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Every entrepreneur understands the role of communication in business. No organization can function properly unless there is standard means of communication internally and externally. Getting people to work together towards a common goal means you have to keep them all on the same page and that can only be achieved through communication. When communication is efficient, the goals of the business organization stand better chances of being achieved and when it is not, things will not move smoothly.

Efficient communication in any business setting is not possible if there is no good phone system. In the past, businesses relied on a number of options mainly traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) phone system, fax machines, and other channels of communication. At the moment, however, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone systems are the bomb. While some channels like ISDN or analog were relatively effective for many businesses, they had obvious limitations and the advent of VoIP phone systems have done so much to improve business communication. This type of PBX system has several advantages and most businesses have already abandoned their traditional phone systems in favor of cloud-based VoIP phone services.

The VoIP phone market has really grown with time. As more businesses realize the benefits they stand to gain by moving to the cloud-based services, the market grows continually. The number of companies providing VoIP phone services for businesses is on the rise too. This can create some sort of selection headache for business owners and decision makers. The decision of which provider to hook up to is as important as the decision to use VoIP phone system, and that is why we do a review of the available phone systems in the market. For very large organizations, there are some really wonderful providers of virtual phone systems but for small and mid-size businesses, grasshopper phone is an alternative virtual phone provider that can deliver the sort of services that bring real improvement.

Our Grasshopper Pricing & Features Review


What is Grasshopper.com Phone Service?

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system that has few but impressive features that will improve business communication. It is phone system that is specifically meant to cater for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) that are looking for a viable Voice-over IP (VoIP) phone solution. It is a strong contender in the market in its space due to its solid feature set. There is much startups and entrepreneurs can gain by choosing the Grasshopper.com phone system over some other contenders. In addition to some really important key features we will discuss later, grasshopper phone lets users acquire vanity number, local and 800 numbers, as well as voicemail transcription and auto-attendant that can be operated through an existing phone line. It also boast of a solid mobility support and decent pricing structure.

Though grasshopper remains committed to catering for entrepreneurs and small businesses, it has actually been around for a long while. The company was founded in 2003 by David Hauser and Siamak Taghaddos. At the time it was founded, the goal was to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses and this remains a strong message till date. The company has been able to move from its small beginning to a real huge business. In 2015, it was acquired by Citrix (the company behind such business software as GoToMeeting) for $165 million in cash and $8.6 million in stock. This followed an annual revenue in excess of $30 million in the same year.

Over the years, Grasshopper phone has grown in so many ways but the company remains true to its desire to cater to SMBs and entrepreneurs. At the moment, grasshopper.com claims that over 350,000 happy customers have been served. Looking at various grasshopper.com reviews, it is obvious that most businesses that come in contact with grasshopper are satisfied with the phone service.

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Why Consider Grasshopper Business Phone Service?  

You have probably come across several other companies that offer VoIP phone services, why should you consider grasshopper phone service? Well, there are several reasons you may want to consider what they have on the table and we will summarize the key ones as briefly as possible:

You do not need new hardware to run the system – One of the coolest things about grasshopper phone is that you don’t need any additional hardware to run the system. This is another great benefit for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are actually on a budget and cannot afford all the equipment some other VoIP services require. Setting up the system can be done entirely online since the network taps into existing lines. No hardware installation is required at all.

Offers solid portability/mobility support – Portability is another important reason you should consider grasshopper business phone. Instead of a clunky office phone that have to sit on your desk, you can use your sleek mobile phone as your business phone. This does not only give you a portable phone system but makes your business activities mobile-friendly. You can basically take your office anywhere without paying so much for it.

Improve professionalism – It is not professional for business owners and their employees to make business calls with their personal phone numbers no matter where they are. Customers frown at it and will not take such businesses seriously. Grasshopper virtual phone takes care of that. From mobile devices, you and your employees can make and answer business calls from anywhere with the business phone number at all times, sounding more professional and showing that you mean business.

Improve your business credibility – For small businesses, customers may have trust issues at the initial stage. Grasshopper.com also has you covered in that regard. If you can grab their 1-800 toll free number, you can make the right impression on your customers and instill confidence in your business. More customers will dial in from across different area codes.

