We recommend Genesys for call centers with at least 1,000 agents who provide omnichannel support through phone, live chat, text, and social media. It’s infinitely customizable and scalable for inbound, outbound, internal communication, or a combo of all three.
It’s not great for smaller teams or simpler systems. It’s also expensive, so it’s not right for everyone.
The Best Genesys Alternatives and Competitors
Nextiva, Five9, and NICE CXone all have enterprise-level call center solutions that rival Genesys’ offerings.
Nextiva’s omnichannel contact center software is our favorite because it’s packed with features and really easy to use. Unlike other enterprise-grade tools, Nextiva is faster to deploy and the learning curve’s a lot shallower compared to similar products.
With it, your team can connect with customers across their preferred channels while leveraging advanced features, AI capabilities, automation, and built-in workforce optimization tools. Nextiva also offers solutions for smaller businesses and straightforward phone systems, so it’s a better option if you have fewer than 1,000 users or value ease of use.
For global connectivity and advanced data analysis, Five9 should be on your radar. You can collect customer data and interactions from nearly any platform and then use that information to make high-level decisions directly in your contact center solution.
Five9 also has built-in agent gamification tools, workflow automations, and exceptional customer support.
NICE CXone puts a strong emphasis on innovation, scalability, security, and call center compliance. If you’re currently using an on-premises solution and want to switch to the cloud, NICE CXone does an incredible job handling enterprise migrations. With its open cloud platform and built-in agent training tools, NICE CXone is an appealing choice to all types of contact centers.
Our Take on Genesys
Genesys is strictly an enterprise-level contact center solution. It supports the needs of companies with tens of thousands of agents located across the globe.
Even if you’re a scaling SME with 500 employees, there are better options out there. 1,000 agents is really the minimum that we recommend.
Beyond its scalability, we really love all the advanced features that Genesys bundles into a single platform. You’re getting predictive call routing, automatic call distribution, voice bots, predictive engagement tools, self-help bots, interactive voice response, and so much more.
All of this is available from a system that supports a high volume of both inbound and outbound calls plus international communication. Your contact center can provide phone, live chat, text, web messaging, and social media support—all from the same dashboard.
This keeps your agents productive while giving your customers more options to reach you.
We also like that Genesys includes a built-in WEM platform on select plans. It lets you easily manage your workforce and resources with features for compliance, quality assurance monitoring, agent sentiment analysis, and more. Most large companies need something like this, which is one of the main reasons we recommend it for enterprise users.
It’s worth noting that Genesys is expensive, even for enterprise standards. On top of that, most organizations rely on a third-party Genesys partner to set up the system, train their staff, and provide ongoing support.
Genesys vs. Nextiva
We recommend Nextiva over Genesys for most businesses. While the two platforms have several overlapping features, especially for omnichannel contact centers, Nextiva is definitely easier to use and deploy. It feels more modern, sleek, and intuitive—plus it’s packed with built-in AI-powered capabilities, whereas Genesys requires you to purchase a separate add-on to access its AI suite.
Nextiva provides an auto dialer, speech-enabled IVR, intelligent call routing, outbound automation tools, and much more. Agents can easily manage all conversations across voice, email, live chat, social, and SMS—all from a single dashboard, just like with Genesys. Your team will also have access to a full conversation history with each customer, even if those interactions take place across multiple channels.
In terms of price, Genesys has a cheaper entry-level plan for voice-only call centers. But the omnichannel plan rates are nearly identical with both providers. So budget wise, there’s not necessarily a clear winner or better value between the two.
If you’re a smaller contact center or need a simple VoIP system, Nextiva wins hands down over Genesys.
While Nextiva can also support teams of 1,000 or more, it works just as well if you have fewer than a hundred agents or are brand new.
That said, Genesys has a proven track record for companies with upwards of 20,000 agents and even 400,000 employees. Nextiva could be used in those scenarios, but it doesn’t have the same tried-and-true history at that scale as it started as a solution for smaller businesses.
Check out our full Nextiva review to learn more.
Genesys vs. Five9
Five9 is also an enterprise-grade contact center solution, sharing lots of similar features with Genesys. It supports omnichannel communication with several different plans to accommodate voice only call centers, a combination of voice and digital channels, plus the option to bundle workforce management with your system.
One standout feature of Five9 over Genesys and other call center solutions is its advanced integration capabilities. Due to its recent acquisition of Aceyus, Five9 now supports data visualization and deeper analytics possibilities—all from a single source of truth.
However, Five9 is notably more expensive than Genesys. Plans range from $175 to $325 per month per concurrent user, plus usage-based charges.
In contrast, Genesys has plans starting at $75 up to $155 and gives you more options for how you want to pay (per user, per hour, concurrent users, etc.).
Even though Five9 has incredible integrations and robust reporting, it’s tough to justify that price tag when you can pay half the price for Genesys as a complete omnichannel contact center solution.
Read our Five9 review for more information.
Genesys vs. NICE CXone
Similar to Genesys, Nextiva, and Five9, NICE CXone supports contact centers with thousands of agents.
It’s a tech-forward company that helps modern businesses move from on-premises or hybrid solutions to cloud-based call centers at scale.
We really like the built-in AI capabilities available with NICE CXone. From AI-powered routing to customer self-service and agent co-pilots, these powerful features can be used to improve customer satisfaction while boosting the productivity of your call center reps.
