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We shopped each vendor on this list to finalize our picks for the best contact center software. We analyzed them according to important system features (essential, premium add-ons, AI), limitations, user experience (mobile and desktop), customer experience handling, deployment and agent onboarding, workforce management, and each provider's inbound and outbound communication channels.

We’ve validated every data point by calling, emailing, obtaining quotes, signing up for service, and live chatting with the service providers.

Editorial Note: We may earn a commission from partner links on GetVoIP guides. Commissions do not impact our opinions or evaluations. For a complete list of partners, please click on the advertiser disclosure link above.

Our latest report reveals our picks for the best call and contact center software for 2024. Written by contact center experts and analysts who conducted extensive hands-on research with leading vendors. Discover the cutting-edge technologies and platforms revolutionizing customer service and enhancing the efficiency of call centers and cloud contact centers.

If there is something you'd like to see on this report or further assessed, please email Reuben Yonatan at ry@getvoip.com.

Call Center Software Buyer's Guide

Call center software is a platform designed to manage and optimize inbound and outbound calls in a contact center environment.

It is typically used by businesses with large call volumes across a variety of channels to handle customer interactions via phone and text, social media and messenger apps, live chat, customer service departments, and sales teams and optimize workforce efficiency for call center agents and supervisors.

Call center software unifies various communication channels, collaboration features, agent and caller automation, and cloud-based contact center management tools into one application.

Here's how it typically works and the functionalities involved:

  • Call Routing: Your incoming calls are routed based on your predefined criteria, such as caller's location, automated menu selections, or even agent availability.
  • Omnichannel dashboard and agent interface: Call center software provides agents with a user-friendly desktop or mobile dashboard. These dashboards are customizable to your call center or specific agent or department needs, and display caller information, call history, and can even provide relevant topic-specific scripts to assist callers during the conversation.
  • Administrator tools: Administrators can set up routing systems, manage employee schedules, and monitor agent performance. Many call centers include performance management tools that streamline the evaluation, coaching, and feedback process.
  • Automations: Call center applications automate agent workflows and tasks. The call distribution system routes inbound calls and messages to the optimal agent. Agents receive notifications for all new tasks in their queue.
  • AI tools: Call centers utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance customer support and make employee efforts more efficient. Build intelligent virtual agents (IVA) within live chat or text. Machine learning transcribes calls live and gives real-time agent support, in an AI call center platform.
  • Interactive Voice Response (IVRs): this allows you to set up automated menus, which guide callers to the appropriate department based on your caller's input or selection. Learn more about call center IVRs here.
  • Outbound dialing: Outbound call center capabilities enable agents to make proactive calls for sales or follow-ups.

Below are the six primary types of solutions:

1. Inbound

  • Focuses on managing incoming calls efficiently.
  • Includes features like IVR (Interactive Voice Response), ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), and skills-based routing to direct inbound callers.


2. Outbound

  • Designed for agents to make outgoing calls effectively.
  • Often includes auto-dialer, predictive dialer, and CRM integration for sales, surveys, and customer follow-ups.

3. Blended

  • Combines the functionalities of both inbound and outbound call center software.
  • Enables agents to handle both incoming inquiries and make outgoing calls as needed, optimizing agent utilization.


4. On-premise

  • Installed and runs on the company’s hardware and servers.
  • Gives businesses full control over the call center system and data, often preferred for compliance and security reasons.
  • Also called a “fixed” VoIP solution.

 

4. Multichannel Call Center Software

  • Supports multiple communication channels such as voice, email, live chat, SMS, and social media.
  • Enables a unified agent interface to manage communications across all channels, improving customer experience.


5. Omnichannel Call Center Software

  • Provides a seamless customer experience across all channels by integrating and synchronizing interactions.
  • Allows customers to switch between channels without losing context, improving satisfaction and efficiency.

 

6. Workforce Optimization (WFO) Software

  • Focuses on improving agent performance and operational efficiency.
  • Includes features like quality monitoring, workforce management, training tools, and analytics.
  • Learn more about Workforce optimization.

Call center software focuses on phone calling as the primary communication channel.

Contact center software includes a variety of communication channels like voice calling, website chat, SMS, email, integrations, video calls, and social media.

Though many cloud-based call center solutions today offer multichannel communication, like voice and SMS, they may still use the term “call center software” to describe their products.

The below diagram shows what a modern solution should look like:

Omnichannel Contact Center

The below features are essential to call center solutions.

  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a self-service feature consisting of pre-recorded call menu options that customers interact with via touch-tone or speech. These customers provide information about the reason for their call and help them connect with the right agent/department.
  • Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)automatic call distribution automatically routes callers according to pre-set call routing strategies.
  • Call RoutingCall routing strategies are the ways in which calls are routed to agents in order to maximize productivity. The main call routing strategies are: list-based routing, round-robin routing, skills-based routing, and simultaneous ringing
  • Call Scripting: Call scripting provides on-call agents with a written script or flowchart that guides them through customer interaction. Many providers offer live call transcription with keyword detection, using this data to determine the conversation’s topic and sentiment. With this information, the system provides agents with suggested responses, relevant links, and knowledge-base articles.
  • Automated Queue CallbacksAutomated queue callbacks eliminate the need for callers to wait on hold for extended periods of time, instead receiving a callback from an available agent based on their preferred time and date.
  • Auto DialersAutomated dialing modes streamline outbound calling efforts, using campaign lists often provided by your CRM system. Most call center solutions will offer multiple dialing modes, including: power dialer, progressive dialer, predictive dialer, and preview dialer.
  • Call QueueingCall queuing allows multiple callers to wait on hold until an available agent is free to assist them. Companies can create multiple queues and assign agents to each queue.
  • Call RecordingThis feature records agent and customer calls either automatically or on-demand, storing these recordings for later review or download.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Real-time and historical analytics provide insights into call center activity and efficiency through tracking KPIs. Reports can be completely customized, or admins can choose from a variety of pre-made report templates.
  • Call MonitoringCall monitoring allows a supervisor to listen in on a live call, whisper private guidance, barge into the call, or take it over entirely. It’s often used to evaluate new agents to provide better training, monitor individual agent performance, or better understand customer needs.
  • Omnichannel Routing: Omnichannel routing receives inbound contact from all communication channels and automatically routes them to the best-suited agent.

