RingCentral Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 8 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Core $20/user/mo billed annually ($30 monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Best for
- US teams of 5 to 100 people that want phone, video meetings, fax and an auto attendant from one vendor, with CRM links on Advanced
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and web apps; supported desk phones and conference phones; Microsoft Teams integration; APIs on every plan
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is RingCentral RingEX, and is it worth paying for?
RingEX is RingCentral's cloud business phone system. Each user gets a business number, unlimited calling within the US and Canada, a multi-level auto attendant (IVR), call queues, voicemail transcription, video meetings for up to 300 people, team messaging and RingCentral's AI Assistant in one app. It's worth paying for if you want a full phone system with meetings and fax from one vendor and can commit to an annual term. Core starts at $20 per user a month billed annually ($30 monthly), checked on RingCentral's pricing page on October 13, 2026. Automatic recording, advanced queue routing, fax and CRM integrations need Advanced ($25 annual, $35 monthly), texting comes in small monthly allotments (25 per user on Core), and RingCentral's terms make you pay out the rest of the term if you leave early.
- Best for
- Offices of 5 to 100 people that want an auto attendant, call queues, video meetings and fax in one system, and Salesforce or Zendesk links on Advanced.
- Skip it if
- You're a solo user on a tight budget, text customers heavily, or want to cancel mid-term without paying the balance.
- Strongest capability
- Breadth on the entry plan: multi-level IVR, basic queues, a receptionist console, 300-person video meetings, unlimited audio conferencing, APIs and 24/7 support are all on Core.
- Biggest limitation
- Cost and terms: Core costs more than Dialpad or Quo's entry plans, texting and toll-free minutes are capped by tier, AI Receptionist and queue boosters are paid add-ons, and ending a term early leaves the rest of it due.
The Verdict
RingEX packs more phone-system features into its entry plan than most rivals. Core includes unlimited calling within the US and Canada, a multi-level auto attendant, basic call queues, on-demand recording, voicemail transcription, video meetings for up to 300 people, unlimited audio conferencing, single sign-on, APIs and 24/7 support, plus an AI Assistant that transcribes calls and takes notes at no extra cost. The trade-offs are price and limits. Core is $20 per user billed annually ($30 monthly), more than Dialpad or Quo's entry plans, and automatic recording, advanced queue routing, fax and CRM integrations need Advanced ($25 annual). Texting is capped at 25 messages per user a month on Core and 100 on Advanced, toll-free minutes are pooled at 100 or 1,000 per account, and AI Receptionist ($39 a month as an add-on), Call Queues Booster ($35) and Business SMS Booster ($25) cost extra. RingCentral's terms renew automatically and make you pay the rest of the term if you leave early, and its own pages disagree on trial size and integration count. We score RingCentral 8.4/10.
Best for
US offices of 5 to 100 people that want a full phone system with an IVR, queues, meetings and fax from one vendor.
Skip if
You're a solo user, text customers in volume, or need a plan you can leave mid-term without paying the balance.
The Background
What Is RingCentral?
RingCentral, Inc. sells cloud communications products. RingEX (formerly RingCentral MVP) is its unified communications plan family: business phone numbers, calling, SMS, fax, team messaging and RingCentral Video meetings in one app, with an AI Assistant for notes, transcripts and writing help. On the US pricing page it is sold as Core and Advanced, plus two AI Customer Engagement Bundles (one with AI Receptionist, one adding AI Conversation Expert) that are quoted by sales; the Ultra tier still appears in RingCentral's RingEX service attachment but isn't shown on the pricing page. RingCentral also sells AI Receptionist (AIR) as an add-on or standalone product, RingCX for contact centers, Webinar and Events, and Rooms for conference spaces. RingCentral says it has 600k+ customers and supports 100+ countries; those are its own figures.
