Five9 is a leading provider of all-in-one cloud-based software solutions for high volume call centers. Founded in 2001, Five9 provides solutions for inbound, outbound, blended and omnichannel contact centers to more than 2,000 businesses worldwide.
Five9 software allows call center agents to provide customer experiences across phone, email, chat, mobile, social and more. Healthcare and computer software companies make up Five9’s largest percentage of customers, but the firm works with firms across many sectors.
Why Five9?
99.999% — or five “nines” — has long been the gold standard for guaranteed uptime. The company’s name serves as a homage (and a promise) to hit that standard. The company largely delivers, establishing itself as one of the most reliable and robust CCaaS options. The firm provides multiple plans and services to fit specific customers needs. Some of the most popular features include its combined inbound and outbound call center service and its ability to integrate with the top customer resource management (CRM) platforms like Salesforce, Oracle RightNow, NetSuite, Velocify, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Five9 has a 4.3/5 rating on our site with 87% of reviewers saying they would recommend the company to others. While Five9 scores well, the company’s focus on mid-sized companies may make it not the best selection for all businesses. Companies, especially micro and small-sized, as well as large enterprises, may want alternative solutions. Let’s look at some of the most popular Five9 alternatives.
What Are the Best Five9 Alternatives?
1. Talkdesk
Of the 287 customer reviews on our site, a stunning 99% said they would recommend Talkdesk. The platform was spawned from a Twilio contest and was built using Twilio’s communication API in just 10 days. It now supports more than 1,000 customers worldwide with its next-generation cloud-based contact center software.
Key Features
- Power Dialer
- Real-Time Reporting
- Call Monitoring
- Integrations
- Forward to Phone
- Built-In CRM
- Cloud IVR
Integrations
- Salesforce
- Zendesk
- Desk.com
- Bigcommerce
- Contactuality
- Freshdesk
- Google Contacts
- Groove
- Help Scout
- Highrise
Talkdesk Pricing & Plans
| CX Cloud Essentials | CX Cloud Elevate | CX Cloud Elite | Experience Clouds |
| $75 Per User, Per Month | $95 Per User, Per Month | $125 Per User, Per Month | Request quote |
| Voice Engagement | Everything in Essentials, Plus | Everything in Elevate, Plus | Everything in Elite, Plus |
| Studio & Routing | Digital Engagement (3 channels) | 100% Uptime SLA | Industry Workspace |
| Studio Functions | Quality Management | Custom Reporting with Live & Explore | Industry Integrations |
| Real-time Dashboards (Live) | Screen Recording | Guardian Guardrails | Industry Workflows |
| Business Intelligence (Explore) | Conversations Mobile App | Performance Management | Industry Virtual Agents |
| Guardian | Feedback | Pick Any 1 Add-on Package from Four Options: | Pick Any 1 Add-on Package from Four Options: |
| Knowledge Management | Virtual Agent | Workforce Management | Workforce Management |
| Connections | Self-Service Portal | Customer Experience Analytics | Customer Experience Analytics |
| API Access | Agent Assistance | Agent Assistance | |
| AI Platform | Proactive Outbound Engagement | Proactive Outbound Engagement |
Learn more about Talkdesk pricing and important features like Callbar.
Talkdesk Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to implement | Limited free features |
| Great history of uptime | Contract renewal minimums require advanced planning |
| Simple call UI |
2. Twilio
Twilio Flex is an all-in-one omnichannel contact center software for business communications. It serves as a central hub for agents to manage communications from social media, SMS, WhatsApp, email, live chat, and more to create an easy customer experience.
Key Features
- 2-Way Messaging
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Chat/Messaging
- Contact Management
- Manual Dialer
- Reporting/Analytics
- Shortcodes
- Elastic SIP Trunking
Integrations
- Salesforce
- Oracle
- Microsoft Dynamics 365
- ServiceNow
- Zendesk
- Bullhorn
- NetSuite
- SAP
- SugarCRM
- NICE CXexchange
Twilio Pricing & Plans
Twilio costs $1 per user per hour or $150 per user per month as part of its Flex plan. The company typically offers customers thousands of free hours upon signing up through various customizable pay-per-usage plans. Learn more about Twilio plans and pricing.
Twilio Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Straightforward cost structure | Can be difficult to extract large amounts of data |
| Mature system with multiple features | Can be difficult to implement |
| Efficient customer support |
3. NICE CXone
Formerly inContact, NICE CXone provides cloud-based contact center software that combines omnichannel routing, analytics, workforce optimization, and automation.