Here are the top benefits of implementing call center software:

 

More Features and Capabilities

Compared to a traditional phone system, call center software provides hundreds more dynamic features–all bundled in one app.

CCaaS platforms include routing, queueing, collaboration, integrations with other platforms, sales tools, workforce management, AI support, and analytics–each category with a handful of features that help agents and supervisors meet customer needs.

 

Increased Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Call center software allows your business to provide personalized customer support and decrease common sources of customer frustration.

  • Decreasing hold times via optimized call queueing and automated callbacks
  • Using CTI screen pops, asynchronous shared agent inboxes, and call notes to prevent callers from having to repeat information
  • Using IVR data collection, warm transfers, and native/integrated CRM tools to properly prepare agents for each customer interaction

 

Decreased Agent Turnover

Call center software services not only improve the customer’s experience but the agent’s as well.

  • Skills-based routing and IVR systems match agents with the callers they’re best-suited to help, so agents have fewer frustrating interactions
  • Queue callbacks enable agents to take their time with calls, without having to rush in order to keep queue wait times low
  • Outbound dialers save agents from repetitive tasks like having to manually dial customers and wade through voicemail machines
  • Workforce management tools automatically optimize agent schedules

 

Improved Team Communication

Call center software includes a variety of features that facilitate smoother communication between team members.

  • Workflow automations notify team members of relevant activity across the company
  • Task-assignment tools keep agents on top of their to-do lists, without requiring direct messaging
  • Call controls like parking and transfer enable agents to support each other during live calls
  • Customer journey information, CRM integrations, and shared contact notes provide agents with full customer context–even when it’s their first time servicing that customer

 

Lower Operating Costs

Cloud call center platforms lower your operating costs in a variety of ways:

  • Real-time analytics drive strategic business decisions that make staffing, channel usage, and feature selection more efficient
  • Flexible pricing structures allow companies to pay for only the features and channels they plan to use
  • Supervisor monitoring tools help supervisor manage large teams, while improving each agent’s performance and reducing staffing needs

 

Easy Setup and Management

Compared to a legacy PBX phone system, call center software is incredibly easy to set up and manage. The provider manages the phone system, and all the communication channels are housed online. Most users don’t need any hardware besides their computer or phone.

 

Scalability

Call center providers offer their plans on a subscription basis, and sign up takes just a few minutes. Adding new users simply requires the administrator to add a new subscription, assign the user a phone number, pay the monthly subscription, and send the new employee login credentials.

This makes call center software systems easily scalable, for companies who plan to increase or downsize their workforce.

When looking for the best call center software provider, it’s important to consider features, communication channels, the type of call center you are running, and pricing–all related to your business needs. Use the following guidelines to choose the best call center solution for your company:

 

Routing and Queueing Features

If your company receives a large number of inbound calls, especially for a variety of reasons–like technical support, customer service, billing information, product questions, sales–you should choose a call center provider with advanced routing and queueing capabilities.

In particular, look for a provider with these features:

  • Advanced queueing with callbacks: Helps you organize inbound calls without making customers wait
  • Omnichannel routing: Routes inbound contacts across a variety of channels–including SMS, chat, and email–while making it easy for agents to track these multichannel interactions
  • Skills-based routing: matches inbound callers with the best-suited agent
  • IVR and IVA: IVR is voice-based and IVA is text-based, but both provide customers with self-service options to indicate their needs, helping you match them to the right agent

 

Communication Channels

Most vendors offer multiple communication channels: voice, SMS, live chat and chatbots, video, email, and social media. However, some call centers only offer a smaller selection of these channels, and some offer certain channels on select pricing tiers.

Consider the channels that your customers would use and the size of your call center staff, then determine which channels are most important to you. Choose a provider and pricing tier that offers only those channels, and avoid paying for channels you won’t use.

 

Collaboration Tools

While some plans don’t offer internal collaboration tools, like video meetings and internal team chat with file sharing, some of the CCaaS providers on our list double as collaboration platforms.

Video meetings include capabilities like whiteboards and polls, while internal team chat allows for quick communication and document co-editing. If your hybrid or remote company wants to add collaborative tools, choose a provider with some UCaaS features built-in.

 

Analytics and AI

Analytics and AI tools make it easier for administrators and agents to do their jobs.

Reports and dashboards help administrators determine call volumes, review agent performance, see which channels are most popular with customers, and more. AI tools, like speech suggestions and customer sentiment analysis, train agents to provide better service. These insights help drive business decisions that save costs, improve agent efficiency, and boost customer satisfaction.

 

Pricing and Plans

Considering the features and channels listed above, you want to select the provider and pricing plan that offers the most value for your company. Compare all the providers who offer the features you want, then take a closer look at the plans they offer. Choose the pricing tier that includes your prioritized features without too many extra features you won’t use.

In general, choose the pricing tier that includes your prioritized features without too many features you won’t use. This way, you can select a provider and pricing tier that meets your budget.

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