The Product
RingCentral Features: What You Actually Get
Calling, numbers and the auto attendant
Every plan includes a business or toll-free number per user, unlimited calling within the US and Canada (for regular business use under the acceptable use policy), a multi-level auto attendant and IVR, shared lines, visual voicemail with transcription, a receptionist console, HD voice with AI noise cancellation and E911. Toll-free minutes are pooled per account: 100 on Core, 1,000 on Advanced and 10,000 on the bundles, with overage at 3.9 cents a minute per the service attachment. Extra local or toll-free numbers are $4.99 a month. Advanced adds 8-digit extensions with site codes, call monitoring (whisper and barge), hot desking and multi-site administration.
A 15-person dental group sets up an IVR with options for appointments, billing and each location, and shares one front-desk line across three phones.
Call queues and recording
Core includes basic call queues and on-demand recording only. Advanced adds advanced queue rules and routing and automatic recording. The Call Queues Booster add-on ($35 on the pricing page, which doesn't state the billing unit) adds callbacks from the queue, place-in-queue and estimated-wait announcements and live queue reports; it's included in the AI Customer Engagement Bundles. Recordings play a notification to callers when recording starts.
A support team on Advanced records every call automatically, and adds the Call Queues Booster so callers can request a callback instead of waiting on hold.
AI Assistant and AI Receptionist
RingCentral's AI Assistant is included on every plan: it transcribes and captions calls and video meetings, takes real-time notes with action items, summarizes recorded meetings and unread team chats, and translates live captions in 15+ languages. Writing help and translation for SMS and team messages start on Advanced. RingCentral says it may manage AI notes usage above 500 minutes per user a month. AI Receptionist, which answers and routes calls 24/7, books appointments and logs leads to Salesforce, HubSpot or Zoho, is $39 a month as a RingEX add-on or $49 standalone, each with 100 minutes and $0.50 a minute after that.
A real estate office adds AI Receptionist after hours to answer listing questions, capture buyer details and text callers a showing link.
Video meetings, messaging and fax
RingCentral Video is built in: meetings for up to 300 participants with whiteboards, breakout rooms and unlimited cloud video recording kept for one year, plus unlimited audio conferencing for up to 1,000 attendees. Team messaging and file sharing come with limited storage on Core and Advanced. Unlimited internet fax starts on Advanced. Webinar (from $30 per organizer a month), Rooms ($39 per room a month) and Push to Talk ($5 per user a month) are add-ons.
A consulting firm runs client calls, weekly video meetings and internal chat from one app, and faxes signed forms from Advanced.
Integrations, APIs and security
Microsoft 365, Google, Slack, Microsoft Teams calling, the developer platform and APIs, and connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are on every plan. CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk and more), industry integrations and the Archiver app start on Advanced. RingCentral lists HITRUST, PCI DSS, SOC 2, SOC 3 and Cyber Essentials Plus on its trust center, offers a HIPAA BAA to paying covered-entity customers, and promises a 99.999% uptime SLA on every plan. End-to-end encryption for calls and chats is in beta.
A sales team on Advanced logs every call to Salesforce, and IT enforces single sign-on and multi-factor authentication for all users.
