20 Best Call Center Software For Small Businesses In 2025
10 Best Call Center Software for Small Business Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 20 tools reviewed.
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
There are so many different call center software for small businesses, so making a shortlist of the best ones can be tricky. You aim to promptly handle customer inquiries across various channels, supervise service agents, and track call metrics - and need to find the right tool for your business. In this article, I'll help you make this choice easier by sharing my insights on the top call center software for small businesses that will cater to your needs.
What is Call Center Software for Small Businesses?
Call center software for small businesses is a cloud-based platform designed to streamline customer support operations across various communication channels such as chat, text, email, social media, and phone calls. It serves as a centralized solution for businesses to efficiently manage incoming inquiries and provide timely assistance to customers. This is accomplished through a suite of features including omnichannel communications, intelligent call routing, CRM integration, automated tracking, customer data analytics, and support for both inbound and outbound calling.
For small businesses that need to deliver exceptional customer experiences and drive operational excellence, this software can effectively handle customer queries, track interactions, and provide valuable insights into customer behavior to optimize support processes.
Overviews of the 10 Best Call Center Software for Small Business
You can use the simple overviews of each tool below to understand how each tool stands out from other call center software for small business.
RingCentral is a call center software solution designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, offering omnichannel capabilities for managing customer interactions.
Why I chose RingCentral: As an AI-first call center solution, RingCentral can automate tasks to support small businesses with limited capacity. These automation capabilities include AI-powered virtual agents, real-time coaching, and actionable insights to help you make informed decisions about customer experience and overall agent performance.
RingCentral also offers omnichannel routing, which intelligently matches contact center queries with the right agent, leading to faster resolution. The platform's intelligent routing system employs various strategies. For example, it can match customers with the best available resources based on agent skill sets or use machine learning to understand message intent and route digital messages.
RingCentral Standout Features and Integrations
Features include omnichannel functionalities, intelligent routing, IVR/self-service, automatic callback, call blending, compliance risk mitigation, encryption, workforce engagement and management, agent skill profiles, screen recording, dual listening, prebuilt reports, and detailed analytics.
Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Beetexting, HubSpot, Asana, Zendesk, Appointment Reminder, Aha!, Trello, Zapier, Automator, and over 300 more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Many integrations available
- Scales with your business
- Omnichannel automation features
Cons:
- Limitations with specific desk phones
- Lower tier plans have limited features and storage capacities
Squaretalk is a contact center software platform designed to boost communication and operational efficiency for businesses of all sizes.
Why I chose Squaretalk: I like how configurable the platform is, giving you the ability to adjust the platform to match your specific operational needs. You can create a system that's aligned with your business processes and workflows, improving how your team handles calls and customer interactions.
The platform also includes detailed reporting capabilities, crucial for understanding performance metrics and making informed decisions. You can tailor these reports to focus on the most relevant data, allowing you to spot trends, assess agent productivity, and enhance your call center operations without added complexity.
Squaretalk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include intelligent call routing, automated call distribution, smart call queuing, predictive dialing, dynamic lead reset, on-screen script, agent rankings, web callback, and timezone rules.
Integrations include Zoho, Salesforce, Freshworks, Pipedrive, and Lynx.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Includes video capabilities and a softphone tool
- Comprehensive range of call center features available
- Strong security features, including end-to-end encryption
Cons:
- Initial training period can be lengthy
- Some customization limitations
CloudTalk is a call center software that enables businesses to effectively handle their call center operations, ensuring smooth and streamlined customer interactions.
Why I chose CloudTalk: This cloud-based software alleviates the need for equipment, and its code-free setup makes it friendly to all types of businesses. It offers lots of helpful call management features, like unlimited queues, call recording, and international and toll-free numbers. But it also has tools to help you manage your operations.
Automated call distribution ensures none of your employees gets overloaded with customer calls. Meanwhile, ring groups notify all available agents of incoming calls at once to be sure calls are answered quickly. Call notes and tagging help keep everyone up to date and aligned on customer history and important information.
