Five9 vs NICE CXone (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Five9 and NICE CXone share a 1.8 GPA, neither has a free plan, and NICE CXone starts cheaper, at $110 a month for each person against $119 a month for each person.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Five9
Cloud contact center for voice and digital channels, sold in bundles
NICE CXone
Cloud contact center suite for voice, digital and AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick Five9 if
- Fits if you run a contact centre with 50 or more concurrent seats
- Works for teams that want voice and digital on one platform
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you have fewer than 50 seats, as that is the minimum
- Watch out: Plus, Pro and Enterprise are quote-only
- Watch out: usage charges may apply, including SMS and AI minutes beyond the bundled ones
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, because neither is listed
Pick NICE CXone if
- Fits if you run a contact center with voice and digital channels
- Works for teams of agents that need workforce tools
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small, because the lowest package is $110 an agent a month
- Watch out: the grid marks features as included, add-on or usage-based, so the package price is not the full cost
- Tight if you want the top tier, as Ultimate adds $0.25 a session to $249 an agent
- Skip it if you want to buy online, since a quote is still requested
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAFive9Weak | 1.8GPANICE CXoneWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$119 per concurrent seat for Digital and $159 for Core, with a 50-seat minimum, so about $5,950 a month at the floor. | D$110 an agent a month for the lowest package, which is where the category's dearest tenth starts. The top package is $249 plus $0.25 a session. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed on the pricing page. | FNo free plan and no trial is listed, so you pay before you try it. |
| Features | BVoice and digital channels, AI for agents, virtual agents, workforce engagement and CRM adapters. Nothing in the listing is missing. | BRouting, AI agents, workforce tools, copilots and knowledge. It covers the whole contact center job, though many items are add-ons or usage-billed. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Enterprise rollout with adapters to connect. | CNo store rating on record. A contact center rollout with quotes and a feature grid to check. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Salesforce, ServiceNow, Dynamics, Zendesk, Oracle, Teams, Zoom and RingCentral. | BWeb only, with Cognigy and a marketplace of connectors. |
| Best for | a contact centre with voice and digital channels | a cloud contact center suite |
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: Five9 and NICE CXone. How we grade
Price against what you get
Five9 starts at $119 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. NICE CXone starts at $110 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and NICE CXone starts $9 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Five9 for less, and 5 score higher than NICE CXone 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
- Five9 also covers live chat and business phone line.
- NICE CXone also covers AI agents and chatbots.
At a glance
| Five9 | NICE CXone | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $119 per concurrent seat / month, 50-seat minimum | $110 per agent / month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Five9, Inc. | NiCE |
| Price read from | five9.com | nice.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Five9
- Prices are per concurrent user with a 50-seat minimum, and usage-based charges may apply, including SMS and AI minutes beyond the bundled ones.
- Only Digital and Core show a price; Plus, Pro and Enterprise are by quote, and the page asks for a form to show a customized figure.
- Workforce engagement is offered on a named-user basis; extra named seats beyond the concurrent seats sold are add-ons.
- WhatsApp is described as coming soon in the voice bundle notes.
NICE CXone
- The page marks each feature as included, add-on or consumption based, so the package price is not the full cost for every capability.
- Which features sit in which package is shown only as a grid, so check it before choosing a tier.
- Ultimate adds a per-session charge of $0.25 on top of the agent price, as displayed.
- A quote is still requested to buy, and the page says its tiered model lowers prices as you grow.
Key features
Five9
- Voice and digital channels
- Voice, chat, email, SMS and MMS, and social messaging, with blended inbound and outbound, a dialer and call recording.
- AI for agents
- AI summaries, live transcription, insights, agent assist and knowledge are listed on the bundles, with 3,000 AI minutes per bundled seat plus usage charges.
- Intelligent virtual agents
- Self-service virtual agents for web, chatbot, voice, SMS or WhatsApp, which can sit alongside an existing on-premises contact center.
- Workforce engagement
- Quality management, workforce management and analytics, from Five9 or partners Verint and Calabrio, on the Pro and Enterprise bundles.
- CRM and UC adapters
- Adapters listed are Salesforce, ServiceNow, Dynamics, Zendesk or Oracle for CRM, and Microsoft Teams, Zoom, RingCentral and AT&T Office@hand for UC.
- Geo redundancy and 24/7 support
- Geo redundancy and 24/7 support are listed as part of the bundles.
NICE CXone
- Omnichannel routing
- Voice and digital channels with AI routing, interactive voice response and outbound engagement from the base package.
- AI agents
- Agentic Experience Automation covers AI agents for self-service, sales and marketing, proactive engagement and process automation.
- Workforce engagement
- Workforce management, quality management, performance management, screen recording and interaction analytics.
- Copilots
- Copilot for Agents, Copilot for Supervisors and Copilot for Leaders, with automated summaries.
- Knowledge tools
- A customer-facing knowledge portal and an employee knowledge portal, or bring your own knowledge base.
- Industry packages
- Banking and insurance packages are listed at the Ultimate price, with industry-specific self-service and agent assist.
Plans
Five9
Digital$119
per concurrent seat / month, 50-seat minimum
Digital channels only, with a quote request on the page. The bundle grid lists AI summaries, insights and agent assist, with recording and a dialer on the other tiers.
Core$159
per concurrent seat / month, 50-seat minimum
All channels including voice, SMS and social messaging, with essential AI, recording, dialer, a choice of CRM or UC adapter and 24/7 support.
PlusCustom
All channels with advanced AI. Contact sales for flexible pricing.
ProCustom
All channels with essential AI and workforce engagement management. Contact sales for flexible pricing.
EnterpriseCustom
All channels with advanced AI and workforce engagement management. Contact sales for flexible pricing.
NICE CXone
Omnichannel Suite$110
per agent / month
Voice and digital channels, omnichannel routing, recording and compliance, AI routing and outbound engagement.
Essential Suite$135
per agent / month
Second tier. The page's feature grid shows which workforce and AI tools it includes beyond Omnichannel.
Core Suite$169
per agent / month
Third tier. The page's feature grid shows which workforce and AI tools it includes beyond Essential.
Complete Suite$209
per agent / month
Fourth tier. The page's feature grid shows which workforce and AI tools it includes beyond Core.
Ultimate Suite$249
per agent / month, plus $0.25 per session
The top package. The page lists $249 per agent per month and $0.25 per session.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Five9 or NICE CXone?
As of Nov 13, 2026, NICE CXone is cheaper to start with: $110 a month for each person, against $119 a month for each person for Five9. Five9 starts at $119 per concurrent seat / month, 50-seat minimum, and NICE CXone starts at $110 per agent / month.
Which has a free plan, Five9 or NICE CXone?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Five9 nor NICE CXone has a free plan.
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.