8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP: Which UCaaS Is Better in 2022?
Corey McCraw is a staff writer covering VoIP and Unified Communications. Corey has over a decade of experience in marketing, tech writing, and corporate communications and has even penned content for the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative.
This article is part of a larger series on VoIP.
Competition is stiff regarding 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP unified communications platforms, which both earned 2021 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice awards. 8×8 is best if you need video conference capacity for more than 200 people, browser support for distributed team collaboration, or make a high volume of international calls. But for the most integrations or advanced video meeting features, RingCentral MVP would be better.
Based on our comparison, the best use cases for 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP for a unified communications as a service (UCaaS) software are as follows:
- 8×8 X Series: Overall better value, and best for businesses prioritizing large group video conferencing or wanting full contact center features in a UCaaS platform
- RingCentral: Better for businesses needing a UCaaS system with hundreds of integrations or those wanting advanced or niche video conferencing tools
It is worth noting that while this article compares how each service consolidates multiple business communication channels into a single platform, both services also offer solutions focused more exclusively on voice calls. If your business does not need features like chat, team collaboration, or more robust video calling, check out our other guide on RingCentral vs 8×8 for business phone service.
8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP at a Glance
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Price | Starts at $24 per user, per month* | Starts at $19.99 per user, per month** |
Free Trial | 30 day trial of 8x8 Express | 15 day trial (any plan) |
UCaaS Features |
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Video Conferencing Capacity | Up to 500 | 100 or 200 |
International Calling | Unlimited to 14 or 48 countries | Yes, with per-minute fees |
Call Management |
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Integrations | 53 | 293 |
Reports and analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
Customer service |
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For More Information |
*8×8’s starting price is based on annual billing.
**RingCentral’s starting price is based on two to 20 users with annual billing.
How We Evaluated 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP UCaaS Software
8×8 and RingCentral are both feature-rich business phone systems that offer voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) unified communication (UC) tools, including video conferencing, unlimited domestic calling, short messaging service (SMS), and team messaging. However, there are subtle differences that could impact your decision when it comes to which UCaaS is better for your small business.
Our 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP comparison evaluated the platforms based on ease of use, pricing, and features. We also checked out customer support options and mobile apps while considering various use cases for both tools. Finally, we compared the ease of use and functionality of these UCaaS systems ourselves and considered user reviews.
Here’s a complete breakdown of these factors:
20%
Pricing
30%
General Features
20%
Ease of Use
30%
Advanced Features
20% of Overall Score
We looked at plan prices, free trial lengths, and the types of discounts offered, including volume-based and annual billing savings.
30% of Overall Score
We confirmed that both platforms provide standard VoIP business calling features like an auto-attendant, visual voicemail, and internet fax. We also assessed tools for remote teams, such as file sharing and group messaging as well as features that foster team and customer communication, like video and audio conferencing.
20% of Overall Score
We reviewed mobile and desktop applications, self-service help tools, and our experience using the software in a browser. In addition, we considered usability when collaborating with external clients or stakeholders.
30% of Overall Score
We explored available integrations and reports to determine our rating. We also factored in standout features, such as unmetered international calls and video conferencing capacities.
*Percentages of overall score
Best for Pricing: 8×8
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8x8 X Series*
| RingCentral**
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*8×8 X Series pricing is based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.
**RingCentral package costs are based on two to 20 users with annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.
RingCentral MVP and 8×8 X Series plans both use a tiered pricing model, and higher-tier packages provide more features. While both vendors offer competitive pricing, we give 8×8’s X Series the edge because the X2 package costs less than RingCentral MVP’s comparable Standard plan. Plus, 8×8’s X2 plan includes video conferencing for up to 500 participants, while RingCentral’s Standard plan only allows 100.
You can also mix and match X Series plans to pick cheaper packages for standard users and more expensive packages for supervisors. Depending on how many users you have, this could save your business a bundle over time. Plus, as we shared in our business phone system review of these two providers, 8×8 X2 and X4 offer free, unlimited calling in 14 or 48 countries, respectively, a cost feature not matched by RingCentral.
