Quo (OpenPhone) vs Grasshopper: 2026 Pricing Compared
Grasshopper and Quo both put a business number on the phone you already carry. That is where the resemblance ends. Grasshopper, owned by GoTo, charges per account, so adding people to the line costs nothing. Quo, the company formerly called OpenPhone, charges per user and spends that money on shared inboxes, CRM sync and an AI agent called Sona.
The quick answer: Pick Grasshopper if you are one person or a small crew who mostly needs calls forwarded to a cell at the lowest price. Pick Quo if a team shares the line, texts customers all day and wants calls logged to a CRM. If what you actually want is an AI that picks up and books callers on a real calendar, that’s Carly, and setup is one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude.
Quo vs Grasshopper at a Glance
US pricing as listed on each vendor’s pricing page in September 2026.
| Quo (formerly OpenPhone) | Grasshopper | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Quo, Inc. (renamed from OpenPhone in 2025) | GoTo |
| How it charges | Per user | Per account, users included |
| Entry plan | Starter: $15/user/mo annual, $19 monthly | True Solo: $14/mo annual, $18 monthly (1 user) |
| Middle plan | Business: $23/user/mo annual, $33 monthly | Solo Plus: $25/mo annual, $32 monthly |
| Top plan | Scale: $35/user/mo annual, $47 monthly | Small Business: $55/mo annual, $70 monthly |
| Numbers included | One per user | 1 on True Solo and Solo Plus, 4 on Small Business |
| Extra numbers | $5/mo each | $9/mo annual, $10 monthly |
| Texting registration | $19.50 once, then $1.50 to $3/mo | $19.50 once, then $1.50/mo |
| Phone menu (IVR) | Business and Scale | Solo Plus and Small Business |
| Call recording | Manual on Starter, automatic on Business | Solo Plus and Small Business |
| AI | Sona AI agent on every plan; AI summaries for all calls on Business | Call summaries and AI sentiment on Solo Plus and up |
| CRM sync | HubSpot and Salesforce on Business | None listed in the plan comparison |
| Apps | iOS, Android, desktop, web | iPhone, Android, desktop |
| Canceling | In the app, a few clicks | Reviewers report a call or support ticket |
The Price Gap Flips at the Second Hire
For one person, these two cost the same. Quo Starter is $15 a month billed annually. Grasshopper True Solo is $14. Month to month it is $19 against $18.
Add people and the pricing models pull apart fast.
| Team size | Quo Starter | Quo Business | Grasshopper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $15 annual / $19 monthly | $23 / $33 | True Solo $14 / $18 |
| 3 people | $45 / $57 | $69 / $99 | Solo Plus $25 / $32 |
| 5 people | $75 / $95 | $115 / $165 | Solo Plus $25 / $32 |
| 10 people | $150 / $190 | $230 / $330 | Small Business $55 / $70 |
At ten people on the plans with phone menus, Quo Business runs about four times Grasshopper Small Business.
The rows are not buying the same thing, though. Every Quo user gets their own number, a shared team inbox, and on Business, automatic recording plus AI summaries for every call. Grasshopper Solo Plus gives the whole team one number and three extensions (extra extensions are $3/month annual, $5 monthly). It works like a front door that forwards calls to people’s cells, not a phone line per person.
The costs that sit outside the sticker price:
- Sona credits (Quo). Every plan includes 1,000 credits, which Quo equates to 10 Sona calls. More is sold in tiers from $25/month for 40 calls to $199/month for 600, with overage from $1.00 down to $0.45 per call.
- Automated texts (Quo). Texts fired through the API, Zapier or Make cost 1 cent per segment.
- Receptionist add-on (Grasshopper). Grasshopper’s AI or human virtual receptionist comes through a partnership with Smith.ai and is sold as an add-on.
- International calls (both). Calls outside the US and Canada are billed per minute on both.
Full Quo tier detail is in our Quo pricing breakdown.
Texting: Same Registration Bill, Different Inbox
Both vendors make you register with The Campaign Registry before business texts reach AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Both charge $19.50 one time for it. Grasshopper itemizes that as $4.50 to register your company plus $15 for carriers to review your use case. The monthly fee is $1.50 on Grasshopper and $1.50 to $3 on Quo, depending on your use case.
The fee is the easy part. The wait is what users complain about. Grasshopper threads on Reddit describe weeks of paying for a line that could not text yet because registration stalled.
Once texting is live, the tools differ:
- Quo is built around the shared inbox: snippets (saved replies), scheduled messages, auto-replies for missed calls and voicemails, group messaging, internal threads to discuss a conversation with a teammate, and shared contacts.
- Grasshopper keeps calls, texts and voicemails in one thread, and its Instant Response feature texts callers you miss automatically on every plan.
If texting is how your customers book, Carly texts back every missed call and books the reply on your calendar. More in our guide to SMS appointment booking.
Apps and Everyday Use
Quo runs on iOS, Android, desktop and the web, over wifi or data. Calls and texts to US and Canadian numbers are included on every plan, subject to Quo’s fair use policy. Your personal number stays private.
Grasshopper has iPhone, Android and desktop apps with wifi calling, and its extensions forward calls to any number you choose. Calling minutes are included on every plan. It also includes virtual fax on every plan, with incoming faxes delivered as PDFs to your email. For a law office or clinic that still receives faxes, that is a real point in Grasshopper’s favor.
The recurring knock on Grasshopper across review sites is the app itself: users describe the interface as dated and say new features arrive slowly.
