Brightlio Blog

Introduction

The UCaaS industry has proliferated post-pandemic. Many businesses have come to rely on UCaaS solutions for communication and collaboration. Choosing a UCaaS solution can be complicated, so Brightlio simplifies the process by comparing different tools to help our business customers find the perfect fit. One such comparison is Vonage vs. 8×8.

Vonage and 8×8 are two widely recognized UCaaS solutions. However, they have different features and best use cases. We have evaluated both products regarding integrations, platforms supported, call quality, customer support, and cost-effectiveness. Keep reading to find out the best solution for your business.

Vonage Rundown

Vonage started in 1998 as a consumer provider of VoIP services. After the tremendous growth of the mobile industry, the demand for home phone services began to diminish. As a result, the company transitioned into the B2B market to provide cloud communication services for businesses in 2013. In July 2022, a multinational networking and telecommunications company (Ericsson) bought Vonage for $6.2 billion, increasing its global reach.

Vonage offers different solutions, such as communication APIs, contact centers, unified communications, and conversational commerce. The company brands its UCaaS platform as Vonage Business Communications (VBC). 

VBC unifies SMS, voice, messaging, video conferencing, and telephony to help businesses communicate easily. VBC is a reliable cloud-based solution that delivers numerous integrations and can be accessed on any device with a stable internet connection. For this comparison with 8×8, the focus is on Vonage Business Communications. 

8×8 Rundown

8×8 is a cloud-based business communications systems provider prioritizing eXperience Communications as a service (XCaaS). The company provides business communications and contact center services with different pricing and integration options. 

As a VoIP solution, 8×8 unifies voice, chat, and video features to enable seamless organizational communication. Subscribers also get reliable call quality and omnichannel analytics. 8×8 is available internationally with offices in New Zealand, Canada, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. 

8×8 vs. Vonage: Comparing Plans and Pricing

Below we outline the different service tiers that 8×8 and Vonage offer. Let’s see how they stack up against each other.

Vonage Plans and Pricing

Vonage has three primary service tiers: Mobile, Premium, and Advanced. The billing is dependent on the number of employees using the subscription service. Continue reading to see each tier’s costs and respective features.

Vonage Mobile

Mobile is Vonage’s most basic plan. It gives subscribers access to their mobile and desktop apps and is priced as follows:

• $19.99/user monthly for 1-4 users
• $17.99/user monthly for 5-19 users
• $14.99/user monthly for 20-99 users
• Vonage has custom pricing for users above 100. Contact Brightlio to get a price quote.

Here are some features this plan gets you: 

• Mobile and desktop apps
• Unlimited Calls and SMS
• Vonage App Center
• Unlimited Team Messaging

Vonage Premium

Premium is Vonage’s most popular plan. It allows users access to IP desk phones and mobile and desktop apps. Vonage Premium is priced as follows:

• $29.99/user monthly for 1-4 users
• $27.99/user monthly for 5-19 users
• $37.99/user monthly for 20-99 users
• This plan also has custom pricing for over 100 users. Contact Brightlio for the best Vonage pricing.

When you subscribe to Vonage Premium, you get all the features on the Mobile plan and more, including: 

• Unlimited meetings for up to 100
• Multi-level auto attendant
• CRM Integration
• IP desk phone capability

Vonage Advanced

Vonage Advanced offers more comprehensive features for its users. Subscribers get everything on the Premium plan, plus the following: 

• On-demand call recording (15 hours)
• Call Groups
• Visual Voicemail

Here’s how Vonage’s highest-tier plan is priced: 

• $39.99/user monthly for 1-4 users
• $37.99/user monthly for 5-19 users
• $34.99/user monthly for 20-99 users
• The Advanced plan also has custom pricing for over 100 users. Brightlio can help you get the best price quotes.

