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

October 10, 2023
phone system for small business

Get ready for the ultimate face-off: Dialpad vs. RingCentral. Uncover the ideal phone system for your needs. Let the showdown unfold!

Say hello to Dialpad: AI transforming collaboration. Voice, video, messaging in 70+ countries. Pick from 3 plans, offering unlimited calling, auto attendants, call recording, and live transcription. Boost productivity and elevate service quality.

But now, making their presence felt on the other side, we have RingCentral: The cloud phone system enhancing communication across industries. Centralize calls, messages, faxes on one platform. Opt for 4 plans, 4 contact center options, and exclusive video communication plans.

Compare Dialpad and RingCentral plans and features

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Comparing plans by Dialpad and RingCentral

A Dialpad Standard pack subscription is priced at $23 per user per month. With this, you can get a new number with unlimited calling/ messaging to select global destinations. Other features of the pack include live call and voicemail transcriptions, contact syncing and Google Workspace & Microsoft 365 integrations.

The Dialpad Pro pack costs users $25 per user per month. Along with all basic features, this upgrade gives you access to additional local/international numbers, 24/7 live support, hold queues and more app integrations.
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While Dialpad offers businesses 2 monthly plans to choose from, RingCentral has 3 plans on offer.

Businesses requiring basic calling and messaging features for teams of up to 20 users can subscribe to the RingCentral Core plan for $19.99 per user per month. This plan is inclusive of unlimited calling within the USA and Canada.

The Advanced plan is an upgrade with a wider range of features such as unlimited audio conferencing, select app integrations and video meetings with up to 100 participants. User license fees $35 per month.

User license fees for the Ultra plan costs $45 per user per month. It builds on Standard plan features such as video meetings by doubling the number of participants permitted and also includes other exclusive features such as automatic call recording and advanced call monitoring.
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A step-by-step comparison between Dialpad 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

Deskphones and other ways to access Dialpad and RingCentral services

Subscribers can access Dialpad services through an application on a desktop/ laptop, chrome extension or deskphone configured for Dialpad.

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Dialpad and RingCentral offer similar access points for their services.

All Ringcentral subscribers can access their accounts through desk phones, desktop apps and web browsers.

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#2 Manage Your Calls On The Go

Dialpad and RingCentral; keeping you connected on the go

Dialpad is an AI-powered platform designed to improve internal and external communication as well as encourage collaboration, boost productivity and improve customer service standards. Dialpad users can communicate through voice and video calls as well as messages exchanged over the internet with people in 70+ countries. It packages services into 3 plans with a host of features including unlimited calling, multi-level auto attendants, call routing, call recording, live transcription and more.

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Dialpad and RingCentral both have an app for call connectivity.

All RingCentral subscribers can make and receive calls through the smartphone app. This is available for Android and iOS devices.

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#3 Auto-attendant

When it comes to IVR customization, it's Dialpad for the win!

Both Dialpad plans include an Interactive Voice Response system that can be customized in 10 languages. Based on caller inputs, calls can be directed to multiple agents simultaneously. The Standard plan lets you create ring groups with 3 agents while the Pro plan increases the number of agents in each ring group to 10.

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While Dialpad includes IVR call routing, incoming calls to RingCentral Standard and Premium plan subscribers can be routed via a multi-level auto attendant. Subscribers can customize greetings and sub menus that direct calls to agents/ departments based on keystroke responses. This facility is not included in the Essential plan.

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#4 Greetings Management

Welcome message customization options offered by Dialpad and RingCentral

If you choose to not use the default voicemail greeting, Dialpad gives you the option to customize greetings by recording a new message through the smartphone app or web interface.

1. Go to the Dialpad settings and click on Call Handling and Voicemail.

2. Record your message or upload a recording in an MP3 format.

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Like Dialpad, RingCentral too gives subscribers the option of recording a new message or uploading recorded messages as greetings.

Some RingCentral plans are inclusive of customized greetings. This can be managed by account admins.

Step 1. Click on Company set up and then Review Company Call Flow menu.

Step 2. Select Edit, Custom Greetings and click on Record. Greetings can be recorded over the phone or through the computer microphone or you can import a recorded message.

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#5 Call Tracking

Enjoy better live call monitoring services with Dialpad

There are multiple call monitoring options available to Dialpad subscribers. Supervisors can monitor all calls as they happen irrespective of the interface chosen. Dialpad call monitoring options include listening to a live call, coaching agents during a call, joining a call or taking over a call. Calls can also be recorded for later analysis and transcribed. Transcription services extend to voicemails as well.

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Unlike Dialpad, RingCentral does not include regular call monitoring features in all plans.

The Essential plan gives subscribers access to voicemail messages and transcriptions in English, French, German and Spanish. Message previews are available through email to help agents prioritize responses. Supervisors cannot listen to live calls or record calls.

Upgrading to the Standard plan also lets supervisors access reports on the total number of calls made / received, as well as the number of calls handled by each agent and the duration of these calls to get a better view of agent productivity.

Live call monitoring is available only in the RingCentral Standard and Premium plans. This gives supervisors the ability to listen to live calls, coach agents through query resolution, join calls and speak to both participants and take over calls from the agent. This is available on the RingCentral desktop app and IP desk phones.

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#6 Call Recording

Selective call recording to RingCentral users vs Inbuilt call recording for Dialpad users

Calls made and received through apps for smartphones/ laptops/ desktops can be automatically or manually recorded for compliance and quality control. This feature is available to all Dialpad subscribers.

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Designed on the same technology powering Dialpad, Zoom Phone is a cloud-based communication platform designed to help businesses improve communication within the team and with customers. It is available in 47 countries and can be accessed on mobile and desktop devices. Along with voice and video calling, key Zoom Phone services include conference calling, messaging, IVR-based call routing and voicemail transcriptions. For quality control purposes, calls can be monitored live or recorded for later analysis. Zoom Phone can be integrated with select applications. These features are available in 3 monthly plans.

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#7 Call Billing

Dialpad may be cheaper but is it better?

Calls to numbers in your home country, USA and Canada are free while other international calls are billed at country-specific per minute rates. For example, calls to Indonesia are billed at a $0.16 per-minute rate.

Like Dialpad, international calls made from a RingCentral number are billed at a location-specific per minute rate. For example, calls to Australia are billed $0.039 per minute while calls to India are billed at $0.059 per minute. Rates are the same across plans but can be different according to the type of number being called.

Dialpad also bills international calls additionally on a per minute rate.

#8 Activation

Establishing communication systems with Dialpad and RingCentral

Businesses can set up their Dialpad accounts online. They can use their existing phone numbers for the set up or get a new local number in the USA. Once the account has been created, subscribers can make and receive calls through the Dialpad application, a chrome extension or certain IP phones. Phones by Polycom, Obihai and Yealink can be configured to work with Dialpad. These are available on the Dialpad website or with brand retailers.

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RingCentral has a simple online account creation process similar to Dialpad. All you need is an email address or your Google account. Once the initial formalities are completed, user extensions and call handling rules can be defined from the RingCentral dashboard. Users can then download the RingCentral app for smartphones and desktop devices. They can make and receive calls as well as access other features through the app. RingCentral services are also available through IP desk phones. If you need to buy a deskphone, you can find devices compatible with RingCentral on the RingCentral website.

phone system for small business