Nextiva vs RingCentral: Which one is the best for your business?

October 10, 2023
phone system for small business

The ultimate face-off: Nextiva vs. RingCentral. Uncover the perfect phone system for your business. Let the competition commence!

Introducing Nextiva: The game-changer in business communication. Secure VoIP powers seamless voice, video calls, and conferences accessible on mobile, web, desktop, or desk phones. Select from 3 plans and 4 contact center options.

Facing off against our first contender, we have in the opposing corner RingCentral: Transforming industry communication with its cloud phone system. Merge calls, messages, video onto a unified platform. Choose from 4 plans, 4 contact center options, and exclusive video communication plans.

Compare Nextiva and RingCentral plans and features

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Cheaper, easier to scale plans from Ring central

The Nextiva Essential Plan is a quick start plan priced at $30.95 per user per month for under 4 users. The plan includes unlimited voice and video calling within the USA and Canada, video conference recording, auto attendant, toll-free numbers, voicemail and Outlook/Google Contacts integrations.

The Nextiva Professional plan is an upgrade to the Essential plan. It is priced at $35.95 per user per month for teams under 4. In addition to the basic features, it also includes a number of advanced features such as multi-level auto attendants, unlimited conference calls for up to 40 participants, and Salesforce/HubSpot integrations.

The Enterprise plan is the most advanced business communication plan offered by Nextiva. Per user monthly subscription rates start from $31.95 for teams of 100+ users. This is well suited to growing teams. Some of the exclusive features offered in this plan are conference calls with unlimited participants, call recording, CRM integration and a single sign-on facility.
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RingCentral has a more affordable starter plan as compared to Nextiva.

Subscribing to the RingCentral Essential plan will cost businesses $19.99 per user per month. The team size is limited to 20 users. It includes unlimited calling to all numbers within the USA and Canada from a local/ toll-free number.

Businesses with larger teams will need to upgrade to the Standard or Premium plan. Both plans do not have a limit on the number of users and are priced such that user license fees decrease as the number of users increases.

The Standard plan subscription ranges from $22.99 to $27.99 and includes all the Essential features as well as video meetings with up to 100 participants, quality-of-service reports, select app integrations and other features.

The Premium plan subscription ranges from $32.99 to $34.99 per user per month and includes all the Standard plan features as well as advanced features such as live call monitoring and call recording.
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A step-by-step comparison between Nextiva and RingCentral

To help you find what solution fits best your need between Zoom Phone and Ringcentral, we have conducted an unbiased comparison based on 8 criterias:
#1 Manage your office calls : How will you handle calls while at the office? Can you use computer-based calls or do you require an office phone?
#2 Manage your calls on the go: Does it offer a mobile app with VoIP calls? Do you need to set up call forwarding to your mobile device?
#3 Auto-attendant : Can you easily distribute calls to your team?
#4 Greetings Management : Can you set up company greetings on your own? How easy is it to create and manage announcements?
#5 Call Tracking : How easy is it to monitor your business calls?
#6 Call recording : Can you record and listen to calls?
#7 Call billing : How much does it cost to make and receive calls? Is everything included?
#8 Activation : How easy is it to activate a phone number and set up your phone system?
COMPARE
  • Manage Your Office Calls
  • Manage Your Calls On The Go
  • Auto-attendant
  • Greetings Management
  • Call Tracking
  • Call recording
  • Call billing
  • Activation

#1 Manage Your Office Calls

Multiple desktop devices to access Nextiva and RingCentral services

Nextiva services are accessible from a web browser or desktop app. It also offers deskphone support.

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Nextiva and RingCentral give their subscribers similar options to make and receive calls.

You can make and receive calls through Ringcentral desktop apps, desk phones and web browsers.

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#2 Manage Your Calls On The Go

Easy access to Nextiva and RingCentral plans with android and iOS apps

Nextiva users can use voice and video calling features as well as messaging features through the android and iOS apps.

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Nextiva and RingCentral have comparable smartphone apps.

Calls can be made and received via RingCentral apps for Android and iOS smartphone devices.

phone system for small business

#3 Auto-attendant

Both VoIP service providers offer customizable phone menus for easy routing

Nextiva Essential plan users can customize an intuitive phone menu to route calls to relevant teams based on the caller’s keypad inputs.

