The 6 Best Auto Attendant Phone Systems for 2024

Auto attendant graphic

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Our extensive research into automated phone systems led us to conclude that RingCentral, GoTo Connect, and 8×8 are the top three auto attendant phone systems, carrying the best value auto attendant features.

Most phone system providers offer this feature, with businesses relying on an automated attendant for its key functions: answering every call, delivering customized greetings, and routing calls to the right employee or team.

If you’re in the market for an automated phone system for small businesses, check for a provider that offers this feature – also known as a virtual receptionist – on an affordable plan that comes with a good range of other inbound communication features. However, you must also consider other key factors, including outbound communication features, integrability, scalability, and customer support.

We’ve been writing phone system reviews for over a decade, so read on and let us equip you with everything you need to know about the eight best automated phone systems for 2024.

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Expert Rating
4.7
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4.3
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4.7
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4.1
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4.5
Expert Rating
3.7
Best For

Customer Services

Best For

Low-Price Longevity

Best For

Best Overall

Best For

Conversational AI

Best For

Mac and iOS Users

Best For

Customer Satisfaction

Price

$20 per user, per month – $35 per user, per month

Price

$27 – $32 per user, per month

Price

Custom

Price

$15 per user, per month – Bespoke

Price

$19.99 – $39.99 per user, per month

Price

$9.99 – $39.99

Key Features

Voicemail to text

High-definition (HD) voice

Multi-level auto attendant

Visual voicemail and voicemail to email

Key Features

Existing number porting

Local, toll-free & vanity numbers

Auto attendant recorded greetings

Ring groups

Call queues

International calling

Key Features

Onboarding support

Call queue

Ring groups

Analytics

Customizable call routing

Call recording

Key Features

Unlimited calling

High-definition (HD) voice

Multi-level auto attendant

Visual voicemail

Departments/ring groups

Hold queues

Key Features

Onboarding support

Call queue

Ring groups

Call recording

Call monitoring

Analytics

Web conferencing

Key Features

15 minutes onboarding support session

CRM, Helpdesk, Internal live chat, and email integration

Call queue

Ring groups

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1. RingCentral: best automated phone system for customer service teams

RingCentral logo
RingCentral
4.7
Pricing $20 - $35
Quick overview

RingCentral receives an overall score of 4.7/5  in our extensive research. It's our favorite auto attendant phone system for American businesses because it offers the best value virtual receptionist feature, which is available on RingCentral's Core plan from $20 per user, per month. But RingCentral is also our top pick for customer service teams.

The services that RingCentral offers are superior, especially when you upgrade to its Advanced ($25 per user, per month) and Ultra ($35 per user, per month) plans. A multi-level auto attendant is accessible on RingCentral's Core plan and above. This multi-level auto attendant comes with Interactive Voice Response (IVR), offering submenus with advanced features, such as a dial-by-name directory and live operator, which is perfect for businesses that are focused on providing exceptional customer service.

RingCentral’s auto attendant feature is bundled with a good range of inbound communication features, including voicemail, a customizable greeting, and spam prevention. 8x8, on the other hand, only includes a spam prevention feature on a couple of its plans (X2 and X4).

Strengths

Unlimited domestic calls

Free trial period on all plans

Weaknesses

Auto attendant on the cheapest plan is basic

Pricing
PlanStarting price
Core $20 per user, per month
Advanced $25 per user, per month
Ultra $35 per user, per month

2. GoTo Connect: best value for money automated phone system

GoTo Connect
4.3
Pricing $27 - $32
Quick overview

GoTo Connect gets an overall score of 4.3/5. Our in-depth research shows that it’s the best for value for money because its plans offer great value for money for the reason that its plans are packed with features that are focused on scalable solutions. Starting at $27 per user, per month, GoTo Connect includes all the inbound communication features on every plan. It’s one of the only two phone system providers to offer all the necessary inbound communication features across all of its plans and this includes call queue, ring groups and auto attendant. In addition to that, it doesn’t limit the number of users you can have. Its auto attendant feature allows you to customize your messages, set up advanced flows for calls to be routed efficiently, and allows you to share important updates.

