics, and cloud integrations. It also has WebEx, a more affordable contact center for growing businesses, but updated pricing plans have yet to be made public.

Cisco remains a trusted brand for networking and call centers, but businesses need a more agile and cost-effective vendor. This guide covers the top ten recommendations if you’re looking for a cost-effective alternative to Cisco Call Center software or Cisco VoIP solutions. We’ll discuss pricing and features to help you make an informed decision.

Why Customers Consider an Alternative to Cisco Call Center

While Cisco is highly customizable and integrates deeply with a broader suite of products, users often seek an alternative for the following reasons:

1. High price point

Cisco’s plans and packages are tailored to large-scale enterprise organizations, making them too expensive for smaller organizations with limited budgets. While the WebEx contact center is supposedly more affordable, you’ll need to pay extra for necessary add-ons such as workforce optimization (WFO) tools and cloud PBX integration, increasing already incurred costs.

2. Complexity

Cisco can be pretty complex due to its numerous features and integrations, especially for non-technical users. The nonintuitive interface can make it difficult for users to make changes or discover new features.

One user noted:

“The system is incredibly complex. UIs are almost intentionally hard to understand and are almost never updated. Everything looks like it was built in the ’90s because it probably was.”

3. Poor customer support

Some user reviews suggest that Cisco’s support team can be unnecessarily bureaucratic, making it harder to resolve issues on time. This can be a challenge for growing businesses that require on-time support to troubleshoot and solve problems as quickly as possible.

“They make you jump through hoop after hoop regarding service agreements, licensing, user assignments, and access. You’d think you were trying to break into Fort Knox whenever you need help with something.”

Top 10 Alternatives to Cisco Call Center

Want a Cisco alternative? Here are the top contact center platforms to consider:

Alternative	Best for	Top features	Pricing
Nextiva	Growing businesses or call centers that handle high call volumes across multiple channels	AI-driven insights, voice analytics, and real-time dashboards, omnichannel support, CRM integrations, and auto-responders	From $129 per agent
Five9	Large enterprises or call centers with high call volumes	WFO tools, predictive dialer for outbound campaigns, omnichannel routing	From $119 per month
8×8	SMBs seeking an all-in-one communications platform with integrated call center functionality	AI-driven predictive dialing, advanced security features, encryption, compliance certifications, analytics dashboard	Custom pricing
Talkdesk	Mid-sized to large enterprises looking for a customizable and scalable call center solution	AI automation, real-time call analytics, omnichannel support for voice, chat, email, SMS	From $85 per user/month
Dialpad	Small to mid-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use, AI-powered platform	AI-powered voice intelligence, omnichannel support, third-party integrations	Omnichannel engagement, AI-powered automation, advanced reporting, and analytics
RingCentral	Large businesses that need a unified communications platform	Communication and collaboration tools, team messaging, video conferencing, call management	Custom pricing
Genesys Cloud	Advanced features and customization options	Omnichannel engagement, AI-powered automation, advanced reporting and analytics	From $75 per user/month
Nice CXone	Businesses looking to improve customer experience and agent productivity	AI routing, interaction Analytics, workforce Management	From $94 per month
Avaya	Blending traditional VoIP features with contact center technology	Unified communication features, automation capabilities, workforce management tools	Custom pricing
Zoom Contact Center	Zoom’s entry into the contact center space, offering a modern, video-first approach	AI Companion for Contact Center, Flow Editor + IVR, Real-time transcription, inbound voice video, chat, SMS	Starting at $69/month/agent

1. Nextiva: Best for call centers handling high call volumes

Built for scale, Nextiva provides reliable cloud call center solutions that enable organizations to efficiently handle high call volumes. It offers interactive voice response, advanced call routing, and other automation capabilities, allowing call center agents to coordinate multiple inbound and outbound interactions without unnecessary wait times.

Nextiva’s call center software is fully integrated with its unified communications platform, enabling agents to coordinate customer interactions across multiple channels from a centralized dashboard. It also offers a user-friendly interface, reliable customer support, and flexible pricing, making it a top choice for organizations looking for call center software that grows with their business.

Top features

• AI-driven insights, voice analytics, and real-time dashboards
• Seamless CRM integration and auto-responders
• 24/7 support and built-in compliance features for regulatory requirements
• Cloud-based call center with omnichannel support (voice, email, and chat)

Pricing

Nextiva has three monthly pricing plans:

• Essential: From $129 per agent
• Professional: From $159 per agent
• Premium: From $199 per agent

2. Five9: Best for large enterprises with multiple customer communication channels

Five9 is a decent choice for large organizations with complex contact center workflows. It provides AI-powered analytics, integrations, and workforce management features to help you coordinate interactions across multiple channels while optimizing agents’ performance for call center efficiency.