Nextiva Professional and Enterprise plan users can access a multi-level auto attendant system to route callers across the network with as many submenus as required.

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Nextiva and RingCentral both use an auto attendant to route incoming calls.

A multi-level auto attendant is available to route incoming calls for Standard and Premium plan subscribers. This routes calls based on the caller’s keystroke inputs to customized menus. Essential plan subscribers cannot access auto-attendant features.

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#4 Greetings Management

Create and upload custom greetings with all Nextiva and Ring Central plans

Nextiva auto attendant greetings can be created by recording the message in 8 or 16 bit .wav file formats and uploading the same to the greeting section of the auto attendant menu.

1. Login into the Nextiva portal as admin.

2. Click on Sites from the main dashboard.

3. Select Auto attendant and navigate to the Greeting section.

4. Select and upload file.

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Both Nextiva and RingCentral subscribers can customize greetings by uploading recorded messages.

Incoming call greetings can be customized from the RingCentral app or the web browser by account admins.

Step 1. Select the company set up from the navigation menu and click on Review Company Call Flow menu.

Step 2. Select Edit and click on custom Greetings and then Record. You can record a new message or upload a recording.

phone system for small business

#5 Call Tracking

Both Nextiva and RingCentral offer live call monitoring only for upgraded plan users

In Nextiva's Essential and Professional plans, call history and call logs reports are available from the dashboard. You can also receive voicemail directly in your email box or via text message. However, there are no advanced call monitoring features such as live listening.



The Enterprise package includes all of the call monitoring features included in the other packages like call history and call log reports. However, the Enterprise package also provides call recording and voicemail transcription.

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On the whole, RingCentral offers a wider range of call monitoring features as compared to Nextiva.

Team supervisors using the RingCentral Essential plan have limited options available for call monitoring. This plan is inclusive only of voicemail access and voicemail transcriptions. Voicemail messages left by callers can be transcriber in English, French, German and Spanish and previewed in an email inbox to prioritize responses.

The Standard and Premium plans offer advanced call monitoring in the form of live call monitoring as well as call analytic reports. Supervisors can listen to live calls, coach agents through a call without the other participant hearing them, join a conversation or take it over. They can also access call analytics and reports on KPIs such as the total number of calls made and received each day, calls handled by one agent, call duration, etc.

phone system for small business

#6 Call Recording

Limited call recording options for both Nextiva and Ring Central upgraded plans

The Nextiva Essential and Professional plan does not include call recording.



In the Enterprise plan, call recording facilities can be used to automatically or manually record incoming and outgoing calls. These recordings can be stored for up to 6 months.

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As with Nextiva, RingCentral offers limited access to call recording.

RingCentral offers a call recording facility only to Standard and Premium plan subscribers. This feature is available on-demand to Standard plan subscribers and is automated in the Premium plan.

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#7 Call Billing

Comparative call rates by Nextiva and Ring Central

Outgoing international calls to destinations other than the USA and Canada are billed at a per minute rate depending on the destination and whether the number is a mobile or landline number. For example, calls to Argentina landlines are billed at the rate of $0.02 per minute while calls to mobile numbers in Aruba are billed at $0.59 per minute.

RingCentral bills international calls to numbers outside the USA and Canada at a per minute rate similar to Nextiva. This rate is dependent on number type and location. For example, calls to Costa Rica are billed $0.068 per minute while calls to mobile phone numbers in Hong Kong are billed at $0.039 per minute.

Nextiva has a similar per minute location-specific rate for international calls.

#8 Activation

Online account creation with easy setup for Nextiva and Ring Central plans

The Nextiva account can be created online on the Nextiva portal. From here, you can assign user licenses. The Nextiva One app can be downloaded for desktops and laptops directly from the website. Mobile applications are also available. Alternatively, you can use this service through a Deskphone that supports VoIP. The Nextiva drag-and-drop call flow builder makes it easy to set up a business phone system with operating hours, greetings, call menus, etc. from the application dashboard.

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As with Nextiva, the process of creating a RingCentral account for business communication is quick and simple. Subscribers can sign up with a Google account or an email address. User extensions, call handling rules, etc. can then be defined from the RingCentral dashboard. Along with the web browser, users can access RingCentral services through smartphone and desktop devices or through IP desk phones. Several types of cordless, receptionist and conference desk phones are available on RingCentral or through brand retailers.

phone system for small business