Whether you are looking to upgrade your current phone system, or just want to compare the two providers, you know that 8×8 and Vonage are good business phone solutions with a rich feature list, having everything from international calling to great mobile apps and expansive list of integrations.
If you’re on the fence about which provider will be the best choice for your specific needs, then going through all the key details in this article should help you make an informed buying decision.
Let’s get right into it!
Jump to ↓
- 8×8 vs Vonage: At a Glance
- How We Compared 8×8 vs Vonage
- 8×8 vs Vonage: Direct Comparison
- 8×8 vs Vonage: Key Features
- 8×8 vs Vonage: Pricing
- 8×8 vs Vonage: Pros and Cons
- Which Provider is Right for Your Business?
8×8 vs Vonage: At a Glance
If you’re in a rush, we’ve made a brief overview of both providers to save you some time. There’s no better solution for global companies than 8×8 due to its wide coverage, but domestic companies may fare better with the pricing and features of Vonage.
Here are a few notable differences between the two solutions:
8×8 » |
Vonage » |
|
| Price | $12/month to $57/month for each user | $18/month to $38/month for each user |
| Top Features/Benefits | International calling, detailed analytics, and large meetings | Reliable mobile app, expansive integration gallery, and accurate voicemail transcription |
| Integrations |
|
|
| First-Party Hardware | No | No |
| Compatible Desk Phones |
|
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| Best For | Companies with international customers | Businesses who want a seamless cross-platform experience |
How We Compared 8×8 vs Vonage
Calling Features: calling lies at the heart of VoIP so we compared both providers to see which option had more useful features.
Auto-Attendant: we looked at the auto attendants on both platforms to see which virtual receptionist would be more impactful in a business.
Integrations: we went through the integration gallery of the two providers to see which platform has the best selection of third-party tools.
Scalability: we looked at the costs of scaling your business up with each respective provider to determine which platform offered the path of least resistance.
Call Quality: integrations, features, and affordable prices fall flat if call quality isn’t up to par which is why we looked at SLAs and customer reviews to find the most reliable provider.
Security: we evaluated the security features on both platforms to see which provider made it easiest for their customers to protocols like two-factor authentication.
Hardware: we browsed the catalog of each provider to see which store had the best selection of desk phones and other VoIP hardware.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: we tested the mobile apps of each provider to see which one offered a seamless transition from desktop to smartphone and a positive user experience.
Ease of Use: we went through the account setup and installation process from each provider to see which platform had the most hassle-free journey.
Customer Support: we looked at the track record of both customer support teams to see which one left customers happier and resolved problems faster.
Pricing: Lastly, we compared the plans that each provider offered to see which platform will get you the most value at the lowest price.
8×8 vs Vonage: Direct Comparison
Calling Features
8×8’s interface does let you access most of the core features on the platform. However, the layout and sub-menu options can make it a bit difficult to familiarize yourself with everything. Features include faxing, SMS, overhead paging, ring groups, and international calling.
Vonage has plenty of calling features to choose from including call recording, paging groups, paperless fax, business continuity preparedness, email whitelisting, and a plethora of PBX settings for you to tweak.
Winner: both platforms have enough calling features to cover most business needs, but the gentler learning curve on Vonage gets it the win.
Auto-Attendant
Vonage subscribers on the Premium plan will be able to use the multi-level auto-attendant. The virtual receptionist lets you customize call routing, create menu pathways, and also makes it possible for callers to reach the extension of their choice through the company directory.
In contrast, 8×8 offers the auto-attendant on all its plans including Express. Its auto-attendant also has all the core features you’d need such as intelligent call routing, voicemail, and custom hold music.
Winner: 8×8 is the clear winner in this category since it lets you use the auto-attendant on its entry-level plan providing a more affordable option.
Integrations
Many integrations are shared by 8×8 and Vonage. These include Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and a couple of others. This overlap is mostly due to the fact that each respective app gallery is quite large so you should be well-served by either option.
Both providers also limit the integrations you can access on their base plan. That said, the options on Vonage’s Basic plan are more plentiful than what you’d get on the 8×8’s Express plan — limited to Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, and Office 365.
Winner: Vonage gets the win for having more integrations and giving users on the base plan more freedom to use the tools they love.
Scalability
Having a provider that can scale up with you as your company grows is essential. 8×8 makes a strong case since its entry-level plan only costs $12/month for each user. Furthermore, its X2 and X4 plans justify their higher price by giving you unlimited calling to multiple regions.
In contrast, Vonage customers would have a tougher time scaling up. First of all, you’d need to be on the Premium plan to even get IP phone capabilities. This means you’ll have to spend on both hardware and software as you scale up — unless your team only uses smartphones.
Winner: 8×8’s lower prices were already enough for it to win the scalability category, but Vonage limiting IP compatibility to their Premium plan is another detractor.
Call Quality
Despite 8×8 and Vonage having a 99.999% uptime SLA, both of them still run into their fair share of issues when it comes to calling. Even when using fast Wi-Fi connections, 8×8 calls may drop or run into echoing issues.