AI: Sona vs Summaries and a Partner Add-On
This is where the gap is widest.
Quo’s Sona is included on every plan. It answers calls 24/7, answers questions from a knowledge base you fill in (hours, services, pricing, FAQs), takes messages, captures lead details, transfers calls, and texts callers a scheduling link while they are still on the phone. On Starter, AI summaries and transcripts cover only Sona-handled calls. Business extends them to every call, and Scale adds AI call tags.
The limit is the credit meter. Ten Sona calls is a trial, not a receptionist. A business that sends all its after-hours calls to Sona will be buying a credit tier.
Grasshopper’s AI is lighter. Solo Plus and Small Business get call summaries and AI call sentiment on recorded calls. Every plan gets voicemail transcription and AI voicemail sentiment, which flags whether a message sounds positive, neutral or negative. For an agent that actually answers, Grasshopper points you to its Smith.ai partnership, priced separately.
Note how Sona books, per Quo’s own appointment-setter page: it texts the caller a booking link, and the caller picks a time. Carly books the right person on your team’s real calendars during the call. Our best AI receptionist roundup compares the wider field.
Team Features: Shared Numbers, Routing and CRM
Quo is the team product. Shared numbers let several people answer the same line and see each other typing (up to 10 users on Starter, with no cap on Business and Scale). Business adds ring orders, call transfers, group calling, phone menus, analytics and HubSpot and Salesforce sync. Quo also lists integrations with Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Attio, Clio, Jobber, HighLevel, Slack, Zapier and Make. Scale adds dedicated onboarding and phone support.
Grasshopper is the routing product. Solo Plus and Small Business add a phone menu, simultaneous call handling so callers do not hit a busy signal, and call recording. Every plan gets business hours, call reports, user permissions and 24/7 support by phone, email and chat. Its plan comparison does not list a CRM integration on any tier, so confirm with GoTo before you count on calls landing in HubSpot.
What Users Complain About
Grasshopper. On Trustpilot, the loudest complaints are about leaving: reviewers say they could not cancel in the app or on the website and had to call or file a ticket, and several describe renewals and charges they did not expect. Reddit threads add slow texting registration and slow support responses during outages.
Quo. The pattern is scale. Per-user pricing climbs with every hire, Sona usage is metered, and reviewers running complex call flows or high call volumes say the product gets thin for them.
If either list describes where you are now, compare the Grasshopper alternatives and Quo alternatives.
Where Carly Fits: The Third Option
Grasshopper forwards the call. Quo answers it and takes a message or sends a link. Carly answers it and books the job. It follows your rules exactly, the same way on every call.
- Answers 24/7, or only when your team doesn’t pick up, in English or Spanish.
- Books on the call: your team’s real Google and Outlook calendars, round robin.
- Calls new web leads within about a minute, 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, group texts.
- Rings your people through ring groups or a phone menu when a caller wants a human.
- Puts every call, voicemail, text and email in one team inbox, written back to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own CRM.
- Works from ChatGPT or Claude. Place calls and texts, or watch a live call and steer it, from the chat.
Carly 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.Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started, or book a call if you’d like a walkthrough.
Which One to Pick
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| Solo, calls forwarded to your cell, lowest price | Grasshopper True Solo |
| Five to ten people sharing one main line, tight budget | Grasshopper Small Business |
| You still receive faxes | Grasshopper |
| Each person needs their own number and a shared inbox | Quo Starter |
| Calls must log to HubSpot or Salesforce | Quo Business |
| A few after-hours calls a week answered by AI | Quo with Sona |
| AI that answers and books the right person on a real calendar | Carly |
Weighing Quo against other options? See Quo vs RingCentral, Quo vs Google Voice and our best small business phone systems.
FAQ
Is OpenPhone the same as Quo?
Yes. OpenPhone renamed itself Quo in 2025. The product, apps and accounts carried over, and Quo’s own pages still say “formerly OpenPhone.” Older articles comparing OpenPhone and Grasshopper often quote pre-rebrand prices, so check the current tiers: Starter $15, Business $23 and Scale $35 per user per month billed annually.
Which is cheaper, Grasshopper or OpenPhone?
For one person they are within a dollar: Grasshopper True Solo is $14/month and Quo Starter is $15/month, both billed annually. For teams, Grasshopper is far cheaper because it charges per account. Ten people on Grasshopper Small Business pay $55/month billed annually, against $230 on Quo Business. Quo gives each of those people their own number, CRM sync and AI call summaries.
Does Grasshopper have an AI receptionist?
Not as a built-in plan feature. Grasshopper includes call summaries and AI call sentiment on Solo Plus and Small Business, and offers AI or human virtual receptionists through a partnership with Smith.ai as a paid add-on. Quo includes its Sona AI agent on every plan, with 10 calls’ worth of credits before you buy more.
Do Quo and Grasshopper charge for business texting?
Both include texting to US numbers, and both pass through carrier registration fees: $19.50 once to register with The Campaign Registry, then $1.50/month on Grasshopper or $1.50 to $3/month on Quo. Quo also charges 1 cent per segment for texts sent automatically through its API, Zapier or Make.
Can I keep my number if I switch from Grasshopper?
Yes. Business numbers can be ported. Quo says it ports numbers into its service at no charge, and Grasshopper accepts ported numbers too. Keep your Grasshopper account active until the port completes.
Is Grasshopper still owned by GoTo?
Yes. Grasshopper is part of GoTo, the company behind GoTo Connect and GoTo Meeting, and sells three plans in 2026: True Solo, Solo Plus and Small Business.
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