OpenPhone shines for its limitless messaging, shared surroundings and built-in contact administration for small groups. It’s the VoIP cellphone system I finally ended up shopping for for my crew as a result of it was inexpensive and simple to arrange, had simply sufficient performance and didn’t require us to purchase any new units.

Nevertheless, it’s lacking plenty of normal options you’ll get elsewhere and it’s not significantly nice at scale.

OpenPhone’s pricing

OpenPhone’s pricing may be very easy. There are three plans to select from, with simply a few miscellaneous charges and add-ons.

• Starter: Begins at $15 per consumer per thirty days.
• Enterprise: Begins at $23 per consumer per thirty days.
• Enterprise: Customized quote.

The charges above replicate annual billing, with a 30% low cost on the Enterprise tier and a 21% low cost on the Starter degree. Month-to-month pricing can be out there, and you may strive OpenPhone free of charge with a seven-day trial.

My crew makes use of the Marketing strategy; whereas barely costlier, it provides you what it’s worthwhile to handle calls as an organization. Past the fundamentals, you’ll additionally get automated name recording, AI-generated name summaries and integrations for HubSpot and Salesforce.

If you wish to use enterprise texting, there’s an industry-wide $19 one-time setup payment and an ongoing month-to-month messaging payment starting from simply $1.50 to $3.

Each supplier fees these or bundles them into the month-to-month payment you pay, so this isn’t distinctive to OpenPhone.

Extra cellphone numbers price $5 per thirty days, and you may arrange automated messages by way of Zapier for $0.01 per outgoing textual content. Worldwide calling and messaging are based mostly on utilization and fluctuate by nation.

OpenPhone’s key options

Whereas most of OpenPhone’s options are pretty fundamental, it’s a strong platform with some noteworthy standouts. You’ll profit from limitless calling, limitless texting, shared cellphone numbers, contact administration instruments and even a few AI-powered capabilities.

Limitless calling and messaging

OpenPhone delivers limitless calling and textual content messaging inside the U.S. and Canada. This can be a fairly good worth for the value.

You’re additionally getting one new native or toll-free quantity with each consumer that you simply onboard, so everybody can have their very own line.

By way of calling, you may dial out and obtain incoming calls, however there aren’t many bells and whistles. Guide recording, voicemail transcription and guide name recording are the one three options you’re actually getting until you improve.

Past the entry-level tier, you’ll unlock an IVR cellphone menu, group calls, name holds, heat transfers and ring orders.

The limitless texting capabilities positively shine above the calling choices. You’ll be able to arrange a bunch of automated textual content triggers based mostly on totally different buyer interactions and even schedule outbound messages prematurely.

Shared cellphone numbers

Sharing a cellphone quantity with a crew could sound bizarre, nevertheless it’s truly actually sensible for OpenPhone’s messaging capabilities.

Let’s say a assist rep was texting with a buyer on Monday. That buyer could reply to the identical textual content thread on Tuesday when the unique rep is out sick or on a lunch break. However with the shared quantity, another person in your crew can shortly decide up the place the primary individual left off.

On the recipient facet, the transition is seamless, they usually by no means truly know that they’re coping with a couple of individual.

This characteristic helps you present higher and quicker responses through textual content as a part of a collaborative crew effort.

AI-suggested message responses

You’ll be able to allow OpenPhone’s built-in AI to routinely generate two or three replies to each inbound message. It’s a very cool characteristic that helps make your crew extra productive, they usually can simply shortly click on a related reply inside seconds of getting a textual content.

This characteristic is on the market to all OpenPhone customers. This can be a good signal the platform is adapting to the most recent AI developments, that are all the thrill proper now within the enterprise communications area.

When you like this characteristic, you can even experiment with asking OpenPhone’s AI to generate outbound messages for you.

Then, you may ship them as is or edit them earlier than blasting sending.

Constructed-in contact administration

OpenPhone has a light-weight CRM that’s constructed into the platform. It’s a spot so that you can add somebody’s contact data and related notes, tags and different particulars concerning the individual for everybody in your crew to see. Calling this a CRM is beneficiant, nevertheless it’s superb for fundamental contact administration.

