Dialpad and Aircall are two popular cloud-based business phone systems, but which is better? If you’re trying to decide between Dialpad vs Aircall, you’ve come to the right place. Both providers offer cloud-based business phone systems with powerful features to help you run your business more smoothly, but they differ in significant ways.
In our guide, we’ll talk about how the two providers compare, including pros and cons, features, and how they stack up in reviews from real users. By the end, you should have a good idea of which provider will be the right one for you! While we’re based in Atlanta, we also serve the entire US, including Boston and Houston.
Aircall and Dialpad Comparison
Here’s a quick look at Aircall vs Dialpad:
Aircall | Dialpad | |
Pricing | Ranges from $30 to $50+/user/month | Ranges from $15 to $25+/user/month |
Unlimited domestic calls | Yes | Yes |
SMS/MMS | Yes | Yes |
Video meetings | No | Yes |
Integrations | Over 100, including Hubspot, Zendesk, and Slack | Over 50, including Zoom, Zoho, and Google Workspace |
AI Tools | Call and voicemail transcription, optional AI assistant add-on | Real-time call transcriptions, voicemail transcriptions, call summaries, plus optional AI agent add-on |
Collaboration | Shared contacts, shared call inbox, comment on calls, and conference calls | File sharing, team messaging, audio chat, whiteboards, and more |
IVR | Multi-level IVR | Multi-level IVR |
Analytics | Basic analytics, unless you upgrade | Real-time analytics and reporting |
Channels | Voice and text | Voice, video, text, and team chat |
What Is Dialpad?
Dialpad is a unified communications provider with built-in AI. It comes with voice calling, video meetings, business texting, and team messaging, providing all the communication tools you need to collaborate effectively. Dialpad uses VoIP technology to provide its phone service, allowing you to make and receive calls anywhere you have internet access. This lets you drop your expensive phone lines and save money while also giving you the flexibility to work in the office, at home, or on the go.
What Is Aircall?
Aircall is a cloud-based business phone system designed especially for SMBs looking to improve internal and external communication. It’s mostly used by call centers, sales, and support teams looking for a simple, intuitive solution that even those without technical experience can easily use. Like Dialpad, Aircall allows you to make and receive calls using the internet so you can work from just about anywhere.
How They’re Similar
Besides offering cloud-based phone systems, Aircall and Dialpad have a number of things in common, including:
- No hardware needed: Unlike traditional business phone systems, both Aircall and Dialpad don’t require any hardware. All you need is an internet connection and an internet-capable device to get talking. However, if you prefer using hard phones, both platforms offer deskphone support.
- Integrations: Both platforms integrate with some of the top third-party applications, including CRM, helpdesk, and productivity tools, so you and your team can work more efficiently.
- Collaboration tools: Both Aircall and Dialpad offer tools to make working together easier. Aircall has features like shared inbox, call tagging, conference calling, and call notes+assignment. Dialpad’s collaboration features are a bit more robust, including team messaging, file sharing, video meetings, and whiteboards.
- Scalability: Dialpad and Aircall are both easy to scale, whether you need to add or remove lines. Flexible price plans and no expensive installation or hardware mean you can scale your service as you grow.
How They’re Different
When comparing Dialpad vs Aircall, the providers have some major differences, including:
- Primary focus: Aircall is primarily a call center provider for sales and support teams, while Dialpad was designed to be a unified communications provider.
- AI features: While both providers offer some AI features, Aircall’s are more basic. Dialpad’s AI tools provide advanced functionalities like sentiment analysis, speaker differentiation, and action items.
- Call monitoring: While Aircall offers some basic call monitoring features, Dialpad offers advanced call monitoring like call listening, call whisper, call barge, and call takeover.
- Uptime: Aircall offers an uptime of 99.95%, which is good but not great, while Dialpad offers 100% uptime for Enterprise customers and 99.999% for those on the Standard and Pro plans.
Dialpad Pros and Cons
Pros of Dialpad:
- Built-in AI: Dialpad offers powerful AI built into the platform, with real-time transcription, automated call summaries, sentiment analysis, and coaching prompts during calls.
- Unified communications: Dialpad combines voice, messaging, video conferencing, and team chat into a single app so you don’t need to pay for multiple providers to handle your communication needs.
- Intuitive user interface: With a clean, modern design, Dialpad’s user interface is user-friendly with a short learning curve for new users. The UI works equally well on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Affordable: Pricing for Dialpad is competitive, allowing you to save money while you get tons of features.
Cons of Dialpad:
- Basic plan: Although the basic plan is very affordable at $15/user/month, it comes with limited features. To get access to 24/7 customer support, IVR, open APIs, faxing, and advanced reporting, you need to upgrade to the Pro plan or higher.
- Video limitations: Video meetings are capped at 150 participants. If you want to host larger meetings, you’ll need to pay for the Business Meetings add-on.
- Integrations: Although Dialpad has a decent integrations library, you have to upgrade to get access.
Aircall Pros and Cons
Pros of Aircall:
- User-friendly: Aircall is easy to set up and learn, requiring minimal technical experience. It’s perfect for small businesses looking to get started quickly.
