Short answer: if you only need one business number that forwards to your cell, with voicemail, Grasshopper is still hard to beat on price: its plans are a flat monthly fee with unlimited users. Teams look elsewhere when several people need to answer the same number, when they want an AI receptionist without paying a second company, or when they want a provider that is easy to leave. Below is what each alternative costs for a team of five, what it does well, and what its own customers complain about.
We make Telnera, one of the options here. We have tried to be fair: where a competitor is cheaper or does something we don't, we say so.
What Grasshopper costs and includes
On its pricing page, Grasshopper lists three plans billed yearly:
- True Solo, $14 a month: one user, one number, one extension. No call recording.
- Solo Plus, $25 a month: unlimited users, one number, three extensions.
- Small Business, $55 a month: unlimited users, four numbers, unlimited extensions.
Minutes are unlimited. An extra number is $9 a month and an extra extension $3 (billed yearly). Texting needs US carrier registration, which Grasshopper passes on at $19.50 once and $1.50 a month. Its trial is 7 days and needs no card. Monthly prices aren't shown on the page; third-party sources put the first two at about $18 and $32, and disagree on the third.
Grasshopper also texts callers you couldn't answer (Instant Response), and offers an AI receptionist through a partnership with Smith.ai that starts at $95 a month.
Why teams look for an alternative
We read the 41 most recent one- to three-star reviews of Grasshopper on Trustpilot (its overall TrustScore was 3.0 from 358 reviews when we checked). The most common themes:
- Cancelling and refunds (9 of 41): trouble cancelling, renewals people didn't expect, and refunds refused.
- Setup and moving numbers (8): stalled transfers of an existing number in, and fees or delays moving a number out.
- Billing surprises (7): charges people didn't recognise, including for texting registration.
- Support and call quality (5 each).
Trustpilot leans towards billing and cancellation stories, so treat these as the questions to ask any provider, not as a verdict on one.
The alternatives
Quo (formerly OpenPhone)
$15, $23 or $35 per user a month billed yearly ($19, $33, $47 monthly), with a number per user and unlimited US and Canada calling and texting. Its AI agent, Sona, is charged per call: 10 calls free, then bundles such as $49 for 100 calls. 7-day trial; iPhone, Android, desktop and web apps.
Best for: teams that want a mature shared-number app with texting for everyone. Watch for: phone menus and call transfers need the Business plan, and support was the most common complaint in its low-star reviews (11 of 40), several noting that phone support is on the top plan only.
Dialpad
$15 per user a month billed yearly for Standard ($27 monthly), $25 for Pro. Unlimited calling and a deep set of AI features. Its AI receptionist is sold as "AI Agents" on credits, with no published price.
Best for: growing teams that expect to add a contact centre. Watch for: support was the top complaint in its low-star reviews (17 of 40), and several small buyers wrote that they couldn't get a price or a demo.
RingCentral
RingCentral's pricing page doesn't show per-user prices; third-party sources put RingEX at $20 to $35 per user a month billed yearly. Its AI receptionist, AIR, starts at $39 per license with 100 minutes.
Best for: businesses that need enterprise features, desk phones or international coverage. Watch for: contracts. Cancellation and auto-renewal were the biggest theme in its low-star reviews (14 of 40), mostly multi-year renewals and prepaid fees that weren't refunded.
Google Voice
$10, $20 or $30 per user a month. Starter is limited to 10 users and has no phone menu or ring groups; those start on Standard. Automatic recording and transcription are on Premier. We found no AI receptionist.
Best for: teams already on Google Workspace who mostly need a second number. Watch for: the features that make a shared business line work cost $20 a user or more.
An AI receptionist on top of what you have
If you want to keep your current number and provider and only add AI answering, a specialist is the simplest route. Smith.ai has a free plan for 25 calls and Pro at $150 a month for 75 calls, with human agents available as an add-on. Goodcall charges by unique callers, from $79 a month for 100.
Telnera
Our own: $15, $29 or $45 per user a month billed yearly ($19, $35, $55 monthly). It rings everyone's cell phone and the app at once, asks whoever picks up to press 1 so a personal voicemail can't take the call, and can text back callers nobody reached (texting needs a one-time carrier registration, as with every provider here). On Pro and Business, an AI receptionist answers when nobody can, with its minutes included in the per-user price (75 a user on Pro). Web and iPhone apps; 14-day trial with a card; month to month, cancelled in Settings.
Best for: teams of a few people who all answer the same number and keep missing calls when everyone is busy. Watch for: we are new, with nothing like Grasshopper's or Quo's track record, and for a team that doesn't want AI answering, Grasshopper's flat price is lower.
What a team of five pays each month
Billed yearly, from the prices above. Where a figure comes from a third party, it's marked approximate.
| Setup | Per month | AI answering included |
|---|---|---|
| Grasshopper Small Business | $55 | None |
| Grasshopper Solo Plus + its Smith.ai AI receptionist | about $120 | Not stated |
| Telnera Starter | $75 | None |
| Dialpad Standard | $75 | Extra, price not published |
| Google Voice Standard | $100, plus Workspace | None |
| RingCentral Core + AIR | about $139 | 100 minutes |
| Telnera Pro | $145 | 375 minutes |
| Quo Business + 100 Sona calls | $164 | 100 calls |
How to choose
- One person, one number: stay on Grasshopper True Solo or try Google Voice.
- Several people answering one line, no AI needed: Grasshopper Solo Plus or Small Business is the cheapest; Quo if everyone should text from their own number.
- You keep missing calls and want them answered: compare what AI answering costs for your call volume. Some charge per call (Quo, Smith.ai), some per caller (Goodcall), some include minutes in the seat (Telnera).
- Before you sign anything: ask how to cancel, whether the plan renews automatically, and what it takes to move your number out. Those were the most common complaints about almost every provider we looked at.