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Incoming callers are greeted with a recorded message, which allows them to self-serve using artificial intelligence (AI) or choose an extension to talk with a person.
This is a must-have feature of today’s company phone systems, but the finest multilayer auto-attendant phone systems are also cost-effective, configurable, and packed with customer-centric features.
We discovered the following auto-attendant phone systems to be the best:
- Nextiva is the best option for organizations searching for an auto-attendant that includes a complimentary personalized, professional recorded greeting.
- RingCentral is an excellent alternative for big teams who want a multilayer auto-attendant that can handle huge call volumes.
- 8: Ideal for businesses that need a complex multilayer auto-attendant to guide local and international callers via a series of menus.
- Vonage: A great choice for small businesses looking to build the perfect auto-attendant phone system with a variety of add-on capabilities.
- Grasshopper: A low-cost auto-attendant with professional greeting packages or the option of a real-life receptionist is recommended for solopreneurs and small enterprises.
- Phone.com is a great alternative for small companies looking for a low-cost auto-attendant that can manage modest call volumes.
How Did We Pick the Top Auto-Attendant Phone Systems?
Most current corporate phone systems have auto-attendants, although some are better than others. To establish our top recommendations for the finest auto-attendant phone systems, we looked into cost, functionality, the convenience of use, and customer feedback.
We found Nextiva to be the best overall auto-attendant with a high score of 4.63 out of 5. After cutting down our selections to six, we found Nextiva to be the best overall auto-attendant with a high score of 4.63 out of 5. The auto-attendant on Nextiva is powerful and simple to use, and all of its premium subscriptions include a complimentary professionally recorded voice greeting. Because of its feature-rich attendant and high-volume friendly price, RingCentral finished second with a score of 4.42 out of 5.
The following is how we choose the top auto-attendant phone systems:
25% of the overall score
Auto-attendant features shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive. Auto-attendants are included in the entry-level plans of the leading voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) providers, so consumers don’t have to upgrade to a higher tier to get this service. More advanced choices should be available to higher-priced attendants.
25% of the overall score
More sophisticated interactive voice response (IVR) technology is available in the top auto-attendant phone systems, allowing people to react by speech or keypad input. These systems can do more than just route calls; they can also gather data, respond to queries, and assist clients in self-serving without the need for human contact.
25% of the overall score
Auto-attendants are a convenient way to manage incoming phone volume. Many top systems, on the other hand, include extra phone services such as toll-free lines, mobile applications, and video chat. We searched for and accounted for any extra features these solutions had.
25% of the overall score
We put the items to the test and read customer evaluations to understand more about their experiences, likes, and dislikes.
Percentages based on the total score
Nextiva
Best Auto-Attendant Phone System Overall
PROS
- Auto-attendant with many levels of sophistication
- Professional voice recording greetings for free
- Premium pricing plans at an affordable price
CONS
- User interface that is clumsy
- International calling services are inadequate.
Total Points 4.63 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 3.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
In the VoIP business, Nextiva is a market leader. Its platform offers low-cost, simple-to-use capabilities that provide excellent end-to-end experiences for both incoming callers and agents. With clever routing, low-cost entry-level plans, and a complimentary professional recorded voice greeting, Nextiva’s auto-attendant surpasses the competition.
Pricing
- Auto-attendants, unlimited calling (inside the United States and Canada), and a free local or toll-free number are all included for $21.95 per user, each month.
- Professional: $25.95 a month per user for a professionally produced voice greeting, which is a feature that other services charge extra for or don’t provide at all, as well as conference calling for up to four people, team messaging, and peer-to-peer video calling.
- Enterprise: Voicemail transcription, voice analytics, and call recording are $35.95 per user, per month.
- Ultimate: $65.95 per month per user, which includes automated surveys, customer journey analytics, and 12,500 toll-free minutes.
Features
- Professionally recorded voice greeting is included in the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate programs. Nextiva employs voice actors to read a screenplay you provide.
- Voice menu builder: With Nextiva’s simple voice menu builder, you can create and deploy the ideal auto-attendant in minutes.
- Smart routing: To provide your call centers a more purposeful experience, set up established rules and procedures to prioritize calls from toll-free numbers.
