Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

8x8 Contact Center vs AI21 Labs

8x8 Contact Center logo

8x8 Contact Center

Customer Support

Integrated cloud communications and contact center

From
$85/month
Rated
-
AI21 Labs logo

AI21 Labs

AI Tools

Enterprise language AI solutions

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only AI21 Labs has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 8x8 Contact Center listed on G-Cloud 14 directly by 8x8 UK Limited (not a reseller) at £0.68 to £113.40 per user per month for 8x8 Contact Centre; AI21 Labs the free allowance is $10 of credit lasting 7 days rather than an ongoing free tier
  • They diverge on capability: 8x8 Contact Center covers Voice, AI21 Labs covers Jamba models.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 8x8 Contact Center and AI21 Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where 8x8 Contact Center and AI21 Labs differ
Attribute8x8 Contact CenterAI21 Labs
Starting price$85/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, Ios, AndroidApi, Cloud
CategoryCustomer SupportAI Tools
Founded19872017

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 8x8 Contact Center

  • Voice
  • Digital channels
  • IVR
  • ACD
  • WFM
  • Quality management
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce

Only in AI21 Labs

  • Jamba models
  • Long context
  • RAG engine
  • Writing tools
  • REST API
  • Amazon Bedrock
  • Cloud platforms
  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

8x8 Contact Center

  • Unified communicationsnot AI21 Labs
  • Contact centernot AI21 Labs
  • Remote worknot AI21 Labs
  • Customer supportnot AI21 Labs

AI21 Labs

  • Running long-context tasks on the Jamba model familynot 8x8 Contact Center
  • Building and optimising production AI agents with Maestronot 8x8 Contact Center
  • Routing between models to control cost and accuracynot 8x8 Contact Center
  • Long-horizon agentic tasks needing stateful workspacesnot 8x8 Contact Center

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

8x8 Contact Center

  • Listed on G-Cloud 14 directly by 8x8 UK Limited (not a reseller) at £0.68 to £113.40 per user per month for 8x8 Contact Centre

AI21 Labs

  • The free allowance is $10 of credit lasting 7 days rather than an ongoing free tier
  • Jamba Large is $2 per million input tokens and $8 per million output, so output-heavy work costs four times as much as input
  • Volume discounts, private cloud hosting and higher rate limits require a custom plan
  • Standard rate limits are not published

Pricing, plan by plan

8x8 Contact Center

$85/month
  • X6$85/month
    • Voice contact center
    • ACD
    • IVR
  • X7$110/month
    • X6 + Digital channels
    • Quality management
  • X8$140/month
    • X7 + WFM
    • Speech analytics
    • Advanced AI

AI21 Labs

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Limited usage
    • API access
  • Jamba$0.2/per-million-input-tokens
    • 256K context
    • Hybrid architecture

Which should you pick?

Choose 8x8 Contact Center if

  • You need voice.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Ios, Android.
  • You also want digital channels.

Choose AI21 Labs if

  • You need jamba models.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Cloud.
  • You also want long context.

Questions people ask

Is 8x8 Contact Center or AI21 Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. 8x8 Contact Center starts at $85/month and AI21 Labs at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 8x8 Contact Center or AI21 Labs?
AI21 Labs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $85/month for 8x8 Contact Center and Free for AI21 Labs.
Does 8x8 Contact Center or AI21 Labs run on more platforms?
8x8 Contact Center runs on Web, Desktop, Ios, Android. AI21 Labs runs on Api, Cloud.
Can I use AI21 Labs for free?
Yes. AI21 Labs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. 8x8 Contact Center starts at $85/month.
What is 8x8 Contact Center best used for?
8x8 Contact Center is most often used for unified communications, contact center, remote work, customer support. Of those, unified communications and contact center are not what AI21 Labs is typically brought in for.
What can 8x8 Contact Center do that AI21 Labs cannot?
8x8 Contact Center covers Voice, Digital channels, IVR, ACD. AI21 Labs covers Jamba models, Long context, RAG engine, Writing tools.

Related pages

Other head to heads