Softwr

Telecommunications · head to head

Five9 vs RingCentral

Five9 logo

Five9

Telecommunications

Intelligent cloud contact center

From
$149/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RingCentral logo

RingCentral

Telecommunications

Unified communications platform for enterprise

From
$24.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; RingCentral the pricing page shows no per user rate until you enter a user count, so the headline plan cost is not published outright
  • They diverge on capability: Five9 covers Intelligent routing, RingCentral covers VoIP calling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Five9 and RingCentral actually diverge.

Attributes where Five9 and RingCentral differ
AttributeFive9RingCentral
Starting price$149/month$24.99/month
PlatformsWeb, DesktopWeb, Windows, Macos, Ios, Android
Founded20011999

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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
  • ServiceNow
  • Microsoft Dynamics

Only in RingCentral

  • VoIP calling
  • Video conferencing
  • Team messaging
  • SMS/MMS
  • File storage
  • Call recording
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Slack

Both cover

  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • SOC2
  • HIPAA
  • 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 RingCentral
  • Routing and managing high volume customer interactionsnot RingCentral

RingCentral

  • Businesses looking for integrated voice, video, and messaging communicationnot Five9
  • Companies needing AI-powered call handling and receptionist featuresnot Five9
  • Organizations requiring Advanced or Ultra tier packages with advanced call queuingnot 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

RingCentral

  • The pricing page shows no per user rate until you enter a user count, so the headline plan cost is not published outright
  • The advertised saving of up to 33 percent requires paying annually rather than monthly
  • Cost centre management, multiple support admins, custom roles and adoption analytics are limited to the Advanced and Ultra packages
  • AI Receptionist starts at $39 a month, Conversational Intelligence at $60 a month, the Call Queues Booster is $35 a month and the Business SMS Booster is $25 a month, all charged on top of the plan
  • SMS is excluded from the free trial

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

RingCentral

$24.99/month
  • Essentials$24.99/month
    • Calls, meetings, messaging
    • Video conferencing
    • File sharing
  • Standard$34.99/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Advanced features
    • Call recording

Which should you pick?

Choose Five9 if

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

Choose RingCentral if

  • You need voip calling.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Macos, Ios, Android.
  • You also want video conferencing.
RingCentral review

Questions people ask

Is Five9 or RingCentral better?
Neither clearly leads. Five9 starts at $149/month and RingCentral at $24.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Five9 or RingCentral?
Five9 starts at $149/month and RingCentral at $24.99/month.
Does Five9 or RingCentral run on more platforms?
Five9 runs on Web, Desktop. RingCentral runs on Web, Windows, Macos, Ios, Android.
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 RingCentral is typically brought in for.
What can Five9 do that RingCentral cannot?
Five9 covers Intelligent routing, IVR, ACD, Dialer. RingCentral covers VoIP calling, Video conferencing, Team messaging, SMS/MMS. Both handle Analytics, Salesforce, SOC2, HIPAA.

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
RingCentral: Is there a free trial for RingCentral?

RingCentral offers a 14-day free trial for new subscribers supporting up to 20 phone lines with full feature access. No credit card is required to start the trial.

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
RingCentral: How much do RingCentral add-ons cost?

AI Receptionist starts at $39/month per user, Conversational Intelligence costs $60/month per user, Call Queues Booster is $35/month, and Business SMS Booster is $25/month. These are optional add-ons separate from base plan pricing.

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
RingCentral: Can I save money with annual billing on RingCentral?

Yes. RingCentral offers up to 33% savings by paying annually compared to monthly billing. This discount applies across all plan tiers and services.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Five9

More on RingCentral

Keep looking

Other head to heads