Both Nextiva and RingCentral offer VoIP services designed for businesses of varying sizes. In addition to phone, services include messaging and video capabilities.
While a VoIP service offers many benefits to businesses, it’s important to choose the right service for your business needs. Nextiva and RingCentral are designed to help make business communications easier and smoother. Both platforms also offer different benefits and features.
From the quality of their customer service to the experience you’ll have using their products, we break down the details on both Nextiva and RingCentral to answer which is the better VoIP service.
Nextiva Pros and Cons
Pros
- On-premise training
- Easily scalable service
- International call coverage
- 500-attendee conference calls
Cons
- Many features require plan upgrades
- Complicated price structure
RingCentral Pros and Cons
Pros
- Express Setup Wizard
- Unlimited conference calls
- Customizable call reports
- Versatile video conferencing
Cons
- Limited phone support hours
- Limited video conferencing attendees
Hardware Requirements: Tie
Nextiva users have a few hardware options. Any new phones purchased through Nextiva are automatically added to the account so that they can be assigned to a user and get up and running quickly.
A non-Nextiva phone will need to be manually added through the user dashboard and then provisioned for use with Nextiva. This takes a little extra time, but it isn’t a complicated process. It can also save a business from having to buy all-new devices.
RingCentral offers many phones for sale that are pre-configured to work with its service. If you have existing VoIP phones, you may be able to still use them with RingCentral. RingCentral offers a detailed list of compatible devices, phones that the company will help in provisioning, phones that will need to be manually provisioned, and proprietary phones that won’t work with the service.
Neither Nextiva nor RingCentral requires you to buy new hardware, making both companies winners in this category.
Setup and Ease of Use: RingCentral
Setup is easy with both of these services.
Nextiva describes a six-step setup that includes choosing your price plan, transferring an existing number, adding users to your account, designing your call flow, downloading the Nextiva app, and plugging in your VoIP desk phone.
RingCentral’s setup is similarly simplistic. After activating your service, the Express Setup Wizard guides you through the setup process. The RingCentral website provides guidance on setting up your phone, and from there, you can make changes to your call system, like setting up voicemails and call handling processes.
Here is RingCentral’s Express Setup Wizard:
Both Nextiva and RingCentral can help you port over your existing phone number, so you don’t miss any important calls when you switch your service. While the setup is streamlined and easy with both, we give RingCentral a slight edge for its Express Setup Wizard.
Customer Support: Nextiva
Whether you’re dealing with your business operations or your personal phone service, having support when you need it is essential. Both of these companies offer comprehensive support services.
Nextiva’s phone support team is available from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm AZ time on weekdays. Phone support is also available from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm AZ time on Saturdays and Sundays. Live chat is also offered, and users can submit a support ticket for technical problems.
Nextiva also offers a support center that hosts guides, tutorials, and other resources. On-premise training is also available with one of Nextiva’s product experts, and users can take advantage of live video conferencing and webinars, too. The company has won five consecutive Stevie Awards, evidence of its quality customer support.
RingCentral offers 24/7 phone support for plans with two or more users. Single-user plan phone support is available from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm PT, Monday through Friday. RingCentral also offers live chat support and the ability to file a support case online for more complex issues that aren’t time-sensitive.
In addition to these live support options, RingCentral offers a comprehensive online community support site. The site details answers to the most common FAQs, as well as step-by-step instructions to walk users through processes like connecting apps or setting up call handling and forwarding.
With more support options and the availability of on-premise training, Nextiva wins in the support department.
Versatility: Nextiva
Both Nextiva and RingCentral offer additional business solutions, including customer service and sales tools. Nextiva even offers a sales pipeline or customer service CRM. With these options, either service can become a solution to your broader business challenges.
When it comes to the phone service, specifically, Nextiva is packed with functions that make it versatile. Custom on-hold music, push to talk, priority alerts, and custom ringback features are just a handful of the ways you can make Nextiva work for your business. Nextiva’s business phone app supports video meetings, calls, messaging, and more, allowing you and your staff to stay connected no matter where you happen to be.
RingCentral also offers an array of features and solutions. The phone service boasts more than 50 features, including call screening, paging, shared lines, visual voicemail, voicemail-to-email, and more. The RingCentral Desktop app and mobile app support phone, messaging, and video, and it integrates with more than 100 of the most popular business apps.
If you’re looking to bundle your VoIP service with large-scale customer service or sales solutions, like a CRM, then Nextiva wins in this category. While RingCentral doesn’t offer quite the additional business solutions that Nextiva has, it’s still a quality VoIP option.
Phone: RingCentral
Nextiva’s fully cloud-based phone service boasts impressive reliability with a 99.999% uptime. While the service is packed full of features, it remains easy to use, so it’s a good fit whether you’re looking for basic phone service for your business or something capable of supporting your whole customer service team.
This service is highly scalable, and the admin panel allows users to manage numbers and calling features. Standout features include virtual voicemail; unlimited calling, faxing, and texting nationwide; and the ability to host unlimited audio and video conference calls.