- Robust third-party integrations: Aircall has a robust library of integrations, with over 100, including CRM, helpdesk, and productivity tools.
- Call center features: Aircall offers features like advanced routing and IVR, call recording, call tagging, and analytics to better run your call center.
- Additional business numbers: Aircall lets you add additional business phone numbers at a rate of $6/month.
Cons of Aircall:
- Cost: Compared to other VoIP providers, Aircall’s plans are more expensive with fewer features.
- User minimum: Aircall requires you to pay for at least 3 users, even if you don’t need that many.
- No native video: While Aircall can integrate with video platforms like Zoom, it does not come with its own video meeting feature.
Dialpad Reviews
Now that we’ve compared Aircall vs Dialpad, let’s take a look at what reviews say about the two platforms. On multiple review sites, Dialpad has garnered mostly positive reviews. Reviewers appreciate the intuitive user interface, the ease of setup, and the robust feature set, including built-in AI tools, unified communications, and phone system features. Reviews are mixed about customer service, with some complaining of difficulty resolving their issues while others received exceptional help from customer support.
Here’s how Dialpad scores on top review sites:
Capterra: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Trustpilot: 4.0 out of 5 stars
G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Aircall Reviews
Overall, Aircall has positive reviews from real users, who appreciate its simplicity and ease of use. Reviewers especially found it useful for sales teams and those making lots of outbound calls. However, some users have noted issues with glitches, especially on the mobile app, and difficulty reaching customer support.
Here’s how Aircall scores on top review sites:
Capterra: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Trustpilot: 3.3 out of 5 stars
G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Dialpad Pricing
Dialpad works on a subscription-based model. You pay a monthly (or annual) fee per user to access Dialpad’s features. With three plans to choose from, Dialpad makes it easy to get the features you need without paying for those you don’t.
Dialpad pricing is structured like this:
- Standard: For $15/user/month (when paid annually), you get voice calling, video meetings, team messaging, and business texting.
- Pro: For $30/user/month (when paid annually), you get everything in the Standard plan, plus access to the integrations library, 24/7 customer support, and multi-office management.
- Enterprise: The Enterprise plan comes with everything in the Pro plan, plus single sign-on, unlimited office locations, and user access controls. Dialpad doesn’t publish prices for the Enterprise plan, so you’ll have to call for a quote.
Aircall Pricing
Like Dialpad, Aircall offers three plans to choose from. However, it requires you to have at least 3 users for its lowest tier, and at least 25 for the Custom tier.
Aircall pricing is structured like this:
- Essentials: The Essentials plan starts at $30/user/month when paid annually (with a minimum of 3 users), and comes with business phone system features, access to integrations, and business texting.
- Professional: The Professional plan starts at $50/user/month (when paid annually) and comes with everything in the Essentials plan, plus Salesforce integration, mandatory call tagging, and advanced call management and dialing features.
- Custom: The Custom plan comes with everything in the Professional plan, plus unlimited calls worldwide, custom onboarding, access to API developer support, single sign-on, and a service level agreement. You’ll need to call for a quote, as they don’t publish pricing online.
Customer Support
Now that we’ve looked at pros and cons and pricing, let’s see how Aircall vs Dialpad compare when it comes to customer support. Dialpad offers a knowledge base, both web-based and chat-based support, and 24/7 phone support, but only with an upgrade to the Pro plan. Online reviews were mixed about the helpfulness and speed of support.
Aircall, on the other hand, offers a help center and 24/5 support by phone and email. Like Dialpad, reviewers mentioned some issues with reaching customer support for help.
Aircall Features
Some of Aircall’s top features include:
- Unlimited calling in the US and Canada
- SMS/MMS
- Call recording
- Custom music and message
- Business hours
- Call queues
- Call routing
- IVR
- Ring groups
- Conference calls
- Tags
- Availability status
- Call coaching
- Analytics and reporting
- Call transfers
- Call forwarding
- Click-to-dial
- Power dialer (with upgrade)
- AI transcription
- Integrations with apps like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk
Dialpad Features
Some of Dialpad’s top features include:
- Unlimited calling
- SMS/MMS
- Team messaging
- Video meetings
- Whiteboarding
- In-meeting chat
- Waiting rooms
- Locked meeting rooms
- Virtual backgrounds
- File sharing
- Multi-level auto attendant
- Departments/ring groups
- Hold queues
- Custom routing
- Call recording
- Call forwarding
- Auto spam detection
- Real-time call transcriptions
- Voicemail transcriptions
- Analytics and reporting
- Integrations with apps like Salesforce, Google Workspace, and more
Dialpad vs Aircall Conclusion
Both Aircall and Dialpad are great options for your business phone system, but which one is right for you? Aircall is designed to meet the needs of small sales and support teams that make a lot of outgoing calls. Dialpad, on the other hand, comes with built-in AI and unified communications features for both internal and external communication.
If you need help deciding between Dialpad vs Aircall, OneStop Communication can help. We provide quotes from multiple providers so you can find a plan that fits in your budget while taking care of all your needs. Contact us today to see how we can help you improve your business telecom setup!