Vonage doesn’t have a separate trunk which means it relies solely on your internet connection which can be a gift or a curse depending on how reliable your ISP is. In our testing, slower networks led to poor call quality when using Vonage.
Winner: both providers have call quality issues which makes this section a tie.
Security
Considering 8×8 tends to focus on global companies, it should come as no surprise that their security infrastructure is up to par. Outside of basic two-factor authentication, 8×8 has an OTP API system that makes it easier for developers to implement 2FA on their websites and apps.
Vonage also has a 2FA API solution that covers everything from automation, SMS, and voice. They take a more hands-on approach offering to take care of the entire process from code generation to localization while charging per verification request.
Winner: both providers are invested in security which makes this a tie with the choice coming down to your preferred approach.
Hardware
The desk phones on the 8×8 store are mostly from Cisco, with models from Poly out of stock at the time of writing. However, 8×8’s payment plans make it easier for companies to keep up with growth instead of having to use up a lot of capital upfront.
While Vonage does have some of the latest models from Poly, Panasonic, and Yealink, their prices tend to be quite high. This, combined with the fact that each Vonage extension can only work on three devices, means you’ll likely have to limit the amount of hardware you plan to buy.
Winner: Vonage takes the win despite 8×8’s flexible payment options since it’s worth paying extra to get cutting-edge hardware from their diverse catalog.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
8×8 has done a good job of unifying chatting, calling, and conferencing onto a single mobile app. The UI is modern and easy to navigate. In addition to time-saving features like file sharing, the mobile app also has a dark theme which is always nice to see.
While 8×8’s app gets a lot of things right, Vonage’s mobile game is on another level entirely. Beyond unifying communication channels, Vonage goes a step further by letting access integrations through the mobile app center.
You can also read transcribed voicemails, edit contacts across multiple devices, and send video MMS in supported countries. It’s not hard to see why Vonage is one of the only VoIP providers whose mobile app nears a five-star rating on both Google Play and the App Store.
Winner: Vonage’s reliable and highly-rated mobile app gets the victory over 8×8’s attempt at unifying the mobile communication experience.
Ease of Use
The 8×8 setup process is a bit more hands-on than what you’d see with other providers. However, being able to manage everything from the online portal makes things a lot easier and free online training is also offered by the company.
Vonage customers go through the simple setup process of choosing their plan, getting the adapter shipped to them, and porting their number. Both the desktop and mobile apps also use modern, intuitive designs that further add to the ease of use factor from this provider.
Winner: Vonage gets the win in the ease of use category since the setup is faster, simpler, and the solution is easier to use overall across multiple platforms.
Customer Support
Customer support has historically been one of 8×8’s weaker areas. There have been many customers — especially those in the lower subscription tiers — who complain about difficulty reaching an agent or the lack of knowledge from the support team.
The 24/7 support team of Vonage has received more favorable feedback from customers with regard to their helpfulness. Complaints consist of more minor offenses like not escalating a ticket to higher staff fast enough or closing a support ticket too soon.
Winner: Vonage gets the win when it comes to customer support with 8×8 continuing to fall behind competitors in this regard.
Pricing
When it comes to raw affordability, 8×8’s Express plan is hard to beat as it only costs $12/month for each user. That being said, it does have some limitations in terms of features and integrations.
Vonage’s $18/month entry-level plan has its fair share of issues too, the biggest being that you can’t use IP phones unless you upgrade to the Premium tier. You’ll have to pay even more for the Advanced tier if you want features like visual voicemail and call recording.
Winner: 8×8 not only has lower entry prices but also lets you use more features without paying for a top-shelf plan, making it the victor in this pricing war.
8×8 vs Vonage: Key Features
8×8 |
Vonage |
|
| Video conferencing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Maximum participants | 500 | 100 |
| Team chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-attendant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Call routing | ✓ | ✓ |
| IVR | ✓ | ✓ (via Salesforce integration) |
| Voicemail transcription | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile apps | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac and Windows apps | ✓ | ✓ |
| International calling | Up to 48 countries | Unlimited but subject to the Vonage Reasonable Use Policy |
| Toll-Free Numbers | ✓ | ✓ |
Top 8×8 Features
International Calling
All X Series plans from 8×8 offer unlimited calling internationally which can help global companies better serve customers across multiple countries. Economic hotspots like Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the United States are all within 8×8’s reach.
Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, Puerto Rico, and many other regions also feature in 8×8’s unlimited calling. In summary, 8×8 can provide access to the world’s biggest markets.
Detailed Analytics
Some analytics platforms give you an overhead view of your entire company while others let you look at data at a granular level — 8×8 manages to do both. You’ll be able to see a general overview of your business phone system through the company summary dashboard.
However, those who want to dig deeper will be happy to know that the extension summary shows you the call activity of a specific extension. You can even look at the call detail records to see the historical metrics on all inbound and outbound calls.
Large Meetings
While smaller teams may be fine with having one or two dozen people in their online meeting, the demand for conferencing solutions with larger capacities is undeniable. 8×8 used to be one of the laggards in this regard but they’ve made a breakthrough this year.
