Elevate VoIP alternatives: 8 Options + features & prices

Are you using or considering Elevate as your business phone solution?

With Elevate, you’ll run into limitations quickly. For example, you can’t text on the base plan, calling is limited, and keeping calls and messages for more than 30 days costs extra. 

So, what else is out there? To save you time, we collected the eight best Elevate VoIP alternatives. You can compare their features, prices, pros, and cons in this guide.You’ll also learn why businesses switch from Elevate in the first place.

Comparing the best Elevate alternatives

You don’t have to put up with Elevate’s unscalable pricing and features. Here’s how eight of the best alternatives compare:

Let’s start with one of the most popular options on this list:

1. Quo: Best for small and growing businesses 

Pros

• Unlimited calling and texting on every plan
• Shared phone numbers
• Texting automations like snippets, auto-replies, and scheduled texts
• AI voice agent, Sona, answers calls 24/7
• Unlimited storage for call recordings, messages, and voicemail transcripts

Cons

• Can’t verify accounts through two-factor authentication*

*Nearly all virtual phone numbers share this problem. For safety reasons, companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google rarely let you authenticate accounts through a virtual phone number.

Quo, formerly OpenPhone, is a business phone system that comes with features that help you scale your company without leaving money on the table.

Each plan comes with unlimited calling and texting in the US and Canada. This is unlike Elevate, which caps calling on every plan and requires an upgrade for business texting. With Quo, you can send and receive unlimited domestic texts on any tier, as long as you complete US carrier registration.

With Quo, you can keep call recordings and texts for as long as you have your account. This gives your team access to past customer conversations whenever they need more context. That’s a big difference from Elevate, which only stores call data for 30 days unless you pay extra for an add-on.

You can also use Quo to access features Elevate doesn’t offer — including text message automations that save your team time. For example, you can tap into:

• Auto-replies that respond to missed calls, texts, and voicemails when your team is unavailable. This lets customers know you received their message and when they can expect to hear back.
• Snippets, which let your team save time and reuse common text messages instead of repeatedly typing the same replies.
• Scheduled texts that let you queue messages for specific dates and times. For example, you can schedule texts to go out during business hours in each recipient’s time zone, ensuring you stay TCPA compliant.

Quo lets you turn any phone number into a shared number. With it, your team can split responsibility for incoming customer calls and texts. That way, you prevent clients from falling through the cracks. Plus, you can keep all calls, texts, AI call summaries, and transcripts together in one shared inbox. 

Quo’s AI voice agent, Sona, can pick up phone calls 24/7, answer common questions, qualify leads, and capture messages when your team is unavailable. Each plan includes 10 free Sona calls. 

“Quo is a truly excellent app for both small and large businesses to stay connected with their customers around the world. What makes it outstanding is its support team, which helps ensure the app is always improving to meet your needs.” — G2

Quo is trusted by more than 90,000 businesses and rated #1 in customer satisfaction on G2. We may be biased, but for small and growing businesses that want to build customer relationships, Quo is the best Elevate VoIP alternative.

See for yourself why thousands of growing teams use Quo; sign up for a seven-day free trial.

Key features of Quo

• Custom AI call tags
• 24/7 AI voice agent
• Automated text messages
• Shared phone numbers
• Internal threads and mentions
• 9,000+ third-party integrations via Zapier and Make

Quo pricing

Here’s what you can expect to get on each Quo plan:

• Starter: $15 per user per month for free calls and texts in the US and Canada, shared numbers and inboxes, voicemail transcriptions, auto-replies, and more 
• Business: $23 per user per month for call transfers, CRM integrations, analytics, auto-attendants, and more 
• Scale: $35 per user per month for AI call tags, priority chat and email support, inbound phone support, and dedicated onboarding

2. RingCentral: Best for desk phones

Pros

• Desk phone support on every plan
• Toll-free number support

Cons

• 25 SMS messages per user per month on the base plan
• Caps on toll-free minutes

RingCentral is an older business phone system designed for traditional offices. You can use it to support desk phones, which is useful if you’re not yet ready to stop using the physical infrastructure you’ve paid for.

RingCentral’s base plan comes with on-demand call recording, much like Elevate. But also like Elevate, your recordings aren’t stored indefinitely. They’ll be deleted after 90 days, no matter how much you upgrade. So if needing long-term access to call recordings is central to your business, RingCentral may not be the best alternative.

Speaking of limits, you should also know RingCentral has caps on:

• Text messaging. RingCentral’s SMS is capped at 25 messages per user per month on the base plan. Upgrade to the Advanced plan, and you get 100 text messages per user per month. 
• Toll-free minutes. RingCentral also caps toll-free minutes. For example, you only get 100 toll-free minutes on the base plan.

