7 Best Ooma Alternatives for Small Business (2026)
Ooma Office is a likable phone system: no contract, a fair price and 24/7 support that reviewers keep thanking by name. It holds a 4.0 on Trustpilot across 1,118 reviews. People shop for an alternative when they want the phone to do more than ring: answer when nobody can, book the caller and text them back.
The quick answer: The best Ooma alternative for a small business that loses calls is Carly. It picks up when your team doesn’t, answers in English or Spanish, books the caller on your real Google or Outlook calendar and texts from your business number, with no texting cap tied to a plan tier. Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live. If you only want a cheaper seat, Quo and Nextiva start at $15 a user billed annually.
US prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 23, 2026.
Ooma alternatives compared
| Tool | Starts at | AI that answers calls | Texting | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo | Answers, books on your calendar, texts back, calls new leads | Two-way, plus missed-call text back | Small teams that miss calls |
| Ooma Office (for reference) | $19.95/user, no contract | AI Answering Service from $14.99 for 40 min; AI Receptionist priced by sales | 250/mo on Pro, 1,000 on Pro Plus, none on Essentials | Offices that want desk phones |
| Quo | $15/user annual, $19 monthly | Sona: 10 calls free, then $25 for 40 | Shared threads | Teams that live in texts |
| RingCentral RingEX | $20/user annual, $30 monthly | AIR add-on from $39 | 25 texts/user on Core | Calls, video and chat in one app |
| Nextiva | $15/user annual, $23 monthly | XBert at $1.50 a conversation | Shared inbox | Phone plus helpdesk |
| Dialpad | $15/user annual | AI Agents on a credit pool | Included | AI transcripts and coaching |
| Vonage | $19.99/line monthly | AI virtual assistant add-on | Included | Teams that want desk phones and video |
| Grasshopper | $14/mo | AI and live receptionist options | Included | Solo owners adding a line |
Why small businesses leave Ooma
- The AI receptionist is a sales call. Ooma’s AI Answering Service starts at $14.99 a month with 40 minutes of call time and takes messages. The AI Receptionist that routes calls and books appointments is “Contact Sales for Pricing” on Ooma’s own page.
- Texting is rationed by tier. Essentials has no texting. Pro includes up to 250 texts a month and Pro Plus up to 1,000, so a busy front desk confirming appointments can hit the ceiling.
- The useful extras sit on the top plan. CRM integration, AI transcriptions and call queuing start on Pro Plus at $29.95 a user.
- Booking runs through Ooma’s own booking pages. The AI Receptionist schedules through Ooma Online Booking Pages, which you then connect to Google or Microsoft calendars.
- It answers. It doesn’t chase. Nothing in Ooma Office calls a web lead back the minute they fill in your form.
A five-person office on Pro Plus pays $149.75 a month in seats, then whatever sales quotes for the AI Receptionist on top.
1. Carly: best Ooma alternative for answering and booking
Carly is built for the call nobody on your team picks up. It’s reliable and endlessly customizable: you write the rules in plain English, and it follows them on every call, the same way.
- Your people ring first. In business hours Carly rings your team and answers only when nobody picks up. After hours it answers right away.
- Books while the caller is on the line, on your team’s real Google and Outlook calendars, round robin, with a confirmation text from your number.
- Texts both ways from your business number, with a text back on every missed call.
- Calls web leads back within about a minute of a form fill (see how).
- Knows who’s calling. Callers already in your CRM are greeted by name, with their record and upcoming appointments in front of Carly.
- Ring groups and phone menus with up to nine options, and English or Spanish detected from the caller.
- One team inbox for every call, transcript, voicemail and text, logged to Carly’s CRM, HubSpot, Salesforce or Dynamics 365.
- Run it from ChatGPT or Claude. Place calls, send texts and steer a live call from the chat (see how).
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started and keep your Ooma number and forward the calls you miss, or grab a new number in the chat.
2. Quo
The phone app formerly called OpenPhone. Each user gets a number, calls and texts sit in shared threads, and its AI agent Sona answers when you can’t. See Quo alternatives and Quo pricing.
Pricing: Starter $15, Business $23, Scale $35 per user billed annually ($19, $33, $47 monthly). Sona handles 10 calls free, then $25 a month for 40. Watch out for: Sona greets, answers questions and takes messages. Booking callers on a real calendar is a different job.
3. RingCentral RingEX
Calls, meetings and team chat in one app, with the AIR AI Receptionist as an add-on. See RingCentral alternatives and RingCentral’s AI receptionist.
Pricing: Core $20, Advanced $25 per user billed annually ($30, $35 monthly). AIR starts at $39 a month. The shared texting inbox is a $25 booster. Watch out for: Core includes 25 texts per user a month, and CRM integrations start on Advanced.
4. Nextiva
A phone system with a shared inbox and helpdesk tools, plus XBert, its AI employee for calls, texts and chat. See Nextiva’s AI receptionist and Nextiva alternatives.
Pricing: NEXT Core $15, Engage $25, Scale $75 per user billed annually (Core $23 and Engage $50 monthly). XBert is $1.50 a conversation, or packages from $99 a month for 100. Watch out for: the annual price needs a paid 12-month term.
5. Dialpad
An AI-forward phone system with live transcripts and call summaries. See Dialpad alternatives.
Pricing: Standard $15, Pro $25 per user billed annually. AI Agents run on a pool of credits you buy separately. Watch out for: the $15 is the annual rate, and the AI Agents that answer customers are a separate credit pool.
6. Vonage Business Communications
A mature phone system with desk-phone support, video meetings and an app center. See Vonage alternatives.
Pricing: Mobile $19.99, Premium $29.99, Advanced $39.99 per line monthly, or 30% less on a 12-month promotion. Watch out for: the promotion needs a one-year contract, and Vonage says early termination fees can reach the total price of the contract.
7. Grasshopper
A second line for solo owners, with an app, texting and a choice of AI, live or hybrid receptionists added in 2026. See Grasshopper alternatives.
Pricing: From $14 a month. Watch out for: it’s built for one person or a very small team, not a shared front desk.
Which Ooma alternative fits
- You miss calls and lose the booking: Carly. Compare it with other AI receptionists.
- You want the cheapest seat and shared texting: Quo Starter or Nextiva Core.
- You want video and chat from the phone vendor: RingCentral RingEX.
- You still want desk phones on every desk: stay on Ooma and put Carly behind it for the calls nobody gets to.
Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude and Carly sets itself up:
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 see the full field in best small business phone systems.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Ooma Office?
Carly if you want calls answered, booked and texted back when your team can’t get to them. Quo or Nextiva if you only want a cheaper seat with shared texting.
How much is Ooma’s AI receptionist?
Ooma’s AI Answering Service starts at $14.99 a month with 40 minutes of call time. The fuller AI Receptionist, which books appointments and routes calls, is priced by Ooma’s sales team.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Ooma?
On seat price, yes. Quo Starter and Nextiva Core are $15 a user billed annually, against Ooma Essentials at $19.95 with no contract. Grasshopper starts at $14 a month for a single user.
Can I keep my number if I leave Ooma?
Yes, business numbers can be ported. With Carly you don’t have to port at all: forward the calls your team misses and keep Ooma for the desk phones.
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."
