As the world keeps advancing and adapting new means to provide solutions to existing problems, we have seen more businesses adapt to the latest business trends to help them meet the needs of their customers. We have also seen more information technology companies and software programmers try to provide solutions to most of the existing problems.
Among the latest business trends like influencer marketing, artificial intelligence, and hybrid workplaces, cloud communications (VoIP) phone system is one development that small and medium-sized businesses have embraced with open arms.
Efficient communication is one major challenge most companies and even large corporations face. It’s no surprise that these business phone systems have won the hearts of most. They improve communication with customers or clients, but they also enhance your company’s internal communication with teams and boost productivity.
There are tons of competing VoIP software like Ringblaze and the like, but in this article, we will give you a detailed 3CX review and tell you all you need to know about the VoIP phone system, including its key features, pricing, user reviews, pros, and cons.
Let’s go right into the business for the day!
What is 3CX?
3CX phone system is a complete communications platform that offers a simple and flexible solution for calls, videos, and live chats for businesses and organizations. 3CX prides itself in being a user-friendly software that helps business owners enhance customer experience and boost productivity while running their day-to-day operations.
Founded in 2005, with offices across Europe, the U.S., Mexico, Dubai, and Australia, 3CX has grown from just being a PBX phone system to becoming a complete communications solution, establishing itself among other leading 3CX phone systems alternatives.
See also: 3CX vs FreePBX
Today, 3CX provides features and integrations, including:
- On-premise phone system
- Remote working (mobile apps)
- Hosted PBX
- Video conferencing
- Live chats
- Integrated call center
- Microsoft teams integration
They offer all these and more to business owners, and also different pricing plans depending on your budget.
We will go into the details shortly, so hang in there.
3CX review: Ease of use
What most people look for in the best VoIP phone system is its compatibility with devices, its user interface, and how easy it is to install and set up. This is because an app can have outstanding features and integrations, but it becomes useless to you if you can’t navigate or use these features.
To create a 3CX account, you’ll have to sign up on their website or download the mobile app on your device. 3CX phone system mobile app is compatible with Android, Windows, and iOS devices, or you can simply use the web client app on your desktop devices. You can download the mobile apps from either Google Play, Microsoft, or Apple App Store and install them on your devices.
You can also use 3CX on a SIP-compatible user-friendly softphone, IP-enable devices, or handsets, as long as they have adapters that work with VoIP. 3CX will provide you with a helpful configuration guide to help you set up and configure your device.
3CX has a simple user interface that is not difficult to navigate. The dashboard or web-based control panel gives you a good layout of all the software’s features.
3CX review: Features
With the 3CX open platform, you allow your customers to be in control of their system setup or data. It does not restrict them or you to a particular cloud provider, SIP trunk provider, or hardware; you can choose your phone numbers and decide if you want to run it on the cloud or on-premise.
In addition, the 3CX phone system also features video conferencing, remote collaboration, live chat, phone calls, call recording, call forwarding, call routing, business text messaging, remote collaboration, digital assistant/digital receptionist, and more.
Let’s look at some of its key features.
Video conferencing
As more companies and businesses embrace working remotely, we understand the importance of being able to jump on a quick call with your fellow team members, no matter where they are.
3CX makes it possible to host video conference calls with your team or customers on the mobile apps or 3CX web client without logging in to a different platform or downloading any external extensions.
With real-time HD video conference calling ensured by WebRTC, you can invite your team members and schedule meetings with a click. 3CX also allows you to have at least four simultaneous calls on the go, depending on the size of your team and subscription plan.
Other functions you can carry out with this feature include:
- Control remote screens
- Share documents
- Present on a whiteboard
- Chat
- Create polls
- Manage calls and team settings
- Cater for about 250 call participants
Hosted PBX
The 3CX core PBX features give you the control you need to run your business. You can choose or bring your SIP trunk; save, back up and restore your contacts quickly.
The software helps you monitor and update your activities once you host with them and also allows you to migrate your virtual PBX to a private cloud or on-premise whenever you feel the need to.