Key features of RingCentral

• CRM integrations
• Video conferencing
• Shared SMS inbox, with an upgrade or add-on
• Desk phone support

RingCentral pricing

Here are RingCentral’s pricing tiers and the features you can expect to get on each:

• Core: $20 per user per month for unlimited domestic calls, 25 texts per user, and 100 pooled toll-free minutes
• Advanced: $25 per user per month for 100 texts per user, 1,000 pooled toll-free minutes, automatic call recording, and integrations with tools like Zendesk and Salesforce
• Ultra: $35 per user per month for 200 texts per user, 10,000 pooled toll-free minutes, and device analytics
• Customer Engagement Bundle: Custom pricing for everything in Ultra, plus access to the Business SMS Booster and Call Queues Booster add-ons

Keep in mind you’ll need the Business SMS Booster at $25 per month for shared texting, SMS compliance management, and company reply templates. Otherwise, you’ll have to upgrade to the Customer Engagement Bundle.

3. Vonage: Best for video calls

Pros

• Video conferencing, with an upgrade
• Desktops and mobile apps

Cons

• On-demand call recording requires an upgrade
• Voicemail transcription requires an upgrade

Vonage is a voice and video conferencing platform founded in 2001. It offers desktop and mobile apps, so your reps can answer calls from the devices they already use.

One of Vonage’s biggest claims to fame is video meetings. You can host conferences with up to 200 participants, provided you upgrade your plan. It also comes with features like meeting scheduling, screen sharing, whiteboarding, and instant reactions. These can make it easier for teams to collaborate during customer demos or internal video meetings.

But similar to Elevate, Vonage locks standard phone features behind its most expensive tier. It costs $27.99 per user per month for up to four users for features like:

• On-demand call recording
• Call groups 
• Voicemail transcription

Keep in mind these features are available on Quo’s base plan, starting at $15 per user per month.

Key features of Vonage

• Meeting scheduling
• Whiteboarding
• Team messaging
• On-demand call recording, with an upgrade
• Call groups, with an upgrade

Vonage pricing

Like Elevate, Vonage’s pricing depends on the size of your team. The smaller you are, the more you’ll pay per user.

Here’s a quick rundown of its pricing plans for one to four users:

• Mobile: $13.99 per line per month for the mobile and desktop apps, voicemail, and text messaging
• Premium: $20.99 per line per month for unlimited video meetings with up to 200 participants, team messaging, and IP desk phone support
• Advanced: $27.99 per line per month for voicemail transcription, up to 15 hours of on-demand call recording, and call groups

4. Dialpad: Best for using international phone numbers

Pros

• Video calls on the base plan
• International phone numbers 

Cons

• User minimum on all upgraded plans
• Limited text messaging

Dialpad is a cloud communications platform designed for global support and sales teams. It offers AI-powered features like Scorecards, which let you provide feedback to reps through automatic call grading. But keep in mind this requires a Dialpad Sell or Support account.

You can also use Dialpad as an Elevate VoIP alternative for video calls. These are available from the base plan and start with 150 participants. It also comes with truly unlimited domestic calling, unlike Elevate. You’ll also be able to buy international phone numbers from over 50 countries.

Dialpad lets you purchase toll-free numbers. Just keep in mind you can’t send or receive texts from them. There are several other limitations with Dialpad SMS. For example:

• You can only send auto-replies outside working hours or when you’re in Do Not Disturb mode.
• You only get 250 messages per user per month on any plan. After that, it costs $0.008 per outbound SMS message and $0.024 per outbound MMS message.
• You can’t send automated messages from Zapier without upgrading your plan, which costs $10 extra per user per month.

Key features of Dialpad

• Team and file sharing
• Hold queues, with an upgrade
• Three-way calling
• Call forwarding to other devices
• AI Scorecards for team coaching, requires Dialpad Sell or Dialpad Support plan

Dialpad pricing

Here’s what to expect from Dialpad’s pricing on the Connect service:

• Standard: $15 per user per month for multi-level auto attendant, text messaging, real-time analytics and reporting, and Google Workspace integration
• Pro: $25 per user per month with a three-user minimum for hold queues, multiple phone numbers on the same account, quality-of-service reports, and Microsoft Teams integration
• Enterprise: Custom quote with a 100-user minimum for user access controls and SSO

5. 8×8: Best for call centers

Pros

• Supervisor workspace to monitor agents’ performance
• Automatic call distribution

Cons

• No public pricing
• Can be time-consuming to set up, according to user reviews

8×8 is a cloud communications platform for large call centers with global customers. It provides automatic call distribution, or ACD, so you can manage inbound and outbound interactions more efficiently. You’ll also have access to a supervisor workspace that gives leaders real-time visibility into agents’ performance.

