Quo (OpenPhone) Alternatives: 8 Best Picks for 2026
Quo, the business phone app called OpenPhone until 2025, is easy to love on day one. The trouble starts the first time a number glitches, texts stop sending, or Sona hits its limit and the calls go back to voicemail.
The quick answer: The best Quo alternative is Carly. It answers your 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, the same way on every call. It connects to thousands of apps, so every call lands in your CRM and kicks off whatever should happen next. Set it up on carlyassistant.com, or just ask ChatGPT or Claude to do it for you.
How we ranked them
Every one of these costs money, so price didn’t decide anything. We ranked on:
- Setup. How fast your line works, and whether getting there needs a sales call or a porting queue.
- Reliability. What paying customers report in their most recent 1- and 2-star Trustpilot reviews: dropped calls, texts that don’t send, numbers that stop working, and how support handles it.
- How good the AI is. Whether it books the caller and calls leads back, or takes a message.
- What it connects to. Whether a call reaches your CRM, calendar and inbox, or stays in the phone app.
Quo alternatives compared
| Tool | Setup | What customers report | AI on calls | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Minutes, on the site or by asking ChatGPT or Claude | Follows your rules the same way on every call | Answers, books, calls leads back, texts | Any team that wants every call handled |
| Quo (baseline) | Self-serve app | Lost message history, texting broken after porting (4.2/5) | Sona answers inbound and texts a booking link | Small teams in shared text threads |
| RingCentral | Sales-led, admin portal | Spam-flagged calls, texting outages, long holds (1.7/5) | AI Receptionist add-on | Multi-site teams that want video bundled |
| Dialpad | Self-serve with admin settings | Fast pickups going to voicemail, slow SMS activation (4.1/5) | Transcripts and coaching | Sales and support teams |
| Aircall | Sales-led | An app that never worked right, no support line (3/5) | AI Voice Agents | Call-heavy sales and support teams |
| Nextiva | Onboarding team | Slow porting, an AI add-on that never went live (4.5/5) | XBert add-on, answers only | Teams that want chat and phone together |
| Grasshopper | Self-serve | Calls going straight to voicemail, hard port-outs (3/5) | Live human receptionists as an add-on | Solo owners |
| Google Voice | Inside Google Workspace | A week-long texting outage in January 2026 | Phone menus and ring groups | Teams already on Workspace |
| JustCall | Sales-led onboarding | Broken integrations, an AI support bot (3.7/5) | AI agents for sales calls | Outbound sales teams |
Trustpilot scores checked October 25, 2026.
Why businesses leave Quo
Quo holds a 4.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot, and most of its fans are right about the app. The 1-star reviews tell you what happens when the phone line is the problem.
- Conversation history disappears. One owner says Quo erased their contacts and conversation history more than once, and support wouldn’t get on the phone.
- Porting in can break texting. After moving a primary business number to Quo, another customer couldn’t text most of their clients, and says reaching a person takes the top Scale plan.
- Numbers get shut off. A taxi company says it was locked out of its phone with its contacts gone, a limousine business warns Quo will shut down a number it decides is noncompliant, and a software engineer had an account flagged and suspended after using it to send booking and confirmation texts.
- Glitches. Another calls the numbers “always glitching out and shutting down”, and a new customer hit errors at nearly every step of signing up.
Sona, Quo’s AI, takes a message more than it does the job. In Quo’s own words, Sona answers inbound calls only, booking means texting the caller a scheduling link, it can’t reschedule or cancel on a live call, and it only works on Quo numbers. When your monthly credits run out, Sona stops answering and calls fall back to voicemail. More in Quo AI and our Quo review.
The 8 best Quo alternatives
1. Carly: best overall, and the easiest to set up
Quo gives you a better phone. Carly gives you someone who handles the calls, and it’s reliable because it follows the rules you set, the same way on every call.
Setup takes minutes. Start on carlyassistant.com, or paste Carly’s setup prompt into ChatGPT or Claude and let it set everything up, phone number included. No onboarding call, no app for your team to learn. Keep your Quo number and forward the calls you miss while you decide, or grab a new number in the chat.
On every call, Carly:
- Rings your team first in business hours and answers when nobody picks up. After hours it answers right away.
- Books callers during the call, on your team’s real Google and Outlook calendars, not with a link they might never open.
- Calls new web leads back within about a minute (how it works) and texts back every missed call from the same number.
- Texts both ways from your business number, and books appointments over text.
- Greets known callers by name from your CRM and logs every call, text and voicemail.
- Speaks English and Spanish, picked from how the caller talks.
