Cloudtalk is an entry-level call center solution with big-business call routing options and a lower price tag than most of its competitors. With it, you won’t find features for other channels (aside from WhatsApp), things like workforce or quality management, or any internal collaboration tools.
It’s very simple and easy to implement, especially at a small scale.
How Cloudtalk Compares to its Closest Competitors
Cloudtalk is most comparable to Nextiva’s enterprise phone system plan or lightweight call center platform and Aircall. They’re all affordable and approachable options for smaller businesses or anyone interested in starting a virtual call center. Especially if you have fewer than 100 agents.
Nextiva’s plans include collaboration tools, like video and team chat, all in a single comprehensive solution. It costs a bit more, but you get a lot more, too.
It’s infinitely scalable as it has a full omnichannel contact center solution you can grow into.
However, Cloudtalk comes with more call center features at a lower price than you’ll get with Nextiva. It also offers global phone numbers, which is something Nextiva doesn’t offer
Cloudtalk may be the better choice if you have advanced call routing or international phone number needs but fewer than 100 agents, a tight budget, and no need for collaboration tools, workforce management, or quality optimization capabilities.
Aircall, on the other hand, is nearly identical in price, aside from Cloudtalk’s entry-level plan.
However, it offers more integrations and is built on the idea of working with your existing systems. Cloudtalk has stronger call routing options—preferred-agent, skills-based, next available, and VIP queuing—that you won’t find with Aircall.
The better of the two depends on what features you care about most.
Check out our Nextiva review, Aircall review, and full list of the best call center solutions to learn more about how it stacks up in the market.
Cloudtalk vs. Other Business Communications Alternatives
If you don’t need call center features and are looking for the absolute cheapest phone systems, a virtual system, like OpenPhone (review coming soon), Grasshopper, or Google Voice, is likely a better fit.
Solutions like Nextiva’s contact center platform, Dialpad, RingCentral, and TalkDesk are on the other end of the spectrum—they’re far more expensive and advanced in comparison.
They’re also more comprehensive, making them better options for midsize to large teams.
Full contact center solutions tend to start around $80 per agent per month and come with advanced tools like quality and workforce management, agent engagement, extensive customization options, and powerful reporting modules.
Cloudtalk Call Center: The Good
Very affordable entry-level plan: At $25 per agent per month, Cloudtalk is one of the cheapest call center plans on the market. While it is limited, you’ll get call recording, queues, extensions, ACD, a call flow designer, ring groups, tagging, and basic call center analytics. It may be enough for very small teams or those with lightweight needs.
No charge for internal or inbound calls: While you will have to pay per-minute for outbound calls and inbound calls to toll-free numbers, you don’t have to pay for internal or inbound calls to standard numbers. Most providers charge for outbound usage, but some, like Dialpad, charge for inbound too.
Basic business texting: You’ll be able to send and receive SMS messages on the second tier or higher. You can use these in your automations to send follow-ups, confirmations, check-ins, and more. There are customizable pre-made templates for different types of messages plus automated personalization options so it doesn’t feel automated on the customer side.
WhatsApp message management: If you use WhatsApp, you’ll be able to receive and send WhatsApp messages directly from the Cloudtalk app. These can be tied to customer records along with messages and calls, so agents can see all interactions in one place.
Global phone numbers: Cloudtalk offers global local, national, mobile, and toll-free numbers in more than 160 countries, starting at $6 per month. You can also port existing international numbers in select regions.
Unlimited extensions on every plan: There are providers that don’t have extensions at all (OpenPhone), limit the number you can have (Grasshopper), or only allow them on higher tiers (RingCentral, Dialpad, and CallHippo).
Cloudtalk gives you as many four-digit extensions as you want, no matter the plan.
Skills-based, next-available, preferred agent, and VIP routing: In addition to standard call routing capabilities, like IVR, ACD, and a call flow builder, Cloudtalk also includes advanced distribution options you won’t find with other budget-friendly call center solutions. Most of these features are limited to the second tier and higher, but you’ll still get them for far cheaper than you would with other providers.
Customizable tagging system: Cloudtalk’s customizable tags make it easy to organize calls however you’d like. You can also use tags to filter analytics so you can create customized reports by campaign, call type, departments, location, and whatever other call center KPIs you need to track.
You’ll be able to assign a color, name, type, and group for each tag. On higher tiers, you can make tagging mandatory so no calls fall through the cracks.
Pre-recorded voice messages: You’ll have the ability to record custom audio messages and use them at different points in your call flows, IVR, or other routing systems. This adds a personalized touch and can help callers help themselves without needing to talk to an agent. You can use it record business hours, an after-hours message, a custom greeting, greetings for different departments, automated FAQs, and more.