While Five9 offers a strong core product, some standard reporting features are lacking. For example, you can’t combine data from different sources into a single table to create a holistic reporting dashboard, and you can’t create reports for SMS data.

Top features

• Cloud-based call center with advanced AI capabilities, omnichannel routing, and real-time performance monitoring
• Integrated WFO tools and predictive dialer for outbound campaigns
• Strong analytics and AI-driven automation for customer interactions

Pricing

Five9 has five pricing packages for different communication channels and contact center capabilities. However, pricing is only available for its Digital and Core plans on the website — you’ll have to contact its sales team for a quote for the others.

• Digital-only: $119 per month
• Core (voice-only): $119 per month
• Premium (digital + voice): Custom pricing
• Optimum (digital + voice + WEM): Custom pricing
• Ultimate (digital + voice + WEM + analytics): Custom pricing

3. 8×8: Best for small businesses looking for an all-in-one communications platform

8×8 is a cloud contact center solution that empowers small businesses to deliver outstanding customer experiences across all touchpoints. It offers unified communications tools, allowing you to integrate voice, social, and email channels into a central platform for more efficient contact center operations.

However, some 8×8 users say the platform has frequent downtimes that disrupt their call center operations for several hours. Also, customer support isn’t very helpful, and reported issues often go unresolved.

“Support is horrible. They have never experienced the issue that you have, so they have to start at the beginning and never seem to resolve [it]. Sometimes, the issue doesn’t happen again, so the ticket simply gets closed.”

Top features

• AI-driven predictive dialing, CRM integration, and analytics dashboards
• Advanced security features, including encryption and compliance certifications
• Strong focus on security and compliance, making it suitable for regulated industries

Pricing

8×8 offers custom pricing for all its plans. This means you have to contact the sales team for a quote. It also charges extra for add-on features like third-party integrations.

4. Talkdesk: Best for mid-sized to large enterprises looking for a customizable and scalable call center solution

Talkdesk is an AI-powered customer experience platform that offers more flexibility and customization options than Cisco. This makes it a popular choice for businesses looking to deliver personalized customer experiences at scale across multiple channels.

What stands out for Talkdesk users is how easy the platform is to deploy and use. As one user says, “Talkdesk is easy to navigate. The Live screen is easy to customize to keep track in real time of the metrics you want to monitor. You can assign voicemails to specific agents easily. When there are any issues, they quickly respond and repair.”

Despite its ease of use, Talkdesk has significant drawbacks, including frequent downtime leading to call center disruptions.

Top features

• Cloud-native call center with AI automation, real-time call analytics, and workforce management tools
• Omnichannel support for voice, chat, email, and SMS, with seamless CRM integrations
• Low-code/no-code interface for easy setup and customization

Pricing

Talkdesk has four monthly pricing plans:

• CX Cloud Digital Essentials: $85/user/month
• CX Cloud Voice Essentials: $105/user/month
• CX Cloud Elite: $165/user/month

5. Dialpad: Small to mid-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use, AI-powered platform

Dialpad focuses on real-time call insights with a strong AI component, making it ideal for businesses that want deeper insights into customer interactions. It also integrates with productivity tools, like Google Workspace and CRM software, making it suitable for contact centers that want their agents to be more efficient.

However, one downside of Dialpad AI Contact Center is that the AI features, like transcription and sentiment analysis, can sometimes be inaccurate, which might lead to misunderstandings during calls.

Top features

• AI-powered voice intelligence offering real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and keyword tracking
• Omnichannel support with seamless integration into tools like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
• Simple, user-friendly interface and robust analytics capabilities

Pricing

Dialpad has three monthly pricing plans:

• Essentials: $80/user/month
• Advanced: $115/user/month
• Premium: $150/user/month

6. RingCentral: Best for comprehensive communication and collaboration

RingCentral offers a scalable cloud communications platform beyond traditional call center functionality. It’s a strong alternative to a Cisco VoIP system and ideal for businesses that need an all-in-one solution with integrated contact center features and unified communications, including team messaging, video conferencing, and phone services.

RingCentral is a reliable and secure platform that can adapt to the needs of businesses from SMBs to large enterprises. While comprehensive, some users report a learning curve due to the extensive features.

Top features

• Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) integration
• Advanced call management, including IVR, routing, and queueing
• Team messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing
• CRM integrations with popular platforms like Salesforce and Zendesk
• Robust analytics and reporting capabilities

Pricing

• RingCentral offers various plans for both UCaaS and CCaaS, with pricing typically quote-based depending on the number of users and specific features required.

7. Genesys Cloud: Best for AI-powered customer experience and advanced routing

Genesys Cloud is a cloud-based contact center platform and another strong alternative to Cisco Cloud Contact Center Solution. It’s highly customizable and scalable, plugged with AI-powered automation, intelligent routing, and robust analytics.

