Ooma alternative
The Ooma alternative built around a dialer
Ooma Office is a business phone system for small offices, sold in three plans - Essentials at $19.95, Pro at $24.95 and Pro Plus at $29.95 a user a month - with a virtual receptionist, a free toll-free number, fax and desk phones for a team that wants handsets. None of the three has a dialer, texting starts on the middle plan, and CRM integration starts on the top one. The part that matters most to an outbound desk is in the acceptable use policy: unlimited calling "is intended for continuous, live conversation between two individuals", and an excessive number of calling destinations is one of the things Ooma weighs when it decides usage has gone outside fair use.
No card required. No seat minimum.
The short version
- No Ooma Office plan describes a power, auto or predictive dialer, and the features page does not use the words. The closest item is "Call Center Solutions" on the custom-priced Enterprise tier.
- Their acceptable use policy states that unlimited voice calling "is intended for continuous, live conversation between two individuals", and weighs lack of continuous conversation, unusual calling patterns and an excessive number of calling destinations.
- If usage is judged outside fair use, Ooma may audit the account and move it to another plan, and a customer suspended for abnormal usage stays responsible for the fees from the period over the limit.
- Texting is not on Essentials at all. Pro includes 250 messages a month and Pro Plus 1,000, then each text is charged at Ooma's rates.
- CRM integration is on Pro Plus only, at $29.95 a user. Of the investor CRMs, only Left Main REI is reachable, through Salesforce.
smrtPhone vs Ooma
The Ooma alternative, feature by feature
Every Ooma figure below was taken from Ooma’s own public pricing pages . Prices change; check theirs before you decide.
| What matters when you dial |
|
smrtPhone |
|---|---|---|
| What it is built for | A business phone system for a small office | Teams making outbound calls and texts from a CRM |
| The phone system underneath | Yes. Virtual receptionist, ring groups, call queuing and call park | Yes. Call flows, inbound teams and departments, voicemail, business hours, warm transfer, conference calling and call monitoring |
| Dialing a list | No. No dialer on any plan. Call center solutions are an Enterprise quote | Yes. smrtDialer, 1 to 4 lines, with AI voice detection |
| Calling many different numbers | No. An excessive number of calling destinations counts toward fair use limits | Yes. What the seat is for, with campaigns and dispositions |
| Price a seat | Essentials $19.95, Pro $24.95, Pro Plus $29.95 a user monthly, before equipment, taxes and fees | $29 a seat, plus smrtDialer at $50 or $90 |
| Texting | Partly. None on Essentials, 250 a month on Pro, 1,000 on Pro Plus, then per text | Yes. SMS and MMS in every seat, 1,000 segments, then $0.02 |
| CRM integration starts at | No. Pro Plus, at $29.95 | Yes. The $29 seat |
| Native CRM integrations | Partly. Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive, Dynamics 365, SugarCRM, Clio, Wealthbox, AgencyZoom and Jobber, plus Zapier | Yes. Podio, GoHighLevel, Left Main REI, InvestorFuse, DataSift, Realeflow, Invelo, Carrot, Tape and Salesforce |
| Investor CRMs it does not cover | No. Podio, GoHighLevel, InvestorFuse, DataSift, Realeflow, Invelo, Carrot and Tape | Not applicable |
| Voicemail drop | No. Not offered | Yes. Included in smrtDialer, logged to the CRM |
| If usage is judged abnormal | No. An audit, a plan change, and fees still owed if the account is suspended | Yes. Not applicable. Dialing a list is normal use here |
| Outbound list compliance | Not described on the plans page | Yes. DNC and DNT lists, DNC applet, DNC API, A2P 10DLC and automatic opt-out, in the base seat |
| AI that answers calls | Partly. AI Receptionist and AI Answering Service, sold as add-ons | smrtAgents answer, qualify and hand off with context |
| Contract | Partly. Month to month, or a fixed term that auto-renews unless cancelled in writing 90 days before it ends | Yes. Month to month |
The other side
When Ooma is the better choice
Ooma carries things smrtPhone does not. Digital fax, a free toll-free number, desk phones for an office that wants handsets, video meetings for up to 100 people and team chat on Pro Plus, and unlimited calling across the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, where a smrtPhone seat includes 500 minutes and meters the rest at $0.03. Its integration list also includes Zapier, which smrtPhone does not offer at all. Its Capterra profile for Ooma Office is 4.4 from 248 reviews. If your team answers the phone rather than working a list, none of the fair use limits on this page will ever reach you.
- You are equipping a small office with desk phones and a main number.
- You need digital fax alongside the phones.
- Video meetings and team chat belong on the same bill.
- You need Zapier, which smrtPhone does not offer.
- Your calling is inbound and conversational rather than list work.
If you are equipping a small office
That is what Ooma Office is for: a main number with a virtual receptionist, a free toll-free number, desk phones for the people who want handsets, digital fax, and on the top plan video meetings and team chat. smrtPhone runs the phone system too - call flows, inbound teams and departments, voicemail, business hours, warm transfer, conference calling and call monitoring - but it sells no desk phones, no fax and no video meetings. If a small office needs all of that on one bill, Ooma, Grasshopper, Nextiva and RingCentral are the shape to compare.
This page is for the other case: a team whose day is outbound calls and follow-up texts to a list, with the record in an investor CRM, needing a dialer and terms that treat calling many numbers as normal use.
