Best Inbound Call Center Software Shortlist
Here are the top 10 inbound call center software I’d like to highlight out of the 20 I cover in this article:
The best inbound call center software helps your business handle incoming and outgoing calls efficiently. With the right software, you can connect with your customers on multiple channels without ever leaving the platform.
Choosing the right call center platform is essential to enhancing your business’s growth. The best choice will provide you with the features that help you scale without diminishing the quality of your customer interactions.
In this article I've listed the best software you can use for your inbound calls and provide your customers with excellent service.
What is Inbound Call Center Software?
Inbound call center software allows businesses with in-person or remote call centers to manage all inbound call functions from one tool. These platforms help businesses create efficient customer service management by enabling teams to quickly handle customer inquiries through various channels.
Inbound call center software are SaaS tools. This makes them a perfect match for cloud contact centers. That being said, the tools on this list can also be used for on-premise operations.
Overviews of the 20 Best Inbound Call Center Software
Here’s a brief description of each inbound call center software to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.
CallTrackingMetrics
Best for tracking which campaigns drive the most leads
CallTrackingMetrics helps businesses drive revenue and increase conversions by tracking every inbound call to advertising campaigns.
CallTrackingMetrics helps contact centers and agencies manage calls and get an in-depth view of vital metrics. It combines call tracking and contact center capabilities to give users a complete customer experience management solution. It’s also helpful for businesses in various industries to provide a personalized experience to their customers.
Why I Picked CallTrackingMetrics: The platform does precisely what the name says; it gives users call-tracking metrics. But these metrics give businesses the confidence to make data-backed decisions about their advertising campaigns. Users can understand where their leads come from and connect them to their source to allow marketing and sales teams to get all the information they need to increase conversions.
CallTrackingMetrics Standout Features and Integrations
Features include CRM integration, conversion tracking, lead scoring, referral tracking, click-to-dial, automatic call distribution, and call tracking.
Integrations include Agency Analytics, Google Analytics, Hubspot, Kissmetrics, Instapage, and Mailchimp.
CallTrackingMetrics costs from $39/month.
Pros
- Set up multiple business accounts
- Easy set-up
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Extra fee for in-depth set-up
- No keyword search tool with calls
Twilio
Best for creating fully customized call centers
Twilio offers various communication services to users, such as SMS, voice, and video.
Twilio is a call center platform for any sized business. Customer service teams can handle inquiries from various channels, such as social media, e-mail, SMS, and live chat. Twilio’s features accommodate customer service teams working in multiple industries, such as retail, eCommerce, real estate, and marketing.
Why I Picked Twilio: I picked Twilio because it allows users to customize their experience according to their requirements. If you have the time and resources to hire developers or are handy with code yourself, Twilio provides a Voice SDK and an open API. This lets you create a call center solution that’s different from everything else out there.
Twilio Standout Features and Integrations
Features include an open API, audio and video conferencing, message personalization, unified communications, performance management, and reporting and analytics.
Integrations include Zapier, monday, Typeform, Appy Pie, Pipedream, ActiveCampaign, Zoho, and other systems you’re currently using, thanks to its open API.
Twilio costs $1/user/hour or $150/user/month when paying the flat rate. Twilio offers a free trial for up to 5,000 active user hours.
Pros
- Sub-account creation
- International number support
- Reliable communications
Cons
- Requires API and integrations to get a full solution
- Only offers customer support via email
Aircall
Best for traditional call centers
Aircall provides a cloud-based call center to help support teams enhance customer experiences.
Aircall supports small to medium-sized businesses in implementing a call center to help them provide excellent customer service. The platform is an excellent choice for managers looking for a method to advise their teams behind the scenes. They can do this with Aircall’s call whispering feature, which allows them to make the most significant impact at the right moment by giving verbal advice during a support call. It’s also a great feature to help train your service agents or help those not meeting your expectations.
Why I Picked Aircall: The platform provides businesses with a nearly complete, traditional call center solution to manage incoming calls. Aircall is cloud-based and works on desktop and mobile, which makes it an excellent choice if your team is in-house or working remotely. It provides users with the features many expect from a call center application, such as a power dialer, warm transfers, and advanced routing.
Aircall Standout Features and Integrations
Features include analytics, API, batch permissions and access, contact management, contact sharing, CRM integration, dashboard, data export, data import, autodialer, and call logging.