Although 8×8’s X Series upper tiers are costly, they are omnichannel contact centers plans in addition to all the VoIP and UCaaS features of its Express, X2, and X4 plans. RingCentral also has a tiered-plan model Contact Center you can add to your tech stack, but their prices aren’t disclosed.
Still, there are some instances where RingCentral MVP may be the better option. RingCentral’s Premium plan costs less than 8×8’s X4 package if you need call whisper, barge, and monitor features. Plus, all RingCentral MVP versions come with toll-free minutes.
Best for Video Conferencing: 8×8
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All plans include unlimited one-to-one or group video conferencing with up to 500 participants. Meet, share screens, and interact via video from desktop or mobile devices. | The Standard plan supports unlimited one-to-one or group video conferencing with up to 100 participants. Premium and Ultimate versions allow up to 200 participants. Meet, share screens, and interact via video from desktop or mobile devices. |
If you need to host conferences with more than 200 participants, an 8×8 X Series plan will always be better, and it’s for this reason that it wins for best video conferencing. You can start a meeting from a chat session or audio call, poll attendees, and share files. If your business has teams that spend a lot of time in video meetings or you want to consider standalone platforms, check out our guide to the best video conferencing software.
Both providers offer video conferencing features to help small and large teams stay connected, facilitate virtual client meetings, conduct webinars, and more. Both come with screen sharing, one-to-one and group chat, and high-definition (HD) video and audio. And while the 8×8 X Series plans offer far higher capacity (500 vs just 200 max with RingCentral MVP), it lacks some of the interactive video tools that make RingCentral MVP stand out.
You can share your screen or present using either platform. But RingCentral MVP takes presentations a step further with overlay modes. Use glassboard mode to move your video image anywhere on the screen during a presentation or use a conference background, so it looks like you’re projecting your slides onto a display. RingCentral MVP’s Team Huddle feature even lets you create a virtual workspace where teams can pop in or out during the day.
Best for Team Collaboration: 8×8
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RingCentral MVP and 8×8 X Series both enable distributed teams to work together on projects using their preferred devices, and both platforms offer similar feature sets. However, we give 8×8’s X Series a slight edge for overall ease of use for internal and external collaborators.
X Series plans also support audio and video features on Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. RingCentral MVP only provides full support for Chrome or Edge browsers, leaving out the popular Safari platform preferred by iOS users.
Plus, the 8×8 X Series plans include unlimited media storage, so you can securely store shared documents, images, and videos in the cloud. Although RingCentral MVP saves call recordings, you’ll need to connect to Dropbox to access shared files continuously.
If your collaborations involve large audio conferences, you may prefer RingCentral MVP. Up to 1,000 people can participate in audio-only calls, whereas 8×8’s X Series voice meetings are restricted to 500 attendees.
Best for International Calling: 8×8
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Unlimited international calls to 14 or 48 countries, depending on the plan | Per-minute fees charged for calls from the U.S. or Canada to other countries |
When it comes to 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP for international calling, 8×8 is the clear winner. X Series plans provide unlimited, free, international calling to two different calling zones. X2 users can call 14 countries, including Australia, France, and Germany. Select X4, X6, X7, or X8 to make free calls to 48 regions like Finland, Greece, and India.
Businesses with a global customer or employee base will see substantial savings with X Series plans compared to metered international calling plans. For example, RingCentral MVP users get unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, but incur per-minute fees when calling other countries from either the U.S. or Canada.
While the rates are competitive with industry charges, it can add up if you have a high volume of outbound international calls to areas. Explore more calling features for international and domestic users in our expert 8×8 software review.
Best for Integrations: RingCentral
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RingCentral MVP offers nearly 300 integrations:
| 8x8 X Series offers 53 integrations, including:
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RingCentral MVP connects your UCaaS platform to more than 290 third-party applications, whereas 8×8 X Series plans support just 53. As such, RingCentral MVP wins this category, even though many of its integrations are locked behind higher-tier plans.
