Grasshopper vs RingCentral
Grasshopper vs RingCentral: a virtual number or an enterprise suite?
One forwards calls to your cell for a flat monthly fee. The other replaces a corporate PBX. Most small teams need something in between.
7-day free trial on every plan · No per-minute charges · Competitor facts verified September 2026
Grasshopper and RingCentral sit at opposite ends of the business-phone market. Grasshopper is a virtual number priced per account, from $18 a month, that rings your existing cell phones and stops there: no CRM, no API, basic extensions. RingCentral RingEX is the deepest UCaaS suite available, priced per user with 12-36 month contracts, video for 300 people, 330+ integrations and an admin console built for multi-site rollouts. If you are torn between them, the real question is how much phone system you actually need, and what you are willing to run.
ROUND BY ROUND
Grasshopper vs RingCentral, where each one wins.
Pricing
Grasshopper winsGrasshopper charges per account: True Solo $18 a month, Solo Plus $32 (one number, three extensions, unlimited users), Small Business $70 (four numbers, unlimited extensions), each about 20% less on annual billing. RingCentral charges per user: Core $30, Advanced $35, Ultra $45 monthly, or $20-35 on annual contracts, plus roughly $4-5 per user in recovery and E911 fees. For a solo owner or a few people sharing one line, Grasshopper is a fraction of the cost.
Where Ody lands: Ody is per user with no fee line items beyond taxes: Starter $19, Growth $33, Enterprise $47 monthly.
Phone-system depth
RingCentral winsRingCentral is a complete system: multi-level IVR, ring groups, automatic recording on Advanced, HD video for 300 participants, team messaging, analytics and 330+ integrations. Grasshopper offers basic extensions, simultaneous ring, voicemail transcription and recording on Solo Plus and up, with analytics capped at 90 days and no CRM, Zapier or API. If your business needs the phone to talk to other software, Grasshopper cannot.
Where Ody lands: Ody sits in between: shared inbox, 43 integrations, an API and MCP on every plan, IVR and recording on Growth, but no video meetings.
Texting
EvenGrasshopper offers unlimited US and Canada texting once 10DLC registration clears, but that registration is its most common complaint: a $19.50 fee plus $1.50-10 a month, $15 per rejected resubmission, and no registration at all for sole proprietors without an EIN. RingCentral registers you smoothly but caps texting at 25, 100 or 200 messages per user per month by tier and disables SMS during the trial. Unlimited-but-painful versus easy-but-capped: a draw.
Where Ody lands: Ody handles 10DLC registration during onboarding and includes US and Canada texting per user on every plan.
Contracts and cancellation
Grasshopper winsGrasshopper bills monthly or annually with no contract, though cancelling requires a phone call with your account PIN. RingCentral's discounted prices sit on 12-36 month auto-renewing terms with a 30-day notice window, an early-termination fee equal to the remaining term, and no online cancellation. Reviewers cite the contract more than any feature. For a small team that may change its mind, Grasshopper is far easier to leave.
Where Ody lands: Ody bills monthly or annually and lets you change plans in the app without a retention call.
Support and setup
Grasshopper winsBoth advertise 24/7 phone and chat support. The difference is time to first call: Grasshopper is live in minutes from the app, while RingCentral is admin-led and typically takes days to weeks, with paid onboarding services from $2,500 for larger organizations. RingCentral's 99.999% uptime SLA is a genuine plus for a business that cannot tolerate downtime, but a five-person shop rarely needs an implementation project.
Where Ody lands: Ody goes live in minutes: pick a number, set up the AI receptionist, and calls are answered the same day.
PRICING
What each one actually costs.
Grasshopper
Per-account (not per-user) pricing, no contract, 7-day no-card trial. Extra numbers $9/mo, extra extensions $3-5/mo; texting requires 10DLC registration ($19.50 one-time + $1.50-10/mo campaign fee, $15 per rejected resubmission) and is not offered to sole proprietors without an EIN; receptionist add-ons are sold through partner Ruby (from roughly $160-250/mo); international calling needs a $500 advance deposit. Cancellation is by phone with the account PIN, not in-app.
RingCentral RingEX
AI Receptionist (AIR) is a $39/mo add-on for RingEX customers with 100 minutes included ($49/mo standalone), then $0.50/min in 30-second increments or extra minute bundles. Reviewers report roughly $4-5/user/mo in Compliance & Administrative Cost Recovery, USF and E911 fees above list, 12-36 month auto-renewing terms with an early-termination fee equal to the remaining term and no online cancellation, and SMS caps of 25/100/200 messages per user per month.
Ody
One number per user included; extra local or toll-free numbers $5/mo each. Business texting needs one-time 10DLC registration ($20 setup + $4/mo per texting number, handled during onboarding). International calling is a $5/mo add-on with $5 of usage included. Plans are billed monthly or prepaid annually (annual saves up to 30%). Taxes apply; there are no per-minute charges and no AI credits.
Try for free →PRICE PER TEAM SIZE
What a team pays each month.