It’s also worth noting that NICE CXone handles most deployment, training, and support in-house. Other enterprise-grade tools (including Genesys) leverage a network of third-party partners to handle this stuff, which can lead to an inconsistent experience depending on your location or the partner you choose. NICE CXone has a much smaller partner network if you need to rely on it at all.
NICE CXone and Genesys are both cloud-based platforms and come at a similar price point. If you’re torn between the two, we recommend getting a demo of both to see which one feels right for your organization.
You can also refer to our NICE CXone review for more insights.
Genesys vs. Twilio
Twilio is better if you’re looking for something that’s completely customizable. Let’s say you want to embed voice-calling capabilities into a custom web or mobile application.
Or maybe you want to set up a custom SMS-based user authentication process to verify the identity of a caller before they get connected to a live agent.
These are just a couple of the virtually limitless things you can do with Twilio. But it requires significant development resources and internal IT teams to build and maintain the technology behind your custom call center solution.
Genesys is more of an out-of-the-box solution. You can definitely customize certain aspects and use its open API to integrate other tools. But it doesn’t offer the same level of flexibility as Twilio.
Twilio has more than a dozen different products, with different pricing for each. It’s a bit confusing and we wish it was more consolidated. On the plus side, it’s mostly usage-based—so you only pay for what you need.
Check out our Twilio review for a full breakdown of the different plan options.
Genesys vs. RingCentral
RingCentral is an industry leader in the business communications space. If you use them to power your call center, you can rest easy knowing you’ll get crystal-clear voice and unmatched reliability.
It’s no coincidence that over 400,000 businesses worldwide rely on it.
What’s great about RingCentral is that it has different call center products tailored to fit the needs of various departments and team sizes. There’s an omnichannel solution, sales-specific call center, enterprise solution, and even a lightweight contact center that can accommodate small to mid-sized teams.
For businesses with 100 to 999 agents seeking advanced features from one of the most reputable providers on the market, RingCentral is an easy choice.
Our RingCentral review has more information on its pros, cons, features, and pricing.
Genesys vs. Dialpad
Dialpad is paving the way with how AI can be used to improve contact centers.
It’s one of the only business communication tools on the market that’s truly embedded AI functions into every product—perfect for teams that want to leverage automation with innovative technology.
Like Genesys, Dialpad offers omnichannel solutions to connect with customers through voice, SMS, social media, and live chat. Although we give Dialpad the edge for its AI-powered chatbots and its sales-specific contact center solution.
You should still go with Genesys if you have thousands of call center reps. But Dialpad is the better option for midsize sales teams and omnichannel contact centers looking for an innovative, tech-forward solution.
Sales teams can benefit from real-time AI coaching paired with real-time monitoring from supervisors.
You’ll also have access to a power dialer, local dialing that matches the recipient’s area code, live sentiment analysis, and more.
If it sounds like Dialpad is what you’re looking for, check out our complete Dialpad review to learn more.
Genesys vs. CloudTalk
CloudTalk is a much better fit for smaller contact centers. It’s an entry-level solution designed for teams with less than 100 agents.
Starting at just $25 per user per month, it’s a fraction of the price compared to Genesys. But it’s not a true omnichannel solution, and the entry-level plan only supports voice communication. You’ll need to upgrade to a higher plan to access SMS and WhatsApp messaging.
Live chat, social inboxes, and email aren’t available at all from CloudTalk.
That said, CloudTalk is still a powerful option for small teams. Select plans come with smart dialers, power dialers, skills-based routing, VIP call queues, preferred agent routing, and much more. It definitely has the most advanced routing capabilities for a call center solution at this price point.
But it’s not in the same ballpark as Genesys in terms of scale or features beyond voice calling. If you have fewer than 100 call center agents, read our CloudTalk review for more information.
Genesys vs. TalkDesk
TalkDesk is a solid Genesys alternative for mid-sized organizations.
The initial setup and onboarding process is pretty seamless for such a powerful tool. It also comes with a built-in quality management feature, which helps provide actionable feedback to your agents and ultimately helps improve the customer experience.
We really like TalkDesk’s visual design tool—TalkDesk Studio.
It makes it easy for admins to set up and manage everything from omnichannel workflows to IVR scripts, call routing flows, and more. Since it’s point-and-click or drag-and-drop, even non-technical users can set these up with ease. You can also use TalkDesk’s low or now-code tools to create unique interfaces for different roles within your organization.
In terms of price, TalkDesk and Genesys are in the same ballpark. You can choose between voice-only, digital-only, or get a full omnichannel communication suite—all for roughly the same price when you compare each plan side-by-side.
Check out our TalkDesk review to learn more.
Genesys Alternatives: The Final Verdict
Genesys is one of the most powerful and scalable contact center solutions on the market. It’s one of the few platforms that can truly support organizations with tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of call center agents.
That said, Nextiva is still our favorite omnichannel communication platform. It’s packed with features without sacrificing ease of use or solutions for smaller businesses.
Five9 and NICE CXone are also solid alternatives for teams with 1,000 or more agents. RingCentral, Dialpad, and Talkdesk are all a good fit for call centers with 100-999 agents. Something like Twilio is a smart and flexible option if you want to build your own custom call center solution or deep integrations within existing applications.
If all of these tools are too advanced for your needs, CloudTalk is a more affordable entry-level solution that’s a better fit for teams with fewer than 100 call center reps.
Refer to our in-depth reviews of the best call center software and business phone systems to discover more Genesys alternatives if nothing above sounds like the right fit.
