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8×8 is a one of the best providers across our in-depth VoIP research. We found that the 8×8 Work system provides a lot of functionality for medium-sized and large businesses, thanks to a huge selection of call management features, helpful training tools, and integrations with both software and hardware options. 8×8 Work also offers some of the best help and support, with 24/7 chat support for all users.
The biggest downside of 8×8 Work, however, is the price. For one, there is no publicly available pricing, so there’s no way to know exactly how much the system will cost your business. However, based on previous research, 8×8 is one of the more expensive VoIP solutions out there, so it’s important to understand that all this functionality comes at a price.
In this guide, you’ll learn more about 8×8 Work, including what kind of features are available, how easy it is to use for beginners, and how it compares to other VoIP solutions.
8×8 Work: At a Glance
Before we get into the specifics of why 8×8 Work is a good option for your business, let’s take care of some of the basics, so you know exactly what you’re getting into before you commit too much time to this review.
Here are some key facts about 8×8 to give you an immediate idea of whether or not it’s the right platform for you:
- Features: 8×8 Work offers a huge selection of call management and training features, making it perfect for medium and large businesses.
- Pricing: 8×8 Work pricing is not publicly available, but previous research has found that it can get a bit expensive. You’ll have to contact 8×8 to learn how much it will cost your business.
- Customer support: 8×8 offers support across a variety of channels, including user forums, knowledge bases, 24/7 chat, email, and phone.
- Integrations: Users can integrate with a variety of apps, including a large number of helpdesk and CRM software options.
- International calls: While 8×8 Work pricing isn’t too favorable, users can enjoy unlimited free calls to several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, and more.
8×8
In Short
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Pros
- Huge selection of third-party software integrations available
- Responsive 24/7 support team via email, chat, or phone
- Training features, like call whisper and call barge, to help staff improve
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Cons
- Non-transparent pricing is reportedly quite expensive
- No voicemail screening, automatic or otherwise
Pricing
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Four different plans available
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All plans have custom pricing
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Free demo available
Images
Who is 8×8 best for?
Because of the reportedly high starting price, the huge feature catalog, and the impressive selection of training features, 8×8 is best suited for medium to large businesses, particularly multi-national companies, because it offers free international calling to 48 different countries.
The VoIP solution isn’t ideal for smaller businesses, because there is no low-cost solution with bare bones features, so many smaller businesses will be saddled with a bunch of functionalities that they don’t really need.
As far as industries are concerned, we found that 8×8 is best for busy customer service teams, because it offers a wide range of communication channels, allowing teams to speak with customers on everything from email to phone to live chat.
8×8 Review: Key Features
Our in-depth research focuses on a few different types of features to evaluate VoIP software, including call management features, training tools, and communication channels. We found that 8×8 performs quite admirably across the board, offering nearly every feature you could possibly need to stay in touch with your team.
Below, we’ll explain what kind of features 8×8 offers in these three categories, so you can decide whether it’s the right fit for your business.
Call management features
8×8 really knocks it out of the park when it comes to call management features, offering all the basic and advanced options, including virtual receptionist, voicemail, customizable hold music, call queue, ring groups, and customizable call routing.
The most important feature that makes 8×8 stand out, though, is the fact that it offers free international calling for 48 different countries, which means international businesses should absolutely look at this VoIP provider as a go-to solution.
The only missing piece of the call management puzzle for 8×8, however, is that it’s missing some key screening features. 8×8 Work does not offer voicemail screening nor automatic call screening, so we weren’t able to have scam callers classified as a “nuisance” before picking up.
Starting a call in 8×8 was simple for our team. Source: Tech.co testing
Training features
If you’re a larger business that wants to use a VoIP solution to train your team to be better on the phone, 8×8 is one of the best options across our research. We found it to offer literally every single training feature in our research, including call recording, call monitoring, call barge, and call whisper.
On top of that, 8×8 offers a robust analytics platform that can track interactions with customers, call activity, and overall performance. Even better, the reporting dashboard looks pretty good, so we were able to create valuable reports for our team to gain insights on how everyone is doing.
Users can analyze metrics for inbound, answered, missed, and abandoned calls through 8×8’s analytics features. Source: 8×8
Communication channels
VoIP solutions are generally designed so you can talk on the phone with your team and customers more easily, but many act as full-on communication hubs with a wide range of channels to reach everyone. 8×8 is one of those VoIP solutions, providing plenty of mediums to communicate with your team, including team messaging, video conferencing, SMS text, call conferencing, and even e-fax.
