Softphone apps enable free and low-cost calls from devices such as your personal smartphone or business computer.
Our research shows that RingCentral provides the best softphone app for businesses because it offers the best customer support and high scalability. It also integrates easily with popular software that your business is likely to already be using.
Other worthy picks include 8×8, for its unbeatable security and large features catalog; and Vonage, which is best for training employees and for its inbound call features.
We know softphone apps are growing in leaps and bounds thanks to the rise of hybrid work, but not all of them will be a good fit for your business. However, you can use our free comparison tool to find out which ones are. All you have to do is answer a few questions about the size of your business and the features you need most – which takes less than a minute. On this page, we list our top picks.
What Is Softphone Software?
A softphone is a software-based phone. Instead of using traditional physical telephone lines, it allows users to make and receive phone calls over the internet. You can use a softphone app from your smartphone or from a desktop computer. Softphones are a great fit for any business that offers customer service, sales, or support. Benefits include lower costs, increased features, and more flexibility because staff can place calls from any device loaded with the app.
Softphones are easy to use with handsets and headsets, an no extra hardware is required. Softphones can also be bundled with communication software that will allow a workforce to handle phone calls, video meetings, and more from the same interface. Prices vary, but typical costs range between $10 and $30 per user, per month.
Best Softphone Apps
If you already have a business VoIP provider, you’ll probably have a softphone app included with your service package. If, for example, you’re already signed up with RingCentral, it would make sense to stick with its app because it will offer optimal integration with your existing phone system.
Alongside these provider softphone platforms, we’ve also listed several other standalone apps that can be used regardless of which VoIP service you use. We’re confident that you’ll find the right solution for your requirements – whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, head of a sales team, or part of a large enterprise. Here are Tech.co’s top picks:
- RingCentral Office – best overall softphone app for businesses
- 8×8 Softphone App – best for sales teams
- Zoom – best value for money
- Vonage – best for training features
- Counterpath Bria Teams – best for affordability
- Zoiper 5 PRO – best for security
- GoToConnect – best for scaling
- Line2 – best for customizability
- 3CX Softphone – best for Windows users
After collating dozens of hours of research, we put together this article to highlight the best softphone apps for businesses. We’ve checked which options are best for features like cost, customizability, and security. However, we’d advise getting a free quote tailored to your business (it takes less than a minute!) so you know exactly how much you’ll be paying.
Expert Tip
Some softphone apps have robust security, collaboration, and team management features that make them ideal for scaling alongside your business – but not all providers offer packages that can cater to rapidly expanding companies. If you’re on track to grow significantly in the next year, ensure you’re not investing in a VoIP system that’s incapable of joining you on the journey.
1. RingCentral Office
Best overall softphone app for business
Price: $20 per user, per month
The RingCentral softphone application is the best choice for most businesses because it offers the best customer support; the ability to support a rapidly scaling operation; and has strong external connectivity, ensuring it will work alongside your existing software and infrastructure. Of the 12 softphone app providers we tested, it performed the best and received an overall score of 4.7/5.
This VoIP solution streamlines your business and spurs long-term growth. In fact, RingCentral was awarded a solid 4.9/5 for scalability in our research thanks to its broad range of management features, such as call transcripts and monitoring. There is also a set of robust security tools needed to secure employee accounts, including multi-factor authentication.
RingCentral’s softphone app operates on web, desktop, or mobile (Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android). It also provides a seamless, high-quality experience, whether you need it for video or audio call softphone functionality. The app is free, but you’ll need to sign up to RingCentral Office to use it.
The app is bound to improve your team’s communication and collaboration, and is worthy of the top spot on this list. With a 4.5-star average customer rating across the App Store and the Google Play Store, it seems most users would agree with us.
RingCentral lets you switch devices during a call, as well as access files and add guest users – all of which are super useful and make the overall call experience smoother. There are voicemail-to-text and voicemail-to-email options, and you can even listen to your voicemails inside your web browser.
Find out if this is the right provider for your business by using our free comparison tool, which will match you to a softphone app based on your answers to a few quick questions about your business. Or, take a look at the different RingCentral pricing plans for yourself:
RingCentral Office pricing
RingCentral Office is available in three plans: Core, Advanced, and Ultra. The prices discussed below are based on two to 20 users when paid annually.
The Core plan starts at $20 per user, per month for up to 20 lines. If you need more than this – on any RingCentral plan – you’ll have to contact sales and get matched to a plan/price. The Core plan includes unlimited calls within the US/CA, voicemail-to-text transcription, messaging, and document sharing. Use business SMS messaging sparingly, though: you’ll be restricted to 25 per user per month.
The Advanced plan costs $25 per user, per month and adds plenty of useful features including call queues, ring groups, call barge and whisper, call monitoring, analytics, and a selection of integrations for CRM, helpdesk, web conferencing, and both external and internal live chat. Business SMS is 100 per user per month.
The top tier plan, Ultimate, is $35 per user, per month and will grant you access to RingCentral’s business analytics platform, plus unlimited storage, device-level analytics and alerts, and other advanced features and reporting functions enterprises need, such as end-to-end encryption for video meetings. Business SMS is 200 per user per month.
RingCentral Office features
- Up to 20 lines are available (sales team must be contacted if you need more)
- Voicemail-to-text functionality
- Business SMS texts
- Document sharing
- Team messaging