Feature recap
- Unlimited US and Canada calling on every plan, for regular business use
- Multi-level auto attendant (IVR) and basic call queues from Core
- Video meetings for up to 300 people and unlimited audio conferencing included
- AI Assistant for call and meeting transcripts, notes and summaries at no extra cost
- Automatic recording, advanced queue routing, fax and CRM integrations from Advanced
- Texting capped at 25 / 100 / 200 SMS per user a month by tier
- AI Receptionist from $39 a month as an add-on; Call Queues Booster $35
- 24/7 support and a 99.999% uptime SLA on every plan
The Numbers
RingCentral Pricing: Every Plan Explained
These RingEX prices come from RingCentral's US pricing page, checked October 13, 2026, in USD per user a month. Annual prices are shown as a monthly figure. Core and Advanced cost the same for 1 to 5 and 6 to 100 users; above 100 users, RingCentral quotes prices through sales. Taxes and fees such as the Federal Universal Service Recovery Fee, E911 fee and state and local taxes are extra.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $30/user/mo | $20/user/mo | Unlimited US/CA calling, 100 pooled toll-free minutes, 25 SMS per user, multi-level IVR, basic call queues, on-demand recording, video meetings up to 300, AI Assistant for phone and video, SSO, APIs, 24/7 support | Small offices that need an IVR and meetings |
| AdvancedBest value | $35/user/mo | $25/user/mo | Everything in Core plus 1,000 toll-free minutes, 100 SMS per user, automatic recording, advanced queue routing, call monitoring, hot desking, unlimited fax, multi-site admin, business analytics, CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk and more), AI writing and translation for texts and chats | Teams that use a CRM or run several sites |
| AI Customer Engagement Bundle with AIR | Custom | Custom | Advanced features plus AI Receptionist, 10,000 toll-free minutes, 200 SMS per user, unlimited storage, Business SMS Booster features, a Webinar license for 500 attendees; a second bundle adds AI Conversation Expert | Customer-facing teams with high call volume |
| Add-ons | Varies | — | AI Receptionist from $39/mo (100 min, then $0.50/min); Conversational Intelligence from $60; Call Queues Booster $35; Business SMS Booster $25; extra numbers $4.99/mo; vanity numbers $30 once + $4.99/mo; international numbers from $5.99/user/mo | Add as needed |
| Usage and fees | Varies | — | Toll-free overage 3.9 cents/min; registered SMS beyond the allotment $0.0119 per message per the SMS rates page; international calls from prepaid credits (UK landlines from $0.039/min); carrier registration fees charged by TCR and vetting agencies | Budget for usage |
For a team of five, Core costs $100 a month billed annually and Advanced $125 (our arithmetic from RingCentral's listed prices), before taxes, fees and add-ons. Billed monthly, the same team pays $150 or $175, so the annual discount is worth up to 33% on Core. Texting can add up: Core's 25 messages per user a month are pooled across the account, and each registered SMS beyond the allotment costs $0.0119 according to the SMS rates page, while texts from unregistered numbers aren't counted against the allotment and cost $0.014. Carrier registration is required before texting; RingCentral's support article lists TCR's fees ($19 brand registration, $15 campaign vetting and $1.50 a month for a low-volume campaign with a three-month minimum) and says RingCentral isn't currently charging its own fees for registration. RingCentral's terms of service (last updated February 23, 2022) say services renew automatically for the same term unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before it ends, that price increases take effect at renewal with at least 30 days' notice, and that if you terminate for any reason other than RingCentral's uncured material breach you owe all sums remaining for the rest of the term. Late payments carry a fee of 1.5% a month. Minute and calling-credit bundles expire at the end of each month.
Read before you buy
Where RingCentral's own pages differ
Trial size: the pricing page's FAQ says the 14-day free trial supports up to 20 phone lines, with up to 2 desk phones. The disclaimers at the bottom of the same page say the trial is limited to a maximum of five users and two desktop phones. Both say SMS isn't available during the trial and that trial hardware must be returned within 21 days of cancelling.
Integration count: the pricing page's FAQ says RingCentral has over 330 integrations across 200+ companies, while the RingEX product page says you can connect over 500 integrations.
SMS rates: RingCentral's current SMS rates page lists registered long-code SMS at $0.0119 per message sent or received, while its support article on TCR registration fees lists registered domestic long-code SMS at $0.0085. Unregistered rates match on both ($0.014).
Ultra: the RingEX service attachment still describes Core, Advanced and Ultra tiers (with 100, 1,000 and 10,000 toll-free minutes and 25, 100 and 200 SMS per user), and a Webinar add-on note mentions RingEX Ultra users. The US pricing page shows no Ultra plan; its top columns are the AI Customer Engagement Bundles, priced through sales.
Contracts and data
Cancelling, porting and compliance
Only the company admin or account owner can cancel, by calling or chatting with support. RingCentral's help article says the account is disabled for 30 days before it's cancelled, after which your numbers are disconnected and call logs, messages, contacts and settings are deleted. Port numbers out and export recordings first; RingCentral's Archiver app only captures data from the day it's set up. Contract and renewal questions go to customer success, which is staffed Monday to Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific.