Key Features
- Automatic Contact Distributor (ACD)
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Proactive Outbound
- Interaction Channels
- Workforce Intelligence
- Workforce Management
- My Agent eXperience (MAX)
- Omnichannel Analytics
- CRM Integrations
- UCaaS Integration
Integrations
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Teams
- Zoom
- Zendesk
- Fuse
- ServiceNow
NICE CXOne Pricing & Plans
The company does not offer a free plan. Its core package, which is it’s most popular, starts between $90 and $100 per month per user. Those numbers go up as customers add additional features and users. Learn more about NICE pricing and plans here.
The core package includes:
- User license and access to system login
- Live reporting dashboard
- Basic historical reporting and analytics
- 5 GB of call recording space per license
- Call scripting
- IVR
- 3 voice queuing ports per agent
Many customers sign a two-year contract, though pricing discounts are sometimes given to those who wish to sign a three-year contract or longer.
NICE CXone Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Provides robust metrics to improve performance | No free trial |
| Gives accurate visibility of the tasks being performed by the workforce | Limited settings and display options |
| Dynamic user interface |
4. Genesys
As one of the largest CCaaS companies in the industry, Genesys features a contact center platform packed with features and regular updates. Large companies that serve millions of customers per year – like PayPal – turn to Genesys to power their business.
Key Features
- Automatic Call Distribution
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Inbound and Outbound
- Email, Social, and Messaging/SMS
- Co-browse and Screen Share
- Chatbots
- Voicebots
- Customer journey management
- Reporting and Analytics
Integrations
- Salesforce
- ServiceNow
- Zendesk
- Geofluent
- Google Analytics
Genesys Pricing & Plans
| Genesys Cloud CX1 | Genesys Cloud CX 2 | Genesys Cloud CX 3 | Genesys Choice | Genesys DX |
| $75 per month | $110 per month | $140 per month | Enterprise level annual commitment | Different price based on customer needs |
| Inbound and outbound voice; IVR minutes | CX1 + Unlimited email and chat | CX1, CX 2+ SMS and messaging app routing | All features of other clouds |
Genesys Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Built to manage large call centers and volume | Price may not be manageable for smaller companies |
| Ability to create a highly personalize voice menus | System administration can be overly complex |
| One agent can manage many interactions from one location |
5. Dialpad
Dialpad continues to build out its CCaaS portfolio, acquiring Koopid in October of 2021. The company also acquired Kare Knowledge just a few weeks before and created a partnership with Playvox. These moves show Dialpad wants to expand its features and functionality to compete with larger firms.
Key Features
- Real-time coaching
- Live transcriptions
- Integrated workspace
- Workforce management
- Customizable multi-level IVR
- Supervisor dashboards
Integrations
- Microsoft 365
- Hubspot
- Salesforce
- Google Workspace
- Zendesk
- Okta
Dialpad Pricing & Plans
Dialpad offers a 14-day free trial of its Pro package. The company does not provide service prices, but some reports put the cost at about $20 per user per month. The company’s enterprise plan is available for companies with more than 100 users and are available through a direct quote.
| Free | Standard | Pro |
| $15 per user per month | $95 per user per month | |
| Custom reporting, API integrations and 24/7 support | 99.9% uptime guarantee, phone support dashboards | Real-time coaching, CRM integrations and unlimited SMS |
Dialpad Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Allows users to view full call journey | Occasional delay in talking |
| Helpful use of notifications | Limited list of integrations |
| Multiple features allow for different forms of customer communications |
6. Nextiva
Nextiva is a well-known name in the unified communications marketplace and relaunched its CCaaS offering in July of 2021. The change was aimed to improve functionality for call center agents who worked remotely.
Key Features
- Alerts / Escalation
- Blended Call Center
- Call Logging
- IVR / Voice Recognition
- Manual Dialer
- Outbound Call Center
- Predictive Dialer
- Progressive Dialer
- Queue Management
- Real-Time Chat
Integrations
- Zoho
- Salesforce
- Hubspot
- Zendesk
- Oracle
- NetSuite
Nextiva Pricing & Plans
| Pro | Enterprise |
| $50 per month | $100 per month |
| Unlimited call queues and intelligent call distribution | All pro features, queue management |
Nextiva Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Built to integrate with existing Nextiva services | Inconsistent call quality |
| Strong analytics | List of lower-tier price options may rule out smaller businesses |
7. Freshdesk
Formerly known as Freshcaller, Freshdesk is a cloud-based solution that helps businesses manage contact center operations. This service is known for helping companies reduce resolution times thanks to advanced and automated routing capabilities.
