Grasshopper vs Kixie
Side-by-side comparison — pricing, features, ratings, use cases. Find which VoIP fits you best.
💰 Pricing
🔧 Features
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- No hardware required: Grasshopper runs entirely in the cloud. You can set up a business number in minutes and forward calls to your existing phone or use the mobile app for VoIP calls. This is perfect for entrepreneurs who don't want to buy a dedicated desk phone or manage a SIP trunk.
- Simple, predictable pricing: The Solo plan starts at $14/mo when billed annually, which is one of the lowest entry points in the virtual phone market. The Unlimited plan at $25/mo (annual) includes unlimited extensions and minutes, making budgeting easy. No overage fees or hidden charges.
- Professional virtual receptionist: You can record a custom greeting and set up a menu that routes calls to different extensions, prompting callers to press 1 for sales, 2 for support, etc. This creates a polished brand image even for a one-person operation.
- Voicemail transcription included: Voicemails are transcribed and delivered to your email or as a text notification. This means you can triage calls even when you're away, without having to listen to each message.
- Mobile app with SMS/MMS: The mobile app allows you to make and receive calls over data/Wi-Fi, and you can send and receive text messages from your business number. This keeps work communication separate from personal texts.
⚠ Watch out for
- Limited integrations and no open API: Grasshopper only offers a handful of native integrations (e.g., Google Workspace, Outlook, Slack) and a limited Zapier connection. If your business relies on a CRM like Salesforce or HubSpot for call logging, you'll have to use workarounds. There's no way to build custom workflows, which is a dealbreaker for tech-savvy teams.
- No group texting and basic SMS/MMS: You can send individual texts, but not group messages. Additionally, multimedia support is limited—you can attach photos but not other file types. Competitors like OpenPhone and Dialpad offer richer texting and team threads.
- Missing advanced features: There's no call analytics (beyond basic call logs), no hot-desking, no call queuing, and no integrations with helpdesk software. If you need to monitor call volumes or agent performance, Grasshopper is not sufficient.
- Pricing can be confusing for month-to-month: While annual pricing is attractive, the month-to-month cost jumps to $29/mo for the Solo plan. That's a steep increase if you aren't ready to commit, and there are no discounts for annual on the Unlimited plan ($25 vs $30 monthly).
- Support hours are limited: Customer support is available Monday-Friday during business hours (and some weekend hours via chat), but not 24/7. If you have an issue during a weekend launch, you may have to wait until Monday.
🎯 Best for
A solo entrepreneur or a very small team (usually under five people) that wants a simple, professional virtual phone system with call forwarding, a virtual receptionist, and voicemail transcription at a low monthly cost.
🚫 Who should skip
You should skip Grasshopper if you need advanced call routing, deep CRM integrations, video conferencing, team collaboration tools, or robust text messaging capabilities — competitors like RingCentral, Aircall, or Dialpad are better suited for those needs.
📚 Learning curve
Minimal — the setup wizard and mobile app are straightforward, and most people can configure extensions and call rules within a few minutes without any technical training.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Grasshopper is an excellent entry-level virtual phone system for solo entrepreneurs and freelancers who need a professional phone presence without breaking the bank. However, if you need team collaboration features, robust integrations, or 24/7 support, you should look at alternatives like OpenPhone
💰 Pricing
🔧 Features
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- The power dialer is exceptionally reliable. In our testing, click-to-dial connected calls with minimal dropped calls—a common problem with less robust VoIP systems. This means reps spend more time talking and less time redialing. The system also handles call routing efficiently, ensuring high call quality even during peak usage, which directly impacts daily productivity.
- Native integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive is deep and two-way. Activities, call recordings, and SMS logs sync automatically into the CRM, eliminating manual data entry. In Salesforce, you can log calls directly from the lead record, and Kixie even pulls in call recordings and transcriptions for later reference. This tight integration is a significant time-saver for sales admins.
- Automated texting workflows are a standout. You can build sequences that trigger texts after a missed call, after a meeting, or based on a CRM field update. Templates and scheduling make it easy to send personalized follow-ups at scale. For example, a rep can set up a 'voicemail drop' that automatically sends a text with a call link, which improves response rates.