The private cloud makes it possible for you to self-host on Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, while the on-premise offers hosting on Linux and Windows. You can also find a cheap Linux VPS available.
Live chat
3CX has a live chat feature that enables you to switch from a live chat to a live video or audio call to speak to agents while browsing the website. The aim is to help you convert visitors to leads by answering their questions about your products or services.
This feature is WordPress, Joomla, Wix, Drupal, and Weebly websites. 3CX also allows you to integrate Facebook and SMS messaging to connect faster with your team and clients.
3CX Call Center
The 3CX Call Center has helpful features to help you manage your calls. The aim is to guarantee that you do not miss any calls from your clients or team members.
You can queue incoming calls according to priority using advanced queue strategies like Round Robin and Hunt by 3S, and you can also call back when the workflow reduces. You can also redirect inbound calls to other business phone numbers, office extensions, or departments with the call forwarding feature. This way, the next available live agent call speak to a customer and resolve the issue, rather than wait.
The Call Center also enables call recording, staff training, in-built reports, and real-time call monitoring.
3CX review: Integrations
We expect an effective phone system to have helpful integrations to allow you to add more features and tools to give you a satisfactory user experience.
Regarding third-party integrations and CRM tools, 3CX has a few to help you collaborate better with your team and customers.
Some examples include
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft 365
- Zendesk
- HubSpot
- Freshdesk
- Zoho CRM
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Bitrix24
- Facebook Messenger
3CX review: Plans and pricing
Different SIP providers like offer different pricing plans, depending on your budget and the size of your business or team.
3CX offers three pricing plans with varying prices based on the size of your team.
- Standard Plan–Free
- Pro Plan–$145 billed annually
- Enterprise Plan–$180 billed annually
For a team size of 12 or less, all the plans come with a one-year free trial, after which you will pay an annual fee for using the license, except for the Standard Plan.
If you decide to host on the 3CX cloud or on-premise system, you will be expected to pay $100 annually for any of the plans after the first year, including the Standard Plan.
The higher the number of your team, the more you pay for the 3CX license and for hosting on the software.
The Standard Plan is the cheapest, and it offers you the basic features of the software like unlimited extensions, backup and restores, the ability to choose your SIP trunk, video conferencing, screen sharing, remote assistance, 25 video conference call participants and up to 4 simultaneous calls.
The plan doesn’t include CRM integrations and Contact Center features like call recording, call queuing, and call reporting.
The Pro Plan offers more at a higher price. It comes with all the Standard Plan features and includes CRM integrations like Microsoft 365, 100 video conference participants, plus Contact Center features.
The Enterprise Plan, being the most expensive, comes with all the features of the other plans and even more features like higher concurrent calls, Microsoft Teams calls, skilled-based routing, inbuilt fail-over, start/stop call recording rights, 250 video conference participants, and more.
The table below summarizes the plans and the features they offer for a team of 12 or below.
| Features | Standard Plan | Pro Plan | Enterprise Plan |
| License after the first year | Free | $145 | $180 |
| 3CX hosting after the first year | $100 | $100 | $100 |
| On-premise (Linux, Windows) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Private cloud (Google, Amazon, Azure) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Unlimited extensions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Easy backup and restore | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Choose SIP trunk | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Digital receptionist / Auto-attendant | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| CRM integration | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Microsoft 365 integration | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Video conferencing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Screen sharing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Remote assistance | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Video call participants | 25 | 100 | 250 |
| Call queues | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Chat/call reporting | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Call recording | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Support ticket | $75 | $75 | $75 |
You can get the Standard Plan for free from the 3CX website. Still, for the Pro Plan and Enterprise Plan, you need to buy from the nearest 3CX partner closest to your location.
3CX review: Customer support
What’s a fully featured phone system without reliable customer or technical support? Of course, having a user-friendly platform is great, but no matter how easy it is to navigate, customers would always encounter one challenge; knowing that they can easily get help or support will definitely improve their user experience.
For 3CX, customer support comes as FAQs, DIY self-help guides, and online communities. If you are hosting o the 3CX software, you also get access to live chats, an instant chat platform/forum, and email support.