Flexibility with phone numbers – When setting up your grasshopper phone system, you have the option of keeping your old phone numbers or getting your own new numbers. For existing businesses that have enough customers that already have their contact, it will be in their best interest to keep their existing numbers. New businesses can go ahead to get their new numbers.

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Grasshopper VoIP Features

As has been stressed earlier, grasshopper.com is specifically made for small and mid-size businesses. The features reflect this fact: there are not so many advanced features like what you will see with the big VoIP players. For an alternative VoIP solution provider for SMBs, the grasshopper VoIP has just the right set of features to improve business communication.

Dedicated Business Line

You will get dedicated business line when you purchase grasshopper phone system. A grasshopper.com phone number comes with the ‘solo’ plan and you have the option of getting more business lines (3 or 5 numbers) when you opt for any of the upgraded plans. You can also add additional numbers but they normally come at the extra cost of $5/month per number. You can choose a standard number with your local area code, a 1-800 number, an 844 number, and a toll-free number if your business needs them. Grasshopper also offer vanity number to make your business appear bigger.

For companies that already have established business lines that are known to their customers, the number can be ported to the grasshopper phone service. The process can be a little tricky but it is important if you want to keep your existing customers that depend on the particular business number. If you have a very small business and have been sneaking by residential phone services because you needed only minimal features, Grasshopper is a great cheap option and you can port this number as well.

Unlimited Extensions

The minimum number of extensions you will get with grasshopper phone system is three when you sign up for the basic plan. Grasshopper actually offer unlimited extensions which is very important if you want a single line for multiple people in your business. You can create as many extensions as possible to make communication easier and smoother. Through same business number, team members and even customers can place a call to different employees of yours easily.

Grasshopper Business Auto Attendant Services

This is a very significant feature that can do so much for any business. It is a fast and uncomplicated feature that you can set-up with ease and make your business communication more reliable and efficient. It offers crisp, clear, and professional call directing. You can choose between dial by name directory and dial by number directory for in-house communication. After hours messaging option is also available for businesses that wish for it.

With this Virtual Receptionist, you can appear very professional even if your business is small. You will also save the expense of hiring a receptionist. Call forwarding let you send your calls to your phone and work from anywhere; call scheduling let you forward through a series of numbers until someone answers or you program the forwarding to reach different numbers at different times of the day; and the call menus or custom greetings sound just like an advanced phone tree.

Voicemail

The voicemail feature is much like the voicemail feature found in smartphones but this is for your business. It is advanced in a number of ways. Voicemails to your grasshopper business phone is kept in the grasshopper system and accessible online or through the grasshopper app. You can also have the voicemails sent to your email inbox as MP3s that you can listen to directly without calling to hear it. You can also record your own greetings for your customers or have it done for you by their voice over actors for a flat fee.

Voicemail transcription is another thing you may like about the grasshopper phone system. This will be important in situations when you are not able to listen to voicemails and want to read it – like in a meeting.

Wi-Fi Calling

Like all cloud-based phone systems, grasshopper business phone allows for Wi-Fi calling. As long as you have a reliable Wi-Fi connection, you can make call on compatible devices including your desktop and mobile devices. This can save your business so much.

Integration

When you are subscribing to a phone system as a business, you will need a system that can work with other systems you have. The grasshopper software can easily integrate with some other applications your business is already using to make things smoother and more efficient. Some of the popular digital tools that integrate with Grasshopper VoIP are Skype, LiveChat, Google Voice, Zapier, and Bitium.

For more information you can check https://grasshopper.com/how-it-works-and-features/


Grasshopper Desktop App

The grasshopper phone system has a desktop app. It is an improvement to the web interface which is great too. The app is compatible with windows as well as with MacOS. This is another way to make business communication easier. You will have all the tools to communicate in a single native app on your desktop. The interface is friendly enough and allows you to do several thing. It is possible to place and answer calls with the desktop app. You can also send and receive texts if it is applicable in your plan or you pay the extra $10/month when you are on the lower plans.