Another benefit of 8×8 is team messaging. This feature includes presence detection and custom status, file sharing, and threaded replies. That way, team members can quickly see who’s online and share context

But there’s no way to know how much this will cost — 8×8 doesn’t offer public pricing. And, according to user reviews, it can be time-consuming to set up. See for yourself:

“One thing I dislike is that sometimes the app can feel a little slow, especially when switching between features.” — G2

Key features of 8×8

• Omnichannel routing
• Secure payment processing
• AI-enabled self-service
• Calls, video meetings, and messaging
• High-volume messaging

8×8 pricing

8×8’s pricing is no longer listed online. To get a customized quote, reach out to their sales team.

6. GoTo Connect: Best for Microsoft users

Pros

• Microsoft 365 integration
• Video meetings with up to 250 participants

Cons

• No public pricing
• Limited SMS credits

GoTo Connect is a business phone system that includes calling to 50 countries. It also offers a Microsoft 365 integration if your business uses Teams. 

You’ll also be able to access sales call analysis software such as AI sentiment analysis. That way, you can easily identify frustrated callers. But this is only available through an add-on or by upgrading to the higher tiers.

Unfortunately, that describes a great deal of GoTo Connect’s features. Bare-bones options like team inboxes, for example, also require you to upgrade. But there’s no way to know how much you’ll pay. GoTo Connect’s pricing isn’t public, which makes it hard to decide if it’s the right Elevate VoIP alternative.

You should also know GoTo Connect heavily limits your SMS messages, at 80 SMS credits per user per month. After that, you’ll pay $0.0055 per message. This isn’t sustainable for most small and growing brands.

Key features of GoTo Connect

• Team inboxes, with an upgrade
• Mobile and desktop apps
• Free calls to 50 countries
• Unlimited auto-attendants and call queues
• Text messaging, limited to 80 SMS credits per user per month

GoTo Connect pricing

Like 8×8, there’s no GoTo Connect pricing available online. You’ll need to reach out to their sales team for a quote.

7. Zoom Phone: Best for existing Zoom users

Pros

• Natively connected with Zoom video meetings
• Call recording

Cons

• Shared texting requires the Customer Engagement Pack for $25 per user per month
• Unlimited domestic calling requires an upgrade

If you already use Zoom to host video meetings, you can connect Zoom Phone to your video hosting account. This lets you manage calls and texts in the same platform.

Zoom Phone offers access to call recording on the base plan. It also offers mobile and desktop apps so your team can work on the go. This includes:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• iOS 
• Android

But keep in mind you’ll need to upgrade for unlimited domestic calling. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay per minute to speak with customers. You should know that toll-free calling isn’t included either. Prices start at $0.02 to $0.04 per minute for US and Canadian phone numbers. You’ll also have to pay $0.0085 for every toll-free text your reps send and receive.

Want to split responsibility for incoming texts with your team? You’ll need the Customer Engagement Pack. This costs an extra $25 per user per month, so the least you can pay for a plan with shared inboxes is $35.50 per user per month.

Key features of Zoom Phone

• SMS and MMS
• Team chat
• Post-call summaries
• Toll-free number support, with limitations
• Native connection with video meetings

Zoom Phone pricing

Pick from one of five Zoom Phone price plans:

• US & Canada Metered: $10.50 per user per month for metered domestic US and Canadian calling, post-call summaries, and text messaging
• US & Canada Regional Unlimited: $16 per user per month for unlimited domestic US and Canadian calling and Salesforce integration
• Pro Plus: $18.33 per user per month for Zoom Phone US and Canada Unlimited and Zoom Workplace Pro
• Business Plus: $24.50 per user per month for Zoom Phone US and Canada Unlimited, and Zoom Workplace Business
• Global Select: Custom pricing for unlimited domestic calling in 40+ countries and territories and direct dial numbers

There are also two add-ons to consider:

• International Calling: $10 per user per month for unlimited international calling to 15 countries and regions
• Zoom Phone Customer Engagement Pack: $25 per user per month for shared texting, enhanced call queue analytics, and historical insights for teams

8. Nextiva: Best for omnichannel messaging

Pros

• Omnichannel routing
• Video conferencing

Cons

• Shared SMS inboxes require an upgrade
• AI transcriptions and summaries require the most expensive plan

Nextiva is a unified communications platform that routes customer conversations from different channels into one place. That means you can respond to voice calls, video meetings, texts, and social media messages from the same dashboard. 

But on Nextiva’s base plan, which costs $15 per user per month, you won’t get any included toll-free minutes. You’ll also have to upgrade if you need a shared SMS inbox. For both features, the plan cost starts at $25 per user per month.

Need more features that help you save time, like AI call transcriptions and summaries? These are only available on the most expensive plan, which costs $75 per user per month. 

