CallHippo is a simple and cost-effective virtual phone system. It’s a solid option for small teams with low-volume calling needs, and we typically recommend it as a lightweight call center solution for up to five users. However, its most advanced features aren’t available until you reach higher tiers. At that price point, you can get the same capabilities and more from another solution.
The Best CallHippo Alternatives and Competitors
Nextiva, OpenPhone, and CloudTalk are a few of the many CallHippo alternatives out there.
If you don’t think CallHippo fits your needs, there’s a good chance you can find what you need from one of these three providers.
Nextiva is our favorite business phone system and call center solution on the market today. What’s unique about Nextiva is its ability to accommodate businesses of all sizes while delivering unmatched call quality and functionality at an affordable price point.
Smaller businesses can start with Nextiva’s VoIP phone system, while SMEs can rely on Nextiva’s omnichannel contact center to handle a high volume of calls, messages, emails, and more.
Similar to CallHippo, we also recommend OpenPhone for up to five users. However, OpenPhone offers unlimited calling on every tier (CallHippo doesn’t on its cheaper plans) and has some of the strongest text-based call center features you can find at this price point.
It’s a great option if you want to automate SMS campaigns while taking a collaborative approach to managing inbound communication from your customers.
CloudTalk is a great choice if you need advanced call routing features on a tight budget.
Our Take on CallHippo
We only recommend CallHippo to small contact centers that use less than 1,000 minutes and 100 texts per month.
Although CallHippo has plenty of other plans and features that can accommodate larger teams, it’s just not a great value at those higher tiers when you compare its price to the competition.
There is a free forever plan that supports an unlimited number of users. But it’s super basic and doesn’t deliver what most businesses need—even on a small scale.
It’s also worth noting that CallHippo is one of the only cloud phone providers that offers call center solutions for a cheaper price than its office phone systems. However, all of the call center plans are billed per minute for inbound and outbound calling.
So, the price you pay will vary based on your team’s usage.
That’s why we recommend CallHippo’s office phone plans for really small contact centers of up to five users.
You’ll get a free number and all the basics, along with a small bundle of minutes included. Alternatively, you can go up a tier to unlock unlimited calling, call recording, IVR, voicemail transcription, and more.
But if you’re looking for a true unified communications system or an advanced call center solution that accommodates high-volume calling, CallHippo probably isn’t for you–it’s more of an entry-level solution for teams that plan to stay small for the foreseeable future.
Check out our full CallHippo review to learn more about its pros, cons, features, and pricing.
CallHippo vs. Nextiva
Nextiva has the edge over CallHippo (nearly) across the board.
The only areas where CallHippo has a slight advantage are its price point for smaller teams and texting included with the entry-level plan. If you’re on a really tight budget then you could potentially lean toward CallHippo.
Otherwise, Nextiva is the clear winner.
With it, you’re getting unlimited voice and video calling with every plan. You also get 1,500 toll-free minutes included, an auto attendant, and unlimited internet faxing.
At the next tier, Nextiva and CallHippo are essentially the same price. But Nextiva includes 1,000 SMS messages (compared to 500 from CallHippo) and 3,000 toll-free minutes. In contrast, CallHippo provides call recording at its mid-tier plan, whereas Nextiva withholds that until you reach the highest level.
When you start to look at the features and prices side-by-side, it’s worth it for most businesses to just pay a little more for Nextiva.
CallHippo only works well for really small teams, and you’ll eventually outgrow it. The Starter plan caps you at five users and the next two tiers only support up to 50 users. Rather than having to switch providers in a year, we recommend starting with Nextiva (if you can afford it) to save yourself the hassle down the road.
We have a more in-depth review of Nextiva that you can reference for additional information.
CallHippo vs. OpenPhone
OpenPhone and CallHippo are extremely similar in the sense that they’re both entry-level phone systems for small teams.
You get basic features from both providers, but anything else either costs extra or isn’t available.
If you’re torn between the two, there’s a simple way to decide which one is right for you. OpenPhone is better for text-based call centers, and CallHippo is better for traditional voice calling.
OpenPhone offers unlimited calling throughout the US and Canada and manual call recording at a similar price point compared to CallHippo’s 1,000-minute plan.
But OpenPhone’s calling features are virtually non-existent, and you’ll need to upgrade your plan just to put callers on hold or transfer them to a teammate. CallHippo also makes you upgrade to unlock features, but there are dozens more capabilities.
With OpenPhone, it’s all about texting. You get unlimited texting included with every plan, whereas CallHippo only restricts you to just 100, 500, 1,000 monthly texts depending on the plan you select.
You can also use OpenPhone to set up auto-replies, AI-powered messages responses, and scheduled texts for outbound campaigns.
Read our OpenPhone review to learn more.
CallHippo vs. CloudTalk
CloudTalk is more advanced than CallHippo, and it’s better at a slightly larger scale. While we don’t recommend it for large organizations, it should still accommodate your needs for up to 100 users.
As inbound call volume increases, most teams will find CallHippo a bit limiting. But with CloudTalk, you have all of the advanced routing capabilities you could possibly need.
Every plan comes with automatic call distribution, call queues, internal extension dialing, ring groups, call tagging, and a call flow designer that lets you design the path of incoming calls to your call center with ease. As you look beyond the entry-level tier, you’ll access caller-based routing, preferred agent routing, automatic call redirection, IVR menus, skills-based routing, VIP queues, and more.
