Aircall and OpenPhone are both cloud business phone systems, but they are built for differently shaped teams. Aircall, founded in 2014 and based in Paris and…
| Aircall | OpenPhone | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Communication | Communication |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starting price | $30/user/month (billed annually, 3-license minimum) | $15/user/month (billed annually) or $19/user/month (billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Not documented | Not documented |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Not documented |
Pricing and Minimum Seats
Aircall: Starts at about $30/user/month billed annually with a 3-license minimum, so cost effectively begins near $90/month for a small team.
OpenPhone: Starts at around $15/user/month billed annually with no documented seat minimum.
The 3-seat minimum and higher per-user rate make Aircall a bigger upfront commitment, while OpenPhone's lower floor suits very small teams.
Core Use Case
Aircall: Built around structured outbound and inbound call-center workflows for sales and support teams.
OpenPhone: Built around shared business numbers, team texting, and lightweight collaboration for startups and small teams.
Buyers deciding between call-center-style call handling and a shared communications inbox will land on different tools.
Outbound Power Dialing
Aircall: Includes a Power Dialer that automatically queues and dials through prospect lists.
OpenPhone: Not documented as offering an automated power or outbound dialer.
Teams doing high-volume outbound prospecting need automated dialing to cut manual dial time between calls.
Live Call Monitoring and Coaching
Aircall: Managers can listen in, whisper coaching tips, or barge into live calls, plus review recordings afterward.
OpenPhone: Not documented as offering live listen, whisper, or barge monitoring.
Real-time coaching capability matters for sales and support managers actively training reps during live calls.
Team Texting
Aircall: Not documented as offering SMS or team texting.
OpenPhone: Offers team texting as a core capability alongside shared phone numbers.
Teams that rely on text messaging alongside calls need it built into the same tool rather than bolted on separately.
Voicemail Handling
Aircall: Offers voicemail drop, letting reps leave a pre-recorded voicemail without waiting through a live greeting.
OpenPhone: Offers voicemail transcription, converting voicemail messages into readable text.
These solve different problems: saving rep time on outbound voicemails versus saving triage time on inbound voicemails.
Integration Breadth and API
Aircall: Connects natively with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Intercom, Pipedrive, and Slack, backed by a public API for custom setups.
OpenPhone: Connects with HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier.
A broader native marketplace plus a public API gives more flexibility for custom or helpdesk-heavy tech stacks.
AI Features Availability by Plan
Aircall: Aircall AI, covering transcription, summaries, and sentiment or topic tagging, is a paid add-on on the entry-level Essentials plan and included on Professional.
OpenPhone: AI call transcripts and summaries are included starting on the Business plan, above the entry-level Starter plan.
Buyers wanting AI features on the cheapest plan need to check whether it is included or an extra cost in either tool.
Company Maturity and Headquarters
Aircall: Founded in 2014, headquartered in Paris, France and New York, NY.
OpenPhone: Founded in 2018, headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Aircall has several more years in market building out its integration marketplace and enterprise-facing features.
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Browser, Desktop and Mobile Calling | Available | Available |
| Click-to-Dial from CRM Record | Available | Not documented |
| Virtual / Shared Phone Numbers | Available | Available |
| Number Porting | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Power / Auto Dialer | Available | Not documented |
| Voicemail Drop | Available | Not documented |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| IVR / Menu Routing | Available | Available |
| Business-Hours-Based Routing | Available | Available |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Call Inbox | Available | Available |
| Team Texting (SMS) | Not documented | Available |
| Auto-Replies and Snooze | Not documented | Available |
| Contact Management | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| AI Call Transcription | Available | Available |
| AI Call Summaries | Available | Available |
| Sentiment / Topic Tagging | Available | Not documented |
| Voicemail Transcription | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Live Call Monitoring (Listen / Whisper / Barge) | Available | Not documented |
| Call Recording | Available | Available |
| Analytics and Reporting | Available | Available |
| Feature | Aircall | OpenPhone |
|---|---|---|
| CRM / Helpdesk Integrations | Available | Available |
| Public API | Available | Not documented |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
OpenPhone is cheaper at the entry level, starting around $15/user/month, versus Aircall's roughly $30/user/month plus a 3-license minimum that raises the effective starting cost.
OpenPhone is generally the better fit for small startup teams since it has no documented seat minimum and centers on shared numbers and texting, while Aircall requires a 3-license minimum built around structured call-center workflows.
No, OpenPhone's documented feature set does not include an automated power dialer; Aircall offers a dedicated Power Dialer for queuing and dialing through prospect lists.
Both offer AI call transcription and summaries, but Aircall AI additionally documents sentiment and topic tagging, and Aircall's AI features are a paid add-on on its entry Essentials plan while OpenPhone's AI features start on its Business plan rather than its cheapest Starter plan.
Neither is positioned as a full enterprise contact center replacement; Aircall's own documentation notes it is less suited to very large, complex omnichannel contact centers, and OpenPhone's documentation notes limited depth for large-scale contact center operations.
Not documented; Aircall's verified feature set covers calling, IVR, and voicemail but does not list SMS or team texting, while OpenPhone documents team texting as a core capability alongside shared phone numbers.
Read the full Aircall review · Read the full OpenPhone review