RingCentral review: Features, pricing, pros & cons

In the market for a business phone system? If you are, then you may be considering RingCentral. 

Founded in 1999, RingCentral is one of the oldest cloud-based business communications platforms. It offers VoIP calling, video meetings, team events, and business SMS in one place. Its plans start at $20 per user per month. RingCentral is a solid option for mid-market and enterprise teams. For small teams, however, its feature limits and outdated interface make it hard to recommend. 

In this article, we conduct a thorough review of RingCentral. We’ll cover its key features, plans and pricing, and its pros and cons. We’ll highlight which teams will benefit from using RingCentral’s platform. Plus, we’ll present a RingCentral alternative that’s better suited to small and fast-growing businesses.

How does RingCentral work?

RingCentral uses VoIP technology to let you call and text your customers. VoIP infrastructure sends calls and texts over the internet instead of a carrier network. This enables its platform to provide calls, texts, and video calling tools on the same plan. As long as you’re connected to the internet, you can use your mobile device, laptop, or desktop computer to talk to customers and team members. 

Key features of RingCentral

RingCentral offers everything teams need for their business communications. Here’s a list of the features RingCentral provides that make it unique:

• Team messaging. Collaborate with your team by sending direct messages and files to your colleagues. You can also assign follow-up tasks to your teammates.
• Voice calling. Unlimited domestic calling to US and Canadian numbers on all plans. Supports desk phones, softphones, and mobile apps.
• Video meetings. Built-in video conferencing on every plan. Supports up to 200 participants in a single meeting.
• Business SMS/MMS. Business texting to customers. Capped in each plan; shared texting is only available as an add-on. 
• Multi-level auto attendant and IVR. Multi-level phone menus for routing callers. Available on all plans.
• Third-party integrations. 500+ integrations are available in RingCentral’s platform. You can also build your own RingCentral integrations with its API. 
• AI features. Automatically take notes and get meeting and SMS thread summaries with RingCentral’s AI assistant. 
• Call and video recording. RingCentral offers on-demand call recording and automatic video recording on all plans. You’ll have to upgrade to get access to automatic RingCentral call recording. 
• Analytics. Get call log reports and quality of service dashboards on all plans. Upgrade to get even more analytics features. 

RingCentral pricing and plans

RingCentral offers four plans. Each plan offers different features and has different limits. Here’s a look at how these plans stack up:

Here are a few things to know about RingCentral’s pricing structure:

• Free trial limitations. If you want to try RingCentral before you sign up for a paid plan, you can only do so with fewer than five team members. RingCentral doesn’t let you try it with larger teams. 
• Add-ons. RingCentral has over a dozen different add-ons for teams to choose from. Some of these add-ons are for essential features like shared texting and text templates. Others are for advanced features like conversation intelligence. These add-ons can make it hard to estimate your monthly costs. 
• Hidden fees. If you exceed your monthly usage for certain RingCentral features, you’ll be subject to overage fees. For example, if you send more than 25 SMS messages in the Core plan, every additional message costs $0.0119. You’ll find similar fees for features like toll-free minutes and additional toll-free numbers.

For a full breakdown, including hidden costs and contract terms, see our RingCentral pricing guide.

Pros: What RingCentral does well

RingCentral offers dozens of features across its different plans. It can be confusing to know where it excels. Here’s a list of its unique strengths:

1. Local numbers for global expansion. RingCentral lets you set up local numbers in 45 countries and territories. You can run a unified phone system for teams based across the globe. 
2. Video conferencing built into every plan. Every RingCentral plan comes with video conferencing, not just calling and texting. You can host meetings for up to 200 people, record sessions, and rely on end-to-end encryption.
3. Desk phone rentals for teams in the office. For teams that haven’t transitioned to softphones, RingCentral still supports traditional desk phones. You can even rent hardware directly through RingCentral for an extra fee.
4. Access to 500+ app integrations. RingCentral connects your call and text data across a library of third-party apps. For teams that want more control over their integrations, you can use its API. 
5. Multiple communication add-ons. RingCentral lets you extend communication capabilities beyond individual voice and video calls. Host group events, webinars, and hybrid conferencing with its add-ons and extensions. 
6. Multi-level IVR and call routing. RingCentral supports up to 250 auto-attendant submenus, call queues with callbacks, and ring groups.
7. AI features. You can find AI-assisted SMS texting and summary features in RingCentral’s platform. However, you’ll also find additional usage caps here. The AI receptionist add-on, for instance, includes only 100 minutes per month before overage charges of 50 cents per minute kick in.