CloudTalk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include power dialer, smart dialer, custom extensions, 3-way calling, call transfers, click-to-call, campaigns, call notes, call tagging, call flow designer, VIP queues, preferred agents, and workflow automation.
Integrations include HubSpot, Zendesk, Intercom, Gong, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Copper CRM, ActiveCampaign, LiveAgent, and Outreach, among others. Additional integrations can be configured with a paid Zapier account.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Unlimited users in starter plan
- Call recordings are stored for 1 month in starter plan
- Call flow designer included in starter plan
Cons:
- Extra fee for additional numbers
- Limited reporting and analytics in starter plan
Shelf calls itself a modern knowledge management platform with a focus on immediacy and responsiveness. Because customers expect instant service on-demand, businesses need better tools to predictively track their needs. With their proprietary MerlinAI, Shelf can help your team listen for questions and suggest the best answers — automatically.
The MerlinAI and Agent Assist tools are one of the reasons I included Shelf on this list. Both have the capability to enhance agent productivity and engagement. Employees no longer have to search databases and notes for answers to urgent customer questions because the Shelf AI can automate the entire knowledge lifecycle with content creation, announcements, reviews, ratings, and more. You’ll be saving your team tons of time and improving your knowledge base so it’s always updated.
If you want to empower your agents to deliver the best possible customer service with all the knowledge they need at their fingertips, Shelf is for you. With answers to customer questions delivered instantly to their desktop, agents can respond better. Shelf also provides lower level solutions with no-effort answers via chatbots, AI-powered answer forms, and self-service portals.
Shelf Standout Features and Integrations
Features include AI agent assist, knowledge management, chatbots, self-service portals, ticketing system, advanced encryption standard (AES), automated content creation and syncing, SMS, email, web communication, API access, and analytics and reporting.
Integrations include Genesys, NICE inContact, Five9, Salesforce, Slack, Kustomer, Zendesk, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Firefox.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Integrates easily into existing structures
- Quickly captures resources from the web
- Empowers agents to provide better service
Cons:
- Color scheme can be difficult to read
- No built-in internal chat – only Slack integration
Talkdesk
Best for a seamless, frictionless customer experience across all channels
Talkdesk offers small businesses with big reach a global customer service experience. Their contact center solution delivers ultra-fast, cloud-based connections and enterprise-level CX applications that you can integrate with nearly anything. Talkdesk can deliver omnichannel engagement, customer self-service, and customer experience analytics all in one place.
I picked this software because it balances consumer needs with enterprise usability for a well- rounded experience on all sides. Your customer service agents will enjoy the intuitive UX that ensures a clean agent workspace and simple reporting. With intelligent routing, proactive outbound engagement, and speech analytics to improve CSAT issues, you’ll have it all.
This tool is ideal for small businesses who plan on growing, as Talkdesk has easy scalability and extensibility with prebuilt integrations, omnichannel communication options, and employee collaboration features.
Talkdesk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include dedicated agent workspaces, intelligent routing, call recording, speech analytics, granular reporting, quality management, self-service, pre-built integrations, omnichannel communication, and workforce management.
Integrations include Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Now, Dynamics 360, Zoom, Shopify, BigCommerce, and OnePage CRM.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Wifi based calling
- Reliable call experience (no dropped calls)
- Intuitive setup and configuration
Cons:
- Occasional system glitches
- A lot of updates
Nextiva is a unified customer experience management platform that offers a wide range of tools and features to enhance customer interactions and communication processes.
Why I chose Nextiva: Nextiva’s platform includes essential call center functionalities such as advanced call routing, interactive voice response (IVR), and automatic call distribution (ACD). These features enable small businesses to handle high call volumes while maintaining customer satisfaction. Additionally, Nextiva offers AI-powered tools like sentiment analysis and dynamic call scripting, which help personalize customer interactions.