Porting numbers in carries no fee; RingCentral's porting page says it covers the cost of negotiating the transfer and gives no fixed timeframe. Transfers of more than 100 numbers from one carrier go through its Project Port team.
RingCentral's trust center lists HITRUST, PCI DSS, SOC 2, SOC 3, GDPR and Cyber Essentials Plus. Its RingEX and HIPAA paper (April 2024) says it offers a business associate agreement to paying covered-entity customers and that RingEX and the RingCentral App are HITRUST CSF Certified. Recording-consent rules vary by state; none of this is legal advice.
The Tradeoffs
RingCentral Pros and Cons
What we love
- Multi-level IVR, basic queues and a receptionist console on the entry plan
- Video meetings for up to 300 people and unlimited audio conferencing included
- AI Assistant for call and meeting notes at no extra cost
- 24/7 phone support and a 99.999% uptime SLA on every plan
- Large integration catalog, Microsoft Teams calling and APIs from Core
- Same per-user price from 1 to 100 users
What could be better
- Core costs more per user than Dialpad or Quo's entry plans
- Automatic recording, fax and CRM integrations need Advanced
- Texting capped at 25 SMS per user a month on Core
- AI Receptionist, Call Queues Booster and SMS Booster cost extra
- Leaving mid-term means paying the rest of the term
- Pages disagree on trial size, integration count and SMS rates
The Audience
Who Should Use RingCentral?
Best for: multi-person offices replacing a PBX
Clinics, law firms, agencies and branch offices with 5 to 100 people get direct numbers, an IVR, queues, desk-phone support, meetings and fax from one vendor, with multi-site administration on Advanced.
Best for: teams on Microsoft 365 or Salesforce
RingEX adds calling inside Microsoft Teams on every plan, and Advanced logs calls to Salesforce, Zendesk and other CRMs.
Skip if: you're solo, text-heavy or want flexibility
A one-person business or a team that mainly texts customers will find Quo or CallHippo cheaper, and anyone who may need to leave mid-term should weigh RingCentral's early-termination terms.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed RingCentral
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use a RingCentral account for this review. It's based on RingCentral's US plans and pricing page (including its plan comparison data, add-ons, FAQ and disclaimers), its AI Receptionist, contact center and video pricing pages, the RingEX product page, trust center and RingEX and HIPAA paper, its terms of service, RingEX service attachment, SMS rates and international rates pages, and help-center articles on TCR registration fees, cancelling an account, porting and contacting support, all checked on October 13, 2026. Where RingCentral's pages differ, we report both statements. No call quality, uptime or AI accuracy results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on RingCentral's US plans and pricing page and plan comparison data, AI Receptionist, contact center and video pricing pages, RingEX product page, trust center and HIPAA paper, terms of service, RingEX service attachment, SMS and international rates pages, and help-center articles on TCR registration fees, cancellation, porting and support, all checked October 13, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
RingCentral vs The Competition
RingEX competes with other cloud phone systems for small and midsize teams. Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 13, 2026, using US pricing.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RingCentral | Core $20/user/mo billed annually ($30 monthly) | No | Calling, numbers and the auto attendant | 8.4/10 |
| Dialpad | Standard $15/user/mo billed yearly ($27 monthly) | No | Real-time transcripts and AI call summaries from Standard | 8.3/10 |
| Quo (formerly OpenPhone) | Starter $15/user/mo billed yearly ($19 monthly) | No | Unlimited US and Canada texting on every plan | 8.5/10 |
| CallHippo | Basic $0 (pay for numbers); Starter $19/user/mo billed yearly ($25 monthly) | Yes | Low entry price with unlimited US/CA minutes on Starter | 8.3/10 |
| Aircall | Essentials $30/license/mo billed yearly, 3-license minimum | No | IVR, recordings and 250+ integrations for sales and support teams | 8.2/10 |
Dialpad: Dialpad Standard is cheaper and includes AI call summaries and a multi-level auto attendant, but CRM integrations and hold queues need Pro ($25 billed yearly, $35 monthly), which has a 3-seat minimum. RingEX includes basic queues and meetings for 300 people on Core.Read our Dialpad review →
Quo (formerly OpenPhone): Quo includes unlimited US and Canada calls and texts under fair use, where RingEX caps texting at 25 per user on Core. Phone menus and CRM integrations start on Quo Business ($23 billed yearly), and its pricing page lists no call queue feature.Read our Quo (formerly OpenPhone) review →
CallHippo: CallHippo Starter includes unlimited US and Canada minutes and 100 texts, and Professional ($30 billed yearly, $40 monthly) adds 500 texts and CRM integrations. It costs less than RingEX but doesn't bundle video meetings for 300 people.Read our CallHippo review →
Aircall: Aircall Essentials includes unlimited US and Canada calls, an IVR, call recordings and AI transcripts, with smart routing, queue callback and AI call summaries on Professional ($50 billed yearly). Every plan needs at least 3 licenses.Read our Aircall review →
In The Wild
How People Actually Use RingCentral
A 10-person professional office
Core ($20 billed annually) covers direct numbers, an IVR, basic queues, voicemail transcription and video meetings. Port the main number for free, keep the old service active until the port completes, and register for SMS before texting clients.
