RingCentral vs Dialpad: 2026 Pricing, AI and Contracts
RingCentral is a full communications platform that sells its AI as add-ons with posted prices. Dialpad is a cloud phone system built around AI transcription that sells its AI agents through sales. Seat prices sit $5 apart; texting, seat minimums, the AI bill and the contract decide it.
The quick answer: Pick Dialpad for the cheapest entry seat, generous texting and live call transcripts on every plan. Pick RingCentral for video meetings, multiple sites or an AI receptionist with a posted price. If your phone mostly rings with leads who want a quote, a showing or an appointment, pick Carly: it answers, books them on your real calendars and logs the call, and you set it up with one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude.
Current US Pricing, Side by Side
| RingCentral RingEX | Dialpad Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Core $20/user/mo annual ($30 monthly) | Standard $15/user/mo annual ($27 monthly) |
| Middle | Advanced $25 annual ($35 monthly) | Pro $25 annual ($35 monthly), 3-user minimum |
| Top | Ultra $35 annual ($45 monthly) | Enterprise, custom quote, 100-user minimum |
| Texting included | 25 / 100 / 200 SMS per user per month by plan | First 250 outbound SMS/MMS per user per month, pooled |
| Texting past the allowance | Additional SMS sold separately; shared inbox in a $25 add-on | $0.008 per outbound SMS, $0.024 per MMS, from prepaid credits |
| AI receptionist | AIR add-on from $39/mo (100 minutes), $49 standalone | AI Agents sold separately, per-conversation credits via sales |
| Built-in AI | Notes, summaries, captions and transcriptions from Core | Real-time transcripts, voicemail transcripts and AI Recaps on every plan |
| CRM integrations | From Advanced | From Pro (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, ServiceNow) |
| 24/7 support | Listed on every plan | Listed on Pro |
| Free trial | Up to 5 users, no SMS during the trial | 14 days |
Carly: free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Full RingCentral breakdown in RingCentral pricing. Quo Starter is $15/user/month annual or $19 monthly; see Quo vs RingCentral.
Pricing: The Gap Closes at the Tier You Probably Need
At the entry tier Dialpad wins. Five users on Dialpad Standard annual is 5 × $15 = $75/month, against 5 × $20 = $100/month on RingCentral Core. Month to month it’s $135 against $150.
But both hold CRM integrations back for the middle plan, and there the prices are identical: RingCentral Advanced and Dialpad Pro are both $25 a seat annual and $35 monthly. Five users on either is $125/month annual.
Dialpad lists a 3-user minimum on Pro, so a two-person office that wants HubSpot or Salesforce pays for three Pro seats ($75/month annual), or two Advanced seats ($50/month annual) on RingCentral. Dialpad also caps ring groups by plan (3 on Standard, 25 on Pro). RingCentral adds multi-site on Advanced, and extra numbers are $4.99/month each.
Contracts: Read the Renewal Clause Before the Price
RingCentral’s terms say recurring services automatically renew for the same length as the initial term unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before the term ends. Price-increase notices arrive on the same deadline, and leaving early means paying out the remaining term. Desk phone rental is only on a multi-year contract. See how to cancel RingCentral.
Dialpad’s help center says annual plans “do not qualify for a refund,” even with months left, and refunds are only processed within 3 days of the transaction. Monthly billing ($27 or $35 a seat) avoids that. Trustpilot and BBB reviewers report annual cancellations routed to a hard-to-reach team and charges that continued after cancelling.
On either one, calendar the renewal date the day you sign.
AI: Dialpad Ai vs RingCentral AIR and ACE
Dialpad’s built-in AI comes with every Connect plan: real-time call transcription, voicemail transcription, AI Recaps with summaries and action items, and real-time analytics. Transcripts of every call with no add-on is Dialpad’s strongest argument.
Dialpad AI Agents are a separate product: voice and chat agents that hand off to your team, billed from a pool of AI Agent Credits only when the AI retrieves information or takes an action such as scheduling, routing or an order lookup. They also handle outbound reminders. No posted price.
RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) is an add-on to RingEX from $39/month, or standalone from $49/month on other phone systems through call forwarding or SIP. Both include 100 minutes, then $0.50 a minute in 30-second increments, with a 14-day trial. AIR routes by name or intent, captures leads, logs them to Salesforce, HubSpot or Zoho, and books through Google, Outlook or Calendly or by texting a link. More in RingCentral AI receptionist.
AI Conversation Expert (ACE) is RingCentral’s sales conversation intelligence: call analysis, coaching and CRM updates, from $60 per user per month.
The AIR math at 150 calls a month, averaging two minutes: 300 minutes, 100 included, so the other 200 add $100 for $139/month on top of RingEX seats.
Carly answers and books callers on your team’s real calendars during the call, round robin, and follows your rules the same way every time. Compare the wider field in best AI receptionists.