Genesys Cloud is best for enterprises that require sophisticated tools to manage complex customer journeys across multiple channels. However, some users find the initial setup and configuration can be complex due to its vast array of features.

“The product is good, but I find the vendor lacks in providing ways that show how to take full advantage of the service. There are some educational sites but the info is often out of date. There are things in architect that, like the use of expressions, definitely need documentation.”

Top features

• AI-powered routing and agent assistance
• Omnichannel engagement (voice, email, chat, social, messaging)
• Workforce engagement management (WEM) tools
• Extensive open APIs for seamless integrations
• Real-time reporting and historical analytics

Pricing

• Genesys Cloud CX 1: $75/user/month
• Genesys Cloud CX 2: 115/user/month
• Genesys Cloud CX 3: 155/user/month
• Genesys Cloud CX 4: 240/user/month

8. Nice CXone: Best for customer experience optimization

Nice CXone is a unified cloud platform that focuses on optimizing the entire customer journey and agent performance. It offers a suite of tools, from omnichannel routing and workforce management to advanced analytics and AI-driven insights.

Nice CXone is a great Cisco alternative for businesses that want to improve customer satisfaction, increase operational efficiency, and gain deeper insights into their contact center operations. While powerful, some users have noted that the platform’s interface can be a bit overwhelming for new users.

“The setting of the system, along with the transfer of client data, has been a major challenge for us because it is both labor-intensive and time-consuming. Every time we make a new client profile, we have to spend a lot of time filling in fields that the system thinks are vital. If the system allowed us to modify the information it asked for, it would save us a lot of effort and time.”

Top features

• Omnichannel routing and interaction management
• Workforce engagement management (WEM), including forecasting, scheduling, and quality management
• Advanced analytics and reporting with speech and text analytics
• AI-powered agent assistance and self-service options
• Robust security and compliance features

Pricing

• CXone Mpower Digital Agent: $71/month
• CXone Mpower Voice Agent: $94/month
• CXone Mpower Omnichannel Agent: $110/month
• CXone Mpower Essential Suite: $135/month
• CXone Mpower Core Suite: $169/month
• CXone Mpower Complete Suite: $209/month
• CXone Mpower Ultimate Suite: $249/month

9. Avaya: Blending traditional VoIP with modern cloud features

Originally a VoIP phone provider, Avaya has evolved its offerings to include cloud contact center software. It provides unified communication features, automation capabilities, and workforce management tools, positioning itself as a viable Cisco VoIP solutions alternative.

Avaya is a popular choice for enterprise businesses looking to blend traditional VoIP features with modern contact center technology, offering a reliable and established option for large-scale deployments. However, Avaya’s high price point and some legacy system complexities can sometimes deter organizations from making the switch, especially if they’re looking for a purely cloud-native and cost-effective solution.

Top features

• Unified Communications (UC) and Contact Center (CC) integration
• Omnichannel customer engagement
• Workforce optimization and analytics
• Scalable architecture for enterprise deployments
• Robust traditional telephony capabilities

Pricing

• Avaya’s pricing models are generally custom and depend on the specific products, deployment models (on-premise, cloud, hybrid), and features selected.

10. Zoom Contact Center: Best for a video-first, unified communications approach

Zoom Contact Center is a newer entry to the contact center market, leveraging Zoom’s strong reputation in video conferencing to offer a unique, video-first approach to customer service. It provides a unified platform for communications, allowing businesses to integrate voice, chat, and video interactions seamlessly.

It’s best for businesses prioritizing rich customer engagement through visual channels. However, as a newer platform, some advanced integrations or specialized features found in more established contact centers are still be developing.

Top features

• Video-first contact center experience
• Seamless integration with Zoom Meetings and Phone
• Omnichannel support (voice, chat, video)
• Intelligent routing and queue management
• Real-time analytics and reporting

Pricing

• Essentials: $69/month/agent
• Premium: $99/month/agent
• Elite: $149/month/agent

Why Is Nextiva a Top Cisco Call Center Alternative?

To recap, here’s what makes Cisco alternatives stand out:

• Nextiva for high-volume call centers
• Five9 for omnichannel support
• 8×8 for unified communications
• Talkdesk for customizable AI solutions
• Dialpad for real-time voice insights

Each contact center software offers standout features depending on your business needs. However, if you’re looking for a unified contact center solution that offers advanced features and reliable customer support at great pricing, Nextiva should be your top choice.

With powerful AI, easy CRM integration, and a focus on customer experience, Nextiva provides a robust, scalable solution without the complexity or high cost of Cisco Call Center software.

Learn more about Nextiva’s UCaaS features to see how we help businesses like yours efficiently scale their contact center operations. 👇