The maximum capacity for all X Series plans has been upgraded, with the new limit sitting at 500 participants. Furthermore, you can also stream to YouTube through the 8×8 platform if you need to reach bigger audiences.
Frontdesk
Frontdesk isn’t available on the cheaper 8×8 plans but those who subscribe to X4 or higher will get free access. In essence, Frontdesk is 8×8’s receptionist call management solution that seeks to simplify workflow through a streamlined interface.
Every step of a receptionist’s job can be accomplished on the platform from managing chat sessions to taking calls and going through voicemails. This eliminates the costs associated with a multi-vendor system and also helps your receptionists be more productive.
Top Vonage Features
Visual Voicemail
Many providers boast about having visual voicemail and all the benefits of having voicemail transcribed. However, many fall short when it comes to quality as there can be quite a few inaccuracies in these automated transcripts.
After testing over a dozen different platforms for their visual voicemail accuracy, Vonage was one of the best with errors being far and few between. Even when an error was present, it was minor enough to preserve the essence of the message being delivered.
App Gallery
Both providers have fairly large integration galleries, leading to some overlap when it comes to popular tools like Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk. That said, Vonage’s integrations go deeper in terms of functionality.
Many 8×8 integrations are limited to chatting and calls. Vonage, on the other hand, lets you sync call data and call metrics to create a tool stack greater than the sum of its parts. UI-level integrations also save you from toggling between apps.
Administration and Reporting
Vonage’s administration portal lets view information like system status, users, and extensions so you don’t have to look at multiple pages just to see how everything is running. You can also manage recordings, call groups, queues, recordings, and blocking through the portal.
You can also modify your IVR system or customize the virtual receptionist from the same dashboard. In terms of reporting, you’ll have access to graphs that include details on all calls, queues, groups, and users. You can also save these reports to review later.
Out-of-the-Box Experience
Setting up Vonage for your business can’t get any simpler. All you have to do is plug your desk phone into the port with a phone icon, connect your ethernet to the port with a globe icon, and then attach the power cable to the nearest wall socket.
The adapter even comes with two setup guides in the box, but you won’t really need them thanks to the simple installation process. All the necessary cables and adapters are shipped with the adapter which means you won’t have to buy any additional equipment either.
8×8 vs Vonage: Pricing
8×8 Pricing
8x8x Express |
X2 |
X4 |
|
| Price billed per month | $12/month for each user | $32/month for each user | $57/month for each user |
| Price billed per year | $12/month for each user | $24/month for each user | $44/month for each user |
| Unlimited calling | United States and Canada | 14 countries | 48 countries |
| Video conferencing capacity | 100 participants | 500 participants | 500 participants |
| Integrations | Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, and Office 365 | Full access | Full access |
Vonage Pricing
Basic |
Premium |
Advanced |
|
| Price billed per month | $18/month for each user | $28/month for each user | $38/month for each user |
| Price billed per year | $18/month for each user | $28/month for each user | $38/month for each user |
| Unlimited calling | Unlimited but subject to the Vonage Reasonable Use Policy | Unlimited but subject to the Vonage Reasonable Use Policy | Unlimited but subject to the Vonage Reasonable Use Policy |
| Video conferencing capacity | 16 | 100 | 100 |
| Integrations | Surfly, Unytalk, PhoneWagon, Coronet, Krisp, VisuWell, Volusion, and Authvia | Google Workspace, Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, Workplace, Slack, Salesforce, SugarCRM, ConnectWise, Clio, NetSuite, JobDiva, Bullhorn, Prodoscore, Zapier, Zendesk, and Zoho | Full access |
8×8 vs Vonage: Pros and Cons
8×8 Pros and Cons
Pros |
Cons |
| Up to 500 participants on video conferences | Poor customer support |
| Unlimited international calling | Creating contacts is too complicated |
| Collaboration integrations | Transfers and holds can be finicky |
| Detailed analytics | Steep auto-attendant learning curve |
| Chat apps API | Intermittent call drops |
Vonage Pros and Cons
Pros |
Cons |
| Extensive integration gallery | Too many steps when importing contacts |
| Accurate visual voicemail | Add-on costs can compound quickly |
| Streamlined admin portal | Auto-attendant only available on Premium |
| Top-notch mobile apps | Entry-level plan doesn’t support desk phones |
| Easy setup | Softphones won’t start without a microphone |
Which Provider is Right for Your Business?
When to Use 8×8
Companies who operate in multiple regions or plan to expand into new markets will likely get more value out of 8×8 thanks to the unlimited international calling on its X Series plans. Coverage can be as wide as 48 countries on the X4 plan and higher.
When to Use Vonage
Vonage may have started out as a residential provider but its business wing has quickly caught up, offering a wide range of integrations to choose from as well as highly accurate visual voicemail. Companies looking for professional features and cross-platform functionality will certainly have their needs satisfied by Vonage.
Conclusion
As you can see, 8×8 and Vonage are both top-tier providers with their own unique strengths. You can’t go wrong with either of these options as each platform offers useful features and fair prices across the board.
In the end, it comes down to considering your specific use case and which elements of a VoIP provider will have the biggest impact on that. There’s no shortage of providers to choose from so why settle for anything subpar?
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