Grasshopper is one of the best business VoIP providers on the market. It is particularly popular among solo entrepreneurs and small business owners due to its no-fuss product offerings, restriction-free features, and budget-friendly price point.
With Grasshopper, you’ll be able to separate personal and professional calls, allowing you to market your business professionally from the get-go. We think Grasshopper is an excellent choice for small business owners, and today we will take a deep dive into exactly why this is the case.
Compare Grasshopper to The Best Business VoIP Providers
Grasshopper prides itself as the number one choice of entrepreneurs and small businesses, which is certainly what it lives up to. Grasshopper is designed to help startups and small businesses get started with a professional phone system without a high price tag or disruptions in service.
All that’s required to get started with Grasshopper is to download its mobile app. This is why small businesses love this product. It’s a straightforward, budget-friendly, professional phone software.
However, Grasshopper isn’t the most feature-rich VoIP provider on the market and may not reach the expectations of those with larger teams or looking for more robust software. If this sounds like you, you should check out our in-depth review of the best business VoIP phone service providers in the market.
We tested dozens of the options in the market and narrowed them down to the best for your convenience. Nextiva and Ooma are two of our top recommendations for the best VoIP providers. See all of our top picks.
Grasshopper: The Good and The Bad
Every software has its highlights and drawbacks, but we’re pleased to say that Grasshopper has many good to report and not so much bad. Let’s take a deeper look into what we like and don’t like about Grasshopper.
The Good
Easy to Use: Grasshopper receives high praise for just how easy its mobile and desktop apps are to use. The mobile app is intuitive and allows you to manage your phone calls on the run. While the desktop app is full-featured, allowing you to make and receive texts and calls from your computer. Both interfaces are simplistic and easy to navigate.
Simple Setup: Grasshopper focuses on simple softphone functionality, so you can completely avoid lengthy unnecessary setup times and frustrating hardware programming. Instead, you’ll use your existing hardware or mobile phone. You can set up your account, choose your new business number, and accept phone calls to your existing hardware within ten minutes.
Affordable Pricing: Grasshopper is one of the cheapest VoIP service providers out there. With plans starting at just $14 per month, a single user can benefit from calls and unlimited texts, alongside plenty of other fantastic features. In comparison, Phone.com—the cheapest option on our top list—starts at $12.74, but you get just 500 pooled minutes, for all users and you’re really limited on features. While Grasshopper’s entry-level plan only supports a single user, you’re still getting unlimited minutes.
Separate Business from Personal: If you’ve ever had a work number diverted to your personal phone and momentarily forgotten yourself, you’ll love this feature. With Grasshopper, you can clearly separate business calls from personal ones. It will alert you when the incoming call or text is of a business or personal nature so you can put your best voice forward. Say goodbye to casual greetings or embarrassing mishaps, and hello to consistent professional greetings.
Unlimited Calls and Texts: Regardless of which pricing plan you choose, Grasshopper includes unlimited calls and texts. This is unlike other VoIP providers we’ve reviewed and gives Grasshopper a clear advantage over its competitors. Instead of having to worry about how many texts you’ve sent or how long you’ve been on the phone, you can turn your attention to spending as much time as you need to nurture your calls and turn them into customers.
Keep Your Existing Number: If you already have a number that you like but want to switch to Grasshopper, you don’t have to worry about notifying prospective or existing clients of your new phone number. Instead, you can quickly transfer your number to Grasshopper for no additional fee and start enjoying the benefits of your new Grasshopper system.
Great Customer Support: Grasshopper has one of the most responsive customer support teams of the VoIP service providers on our list. It offers support via various methods, including 24/7 phone and email support, an extensive knowledge base featuring how-to guides and pictorials, and helpful videos on the Grasshopper YouTube channel. It even has a community forum for those who prefer to learn from others.
Multiple Number Types: If you’re looking for a special type of phone number, Grasshopper has you covered. You can get local numbers to establish credibility in a particular city or state where your customers are—even if you’re not physically located there. They also offer toll-free numbers, 800 numbers, and vanity numbers for businesses seeking a national presence and improved branding.