Why teams that work a list move off it
-
Working a list is what the fair use policy watches for
Ooma's acceptable use policy says unlimited calling "is intended for continuous, live conversation between two individuals", and lists lack of continuous conversation, unusual calling patterns and an excessive number of calling destinations among the factors it weighs. A desk working a bought list calls hundreds of different numbers, many of them unanswered. If Ooma judges usage abnormal it may audit the account and move it to another plan, and fees from the period over the limit stay owed even if the account is suspended. smrtPhone is built for that work, with DNC and DNT lists, a DNC applet, DNC API, A2P 10DLC and automatic opt-out in the base seat.
Outbound is the product -
Texting started a tier up and ran out
Essentials includes no text messaging at all. Pro includes 250 a month and Pro Plus 1,000, and past the monthly allotment each text is charged at Ooma's rates. For a team whose follow-up after every call is a text, 250 is gone in a morning. Every smrtPhone seat includes 1,000 SMS and MMS segments, then $0.02, with templates, A2P 10DLC registration and opt-out handling.
1,000 segments in every seat -
The CRM was a top-plan feature
CRM integration is on Pro Plus only. The list is Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SugarCRM, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Clio, Wealthbox, AgencyZoom, Agency MVP and Jobber. For investor teams, Left Main REI is reachable through Salesforce; Podio, GoHighLevel, InvestorFuse, DataSift, Realeflow, Invelo, Carrot and Tape are not there. smrtPhone is native to all ten in every seat, with the call and the text written to the record.
Ten native CRM integrations
Built into the CRM you already run
Calls, texts, recordings and dispositions land on the record they belong to, with no connector in between.
Verified reviews
What smrtPhone users say
Everything above is our claim. This is not: these are reviews left on Capterra, where most reviewers are real estate investors.
- 4.7/5
-
5 out of 5. Under 6 months in
Its ability to dial on 4 different lines simultaneously that no other dialer in the market has.
Chad F. Founder, real estate -
5 out of 5. 2+ years in
Integration with Podio and the ability to customize every aspect.
Ryan J. Founder, real estate -
5 out of 5. 6-12 months in
Great customer service with very fast reaction. Also the dialer and the extensions work magnificent.
Javier B. Acquisition manager, real estate
What switching actually involves
Numbers port, including toll-free numbers. If the office still wants desk phones and fax for the front desk, keep Ooma there - the sensible arrangement is often Ooma for the office line and smrtPhone for the people who work the list, each doing the job it was built for.
- Port your numbers. They move with you. Nobody has to learn a new number.
- Connect the CRM. Calls, texts, recordings and dispositions start writing to the record.
- Rebuild your call flows. Routing, ring groups, business hours and the DNC applet.
- Run both for a few days. Then move the dialing over once the logging looks right.
How long the port really takes
- Porting takes one to three weeks once the paperwork is in and confirmed. It is faster when your current provider sits on the same underlying carrier we do, and slower if the paperwork comes back rejected over a detail that does not match your carrier record.
- Support does the work. You start it from live chat and the team handles the submission.
- Do not cancel your old provider until the port completes. Your number keeps working throughout.
- Occasionally voice ports a few hours before texting does. It settles by itself.
Questions people ask before switching
Does Ooma have a power dialer?
No Ooma Office plan describes one - not a power dialer, not an auto dialer, not predictive dialing - and the features page does not use the words. The closest item is "Call Center Solutions" on the Enterprise tier, which is custom-priced and not described. smrtDialer runs one to four lines with AI voice detection at $50 for a single line or $90 for up to four, on top of a $29 seat.
Is Ooma Office calling really unlimited?
Its terms say references to unlimited calling "will be narrowly construed", subject to the usage limitations in the Ooma Office terms. The acceptable use policy adds that unlimited calling is intended for continuous, live conversation between two individuals, and weighs an excessive number of calling destinations and line usage of around 5,000 minutes a month or more as signs of usage outside fair use. smrtPhone includes 500 minutes a seat and meters the rest at $0.03, or $99 a seat for unlimited.
How much does Ooma Office cost?
Essentials is $19.95 a user a month, Pro $24.95 and Pro Plus $29.95, with Enterprise quoted. Their terms note that advertised prices exclude equipment, taxes and fees, shipping and add-ons such as the AI Receptionist. Plans are month to month unless you sign a fixed term, which auto-renews unless you cancel in writing 90 days before it ends. smrtPhone is $24 a seat a month billed yearly, or $29 month to month, with smrtDialer at $50 or $90 for the people who dial.
How many texts does Ooma include?
None on Essentials, 250 a month on Pro and 1,000 on Pro Plus, and past the allotment each text is charged at Ooma's published rates. A smrtPhone seat includes 1,000 SMS and MMS segments a month, then $0.02, with inbound replies part of the same conversation and written to your CRM record.
Does Ooma integrate with my CRM?
On Pro Plus, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SugarCRM, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Clio, Wealthbox, AgencyZoom, Agency MVP and Jobber, plus Zapier. For investor teams the nuance is Salesforce: Left Main REI is built on it, so Ooma reaches Left Main that way. Podio, GoHighLevel, InvestorFuse, DataSift, Realeflow, Invelo, Carrot and Tape are not covered. smrtPhone is native to all ten, in every seat.
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