The 8 Best Automated Phone Systems

Our rigorous research has found that 8×8, Dialpad, and Ooma are the best automated phone systems. These highly-rated small business phone system providers score highly in our research for their features and customer support.

With automated technology taking the world by storm, it’s high time your business adopted an automated phone system to streamline your operations and customer experience.

Keep reading for our deep-dive into each of these providers or you can use our free quote comparison tool to receive obligation-free quotes from trusted phone system suppliers.

What is an automated phone system?

An automated phone system cooperates with callers without human interference. The benefit of automated phone systems is that it optimizes your agent’s time and resource. It saves your business money and provides your callers with an efficient service.

How exactly does this work you might be wondering, no fear, we’re here to help break it down for you.

1. A caller will dial the number linked to the automated system which is then routed to the system’s server
2. The caller hears a pre-recorded greeting and is presented with a menu to choose from. These will typically be departments or the service they require.
3. The system can detect which key has been entered and routes this call to the appropriate person/department.
4. If the caller has requested specific information, they might hear pre-recorded information.
5. If relevant, the system may collect the caller’s details, such as name and account number.
6. Once the caller’s inquiry has been dealt with, the system can either provide further information, end the call or transfer it to the appropriate department.

An automated phone system helps reduce wait times, streamline operations, and increase efficiency. What we really like about these systems is that it can be customized to suit your business’s unique needs. This provides your business with a uniform brand and your callers with excellent service.

Our Top Picks for the Best Automated Phone Systems

We’ve rigorously tested and rated 11 different telephone systems through product led research. That’s why we’re so confident in recommending you our top picks:

1. 8×8: Best Overall Auto Attendant Phone System

Based on our in-depth research, 8×8 bags the title of best overall automated attendant phone system as it hits the trifecta: easy management, affordability, and it’s bundled with other important inbound communication features. This is why we gave it an overall score of 4.7/5 in our extensive research, the highest score among all the phone system providers we evaluated.

An auto attendant feature is included in 8×8’s Express package for only $15 per user, per month. Aside from its key functions, you’re 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. You’ll get a multi-level auto attendant feature when you upgrade to 8×8’s X2 and X4 plans, where the prices are still very affordable when compared with other top providers on this list. For example, GoToConnect’s least expensive plan, which starts at $27 per user, per month, only offers the basic auto attendant features, such as customizable greetings, call queue, and call router.

To offer a better call experience, you’ll need more than just an automated attendant. All of 8×8’s plans offer useful inbound communication features, such as a customizable greeting, hold music, and voicemail. Nextiva, on the other hand, only offers a voicemail to text feature on its Enterprise Plan, which is its most expensive plan.

2. Dialpad: Best for Conversational AI

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

Dialpad’s autoattendant 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’ll get access to Dialpad’s multi-level auto attendant feature, with which all calls are AI-powered and unlimited. Meanwhile, 8×8’s cheapest plan also costs $15 per user, per month, doesn’t come with spam prevention or conversational AI, and its autoattendant isn’t multi-level at this price.

Dialpad also comes with useful inbound communication features, such as customizable greetings, voicemail, and ring groups. Vonage, however, doesn’t include customizable greetings or ring groups in its cheapest plan, which costs $14.99 per user, per month.

3. Ooma: Best for Low-Cost 24/7 Support

Ooma’s affordable and feature-rich plans, bundled with customer support that’s round the clock, are the reasons Ooma makes it into our top three. With an overall score of 4.3/5, our research shows that Ooma is the best for low-cost, 24/7 support.

Ooma offers a virtual receptionist as a standard feature on every plan. So, at $19.95 per user, per month, you can maximize this feature’s services by customizing messages, routing calls to extensions and ring groups, creating menu options for different languages, creating different modes for business hours and after hours, and dialling by name. In addition to this, Ooma is one of the few providers that allows you to vet your virtual receptionist by typing a possible greeting into a webform to hear instantaneous playback.

Net2Phone, on the other hand, offers an automated attendant feature, but it’s pricier, with its cheapest plan costing $24.99 per user, per month.

Ooma offers a lot of inbound communication features alongside its auto attendant, including ring groups, a customizable greeting, and voicemail, but call queues are available on Ooma Pro Plus and above. Meanwhile, Nextiva’s call queue feature requires a call center add-on before you can use it.