Integrations include Hubspot, ActiveCampaign, Salesforce, Intercom, Help Scout, Microsoft Teams, and Pipedrive.
Aircall costs from $40/user/month. Aircall offers a 7-day free trial.
Pros
- Simple, intuitive design
- Excellent customer support
- Over 95 integrations are available
Cons
- The low-priced tier doesn’t integrate with Salesforce
- Can’t send or receive SMS messages
GoToConnect
Best for drag-and-drop call flow editing
GoToConnect provides quality business phone services with a broad set of features to help improve customer experience.
GoToConnect helps businesses of any size get a VoIP service that will help them manage multi-channel conversations from any device. If you already have an IP phone system set-up and looking for a change, GoToConnect allows businesses to use their current equipment when signing up for their services. It’s also an excellent choice if your company has multiple locations or you’re searching for a way to save money on international calls.
Why I Picked GoToConnect: This platform provides many features that set it apart from other services. For example, the call flow editor can help your business if you need to establish a complex call routing. This can look confusing on screen, but GoToConnect’s editor provides a user-friendly editor with drag-and-drop functionality and a clear, visual call flow representation.
GoToConnect Standout Features and Integrations
Features include auto attendants, video conferencing, call forwarding, virtual voicemail, mobile apps, and ring groups.
Integrations include Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoho CRM, and Salesforce Sales Cloud.
GoToConnect costs from $27/user/month. GoToConnect gives you a 14-day free trial for up to five users.
Pros
- Plans provide unlimited calls to 52 countries
- Cost-effective when compared to its features
- Great call management
Cons
- Restricts audio conferences to 20 attendees
- No AI tools
Convoso
Best AI contact center technology
Convoso is a cloud-based call center management solution that improves conversion time.
Convoso helps small, medium, and large businesses use several communication channels to speak with customers who need help. It provides robust lead management and dynamic scripting tailored to each customer who calls in. It mainly focuses on outgoing calls, but its high customization capabilities make it an excellent choice for businesses to convert inbound leads.
Why I Picked Convoso: The platform uses AI technology to help your service managers determine how many agents you need. This allows you to have your best agents get more conversions. Convoso has developed an AI-powered Intelligent Virtual Agent that provides an excellent customer experience.
Convoso Standout Features and Integrations
Features include dynamic scripting, customizable dashboards, multi-campaign login, and intelligent virtual assistants.
Integrations include Salesforce, SugarCRM, ActiveProspect, Zendesk, Microsoft Dynamics, Shopify, Hubspot, Zoho, and Zapier.
Convoso offers custom pricing upon request.
Pros
- 24/7 support
- Easy to use
- Workflow automation
Cons
- Caters more to larger teams
- The significant number of features can make it hard to navigate
Five9
Best for AI-powered tools
Five9 combines everything businesses need to establish a complete customer service center.
Five9 is a call center solution for small, medium, large, and enterprise businesses looking to consolidate all customer support to one location. The significant amount of advanced administration features with its inbound and outbound capabilities removes the need for multiple communication tools. Five9 has everything businesses in any industry need to provide customer support.
Why I picked Five9: I picked Five9 because it comes with AI- and machine learning-powered tools. After signing up, you get the standard IVR feature, but the machine learning capabilities improve results for your customers. This means you can implement support channels to answer customers’ questions from a knowledge base. The AI agent will route the calls to one of your agents if it can’t find an answer.
Five9 Standout Features and Integrations
Features include an API, chat, contact management, dashboard, data export, data import, external integrations, lead management, notifications, scheduling, call tracking, call disposition, softphone, and click-to-dial.
Integrations include Salesforce Sales Cloud, Zendesk, Skype for Business, Logicbox, PlayVox, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Bitium.
Five9 costs from $149/month.
Pros
- Real-time and historical reports
- Easy to set-up
- User friendly
Cons
- More capabilities than most businesses require
- No ticket system
Kixie Powercall
Best for managing remote team calls
Kixie Powercall is a cloud-based Google Chrome extension with AI-powered voice and SMS that gives your agents advanced call capabilities.
Kixie Power call is an intelligent call routing and CRM platform for small, medium, and large businesses. It allows agents to receive calls, and managers can record them with a single click. You can install the platform quickly on Mac, Windows, and Chromebook devices.
Why I Picked Kixie Powercall: The features you can find within the Kixie Powercall platform allow your teams to work remotely. Your managers can even coach your teams with live call monitoring and call whispering capabilities. This allows your teams to connect with customers and each other. Your managers can also access a live call dashboard which provides insights on your agent’s performance, and even jump in on a call and help close deals with customers when necessary.