8×8 Plans and Pricing

There are two unified communication plans on the 8×8 official website: X2 and X4. 8×8 gives businesses the option to mix and match plans. So, you can contact Brightlio to describe the specific features you want, and we can develop something tailored to your needs. 

X2

This plan costs $24/user (billed annually) and $28/user (billed monthly). Subscribers get access to the following features and more:

• Unlimited voice calls to 14 countries
• Unlimited users
• 8×8 Work app
• Secure HD voice
• Integration with Microsoft Teams and other CRM
• Call queues
• Call activity analytics

X4

This plan costs $44/user (billed annually) and $57/user (billed monthly). Users get access to every feature available on the X2 plan, plus the following:

• Unlimited voice calls to 48 countries
• Barge, monitor, and whisper, which allows supervisors to listen in on active calls
• Supervisor analytics
• 8×8 Frontdesk for operators and receptionists

8×8 Business Communications Plus Contact Center

As an XCaaS provider, 8×8 combines business communications with a contact center. Contact center features have three service tiers: X6, X7, and X8. The three plans cost $85/user monthly, $110/user monthly, and $140/user monthly, respectively. 

Although the contact center plans contain most of the features already available in their X2 and X4 plans, subscribers enjoy other exclusive features, such as: 

• 8×8 Secure Pay
• Intelligent interactive voice response (IIVR)
• Auto dialer
• Quality management and speech analytics

Like 8×8, Vonage also has a contact center service, Vonage Communications Center (VCC).

8×8 vs. Vonage: Cost-effectiveness and Affordability

8×8’s pricing is close to Vonage’s. However, after considering the availability of important VoIP features and each tool’s pricing, we’ve concluded that Vonage is the more affordable option. 

Firstly, Vonage generally costs less than 8×8 right from the first plan. Additionally, save for the IP desk phone availability, Vonage’s Mobile plan meets the communication needs of most of our customers. Vonage also offers businesses easy scalability as they control the number of users per service tier. 

8×8 is an excellent option for businesses with robust functionality requirements. It also works excellently for companies with an international user base. But all things considered, Vonage is the cheaper and more cost-effective option. 

8×8 vs. Vonage: Integrations

The table below shows a list of software that can be integrated with 8×8 and Vonage.

Software	8×8 Integration	Vonage Integrations
Agency Matrix	❌	✔️
Airtable	❌	✔️
Azure Active Directory	✔️	✔️
BeInContact	❌	✔️
BetterCloud	❌	❌
Boost.AI	❌	❌
Bubble	❌	✔️
Bullhorn ATS & CRM	✔️	✔️
Clever Messenger	❌	✔️
Confer With	❌	✔️
Copper	✔️	❌
Courier	❌	✔️
1CRM	✔️	❌
Cyclr	❌	✔️
DataOrb	❌	❌
Detrack	✔️	✔️
Fimble	❌	✔️
Genesys Cloud CX	✔️	❌
Gong.io	❌	✔️
Google Workspace	✔️	✔️
Grasshopper	❌	❌
Kustomer	✔️	❌
Mattermost	✔️	✔️
Microsoft Office365	✔️	✔️
Microsoft Teams	✔️	✔️
Netsuite	✔️	✔️
Notify.Events	❌	✔️
Okta	✔️	✔️
Pipedream	✔️	❌
Retail Choreography Suite	❌	✔️
Salesboom CRM Suite	❌	❌
Salesforce Sales Cloud	✔️	✔️
ServiceNow	✔️	✔️
Skype	✔️	✔️
Slack	✔️	✔️
Smartflow	❌	❌
Smith.ai	❌	❌
Solitics	❌	✔️
Splunk On-Call	❌	❌
StaffConnect	❌	✔️
SugarCRM	✔️	✔️
Telegram	✔️	✔️
Tenfold	✔️	✔️
Textline	❌	✔️
TickTick	❌	❌
UltraSMSScript	❌	✔️
VCDoctor Lifecare	❌	✔️
Vonigo	✔️	❌
Webex	✔️	✔️
Xplenty	❌	❌
YepCode	❌	✔️
Zendesk	✔️	✔️

The table shows that both tools support collaboration with Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Office 365. However, Vonage allows integration with many more solutions than 8×8. So, it is the better option for businesses that need to connect more tools to their VoIP solution. 