Texting: Dialpad Includes More
Dialpad covers the first 250 outbound SMS/MMS per Connect user per month once registered, pooled across the office. The allowance covers users texting from their own number, not shared lines, so a shared line pays from the first text. Inbound texts are free. Past the allowance, SMS is $0.008 and MMS $0.024 from calling credits, and if credits run out you can’t send or receive texts. Carrier registration: a $4 brand application, a $15 campaign vetting fee, and a monthly campaign fee averaging $1.50 to $10.
RingCentral includes 25 SMS per user per month on Core, 100 on Advanced and 200 on Ultra. The shared SMS inbox, templates and compliance tools are in the Business SMS Booster, a $25 add-on. SMS is off during the free trial, and TCR fees may apply.
For five people, that’s 1,250 included outbound texts a month on Dialpad against 125 on RingCentral Core. Carly texts from the same number it answers on, with a text back on every missed call. More in SMS appointment booking for business.
Integrations
RingCentral lists more than 330 integrations, leans into Microsoft Teams, and lists LLM plugins and MCP connectors from Core. CRM integrations open at Advanced. See the Claude and RingCentral setup.
Dialpad Standard lists Google Workspace. Pro adds Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, ServiceNow, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zapier, and open APIs and webhooks. See the Claude and Dialpad setup.
Admin and Support
RingCentral’s admin portal covers sites, desk phones, toll-free pools and meeting rooms, with 24/7 support and professional implementation (two users and up) on every plan. Negative reviews cluster around billing disputes, number porting and unresponsive reps.
Dialpad starts self-serve with a 14-day trial and lists 24/7 support on Pro. Its negative reviews focus on billing and annual contracts.
Where Dialpad Pulls Ahead
- Entry price. $15 a seat on annual billing, $5 under RingCentral Core.
- Texting. 250 outbound texts per user per month, against 25 on RingCentral Core.
- Transcripts and AI Recaps included on every plan.
- Self-serve start with a 14-day trial.
Where RingCentral Pulls Ahead
- Small teams that need CRM sync. No 3-seat minimum on the tier with integrations.
- An AI receptionist with a posted price that also works on a phone system you already have.
- Everything beyond the phone. Video meetings for up to 300 participants, webinars on Ultra, and a contact center.
- 24/7 support on every plan, plus toll-free minutes included.
See the rest of the field in RingCentral alternatives and Dialpad alternatives.
Where Carly Fits: When Your Calls Are Leads
RingCentral and Dialpad are phone systems that added AI. Carly is an AI that runs your phone line, and it’s reliable and endlessly customizable: it follows your rules exactly on every call.
- Answers 24/7, or only when your team doesn’t pick up, in English or Spanish.
- Books callers during the call on your team’s real Google and Outlook calendars, round robin.
- Calls new web leads within a minute and texts back every missed call from the same number.
- Hands callers to a person through ring groups or a phone menu.
- Logs every call, text and voicemail to one team inbox and HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own CRM.
- Runs from ChatGPT or Claude with the Carly connector, connects to thousands of apps and triggers free Zapier-style workflows.
Copy this 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.Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started. Still weighing options? Read best small business phone systems.
How to Decide
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| Calls are leads to qualify and book on a real calendar | Carly |
| Lowest entry price for a single office | Dialpad Standard |
| Team that texts customers daily | Dialpad |
| Two-person team that needs CRM sync | RingCentral Advanced |
| Video meetings, multiple sites or desk phones | RingCentral |
| AI receptionist with a posted price | RingCentral AIR |
| Transcripts and call summaries on every call, no add-on | Dialpad |
| Sales team that wants call coaching | RingCentral with ACE |
FAQ
Is Dialpad cheaper than RingCentral?
At the entry tier, yes: Dialpad Standard is $15 per user per month annual ($27 monthly) against RingCentral Core at $20 ($30 monthly). At the tier with CRM integrations they match at $25 annual and $35 monthly, though Dialpad Pro has a 3-user minimum.
Does Dialpad or RingCentral require a contract?
Both offer monthly and annual billing. RingCentral auto-renews for the same length unless you give notice 30 days before the term ends. Dialpad doesn’t refund unused months on annual plans, only within 3 days of the transaction.
Which has better AI, Dialpad or RingCentral?
Dialpad includes transcription and AI Recaps on every plan and sells AI Agents on credits. RingCentral includes notes and summaries, and sells AIR from $39 a month and ACE from $60 per user. For an AI that books callers on your real calendars and logs them to your CRM, use Carly.
Can I use RingCentral AI Receptionist without switching phone systems?
Yes. RingCentral sells AIR as a standalone plan from $49 a month with 100 minutes, and says it works with other phone systems through call forwarding or SIP.
Which is better for business texting?
Dialpad: 250 outbound texts per user per month, then $0.008 per SMS. RingCentral: 25, 100 or 200 by plan, with the shared inbox in a $25 add-on. Both require carrier (TCR) registration.
How do I cancel RingCentral?
Through RingCentral support, with notice at least 30 days before the term ends. Leaving early means paying the remaining term. See our guide to cancelling RingCentral.
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"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."