Kixie Powercall Standout Features and Integrations
Features include automated texts and voicemails, one-to-one texting, inbound call queues, call recordings, IVR auto attendant, and comprehensive responding.
Integrations include ActiveCampaign, Hubspot Sales Hub, Pipedrive, Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk, monday, and GetResponse.
Kixie Powercall costs from $35/month, billed quarterly. Kixi Powercall offers a 7-day free trial for all plans.
Pros
- Use your own number
- Reporting and manager tools
- Integrated lead management features
Cons
- U.S. and Canada unlimited international minutes are only available for an extra $30/user/month
- Only for Chrome users
Zendesk Suite
Best comprehensive call center platform
Zendesk Suite provides call center software that’s embedded in its ticketing system.
Zendesk Suite offers call center solutions for businesses of all sizes, which the vendor built on its extensive customer service platform. Your agents can take advantage of Zendesk’s help desk features when taking inbound calls to help customers on all channels. As your team grows, the platform can expand with you and resolve issues you experience faster while measuring and improving your support operations.
Why I Picked Zendesk Suite: The omnichannel solution covers incoming and outgoing calls, e-mail, live chat, and SMS messaging, so you can help your customers no matter where they are. Zendesk gives customer service agents everything they need to satisfy customers. You can also add a self-help center to add knowledge base articles.
Zendesk Suite Standout Features and Integrations
Features include live chat, call monitoring, auto-call recording, IVR support, queue management, predictive dialer, and progressive dialer.
Integrations include Salesforce, Mailchimp, Dropbox, Trello, PandaDoc, Intercom, and Shopify.
Zendesk Suite costs from $19/user/month, billed annually. Zendesk offers new users a 30-day free trial.
Pros
- AI-powered auto attendant for all plans
- Available in over 40 languages
- Easy to use
Cons
- 24/7 support is an extra fee
- Only the top tier provides advanced routing
CallTools
Best for real-time monitoring
CallTools is a sophisticated end-to-end call center platform that helps businesses turn leads into customers.
CallTools provides small, medium, and large businesses with a call center management solution. Those looking to enhance call functionality for their sales, marketing, and customer service teams can get various options. You can also monitor your team’s KPI progress from CallTools’ reports dashboard.
Why I Picked CallTools: The platform includes real-time call recording and monitoring, enabling your managers to review your team’s performance. Your managers can also offer in-the-moment coaching to your agents by speaking with them during live calls and taking over difficult calls. You can also monitor your entire business’s performance efficiently.
CallTools Standout Features and Integrations
Features include queue management, auto-call recording, call monitoring, and live chat.
Integrations include over 3,000 applications via Zapier. They also provide a documented API to help you connect to your current systems.
CallTools offers customized pricing upon request.
Pros
- Simple learning curve
- Easy to use
- 24/7 customer service
Cons
- Webinars and tutorials aren’t too helpful
- No recording or sharing Zoom calls to email
Salesforce Service Cloud Voice
Best for customer insights
Salesforce Service Cloud brings customer, field, and employee service together with AI and automation to help businesses engage with customers effectively.
Salesforce Service Cloud helps businesses of any size, from freelancers and self-employed start-ups to large enterprises, get a custom solution for customer service. It provides a computer-telephony-integration that includes call center capabilities in the popular Salesforce platform. Users can take inbound calls, divert them to other available agents, put calls on hold, or add other customers or agents to the call without leaving the window.
Why I Picked Salesforce Service Cloud: The software gives your agents access to in-depth insights to help them close cases fast. They can see all the information they require about each call on one screen, which can help them customize the conversation according to the customer. For example, with Salesforce Service Cloud, your agents will see a customer’s warranty information, purchase history, and past interactions to address their specific issue.
Salesforce Service Cloud Standout Features and Integrations
Features include API, e-mail integration, chat, and task scheduling and tracking.
Integrations include Talkdesk, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Vonage Contact Center, Elastic Enterprise Search, and Transera.