Key Features
- Reporting/Analytics
- API
- Third Party Integrations
- Reporting & Statistics
- Alerts / Escalation
- Activity Dashboard
- Alerts/Notifications
- Knowledge Base Management
Integrations
- Hubspot
- Zoho
- Zapier
- Pipedrive
- Nimble
- Freshsales
Freshdesk Pricing & Plans
| Basic | Growth | Enterprise |
| $15 per user/month, billed annually | $39 per user per month, billed annually | $69 per user per month, billed annually |
| Up to 2000 incoming minutes/month FREE | Up to 3000 incoming minutes | Up to 5000 incoming minutes/month FREE |
| Number Porting | Holiday Routing | Omnichannel Routing |
| Basic Call Queues | Advanced Call Metrics | Speech Enabled IVR |
| Wait Queues | Call Barging | Voicebot |
| Voicemail | Call Center Agent Statuses | Abandoned Call Metrics |
| Warm Transfer | Call Recording Opt-out | Service Level Monitoring |
| Call Recording | Agent Availability Report | |
| Pre-built Reports | Queue Callback (Virtual Hold) |
Freshdesk Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Strong metrics provide guidance to help agents improve efficiency | Report customization can be tedious |
| Plug and play solution | Integrations may require customer support |
| Large number of tools available in basic version |
8. Aircall
Aircall helps organizations of all sizes manage their contact center operations. The company has more than 9,000 customers and has established itself as a top innovator in the space.
Key Features
- Collaboration Tools
- Computer Telephony Integration
- Contact Management
- Manual Dialer
- Mobile Access
- On-Demand Recording
- Outbound Call Center
- Cloud PBX
- Phone Key Input
- Remote Access/Control
Integrations
- Google Drive
- Slack
- Mailchimp
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Teams
Aircall Pricing & Plans
Aircall cloud phone system pricing starts at $30 per user per month. They do not have a free version but do offer a free trial.
| Essentials | Professional |
| $30 per user per month | $50 per user per month |
| Unlimited calling in US and Canada, 80+ integrations and API access, call recording, IVR, voicemail | Unlimited calling worldwide, custom analytics, custom onboarding, access to API developer support |
Aircall Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Economical options for many organizations | Occasionally unreliable audio |
| Intuitive dashboard | No free version |
| Easy to use |
9. CloudTalk
CloudTalk provides more than 1,000 customers with CCaaS solutions, including large organizations such as DHL, Electronic Star and Kärcher.
Key Features
- Call Recording
- Call Types
- Click-to-Call
- Personalization
- Notes
- Daily Summary
- Voice
- Administrator Access
- Reporting & Dashboards
- Session Recording
CloudTalk Pricing & Plans
CloudTalk offers three plans: Starter, Essential and Expert. The Starter plan costs $25 per user per month (that drops to $20 if purchased annually). The Essential and Expert plans cost $30 and $50 per month per user respectively. Those costs drop to $25 and $40 if purchased annually.
Integrations
- Slack
- Salesforce
- Shopify
- Zoho
- Zapier
- Pipedrive
CloudTalk Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| 14-day free trial for new users | System does not take voicemails if a computer falls asleep |
| Easy to set up and get started | Leverages a lot of Beta software that can be glitchy at times |
| Strong connection and audio clarity |
10. RingCentral
RingCentral provides a powerful option that streamlines customer service and provides avenues for agents to rapidly solve any issues.
Features
- Activity Dashboard
- Activity Tracking
- Calendar Management
- IVR / Voice Recognition
- Inbound Call Center
- Manual Dialer
- Mobile Access
- Monitoring
- Reporting & Statistics
- Reporting/Analytics
RingCentral Pricing & Plans
RingCentral offers three CCaaS plans, but does not openly advertise prices. Learn more about RingCentral pricing here.
Integrations
- Salesforce
- Zendesk
- Pipedrive
- Zoho
- Microsoft Office
RingCentral Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Very user-friendly interface | Reviewers report higher cost compared to competitors |
| Good for businesses of all size | Large customer service network can be difficult to navigate |
Which Five9 Alternative is the Best for Your Business?
Five9 has established itself as one of the top CCaaS providers in the marketplace. As we’ve discussed, though, Five9 may not be the best solution for your business depending on your specific needs.
When determining what call center technology and systems to purchase, technology leaders need to balance functionality, performance and cost. With the market filled with strong options, technology leaders should explore several different options before picking a final solution. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of free trials and read online reviews before committing to a system. Five9 provides an excellent service, but it is only one of many superb options on the market.