4. RingCentral: Best for Customer Services

RingCentral, one of the top automated phone system providers, receives an overall score of 4.7/5  in our research and is our top pick for customer service teams. However, it also ranks among the best VoIP systems for small businesses.

We think that the services that RingCentral offers are superior, especially when you upgrade to its Premium ($34.99) and Ultimate ($49.99) plans. Its cheapest plan starts at $19.99 (all prices are per user, per month), but a multi-level auto attendant will only be accessible when you upgrade to RingCentral’s Standard plan ($27.99). 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. This is also one of the reasons RingCentral is our favorite hotel phone system.

In comparison, GoToConnect’s least expensive plan costs $27 per user, per month, but its auto attendant’s functions only include basic call routing, a customizable greeting, and the ability to share business information.

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

5. Vonage: Best for Scaling Your Company

Vonage earns an overall score of 4.5/5 in our research thanks to its effective and scalable business solutions. Its plans offer key call management 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 $14.99 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, Vonage’s 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 one of the reasons Vonage ranks among the best phone systems for call centers, as it allows the easy management of high volumes of calls. In comparison, 8×8, our top provider on this list, doesn’t offer this feature on its cheapest plan (at $15 per user, per month). It only becomes available when you purchase 8×8’s X2 plan for $24 per user, per month.

We think it’s great that Vonage’s automated phone system comes with other important inbound communication features, including voicemail, spam prevention, and customizable hold music. Meanwhile, spam prevention is not included on any of 8×8’s plans.

6. Net2Phone: Best for Low-Cost International Calling

Perhaps your business operates globally, and needs an automated service that runs 24/7. Net2phone offers affordable plans with free international calling to over 40 countries, making it our top choice for low-cost international calling. It also earned a great overall score of 4.4/5 in our extensive research.

Net2Phone’s unlimited auto attendant feature is included with its Office plan for $24.99 per user, per month and, because it can handle more calls as well as field calls 24/7, caller wait time is reduced. This means you could have fewer dropped calls.

Net2Phone’s unlimited automated attendant feature is bundled with other must-have inbound communication features, such as voicemail, ring groups, and spam prevention. However, it doesn’t include voicemail to text or call queues on either its Office or Office Pro Plans. In comparison, GoToConnect does offer voicemail to text and call queue features on all of its plans including its cheapest, but this plan, which will set you back $27 per user, per month, only comes with a single auto attendant, as opposed to Net2Phone’s unlimited automated attendants.

7. Nextiva: Best for 24/7 Customer Support

Nextiva is an award-winning business phone service that has bagged multiple Stevie awards for its amazing customer support. Its team of live agents can be reached via chat or phone where its phone support is made up of 100% live agents. We gave it an overall score of 4.5/5 making them the best for 24/7 customer support. While most callers prefer live agents, Nextiva’s automated chat services are still top-notch.

For $21.95 per user, per month, Nextiva’s automated phone system allows businesses a scalable solution. Its menu system is capable of routing calls to the right department and its automated attendant functions like an interactive voice response (IVR). An IVR is an advanced version of an auto attendant that can perform more tasks through the use of verbal commands. Net2Phone’s auto attendant, on the other hand, only offers basic functions, and its cheapest  plan costs $24.99 per user, per month.

Nextiva’s automated attendant comes with other top features, such as voicemail, ring groups, and spam prevention. Meanwhile, 8×8 doesn’t offer ring groups on its Express Plan and doesn’t offer spam prevention in any of its plans.

8. GoToConnect: Best for Low-Price Longevity

Earning an overall score of 4.3/5 in our research, GoToConnect‘s plans offer great value for money while also being super scalable, making it our top pick for businesses that are searching for low-cost longevity in their automated phone service.

GoToConnect’s auto attendant feature allows you to customize your messages, set up advanced flows for calls to be routed efficiently, and share important updates with callers. Meanwhile, RingCentral’s auto attendant feature can only be accessed when you upgrade to its Standard plan for $27.99 per user, per month, and this system doesn’t include call queues and ring groups on its Essentials and Standard plans.

Starting at $27 per user, per month, GoToConnect is one of only two automated phone services to include all the inbound communication features we deem most important on every one of its plans, with features including call queues, ring groups, and of course, an auto attendant. In addition to this, GoToConnect doesn’t limit the number of users you can have on your system.

How Did We Compare the Best Auto Attendant Phone Systems?