By: Cristina | Last updated April 13, 2020 
8X8 is a VoIP service offered by a company based in California. The company was founded in 1987, under a different name and it initially designed computer chips. Nowadays, 8X8 is one of the biggest cloud communication providers in the industry, boasting on over 1 million users and over 140 patents earned.
8X8 offers VoIP solutions to business, catering to a wide range of industries: from transportation to retail, high tech, healthcare, education and more.
The 8X8 offer includes cloud business phone systems (there are small business plans and enterprise plans available), a cloud contact center, video conferencing, various phones and accessories.
The 8X8 official website is a bit messy and the information on it poorly organized. It might be a little confusing to understand the company’s pricing scheme at first glance.
There are several plans available with 8X8, depending on your business needs. There are plans for small businesses with one or multiple offices and there are enterprise plans available as well.
The price varies depending on the number of users you opt for.
All VoIP plans offered by 8X8 include a free 30-day trial.
Small business plans
For 1 to 99 users:
8X8 Express – priced at $12 per month per user, offers unlimited calling within the United States and Canada
X Series X2 – priced at $25 per month per user, offers unlimited calling within 14 countries
X Series X4 – priced at $45 per month per user, offers unlimited calling within 47 countries
X Series X6 – priced at $110 per month per user, offers unlimited calling within 47 countries and 4,000 minutes of contact center calling
If you have more than 100 users, prices drop by a few dollars.
8X8 Express – pricing stays the same
X Series X2 – price drops at $23 per month per user
X Series X4 – price drops at $43 per month per user
X Series X6 – price drops at $107 per month per user
Enterprise plans
Plans vary depending on the number of users you have. You can choose between 1- 99 users, 100 – 999 users and more than 1000 users.
For 1-99 users you’ve got the X Series X2, X Series X4 and X Series X6, which are priced just like for the small business plans. In addition to these, you get the X Series X8, priced at $172 per month per user.
For 100-999 users, the X Series X2 to X6 plans have the same pricing as for small business (for more than 100 users). The X Series X8 plan is priced at $167 per month per user.
If you have more than 1000 users, you get even lower rates: X Series X2 – 21 per user per month; X Series X4 – 41$ per month per user; X Series X6 - $102 per month per user; X Series X8 - $162 per month per user.
All the plans offered by 8X8 include the unlimited calling we mentioned, as described above. Other features included are:
- Caller ID, call forwarding, ring groups, call queues
- HD secure voice
- Mobile and desktop apps; the mobile apps are compatible with both iOS and Android devices
- Presence detection
- Voicemail
- Call recording
- Auto attendant
- Operator switchboard (for all plans except 8X8 Express); with this feature, you can easily and quickly transfer callers to the person you want
- Enterprise-grade security
- Extension dialing within your company
- Media storage (you can get 1GB, 5GB or 10GB of storage)
- Team messaging and business SMS within the US and Canada
- HD video and HD audio with screen sharing
- Voicemail transcription (except for the cheapest plan - 8X8 Express)
- Internet faxing (with all plans except 8X8 Express)
There are some more advanced features as well, included with the more expensive plans. Here are some of them:
- Call quality reporting and analytics
- Post call survey
- Native CRM and knowledgebase
- Contact center reporting and analytics
- Skills-based routing
The unlimited calling within 14 countries applies to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zeeland, Puerto Rico, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
The plans with unlimited calling to 47 countries add many other countries to the list, such as: Denmark, Belgium, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Singapore, Africa, Thailand, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and some more.
8X8 also has a ROI calculator that you can use to see how much money your company can save by switching to their services. It takes only 1 minute to get your estimate.
8X8 also offers hardware. The company has desk phones, cordless phones, conference phones and headsets available, as well as analog phone/fax adapters and accessories such as sidecars (expansion modules), a webcam for video conferencing.
There are dozens of phone brands and models available. Desk phones start from $64 for the Poly VVX 150 and go as high as $359, for Cisco 8861.
As far as integrations go, 8X8 integrates with Skype, Slack, Zendesk, ServiceNow, HubSpot, ZOHO, NetSuite, Teamwork, Office 365, AgileCRM and more.
Overall, 8X8 is not the most affordable cloud communication service. You will be able to find better rates among competitors. What sets this company apart is its very complex set of features, which is something you don’t get with every VoIP service provider.
Why should you switch to VoIP?
Cloud communications are taking over the entire world, because internet is affordable, versatile and efficient. There are various reasons why more and more people and businesses switch to VoIP (voice over the internet protocol). The number one reason is affordability.
VoIP helps you save a lot of money you would otherwise spend on hardware, paying to have the system set up, huge phone bills, especially for long-distance calls. With VoIP you can opt to still keep your analog phone and simply get an adapter to be able to use VoIP, or you can get a VoIP phone. If neither of the options appeal to you, there’s also the option to use a softphone, which is special software you use to be able to make calls using the internet. A few examples of popular softphones you’ve probably used already any maybe didn’t know it are Skype, Viber, WhatsApp.
VoIP is also more flexible, you can make and receive calls no matter where you are located in the world, as long as you have a stable internet connection.
VoIP is also richer in features than landlines. You get mobile apps, HD video conferencing, online faxing, call forwarding, call recording, music on hold and a plethora of other features.