Nextiva also offers valuable call data analytics, with the ability to analyze both historical and live data. Custom call tracking reports and dashboards allow you to analyze call logs, identify business trends and shortcomings, and gain insight into staff and policy control and effectiveness.
RingCentral is also a versatile modern VoIP service that can help to keep you connected. It delivers reliable HD audio, and your business number will work on any of your devices. This agile service lets you switch your live calls between your desktop and your mobile app, so you never have to cut things short when you’re just getting into or leaving the office. RingCentral has a 99.999% uptime, so you can depend on the service when you need it.
This platform offers so many features that it’s difficult to decide what to highlight. Options like automatic call recording and a dial-by-name directory let you put this phone service to work for your business in the way that is most effective for your needs. Free extension-to-extension calling within global offices and the availability of international inbound numbers in over 70 countries makes this phone service ideal not only for local businesses but also for those with an international reach. Unlimited conference calls with up to 500 people in a meeting also help to keep your business connected.
RingCentral offers a full array of analytics and reporting tools like live reports, quality of service reports, and a meetings dashboard. The performance reports include more than 30 key performance indicators, so you can review data on the number of calls that went to voicemail, the average speed of call answers, the number of refused calls, and more. Live reports deliver insights about staff performance and the customer service experience, so you can identify shortcomings and take steps toward improvement.
While both Nextiva and RingCentral offer quality phone service with 99.999% uptime, our pick for the best phone service goes to RingCentral. RingCentral’s extensive features make its performance largely customizable, while its highly detailed analytics provide valuable information about your business’ performance.
Messaging: RingCentral
Nextiva’s VoIP service includes phone, video, and chat messaging. With unlimited texting nationwide, your staff can stay connected within your business and with customers, too.
In addition to that messaging function included in the VoIP service, Nextiva also offers Cospace, a communication tool that keeps staff connected. Cospace includes group chats that allow staff to share not only messages but also files and links. The chat functions as private workspaces, keeping teams organized even when they’re working remotely. Cospace also makes it easy to schedule meetings and make calls, and all conversations and files are neatly organized in one searchable location.
RingCentral’s team messaging function serves a similar role, keeping teams organized and connected. Dedicated threads for teams, projects, and topics help to keep information organized and easily retrievable. Staff can easily share files and documents with the drag-and-drop functionality, and the messaging also connects with tools like Google Workspace. While the messaging function is beneficial for teams, staff can also invite customers and partners to join in on the conversation.
RingCentral’s chat function:
While a chat provides important updates, sometimes texting back and forth becomes cumbersome. RingCentral has solved that problem with the ability to start a meeting right from a one-on-one or team chat. Users can share their screens and send recaps to keep the whole team moving forward.
Both Nextiva and RingCentral support messaging, but RingCentral excels in this area with its versatile and intuitive messaging functions.
Video: RingCentral
Nextiva makes video conferencing and screen sharing easy. It delivers highly reliable HD video and audio meetings. You’ll also enjoy encrypted screen sharing and file sharing, as well as the ability to run live streams. Thanks to Nextiva’s built-in streaming capability, employees can share their screens with a live audience on YouTube to host workshops and webinars.
Available features include a one-click invite link, the ability to schedule and host meetings, and more.
RingCentral offers versatile video conferencing with built-in team messaging. This built-in messaging function allows video hosts to share agendas, send files, and ensure that all attendees are well-prepared before a meeting starts. The ability to send out invitations through SMS, email, or chat helps streamline work and make scheduling meetings easier.
During the meetings, HD video and audio help ensure a great experience. There are no downloads needed to access a meeting, and guests can use a web browser or the RingCentral app. You can even password-protect meetings for privacy, monitoring who joints when.
RingCentral’s video function:
RingCentral also offers a host of tools to make the most of your time during and after a meeting. During a meeting, you can create a group chat with one click, keeping attendees connected, engaged, and working together. Meeting recaps are stored in your archive, though you can easily send them out through your chat teams. With the RingCentral app, you can assign action items identified during the meetings and then send follow-ups through chat teams.
Nextiva and RingCentral’s video functions are easy and intuitive to use. Still, RingCentral is our top pick because of its ability to streamline workflows and maximize the effectiveness of your meetings.
Final Verdict
If you’re looking for a quality, reliable VoIP service that provides excellent customer support, you really can’t go wrong with Nextiva or RingCentral. Both services are designed to help businesses maximize their efficiency and get the most out of not only phone but also video and chat service.
However, RingCentral gets our top pick for the best VoIP service. With versatile phone features, intuitive messaging that also serves to organize teams, and video conferencing tools that streamline workflows and maximize effectiveness, RingCentral is an investment not only in VoIP service but also in a business’ productivity. RingCentral offers the ability to grow with a company as it expands. It’s also suitable for a small startup, a large business, or an enterprise with a robust marketing and customer service team.