3CX

The best VoIP phone system for small businesses

Comments: We had a customer that had 3 different companies within the walls of the building. We were able to configure each company separately so that their rules, hours, and each had different SIP providers that needed to be configured up properly. Each had their own digital assistant and the system setup took only a few hours to complete with all the complexity that was involved. Technical support was outstanding in assisting with the troubleshooting and setup.

Pros:

The 8 concurrent call Standard License is free to all companies. This makes it a perfect solution for churches, small businesses, and as the small businesses grow into medium sized businesses, the annual cost for the license with higher concurrent calls is nominal. When companies switch from the POTS lines, they need to figure out a good solution for VoIP. 3cx is lower cost than RingCentral and 8x8 as well as many other competing VoIP softwares.

Cons:

Putting in supported APAP adapters is great, but when a customer has a non supported adapter, it usually works, but doesn't play nicely with the software as far as configuring it easily.

3CX is fine, but it is all about who handles the hosting

Comments: 3CX feels like it is a step up from a normal landline, but I don't see any wow factors that I feel like I could get from some of the other VoIP names. If you're looking for something less expensive than Ring Central, Phone.com, and OnSip, then you should be able to find a small VoIP provider willing to offer you a hosted package with 3CX for a lower price.

Pros:

3CX is straightforward. It seems to have all the necessary features for a small business. Still, as a business owner who cannot work on the admin side, I can only comment on the usability and stability. Compared to other softphone apps, I've never had significant issues. I use 3CX as a softphone on an iPhone, through a Yealink desk phone, via Chrome plugin, and on an iPad. Surprisingly, the limitations I see are not due to the daily functions. There are some features I would like, but there is nothing about this app that hinders my company's ability to operate without delay. We have users in China, Thailand, the Philippines, Jamacia, Venezuela, and the US. All locations work well, and the apps work even with limited internet access. There are times when the connection is not great, but this is usually due to the internet and not the apps.

Cons:

There is no way for my ringer on my softphone or desk phone to be customized to ring differently when someone calls my extension vs. ring group. I wish there were connectivity with Zapier so that I could push contacts from other services into our address book. It would be nice if the SMS chat feature worked more similarly to a shared inbox, where everyone could see it. You can only transfer the chat to another extension, which makes SMS hard to use as a group. Overall, the cons are not about the ability to use 3CX but the features I wish it had that could provide a better overall experience.

3CX is useful, but setting it up has been hard

Pros:

My apartment complex does not intercom set up on every house, so the central simulates this communication using 3CX. It is very handy, since no physical installation had to be done to the apartment.

Cons:

The setup depends on the configuration file sent by the central. It worked on the first use, but then, if you migrate to a new phone, then it needs to be set up again, instead of associating the configuration profile with an account the user can create and use in different devices.

3cx

Pros:

I think that the call recording is very useful, we have had to listen to recordings multiple times for different scenarios and it has always come in handy. I love that all of our voicemails come directly to our email address, because we are able to check for new ones frequently throughout the day.

Cons:

The only complaint I have about this software is the messaging feature, the messages only come to one computer so if that computer is not routinely monitored the messages never get read.

Serves small businesses very well for free.

Comments: In my opinion, it is a very good tool and hardly ever had problems, because the tool is very stable and with a very good usability, serving very well small businesses.

Pros:

• It is free. • Assists in the company's internal communication. • It is always updated with improvements. • Ease of receiving and transferring calls. • Ease of configuration and installation by the end user.

Cons:

• We used the trial version quietly for 1 year, but due to technical problems due to a codec, it caused a major internal problem where we stayed 3 days without a phone. For this reason the support of the company that provides the service asked us to change the application.