Another reason why Nextiva stands out is its comprehensive reporting and analytics tools. These tools provide real-time insights into call center performance, allowing businesses to track key metrics such as call volumes, wait times, and resolution rates. With these insights, small businesses can make data-driven decisions to optimize their operations.
Nextiva Standout Features and Integrations
Features include intelligent virtual assistants, call recording and monitoring, advanced IVR, customizable call routing, AI-powered chatbots, real-time dashboards, speech and text analytics, quality management tools, and workforce optimization.
Integrations include Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho, Oracle Sales Cloud, Workbooks, ServiceNow, SugarCRM, Act! CRM, Lotus Notes, ConnectWise, GoldMine, and Bullhorn.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Workforce management features
- Real-time call center performance insights
- AI features to automate tasks
Cons:
- Initial setup may take time for small businesses
- Key integrations are only available on higher-tier plans
Dialpad technology is based on AI-powered intelligence to streamline your workflow. Whether you use the AI contact center to help you engage with customers or the AI sales solutions to coach you through live calls at every step, the world’s smartest phone system is at your fingertips.
There is so much you can do with AI technology, and it’s one of the main reasons Dialpad is on this list. They use AI to power video calls, auto transcribe discussions, conduct sentiment analysis, and so much more. Their product innovation allows you to take a step back and breathe while the AI does all the work.
From retail and technology to education and sales, Dialpad is a tool that transcends industry. Ideal for large and small businesses alike, this call center software offers a ton of versatility and flexibility to meet your needs.
Dialpad Standout Features and Integrations
Features include AI contact center, omnichannel customer engagement, AI messaging, AI sales, AI CSAT, AI virtual agents, VoIP phone system, enterprise phone system, and video conferencing.
Integrations include Koopid, Miro, Kare Knowledgeware, Zoho, Salesforce, Now, BlogSpot, Slack, One Login, Poly, and Custom API Integrations.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Convenient automated incoming call notification
- Ideal for sales
- Efficient management
Cons:
- Difficult to listen and transcribe voice messages
Aircall
Best for integrating with help desks and other customer support CRMs
If you’re looking to ensure continuity in customer support, eliminate manual data entry, and streamline onboarding for new clients or new employees, Aircall provides a unique solution for your needs. Their customer support solution is an effective way to reduce your backlog and ensure you know exactly who you’re talking to the moment the phone rings.
With their customer context features like Insight Cards, Aircall guarantees you know why a customer is calling before you even pick up the phone. With skill-based routing, language needs, drag and drop IVR, and other custom criteria, you can start servicing customers before the conversation begins.
Because their customer service center is built on AWS with multiple global data centers, you get the highest quality of communication with Opus codec audio transmission, 99.99% uptime, and dynamic carrier switching. With chat, email, and phone service available, Aircall is the ideal choice for SMBs who focus on customer support.
Aircall Standout Features and Integrations
Features include toll-free numbers, international numbers, call conference solutions, custom scheduling, voicemail, call queuing, IVR, blocklist numbers, extensions, SMS business messaging, shared contacts, warm transfer, call commenting, and ring groups.
Integrations include ActiveCampaign CRM, Hiver Helpdesk, Odoo CRM, Alloy Automation, bao, Fireflies, BigCommerce, JobAdder, Freshdesk, Outreach, and Microsoft Teams.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great customer service
- Frequent new features and updates
- User-friendly admin panel
Cons:
- Problematic integration with HubSpot
- App can be clunky
As a popular customer support team management software, Zendesk focuses on providing a range of products that scale from the smallest business to the largest. Because of its versatility, this call center software is the one I recommend for businesses with aggressive growth strategies.
If you want to manage and respond to customer needs all in one place, boost agent efficiency, deliver self-service content, and work smarter with intelligence and routing tools, Zendesk is for you. This call center software can integrate with your business, manage a unified help desk view, and help you make sense of all actionable insights.