Salesforce Service Cloud costs from $25/user/month, billed annually. Salesforce Service Cloud comes with a 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Excellent reporting capabilities
- Powerful CRM
- Simple navigation
Cons
- Expensive for smaller businesses
- Complex start-up process
The Best Inbound Call Center Software Summary
| Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CallTrackingMetrics Best for tracking which campaigns drive the most leads | Not available | From $39/month and rises to $299/month | Visit Website |
| 2 | Twilio Best for creating fully customized call centers | 5000 free active hours | $1/user/hour or $150/user/month | Visit Website |
| 3 | Aircall Best for traditional call centers | 7-day free trial | From $30/user/month | Visit Website |
| 4 | GoToConnect Best for drag-and-drop call flow editing | Not available | Visit Website | |
| 5 | Convoso Best AI contact center technology | Free demo available | Prices are per seat per month with cost per minute charged separately | Visit Website |
| 6 | Five9 Best for AI-powered tools | Free demo | Plans start at $149/month; Custom plans are also available | Visit Website |
| 7 |  Kixie Powercall Best for managing remote team calls | 7-day free trial | From $35/month | Visit Website |
| 8 |  Zendesk Suite Best comprehensive call center platform | 30-day free trial | From $19/user/month | Visit Website |
| 9 |  CallTools Best for real-time monitoring | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
| 10 |  Salesforce Service Cloud Voice Best for customer insights | 30-day free trial | From $25/user/month | Visit Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more virtual call center software options that didn’t make the top list:
- 3CX
Best for remote customer service teams
- Squaretalk
Best for scalable and secure contact centers
- Talkdesk
Best for inbound and outbound call centers.
- Nextiva
Best for advanced caller and agent behavior reporting.
- LiveAgent
Best for unlimited call recordings.
- Bitrix24
Best for team collaboration.
- Dialpad
Best for accessing all customer interactions from a single app.
- RingCentral
Best for optimizing customer service teams.
- Freshdesk
Best for call routing to the right team member.
- Zadarma
Best for a complete cloud-based telephone system.
How I Selected the Best Inbound Call Center Software
If you're wondering how I selected the best inbound call center software, here's where I'll break it all down for you. First of all, I started with inbound call center software options that have high user review and satisfaction ratings. Then, using my experience in customer service solutions, I discerned what key criteria were most important for inbound call center software and compared how each of them stacked up against the rest.
Selection Criteria
After careful consideration, I've determined that these are the most important criteria when selecting the best inbound call center software. Here's a brief list outlining the whats and whys of my selection.
User Interface (UI):
I look for an intuitive interface that helps your customer service agents efficiently take calls. The platform’s interface should allow features to be readily available in one area for the best results. The interface should also make the system easy to learn to help when bringing on new customer support agents.
Usability:
I look for software that allows your agents to go from one resolved case to the next open one quickly. Platforms with automation that automatically handles how calls are coming in and who they go to means there’s less oversight required by your management teams. This allows them to focus on more critical aspects, such as satisfaction levels.
Security:
I look for cloud contact software that has the best security standards. These security standards should include end-to-end encryption, frequent third-party security audits, and two-factor authentication (2FA). This can make security breaches less likely and secure your customer and business information.
Integrations:
I look for inbound call center software that integrates with other business tools, like collaboration software or call queue systems. These platforms should help your customer service agents get an excellent understanding of your business goals. These integrations can also help them see how their work affects other business areas. This also allows more efficient collaboration with other departments or teams, which can result in better customer service.
Pricing:
I look for software that provides different pricing tiers. For example, vendors often offer a low, mid, and high tier, and the limitations you can experience are reduced when you move to a higher tier. I also look for vendors that offer a “forever free” tier, which allows you to use some basic features for free. Or, they offer a free trial, which will enable you to briefly experience one of the paid tiers to give you an idea of what the software can do for your business.
People Also Ask
Here are the answers to some of the FAQs about inbound call center software.
Is there any Free Inbound Call Center Software?
What is Skills-Based Routing?
What Features Should Inbound Call Center Software Have?
Use Inbound Call Center Software to Enhance Customer Service
Today’s customers expect excellent support on multiple channels, such as e-mail, live chat, and phone. This can be overwhelming for a support team – especially when these channels are on separate software systems that aren’t integrated.
Each year, businesses lose $75 billion a year because of poor customer service. Using the right call center software can help you avoid being a contributor to this statistic. Inbound call center software unifies your omnichannel service efforts into one platform, which can result in an enhanced experience for your customers and agents.
Inbound call center software is necessary to operate a successful business, regardless of size. The best call center software can save your business money and increase customer communication quantity and quality. It also gives you the ability to access customer information immediately.
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