RingCentral Business Phone Systems Review

RingCentral offers business phone service solutions to solo entrepreneurs and small business owners with a team.

It's low-cost and can scale as your business grows. It seamlessly integrates with G Suite, Office 365, and other business tools.

Read our full review below to find out if Ring Central and its business phone services are right for you.

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Summary

RingCentral offers a high-quality phone service available on all devices such as mobile and desktop devices with apps, and desk phones, and is paid for on a per-user basis. Out of competitors such as Kixie and Nextiva, RingCentral stands out as a great integrator with other business tools such as Google’s G Suite, Office 365, Box, Dropbox, Zendesk, and many others. Ringcentral also stands out as a low-cost competitor for small teams with their Essentials package which starts at $19.99/user/month for up to 10 users, and gives all but the most advanced features like multi-level auto attendant, faxing, recording, and reporting for a very reasonable cost.

What makes RingCentral the right choice?

RingCentral's features are what set it apart from other Business phone systems in our eyes. With features like:

• Direct integration with systems like Google's G Suite, Office 365, and other communication systems
• Video calling
• Text messaging
• Apps across desktop and mobile

With all of these features on even the most basic plans, RingCentral has a robust set of features to get an entrepreneur, or small team started with calling.

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Pricing

RingCentral offers multiple pricing tiers, from an entry-level plan for teams just getting started with phone systems to one suited for enterprise-sized companies. From Essentials, which is the core set of phone features for up to 10 users, to Ultimate, a fully-featured package for major corporations.

Take a look below for the core set of calling features, and how each package beyond this adds features such as automated systems, internet fax, call recording, and more.

Base Features

• Unlimited phone and conference calls
• Video conference calling
• Text messaging
• iPhone/Android apps
• Voicemail to email
• Team collaboration: file sharing, instant messaging, chat rooms, etc.
• Integrations with popular apps (Microsoft, Google, Dropbox)

Essentials: Starting at $19.99/user/month

RingCentral's Essentials plan starts at $19.99 for up to ten users, if paid annually, and includes the following features in addition to the basic features mentioned above:

• Up to 20 users only
• Business phone or toll-free numbers
• Unlimited calls within the US and Canada
• Unlimited business SMS
• Voicemail-to-text
• Team messaging
• Document sharing

Who should purchase Essentials?

The Essentials plan is best suited for a single person, or a small team who just needs an inexpensive, simple phone system with dedicated phone numbers and some other nice-to-have features like video/screen share conference calling and online voicemail management.

Standard: Starting at $34.99/user/month

Standard is the first plan that allows for unlimited users, and starts at $34.99/user a month, if paid annually, for a single user. Pricing per user falls after this and depends on the number of users and if it is paid monthly or annually.

• Unlimited users
• Business phone numbers in over 100 countries
• Unlimited internet fax
• Unlimited audio conferencing
• Video meetings with up to 100 participants
• Up to 24-hour meeting duration
• Quality-of-service reports
• Integration with platforms such as Office 365, Google Workspace, and Slack
• 24/7 support

Who should purchase Standard?

If you have a phone wielding team larger than 10 people, or if you want to create an automated menu system, then the Standard RingCentral service is what you’ll need.

Premium: Starting at $44.99/user/month

Premium's pricing starts at $44.99/user/month for a single user, if paid annually. Similarly to the standard package, the pricing per user reduces after this, but unlimited users can be purchased, with the following features:

• Automatic call recording
• Single Sign-on
• Multi-site administration and management
• Up to eight-digit extensions with site codes
• Hot desking
• Advanced call handling, including whisper and barge
• Video meetings with up to 200 participants
• Real-time analytics
• CRM integration with platforms like Salesforce and Zendesk
• Industry-specific integration with platforms like Canvas and Smarsh
• Developer platform and custom integrations

Who should purchase Premium?

RingCentral’s Premium offering is best for more established companies who have needs in call recording for more established sales or customer support teams, or who wish to connect RingCentral with other software systems.

Ultimate: Starting at $59.99/user/month

Ultimate is RingCentral's most expensive plan, and while it does not offer more functional features than the Premium plan, it is valuable for callers looking to have the maximum amount of toll-free minutes and as many conference callers as RingCentral can handle.:

This package offers everything in the Premium plan, with the addition of:

• Device status reports
• Device status alerts
• Unlimited storage

Who should purchase Ultimate?

If you need many more toll-free minutes and the ability to receive transcribed voicemails as text messages, then the Ultimate plan is great for your team.

Ratings

Value - 4/5

While the features of RingCentral offer a great, easy-to-setup and intuitive phone service, the lack of good customer service takes away from the overall value of RingCentral. Generally, issues take a long time to get resolved, resulting in headaches for users.

Customer Service - 2/5

RingCentral’s customer service ratings have declined over the past few years, with many of their support centers moving to foreign countries. Former users of RingCentral have repeatedly complained that it took several months and multiples attempts before their accounts were actually canceled.

For example, our team was given an extended trial by a sales representative but was charged at the original end date of that trial, an experience echoed by a user on another review site. When attempting to cancel our account, we were placed on a 45-minute hold but did indeed get the account canceled.

Ease of Use - 5/5

Setting up a free trial is easy. This can give you and your team a good idea of how RingCentral works at the price tier you’re looking to use. After this, maintaining the system is easy once you get used to the platform.

Included Features - 5/5

From a basic phone system with solid online management features to fully-integrated, automated, and connected solutions, RingCentral offers great features and a reliable service.

Conclusion

RingCentral might be a good option if:

• You want a system as simple or complex as you need it to be, across all the devices you use on a daily basis.
• You would like online access to managing your account, including voicemail and team collaboration.
• In addition to phone service, you’d like access to video/screen share teleconferencing.
• You’re okay dealing with a customer service system that requires patience.

What makes RingCentral the right choice?

RingCentral's features are what set it apart from other Business phone systems in our eyes. With features like:

• Direct integration with systems like Google's G Suite, Office 365, and other communication systems
• Video calling
• Text messaging
• Apps across desktop and mobile

With all of these features on even the most basic plans, RingCentral has a robust set of features to get an entrepreneur, or small team started with calling.

Start calling today with RingCentral
Starting at $19.99/user/month, if paid annually