Zendesk also has a really cool tool to help you determine how customer interactions with your customer service team can improve ROI. With just a few details about your industry and company size, they can show you cost per contact, average phone handling time, average chat time, and more!
Zendesk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include API, chat, CRM integration, analytics, contact management, customer management, email and social media integration, real-time alerts, instant chat support, and ticket management.
Integrations include Harvest, MailChimp, Slack, Timeshift, Ada for Support, Unbabel, Haptik, Forethought Assist, Dialpad for Telephony, Aircall for Support, and Textline.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great customer service
- Create your own custom package
- Versatile software packages
Cons:
- Potentially confusing user interface
- High price tag
Zoho Voice is a cloud-based VoIP phone system designed to support the communication needs of global businesses. It can be used to establish remote call centers, manage international calls, and integrate with your CRM and helpdesk systems. With mobile apps for both Android and iOS, and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, it's flexible enough to suit various contexts and setups.
I selected Zoho Voice because it supports team collaboration and offers straightforward deployment, making it both friendly and multi-functional. Its ability to integrate with CRM and helpdesk systems is particularly beneficial for small businesses looking to maintain customer relationships and support without investing in multiple disparate systems.
This platform offers a comprehensive VoIP phone system with advanced call center features and high-quality voice connectivity. It's best suited to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Other helpful capabilities include online file management, website building, and helpdesk operations.
Zoho Voice Standout Features and Integrations
Features include an all-in-one dashboard, SMS functionality, live call tracking, different ring strategies, dynamic call recording, agent-to-agent calling, built-in contact management, desk phone and headset integrations, call monitoring, power dialer, and performance analytics.
Integrations include other Zoho products including Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Variety of plans to choose from
- Part of the wider Zoho ecosystem
- Call queuing, monitoring, and training functionalities
Cons:
- Lacks video calling tools
- Limited integrations available
The Best Call Center Software For Small Business Summary
| Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RingCentral Contact Center RingCentral offers a centralized dashboard for viewing analytics and performance. | Best for AI-driven call center support | Free trial available | From $24.99/user/month | Website |
| 2 | Squaretalk Squaretalk lets you monitor activities and view who is available to take calls and who is offline. | Best for configurable call center operations | Free demo available | From $15/user/month | Website |
| 3 | CloudTalk You can monitor the performance of your agents with the platform's dashboard. | Best for efficient call center management | 14-day free trial | From $19/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| 4 | Shelf Shelf offers unique engagement metrics to boost agent productivity. | Best for agent productivity and service quality | Not available | Contact center pricing starts at $30/user/month | Website |
| 5 | Talkdesk Talkdesk Peer Insights Customers’ Choice Award for 2023. | Best for a seamless, frictionless customer experience across all channels | Free demo available | From $75/user/month | Website |
| 6 | Nextiva Nextiva supports communication through various digital channels, including email, chat, and social media. | Best for making data-driven decisions | 7-day free trial. | From $20/user/month, (billed annually). | Website |
| 7 | Dialpad Dialpad helps you meet the needs of your colleagues while helping customers thrive. | Best for collaborating with colleagues and closing sales | Free trial available. | From $20/user/month. | Website |
| 8 | Aircall Aircall provides context for every call, including customer name and previous interactions. | Best for integrating with help desks and other customer support CRMs | Free trial available | From $30/license (billed annually) | Website |
| 9 | Zendesk Zendesk is an all-in-one customer service solution that can grow with your business. | Best for fast integration that scales with your business | 14-day free trial | From $49/user/month | Website |
| 10 | Zoho Voice You can set multiple access permissions in the system to help manage your workforce and team roles. | Best with mobile app and browser extensions | 15-day free trial | From $39/user/month | Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more options that didn’t make the best call center software for small business list but could be good alternatives for your team:
- Twilio Flex
For integrating phone calls and text message capability into applications
- ChaseData CCaaS
For streamlining operations with a focus on compliance
- Zoho Voice
For world-class customer support centers
- PanTerra Networks
For customized business solutions
- Kixie Powercall
For accelerating sales with automated calling and texting
- InGenius
For personalized service for sales and customer support
- LiveAgent
For omnichannel help desk solutions
- 3CX
For simple administration with automated upgrades and backups
- Etollfree
For an integrated predictive dialer that works as inbound and outbound call software
- CDR Call Reporting for Cisco
For measuring and reporting on capacity utilization
How I Selected the Best Call Center Software for Small Business
Are you wondering exactly how I sought out the best call center software for this list? It took a lot of evaluation and comparison through research and reviews to narrow down the results. For example, I explored those call center phone systems designed for small businesses that had positive user ratings and took a look at how they stacked up against one another.