Using the grasshopper desktop is actually easy. After grasshopper download, you will login to an interface that is very clean and easy to use. There are few panels to work with: there is the ‘dialer’ tab that facilitates outbound calls; there is also the ‘messages’ tab that is used for sending messages and reading messages.

There are some other tabs in the simple interface including ‘recent’ tab that lets you view your recent activities in the system if you wish to. The ‘inbox’ tab in this interface is where all your stored voicemails are located. They can be played directly from the grasshopper system in the cloud or downloaded right into your computer.

When you are using the desktop app and don’t want to be bothered by new messages notifications or incoming calls, you can turn on ‘do not disturb mode’ to hinder them. This is the major setting option you have with the app. When you click on the setting tab, you will be taken to the web browser version.


Grasshopper Phone App

As discussed earlier, grasshopper phone system offers solid portability and mobility. One of the important features that makes this possible is the Grasshopper phone app. The grasshopper phone app is an intuitive mobile application that grant customers access to the VoIP phone system with their mobiles. It basically turns smartphones of business owners and employees into business phones when they login. They will be able to check their business voicemails, access business directories and faxes with their mobile devices including Android devices and iPhones/iPads.

Using the app, grasshopper customers can also change their outbound number: this ensures that no matter the number a user is calling with, the caller ID will reveal the designated business line. There is also a digital dialer programmed into the app so that users can place calls directly from the app.

The grasshopper phone app interface is simple just like the desktop app and have few tabs that helps users perform basic functions. There is a ‘recent’ tab to view recent activities; ‘inbox’ for voicemails; ‘dialer’ for making calls; ‘messages’ tab for writing and reading texts when it is applicable; and a ‘settings’ tab. The mobile app grants you access to more setting than the desktop app does, but it is still limited when compared to the browser version. One of the most important setting adjustments you can make is to enable Wi-Fi calling. You can equally set up call forwarding to any number through the setting tab. By setting this up, you will be able to receive phone calls meant for your business line directly to your mobile device without having to deal with the mobile app.


Getting a Grasshopper 800 Number

True 800 numbers are used by businesses that have national presence: it will give any business a professional feel and make customers and potential customers respect the brand. Grasshopper phone offers 800 numbers to their customers. They also offer other numbers like 877, 888, 886, and 885. According to Grasshopper there is a limited supply of true 800 numbers but customers can still pick one at the moment.

The 800 number from Grasshopper grant you access to their services. Being a toll-free number, your business will have to foot the bill for calls to the number while your customers enjoy calling in for free. Grasshopper offers unlimited toll-free minutes so getting an 800 number from them will actually save you some costs when you open up a toll-free line for your business.

With Grasshopper VoIP, getting 800 number for your business can be quick and simple. Picking and activating the number involves simple and straightforward steps. By visiting the official Grasshopper site prospective users will find options on how to pick an 800 number. They can also directly search for available 800 numbers using the Grasshopper 800 number lookout tool. After picking a number, you can decide on the Grasshopper plan that is ideal for your business, sign up quickly and start using your 800 number.


Service Plans & www.Grasshopper.com Phone Pricing

Pricing is one of the most important factors small businesses have to consider when choosing a phone service provider. Grasshopper pricing structure reflects the fact that the business is focused on helping small and mid-size businesses in need of efficient VoIP phone solution. The company offers personalized options for entrepreneurs and small teams. The plans are actually some of the cheapest you can find among reputable companies in the industry.

Grasshopper offers flat rate for all its plans on a monthly basis. This is very different from the norm in the industry where companies charge per month per user. Grasshopper.com competitors are yet to match this feature which is very beneficial for most small businesses. Paying a flat rate is most helpful for mid-size businesses but it also benefits small businesses and professionals meaningfully. Businesses are to sign up for a single plan and the actual amount depends on if they want to be billed monthly or annually. The plans offer different features and there will be additional charges for extra features that are not provided for any specific plan if the business owner needs such feature(s). There are actually three service plans. We will briefly discuss their features and pricing.