Auto Attendant: You can add an extra level of professionalism to your inbound calls with an auto-attendant or virtual receptionist. This allows you to welcome every caller with a pre-recorded greeting and customizable ways to direct each. For an added fee, you can even get a live receptionist to answer calls, forward calls, and take messages on your behalf. These types of features give entrepreneurs and small businesses the presence of a larger company.
The Bad
No Video Conferencing: One of the major drawbacks of Grasshopper compared to its competitors is its lack of video conferencing features. In its defense, they don’t hide that they are a simple, budget-friendly software, so it’s not a massive surprise that video conferencing is not a feature it offers. Plus, with plenty of free options out there like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, there are plenty of opportunities for you to hold video conferences outside of Grasshopper. However, it would be great to see Grasshopper add this feature in the future.
Average Voicemail Transcription: One of the main complaints we came across in our research on Grasshopper was the lackluster voicemail transcription service. Often the software would have difficulty correctly transcribing the entire message into text. In our opinion, this is no deal-breaker but just something to be aware of. At the end of the day, what computer doesn’t have trouble transcribing audio, especially when the caller may have an accent, mumbled speech, or simply pronounces words differently.
Occasional Audio Problems: Grasshopper is designed to work off your cell signal, so it’s important to remember that this can also come down to your cell service provider. Very occasionally, Grasshopper has had issues with audio quality. However, the system is designed to automatically switch to an available WiFi connection to maintain excellent call quality if a call reaches a sub-par quality level. Naturally, this isn’t always an option, and in these instances, you may experience poor audio quality.
Periodic Technical Issues: There are a fair amount of reviews from Grasshopper users saying that the service doesn’t always work. There’s a common complaint of missed calls, but the phone never rings. While this is expected with any phone service, there seems to be mentioned in user reviewers more often than alternatives.
Setup Fees For Business Texting: Every Grasshopper plan comes with unlimited texting, which we love. However, it’s worth noting that you’ll need to pay a one-time setup fee of $19 to cover your local number setup and carrier registration fee. There’s also an ongoing TCR messaging fee that ranges from $1.50 to $2 per month. So while you’re still getting unlimited texts, it’s not technically free. But the cost is pretty marginal in the grand scheme of things.
Grasshopper Pricing and Options
Grasshopper has a variety of products relating to phone services that can suit different user needs. Here’s an in-depth look at the pricing structure and products Grasshopper has to offer.
Grasshopper Pricing
Essentially Grasshopper has only one plan to choose from. No matter which pricing tier you choose, you’ll get all the same features.
We love it when companies take this stance as it takes so much stress and confusion out of the decision-making. You see, instead of worrying about which plan has the best features suited to your business, you can simply choose your plan based on price and user requirements.
Although all the features listed above are great, Grasshopper really stands out in its offering of unlimited texts at no additional cost. This is something that no other phone service providers we reviewed offers, which gives them a clear edge over competitors–especially for small businesses.
Grasshopper’s pricing tiers when billed annually look like this:
- True Solo – $14 per month
- Solo Plus – $28 per month
- Partner – $46 per month
- Small Business – $80 per month
As the name implies, the True Solo plan is designed strictly for single users. Upgrading to Solo Plus instantly lets you add unlimited users to your plan, but you’ll be sharing just one number that’s limited to three extensions. So it really only makes sense for small teams of up to three people.
The Partner plan comes with three numbers and six extensions, and the Small Business package comes with five numbers and unlimited extensions.
If you’re not sure which option is best for you, why not give Grasshopper’s free trial a go to see for yourself!
Grasshopper Vanity Numbers
Grasshopper offers local and toll-free vanity numbers at no additional cost. A vanity number is a local or toll-free number that spells out a memorable word or phrase, for example, 1800-CRZYEGG.
There are lots of great benefits to using a vanity number, including building brand identity, expanding your reach with a toll-free number, and studies show that vanity numbers can generate more leads too.
You can also send and receive text messages to your vanity number. However, it’s important to note that you can only do this within Canada and the US. You won’t be able to text international prospects.