- The call analytics and reporting provide actionable insights. Managers can view dashboards for call volume, duration, outcome, and even text response rates. This helps in coaching reps and measuring campaign effectiveness. The ability to see which times of day yield the highest connect rates is invaluable for optimizing outreach.
- Kixie's local presence and power dialer features—like local caller ID and simultaneous dialing (with careful compliance) — can boost answer rates compared to generic VoIP services. The platform also supports call recording, which is essential for quality assurance and compliance training.
⚠ Watch out for
- Pricing is opaque and can be a dealbreaker for small teams. There's no public pricing page, and costs are per user with additional fees for SMS (e.g., $0.03 per text) and MMS. This lack of transparency makes it hard to budget, and the expenses can quickly escalate for teams that rely heavily on texting. Many competitors offer flat-rate plans with unlimited SMS.
- The automation flow builder has a learning curve. While basic sequences are easy, building complex, multi-step automations with conditions and loops requires training. Compared to simpler dialers like PhoneBurner, new users might struggle initially, and the documentation is not as comprehensive as it could be.
- International support is limited. Kixie is designed primarily for US-based calling, with limited country coverage and potential restrictions on SMS to international numbers. If your sales team needs to contact leads abroad, you'll likely need to look elsewhere or use a workaround, which reduces its global usability.
- The desktop app (both Windows and Mac) can occasionally lag or crash, particularly when handling very high call volumes. While not frequent, any downtime negatively impacts sales reps who rely on the tool all day. The web browser version is more stable but lacks some features.
- Some users report that the iOS and Android mobile apps are not as mature as the desktop experience, with issues such as late notifications for texts or calls, and occasional sync delays with the CRM. For reps who are frequently on the go, this can be frustrating.
🎯 Best for
Inside sales teams that want an easy-to-use, CRM-integrated power dialer with built-in SMS and automation.
🚫 Who should skip
Enterprises with large contact center needs (multi-level IVR, predictive dialing at scale, complex international coverage) or budget shoppers looking for transparent pricing.
📚 Learning curve
Moderate — basic calling and SMS are easy to pick up, but configuring power dialer rules, automation triggers, and CRM workflows takes practice.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Kixie is a robust choice for US-based sales teams that live in Salesforce or HubSpot and need a reliable dialer with solid texting automation. Its deep integrations and call reliability are top-notch, outweighing the pricing opacity and a few software quirks. However, if you require transparent pric
📊 Use Case Suitability
Higher score = better fit. Scores from editorial review.
🧭 Which One Should You Pick?
Choose Grasshopper if...
- You are: A solo entrepreneur or a very small team (usually under five people) that wants a simple, professional virtual phone sys
- 👍 No hardware required — you can be up and running in minutes using the mobile app or forwarding calls
- 👍 Simple, predictable pricing with a low starting cost for solo users, especially when paying annually
- 👍 Includes voicemail transcription and a customizable virtual receptionist for a professional first im
- 💰 From $29/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: Limited integrations and no open API, making it difficult to connect with CRM to
Choose Kixie if...
- You are: Inside sales teams that want an easy-to-use, CRM-integrated power dialer with built-in SMS and automation.
- 👍 Reliable power dialer with minimal dropped calls when clicking to dial
- 👍 Deep native integrations with major CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot
- 👍 Automated text messaging workflows with templates and scheduling
- 💰 From $35/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: Pricing is opaque; no public listing and costs add up with per-user and per-SMS
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep my existing business phone number if I switch to Grasshopper?
Yes, you can port your current number to Grasshopper, or get a new local or toll-free number. The porting process usually takes a few business days, and Grasshopper will help coordinate it once you sign up.
What do Grasshopper's pricing plans actually cost?
Grasshopper's pricing depends on plan tier and billing cycle. Solo plans start around $14/month when billed annually, while plans with multiple phone numbers or extensions cost more, and you'll pay higher rates if you go month-to-month.
Is there a free plan or a free trial?
Grasshopper offers a free trial for you to test the service, but there is no permanent free tier. After the trial ends, you must subscribe to a paid plan.
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