Not all cloud-based phone systems offer the same features, pricing, support, and capabilities. Telzio is another phone service you need to examine further to see if it fits your team well.
As your company grows, your use of a business phone system will evolve. For instance, your current solution might not support automated workflows or allow you to instantly set up a call center.
It’s time for a change.
We’ll help you find a better Telzio alternative, and we’ll show you a comparison of how its top competitors can better meet your business needs.
Why Customers Look for an Alternative to Telzio
Telzio has its strong points, but there are a few things that encourage business phone users to look for other alternatives, including the following:
Cost and flexibility concerns
For phone calls, Telzio charges you per minute. Businesses with high call volumes incur huge, unexpected costs, making it challenging to benefit from the service. Telzio’s pricing model may not suit all business types, nudging professionals to find alternatives that align with set budgets.
As of January 2024, Telzio offers two plan options: Bundled Minutes and Committed Use. For local numbers, the Bundled Minutes plan is $50 per month (1,000 minutes) with extra costs for additional numbers and added services. The company offers more flexibility with the Committed Use plan. However, the minimum commitment is $250 with per-minute pricing for local, toll-free, and international numbers.
The Telzio phone system carries a significant cost as your usage increases.
Functionality needs
Compared to other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, Telzio lacks decent messaging support and the ability to use a physical fax machine alongside a cloud fax option.
User reviews suggest these issues have disappointed some users and left them with limited communication options.
Telzio could be a reasonable choice for your business’s standard phone service, but if you’re seeking a more comprehensive solution, consider other phone systems.
Mobile app improvements
Although the company has improved, many users felt Telzio’s mobile application was weak. Per reviews, some users prefer desktop applications over Telzio’s web-based calling system.
When using the mobile app, a few users experienced technical issues like lag in call connections and occasional connection problems, impacting customer experience. Telzio has responded to such reviews and is making the required improvements in the new version of the application.
What Are the Strengths of Telzio?
Although per-minute pricing costs rise for businesses with high call volumes, startups and some small businesses with lower call volumes find pay-per-minute pricing to be beneficial.
However, in the long run, professionals might find such pricing to be cost prohibitive. Some users feel there are a few upsides of the Telzio software, including the following:
User-friendly interface
Telzio comes with a simple interface for both the administrator and the user, making usage easier and potentially reducing setup time.
Some professionals appreciate the layout of the web application. Administrators like the control panel, and the UI allows easy changes.
Customizable call flows and accessibility
Telzio users can effectively manage call flows and direct calls to the proper team members. The software encourages global usage by providing direct inward dialing numbers in several countries.
Top 7 Alternatives to Telzio
Below are a few alternatives you can consider if you’re looking to add a better VoIP phone system or cloud call center solution to your company.
1. Nextiva
Nextiva’s VoIP phone system offers superior call quality with an impressive uptime of 99.999%. It includes unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada with a user-friendly and reliable mobile app. The phone system perfectly caters to medium-sized businesses’ needs.
Small and medium-sized businesses can benefit from Nextiva’s unified communication as a service (UCaaS) platform that facilitates team collaboration and provides insights into call analytics.
Below are some of Nextiva’s highly rated features.
- Seamless conference calling: Allows easy conference call participation and provides a single view for messages landing on voice, text, or email channels. The software comes loaded with team collaboration features such as rooms, team chats, and threaded conversations.
- Robust call analytics: Provide deep dives into call center performance through insights like missed calls, talk time, and answered calls. You can set live key performance indicators and customer reports to help your team improve sales.
- Helpful tech integrations: Integrates easily with Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, and various other tools, depending on the plan
- Intuitive call flow designer: Provides a voice admin dashboard for easy setup and administration. With a visual call flow builder, you can easily direct incoming calls.
You can access advanced features like interactive voice response, business call forwarding, voicemail transcription, call recording, and more.
Nextiva offers a free trial, and below are some notable details about its pricing.
- Essential plan costs $18.95 per user per month.
- Professional plan costs $22.95 per user per month
- Enterprise plan costs $32.95 per user per month.
Nextiva’s pricing varies based on the number of users and term length. The intelligent cloud contact center platform’s pricing is available in detail.
