8×8 Pricing and Features Comparison

8×8 pricing starts at $24 per user, per month, making this VoIP provider pretty expensive when compared to a lot of competitor offerings. However, 8×8 offers a better set of overall features than the like of Vonage, Google Voice, and Nextiva, and is a significantly better option than this trio for sales teams, thanks in part to an excellent range of monitoring and recording tools for training staff.

8×8's X2 ($24 per user, per month) and X4 ($44 per user, per month) tiers, which include calls to more countries outside the US and a comprehensive set of integrations, as well as excellent features for training staff and dealing with high volumes of calls. The X6, X7, and X8 plans – which range from $85 – $140 per user, per month – have enterprise-grade security features as well as more management and collaboration features.

In this 8×8 review, we'll break down what the provider can offer your business, the best package to choose and how it compares to its competitors, as well as 8×8's pricing structure. If you want to learn more about 8×8, read on. If you'd like to save time and start your journey to a new VoIP system right now, use our free tool to compare custom quotes your business needs from a range of top providers.

In this guide:

• 8×8 Pricing and Packages
• 8×8 International Call Rates
• 8×8 Pros and Cons
• 8×8 Customer Support and Training
• 8×8 Products and Hardware
• 8×8 Alternatives
• Verdict: Is 8×8 Worth the Price?
• FAQs

8×8 Pricing and Packages

There are two main pricing tiers for 8×8's VoIP and video solutions – X2, and X4. However, there are actually more than this available, although 8×8 doesn't publicize the price of these. The brand also offers X6, X7, and X8 bundles too, which add slightly more functionality and are designed for medium-to-large businesses. We'll explain what you get with these tiers too, but the focus is the main three tiers that 8×8 advertises, which fit the bill for most businesses.

X2 8×8 Pricing

From: $24 per user, per month (billed annually)
Best for: growing businesses

8×8's X2 plan offers all of the features that were in the provider's recently discontinued “Express” plan, including dedicated business numbers, free calls within the US and Canada, unlimited video conferencing for up to 100 participants, meeting recording, and transcription, call management, file sharing, and instant messaging for teams.

The first thing you should know about the X2 package, however, is that free calls aren't just restricted to domestic territories. It includes free calls to what it calls ‘International Zone 1', which is Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Granted, at $24 per user, per month, 8×8's X2 tier doesn't have the head-turning price tag of some of its competitors' entry tiers. In fact, it's priced slightly above most of its rivals. But if you make a lot of international calls though, it could prove to be a big money saver.

X2 customers will also get additional features such as call activity analytics, unlimited fax, and more integration options, including Microsoft Teams.

X4 8×8 Pricing

From: $44 per user, per month (billed annually)
Best for: businesses with global reach

The X4 package costs $44 per user per month. Like the X2 tier, this also includes free international calls, but widens the net significantly, including 47 countries. These are the same as those in X2, but adding Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, Chile, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.

As you can see, if your business has as truly global reach (or is aiming for one), the X4 package ticks off pretty much all the countries you're going to want to contact.

It also includes call quality reporting, supervisor analytics, and monitor, whisper and barge features.

X6, X7, X8 8×8 Pricing

While X2 and X4 tiers represent the main packages that 8×8 promotes, dig into the sales literature a little further and you'll find some more tiers in the X series. There's nothing wildly different about these tiers to the X2 and X4 packages – each of them has the same basic features, but simply adds more functionality.

For example, the X6 ($85 per user, per month) tier adds contact center reporting and analytics, post-call surveys, and interactive voice response. The X7 ($110 per user, per month) on the other hand, adds features like omnichannel routing of voice, chat, emails, SMS, social media, and messaging applications. The X8 ($140 per user, per month) is the most expensive plan 8×8 offers and is geared towards businesses running huge contact centers.

If you'd like to find out more, including what VoIP system is best for you, use our free comparison tool to find the best fit for your business.

8×8 Cost of International Calls

One of the main considerations when picking a VoIP platform is the cost of calls. You'll find that most offer domestic calls for free in even their cheapest packages, but if your company makes calls outside of the US and Canada, then these costs could soon mount up.

