Aircall vs RingCentral
We give Aircall a 2.6 GPA and RingCentral a 3.0, out of 4.0. RingCentral grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Aircall
Cloud phone system for sales and support teams, with AI voice agents
RingCentral
Cloud phone system with texting, fax, video meetings and team chat
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAAircallGood | 3.0GPARingCentralVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$30 a head for five on Essentials, billed yearly, which puts it in this category's dearest tenth ($29 and up). There's a 3-license minimum, so even one person pays $90 a month. Summaries and the power dialer need Professional at $50. | C$20 a head for a team of five on Core, billed yearly ($30 monthly), which is the price for 1-5 users. That's just past this category's dearer quarter ($19.99), so middle of the road, not cheap. Automatic recording and CRM links need Advanced at $25. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's a free trial with 100 AI Voice Agent minutes, but the listing doesn't give its length or say whether it needs a card. No free plan. | CA 14-day free trial for new subscribers, with texting left out of it. No free plan, and the listing doesn't say whether the trial needs a card. |
| Features | BA shared call inbox, phone menus and queues, recording with AI transcripts on every plan, 50 AI Voice Agent minutes a month, and a power dialer on Professional. It covers the whole job for a calling team. | BUnlimited US and Canada calls, phone menus, call queues, fax, 300-person video meetings, team chat and an AI assistant for call notes. That's the whole phone job, though Core's 25 texts a person a month is stingy. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from about 340 App Store ratings. Fine, though that's not many ratings for a phone app. | A4.83 from about 78,000 App Store ratings, which is about as good as it gets for a work phone app. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, with 250+ integrations such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk and Intercom, plus APIs and webhooks. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, ServiceNow, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace and Slack on the integrations list. |
| Best for | sales and support teams that log calls in a CRM | calls, texts, fax and meetings in one app |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Aircall and RingCentral. How we grade
Price against what you get
Aircall starts at $30 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. RingCentral starts at $20 a month for each person and scores 3.7.
RingCentral scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other business phone systems on the chart, 1 scores higher than Aircall for less, and none scores higher than RingCentral for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Aircall starts at $30 per license / month, billed annually. RingCentral starts at $20 per user / month for 1-5 users, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
- Only Aircall lists a browser extension.
- Aircall also covers shared inbox and AI support agent.
- RingCentral also covers team chat and video calls.
At a glance
| Aircall | RingCentral | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $30 per license / month, billed annually | $20 per user / month for 1-5 users, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with 100 AI Voice Agent minutes at sign-up; its length is not stated | 14-day free trial for new subscribers; texting is not included in the trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Aircall | RingCentral |
| Price read from | aircall.io | ringcentral.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Aircall
- Sales and support teams that log every call in a CRM or help desk
- Teams of three or more sharing the same incoming lines
- Businesses that want an AI agent to take overflow or after-hours calls
RingCentral
- Businesses that want calls, texts, meetings and chat in one app
- Teams spread over several offices or locations
- Companies using Microsoft Teams that want RingCentral calling inside it
Worth knowing
Aircall
- Essentials and Professional need at least 3 licenses; Enterprise starts at 25.
- The page lists annual prices; monthly billing gives up the stated 25% annual saving.
- One local or toll-free number is included; each extra number is $6 a month, and international calls on Essentials and Professional cost extra.
- Add-ons include AI Assist Pro at $49, Analytics+ at $15 and WhatsApp at $10 per seat a month; extra AI Voice Agent minutes cost $175 for 500.
RingCentral
- The listed prices are for 1-5 users; the page switches to other prices for 6-100 users, and 100+ users must contact sales.
- Automatic call recording and CRM integrations need Advanced; Core records calls on demand only.
- Add-ons are extra: AI Receptionist from $39, Business SMS Booster $25 and Call Queues Booster $35, as shown on the pricing page.
- Texting needs TCR registration, which may carry fees, and is not available during the free trial.
Key features
Aircall
- Shared call inbox
- Calls and texts land in a shared inbox where teammates assign them, comment on them and see shared contacts, with ring groups and extensions.
- Call routing
- Keypad menus, business-hours and date rules and call queues on every plan. Professional adds smart routing by CRM owner and queue callback.
- Recording and AI transcripts
- Calls and voicemails are recorded and transcribed on every plan. Summaries, sentiment and key topics come with Professional.
- AI Voice Agents
- AI agents answer calls in 38 languages, handle FAQs, book meetings and hand off to staff. Each plan includes 50 minutes a month; more are sold in bundles.
- Outbound tools
- Professional adds a Power Dialer that works through up to 1,000 imported numbers, voicemail drop and outbound calling campaigns.
- 250+ integrations
- Calls sync to CRMs and help desks such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk and Intercom, with APIs and webhooks for custom work.
RingCentral
- Calling and numbers
- Unlimited calling within the US and Canada. The plan includes one company number; each extra local or toll-free number costs $4.99 a month.
- Business texting
- Texts from the business number: 25 per user a month on Core, 100 on Advanced and 200 in the bundles. SMS needs carrier (TCR) registration first.
- Call menus and routing
- Multi-level phone menus, call queues and rules by business hours or availability, managed for several locations from one admin portal.
- Video meetings, chat and fax
- The same app runs video meetings for up to 300 people, team messaging with file sharing, and fax from the business number.
- AI assistant
- Included at no extra cost: real-time call and meeting notes, transcription, meeting summaries, and help writing and translating messages.
- AI Receptionist
- Answers calls around the clock, handles FAQs, books appointments and routes callers to staff. An add-on starting at $39, included in the bundles.
Plans
Aircall
Essentials$30
per license / month, billed annually
3-license minimum. Unlimited US and Canada calls, SMS and MMS, a shared inbox, recordings with AI transcripts, IVR and 50 AI Voice Agent minutes a month.
Professional$50
per license / month, billed annually
3-license minimum. Adds AI call summaries, smart routing and queue callback, Power Dialer, outbound campaigns, whisper and barge, and full API access.
EnterpriseCustom
For 25 licenses or more. Adds unlimited global calls, SSO and SCIM, HIPAA compliance, an enterprise SLA and prioritized support.
RingCentral
Core$20
per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Price for 1-5 users. Unlimited US and Canada calling, on-demand call recording, 100 toll-free minutes, 25 texts per user a month and 300-person meetings.
Advanced$25
per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Price for 1-5 users. Adds CRM integrations, multiple sites, automatic call recording, reports, 1,000 toll-free minutes and 100 texts per user a month.
AI CE Bundle with AIRCustom
AI Customer Engagement Bundle: adds AI Receptionist, the SMS and call queue boosters, Webinar, 10,000 toll-free minutes and 200 texts per user a month.
AI CE Bundle with AIR and ACECustom
Adds AI Conversation Expert: call scoring, coaching, automatic call summaries and multi-level reporting on top of the bundle above.
Ways to pay less
Aircall
- Annual discount
Save 25% by paying annually
Aircall's pricing page states that annual billing costs 25% less than monthly billing, with the 3-license minimum either way.
RingCentral
- Annual discount
Save up to 33% by paying annually
The pricing page lists Core at $20 per user a month billed annually against $30 billed monthly, and Advanced at $25 against $35.