The characteristic additionally helps make sure you received’t have duplicate contacts throughout shared numbers, and you may share particular contact data with different teammates with out having to repeat/paste or depend on guide entry.

Along with including new contacts straight in OpenPhone, you can even import contacts as a CSV or combine your Google Contacts.

HubSport, Salesforce and Gong integrations can be found on choose plans.

AI name summaries and transcripts on choose plans

When you’re on a Marketing strategy or larger, you’ll get AI-generated summaries and full transcripts for each name.

This can be a helpful solution to shortly reference one thing that occurred throughout an extended name with out having to sit down by way of a complete recording.

It additionally helps you keep current throughout calls. As an alternative of quickly taking notes whereas half-listening to what somebody is saying, you may keep engaged understanding that AI is taking notes for you.

Groups can share these summaries with individuals who missed a gathering or name, serving to them stand up to hurry shortly and not using a full briefing.

OpenPhone execs

• Easy and user-friendly interface.
• Sturdy messaging options.
• Collaborative surroundings.
• Shared inbox, contacts and numbers.
• Guidelines-based triggers to construct automations.
• Light-weight and easy in the event you don’t want lots.
• Very simple to arrange.
• Day by day database backups.
• Strong customer support.
• Free 7-day trial.

OpenPhone cons

• Solely consists of fundamental cellphone options.
• Analytics is barely on the highest two plans.
• Not a lot room to scale.
• Restricted integrations and no API (coming quickly).

Options to OpenPhone

After wanting into dozens of choices, I purchased OpenPhone for my crew, which nonetheless makes use of it immediately. Regardless of that, it’s not what I like to recommend in most conditions. Right here’s a have a look at how OpenPhone compares to my prime selections.

Nextiva

Nextiva is a extra well-rounded enterprise communications answer. It comes with every little thing it’s worthwhile to speak to prospects and one another, together with crew chat, video conferencing, voice, texting and faxing. With new buyer reductions and an annual plan, it comes out to just some {dollars} extra per thirty days than OpenPhone, however with far more performance. To be taught extra, learn my assessment of Nextiva.

RingCentral

The place Nextiva and OpenPhone are easy and simple to make use of, RingCentral goes the wrong way. It affords nearly each communications and name heart characteristic you may think about. To be taught extra, learn my assessment of RingCentral.

8×8

When you deal with plenty of worldwide calls, 8×8 can’t be beat. With plans that enable for limitless calls to 14 or 48 nations, it’s a significantly better deal for high-volume than paying per minute. Plus, it consists of each communication channel on each plan, even the most affordable ones. To be taught extra, learn my assessment of 8×8.

Dialpad

Dialpad and OpenPhone are each newer cloud-first cellphone techniques. OpenPhone is easy, whereas Dialpad affords extra superior capabilities and AI performance for name facilities and gross sales groups. It has normal cellphone techniques, too, however they embody extra communication channels than OpenPhone.

Methodology

I researched and reviewed OpenPhone utilizing the identical core standards as different enterprise communication options, together with:

• Commonplace and superior options: We assess the fundamentals you want, plus the superior options that increase your efficiency. A few of the normal options we search for embody video conferencing, SMS/MMS messaging, voicemail, automated name forwarding, gadget flipping and cellular/desktop apps.
• Buyer assist: How will you get assist, and what are the assist hours? We additionally have a look at the helpfulness of the platform’s buyer assist and be aware any optimistic evaluations.
• Third-party integrations: One of the best cellphone techniques seamlessly sync with third-party enterprise apps, like CRMs, ERP software program, faxing instruments, SMS platforms, cloud storage techniques and extra.
• Safety and privateness: We have a look at the redundancy structure, superior encryption requirements, authentication choices, superior administration choices, information heart audits, server areas — something that’s tied to holding your calls protected and information safe.
• Uptime proportion: Something that would trigger unplanned downtime, outages, service interruptions or result in delays as a result of technical setup or platform infrastructure.
• Demo or free trial: Are you able to take a look at or strive the platform before you purchase it?
• Total price: Charges, plan choices, pricing variations between month-to-month or annual billing, set up charges, price per consumer, and so on.