Key features of Nextiva

• Team messaging
• Voicemail to email
• Desktop and mobile app
• Screen sharing
• Smart call routing

Nextiva pricing

There are three Nextiva pricing plans you can choose from:

• Core: $15 per user per month for voice calls, 100 text messages, auto-attendants, and voicemail transcriptions
• Engage: $25 per user per month for 500 text messages, 2,000 toll-free minutes, call recording, and Microsoft Teams integration
• Scale: $75 per user per month for automatically assigning incoming and outbound campaign calls to reps, setting up web chatbots, and AI call notes and summaries

Why people look for alternatives to Elevate

Elevate is a legacy cloud-based VoIP phone system that launched in 2005. It integrates with Office 365. That way, your reps can make and receive business calls without leaving Teams. It also offers features that suit larger businesses, like  video conferencing with up to 200 people and call queues.

But if you’re not at an enterprise business or your business doesn’t rely on online meetings, Elevate UC is likely overkill. It also comes with many limitations that could prevent your business from growing in the first place.

Let’s take a look at seven of these below.

1. Text messaging is limited

Elevate doesn’t offer any SMS or MMS messaging on the base plan. Higher plans do unlock text messaging, but you’ll still be subject to limits. There’s no unlimited texting available, no matter how much you upgrade.

Tiers include:

• Essentials: 25 messages per user per month
• Pro: 500 messages per user per month
• Enterprise: 1,000 messages per user per month

2. Voicemail transcription requires an upgrade

Voicemail transcription isn’t available on Elevate’s base plan. You’ll have to manually listen back to voicemails to retrieve key details or context. This makes it more difficult to share details with your team. For example, if you want to copy-paste information left in a voicemail, you’ll either have to type it out or convert the audio file to text.

The good news? Many Elevate VoIP alternatives, including Quo, include voicemail transcription and voicemail-to-email on all plans.

3. Simultaneous ring requires an upgrade

Most business phone systems let you notify multiple team members of incoming calls at the same time on the base plan. But that’s not the case with Elevate — you’ll need to upgrade to the Essentials plan, which starts at $24.99 per user per month. 

Thankfully, Elevate VoIP alternatives like Quo include simultaneous ring on the base plan. Then, upgrade your plan for custom ring groups whenever you need more specific ring orders.

4. Pricing favors larger businesses

For businesses with more users and longer contracts, Elevate offers a few discount packages. But the best ones require a five-year agreement. This means small and growing businesses will have to pay more to access the same features.

For example, Elevate Pro costs $30.99 per user per month on a one-year contract. But if you pay for a five-year contract, the price drops to $24.99 per user per month. Elevate Enterprise drops from $35.99 to $31.99 per user per month over the same period. This means you’ll pay an extra $48 to $72 per user per year just because you’re a smaller business not ready to lock into a multi-year contract.

5. Calling costs can add up

Elevate’s “unlimited” calling isn’t technically unlimited. If you read the fine print, you’ll see you get 6,000 outbound minutes per user per month. You’ll also pay overage fees that cost $0.0199 per minute.

Keep in mind this doesn’t include toll-free calling. You’ll need to purchase a monthly toll-free minute package starting at $13 per month for 500 minutes. You’ll also have to pay $0.039 per minute for any additional minutes.

6. Longer message and call retention costs extra

Need to store conversations for legal or compliance purposes? You should know Elevate only provides 30-day retention for calls, voice messages, and SMS messages. If you want more than that, you’ll need to purchase a paid add-on for every member of your account.

Prices include:

• One-year retention: $3.60 per user per month
• Three-year retention: $5 per user per month
• Seven-year retention: $8.50 per user per month
• 10-year retention: $10 per user per month

Other Elevate alternatives, including Quo, offer unlimited storage for free on every plan.

7. You can’t save time with texting automations 

Even if you upgrade to an Elevate plan with texting, your team still has to send every message manually. That means retyping common replies and keeping track of follow-ups.

Other Elevate VoIP alternatives, including Quo, can take some of that work off your plate. With Quo,  you can: 

• Save common replies as snippets
• Automatically respond to missed calls and texts with auto-replies
• Schedule texts to send later
• Automate repetitive workflows such as appointment confirmation texts via Quo’s Zapier or Make integration; for more custom workflows, you can use the Quo API

Quo: The best Elevate VoIP alternative

Elevate caps texts, limits calls, and forces you to upgrade for basic features. It’s designed for larger enterprises, which means for small and growing businesses, it’s well worth it to find an alternative like Quo.

Unlike Elevate, Quo gives you advanced features on every plan. You’ll get access to voicemail transcriptions and simultaneous ring. You can also tap into tools like call forwarding, unlimited call histories, and auto-replies. That way, you never miss a call and can personalize every customer interaction. It’s why businesses make the switch when they compare Quo vs Elevate.

Ready to see how Quo can help you connect with customers? If so, start your free seven-day trial of Quo today.