Monthly billing, September 2026 list prices, before taxes and fees. Grasshopper is priced per account, so its column barely moves: True Solo ($18, one number and one extension), Solo Plus ($32, one number and three extensions, unlimited users) and Small Business ($70, four numbers, unlimited extensions); recording is Solo Plus and up. RingCentral Advanced ($35/user monthly, $25 annual) is the first RingEX tier with automatic recording, before the ~$4-5/user fees reviewers report. Ody Growth ($33/user monthly, $23 annual) includes IVR, recording and the AI receptionist.
SIDE BY SIDE
Feature by feature, all three.
Competitor facts from their published pricing & docs, verified September 2026. Ody facts mirror our pricing page.
| Feature | Grasshopper | RingCentral RingEX | Ody |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI answering | |||
| AI receptionist answers calls | GrasshopperPartner add-on via Ruby (AI, human or hybrid), from ~$160-250/mo | RingCentralAdd-on: $39/mo for 100 minutes | OdyIncluded on every plan |
| What the AI costs | GrasshopperRuby partner pricing, from ~$160-250/mo | RingCentral$39/mo for 100 min, then $0.50/min | Ody$0 extra. No credits, no minute bundles |
| AI call summaries & transcripts | Grasshopper— | RingCentralTiered (full notes on Advanced+) | OdyGrowth+ |
| Turn AI on/off per line & hour | Grasshopper— | RingCentral— | Ody✓ |
| Phone system | |||
| US & Canada calling | Grasshopper✓ | RingCentral✓ | Ody✓ |
| Business texting (SMS/MMS) | GrasshopperUnlimited US/CA after 10DLC ($19.50 + $1.50-10/mo); no sole proprietors | RingCentralCapped: 25-200 SMS/user/mo by tier | OdyUS & Canada, 10DLC handled |
| Phone number included | Grasshopper1-4 per account; extras $9/mo | RingCentral1 per user | Ody1 per user; extras $5/mo |
| Toll-free numbers | GrasshopperLocal, toll-free & vanity | RingCentral✓ | Ody✓ |
| Free number porting | Grasshopper✓ | RingCentral✓ | Ody✓ |
| Phone menus (IVR) | GrasshopperBasic extensions | RingCentral✓ | OdyGrowth+ |
| Auto call recording | GrasshopperSolo Plus+ only | RingCentralAdvanced+ | OdyGrowth+ |
| Voicemail transcription | Grasshopper✓ | RingCentral✓ | Ody✓ |
| Video meetings | Grasshopper— | RingCentralHD meetings, 300 participants; webinars on Ultra | Ody— |
| Hardware required | GrasshopperNone (forwards to your cell) | RingCentralOptional desk phones | OdyNone. Browser + iOS app |
| Team & integrations | |||
| Shared team inbox | Grasshopper— | RingCentralTeam messaging | Ody✓ |
| CRM integrations | Grasshopper— | RingCentral330+ integrations on Advanced+ | Ody43 integrations, every plan |
| ChatGPT / Claude (MCP) | Grasshopper— | RingCentral— | Ody✓ |
| Developer API & webhooks | Grasshopper— | RingCentralYes (developer platform) | OdyEvery plan |
| Analytics & reporting | GrasshopperCapped at 90 days | RingCentralAdvanced+ | OdyGrowth+ |
| Commercial | |||
| Seat minimum | GrasshopperNone | RingCentralNone | OdyNone |
| Contract | GrasshopperMonthly or annual; cancel by phone | RingCentralMonthly or 12-36 month auto-renewing terms; ETF = remaining term | OdyBilled monthly or annually. Change plans in-app |
| Fees above list price | Grasshopper10DLC fees, $500 international deposit, sales tax; add-ons per number/extension | RingCentral~$4-5/user/mo recovery + E911 fees reported | OdyTaxes only. No recovery or E911 line items |
| Free trial | Grasshopper7 days | RingCentral14 days (SMS disabled during trial) | Ody7 days, every plan, full product |
| Support | Grasshopper24/7 phone and chat | RingCentral24/7 phone and chat | OdyEmail (Starter), live chat (Growth), phone + onboarding (Enterprise) |
| Self-serve setup & plan changes | GrasshopperSetup yes; cancellation requires a phone call | RingCentralAdmin-led; onboarding services $2,500+ for larger orgs | Ody✓ |
VERDICT BY USE CASE
Which one should you pick?
True Solo at $18 a month ($14 annual) puts a professional number over your personal phone with voicemail transcription and 24/7 support. RingCentral is overkill and Ody's AI answering is more than a forwarding line needs.
Solo Plus is $32 a month for one number, three extensions and unlimited users. Any per-user model, RingCentral or Ody, costs more the moment a third person joins.
Video for 300, webinars, desk-phone fleets, multi-site PBX administration and a 99.999% SLA. Grasshopper has none of it and Ody has no video or hardware.
Grasshopper only forwards; its answering partner Ruby starts around $160-250 a month. RingCentral's AI Receptionist is a $39 a month add-on for 100 minutes. Ody includes 24/7 AI answering, a shared inbox and 43 integrations from $19 per user.
EVERYTHING INCLUDED
The whole phone system,
with the AI built in. One price.
Scroll through what every Ody workspace ships with: a number, calling and texting, a shared inbox, and a receptionist that never clocks out.
ChatGPT
Claude
CursorGo deeper, feature by feature.
All features →FAQ
Questions people ask before choosing.
More comparisons
Same research, same honesty, other providers.