Pricing
PlanStarting Price
Basic $27 per user, per month
Standard $32 per user, per month

3. 8×8: best overall phone system

8x8
4.7
Pricing Custom
Quick overview

Based on our in-depth research, 8x8 bags the title of best overall phone system as it hits the trifecta: easy management, affordability, and is bundled with important inbound communication features. This is why it gets an overall score of 4.7/5, the highest among the top American business VoIP providers.

Multi-level auto attendant is included in all packages, where the prices are still very affordable when compared with other top providers on this list. Meanwhile, GoTo Connect’s least expensive plan, which starts at $27 per user, per month, only offers the basic auto attendant features, such as customizable greeting, call queue, and call router. With 8x8, aside from auto attendant's key functions, you are also able to customize auto attendant profiles, allowing you to set up auto attendant schedules, define time zones, and select a language for voice prompts.

To offer a better call experience, you’ll need more than just an automated attendant. All the 8x8 plans offer useful inbound communication features, such as a customizable greeting, hold music, and voicemail.

Strengths

The virtual receptionist feature is included on all plans

Bundled with numerous & useful inbound communication features

Weaknesses

Spam prevention is not included on any plan

Pricing
Custom
Based on your business' size and requirements
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4. Dialpad: best automated phone system for conversational AI

Dialpad
4.1
Pricing $15 - Custom
Quick overview

Dialpad is our top choice when it comes to innovative solutions. Based on our in-depth research, Dialpad is the best when it comes to conversational AI, earning a 4.1/5 overall score. Its AI technology is powered by natural language processing (NLP) and has machine learning features. This tool can be used to help agents by transcribing conversations in real time, analyzing the sentiment of the call based on the flow of the conversation and can provide post-call summaries that highlight action items so you can easily follow up.

Dialpad’s auto attendant feature makes sure that spam calls are blocked. Not only that, its custom call routing feature makes use of AI tools that can help route calls to a live agent when a call needs to be escalated. For as little as $15 per user, per month, you get access to the multi-level auto attendant feature where all calls are AI-powered and unlimited.

The auto attendant feature comes with useful inbound communication features, such as customizable greeting, voicemail, and ring groups. Vonage, however, doesn’t include customizable greeting or ring groups in its cheapest plan, which costs $19.99 per user, per month.

Strengths

All plans offer unlimited calling, SMS, and MMS

Built-in AI and analytics included on all plans

Weaknesses

The Standard Plan doesn’t come with a call queue feature

Call barge and call whisper features aren’t included on any plans

Pricing
PlanStarting price
Standard $15 per user, per month
Pro $25 per user, per month
Enterprise Custom

5. Vonage: best automated phone system for small businesses

Vonage
4.5
Pricing $19.99 – $39.99
Quick overview

Vonage earns an overall score of 4.5/5 because of its effective and scalable business solutions. Its plans offer key communication features, including call barge and call whisper, as well as  important software integration tools that make it easy for any business to scale.

For only $19.99 per user, per month, Vonage’s auto attendant feature is a customizable and reliable piece of call routing technology. You also have the option to prioritize schedules and share settings between schedules, allowing your business to address calls at any time. In addition to this, its customer support uses an AI virtual assistant to ensure that all calls are addressed during peak business hours, resulting in better customer engagement. This feature is best for call center phone systems as it allows easy management of high call volumes.

What’s great about Vonage is that its automated phone system feature comes with other important inbound communication features, including voicemail, spam prevention, and customizable hold music.

Strengths

Unlimited domestic calls

Affordable plans

Weaknesses

Additional cost to add voicemail to text and call queue features

Customizable greeting and ring groups only available on Premium and Advanced plans.

Pricing
Plan
Mobile $19.99 per user, per month
Premium $29.99 per user, per month
Advanced $39.99 per user, per month

6. Nuacom: best automated phone system for customer satisfaction

Nuacom
3.7
Pricing $24.99 - $34.99
Quick overview

Our researchers gathered consumer reviews across business review sites such as TrustRadius, G2, Trustpilot and Capterra. Real-world users stated that they are happy with the phone service’s simplicity and reliability. This is why Nuacom gets an impressive 4.6/5 score in customer satisfaction.