A 25-person sales and support team on Salesforce
Advanced ($25 billed annually) adds Salesforce logging, automatic recording, advanced queue routing and call monitoring. Add the Call Queues Booster if callers need callbacks and wait-time announcements.
A home-services business that misses calls after hours
Add AI Receptionist ($39 a month with 100 minutes, then $0.50 a minute) to answer and book jobs overnight, and budget for texting beyond the plan's SMS allotment and the $0.15 AI fee on each AI-sent reply.
The Ecosystem
RingCentral Integrations
RingCentral says it has over 330 integrations on its pricing page and over 500 on its RingEX page. Productivity integrations and APIs are on every plan; CRM integrations start on Advanced.
- →Salesforce and Zendesk (Advanced and up)
- →HubSpot, ServiceNow and other CRMs via the App Gallery
- →Microsoft Teams integrated telephony (all plans)
- →Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Slack (all plans)
- →ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini connectors (all plans)
- →Developer platform and APIs for voice, SMS, fax and messaging (all plans)
- →Archiver for cloud storage backup (Advanced and up)
- →Canvas, Smarsh and other industry integrations (Advanced and up)
Plan availability above comes from RingCentral's pricing comparison table on October 13, 2026. The table groups HubSpot and others under CRM integrations without listing each one by plan, so confirm a specific integration's plan requirement in the App Gallery before buying. AI Receptionist logs leads to Salesforce, HubSpot and Zoho on its own.
Common Questions
RingCentral FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use RingCentral?
RingCentral RingEX is a strong choice for offices that want a complete phone system, with an IVR, queues, video meetings, conferencing, 24/7 support and AI notes, from one vendor and are happy to commit to a term. Budget for Advanced if you need CRM sync, automatic recording or fax, add AI Receptionist or the queue and SMS boosters only if you need them, and read the renewal and early-termination terms before signing. Solo users and text-heavy teams will usually pay less elsewhere. We score RingCentral 8.4/10.
Yes, if
Your team of 5 to 100 wants an IVR, call queues, video meetings and fax in one system, with 24/7 support and CRM links on Advanced.
No, if
You're a solo user, text customers in volume, or need to be able to cancel mid-term without paying the balance.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
Keep reading
Related to RingCentral
Category
Best Business Phone Systems
See how RingCentral ranks against the rest of the category.
Review
CallHippo review
A Low-Cost Cloud Phone System With Plan-Gated Recording, IVR and CRM Links
Review
KrispCall review
A Budget Virtual Phone System With Bundled Minutes and No Free Trial
Review
Dialpad review
A Cloud Business Phone System With AI Transcripts and Summaries on Every Plan
Get the best of BestStacked
The AI tools worth knowing. None of the noise.
- New AI tool and software reviews as they publish
- Head-to-head comparisons and stack breakdowns
- The occasional recommendation worth knowing
No fake urgency. No made-up weekly cadence. Unsubscribe anytime.