Broadvoice vs RingCentral (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick RingCentral: it is first in our ranking of business phone systems, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
RingCentral grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Broadvoice
Business phone seats, cloud contact center and AI agents
RingCentral
Cloud phone system with texting, fax, video meetings and team chat
Which one is for you
Pick Broadvoice if
- Fits if you want a pay-per-minute seat for staff who barely use the phone
- Works for teams that want a contact center from the same company as their phones
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your staff make lots of calls on the $10 Metered seat, with $0.029 a minute and $0.01 a text
- Watch out: every plan button is a request for a quote
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say whether per-user prices assume monthly or yearly billing
- Watch out: the Call Center add-on is $40, and outbound power and progressive dialing need approval
- Tight if you want to try it free, as no trial is listed
Pick RingCentral if
- Fits if you want calls, fax, meetings and chat from one company on one bill
- Works for Microsoft Teams shops that want RingCentral calling inside Teams
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you text customers a lot, with 25 texts a person a month on Core
- Pricey if you add the extras: AI Receptionist from $39, SMS Booster $25, Call Queues Booster $35
- Not for you if you want to try texting first, since it isn't in the free trial
- Tight if you want calls recorded automatically or logged in a CRM, as both need Advanced at $25
- Watch out: listed prices are for 1-5 users, they change for 6-100, and texting needs TCR registration that may carry fees
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABroadvoiceFair | 3.0GPARingCentralVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe $10 Metered seat charges $0.029 a minute for domestic calls. Unlimited domestic calling starts at $18 a user, in the middle of this category's range, and the billing basis isn't stated. | 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. Automatic recording and CRM links need Advanced at $25. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed, and the FAQ says a structured proof of concept beats a self-serve trial. | 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 | BPhone seats, unlimited calling, a softphone app, a cloud contact center with dialers and quality management, and AI agents. The listing shows no gap in the core phone job. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. Seats, numbers, routing and a contact center need configuring, and plans are quoted. | A4.83 from about 78,000 App Store ratings, above the 4.7 from 1,000 ratings that an A needs. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with CRM links to Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. No desktop app is named. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, ServiceNow, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace and Slack on the integrations list. |
| Best for | business phone seats with a contact center | 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: Broadvoice and RingCentral. How we grade
Price against what you get
Broadvoice starts at $10 a month for each person and scores 2.7 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 higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other business phone systems on the chart, none scores higher than Broadvoice 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
- Broadvoice also covers chatbots.
- RingCentral also covers transcription and team chat.
At a glance
| Broadvoice | RingCentral | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $10 per user / month (billing basis not stated) | $20 per user / month for 1-5 users, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial for new subscribers, up to five users and two desk phones; texting is not included in the trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Broadvoice | RingCentral |
| Price read from | broadvoice.com | ringcentral.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Broadvoice
- The pricing page does not say whether the per-user prices are billed monthly or annually.
- The $10 Metered seat charges $0.029 a minute for domestic calls and $0.01 per SMS.
- Every plan button is a request for a quote, and a Call Center add-on is listed at $40.
- The page says outbound power and progressive dialing in the contact center requires approval.
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
Broadvoice
- Business phone seats
- Call forwarding, find me follow me, hot desking, voicemail to email, a web portal and a mobile app for iPhone and Android.
- Calling tiers
- Metered seats pay per minute; Standard and Pro include unlimited domestic calling and no-cost SMS.
- Cloud contact center
- GoContact covers inbound voice, outbound dialers, email, ticketing, web chat, quality management and reporting.
- AI agents
- Voice AI agents in Engage, Assist and Analyst tiers, with sentiment analysis, multi-language support and post-call summaries.
- Communicator
- A chat and softphone app on Standard, with video and screen sharing added on Pro.
- CRM links
- Contact center plans list Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, and the AI section lists Zoho as coming soon.
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 on Ultra and the bundle. 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 AI Customer Engagement Bundle.
Plans
Broadvoice
Metered$10
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Basic seat with call forwarding and a web portal; domestic calls $0.029 a minute and SMS $0.01 a message.
Standard$18
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Unlimited domestic calling, a local number, no-cost SMS, chat and softphone, and priority email support.
Pro$23
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Adds virtual fax, call recording, video and screen share, a global extension and integrations.
Contact Center Professional$75
per agent / month, billing basis not stated
Smart scripting, predictive dialer, quality management, CRM integrations and post-call AI. Sold by quote.
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, 300-person meetings and MCP connectors.
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.
Ultra$35
per user / month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly)
Price for 1-5 users. Adds 10,000 toll-free minutes, 200 texts per user a month, RingCentral Webinar, historical and real-time insights and unlimited storage.
AI Customer Engagement BundleCustom
Everything in Ultra plus AI Receptionist, AI Conversation Expert call scoring and coaching, automatic call summaries and the SMS and call queue boosters.
Ways to pay less
Broadvoice
No public discounts listed.
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, Advanced at $25 against $35, and Ultra at $35 against $45.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Broadvoice or RingCentral?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Broadvoice is cheaper to start with: $10 a month for each person, against $20 a month for each person for RingCentral. Broadvoice starts at $10 per user / month (billing basis not stated), and RingCentral starts at $20 per user / month for 1-5 users, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Broadvoice or RingCentral?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Broadvoice nor RingCentral has a free plan. RingCentral has a free trial.
Which platforms do Broadvoice and RingCentral run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only RingCentral lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.