7 Best JustCall Alternatives in 2026 (Prices Checked)
JustCall is a solid calling platform with CRM integrations from the entry plan and a support team its reviewers like (3.8 on Trustpilot). Teams look elsewhere when the seat math stops working: two licenses minimum, the advertised prices billed annually, and an AI Voice Agent charged by the minute on top.
The quick answer: The best JustCall alternative for teams that live on inbound leads is Carly. It answers every call your reps can’t, qualifies the caller, books them on the right rep’s real calendar, calls new web leads back within a minute and logs it all to HubSpot or Salesforce. Setup is one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude. For a straight dialer swap, CloudTalk starts at $19 a user and Quo at $15, both billed annually.
US prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 23, 2026.
JustCall alternatives compared
| Tool | Starts at | AI that answers calls | Minimum seats | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo | Answers, qualifies, books, calls new leads back | None | Inbound speed-to-lead |
| JustCall (for reference) | $29/user annual | AI Voice Agent, per minute | 2 | SMB sales and support |
| Aircall | $30/license | 50 AI Voice Agent minutes a month included | 3 | Support and sales teams |
| CloudTalk | $19/user annual, $27 monthly | AI Receptionist and AI Specialist agents | 1 (3 on Expert) | Teams that want dialer add-ons |
| Dialpad | $15/user annual | AI Agents on a credit pool | 1 | AI transcripts and coaching |
| Quo | $15/user annual, $19 monthly | Sona: 10 calls free, then $25 for 40 | 1 | Small teams sharing numbers |
| RingCentral RingEX | $20/user annual, $30 monthly | AIR add-on from $39 | 1 | Calls, video and chat together |
| Kixie | Not published | Built for outbound | Trial or demo | High-volume outbound SDRs |
Why teams leave JustCall
- Two seats to start. Team ($29) and Pro ($49) both require at least two licenses. The custom tier needs ten.
- The sticker is annual. JustCall’s pricing page advertises “billed annually” rates and says annual billing saves up to 29%, so month to month costs more.
- AI by the minute. The AI Voice Agent is an add-on billed per minute, with volume discounts down to $0.15 a minute. Busy months cost more.
- Texting has a ceiling. Team includes 500 SMS segments per license and Pro 1,000.
- Built for reps dialing out. Coaching, power dialing and sales workflows shine. Answering, qualifying and booking every inbound caller still needs a person free.
1. Carly: best JustCall alternative for inbound leads
Carly takes the calls your reps can’t and turns them into booked meetings. It’s reliable and endlessly customizable: it asks your qualifying questions in your order, every time.
- Reps ring first. During business hours your team gets the call. Carly picks up when nobody does, and always after hours.
- Qualifies and books the caller on the right rep’s real Google or Outlook calendar, round robin, while they’re on the line.
- Speed to lead. A web form fill gets a call within about a minute, then a text and an email if they miss it (how it works).
- Missed-call text back from your business number, and two-way texting in the same thread.
- Knows the caller. Contacts already in your CRM are greeted by name with their record and appointments.
- Logs every call to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s CRM, with a summary in the team inbox.
- Sequences that stop on reply from each rep’s own Gmail or Outlook, for the leads that don’t pick up (Carly workflows).
- Run it from ChatGPT or Claude. Ask the chat to call back everyone who missed a demo yesterday (see how).
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started. Already on JustCall? See how Claude works with it in Claude + JustCall.
2. Aircall
The most direct JustCall rival, with AI Voice Agents built into every plan. See Aircall alternatives.
Pricing: Essentials $30, Professional $50 per license a month. Every plan includes 50 AI Voice Agent minutes a month. Watch out for: a three-license minimum and $6 a month for each extra number.
3. CloudTalk
Calling for sales and support with a long add-on menu, plus AI Receptionist and AI Specialist voice agents. See our CloudTalk review.
Pricing: Lite $19, Starter $25, Essential $29, Expert $49 per user billed annually ($27, $34, $39, $69 monthly). Watch out for: Expert, where Salesforce and the dialers live, needs three licenses.
4. Dialpad
AI transcripts, summaries and coaching built into calling. See Dialpad alternatives.
Pricing: Standard $15, Pro $25 per user billed annually. Watch out for: the $15 is the annual rate, and AI Agents are a separate pool of credits.
5. Quo
A simpler phone for small teams, with a number per user and shared text threads. See Quo alternatives.
Pricing: Starter $15, Business $23, Scale $35 per user billed annually ($19, $33, $47 monthly). Sona takes 10 calls free, then $25 a month for 40. Watch out for: no power dialer, and CRM sync starts on Business.
6. RingCentral RingEX
Calls, meetings and team chat with the AIR AI Receptionist as an add-on. See RingCentral alternatives.
Pricing: Core $20, Advanced $25 per user billed annually ($30, $35 monthly). AIR from $39 a month. Watch out for: CRM integrations start on Advanced.
7. Kixie
A sales dialer with CRM sync on every plan, from single-line calling to multi-line power dialing. See our Kixie review.
Pricing: Not printed. Kixie offers a 7-day free trial or a demo. Watch out for: built for outbound volume, not for answering inbound calls.
Which JustCall alternative fits
- Leads call in and the first answer wins: Carly. Compare AI answering services.
- Support team that wants AI minutes included: Aircall.
- Lowest seat price with a dialer: CloudTalk Lite or Quo Starter.
- SDR floor dialing all day: Kixie or JustCall Pro.
To set up Carly, paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:
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/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) 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.Get started, or watch the 2-minute video.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to JustCall?
Carly for inbound teams that need every caller answered, qualified and booked. Aircall or CloudTalk for a like-for-like calling platform.
How much does JustCall cost?
Team is $29, Pro $49 and Pro Plus $89 per user a month billed annually, with a two-license minimum on Team and Pro. Monthly billing costs more. The AI Voice Agent is billed per minute on top.
Does JustCall have an AI receptionist?
Yes, its AI Voice Agent handles inbound calls as a per-minute add-on, with volume discounts down to $0.15 a minute.
Is there a cheaper alternative to JustCall?
CloudTalk Lite is $19 a user and Quo Starter $15, both billed annually, with no two-seat minimum.
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
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."