It’s worth noting, however, that this is quite common in the VoIP industry. In fact, of the 10 VoIP solutions we researched, seven of them offer all five communication channels listed above.
Features like instant messaging were built into 8×8, so we could easily stay in touch with our team. Source: Tech.co testing
8×8 Work Pricing Plans
8×8 stopped publicly listing its pricing towards the end of 2023, instead encouraging its customers to book a call with its sales team, so we don’t know exactly how much 8×8 Work costs. Compared to the rest of the VoIP industry, this is a bit of a bummer, as the industry has largely moved towards transparent pricing so businesses can be better informed when considering their options.
While 8×8 does not offer publicly available pricing, the most recent figures that we’ve seen suggest that the entry-level X2 plan starts at $24 per user, per month. You can find an at-a-glance overview of each 8×8 plan below. For more details, read our pricing guide for 8×8.
8×8 Work Help & Support
Because 8×8 Work is geared towards larger businesses, the VoIP provider offers excellent help and support tools to help these big teams navigate the more complex system.
In fact, 8×8 Work had the best help and support alongside our number one pick for businesses, RingCentral, offering everything from email and phone to live chat and user forum service options. On top of that, 8×8 Work provides onboarding support to help users acclimate to the new system quickly.
The 8×8 tutorial was helpful in getting everything set up for our team. Source: Tech.co testing
8×8 Alternatives
8×8 Work is definitely one of the better VoIP solutions in our in-depth research, but we’ll be the first to admit that it’s not the best. In fact, there are a lot of 8×8 alternatives that offer a better service for certain businesses, and many of them provide transparent pricing, so they’ve got that going for them.
RingCentral was our top pick for larger businesses, offering even more features than 8×8 Work and a larger library of third-party integrations. For smaller businesses, though, Zoom Phone proved to be the best option, because it offers a seriously low starting price at $10 per month, and still provides a lot of call management functionality, even if the integrations are lacking a bit.
For a better look at your VoIP options, check out the table below, which compares some of the top 8×8 alternatives.
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Starting price
The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs
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Pros
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Cons
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Free trial
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Users
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BEST 8X8 ALTERNATIVE
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 |
 |
 |
 |
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8×8 |
RingCentral |
Zoom Phone |
Dialpad |
GoTo Connect |
Net2Phone |
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Custom |
$20/user/month |
$10.50/user/month |
$15/user/month |
Custom |
$19.99/user/month |
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|
|
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30 days |
14 days |
None |
14 days |
Free demo only |
30 days |
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Unlimited (discounts for 50+ users) |
Limit of 1,000 (Enterprise Plan) |
Min. 3 users |
Unlimited |
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Methodology: How Did We Evaluate 8×8?
We take our hands-on testing and impartial analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established business phone platforms on the market, we selected 10 top VoIP systems and took a deeper dive into their plans to find out more about the features and functionality on offer.
Based on years of market research, product testing, and user needs analysis, we’ve established a VoIP system research methodology that scores each product in six core categories of investigation, which are broken down into 44 further subcategories.
With this framework we cover everything, from internal communication tools and security options to niche training features, and it ensures we can accurately assess each product’s value for its price and suitability for different types of businesses.
Our main research categories for VoIP phone systems are:
- Call management features: The presence and quality of call handling features, including basic features such as call forwarding and voicemail, as well as more advanced features like auto-attendant and interactive voice response (IVR).
- Communication channels: Features designed to support communication other than calling, including integrations with websites and social media platforms.
- Training features: The presence and quality of features designed to support onboarding and training, like call barge, call whisper, and performance dashboards.
- Customer support: The assistance and resources provided by the VoIP service provider to customers, including online resources, knowledge bases, and access to customer support representatives and AI chatbots.
- Security options: The measures and features implemented by the VoIP service to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and protection of voice communications and data.
- Pricing factors: The pricing structure associated with the VoIP service, including factors such as monthly subscription fees, domestic and international call rates, setup fees, hardware costs, and extra costs, like add-on features or services.
When it comes to calculating a product’s final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are merely “nice to have.” After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.
Learn more about our research testing process.
8×8 is an expensive VoIP solution that offers a wide range of integrations, as well as free international calls to several countries. It has a streamlined interface that, while lacking in a home screen, is clean and clear to explore.
For businesses that are undergoing a period of rapid growth, 8×8 is a great tool. The sheer number of integrations, coupled with the ability to make certain international calls at no extra cost, mark it out as a solution for companies that are in the process of scaling and expanding into new markets.
However, at a minimum of $24 per user, per month – and no free trial – small businesses may find themselves priced out and may wish to explore cheaper alternatives, such as Zoom Phone.