Solo

The base plan in grasshopper phone service is simply called the Solo plan. The plan comes with a single grasshopper phone number and three extensions. Other features you will get when you sign up for this plan includes the following:

  • Unlimited minutes
  • Custom main greeting
  • Desktop, Android, and iPhone/iPad apps
  • Unlimited phone handling
  • Call forwarding
  • Call screening
  • Inbound fax
  • Voicemail and fax to email

When customers in this plan are billed on a monthly basis, it costs $29 per month flat. If they opt to be billed annually, it will cost $26 per month: this means businesses can save as much as 10% when they choose annual billing. This plan is perfect for the entrepreneur with a side gig.

Partner

This is the most popular grasshopper service plan. It comes with a minimum of 3 numbers and 6 extensions. With this plan, users will have access to the following features:

  • All Solo Features
  • Six extensions
  • Free activation (terms and conditions apply).

When customers in this plan are billed on a monthly basis, it costs $49 per month flat. If they opt to be billed annually, it will cost $44 per month: this means businesses can save as much as 10% when they choose annual billing. This plan is perfect for small businesses that are growing and have very few employees.

Small Business

This is the biggest option under the grasshopper service plans. The plan comes with a minimum of five numbers and unlimited extensions. With the plan, users will have access to all the features of the grasshopper phone service which include:

  • All partner features
  • Unlimited extensions
  • SMS
  • Voicemail transcription

When customers in this plan are billed on a monthly basis, it costs $89 per month flat. If they opt to be billed annually, it will cost $80 per month: this means businesses can save as much as 10% when they choose annual billing. This plan is perfect for small businesses that are growing with a relatively large number of employees and also need call routing options.


Grasshopper International Calling Options

There are different professionals and small businesses that deal with international clients. Being able to communicate with such clients/customers through phone can have huge positive impact on any business. Grasshopper phone service makes this possible. International calls can be made from the different grasshopper platforms including the app once the condition is met.

To be able to make or receive international calls, grasshopper customers must have been active users of the phone system for sixty days or more. The service will also be available after the customer have reviewed the Terms and Conditions, and then contact customer care to enable the capabilities. Afterwards, the caller will proceed to dial 011, followed by the country code and then the specific phone number he/she wants to contact.

Calls to international numbers generally attract other costs in addition to the included minutes for the grasshopper service plan. The extra amount that will be charged will depend on the location and you can find out about that in the grasshopper international rates at https://grasshopper.com/international-rates/. At the page, users can simply enter a country code to see per minute charges applicable to calls to the particular country. There are over 50 countries available for international calling with grasshopper phone service. Calls to places outside the continental US like Hawaii and Puerto Rico attracts offshore rates in addition to the included minutes in the service plan. The rate varies from 8 cents per minute for calls to Hawaii to 95 cents per minute for calls to Grenada.


How Is www.Grasshopper.com Customer Service Rated?

For a business that prides itself as the perfect solution for small businesses and entrepreneurs, a lot is expected from grasshopper in terms of customer support. The company does not disappoint at all in this regard. In fact, the customer service is one of the reasons grasshopper is highly rated by its users. Their customer service is even a lot better than what is obtainable with bigger players in the industry. It is one of the reasons grasshopper has become a reputable VoIP provider even though it targets entrepreneurs and small businesses only.

Grasshopper actually offers 24/7/365 sales and support options. Grasshopper support comes through different platforms. The Customer care phone line is open 24/7. While there website supplies users and prospective customers with a rich knowledge base. There is equally a significantly relevant FAQs section on the website where perfect answers have already been provided to some important questions. Grasshopper support also have an option for users to ‘submit a request’. This is more like an email/support ticketing system where users can go into details about any specific challenge they are facing and the support team will send a reply that can actually help such customer take care of the problem(s).

As mentioned earlier, the grasshopper customer support is favorably rated by most users. From reviews provided by verified customers in different platforms, most customers are satisfied though there are still some complaints. A customer satisfaction algorithm created by Finance Online Reviews for Business, for instance, found that Grasshopper generated 239 positive mentions and just 8 negative mention throughout the time they carried out their survey: this is approximately 97% positive reviews and just 3% negative reviews.