As a CX Lead, I have years of experience pinpointing the best features that add value to a specific service so I compared everything from fitting the software into your workflow and CRM integration to key features like predictive dialer, call monitoring, and interactive voice response.
If you have general questions about call center software for small business or how to pick the best call center software for small business for your organization, take a look at our frequently asked questions section below. Or, you can skip directly to my detailed software summaries if that's what you need the most.
Selection Criteria
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best call center software for small business for this article.
Usability
Is it easy to integrate the call software into your current workflow? Are inbound calls easy to answer? Is there a ticketing system to keep track of unresolved issues that need a callback? I was looking for software that provides solutions for both customers and business owners.
Standout Features
Looking at the standout features of each call center software means finding those that offer something extra. Sure, many services have cloud-based contact centers, automatic call distribution, and toll-free numbers, but are there any systems that offer something that goes above and beyond?
Software Integrations:
With everything functioning in the digital sphere, you want your software solutions to easily integrate. I looked at which call center software worked with everything else you have working for you, including Microsoft apps, Salesforce, and other API customizations.
Pricing:
You want to get the best value for your money, and you want something that’s a fit for your business. When looking at the best call center software for small businesses, I looked at those that offered more features for less, scalable systems, and customizable pricing options. (To help you understand the different factors that contribute to your final price tag, read our detailed breakdown of call center software costs.)
People Also Ask
What is call center software for small business?
Call center software for small businesses are typically cloud-based platforms. They can help your business provide customer support through chat, text, email, social media, and phone calls. Some software offer enhanced integration that also supports other elements of your business.
What are the benefits of call center software for small business?
The biggest benefit of call center software for small businesses is an increase in agent productivity and a reduction in costs. You may also find software that focuses on enhancing lead generation, providing instant answers to customer questions in real-time, and global customer service management.
What are the key features of call center software for small business?
While every call center software for small businesses offers something a little different, there are several key features you should guarantee they have.
- Omnichannel communications: Your agents can communicate over multiple channels, including chat, text, email, and calling.
- Intelligent call routing: Also known as skill-based routing, this is when tech gathers customer info to route them to the best agent to assist them.
- CRM integration: When a call center software can connect to your customer relationship management platform so data can flow between them.
- Automated tracking: An automation function that tracks incoming and outgoing calls that your team is working on.
- Customer data analytics: A system to collect and analyze customer data to get more insight into their behavior.
- Inbound/Outbound Calling: Ability to recieve calls as well as make them to touchbase with customers who haven’t reached out yet.
What other call center software for small business should I use?
Even with all the options on this list, you might still be hunting for the right fit. Check out these lists to find the best inbound call software, virtual software, help desk software, and more.
More Call Center Software Reviews
As I'm sure you know already, there are different types of call center software out there to meet different business needs. If you didn't find exactly what you're after in this list, I'm sure one of my other top 10 lists will do the trick:
- Call Center Software
- Inbound Call Center Software
- Outbound Call Center Software
- Enterprise Call Center Software
- Call Center Scheduling Software
- Call Queue Software
- Cloud-Based Contact Center Software
- Call Center Workforce Management Software
- Call Center Scripting Software
- Virtual Call Center Software
- Customer Service Software
- AI Customer Service Software
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