To obtain direct technical support, you can purchase the 3CX Support Case for $75 or locate the nearest 3CX partner to you.
3CX review: User reviews and rating
Our 3CX review will be incomplete without telling you what other users think of it. We’ll agree that it’s always important to know what other users have to say about a VoIP system or any software before you decide to use it.
Ratings
3CX phone system has a 4.5 out of 5-star rating on both Capterra and GetApp, a 4.4 out of 5-star rating on G2.com, and a 4.47 out of 5-star rating on Software Advice.
The 3CX mobile apps have a 3.2 out of 5-star rating on Google Play Store and a 2.8-star rating on Apple App Store; however, the 3CX Video Conference app on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store has 4.3 and 4.8-star ratings, respectively.
Customer reviews
While some people had nice things to say about 3CX’s ease of use and installation, helpful integrations, remote work compatible features, and ability to use the free trial version quietly for one year, other users complained about poor call quality, unreliable technical support, and difficulty in implementation.
3CX review: Pros and cons
Pros
- Ease of use
- One year free trial
- Helpful third-party integrations
Cons
- Customer support could be better
- Having to pay for technical support
- Poor call quality with weak internet connection
- License is expensive
3CX vs Ringblaze: Which is the best VoIP phone system?
Finding a great telephone system suitable for your business can be difficult, especially with the many phone system managers we have at our disposal today. This is why we take our time to review different products like GoToConnect, Broadvoice and Vonage, so it can be easier for you to make the best choice for your business.
If you have gone through this our 3XC review and would like to try out better alternatives, one very user-friendly platform you can consider is Ringblaze. Ringblaze is an improved business phone system that supports effective sales and customer support collaboration. Small/medium-sized businesses and companies across different sectors like finance, e-commerce, marketing, travel, and real estate use this software to improve their communications.
We know that most small and medium-sized businesses face a major internal problem: effective communication with their team members and customers. With Ringblaze, you can communicate with your customers in real-time while they browse your site, especially when they need immediate assistance from your team.
Ringblaze is affordable and easy to use, and business owners that use the phone system have reported an increase in sales and improved customer and team communication. It also has stellar reviews and a 5-star rating on Apple App Store.
Besides the app’s outstanding features, it also offers chat support for different software deployments (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS), and you can set up your widget within 15 minutes.
Below is a tabular comparison of both 3CX and Ringblaze.
In summary: Is the 3CX phone system worth it?
We believe that we have given you a detailed review of 3CX, and you now have all the information you need to make your purchase decision, including its features, pricing, pros, cons, integrations, and reviews from users.
From all we have seen, 3CX is a helpful tool with features and integrations that can help you communicate with your customers and team members. Every tool has its fair share of challenges, as we have seen in the few complaints about the price, call quality, no notepad feature, and poor customer support. If the complaints from users are anything to go by, we can say that there is room for improvements and adjustments to improve customers’ experience.
If you can’t get past these complaints and need a more effective tool, you can consider Ringblaze, as it has a reliable customer service team you can reach through calls, emails, or chat. It also has advanced features and different device OS deployments.
The best part is that Ringblaze offers a 14-day free trial for new members, which gives you access to all its features. You can sign up and enjoy all that Ringblaze offers you and your team.
3CX review: FAQs
It depends on your needs. It offers you the basic features and integrations you need to communicate with your team members and customers, like video conferencing, PBX hosting, live chats, call center, CRM integrations, etc.
Nick Galea. He founded the company in 2005 and developed the 3CX software in 2006 as a free IP PBX. The software has become a fully integrated communications solution with several subsequent developments and updates.
It’s okay, but there are better options for small businesses, like Ringblaze. The 3CX small business phone system is helpful for small and medium-sized businesses, as it provides you with basic features like PBX management, CRM integrations, mobile apps, and an integrated call center to help you communicate with your customers or team members.
As helpful as 3CX might be to users, other options offer similar or better features, integrations, and support. One of the best 3CX alternatives is Ringblaze.
