The 7 Best Five9 Alternatives That Are Easy to Use

Choosing the best contact center service is a major decision. You likely need it to do more than handle incoming calls.

The last thing you want is a two-year onboarding saga.

It’s wise to compare the frontrunner against its top contact center as a service (CCaaS) competitors. 

Five9 is a cloud-based contact center that allows agents to work from anywhere with a computer, headset, and internet connection​​.

It supports numerous communication channels, including voice, email, chat, SMS, and social media, with a consistent user experience.

Let’s look at the strengths, limitations, and alternatives to Five9.

What Are Some Strengths of Five9?

Five9 is consistently recognized as one of the leaders in the CCaaS market. It has many strengths that have earned it this consistent praise.

CRM integration depth

Five9 is a contact center solution with a wide range of integration options, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems:

• Salesforce
• ServiceNow
• Zendesk
• Oracle
• Microsoft Dynamics 365

These integrations give a comprehensive view of customer interactions and history​​​​.

Efficient omnichannel routing

Five9 has always supported omnichannel routing, ensuring every interaction is connected to the most appropriate resource and enhancing overall customer service efficiency​​​​. 

Regardless of the channel a customer prefers to reach out on, your contact center agents have a holistic view of the customer journey and can reference all previous interactions, orders, and tickets.

Advanced IVR with speech recognition

Five9 is one of the protagonists of natural language processing technology inside contact center platforms, and its interactive voice response (IVR) system uses advanced speech recognition for intuitive self-service options and efficient caller routing​​.

This means callers get to their required destination quickly without waiting on hold for a human agent.

Real-time analytics and reporting

Be it self-service transactions or detailed calls with agents, Five9 provides in-depth insights into call center operations with detailed analytics​​.

You can report on contact center metrics:

• Net Promoter Score
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer retention rate
• First contact resolution
• Customer effort score
• Customer churn rate
• Channel mix

And it also tracks more traditional call center metrics:

• Adherence to schedule
• Agent utilization rate
• Agent attrition rate
• Occupancy rate
• Average speed of answer
• Average handle time
• Average after-call work time

Predictive dialer

For sales operations and teams conducting market research, Five9 offers a machine-learning-powered predictive dialer.

This increases the efficiency of your outbound teams by optimizing call patterns and reducing misdials and manual errors.

Top-notch security and compliance

Five9 offers enterprise-grade security measures and compliance with industry standards to protect customer data​​.

The name Five9 stems from the ability to constantly provide 99.999% uptime. The platform hosts a plethora of defense approaches, including:

• Stateful inspection firewalls
• Demilitarized zones
• Intrusion prevention and detection systems
• Vulnerability scanning
• Annual penetration testing
• File integrity monitoring
• Anti-virus/anti-malware protection
• Two-factor authentication

Why Customers Look for Alternatives to Five9

If Five9 is so great, what’s prompting customers to look for help elsewhere? There are three recurring themes that pop up in customer reviews.

Complex setup and onboarding

Five9 targets enterprise customers or those seeking a high level of automation, and some users, particularly in smaller businesses, find the setup process complex and cumbersome.

While the customizability could be viewed by some as a good thing, the many settings and integrations can be overwhelming for small and medium businesses that lack the appetite for AI and self-service.

Steep learning curve

The comprehensive set of call center features, integrations, and automation can present a steep learning curve for new users​​. If you’re a small business with limited resources, getting up to speed can take months rather than hours.

Limited historical data storage

Holding onto data for an extended period has proven tricky with Five9. Users have expressed a desire for longer data storage or more options when selecting data retention periods​​.

You can download call logs and web chat scripts for up to 60 days, but other items, like dialing lists, E911 call recordings, and email attachments, don’t currently have a download option after 30 days of storage.

Top 7 Alternatives to Five9

1. Nextiva

Strengths

Nextiva has an extensive range of features, including collaboration features, team messenger, document sharing, task management, and CRM integrations.

Nextiva’s CRM integrations are strong, with some unique management and collaboration tools not found in competitors’ solutions​​​​​​​​.

Nextiva integrations include:

• Microsoft Dynamics
• Microsoft Outlook
• Oracle Sales Cloud
• Salesforce
• ServiceNow
• NetSuite 
• HubSpot
• Zendesk
• Bullhorn
• Workbooks
• SugarCRM
• Zoho

Offering similar call center functionality available in Five9, you can also benefit from contact center AI without getting overwhelmed. There’s no pressure to make everything virtual and leave robots to run things, but there is plenty of intuitive call center automation and machine learning to take advantage of.

Key features 

Nextiva includes all the basic call center software features, including inbound call flows, IVR, and automatic call distribution. 

You get unlimited call queues, customer callbacks, CRM connectors, performance dashboards, and advanced features like workforce management and workflow automation.

Why is Nextiva a compelling Five9 alternative? 

You can use Nextiva for both unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and CCaaS, and integrating the two is simple thanks to behind-the-scenes APIs that work hard to bring you an efficient, easy-to-navigate interface. 

Whether you’re using Nextiva for your telephony and your contact center or you’re integrating another contact center, perhaps Five9, with Nextiva’s business phone system, your contact center agents get a streamlined experience with built-in video conferencing, a mobile app for on-the-go accessibility, and competitive pricing plans.

Nextiva’s 24/7 customer support and amazing service make it a great technology partner for small businesses and large enterprises. In fact, 94% of customers say they are very happy with Nextiva’s service and support.

2. 3CX

Strengths

3CX has a simple unified communications client that’s popular with customers who are looking to do little more than make calls. 

You can use your own VoIP provider to underpin the solution and choose from a list of off-the-shelf CRM integrations for computer telephony integration features such as click-to-dial and screen pop. There’s an easy-to-use mobile app, and web conferencing is included as standard.

