Zoom Phone leverages VoIP technology to help businesses improve communication and foster collaboration. With service spanning 47 countries, it is ideal for companies with remote international teams. Along with voice and video calling, Zoom Phone services include communication via text, call routing, call monitoring and recording for quality control, voicemail transcriptions and so on. It can also be integrated with certain other applications. These features are bundled in 3 plans with monthly subscriptions.
Suitable to businesses of all sizes, 8x8 is a popular VoIP communication service provider with features comparable to ZoomPhone. It allows businesses to unify their communication through voice and video calls as well as messages onto a single platform. 8x8 services are available through 3 business communication plans and 3 contact center plans. While all plans can be used by unlimited agents, features differ. Some of the features to keep in mind when choosing a plan are call recording, hot desking, voicemail transcription and call analytics. Subscribers can use 8x8 to make and receive calls through certain IP desk phones and apps for smartphones, laptops and desktops.
Businesses can subscribe to the Zoom Phone Metered Pack by paying an annual subscription fee of $120 per user. This includes metered outbound calls and free unlimited extension to extension calls within the USA and Canada. In addition, the pack includes a range of services such as voicemail transcriptions, customized IVR menus and call recording.
The Zoom Phone Unlimited Pack costs $180 per user per year. The plan is inclusive of unlimited calls to any number in the USA and Canada. An optional add-on lets you make unlimited calls to 19 other countries as well.
Unlike ZoomPhone, 8x8 does not insist on annual commitments.
The 8x8 Express plan targets small businesses with a limited budget. Priced at $15 per user per month, this subscription is inclusive of unlimited calling in the USA and Canada and features such as voicemail and team messaging.
With a monthly subscription rate of $28 per user, the X2 plan offers many value added services. Subscribers can make unlimited calls to numbers in 14 countries and access features such as voicemail transcription, hot desking and app integrations.
The user license fee for the X4 plan is $57 per month. This is inclusive of unlimited calling to numbers in 48 countries and a range of advanced features such as CRM integrations, call monitoring and supervisor analytics.
You can make and receive calls and use other Zoom Phone services through the desktop app or certain IP desk phones.
Similar office connectivity options are available to ZoomPhone and 8x8 users. Subscribers can make and receive calls with 8x8 through any web browser, the 8x8 desktop app or IP desk phones.
Zoom Phone subscribers can make and receive calls and use other features included in their Zoom Phone plan through smartphone apps for Android and iOS devices.
Similar to ZoomPhone, the 8x8 smartphone app keeps you connected even when you are out of the office.
Inbound Zoom Phone calls can be routed to relevant agents through an IVR menu or auto attendant.
8x8 too routes calls through an auto attendant like Zoom Phone but takes the system up a notch. The availability of an auto attendant gives 8x8 subscribers an efficient way to route incoming calls to relevant user extensions. While the Express plan includes a simple auto attendant, the X2 and X4 plans feature a multi-level auto attendant with customized call flows.
Zoom Phone gives you an easy way to strengthen your brand image by allowing you to upload customized greetings and hold messages.
1. Select Call Handling from the settings menu
2. Select the add audio option to record a new message or choose from the existing audio library
8x8 has a slightly longer greeting customization process as compared to Zoom Phone. That said, customizing auto attendant greetings from the admin console is easy.
Step 1. Login as admin and open the Admin console.
Step 2. Click Auto Attendants and then click on the pencil icon.
Step 3. Choose the right Call Handling Menu; Weekdays/ Holidays/ Alternate.
Step 4. Choose between Open Hours Menu/ Closed Hours Menu/ Lunch Hours Menu.
Step 5. Click Create Audio Files.
You can upload a recorded message or click on the Call Now button to record a new message.
All incoming and outgoing Zoom Phone calls made through desk phones or Zoom Phone apps can be monitored in real-time. Call monitoring services include listening to calls, whispering to agents, joining conversations and taking it over if needed.
The unavailability of universal call monitoring features puts 8x8 at a disadvantage when compared to ZoomPhone.
Along with configuring user accounts, account admins can view status reports. These status reports tell supervisors which lines are free or busy at a given point of time and when and how agents access their accounts. They cannot monitor live calls.
To monitor agent productivity, supervisors of teams subscribed to the X2 plan can read agent status reports and voicemail transcriptions. Status reports give supervisors a holistic view of which agents are free, who is busy on a call and who is unavailable. Voicemail transcripts can be accessed from email inboxes to prioritize responses. In addition to this, team supervisors can also operate advanced moderator controls during audio and video meetings.
As part of the 8x8 X4 plan features, supervisors can access advanced call analytics and monitor live calls. This is in addition to the monitoring features offered by the Express and X2 plans. Supervisors can listen to live conversations between agents and callers, whisper to agents, join a call or takeover calls.
Both Zoom Phone plans include features to help supervisors monitor call quality. Calls made by both desktop and smartphone interfaces can be monitored in real time or recorded for later analysis. This feature is present but disabled by default. In terms of call monitoring, supervisors can listen to calls without the participant’s knowledge, coach agents to resolve issues faster, join a call as a third party or take over a call from an agent. Calls can be monitored only by one agent at a time.
Zoom Phone has a slight edge over 8x8 when it comes to call recording. The 8x8 Express plan does not include call recording. This feature is available only to X2 and X4 plan subscribers.
The metered plan by Zoom Phone is a pay-as-you-go model where calls are billed on a per minute rate based on location and number type. Subscribers can call numbers in 150+ countries. Calls to landline and mobile numbers are billed at different rates. For example, a 10 minute call to an Argentinian landline is billed $11.56 while a 10-minute call to an Argentinian mobile phone costs $5.623.
The Unlimited plan includes unlimited calls within the USA and Canada. Calls to 19 other countries like the UK and Australia can be included in this unlimited call plan by purchasing an add-on pack. Other calls are billed as per usage but at a lower rate as compared to the Metered plan.
As with ZoomPhone, calls by 8x8 subscribers to certain locations are billed on usage
Calls to numbers other than the countries included in your plan are billed according to usage at a per minute rate. For example, calls to China are billed at $0.06 per minute while calls to Sudan are billed at $0.25 per minute.
Businesses can set up Zoom Phone accounts on the Zoom Phone website with their existing number or by applying for a new number. Zoom Phone services can then be accessed through apps for smartphones and desktops, the Zoom Phone website or certain supported desk phones. The latter are available on the Zoom Phone website or with retailers in the market.
As with ZoomPhone, 8x8 accounts can be created online. Your email address can be used to create an 8x8 account. Once the initial process has been completed, you can define user roles, etc. and start using the 8x8 services through apps or IP desk phones. Applications for Android, iOS, MAC and Windows devices are available as free downloads. If you need a deskphone, you can order the same from the 8x8 website.