When deciding on your vanity number with Grasshopper, you have the freedom to choose up to seven numbers or letters that coincide with your business. It’s important to remember that some numbers may already be taken, so be sure to use Grasshopper’s number lookup tool to see if your preferred phrase is available.
Grasshopper Toll-Free Numbers
If you’re not interested in a vanity number for your business, you can still get a professional toll-free number instead.
Toll-free numbers are key to reaching prospects nationwide. They provide a way for consumers to get in touch with you for free, even when calling from long distances within the same country. You can also receive international calls with a toll-free number, however, charges will apply for the caller.
When you buy a toll-free number through Grasshopper, you’ll also have access to:
- Mobile and desktop apps to ensure you never miss a call on-the-go
- Customized business greetings to automatically welcome and direct your customers
- Voicemail transcription service to quickly and conveniently received messages
It’s free to add a toll-free number to your plan, so make sure you take advantage of these great benefits.
Grasshopper Ruby Virtual Receptionist
As a small business owner, you will get used to wearing many different hats to succeed. But maybe one of those hats, the one of phone receptionist, can be passed on.
In collaboration with Ruby, Grasshopper can bring you live virtual receptionists to answer your calls, collect information, schedule appointments, or create connections with callers instead of just letting them go to voicemail. This virtual receptionist can either be a live human who is not physically in your office or an auto-attendant answering system that handles inbound calls.
A key highlight of the Ruby virtual receptionist service is that it can transfer calls to your mobile, home phone, or another number. So if you are out of the office and an urgent call comes in, it can be passed onto you right away.
You can kiss goodbye administrative tasks such as lobbying phone calls. Ruby will help you turn more callers into customers while you focus on work. The great thing about this feature is that you don’t have to use it all the time. Through the Grasshopper app, you’ll have the option to turn Ruby on or off, so you’re only utilizing this feature when you feel the need to.
It’s important to note that Ruby is an add-on feature that does come with a price tag. But new customers can get up to 35% off Ruby as an introductory offer.
If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner running out of hours in the day, investing in an automated answering service like this can make all the difference to your workload. And in our opinion, that is worth it.
Grasshopper Business Texting
Just like the phone service, Grasshopper makes it easy to separate your personal and business texts without having to get a new phone. You can manage all of your business texts from the same number you’re using for VoIP calling—truly giving you a dedicated business line from your personal smartphone.
This is a simple and convenient way to send and receive texts.
It’s perfect for quick updates and replies where a phone call isn’t necessary. Even in the business world, not everyone loves talking on the phone. So you make life easier for your clients as well by offering them an additional way to communicate with you using their preferred method.
One cool feature that’s available through Grasshopper’s SMS service is its instant reply function.
Any time a new customer sends you a text, they’ll automatically get a predetermined response. This is really useful for customers since they won’t have to wait hours for you to see the message and craft a reply. But it also saves you a ton of time, as you won’t have to manually type out repetitive texts for every new customer.
Best of all, unlimited business texting is free when you sign up for Grasshopper. So unlike other business SMS services on the market, you won’t have to pay per text.
Expanding Your Knowledge: Grasshopper
Comparing The Best Business VoIP Phone Services
If you like what you’re reading but you aren’t sure if Grasshopper is the one for you, check out our in-depth review of the best business VoIP phone services in the market today.
- Nextiva – Best VoIP phone service for most businesses
- Ooma Office – Best for businesses without in-house IT
- RingCentral – Most affordable all-in-one solution for fewer than 20 users
- Grasshopper – Best mobile app for solopreneurs and small teams
- Phone.com – Best if you need fewer than 300 minutes per user
- Freshdesk Contact Center – Best for customer support teams
So would we recommend Grasshopper to anyone looking for a budget-friendly VoIP solution perfect for small businesses? Absolutely!
Naturally, Grasshopper isn’t going to suit everyone’s needs, but the fact is this software is perfect for solo entrepreneurs and small businesses. The features are fantastic, the use is unlimited, and the price is right.
The only real drawback of this product is the lack of video conferencing capabilities. But as we said, with plenty of free options out there, this is unlikely to be a deal-breaker for those looking for a simple, effective solution to a professional VoIP service.