8×8 vs. Vonage: Platforms Supported

When choosing a business phone system, many customers look for solutions within reach on multiple platforms. Below is a table showing platforms that support 8×8 and Vonage.

Platforms Supported	8×8	Vonage
Android	✔️	✔️
iOS	✔️	✔️
Mac	✔️	✔️
Web-based	✔️	✔️
Windows	✔️	✔️

Vonage Business Communications customers can find the Vonage mobile app on Google Play Store and iOS App store. The 8×8 Work app can be found on both platforms too. 

If you prefer to work on your desktop, both solutions are available for download on Mac and Windows OS. In this category, you can hardly go wrong with choosing either Vonage or 8×8.

8×8 vs. Vonage: Customer Support

When there is an issue with service, which business communications solution is more likely to respond faster? Below is a table that shows available customer support for 8×8 and Vonage.

Customer Support	8×8	Vonage
Knowledge base	✔️	✔️
FAQs/Community Forum	✔️	✔️
Phone support	✔️	✔️
Live Chat (24/7)	✔️	✔️
Email	❌	✔️

Both software platforms have a live chat feature that is available 24/7. They also have functioning phone support and community forums. 

However, Vonage takes customer support further by providing an email channel. So, even though 8×8’s customer support is excellent, Vonage has a slight edge. 

8×8 vs. Vonage: Call Quality and Reliability

Network connectivity is a significant factor that affects VoIP call quality. However, impeccable voice, video, and messaging features also go a long way in ensuring reliable service. 

In this regard, the popular peer-to-peer review website, G2, declares Vonage the superior solution in terms of call quality. G2 bases this conclusion on a head-to-head comparison of both tools’ phone calls, instant messaging, conference calls, and screen-sharing quality. 

So, even though both solutions boast over 99% uptime, VoIP software authorities and users’ opinions say Vonage is the more reliable tool. 

8×8 vs. Vonage: What’s the Verdict? 

Here’s what we found out after a thorough look at the strengths and weaknesses of both software in various areas: 

• 8×8 has many valuable features for large organizations, but Vonage is more cost-effective.
• Vonage supports more integrations than 8×8.
• Customers of both solutions enjoy good customer service, but Vonage provides email support, while 8×8 does not.
• Both tools are easily accessible on mobile and desktop.
• Regarding call quality and reliability, users rate Vonage as the better option.

Our final verdict is that Vonage better fits our customer’s business needs. 8×8 offers many call features that make it perfect for companies with an international audience. However, Vonage supports more integrations, has better call quality, and provides more customer support channels.

How can Brightlio Help? 

Brightlio partners with many telecommunications and UCaaS providers as a broker. We aim to deliver the best solutions for your business needs and objectives. 

We can also offer some of the best technological solutions in colocation, public cloud, network connectivity, and advisory services. Reach out to us today for a consultation or quote!

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also like the following comparisons:

• Ooma vs. Vonage
• Dialpad vs. Google Voice
• Dialpad vs. RingCentral
• Vonage vs. RingCentral
• Vonage vs. Nextiva

FAQs About 8×8 vs. Vonage 

When should I use 8×8?

Due to the unlimited international calling exclusive to its X series plans, 8×8 is a good fit for businesses that operate in several regions outside the US. Companies that intend to expand into new markets will also find 8×8 useful.

What countries can I call with Vonage?

Vonage allows calls throughout the US and in countries like Canada, India, the UK, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Kenya, and Russia, to mention a few.

What is the minimum internet speed for Vonage functionality?

Vonage advises users to operate its software on an internet connection speed of at least 90 kbps to get the best quality.