RingCentral
Best Auto-Attendant Phone System For High Call Volumes.
PROS
- The UI is smooth and simple to use.
- Ideal for high-volume calls
- VoIP characteristics that are the most robust.
CONS
- VoIP characteristics that are the most robust
- For small teams, this is overkill.
Total Points 4.42 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 4.05 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 4.63 | OUT OF | 5 |
RingCentral is one of the most comprehensive business phone systems available today. Everything about it is designed to handle huge call volumes, from the price options to the user-friendly interface to the feature-rich functioning. RingCentral is one of the greatest auto-attendants on the market, which may be a little excessive for smaller teams.
Pricing
- Essentials: $19.99 per user, per month for up to 20 users, 100 toll-free minutes, unlimited calling, and unlimited texting, making it a more reasonable choice for mid-sized teams than Nextiva, but not as cost-effective as other solutions on our list for teams of fewer than five people.
- Standard: $24.99 per user, per month, includes tiered auto-attendant, unlimited audio conferencing, 1,000 toll-free minutes, and up to 100-person video meetings.
- Premium: $34.99 a month per user, includes unlimited call recording, 2,500 toll-free minutes, analytics, and integrations with third-party software.
- Ultimate: $49.99 a month per user, includes device status reports, 10,000 toll-free minutes, and unlimited storage.
Price based on an annual pricing plan with an expected two to twenty users.
Features
- Upgrade your multilayer auto-attendant to a voice-activated virtual receptionist with an IVR system.
- Dial-by-name directories call queuing, live transfer, and other call center capabilities may turn your VoIP system into a full-fledged contact center.
- RingCentral is the essence of scalable VoIP communications, with open APIs, cheap pricing, and all the functionality you could possibly need.
8×8
Best Auto-Attendant Phone System For International Calling.
PROS
- Calls to almost 50 countries are free.
- Advanced plans include call center services.
- Basic auto-attendant at a low price
CONS
- Premium levels have access to a multilevel auto-attendant.
- The user interface is outdated.
- Occasionally, there are delays in customer service.
Total Points 4.18 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 4.50 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 4.45 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
Offers a low-cost auto-attendant for as little as $12 per month per user. With contact center functionality on the premium plans, you may make unlimited calls to 47 countries and receive significant call volumes. While the base plan includes a normal auto-attendant, you’ll need to subscribe to one of 8’s more costly levels to use the more sophisticated interactive voice response (IVR) features.
Pricing
- Unlimited domestic calling and a basic automated attendant for $12 per user, each month
- X2: $24 per user, per month for unlimited calling to up to 14 countries, making it a more cost-effective alternative for teams who make a lot of international calls than services that charge by the minute; it also includes VoIP faxing, call reporting, and call recording.
- X4 costs $44 per month per user for international calls to up to 47 countries.
To use the IVR auto-attendant and sophisticated reporting tools, you’ll need to upgrade to 8’s voice-centric Contact Center.
Pricing computed based on an annual plan with less than 100 users. You won’t get a volume discount until you have a minimum of 100 users.
Features
- International calling: With one of the most economical global communications VoIP plans, you may make unlimited calls to up to 47 different countries.
- Call center features: To help you increase your company VoIP plan, 88 offers many premium call center packages.
- Access a basic auto-attendant for only $12 per user, each month, making it one of the most cost-effective solutions on the market.
Vonage
Best auto-attendant for custom pricing and experiences.
PROS
- Entry-level plans at a low cost
- Pricing for a la carte features
- Large-scale video conferencing is supported.
CONS
- Feature requests may be costly.
- The user interface is old and clumsy.
- There are no yearly price reductions.
Total Points 4.02 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 4.50 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 3.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 4.05 | OUT OF | 5 |
Vonage offers a no-frills, simple-to-use auto-attendant with more than adequate features for most corporate purposes. Its a la carte pricing enables you to pick and choose the features you want, allowing companies to pay just for the services they need. However, comprehensive capabilities may add up to a costly solution, and Vonage’s archaic UI puts it behind the competition.