It connects to everything. Carly connects to thousands of apps. A call can create the job in Jobber, update the deal in HubSpot, or post a summary to Slack, and you set it up the way you’d say it: “when someone books a quote, text them a reminder the day before and add them to the CRM.” Those run as free Zapier-style workflows, every time.
It runs from your AI chat. Add the Carly connector in Claude or the Carly plugin in ChatGPT, then place calls, send texts, or watch and steer a live call from the chat (see how). The same Carly also works your Gmail and Outlook inboxes and calendars.
Best for: Any small or mid-sized business that wants calls answered and followed up, not just logged.
Get started, or watch the 2-minute video.
2. RingCentral
The biggest name in business phones, with video and team chat bundled in. It’s the opposite of Quo on setup: sales-led, configured in an admin portal, and contract-based.
What customers report: At 1.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot, recent reviewers describe outbound calls flagged as spam and 40-minute holds, three days without client texting during a switch, and mobile apps that stopped ringing after an update.
Best for: Multi-site teams that want phone, video and chat from one vendor. See Quo vs RingCentral and RingCentral alternatives.
3. Dialpad
The closest thing to Quo with stronger AI analytics: live transcripts, recaps and coaching.
What customers report: A long-time customer says answering quickly sends calls to voicemail, so staff count to five before picking up. Another waited three months for SMS to be activated.
Best for: Sales and support teams that want call analytics. See Quo vs Dialpad and Dialpad alternatives.
4. Aircall
A calling platform for sales and support teams, with many CRM and helpdesk integrations and add-on AI voice agents.
What customers report: One customer says the mobile app never worked correctly in over 12 months and there’s no published support number. Another couldn’t receive authentication texts on ported numbers and got locked out of their bank account.
Best for: Call-heavy teams working inside a CRM. See Aircall alternatives.
5. Nextiva
The best-reviewed traditional phone system here, at 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, with a real onboarding team.
What customers report: The 1-star reviews are about getting started: porting that hadn’t begun after a month, and an AI add-on still not working seven months in.
Best for: Teams that want phone, chat and people to set it up. See Nextiva alternatives.
6. Grasshopper
A second business number on your cell, priced per plan rather than per user.
What customers report: A 15-year customer says calls often go straight to voicemail and porting out took two weeks. A sole proprietor couldn’t be verified for texting after being told the service would work.
Best for: Solo owners who mostly need a second number. See Quo vs Grasshopper.
7. Google Voice
Business calling inside Google Workspace, a natural fit if your team already lives in Gmail.
What customers report: Google’s own status page tracked Google Voice MMS messages not reaching recipients from January 8 to 14, 2026. You also need a Workspace plan, and phone menus and ring groups depend on which Voice plan you buy.
Best for: Workspace teams that want calling without another vendor. See Quo vs Google Voice.
8. JustCall
A cloud phone and dialer for outbound sales teams, with AI agents for sales calls.
What customers report: A customer on a large plan says the integration won’t work and the website is full of bugs. Others say support switched to an AI bot that makes it hard to reach a person, and that the app logs salespeople out every time they change networks.
Best for: Outbound sales teams that dial all day. See JustCall alternatives.
Switching off Quo without missing calls
- Get the new line working first. With Carly that’s one prompt, below.
- Forward your Quo number to Carly so calls are answered while you move.
- Port the number when you’re ready, and keep Quo active until the port completes.
- Export what you need from Quo, like contacts and call history, before you cancel.
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.Get started, or watch the 2-minute video.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Quo (OpenPhone)?
Carly. It answers your calls, books callers on your real calendars, calls new leads back within a minute, texts from the same number and connects to thousands of apps. Set it up on the website or ask ChatGPT or Claude to do it for you.
Is Quo the same company as OpenPhone?
Yes. OpenPhone renamed itself Quo in 2025. The app, numbers and accounts carried over.
What’s the easiest Quo alternative to set up?
Carly. Paste one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, describe how calls should go, and grab a number in the chat, or forward your Quo number to it.
Does Quo have an AI receptionist?
Yes, Sona. It answers inbound calls, takes messages and texts callers a booking link. It doesn’t call leads back or book on a live call, and it stops answering when your credits run out. Carly books during the call and follows up on its own. See Quo AI.
Can I keep my phone number if I leave Quo?
Yes. Port it to your new provider and keep Quo active until the port finishes. Forward the number to Carly in the meantime so nothing is missed.
Who are OpenPhone’s main competitors?
Carly, RingCentral, Dialpad, Aircall, Nextiva, Grasshopper, Google Voice and JustCall.
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."