Standard plans include basic integrations with calendar tools such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Choose the Premium plan to access customer relationship management (CRM) and a host of operational or industry-specific integrations.
While all available integrations come with the cheapest 8×8 X2 package, there are far fewer of them. This is partly because RingCentral MVP relies on connections powered by Zapier, and the 8×8 X Series doesn’t list Zapier integrations.
If you want to connect your customer relationship manager (CRM), help desk, or other business software to your UCaaS platform, check with each provider to see if your software is supported. Check out our RingCentral review to learn more about its integration capabilities and other features.
Best for Analytics: 8×8
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8x8 X Series analytics and reporting capabilities:
| RingCentral MVP analytics and reporting capabilities:
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Both 8×8 X Series and RingCentral MVP offer robust analytics, including automated scheduled reports. However, the 8×8 X Series plans rate slightly better because speech and sentiment analytics are provided on the highest-plan tier.
RingCentral Contact Center customers may have access to speech analytics, but it isn’t mentioned in the Contact Center plan features. Connect with a RingCentral Contact Center sales associate to discuss your options.
8×8 X Series packages come with a variety of live dashboards showing real-time metrics and usage, call quality reports, and summaries of extensions and company numbers. Likewise, RingCentral MVP provides live dashboards and performance reports with over 30 prebuilt key performance indicators (KPIs). However, these reports aren’t available on the Essentials plan.
Both of these UCaaS and small business VoIP providers offer extensive documentation for setting up and using live dashboards and reports. In addition, RingCentral MVP integrates with third-party analytic tools, such as StataPile, for Premium and Enterprise users.
Alternatives to 8×8 X Series & RingCentral MVP UCaaS Platforms
While 8×8 X Series and RingCentral MVP are excellent options for small businesses needing a robust VoIP phone system or full UCaaS tech stack, they can be overkill for small teams or solopreneurs. Other solutions may offer lower prices or add-on packages for better plan customization.
A few of the best 8×8 and RingCentral alternatives include:
- Nextiva: Check out Nextiva if you’re looking for volume-based discounts, screen call pops, and unlimited internet fax. Monthly plans also come with toll-free minutes like RingCentral.
- Grasshopper: Solopreneurs and small teams may prefer a virtual phone system that doesn’t charge by user. While Grasshopper doesn’t offer UCaaS features like video conferencing or team chat, you still get popular features like an auto-attendant. Plus, you can save a lot of money by assigning team members extensions instead of individual phone numbers.
- Vonage: If your company is seasonal, you may prefer Vonage, as it offers several features a la carte. This way you can add features like call recording during peak seasons without being locked into a higher-priced package year-round.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is RingCentral the same as Zoom?
No. RingCentral and Zoom are two different companies. However, the previous RingCentral Meetings platform originally used Zoom technology, and Zoom provided customer support for issues related to video conferencing. Recently, RingCentral introduced its own video platform and is now helping RingCentral Meetings customers upgrade to the new RingCentral Video.
What is the difference between RingCentral MVP vs 8×8 X Series?
While both providers have comparable offerings, the difference comes down to how they are packaged. For example, 8×8 X4, X6, and X7 plans include not only UCaaS and VoIP functionality, but also an omnichannel Contact Center. You can purchase a RingCentral Contact Center plan separately from your MVP plan for a similar bundle.
Do RingCentral & 8×8 offer toll-free numbers?
Yes, both RingCentral MVP and 8×8 X Series plans offer toll-free numbers. RingCentral MVP also supplies users with toll-free minutes on all calling plans, whereas none of 8×8 X Series plans include toll-free minutes.
Bottom Line
There are distinct differences when it comes to 8×8 X Series vs RingCentral MVP. While RingCentral MVP provides far more integrations, it lacks the higher video conferencing capacity, international calling features, and team collaboration capabilities offered in 8×8 Series plans. As such, we rank 8×8 X Series plans higher overall than RingCentral MVP.