Cons: Where RingCentral falls short

Before you decide whether RingCentral is right for you, take a look at these key drawbacks:

1. Strict texting limits. RingCentral caps outgoing texts by plan. If you exceed its limits, each extra message costs $0.0119, which adds up fast for text-heavy teams.
2. Shared texting costs extra. Calling comes with shared numbers, but texting doesn’t. You’ll need the Business SMS Booster add-on for team-wide texting, at $25 per month.
3. Slow texting registration. Registering your virtual number with The Campaign Registry through RingCentral can take months. Some users face repeated rejections or long stretches with no update from support. It delays their ability to text customers.
4. Recordings expire after 90 days. RingCentral automatically deletes call recordings after 90 days. That’s a problem if you need them for training, compliance, or resolving customer issues down the line.
5. Toll-free minutes run out quickly. RingCentral’s base plan includes just 100 toll-free minutes a month for your whole team. If you go over the limit, you’ll be charged for every additional minute you use. 
6. Outdated interface. RingCentral’s app splits calls, texts, and voicemails into separate folders. That makes it harder to follow a full customer conversation in one place.
7. Recurring billing complaints. Users often report being billed after canceling or charged more than expected. It’s a pattern that shows up repeatedly in customer reviews.

For a focused breakdown of the trade-offs, check out our analysis of RingCentral pros and cons.

Is RingCentral right for your business? 

Now that you know where RingCentral excels and where it falls short, how do you decide if it’s right for you? Signing up for RingCentral comes down to the type of business you operate. Here’s a quick decision-making framework:

• Business size. If you’re a mid-market or enterprise team, RingCentral may work for you. It offers multiple channels for teams, including phone, text, video, webinars, and events. But if you’re a small team that only needs one or two channels to talk to customers, it may not be the best option. 
• Global presence. If you have team members based outside the US and Canada, RingCentral can help them stay connected. Located in one domestic city or region? Then RingCentral may not be the most ideal fit. 
• Feature complexity. Need advanced contact center features like multi-level IVR and workforce management tools? Then RingCentral is a good option. If you want a platform that’s easier to use and less complex, you should look elsewhere. 
• Affordability. RingCentral offers more features through add-ons, which can cause your monthly phone costs to balloon over time. If you’re looking for a more cost-effective business phone, you should look for a RingCentral alternative. 
• Setup speed. RingCentral can take months to get your texting registration approved. Businesses that need to text customers immediately should find a service with faster approval times. 

Also, if you’re a healthcare business, then you likely need a business phone that’s HIPAA compliant. Check out our article to find out  if RingCentral is HIPAA compliant.

How Quo compares to RingCentral

If you’re looking for a RingCentral alternative for fast-growing teams, consider Quo, formerly OpenPhone. We’re the #1 rated business phone by customer satisfaction on G2. 

Here’s a quick look at how we’re a better alternative to RingCentral for smaller teams:

• Unlimited texting and toll-free calling. Get access to all the SMS and MMS messages and toll-free minutes you need on every plan. We don’t limit teams from using essential features like calls and texts. 
• Shared numbers for calls and texts. Share conversation context for calls and texts with your team. Shared texting is available by default in every Quo plan for local and toll-free numbers. No need to purchase any add-ons or upgrades.
• Smoother texting registration. Getting approved to send business texts shouldn’t take months. With Quo, you can complete US carrier registration in just 1–3 business days. We guide you through the entire process with clear steps right inside the Quo app. Plus, we offer additional US carrier registration support in our Resource Center.
  
  “After a horrible experience with RingCentral, I found my way to OpenPhone. They literally were able to overnight our TCR approval after we spent months trying to get it done through RingCentral.” – Quo user on G2

• Claude and ChatGPT integrations. Share your call and text data with your favorite AI tool. Quo’s MCP integration lets you connect to both Claude and ChatGPT. Analyze call transcripts, send bulk follow-up texts, and update contact information automatically. RingCentral doesn’t have these integrations, which can slow your team down. 
• Modern user interface. Quo has a clean and intuitive user interface that teams love to use. RingCentral’s platform is clunky and harder to navigate. It separates calls, texts, and voicemails, so your team loses context on customer conversations quickly. 
  
  “Quo is extremely easy to use. We have a 6-person office routing calls to two companies, and the combination of simplicity and features is incredible. Having started with DYL (terrible system and worse service), moving to RingCentral (feature-rich but complicated and poor support), TalkRoute (great value but no features), I’ve finally found the unicorn phone system that does everything at a great price.” – Sean Williams, Managing Director, Nymble Insurance
  
• No hidden fees or surprises. With its numerous add-ons and overage charges, RingCentral pricing can feel like it has several hidden fees. Quo’s pricing keeps everything straightforward. See what you get in each plan without worrying about keeping track of your usage. 

See the full side-by-side comparison in our Quo vs RingCentral breakdown.

Final review: Is RingCentral worth it? 

RingCentral is a good cloud phone system for mid-market and enterprise teams. This is especially true if they have a global presence and need multiple group communication channels. But for small and growing teams, it’s hard to recommend. With SMS and toll-free calling limits, delayed texting registration, and several add-ons, it isn’t the easiest option for small teams to use. 

If you’re a small team that relies on voice and text to communicate with your customers, you can find better options than RingCentral. Explore the top alternatives in our RingCentral alternatives guide.

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