2. Grasshopper
Grasshopper is a phone system for small businesses and solopreneurs. It offers virtual phone numbers with flexibility and ease of use. The software lets you separate work and personal conversations while allowing you to route incoming calls.
Below are some features of the Grasshopper phone system.
- Call management capabilities: Let users record, forward, screen, or route calls. The system simultaneously handles different calls to avoid missing any. The virtual phone system helps companies manage call queues and properly handle incoming calls.
- Group collaboration: Allows professionals to collaborate on video or audio conferencing.
- Custom greetings: Offer messages by professional voice artists.
Grasshopper is available only in the U.S. and Canada. It may not be suitable for businesses that operate globally or have plans to expand internationally.
3. Aircall
Aircall provides a hosted call center with decent audio quality. Its user-friendly interface comes with a variety of features, including recording and tagging calls and integrations with CRM software.
Below are some features of Aircall.
- Call center functionality: Distributes calls to multiple team members.
- Text messaging: Send, receive, and manage text messages for personalized communication.
- Phone extensions: Assign a three-digit code to everyone, letting teams connect internally.
Users appreciate Aircall’s ease of use and UI, but some encounter issues with call quality and the platform’s ability to integrate with their homegrown CRM software.
4. Ooma
Ooma’s phone service comes with a variety of features, including call blocking, virtual receptionist, and voicemail forwarding. The company offers a mobile app, and you can integrate the software with Google Workspace and Salesforce.
Source: GetVoIP
Below are some features of Ooma.
- Virtual receptionist: Directs customers to the right extension based on user input.
- Video conferencing: Lets professionals work, connect, and collaborate over video calls.
- Easy setup: Allows those who aren’t highly technical to set up and work with Ooma.
Many users say positive things about Ooma’s technology, features, and pricing. However, there are concerns about weaker security, authentication, and limited customization options on the admin portal.
Related: Ooma Business Pricing: Is it Worth it?
5. CloudTalk
CloudTalk lets businesses integrate with CRM, record calls, and route inbound omnichannel calls. The platform lets you manage calls and view analytics for easy reporting on past and present data.
Below are some features of CloudTalk.
- Three-way calling: Lets managers listen to phone calls and pitch in to offer real-time suggestions when customers are on hold.
- Voicemail drop: Conveys messages as pre-recorded voicemails to prospects.
- Call tagging: Labels types of calls for further analysis.
CloudTalk users find lightweight telephony with easy integration useful. They feel the software has responsive customer support and reasonable pricing. On the other hand, some users might face limitations in the mobile app and in the interface’s intuitiveness.
6. GoTo Connect
GoTo Connect lets users customize call flows, record conversations, and get detailed insight into customers’ or prospects’ discussions with the team. Although its reputation is decent in the market, users feel it has limited features compared to competitors.
Below are some features of GoTo Connect.
- Drag-and-drop call flow editor: Lets users easily customize call flows.
- Call-routing schedules: Allow professionals to set and convey business hours to customers through customized greetings while routing calls as per availability.
- Voice analytics: Get visibility of business communication through reports and dashboards.
While GoTo Connect’s online portal may be confusing for some and may not provide 24/7 support, many users feel GoTo Connect is reliable, easy to use, and a value-for-money product.
7. 8×8
8×8 offers VoIP service to businesses of various sizes. It’s a reliable service provider with a unified communication platform and extensive feature set, helping companies manage local and international calls, toll-free numbers, SMS, and other communication in one place.
Below are some features of 8×8.
- Call queuing: Keeps incoming callers on short hold while an agent becomes available.
- Call recording: Lets users record phone calls to review later and give contextual suggestions to their team.
- Call transfer: Forwards calls to the proper agent to assist the caller.
The 8×8 interface and setup process may be a bit complicated, but many users appreciate the platform’s flexibility, reliability, and scalability.
The Verdict? Nextiva Wins
Nextiva’s reliability, variety of features, pricing, and user-friendliness make it the top alternative to Telzio for business phone systems.
Small business and enterprise organizations get an all-in-one business communication tool without breaking their budgets. Its predictable pricing, vast feature set, and friendly 24/7 support (on every plan) tip the scale in its favor.
📈 Case Study: DirectBuy Scaled Its Customer Experience with Nextiva
