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PROS:
CONS:
Grasshopper is a great phone system for small businesses that are just starting and don’t want to make a long term commitment with a provider. Its flexible plans and affordable pricing, together with a vast number of features employees are able to choose from are what makes Grasshopper such a good phone system solution for small businesses.
Grasshopper is among the best phone systems for small businesses because it offers everything other top tier providers do, but with a lot less hassle. Since it’s a fully virtual system, it saves you a lot of money because you don’t have to buy, often necessary, expensive equipment, or pay for any installation or maintenance fees. It allows for an unlimited number of lines and it works through your mobile or home phone for maximum availability.
Performance and Features
This phone system doesn’t require any equipment or special setup. Unlike most traditional phone systems, Grasshopper doesn’t require a desktop phone to connect to the system, but rather does so through your mobile or home phone. Each employee chooses a number they wish to assign to their extension, so when customers call and the automated attendant transfers them to a particular extension, it’s actually doing so to the employees home, or mobile phone. One of the reasons Grasshopper is such a great system is that it gives the power of choice to the employee. The users have full autonomy on which phone numbers they’d like to be reached on (up to 15), in which order they should be called, how long does the caller wait before being transferred to another line and more. They can decide to take the call, send it to voice mail or listen to the callers ID and decide whether or not they’d like to take the call. The workers also set their own availability according to their schedule. Employers, however, keep some kind of authority since they can create extensions for each department individually by grouping employees thus allowing the automated attendant to directly transfer any calls to the extensions of the department in question.
Although the automated attendant is a very important feature for any phone system, it’s just one of many Grasshopper has to offer. Some of the other add-ons you can opt for are call-forwarding, on-hold music, searchable company directory, voicemail, conference calls, online faxes and many more. When you choose Grasshopper you have the opportunity to choose a new number, keep yours, or get a tool-free number.
Mobile apps have become a must for all serious phone systems on the market. Grasshopper offers an app that supports iOS and Android devices. Although the iOS app has seemingly a few more options, both apps can be used to make and receive calls from the employee’s business extension, check voicemail, set up call forwarding etc. You can also use the app to text your coworkers or customers as if you were doing so from your business number.
Features:
Grasshopper comes in four different plans priced depending on the number of minutes included and the number of included special (toll free or local numbers). Although it’s averagely priced, Grasshopper allows you to have as many extensions as you’d like which you can upgrade with one of the several available add on features.
If you have a small business and don’t feel like committing to large monthly fee, Grasshopper has the Pay As You Grow that charges a base monthly fee of $12, while you pay only what you spend at 6 cents per minute. This is a unique plan among phone system providers since it allows you great flexibility to expand your plan as you grow your business needs. The Ramp plan has 500 minutes and one local/toll-free number included for $24/month. The next step is the Grow that includes two local/toll-free numbers, 2000 minutes/month for just $49. The most comprehensive package in offer is the Max plan priced at $199/per month. This option comes with 10,000 minutes, three local/toll-free numbers, and an unlimited use of Grasshopper’s voice studio that creates personalized, professional recording for your voice mail or on-hold message.
As additional costs are inevitable when you’re choosing a phone system for your small business, Grasshopper is cheaper than most in this regard. For every additional number you’ll have to set aside $5 as well as $10 is you want to buy unlimited texting for your employees. There are several other fees but they are largely dependent on the specific features you choose so we strongly recommend you call and get a quote for your particular situation. If you’re having doubts about which system to choose, it’s good to know that the Grasshopper offers a 30-day money-back guarantee which means you can try the system for free over a month and decide whether or not it’s working out for you.
Grasshopper is easy to use and it doesn’t require any equipment or special training to operate. It is affordable and it offers very flexible plans for anyone’s pocket. The system works from your mobile or home phone and it allows you all the functionalities of a business desktop phone.
Email: support.grasshopper.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Phone number: 800-820-8210 (Toll free)
Website: grasshopper.com
Support: grasshopper.com/contact
Facebook: www.facebook.com/grasshopper
In order to check each individual system’s support center, we called and posed as a fictitious small business owner. Since we tested the customer service with four separate calls, each time our call was meet by a pleasant, knowledgeable Grasshopper representative usually within minutes of making the call. During our call we asked about the features provided, the additional fees and details about each individual plan. The representative then asked us some basic information about our business and gave us a recommendation on a plan based on the details we gave him. This kind of personalized customer care is very important since it is usually your first contact with the company.
If after you’ve purchased the service you still have questions, you can reach Grasshoppers support by phone at any time of day, or night. Aside from the sizable knowledgebase, FAQ and several guides on the website, you can also reach help through a request form.
Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.
By: Kelly | Last updated June 5, 2017 