Its Unlimited plan, which is the cheapest plan, costs $24.99 per user, per month and offers auto attendant in its package. Its functions are just the basic greet and transfer callers to an extension without an operator or receptionist.

Strengths

Unlimited domestic minutes

Offers a lot of inbound communication features

Weaknesses

All plans come with two user minimums

Spam prevention isn’t included in any of its plans

Pricing
PlanStarting price
Unlimited $24.99 per user, per month
Enterprise $34.99 per user, per month
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How Did We Compare the Best Auto Attendant Phone Systems?

We've researched and tested 10 market-leading VoIP phone systems, evaluating them in terms of functionality, usability, cost and security options, so we can make the most useful recommendations to US businesses.

Using our in-house research framework and ranking process, we evaluated each VoIP system across seven core categories of interest, each weighted differently, and then combined the results to come up with a final score.

Our main testing categories for VoIP products and services are:

  • Cost: The pricing structure associated with the VoIP service, such as monthly subscription fees, call rates, setup fees, hardware costs, and any additional charges for add-on features or services.
  • Call features: The functionalities and capabilities offered by the VoIP service, including basic features such as call forwarding and voicemail, as well as advanced features like auto-attendant and conference calling.
  • External connections: The VoIP service's ability to connect and integrate with external systems or devices, such as compatibility with existing phone systems or integration with mobile devices.
  • Customer support: The assistance and resources provided by the VoIP service provider to customers, including technical support, online resources, and access to customer support representatives.
  • Security options: The measures and features implemented by the VoIP service to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and protection of voice communications and data.
  • Scalability: The ability of the VoIP service to accommodate the growth and changing needs of an organization, e.g. capacity to handle a growing number of users or support multiple locations.
  • Reputation: External customer opinion; the feedback and ratings given by customers who have used a particular VoIP product – the market position and reputation a VoIP software holds.

 

Verdict

Our research shows that RingCentral is our top choice when it comes to the auto attendant feature. Aside from its affordability, it offers some of the top VoIP features needed for an effective automated phone service to work. Some of these features include: voicemail, a customizable greeting, customizable hold music. This is the reason it receives an impressive overall score of 4.7/5 in our research.

We suggest you try our free quote comparison tool to get the phone service that fits your business’ needs. Just answer some questions and we will link you to trusted providers that will reach out to you with tailored, obligation-free quotes.

FAQs

What does an auto attendant do?

An auto attendant is a call routing technology that presents a voice menu system at the onset of the call. This helps ensure your caller is transferred to the right department without you having to provide an operator to assist your callers.

This telephone system is also known as the virtual receptionist and its basic function is to transfer incoming calls to different departments or extensions without going through a human operator.

What is the difference between auto attendant and IVR?
An auto attendant would just function as a basic call routing technology whereas an IVR or an interactive voice response system provides more advanced options than an auto attendant. It offers submenus with an advanced call routing system. The IVR connects calls to the appropriate agent through the use of verbal commands and speech recognition based on the information provided by the callers.
How do I set up an auto attendant?

Creating and configuring an auto attendant depends on the provider you have. There are some that have text-to-voice for greeting recordings, while others require you to create a call flow from scratch.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on the general process for setting up your auto attendant feature:

1. Assign a phone number where you want the auto attendant to route calls. You can have multiple numbers or you can configure your existing phone number to work with an auto attendant. If the phone system provider allows it, you can also get a new local and toll-free number.

2. Record phone system greetings, call menu options, and voice mailbox messages.

3. Create your call menu options that correspond to the customized greeting you recorded.

4. Configure your call menu in a way that you can forward calls to office phones, different departments or mobile phones.

5. Set business hours

6. Set holiday greetings and schedules

7. Save all auto attendant settings

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Written by:
Dudez Ignacio body shot image
Dudez Perez-Ignacio is a Content Writer for Expert Market, specialising in writing about phone systems and helping readers learn about innovative communication technology trends and insights, prioritizing value to help drive business growth. Researching and writing about this every day means Dudez is fluent in the complex vocabulary of business phone systems.
Reviewed by:
James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.