Business Communications Review
RingCentral Review: Cloud Business Phone System for Small Businesses
RingCentral is a cloud-based business phone and unified communications platform offering VoIP calling, video meetings, and team messaging. It's aimed at small businesses, startups, and growing teams that need a reliable all-in-one communications solution with enterprise-grade features and 99.999% uptime guarantee.
Introduction
RingCentral is a cloud-based business phone and unified communications platform offering VoIP calling, video meetings, and team messaging. It's aimed at small businesses, startups, and growing teams that need a reliable all-in-one communications solution.
A robust VoIP/UCaaS platform keeps remote teams connected and ensures customer calls are handled professionally. RingCentral is known for its extensive features and "unmatched reliability" – the service boasts a 99.999% uptime guarantee.
In this review, we'll examine RingCentral's key features, user experience, pricing, pros and cons, and how it stacks up against other business phone systems to help you decide if it's right for your company.
Key Features
RingCentral MVP (Message, Video, Phone) includes a wide range of features to replace traditional phone systems and other communication apps. Highlights include:
VoIP Calling & Messaging
Unlimited calling within the US/Canada with business PBX features (call transfer, IVR menus, hold, call queues). Built-in team chat for internal messaging and file sharing keeps collaboration in one place.
Video Meetings
HD video conferencing is integrated (up to 100 participants on the base plan). You can schedule or instantly launch meetings from the app. For large webinars or virtual events, RingCentral offers add-ons to host thousands of attendees.
Auto-Attendant & Routing
A multi-level auto-attendant (virtual receptionist) greets and routes callers via customizable menus. You can set rules for call forwarding, departmental routing, and dial-by-name directories, giving even a small business a professional phone tree.
Call Recording & Voicemail-to-Text
On-demand call recording is included (and automatic recordings on higher plans). Voicemails are transcribed to text so you can read messages on the go. The Ultra plan adds real-time analytics dashboards for deeper insights.
Integrations
RingCentral connects with hundreds of apps – including Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft 365/Teams, Google Workspace, Slack, and Zendesk. These let you log calls in your CRM, make calls from other apps, and generally integrate communications into your workflow. An open API enables custom integrations.
Mobile & Desktop Apps
Full-featured apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac let you use your business number on any device. Calls, texts, and meetings sync across devices, so you can start a call on your desktop and finish it on your mobile. This is great for remote and hybrid teams needing flexibility.
Performance & User Experience
Call Quality & Reliability
RingCentral delivers clear voice quality and HD video with minimal lag. The platform's 99.999% uptime SLA means outages are extremely rare. In practice, calls sound crisp and stable as long as you have a decent internet connection. The system also offers QoS reports and network optimizations to maintain call quality on congested networks.
Ease of Use & Setup
The RingCentral interface is modern and easy to navigate, with one app for calls, texts, and meetings. Everyday use (making calls, messaging colleagues, joining meetings) is straightforward. Initial setup is relatively quick – you can activate users and numbers in minutes, and a 15-day free trial is available for testing.
Because there are so many features, configuring everything can feel complex at first. However, RingCentral provides 24/7 support to help, and once set up, most small businesses find it simple to manage day-to-day.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- All-in-One Communications: Combines phone, video, SMS, fax, and team chat in one platform (streamlining your tech stack).
- Feature-Rich Plans: Even the base plan has unlimited calls, auto-attendant, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, and video meetings. Higher tiers add advanced call handling (monitor, whisper, barge), integrations, and analytics.
- Reliability & Support: 99.999% uptime ensures your phones work when you need them. 24/7 customer support on all plans means help is available around the clock.
- Extensive Integrations: Over 300 native integrations with popular business software (Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, Slack, etc.) allow RingCentral to fit into your existing workflows.
Cons
- Higher Cost: RingCentral is pricier than some small-business alternatives. The entry Core plan is about $30/user monthly, whereas some competitors start closer to $10–$20.
- Limited SMS Allotment: Texting is not unlimited – each user has a monthly SMS cap (e.g. 25 texts on Core), after which fees apply. Businesses that rely heavily on texting may find this restrictive.
- Complex Setup for Advanced Features: With so many features, the system can be overwhelming to configure for first-time admins. Simpler services like Grasshopper or OpenPhone might be easier to set up, though they have far fewer capabilities.
- Extra Cost for Add-Ons: Certain advanced features (large webinars, AI receptionist, high-volume international calling) cost extra. You might end up paying more if you need these, whereas some competitors don't offer them at all.
Pricing and Value
RingCentral offers three plans – Core, Advanced, and Ultra – priced per user. (Annual billing yields ~33% discount.)
Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | ~$30/user | $20/user | Unlimited US/Canada calling, basic auto-attendant & call queues, voicemail-to-text, team messaging, video meetings up to 100 participants |
| Advanced | ~$35/user | $25/user | Automatic call recording, multi-level IVR with call monitoring (whisper/barge), unlimited fax, CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, etc.), higher toll-free/SMS limits |
| Ultra | ~$45/user | $35/user | Real-time analytics dashboards, support for 200-person video meetings, highest toll-free and SMS allotments (around 10k minutes and 200 texts) |
Value for Money
If you only need a basic business line, RingCentral might be more solution (and expense) than necessary – a leaner service like Grasshopper or Google Voice could be sufficient. But for teams that will use voice, video, and messaging extensively, RingCentral's bundle can be cost-effective compared to paying for separate phone, meeting, and chat tools.
Its pricing is on the higher side, but you're paying for a professional-grade, unified platform. By comparison, Zoom Phone starts at $10–$15/user (for voice only) and OpenPhone at ~$19/user, so RingCentral's higher price comes with a much broader feature set.
All plans include at least one local or toll-free number and 24/7 support. There's no permanent free plan, but you can get a 14-day free trial to try out the service.
Alternatives Comparison
Looking at RingCentral vs alternatives, here are some popular options:
| Service | Starting Price | Key Strengths | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| RingCentral | $30/month ($20 annual) | ✅ Full UCaaS suite with video, enterprise features, 99.999% uptime | Medium to large businesses needing comprehensive platform |
| ChatOdyssey | $9.99/month | ✅ AI assistant with smart insights & business learning | Small businesses & individuals seeking AI-powered insights |
| OpenPhone | $15–$19/month | ✅ Very affordable and easy to use for basic calls & texts | Small teams needing simple phone solution |
| Allô | $25/month | ✅ Mobile-first app with AI receptionist | Small on-the-go teams |
| Dialpad | $15/month | ✅ Strong AI features (real-time transcription, AI voice) | Teams wanting advanced AI analytics |
| Grasshopper | $26/month | ✅ Basic virtual phone system for entrepreneurs | Solo entrepreneurs with minimal needs |
How These Services Compare
Each alternative has trade-offs. RingCentral remains the most comprehensive solution; choose a competitor if its niche strengths (simplicity, lower cost, or specific features) align better with your needs. Otherwise, if you need a bit of everything – calls, video, team chat, integrations – RingCentral is hard to beat.
ChatOdyssey presents a compelling alternative at $9.99/month with AI features included from the start. What sets ChatOdyssey apart is its intelligent AI assistant that can learn from your business operations and provide smart insights beyond just call handling. The AI adapts to your industry, understands your business context, and delivers actionable intelligence that helps improve operations – making it particularly valuable for small businesses and individuals who want more than basic call management without the complexity and cost of a full UCaaS platform.
Final Verdict
Who Should Use RingCentral
It's best for small to mid-sized businesses that want a complete communications solution and anticipate using multiple channels (phone, video, messaging). It's especially useful for distributed teams that need reliable, unified tools and for companies that integrate their phone system with other software (CRM, helpdesk, etc.).
Summary Recommendation
In summary, RingCentral offers a top-tier, feature-packed business phone system with excellent reliability and flexibility. The main drawback is the higher cost – but if your team will use its full capabilities, it can be worth the investment.
We recommend using the free trial to gauge its fit for your team. If it feels like overkill or too complex, you might opt for a simpler competitor. But if it streamlines your communications and you grow into its advanced features, RingCentral can be a long-term asset for your business.
FAQs
Does RingCentral support international calling?
Yes. Unlimited calling in the US and Canada is included. For other countries, you can purchase international calling credits or add-on plans. RingCentral also lets you get international phone numbers in many countries (as an extra service).
Can I keep my existing phone number?
Yes. You can port your current number to RingCentral. Number porting is supported (and typically free), so your business can keep the same phone number when you switch providers.
How reliable is RingCentral for remote teams?
Highly reliable. RingCentral's cloud platform uses multiple data centers to achieve 99.999% uptime, which is ideal for distributed teams. Remote users just need a good internet connection – with that, they can expect clear calls and stable video meetings on RingCentral, whether working from home or on the go.
What integrations does RingCentral offer?
RingCentral offers 300+ pre-built integrations. This includes Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365/Teams, Slack, and many others. It likely connects with most business apps you use. For anything else, you can use Zapier or RingCentral's APIs to integrate custom applications.
Does RingCentral have 24/7 customer service?
Yes. RingCentral provides 24/7 customer support via phone and live chat for all plans. This around-the-clock support is a strong point – you can get help anytime, which is especially useful if you operate beyond normal business hours or have remote staff in different time zones.