When selecting the right business communication platform, UK businesses face many options, with CallHippo and RingCentral standing out as leading contenders in the VoIP and cloud communication space. While both offer robust solutions, the specific needs of your business will influence the best choice. In this comparison, we’ll break down the features and costs of CallHippo vs RingCentral to help you make an informed decision.
CallHippo and RingCentral
| Category | CallHippo | RingCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Target audience | Small to mid-sized businesses, start-ups | Mid-sized to large businesses, enterprises |
| Core focus | VoIP phone services, call management | Unified communications (voice, video, messaging) |
| Plans and pricing | Basic: £11 per user/month | Essentials: £16 per user/month |
| Bronze: £15 per user/month | Standard: £22 per user/month | |
| Silver: £23 per user/month | Premium: £30 per user/month | |
| Platinum: £30 per user/month | Ultimate: £45 per user/month | |
| VoIP phone services | Yes | Yes |
| Video conferencing | Limited video capabilities | HD video meetings with up to 200 participants |
| Team messaging | Basic internal messaging | Full-featured team messaging |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes (with full functionality across all devices) |
| Call management | Call forwarding, call recording, call queuing, voicemail | Auto-attendant, custom call routing, advanced analytics |
| CRM integration | Integrates with Zoho, Salesforce, HubSpot | Over 200 integrations, including Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace |
| International calling | Available (via virtual numbers in over 50 countries) | Available (free calls in UK and Europe on most plans) |
| Analytics and reporting | Basic call analytics and reporting | Advanced call analytics and reporting |
| Contact centre solutions | Limited contact centre features | Full contact centre capabilities |
| Scalability | Suitable for small to mid-sized businesses | Highly scalable for large enterprises |
| Ease of use | Simple, easy-to-set-up interface | Requires more setup, but highly customisable |
| Best for | Small businesses seeking affordable VoIP solutions | Larger businesses needing comprehensive communication tools |
Key features comparison
Both CallHippo and RingCentral are designed to meet the communication needs of businesses, but their offerings vary in terms of features, scalability, and user experience. Here’s how they compare:
CallHippo
CallHippo is a cloud-based business phone system that focuses on ease of use and affordability, making it particularly attractive for SMEs and start-ups. Here are the key features of CallHippo:
- VoIP phone services: Offers a flexible and scalable VoIP system designed for businesses of all sizes.
- Global virtual numbers: Provides virtual phone numbers in over 50 countries, ideal for businesses with international operations.
- Call management features: Includes call queuing, call forwarding, call recording, and voicemail-to-email functionality, ensuring efficient handling of high call volumes.
- Mobile and desktop apps: CallHippo’s user-friendly apps ensure that employees can make and receive business calls from anywhere.
- CRM integration: Offers integrations with popular CRM platforms like Zoho, Salesforce, and HubSpot, allowing businesses to streamline communication within their existing systems.
- Team collaboration tools: While CallHippo’s primary focus is on voice calls, it does offer some basic collaboration tools like call analytics and reporting, which can be valuable for small teams.
RingCentral
RingCentral, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive unified communications platform designed for larger organisations or businesses looking for a wider range of services. It excels in providing an all-in-one solution for voice, video, messaging, and more. Here are the standout features of RingCentral:
- Unified communications: Offers a full suite of communication tools, including VoIP phone services, video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration tools.
- HD video meetings: RingCentral excels in video communication, supporting up to 200 participants in its higher-tier plans, making it a great option for businesses that rely on virtual meetings.
- Extensive integrations: Seamlessly integrates with over 200 business applications, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Salesforce, making it highly adaptable for businesses that require diverse functionality.
- Advanced call management: Features like auto-attendant, call queues, custom call routing, and advanced analytics allow businesses to fully customise their call handling.
- Mobile-first approach: RingCentral’s mobile app provides access to all features, ensuring businesses can stay connected from anywhere, with full functionality across all devices.
- Contact centre solutions: RingCentral offers robust contact centre capabilities, ideal for larger organisations or businesses that rely on high-volume customer service operations.
Cost comparison – CallHippo vs RingCentral
When it comes to pricing, CallHippo and RingCentral take different approaches, reflecting their target markets and range of services. Let’s compare the pricing models:
CallHippo pricing
CallHippo’s pricing is geared towards small businesses and start-ups, with simplicity and affordability in mind. It offers four plans:
- Basic plan: £11 per user/month – Includes features such as call tracking, voicemail, and basic analytics.
- Bronze plan: £15 per user/month – Adds features like call recording and call queuing, along with integrations with CRMs.
- Silver plan: £23 per user/month – Provides advanced call management features, including smart call routing and international calling.
- Platinum plan: £30 per user/month – Offers all premium features such as unlimited users, advanced analytics, and 24/7 customer support.
CallHippo is well-suited for small to mid-sized businesses, particularly those that prioritise cost-effectiveness and essential call management tools.
RingCentral pricing
RingCentral offers a wider range of features at a higher price point, reflecting its focus on larger businesses or those needing more extensive capabilities. It provides four pricing tiers:
- Essentials plan: £16 per user/month – Basic phone system functionality with unlimited calls in the UK and Europe.