How to Contact Grasshopper Support

As mentioned above, customers can get support through different platforms. For those that want to speak with support by phone, they can either reach the support team through the toll free line or the direct line.

The Knowledge base is accessible through the support center which is at https://support.grasshopper.com/. It is also possible to send a letter to grasshopper; for those that prefer the old school way of doing things. A letter addressed to 320 Summer St. Boston, MA 02210 will get to the company.

Grasshopper have active social media handles where they can be reached including Facebook and Twitter.


www.Grasshopper.com Setup Process

As you would expect from a VoIP phone system that is specifically meant for small businesses, the setup process for grasshopper is quite easy. Signing up is just a breeze. The important part is for you to choose the right plan for your organization. You have to consider your business needs and the potentials for growth and choose the right plan that will suit you.

After deciding on the grasshopper plan to use, you can proceed to their website to register for the service. Select your desired service level and choose a new local/toll free number or you opt to port your existing number to the grasshopper service and continue using it. Once you have completed the simple steps, you are ready to set up your extensions and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.

You have several options when it comes to setting up your extensions. You actually decide what to do with the grasshopper virtual receptionist when it comes to managing and handling your calls. You will have to take your time to configure your call features. Call forwarding and call scheduling are available with the phone system. You need to set them up the right way to take advantage of what grasshopper phone services offer. You can also setup the caller menus so that your customers all have true professional experience when they call your business line(s).

There are loads of other important features you can set up for your grasshopper phone system. Call Blasting, for instance, is an extra feature that costs additional $10 per month; it will be useful if you want your extensions to ring simultaneously until someone picks the call. Voicemail transcription is also an additional feature that helps to transcribe your voicemails and let you read them in situations where listening to them is not feasible. The feature comes with the small business plan but you can get it for an additional $10 per month if you are on the partner or solo plans.

The grasshopper phone system also offers dial-by-name directory. You will need to set this up by providing the first and last name of users and linking them to their extensions.


Grasshopper Faxing

Grasshopper offers virtual faxing even though it is a one way traffic with the network. This cloud-base fax delivery service will let customers receive faxes to their grasshopper phone numbers. There is no for a fax machine for this to work. Your business partners, clients, or customers can fax documents directly to your grasshopper business number. On your side, you can either access such documents online or in your email as an attachment.

The grasshopper faxing is only ideal for businesses that do not rely so much on faxing. It is a one-way service; meaning you can receive faxes but cannot send with it. The implication is that it is ideal for those that do not actually use faxing for communication purposes but have customers or clients that use faxes, and are ready to be receiving faxes. There will be no need for a faxing machine as the service will let you access the faxes online or through your email as attachments.

After signing up with grasshopper, you need to proceed to download the desktop app and the mobile app. You will save on printer paper, ink, and expenses associated with a fax machine. You will also be able to receive faxes on the go. In a nutshell, grasshopper fax helps to simplify business communication: you will be able to use the same business phone number to receive phone calls, text messages, and faxes. This is most helpful for external communication.


Grasshopper.com Login

Creating a grasshopper account is quite simple. Once you are in the official site you can easily choose your plan, pick an available phone number or port your existing phone number and you are ready to go. You just need to set up few things including your extensions and you will be able to receive and place calls; receive and send SMS when applicable; and receive faxes. When you want to login to your account, it is even simpler. From your web browser, all you have to do is to go to the website and select ‘Sign In’: you will be taken to the login front where you just have to provide Username/Email and your Password and click ‘Let’s go’ to get signed in.

The grasshopper VoIP also have desktop app and phone app. Once you download these apps logging in is also very easy if you have your login credentials. Just enter them in the appropriate fields and you are in. There are limited settings you can make through the app versions but they grant you access to all the features available for your plan.