Key features

You can create an informal call center using call queues and routing without the need for extensive training. 

Customers like the video call support and cross-platform compatibility. 3CX is a favorite for those looking for an open standard software-based PBX.

Why is 3CX a compelling Five9 alternative?

3CX offers a free tier and is known for its ease of use and installation. It is ideal for small companies that need a flexible, feature-rich system without significant infrastructure investment​​​​.

3. Avaya

Strengths 

Avaya provides omnichannel contact center support across a range of on-premise, cloud SaaS, and hybrid models. 

Each implementation option comes with advanced reporting and analytics, CRM integration, and a standard feature list on par with Five9’s.

Key features 

Avaya has a legacy of providing telecom infrastructure and is versed in skills-based routing and historical and real-time reporting.

Its more recent cloud offering, sometimes partnering with resellers to provide extra services, also includes features like self-service automation, IVR with speech recognition, and workforce optimization.

Why is Avaya a compelling Five9 alternative?

Avaya is suitable for large enterprises with a focus on omnichannel communication strategies. 

It has a legacy of delivering reliable performance and a comprehensive set of call center features to companies with a limited appetite for cloud and AI.

4. CloudTalk

Strengths 

CloudTalk provides a high-quality call and CRM software integration with effective workforce optimization tools. 

As the name suggests, CloudTalk only provides a cloud contact center and has the advantage of having no on-premise baggage. Everything is scalable and flexible, promoting the benefits of consumable cloud technology.

Key features

CloudTalk is packed with inbound routing, call recording, call monitoring, call analytics, historical and live reporting, and customer surveys. 

It excels at handling inbound calls for teams and has enough coverage for basic omnichannel management tools.

Why is CloudTalk a compelling Five9 alternative?

Known for its ease of configuration and user-friendliness, CloudTalk offers a range of integrations and features that are especially beneficial for sales and support teams. 

If your business is looking for a strong focus on customer call analytics, this is CloudTalk’s priority.

Related: 6 Top CloudTalk Alternatives & Competitors for Remote Teams

5. 8×8

Strengths 

8×8 provides an all-in-one communications platform for UCaaS and CCaaS with what it calls a “composable” solution. 

For example, if you only need comprehensive call routing and social media messaging, you don’t need to pay for outbound calling and web chat licenses.

Related: 8×8 Pricing: Is It Worth It?

Key features

If you opt to support all digital channels, 8×8’s omnichannel skills-based routing helps agents efficiently manage customer queries.

It includes a strong performance tracking dashboard to monitor agent productivity.

Why is 8×8 a compelling Five9 alternative?

8×8 offers a range of advanced features that make it a strong competitor in terms of technology and versatility.

At the top level, you can access quality management, AI-powered insights, and open APIs for customization and CRM integration.

6. Aircall

Strengths

Aircall provides a slick user interface for agents to efficiently handle calls and manage customer queries. 

Without the clutter of other digital channels, you can focus on providing the best customer experience possible.

Key features

Aircall is packed with calling features to delight your customers, including:

• Calling queuing and IVR
• Time-based routing
• Local phone numbers
• Toll-free numbers
• Pause–resume call recording with transcription (including voicemail)
• Real-time analytics
• Warm transfer for smooth call hand-offs
• Call tagging for organization and reporting
• Ring groups and parallel calls 
• Unlimited concurrent call handling
• Integration with CRMs and helpdesk tools

Why is Aircall a compelling Five9 alternative?

If you’re looking for rapid deployment, getting started with Aircall is quicker than with Five9 because it’s built on a phone system backbone. Assuming your agents have used basic phone call controls before, they will pick it up right away.

At the top end of the pricing tiers, Aircall is more cost-effective than Five9. If you don’t need every possible CCaaS feature, Aircall’s highest package provides essential features at an attractive price.

7. NICE CXone (formerly InContact)

Strengths

NICE has spent considerable programming and development effort on its AI Employee Virtual Attendant (NEVA) for agent performance improvement. 

By putting the agent first, NICE focuses on increased employee engagement, which translates into better customer experiences.

Key features

NICE is one of the most customizable contact center software solutions, with plenty of options for queue routing and reporting.

It integrates with popular CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk, and allows agents to ask for mid-call help from AI-powered virtual assistants. If an agent is about to miss an upsell opportunity, the virtual assistant will send a pop-up message stating it’s the perfect time to mention a new product.

Why is NICE a compelling Five9 alternative?

NICE stands out for its AI capabilities to report on and action customer behavior patterns and provide on-the-spot coaching for agents.

Related: Top 6 NICE CXOne Alternatives for Your Contact Center

What is the best Five9 Alternative?

There is no doubt that the market has many alternatives to Five9, but finding the right solution for your business is crucial.

Matching the needs of your contact center with the strengths of the available vendors can be a tough job. 

If you’re a small-to-medium business seeking a multi-level IVR, call recording, and call screening, Nextiva can get you set up in no time. There’s no need for intensive training, and using the interface is as easy as operating your new smartphone.

If you’re in the market for a phone system solution as well as contact center software, Nextiva offers robust video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, and instant messaging as a base telephony system. 

Users (and admins) love the ability to integrate back-end users with front-end contact center agents, making for a streamlined workforce to manage customer interactions.

Customers also cite their love for usability, performance, and customer support.

Elizabeth Morales, the Sales Manager at Labrada Distributors, says she loves the analytics she gets, which are especially important for keeping track of her remote teams:

“Nextiva provided me with precisely the features I need to maintain group metrics and see where we can improve, make adjustments, and provide better sales service to our customers.”