RingCentral dominates the enterprise VoIP market. The platform powers over 400,000 businesses with comprehensive unified communications—voice, video, messaging, and contact center capabilities in one system.
That enterprise focus means enterprise pricing. Understanding which plan actually fits your needs prevents overpaying for features you won’t use.
What is RingCentral?
RingCentral RingEX is a cloud-based unified communications platform offering:
- VoIP phone system with unlimited US/Canada calling
- Video conferencing (up to 200 participants)
- Team messaging and file sharing
- SMS/MMS business texting
- Fax capabilities
- Contact center integration
- 300+ app integrations
The platform scales from small teams to global enterprises. RingCentral’s strength is breadth—nearly every business communication need is covered.
Pricing Breakdown
Core Plan - $20/user/month (annual)
- Unlimited calls to US and Canada
- 100 toll-free minutes (shared)
- 25 SMS per user per month
- Video meetings (100 participants)
- Team messaging
- Basic call management (queues, auto-attendant)
- AI noise cancellation
- On-demand call recording
- Visual voicemail
- Basic integrations (Google, Microsoft)
Monthly billing: $30/user/month
Strict limits: 25 SMS and 100 toll-free minutes make Core unsuitable for most business use.
Best for: Small teams needing basic phone capabilities with larger video meetings.
Advanced Plan - $25/user/month (annual)
- Everything in Core
- 100 SMS per user per month
- 1,000 toll-free minutes (shared)
- Automatic call recording
- Advanced call handling (hot desking, monitoring, whisper, barge)
- CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot)
- Advanced analytics
- Multi-site management
Monthly billing: $35/user/month
The sweet spot: Most businesses should start here. CRM integrations and automatic recording are essential for sales and support teams.
Best for: Growing businesses needing CRM integration and call management.
Ultra Plan - $35/user/month (annual)
- Everything in Advanced
- 200 SMS per user per month
- 10,000 toll-free minutes (shared)
- Unlimited storage
- Advanced analytics and reporting
- Device insights
- Push-to-talk capabilities
Monthly billing: $45/user/month
Best for: Large organizations with high call volumes and compliance requirements.
Customer Engagement Bundle - Custom Pricing
Includes contact center capabilities, AI receptionist, and advanced routing. Pricing starts around $65/user/month for contact center add-ons.
Hidden Limits and Fees
SMS Caps (The Real Problem)
- Core: 25 SMS per user/month
- Advanced: 100 SMS per user/month
- Ultra: 200 SMS per user/month
For context, a single customer conversation might use 10-20 messages. Core’s 25-message limit is exhausted in 1-2 customer interactions.
Toll-Free Minute Pools
Toll-free minutes are shared across your organization:
- Core: 100 minutes total
- Advanced: 1,000 minutes total
- Ultra: 10,000 minutes total
A 10-person team on Core gets 10 toll-free minutes per person—one 10-minute call per month.
Video Recording
Video meeting recording isn’t available on Core. You need Advanced ($25) or higher.
Additional Costs
- Extra phone numbers: $4.99/number/month
- Additional toll-free minutes: $0.03-0.05/minute
- International calling: Per-minute rates
- RingCentral Webinar: $30/host/month
- Contact Center: $65+/user/month
- AI Receptionist: $59/month
Strengths
Comprehensive platform: Voice, video, messaging, fax, contact center—everything in one system. Fewer vendors to manage.
Integration ecosystem: 300+ integrations including Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, and industry-specific tools.
Video capabilities: 100-200 participant meetings included. Webinar capabilities available as add-on.
Global reach: Better international coverage than Dialpad or Grasshopper. Supports operations across multiple countries.
Reliability: 99.999% uptime SLA on higher plans. Enterprise-grade infrastructure.
24/7 support: Available on all plans, unlike competitors who gate support behind premium tiers.
Limitations
Core plan restrictions: 25 SMS and 100 toll-free minutes make the entry plan nearly unusable for real business operations. You’re essentially forced into Advanced.
Price point: $25/user/month (Advanced) is higher than industry average of $15/user. For a 10-person team, that’s $250/month vs $150 at competitors.
Complexity: The platform has significant depth, which means longer onboarding. Small teams may find it overwhelming.
Contract pressure: Sales pushes annual contracts heavily. Month-to-month pricing is 33% higher.
Add-on costs: Features like contact center, webinar, and AI receptionist significantly increase total cost.
Who Should Use RingCentral?
Ideal for:
- Mid-size to enterprise organizations (50+ employees)
- Companies needing unified communications platform
- Sales teams requiring Salesforce/CRM integration
- Organizations with international calling needs
- Businesses requiring video conferencing for large groups
- Companies prioritizing reliability and uptime SLAs
Not ideal for:
- Solopreneurs or very small teams (overpaying for features)
- Budget-conscious startups (cheaper alternatives exist)
- Companies primarily needing simple phone service
- Organizations that won’t use CRM integrations
RingCentral vs Dialpad
| Feature | RingCentral | Dialpad |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20/user/mo | $15/user/mo |
| Sweet spot price | $25/user/mo | $25/user/mo |
| SMS included | 25-200/month | 250/month |
| Video capacity | 100-200 | 10-150 |
| AI transcription | Limited | Advanced |
| CRM integrations | Advanced plan | Pro plan |
| 24/7 support | All plans | Pro plan+ |
| International | Strong | Limited |
Choose RingCentral if: You need comprehensive unified communications, large video meetings, or strong international coverage.
Choose Dialpad if: AI-powered call intelligence is priority and you’re primarily US/Canada focused.
RingCentral vs Grasshopper
| Feature | RingCentral | Grasshopper |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20/user/mo | $14/mo (1 user) |
| Video conferencing | Yes | No |
| Team messaging | Yes | No |
| CRM integrations | Yes | No |
| Call recording | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual receptionist | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Growing teams | Solopreneurs |
Choose RingCentral if: You need a full communications platform with video and integrations.
Choose Grasshopper if: You only need a professional business phone number without collaboration features.
Realistic Costs
Small team (5 users, Advanced): $125/month Growing business (20 users, Advanced): $500/month Mid-size (50 users, Ultra): $1,750/month Enterprise (100+ users): Custom pricing, typically $30-40/user with volume discounts
Add 10-20% for toll-free overages, additional numbers, and international calling for realistic budgeting.
The Bottom Line
RingCentral delivers enterprise-grade communications. The platform is reliable, comprehensive, and scales well. The integration ecosystem is unmatched. Video conferencing capabilities exceed most competitors.
The pricing structure punishes small teams. Core’s 25 SMS limit is a non-starter for real business use—you’re essentially paying $25/user minimum for a functional system. Compare that to Dialpad’s $15/user with 250 SMS included.
For organizations with 20+ employees needing unified communications, CRM integration, and video conferencing, RingCentral is a solid choice. For smaller teams or those with simpler needs, the platform’s complexity and price may be overkill.
Test with the 14-day free trial before committing to annual contracts.