Pricing
- Unlimited calling, mobile app, and team messaging for $17.99 per person, each month
- Premium: $27.99 per month per user for multilayer auto-attendant, video conferencing for up to 100 people, and software integrations.
- Advanced: $37.99 per user, per month for 15 hours of call recording on-demand, visible voicemail, and company-guided system setup.
Pricing was established based on a sample size of 15 people. Annual pricing is not offered, but as you add more users, bulk savings become available.
Features
- A la carte pricing: With a la carte price choices for particular services, toll-free numbers, call recording capability, and more, you only pay for what you need.
- Vonage offers a robust knowledge center with a wealth of FAQs, how-tos, and tools to help you problem-solving and moving ahead.
- Set up the ideal SMS automation campaigns with Vonage Reach to keep your clients engaged and moving forward.
Grasshopper
Best Low-Cost Auto-Attendant For Small Teams
PROS
- VoIP system at a low cost
- An auto-attendant creator that is simple to use
- There are no tier-specific functionality limitations.
CONS
- An existing phone line is required.
- There will be no video conferencing.
- It is missing sophisticated VoIP functions.
Total Points 3.93 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 2.65 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 4.06 | OUT OF | 5 |
For solopreneurs and small teams on a budget, Grasshopper offers the finest auto-attendant phone solution. The auto-attendant constructor is simple and quick to use, and it comes with every Grasshopper license. In fact, regardless of the package, you select, all of Grasshopper’s features remain unrestricted. However, as compared to Nextiva or RingCentral, Grasshopper’s sophisticated capabilities are considerably limited.
Pricing
- Solo: $26 per month for one phone line and three extensions, which may save small businesses money over other plans charged by the user.
- $44 per month for three numbers and six extensions as a partner
- $80 per month for five numbers and unlimited extensions for small businesses.
Pricing is based on a yearly basis.
Characteristics
- Hire one of Grasshopper’s professional voice talents to record your auto-attendant welcome in our voice studio.
- Virtual receptionist: To add a touch of personality and professionalism, use Grasshopper’s auto-attendant or hire a real-life receptionist.
- Toll-free numbers: You may choose between a local number and a toll-free number with a 1-800 prefix with Grasshopper.
Phone.com
Best Auto-attendant for Low Call Volumes on a Budget
PROS
- Low-cost options for low-volume callers
- The majority of features are accessible on all plans.
- Mobile and desktop apps
CONS
- Plans that charge by the minute When you get a lot of calls, it might become pricey.
- Plans with no limits become costly
- Unintuitive user interface
Total Points 3.87 OUT OF 5
| CRITERIA FOR RATING | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Characteristics | 3.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Added Advantages | 4.05 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Rating | 3.44 | OUT OF | 5 |
For small organizations with modest call volumes, Phone.com provides the ideal business VoIP system with an auto-attendant configuration. The majority of the platform’s important features are included in any subscription plan, while a handful is only accessible as add-ons. Phone.com is the appropriate answer for you if you need a VoIP system but don’t want to pay for unlimited calling and messaging (which you’ll never use).
Pricing
- For 300 monthly minutes with auto-attendant, the base price is $10.39 per user, per month.
- Plus, at $15.99 per month per user, you get unlimited monthly minutes.
- Advanced capabilities like call recording, analytics, and CRM connections are available for $23.99 per user, each month.
Pricing is based on a yearly basis. Monthly plans are also available for a cost.
Features
- Limited minute plans: Phone.com is one of the most versatile solutions on the market since it allows you to purchase bundles of minutes.
- Phone.com has mobile and online applications, so you can use it anywhere you want—on your PC, on your phone, on Android, or on iOS.
- Simple hold music may be used to personalize your waiting rooms.
Conclusion
For today’s contemporary enterprises, auto-attendants are a must-have feature. Fortunately, they’re common among voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) phone systems, straightforward to set up, and simple to use for clients. However, with so many alternatives, choosing the finest auto-attendant for your company might be difficult.
For practically every small company use case, we suggest Nextiva. It’s powerful, cost-effective, and simple to use, with a feature-rich auto-attendant that can handle customized caller workflow. A free professional recorded voice welcome from a great voice actor is also included, a service you’d have to spend high bucks for via a third-party vendor.
