7 Best Grasshopper Alternatives for Small Business (2026)
Grasshopper still works, and GoTo shipped AI call summaries for it this spring. People leave anyway, for the same three reasons: add-on costs, texting registration headaches, and a voicemail box that fills up while you’re on a job.
The quick answer: if you want calls answered and turned into booked work, pick Carly. It answers your business line, books callers on your team’s real calendars during the call, calls new web leads back within about a minute, and texts from the same number. Setup is one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude. If you just want a cheaper second line, Quo and Google Voice are the usual swaps.
Grasshopper alternatives compared
US prices, checked September 2026. “Annual” means the per-month rate when billed yearly.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price (US) | AI call answering | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Businesses that want calls answered and booked | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo | Answers, books on your real calendars, calls leads back, texts | Usage tiers above the $35 entry point |
| Grasshopper (baseline) | Solo owners adding a business line | $14/mo annual, $18 monthly (True Solo) | AI and live receptionist options added spring 2026 | Texting registration fees; users report phone-only cancellation |
| Quo | Small teams that live in text threads | $15/user/mo annual, $19 monthly | Sona agent, 10 calls/mo included, then credits | Per-user pricing adds up; extra Sona calls cost credits |
| Google Voice | Teams already on Google Workspace | $10/user/mo (Starter) | AI call notes on higher tiers | Needs a paid Workspace plan for teams |
| RingCentral RingEX | Multi-location teams that want video and chat too | $20/user/mo annual (Core) | AI Receptionist add-on, from $39 | Add-ons stack on top of the seat price |
| Dialpad | Sales and support teams that want AI transcripts | $15/user/mo annual, $27 monthly | AI Agents billed per conversation | Pro tier has a three-user minimum |
| Nextiva | Phone plus live chat and contact center | $15/user/mo annual, $23 monthly | XBert AI Receptionist add-on | Engage jumps from $25 to $50 on monthly billing |
| Ooma Office | Offices that still want desk phones | $19.95/user/mo | Virtual receptionist phone menu | Features step up tier by tier |
Most of this list replaces Grasshopper’s phone line. Carly replaces the line and the job of calling people back.
Why small businesses leave Grasshopper
The plan ladder is steeper than the $14 headline. True Solo ($14/month annually, $18 monthly) has one user, one number and one extension, and leaves out call recording, phone menus (IVR), simultaneous call handling and call summaries. Those need Solo Plus at $25/month annually or $32 monthly, still with one number and three extensions. Small Business, with four numbers, is $55/month billed annually.
Add-ons show up after checkout. Extra numbers run $9/month each on annual billing or $10 monthly. Extra extensions on Solo Plus are $3 to $5 each. Business texting requires a $19.50 one-time registration fee ($4.50 for The Campaign Registry plus $15 for carrier review). International calls are billed per minute, and a professionally recorded greeting is $75.
Texting registration is where the complaints pile up. Threads on r/VOIP and r/smallbusiness describe months of waiting for a line to be approved for texting, with the $4.50 brand fee charged again after failed attempts.
Support and cancellation. Trustpilot reviews lean on billing disputes and support that couldn’t fix the problem, and users report having to phone support to cancel.
The AI is new and focused on taking messages. The May 2026 release added call recording and transcripts, AI sentiment, AI call summaries, and a choice of AI, live or hybrid receptionists. Grasshopper’s after-hours AI answers common questions, gathers information and logs follow-ups. A smarter voicemail, but you still make the callback.
1. Carly: best when a missed call is a missed job
Carly runs your business line and does the callback for you. It follows your rules exactly, the same way on every call.
- Answers 24/7, or only when your team doesn’t pick up. It detects Spanish and answers in Spanish.
- Books the job during the call on your team’s real Google and Outlook calendars, round robin.
- Calls new web leads within about a minute of a form fill, with their answers in hand, then texts and emails if they miss it.
- Texts from the same business number: two-way texts, a text back on every missed call, reminders to a list (each person gets their own text), group texts. More in SMS appointment booking.
- Hands callers to a person through ring groups or a phone menu.
- One team inbox and CRM for every call, transcript, summary, voicemail, text and email, written back to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own CRM.
- Runs from ChatGPT or Claude. Build the agents from a chat, place calls and texts, watch a live call and steer it.
- Connects to thousands of apps, and every call can trigger free Zapier-style workflows.
Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live.
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.
# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app
> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.
MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)
## Setup
Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.
1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/account (API key under Carly Teams) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.
2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.
3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.
4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.
## Email, calendars and workflows
Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.Best for: service businesses, agencies and professional firms where an unanswered call is lost revenue. Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started, or book a call if you’d like a walkthrough.
2. Quo: best straight swap for a team that texts
Quo (renamed from OpenPhone in late 2025) is the alternative Grasshopper users mention most. Each user gets their own number, calls and texts sit in shared threads, and the Sona AI agent answers on every plan. Each plan includes 1,000 Sona credits a month (10 calls), and packs start at $25/month for 40 calls.