- Standard plan: £22 per user/month – Adds video conferencing for up to 100 participants, team messaging, and business app integrations.
- Premium plan: £30 per user/month – Offers automatic call recording, analytics, integrations with CRM platforms, and video meetings for up to 200 participants.
- Ultimate plan: £45 per user/month – Provides the most advanced features, including device status reports and extended analytics.
RingCentral’s pricing reflects its broader functionality, making it more suitable for mid-sized to large enterprises that need advanced communication and collaboration tools.
Pros and cons
Let’s evaluate the pros and cons of each platform to help further clarify which one is the right choice for your business.
CallHippo pros
- Affordable: Lower price point, making it accessible for small businesses and start-ups.
- Easy to set up: Simple, intuitive user interface with minimal technical expertise required.
- Global reach: Wide range of international phone numbers, ideal for businesses with overseas operations.
- Basic CRM integrations: Provides good compatibility with major CRMs, helping small businesses streamline communications.
CallHippo cons
- Limited collaboration tools: Lacks the advanced video conferencing and team messaging features that some larger businesses may require.
- Less suited for large enterprises: May not offer the scalability and advanced features that larger businesses demand.
- Basic analytics: Call analytics and reporting are not as comprehensive as other platforms like RingCentral.
RingCentral pros
- Comprehensive feature set: Offers a full suite of communication tools, including voice, video, messaging, and collaboration, making it ideal for larger businesses.
- High scalability: Designed for businesses that anticipate growth, with extensive call management and contact centre solutions.
- Robust integrations: Extensive integration with over 200 applications, making it adaptable to a variety of business environments.
- Video conferencing excellence: Supports large-scale video meetings, making it a strong choice for businesses relying heavily on video communications.
RingCentral cons
- Higher cost: More expensive than CallHippo, which may be prohibitive for smaller businesses or those with limited budgets.
- Complexity: The wide array of features may be overwhelming for businesses that do not require such extensive capabilities.
- Overkill for small businesses: For businesses that only need a simple VoIP system, RingCentral’s robust offerings may be unnecessary.
Final verdict – CallHippo vs RingCentral
For UK businesses, the choice between CallHippo vs RingCentral depends on your specific requirements and budget.
- CallHippo is an excellent choice for small to mid-sized businesses or start-ups that need a straightforward, affordable VoIP solution with basic call management features. If cost is a significant factor and your business doesn’t require advanced collaboration tools, CallHippo provides an effective and budget-friendly solution.
- RingCentral, on the other hand, is best suited for larger businesses or those with a need for comprehensive communication solutions. Its unified communications platform offers everything from voice and video to messaging and advanced call management, making it ideal for businesses that want to consolidate their communications under one provider. However, the higher cost may be prohibitive for smaller businesses.
In summary, if you’re a small business or start-up, CallHippo provides an affordable and straightforward solution, while RingCentral is a more feature-rich platform suited to larger enterprises. Choose based on the scale of your operations and the features that matter most to your business.
FAQ
CallHippo is generally more affordable, with plans starting at £11 per user/month, whereas RingCentral’s pricing begins at £16 per user/month. CallHippo is ideal for small businesses, while RingCentral offers more advanced features that justify its higher cost for larger enterprises.
RingCentral excels in video conferencing, supporting up to 200 participants in higher-tier plans. CallHippo, however, focuses more on voice communication and does not provide the same advanced video capabilities as RingCentral, making the latter a better option for businesses relying heavily on video meetings.
Both CallHippo and RingCentral offer international calling, but CallHippo provides virtual phone numbers in over 50 countries, making it great for international reach. RingCentral includes free calls within the UK and Europe on most plans, making it a strong contender for businesses with European connections.
CallHippo integrates with popular CRMs like Zoho, Salesforce, and HubSpot. However, RingCentral offers more extensive integrations, supporting over 200 business applications including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, making it a better choice for businesses needing robust integration capabilities.
CallHippo is known for its simplicity and quick setup process, making it ideal for small businesses or start-ups without dedicated IT resources. RingCentral, with its more complex feature set, may require more time and technical expertise to set up and customise, but offers more powerful functionality.
Both CallHippo and RingCentral offer mobile apps, allowing users to make and receive calls on the go. However, RingCentral’s mobile app provides access to a broader range of features including messaging and video conferencing, whereas CallHippo’s app is more focused on voice communication.
RingCentral provides more advanced call management features such as auto-attendants, custom call routing, and in-depth analytics. CallHippo offers essential call management functions like call recording and forwarding, but it lacks the comprehensive tools that larger organisations may require for custom workflows.
RingCentral is highly scalable, making it ideal for larger businesses that may grow in size or need more advanced communication features over time. CallHippo is better suited for small to mid-sized businesses and start-ups, but may not be as adaptable for rapid scaling or expansion.
RingCentral offers a full suite of collaboration tools, including team messaging and document sharing. CallHippo, while great for voice services, does not offer the same level of collaboration features, making RingCentral the better option for businesses looking to centralise communication and collaboration.
CallHippo is more suited for small businesses and start-ups due to its affordability, ease of use, and focus on essential call management features. RingCentral, with its broader feature set, is better for larger businesses or those needing advanced communication and collaboration tools.