Coaching and adherence: Cloudtalk Copilot offers real-time recommendations for agents based on the sentiment, objections, and keywords used in conversation.
It also helps summarize calls, analyze sentiment, identify topics, tag transcriptions based on topics, and schedule follow-ups via email. With custom campaigns, you can set up pre-defined notes, scripts, questionnaires, and call structures for different types of calls to ensure agents know what to do and when. Copilot and campaigns paired with whisper and barging means you get full control over quality monitoring and agent training.
Call recording on every plan: Similarly priced call center solutions charge extra for call recordings or limit them to higher tiers. However, it’s available on every plan with Cloutalk. You’ll get one month of storage on the cheapest plan and unlimited storage on the rest.
Standard automation builder: Cloudtalk’s automation builder is based on triggers, conditions, and desired actions. If you’ve ever built automations before, you’ll feel comfortable right away. You can use it set up custom notifications, create tickets, trigger call transcriptions, schedule follow-ups, sync data between systems, and more.
Outbound capabilities: Aside from smart and power dialers, Cloudtalk offers a range of outbound tools, like pre-recorded voicemail messages, area code matching, and automatic callbacks for missed or unanswered calls.
Filterable analytics: Most analytics are limited to the middle tier and higher, but you’ll get agent and group performance metrics with the ability to filter by tags to drill into whatever you need. Whether you want to see how a group or team’s doing as a whole or need to dig deeper into a specific agent, you’ll get everything you need in an easy-to-read dashboard.
Real-time monitoring and insights: Aside from standard analytics, there are real-time dashboards and even a way to share current wait times, callers on hold, average service level, and other key indicators to your whole team to keep them motivated.
Supervisors and managers can see individual or team-based real-time performance, including average call length, number of calls, and more. Just like standard analytics, you can filter by just about everything.
Potential Cloudtalk Drawbacks
Entry-level plan is limited: Despite all the cool features Cloudtalk offers, you won’t get most of them on the cheapest plan. SMS messaging, business hours, custom greetings, conference calls, IVR, skills-based routing, callbacks, integrations, and outbound dialers all aren’t available.
Texting is charged per message: No matter what plan you’re on, you’ll be charged for every SMS message. Other providers throw in monthly messages for free, but Cloudtalk doesn’t.
Not an omni-channel solution: Cloudtalk does voice, texting, and WhatsApp messaging really well. But you won’t find tools for any additional channels, like social media or other messaging apps. If you interact with customers in other ways, your agents may not get the full picture since you won’t be keeping track of those interactions.
Lacking collaboration features: Video meetings and internal chat are standard with many call and contact center solutions. To keep costs low, Cloudtalk doesn’t offer these as built-in tools. There are also no Zoom, Slack, or Teams integrations unless you use Zapier.
No workforce management: As a solution for smaller businesses, none of Cloudtalk’s plans include forecasting, scheduling, or workforce engagement features.
Email-only support on most plans: On the two lower tiers, there’s no phone support—email is your only option.
Not as customizable as others: While you can customize some of the platform, it can feel restrictive and rigid in comparison to other providers. You may have to change some of your processes to fit the software rather than the other way around.
No volume discounts: There is a custom enterprise plan, but the lack of volume discounts on standard plans can ultimately make Cloudtalk more expensive than other options as you add more users.
Limited integrations: CloudTalk offers 36 integrations, which isn’t many in comparison to other providers like Aircall or RingCentral (both offer more than 200). You may also have compatibility issues with some, especially if you use niche software.
Cloudtalk’s Call Center Plans and Pricing
Cloudtalk offers one of the cheapest, most entry-level call center plans we’ve seen.
Most typical call center solutions charge upwards of $50 or more per agent per month—Cloudtalk starts at $25 per agent per month, making it half the cost. It’s a very affordable place to start if you’re brand new or have basic needs.
The cheapest plan is quite limited, but may be enough to get you started.
Nextiva’s enterprise business phone system offers many of the same features and ranges from $31.95 to $37.95, depending on the number of users. Overall, Cloudtalk is cheaper than Nextiva but doesn’t offer the same level of scalability or comprehensiveness.
Aircall starts at $30 per agent per month, which is the same price as Cloudtalk’s middle tier. Their top tiers are identical in terms of cost, as well.
Cloudtalk offers callbacks and more advanced call routing options for the same price, but Aircall has far more integrations, phone support, and 13,000 free text segments every month.