What We Like About This Service

Actually, there are several things we like about the grasshopper phone service but some are just outstanding that we have to briefly discuss them here:

Fast and easy setup – Grasshopper setup process is arguably the simplest setup process for all VoIP phone systems in the market. No form of installation is required and you also don’t have to buy new hardware components. Once you have decided to join, the sign up process is as simple as deciding the plan you want to use, selecting a phone number and you are good to go.

Cheap Plans – Grasshopper prides itself as the company for entrepreneurs and SMBs and the services it offers lives up to this claim. Unlike what other providers offer, grasshopper pricing is at flat rates and not per user. Each business can save so much due to this system. By choosing annual billing instead of monthly billing, businesses will save more.

True Mobility – The call forwarding feature in the grasshopper phone system lets users move their calls to any compatible device of their choice. With the app that is compatible with Android and iOS devices, smartphones easily turn to business phones that can be used anywhere and anytime. This makes the right impression with the customers and clients of any business.

Voicemail transcription – This is an interesting feature that users will find very helpful. It is actually available for the top-tier plan but those on the lower plans can access it for an extra cost of $10 per month. It is most helpful when users are not in a convenient place or situation to listen to important voicemails. They can easily read the perfectly transcribed versions instead.

Excellent Customer Support – For a company that is focused on entrepreneurs and SMBs, you may think grasshopper support will not match that of the bigger players. The company surprisingly performs a lot better than most of the big players in terms of customer support. 24/7 support is available for customers through different platforms including direct phone calls and toll-free numbers, as well as ‘submit a request’ option, knowledge base and FAQs in the website.


What We Don’t Like About This Service?

In spite of the many benefits that grasshopper VoIP offers, there are still some obvious limitations. Here are some we feel you should know:

The Features Are Quite Limited – The feature set of grasshopper is quite few when you compare it to most VoIP providers. Though they can improve this, it doesn’t seem like what will happen soon since most small businesses are satisfied with what they get with the service.

You Can’t Send Fax with the Service – Though grasshopper offers virtual faxing, it is not completely a true faxing service since users cannot send fax through the phone system. With grasshopper fax, users can receive fax but cannot send.

It Is Not Really Scalable – Grasshopper does exactly what it promises (caters for small businesses only). The service is not really scalable and this is where grasshopper competitors have advantages over the company.


Grasshopper Phone Alternatives

There are actually lots of VoIP providers in the market but not many can actually be regarded as grasshopper alternatives or competitors since they are for bigger businesses mostly. All the same, some of the brands that can be considered as alternatives are CallHippo, Freshcaller, Jive, MightyCall, Talkroute, Talkdesk, and RingCentral.


Grasshopper VoIP FAQs

Q: Does Grasshopper.com offer free trial?

A: Yes! Grasshopper phone offers 30 days free trial with 100% money back guarantee.

Q: Can businesses cancel at any point they want?

A: Yes! There are no contractual obligations with grasshopper. Businesses are billed monthly or annually and can cancel when they want.

Q: Can I change my plan when I want?

A: Yes! You can upgrade or downgrade from any plan you are currently running. While upgrades take effect immediately, downgrades starts with the next billing cycle.

Q: Are international calls included in the unlimited minutes?

A: No! International and offshore calls are billed per minute and the cost depends on the location.


Final Thoughts on Grasshopper Pricing & Phone System

The grasshopper phone service is exactly what it was set out to be: a phone system for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The team did a great work at the initial time and there has been some improvement in the quality of services the system offers. The features it currently offers are just enough for small businesses, helping them to improve their communication and overall efficiency. In this grasshopper review, we have talked about the most important things as honestly as possible and the final thought on the service is that it is great for small businesses. There are obvious limitations like limited scalability, but this is not a problem for most small businesses. The positive responses from active users is a clear indication that grasshopper is a great VoIP phone system for entrepreneurs and SMBs.


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TheVoIPHub
Average rating:  
 1 reviews
by Joe on TheVoIPHub
Affordable and Reliable

Grasshopper hits the spot in regards to affordability and the needs of smaller businesses like ours. We are happy and expect to stick with them for the foreseeable future!

Hey Joe - Glad to see you're happy with the Grasshopper.com phone service. If you're opinion ever changes please come back and leave another review!

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