Best for: small teams that want a modern shared inbox and per-user numbers. Pricing: Starter $15/user/month annually ($19 monthly), Business $23 ($33), Scale $35 ($47). Extra numbers are $5/month. Texting registration is $19.50 one-time plus $1.50 to $3/month. Watch out for: a five-person team pays for five seats, where Grasshopper charges per plan. AI summaries for every call, HubSpot and Salesforce sync, and phone menus start on Business. More in Quo vs Grasshopper and Quo pricing.
3. Google Voice: cheapest if you already pay for Google Workspace
Google Voice adds simple, cheap calling to Workspace accounts. Standard adds auto attendants and ring groups. Premier adds automatic call recording, transcription and AI notes.
Best for: teams already on Google Workspace who need a clean business line. Pricing: Starter $10/user/month (up to 10 users), Standard $20, Premier $30. Watch out for: team plans sit on top of a paid Workspace subscription. See Google Voice for business and Quo vs Google Voice.
4. RingCentral RingEX: best for a full phone, video and chat suite
RingEX bundles calling, team messaging, video and a huge integration library. More system than most Grasshopper users need, but it scales to multiple sites.
Best for: growing, multi-location teams that want one vendor for every channel. Pricing: Core $20/user/month, Advanced $25, Ultra $35, billed annually. RingCentral says annual billing saves up to 33%. The AI Receptionist (AIR) add-on starts at $39, and shared business texting is a separate booster. Watch out for: add-ons and TCR registration fees stack on the seat price, and phone rental requires a multi-year contract. See RingCentral pricing, RingCentral’s AI Receptionist and RingCentral alternatives.
5. Dialpad: best for AI transcripts on sales and support calls
Dialpad is built around AI transcription, recaps and live coaching. Its AI Agents bill per conversation from a pool of credits, counting only when the agent looks something up or takes an action.
Best for: sales and support teams that review calls and want transcripts by default. Pricing: Connect Standard $15/user/month annually ($27 monthly), Pro $25 ($35). Enterprise is quoted. Watch out for: Pro has a three-user minimum, and monthly billing costs far more than annual. See Dialpad alternatives and RingCentral vs Dialpad.
6. Nextiva: best for phone plus live chat in one place
Nextiva bundles phone, SMS, video and team chat, with live chat and contact-center tools on higher tiers. XBert, its AI receptionist, is an add-on on every plan.
Best for: customer-facing teams that want calls, texts and web chat in one system. Pricing: Core $15/user/month annually ($23 monthly), Engage $25 ($50 monthly), Scale $75. Watch out for: monthly billing on Engage doubles the price, and the AI receptionist costs extra. See RingCentral vs Nextiva.
7. Ooma Office: best for offices that still want desk phones
A straightforward VoIP system with a virtual receptionist phone menu and ring groups, popular with offices moving off a landline.
Best for: small offices that want physical desk phones and month-to-month billing. Pricing: Essentials $19.95/user/month, Pro $24.95, Pro Plus $29.95, with no annual contract. Watch out for: texting, recording and CRM features step up by tier, so check which one your team actually needs.
Which Grasshopper alternative fits your business
- Calls are revenue and callbacks slip: Carly. The AI books the job instead of taking a message.
- A small team that mostly texts: Quo.
- Already on Google Workspace and price is everything: Google Voice.
- Many locations, video and chat in one vendor: RingCentral or Nextiva.
- Heavy call review and coaching: Dialpad.
- Desk phones on every desk: Ooma Office.
For the wider field, see best small business phone systems, the best AI receptionists and AI answering services.
Switching off Grasshopper without losing your number
- Don’t cancel Grasshopper first. Business numbers can be ported, so keep the account active until the port finishes, or you risk losing the number.
- Write down your call flow. Who rings first, what happens after hours, which callers get booked and with whom. On Carly, you set those rules from ChatGPT or Claude.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Grasshopper?
For businesses that lose money on missed calls, Carly is the strongest alternative: it answers, books callers on a real calendar during the call, calls new web leads back and logs every call to your CRM. For a basic second line, Quo and Google Voice are the most common swaps.
Is Grasshopper still in business in 2026?
Yes. Grasshopper is owned by GoTo and released a spring 2026 update on May 6 with call recording and transcripts, AI sentiment, AI call summaries and a choice of AI, live or hybrid receptionists. Plans start at $14/month billed annually.
How much does Grasshopper cost?
True Solo is $14/month billed annually or $18 monthly. Solo Plus is $25 annually or $32 monthly. Small Business is $55/month billed annually. On top of that: a $19.50 one-time texting registration fee, $9 to $10/month per extra number, per-minute international calls, and taxes.
Can I keep my Grasshopper number if I switch?
Yes. Business numbers can be ported to a new provider. Keep your Grasshopper account active until the port is complete.
Is Quo better than Grasshopper?
For teams that text a lot, many users prefer Quo’s shared inbox, per-user numbers and Sona AI agent. Grasshopper charges per plan instead of per seat, which can be cheaper for several people sharing one line. The full breakdown is in Quo vs Grasshopper.
Does Grasshopper have an AI receptionist?
Yes, as of the spring 2026 release. Grasshopper offers AI, live or hybrid receptionist options, and describes the after-hours AI as answering common questions, gathering information and logging follow-ups. If you want the AI to book the caller on the right calendar instead, that’s Carly.
Ready to automate your busywork?
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See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
