Grasshopper Comparison and Review

Pros:

• Unlimited extensions
• 24/7 customer support
• Mobile app available for iPhone and Blackberry

Cons:

• No included minutes

Conclusion:

Grasshopper gives you unlimited extensions but does not include any minutes with their Pay As You Grow plan. However, they do have some higher minute calling plans that include minutes and are price competitive on a per minute basis. They don’t offer a free trial, but they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.  They offer Find Me/Follow Me (which sets forwarding rules) and an auto attendant (which is a custom menu that directs calls).  They also offer voicemail alerts by email and voicemail-to-text transcriptions for an additional fee.  You can store unlimited voicemails for 30 days and they include receive-only Internet fax service.  Grasshopper has phone support that is available 24/7.

Pricing

Grasshopper’s Pay As You Grow plan provides unlimited extensions with no included minutes for $12 a month.  They charge 6 cents per minute after the initial monthly fee, which can make this plan rather expensive if you use our Market Standard of 150 minutes per month or more.

However, for businesses that know they need 2,000 minutes per month or more, Grasshopper has some price competitive offers. Grasshopper's Grow plan is $49/ month and includes two numbers, unlimited extensions and 2,000 minutes per month, which is 2.5 cents per minute.

Phone Numbers

Grasshopper provides either a local number or 866, 877, 888 toll-free number for free with your monthly fee.  They can also give you a 800 toll-free number, a vanity number, or port in your existing number for a $30 setup fee. Grasshopper does not offer international numbers at this time.

Online Interface

Grasshopper’s online interface is above average quality, but they do not provide a setup wizard to help set up your account. You may access call logs or store contacts in their online interface, but you cannot make a block call list, record calls, or set call handling rules in this interface.

Voicemail

You can store voicemails online for 30 days with Grasshopper. You can download or receive your voicemails through email. For an additional $10 a month, you can receive text transcriptions of your voicemails.

Call Handling

Grasshopper offers a Find Me/Follow Me call handling system that redirects calls from one extension to another when the call is not answered. One of the main functions of a PBX system is to set rules on how calls are handled when your number is dialed. While on a call, you can transfer a caller to voicemail or place the call on hold using just your phone’s keypad, but you cannot block the caller using the keypad. Grasshopper does not offer a Do Not Disturb feature, which lets you turn off your extension to callers, but they do offer call screening. You can set up an auto attendant, or custom menu, with Grasshopper, but you can’t define how long someone waits in a queue before an action is taken. Grasshopper even allows you to make outgoing calls while outside of the U.S. using their system.  Grasshopper’s audio quality is average: clear with a bit of static.

Conference Calling, Internet Faxing, and Mobile Apps

Grasshopper also allows you to make conference calls, but they don’t provide moderator features or a reference guide for keypad shortcuts. Conference calls are billed from your minutes by multiplying the number of callers by the number of call minutes used.  Grasshopper offers receive-only Internet fax service, which does not meet the Market Standard for send and receive Internet fax.  They also provide a mobile application for iPhones and Blackberries that can be used over a data network as well as Wi-Fi.

Customer Support

Grasshopper offers phone customer support that is available 24/7. They also provide searchable FAQs, tutorials, and forums in order to provide you with the most information possible about their product.