Conversely, CallHippo has an IVR to help with call routing—but that’s really it.
To get these advanced features from CloudTalk you’ll need to pay quite a bit more than CallHippo. Base rates start at $25 per agent month and include free inbound calls. But all outbound dialing is charged per minute.
Check out our CloudTalk review for more information.
CallHippo vs. PhoneBurner
Some of you may be evaluating CallHippo and PhoneBurner side-by-side because they both offer outbound dialers. However, these two solutions are actually very different.
PhoneBurner is a power dialer software that’s specifically built for high-volume outbound sales.
Starting at $127 per user per month, it’s roughly 7x more expensive than CallHippo’s phone system. If you don’t fall into this niche-specific category or don’t have the budget, then you can eliminate PhoneBurner from contention.
CallHippo also has a power dialer. It’s not nearly as advanced as PhoneBurner, but it gets the job done. This feature is only available on CallHippo’s Platinum call center plan.
Starting at $40 per user per month, it’s still less than one-third the cost of PhoneBurner. Plus, you’ll also get a predictive dialer and speed to dial. Even though we don’t recommend this plan to most businesses, it’s a bargain and much more versatile compared to PhoneBurner.
For a closer look at its advanced power dialing capabilities, check out our PhoneBurner review.
CallHippo vs. Zoom Phone
Like CallHippo, Zoom should also be on your radar for low-volume calling needs.
It could potentially be cheaper than CallHippo if you don’t plan on coming close to the 1,000 minutes included with your CallHippo plan.
Zoom starts at just $10 per month as a base cost plus metered rates based on usage. With outbound dialing in the US starting around $0.03 per minute, Zoom will be cheaper than CallHippo all-in if you don’t exceed 250 minutes per month.
Beyond cost, Zoom makes sense if you need international calling capabilities.
While both Zoom and CallHippo charge metered rates for all calls outside the US and Canada, Zoom has more attractive international plans that include unlimited calling to 19 countries for just $10 more per month.
Refer to our Zoom review for a complete breakdown of what Zoom has to offer.
CallHippo vs. LiveAgent
If your business doesn’t currently handle a ton of inbound calls and you’re not planning to change that, LiveAgent is a solid alternative.
Rather than forcing people to call you, LiveAgent makes it easy to provide call center support through live chat and email ticketing—for about half the price of CallHippo.
That said, LiveAgent’s entry-level plan doesn’t come with any calling capabilities. For native call center capabilities, you’ll need to start with the Medium Business plan or higher. While these plans are more expensive than CallHippo, they’re intriguing for small teams because you likely won’t need as many contact center reps.
If most of your inbound support is being handled via live chat, ticketing, and a self-help knowledge base, then you don’t necessarily need five users active at all times.
This is something that can be handled by just one or two agents max at a small scale. So, the cost per user might be higher with LiveAgent, but your overall costs could be reduced compared to CallHippo.
With that said, LiveAgent doesn’t provide texting capabilities and its calling features are extremely limited.
It only makes sense to go this route if you’re looking for a helpdesk solution. Otherwise, CallHippo has the edge.
CallHippo vs. Grasshopper
To be clear, Grasshopper is not a call center solution. But it’s a solid option for solo users or really small teams that just need a virtual phone number to separate personal calls from business calls on their existing mobile devices.
Grasshopper isn’t really designed for teams to field incoming customer support calls throughout the day. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, you can go with CallHippo.
However, Grasshopper shines for its low price and simplicity. You just choose a phone number, install the app on your smartphone, and you instantly have a second line on your existing device to use for business purposes. It also includes unlimited texting, which is something that CallHippo restricts to just 100 messages at a higher price point.
Neither of these options are scalable and both are really basic. That said, CallHippo does have better features and more advanced capabilities at nearly every plan tier. Just be prepared to pay for it.
Check out our Grasshopper review to learn more.
CallHippo Alternatives: The Final Verdict
CallHippo works well for small teams of up to five users.
If you’re on a tight budget and just need the basics, you can start with CallHippo’s plan that includes 1,000 minutes and 100 texts per month. Advanced features are also available, but you’ll need to upgrade your plan to access them–at this price point, you’ll get better functionality elsewhere.
Nextiva is a better overall fit for most businesses. It’s the ideal blend of price, reliability, and functionality.
Smaller teams can use Nextiva’s VoIP phone system for both internal and external communication, and larger companies can rely on Nextiva’s omnichannel contact center to handle calls and messages at scale.
OpenPhone is best for SMS-based contact centers, and CloudTalk shines for its advanced call-routing capabilities. If you’re focused on outbound calling and willing to pay a premium price, PhoneBurner is the most powerful outbound dialer we’ve seen.
Similar to CallHippo, Zoom and LiveAgent can both work well for low-volume calling scenarios.
Zoom has pay-as-you-go plans, and LiveAgent provides live chat and ticketing support through a help desk platform—meaning you won’t need to field as many calls.
If you just need a simple way to separate your personal calls from business calls without having to get a second phone, go with Grasshopper.
Want more CallHippo alternatives? Check out our favorite virtual phone number companies, call center software, or business phone systems.
