RingCentral services are accessible through desktop apps, smartphone apps and certain IP desk phones. This cloud phone system is designed to aid small and large businesses across industries improve their internal and external communication. It is easy to scale, flexible and brings about more transparency in the communication system. They can pick between 4 MVP (messaging, video, phone) plans and 4 contact center plans for unlimited calling within the USA and Canada from local or toll-free numbers and other advanced call management services such as call recording, document sharing, auto attendant call routing and app integrations. RingCentral also offers an exclusive video communication plan.
OpenPhone is based on the same technology powering RingCentral.
Businesses wanting to upgrade from traditional PBX phone systems to VoIP leveraged communication can consider OpenPhone solutions. This is a business phone system that unifies communication through call and texts onto a single platform along with contact management and other features. LAong with features focused on improving communication, it includes call recording, voicemail transcription, CRM integration and more. OpenPhone plans are structured in 3 plans with varying price points and feature availability that caters to businesses of different sizes.
For $19.99 per user per month, businesses can subscribe to the RingCentral Essential plan and create up to 20 user accounts. This plan is inclusive of basic features and unlimited calling throughout the USA and Canada.
The Standard and Premium plans do not have user limitations. User license fees for both plans decrease as the number of users increases. The Standard plan pricing ranges between $22.99 to $27.99 per user per month. This expands on the features available in the Essential plan to include video meetings with up to 100 participants, select app integrations and quality-of-service reports. The Premium plan subscription costs between $32.99 and $34.99 per user per month and includes several exclusive features such as automatic call recording, real-time analytics and advanced call monitoring.
Starter price points for OpenPhone subscriptions are lower than RingCentral.
The $13 per user per month subscription fee for the OpenPhone Standard plan is inclusive of unlimited calls to numbers within the USA and Canada, call recording, shared contacts and many more features.
For more collaborative features, businesses can subscribe to the OpenPhone Premium plan for $20 per user per month. This subscription offers access to all the Standard plan features as well as simpler integrations with other applications and exclusive features such as call analytics, group calling and IVR call routing.
If you don't want to use a deskphone to make and receive calls, Ringcentral also gives you the choice of using desktop apps or a web browser.
Both RingCentral and OpenPhone subscribers can make and receive calls from a web browser or desktop application for their Windows/MAC devices.
Subscribers to all RingCentral plans can make and receive calls through the RingCentral app.
Like RingCentral agents, OpenPhone agents can handle incoming and outgoing calls through a smartphone app for Android and iOS devices.
RingCentral has an auto attendant feature but availability is limited to the Standard and Premium plans. This routes incoming calls to agents/ departments based on keystroke responses to a customized menu.
Unlike RingCentral that offers limited access to auto attendants, all OpenPhone subscribers can use an IVR menu to route incoming calls. Standard plan subscribers can route calls to internal or external phone numbers while Premium plan subscribers can route calls to these numbers as well as voicemail accounts. The Premium plan gives subscribers more options of how to direct calls if the caller does not take any action.
If you are not satisfied with the default greetings available, account admins can upload customized greetings for all incoming calls.
Step 1. Go to Company set up on the navigation bar and select Review Company Call Flow menu.
Step 2. Click on Edit and select Custom Greeting. Record a new message over the phone or through the computer microphone or upload a recorded message.
RingCentral and OpenPhone have comparable options for greeting customization.
The OpenPhone mobile/desktop app can be used to customize voicemail greetings.
Step 1: Log in to an admin account.
Step 2: Select My Phone Numbers and pick the number for which a greeting is to be set.
Step 3: Go to Voicemail and select Change.
Step 4: Upload a recorded greeting to pick the text to speech option and type your message.
RingCentral offers businesses many different ways to keep track of calls and agent productivity. The Essential plan is inclusive of voicemail transcriptions in English, French, German and Spanish that can be previewed in email inboxes.
Along with tracking voicemails, Standard plan subscribers can also read reports on various KPIs such as number of calls made and received in a day, call duration, etc. These call analytics reports give supervisors a clearer view of agent productivity.
The Standard and Premium plan subscribers can also monitor calls while they are live through desktop applications and IP desk phones that support presence. Supervisors can listen to calls between agents and customers without either person knowing, coach agents through a call to give customers quicker resolutions, join a conversation to make it a conference call or disconnect extensions to take over calls from an agent.
RingCentral offers a wider range of call monitoring features as compared to OpenPhone.
OpenPhone gives all admin account holders control and access to all user accounts. The option of creating message templates makes it easier to respond to calls, voicemails and text messages. These messages can also be scheduled for later delivery.
In addition, the Premium plan subscribers can redirect calls as required. Administrators of these plan subscriptions can also see how accounts are being used and plan relevant support for agents accordingly.
The RingCentral Essential plan does not include a call recording facility. The feature is available on demand for calls made and received by Standard plan subscribers and automated only for Premium plan subscribers.
While RingCentral offers limited access to call recording, all OpenPhone subscribers can automatically record calls or control the same manually.
RingCentral users can make unlimited calls to any number within the USA and Canada. Calls to other locations are billed on usage at a per minute rate. Rates depend on the location as well as the type of number being called. For example, calls to landline numbers in Australia are billed $0.039 per minute while calls to 615 mobile numbers are billed $0.18 per minute.
Neither RingCentral nor OpenPhone include international calls in their unlimited calling plans.
In addition to the monthly subscription, subscribers must pay for international calls to numbers outside the USA and Canada. For example, calls to Australia are billed at $0.05 per minute and calls to Beijing are billed at $0.04 per minute.
Businesses can set up RingCentral accounts online with an email address or a Google account. Once an account is created, they can customize user extensions and call handling rules from the RingCentral dashboard. Users can then make and receive calls and access other RingCentral services through an application for smartphones and desktops or certain desk phones that support VoIP services. Cordless, receptionist and conference desk phones are available on RingCentral or with brand retailers.
Like RingCentral, OpenPhone subscribers can set up their accounts online with their email address. Once an account is created, user roles can be defined from the OpenPhone dashboard. Agents can make and receive calls from smartphone apps for Android and iOS devices, desktop apps for MAC/Windows devices and web browser extensions. desk phones cannot be used with OpenPhone.