8×8 offers some international calls for free, depending on the package you opt for. Go with the X2 or X4 tiers, and you'll find yourself able to call up to 47 different countries, with no chargeable rates. You can find out exactly which countries these are by looking at the pricing plans, up the page.

For context, we've compared call rates from a few of 8×8's competitors below, so you can see how they stack up against each other:

8×8 Pros and Cons

8×8 Customer Support

8×8 packages give users access to comprehensive and thorough training tools, including 24/7 online training that can be completed at the employee's own pace, with topics that cover everything a new member of staff would need to know.

This is coupled with virtual, trainer-led courses at convenient dates for your business, in various time zones, which offer blended learning bonus modules for new systems administrators.

There is also an 8×8 certification system, which will contribute to your system administrator knowledge.

Support options

• Phone: 1-408-687-4120
• Email: support@8X8.com
• Live chat support
• 24-hour support line

Training options

• Online training videos
• Online training manuals
• Virtual live courses
• Certification scheme

8×8 Products and Hardware

One of the beauties of VoIP is that it removes the reliance on hardware. You no longer need a traditional phone – you can make calls through pretty much any internet connected device, such as a PC, tablet or phone, using the 8×8 dedicated app.

However, for those that want to keep using dedicated hardware, there is a range of VoIP phones available, and they can be purchased, or loaned, directly from 8×8 themselves.

8×8 offers three payment plan options: Device as a Service (DaaS), Financing and One-time payment. DaaS allows customers to effectively loan the hardware for monthly payments. This can be cancelled at any time on return of the device, and it's also possible to upgrade to the latest phones.

Financing, is, as it sounds, paying for the device in instalments, after which you'll own the hardware outright, with 24 – 60-month payment options.

The one-time payment option gives you the choice of simply buying the equipment directly from 8×8.

8×8 Phones and Accessories

8×8 offers a wide range of phones and accessories, from entry-level VoIP phones to conference systems, as well as headsets and phone ports.

The cheapest VoIP model on offer from 8×8 is the Cisco 7811, a competent phone that will serve most offices well, even if it's not exactly feature-rich. At the time of writing, it is priced at $105, or $4.75 a month on finance. Shop around though and you might find it cheaper. We found the same model on Amazon for 25 bucks less – which could be a big saving if you're build out an office with multiple devices.

If you're looking for a conference phone for use in meeting rooms, 8×8 offers plenty of these, all from Poly. Chances are you'll recognize these devices form their distinctive tri-foot design. They've become a staple in offices worldwide, and for good reason – excellent sound quality and a wide range of features.

The cheapest model that 8×8 offers is the Poly IP 5000, at $379, or $13.65 per month on finance. It's best suited to smaller conference rooms, with an attendance of six participants or fewer.

8×8 also offers a range of accessories, including headsets, which can be very useful for employees who are on the phone all day and want some degree of comfort.

Read our guide on the best VoIP Phones

8×8 Alternatives

It's fair to say that VoIP is a crowded marketplace, with many brands competing for your business — even Zoom has a VoIP offering now, called Zoom Phone. That's good news for you as a customer, as the more cut-throat the competition gets, the better the value proposition as the brands maneuver to out do each other.

Here are some popular 8×8 alternatives that could work for your business:

RingCentral

RingCentral is one of the biggest VoIP brands out there, so it's a natural one to compare side by side with 8×8. While offerings from both are certainly similar, there are some differences to be aware of. First off, price. RingCentral starts at $20 per user, per month, while 8×8 X2 plan is priced at $24 per user, per month. Overall, RingCentral is far better value for money.

8×8 is better than RingCentral in some regards, though. While video calls with RingCentral are restricted to 200 participants, with 8×8, you can have up to 500. This is one of several features that makes 8×8 our top pick for sales teams, along with training features like call monitoring and a long list of CRM integrations.

Ooma

Ooma is another popular VoIP provider that competes with 8×8. While researching these providers, we found that 8×8 has a much longer list of integrations than Ooma, which could well sway you if your company relies heavily on certain platforms. 8×8 includes key platforms such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Netsuite, and Outlook, and while Ooma does offer some, it's had nowhere near as exhaustive of a list.

Of course, 8×8's cheapest package is also priced much higher than Ooma's too, which explains why 8×8 offers more in the way of functionality than 8×8.

FAQs