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Telecommunications · head to head

Five9 vs Whereby

Five9 logo

Five9

Telecommunications

Intelligent cloud contact center

From
$149/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Whereby logo

Whereby

Telecommunications

No downloads, no logins - just video meetings that work

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Whereby has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Five9 a 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month; Whereby no breakout rooms, polls, or whiteboard tools
  • They diverge on capability: Five9 covers Intelligent routing, Whereby covers Browser-based meetings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Five9 and Whereby actually diverge.

Attributes where Five9 and Whereby differ
AttributeFive9Whereby
Starting price$149/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, DesktopWeb
Founded20012013

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Telecommunications).

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 Five9

  • Intelligent routing
  • IVR
  • ACD
  • Dialer
  • WFM
  • Quality management
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce

Only in Whereby

  • Browser-based meetings
  • No downloads required
  • Personal room URLs
  • Screen sharing
  • Recording
  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • Slack

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Five9

  • Cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messagingnot Whereby
  • Routing and managing high volume customer interactionsnot Whereby

Whereby

  • Client meetingsnot Five9
  • Remote consultationsnot Five9
  • Team standupsnot Five9
  • Webinarsnot Five9

Where each one falls short

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

Five9

  • A 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month
  • Prices are per concurrent user rather than per named agent, which changes what a seat means when shifts overlap
  • Voice is excluded from the Digital plan and requires a quote
  • Usage based charges apply on top of the per seat rate
  • Three of the five tiers publish no price at all

Whereby

  • No breakout rooms, polls, or whiteboard tools
  • Hard cap of 200 participants and performance drops with groups of 12+
  • No phone dial-in option for participants without internet
  • Occasional connectivity issues and laggy screen sharing reported

Pricing, plan by plan

Five9

$149/month
  • Core$149/month
    • Inbound/outbound
    • IVR
    • Basic CTI
  • Premium$169/month
    • Core + Chat/email
    • Quality management
  • Optimum$199/month
    • Premium + WFM
    • Proactive chat
  • Ultimate$229/month
    • Full suite
    • Advanced analytics

Whereby

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 meeting room
    • 100 participants
    • Screen sharing
  • Pro$6.99/month
    • 3 meeting rooms
    • Custom branding
    • Recording
  • Business$11.99/month
    • Unlimited rooms
    • SSO
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Five9 if

  • You need intelligent routing.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want ivr.
Five9 review

Choose Whereby if

  • You need browser-based meetings.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want no downloads required.
Whereby review

Questions people ask

Is Five9 or Whereby better?
Neither clearly leads. Five9 starts at $149/month and Whereby at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Five9 or Whereby?
Whereby has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $149/month for Five9 and Free for Whereby.
Does Five9 or Whereby run on more platforms?
Five9 runs on Web, Desktop. Whereby runs on Web.
Can I use Whereby for free?
Yes. Whereby has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Five9 starts at $149/month.
What is Five9 best used for?
Five9 is most often used for cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging, routing and managing high volume customer interactions. Of those, cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging and routing and managing high volume customer interactions are not what Whereby is typically brought in for.
What can Five9 do that Whereby cannot?
Five9 covers Intelligent routing, IVR, ACD, Dialer. Whereby covers Browser-based meetings, No downloads required, Personal room URLs, Screen sharing. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Five9: What is the minimum team size required to use Five9?

Five9 requires a minimum commitment of 50 seats for any subscription plan.

Source
Whereby: Does Whereby require software downloads?

No. Whereby is browser-based and requires no downloads or complex configuration. Participants join via a simple link without needing to install software.

Source
Five9: How is Five9 pricing calculated, per user, flat rate, or usage-based?

Five9 offers flexible pricing models: per concurrent user, per named agent, or pay-per-use. The pricing structure varies depending on the chosen bundle.

Source
Whereby: What is Whereby's pricing model?

Whereby offers a free-forever plan and paid plans starting at $5.82/month when billed annually. Whereby does not offer a free trial.

Source
Five9: What does the entry-level Digital bundle include, and what does it cost?

The Digital bundle costs $119 per month per seat and supports digital channels only. Higher tiers (Core at $159, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise) are available, with Plus/Pro/Enterprise requiring contact with sales for pricing.

Source
Five9: Are there additional charges beyond the base subscription?

Yes. All bundles include 3000 AI minutes per seat, but additional AI usage incurs charges. SMS messaging also has usage-based charges applied separately.

Source
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