Inbound call center software

Every business needs a reliable way to support its customers, but in today’s marketplace, a simple helpline number isn’t enough. Organizations need a streamlined, process-driven method for handling incoming calls—that’s where inbound call center software comes in.

In this article, we’ll explain how inbound call center software works, its role in creating a comprehensive customer experience (CX), and how to select the right solution for your operations.

More in this guide:

• What is inbound call center software?
• Inbound call center software comparison chart
• The 24 best inbound call center solutions
• Features of inbound call center software
• Benefits of an inbound call center solution
• How to choose the right inbound call center software
• Frequently asked questions
• Ready to try inbound call center software?

Below is a comparison chart of the top inbound call center software options. You’ll find an overview of pricing, free trial availability, and features.

Now, let’s jump into an extended breakdown of each software, including its pricing and features, so you can invest in the best one for your business.

• Zendesk: Best for AI-powered inbound call center software
• LiveAgent: Best for video calls
• HappyFox: Best for agent scripts
• Nextiva: Best for cloud-based inbound software
• Freshworks: Best for remote teams
• CloudTalk: Best for medium-sized businesses
• Sprinklr: Best for contextual routing
• Intercom: Best for screen sharing
• Zoom: Best for video calls
• Nice CXone: Best for automation finder
• RingCentral: Best for healthcare businesses
• Five9: Best for gamification
• uContact: Best for preview dialers
• Zoho Desk: Best for sentiment analysis
• Aircall: Best for spam filters
• Genesys Cloud: Best for predictive routing
• Twilio Flex: Best for WhatsApp users
• 8x8: Best for customer feedback
• Convoso: Best for outbound dialer capabilities
• Talkdesk: Best for financial businesses
• 3CX: Best for call queuing
• JustCall: Best for SMS capabilities
• CallHippo: Best for call barging
• Call Center Studio: Best for AI speech recognition

1. Zendesk

Best for: AI-powered inbound call center software

The Zendesk virtual call center software can help teams of any size deliver personalized, inbound solutions through robust customer profiles and data-driven insights—resulting in a reliable CX that improves customer loyalty.

Zendesk improves customer interactions by hitting on the concepts that matter most:

• Resiliency and scale: Zendesk is designed to grow with your business, offering additional features to meet rising demand or unexpected challenges.
• Easy setup: Our cloud-based solution works right out of the box, allowing your team to get up and running quickly without missing a beat.
• Low total cost of ownership: Zendesk delivers high ROI and low TCO through fast integration, increased agent efficiency, cost savings from deflected tickets, and more.

You'll also find that our inbound capabilities surpass the competition.

Our interactive voice response(IVR) capabilities empower you to effortlessly design customized IVR menus, routing workflows, pre-recorded responses, and prompts. Zendesk reporting and analytics help teams uncover customer insights and gain full visibility into call center performance. Meanwhile, the industry-leading Zendesk Agent Workspace enables agents to manage customer conversations across channels in a single, organized dashboard.

In addition, teams can implement Zendesk voice. With this AI-powered feature, you can automatically transcribe and summarize calls, evaluate 100 percent of customer interactions, and handle phone calls via AI agents that can resolve customer issues and route calls.

Discover why Zendesk is a top option for inbound call centers and try us out today.

User reviews

• "Very solid and easy to use."
• "Our sales and customer relationships have been strengthened by Zendesk."
• "Zendesk has made a huge impact on our Support team. We doubled our efficiency immediately!"
• "Zendesk is by far the best platform for customer support companies."

Explore Zendesk pricing plans.

2. LiveAgent

Best for: Video calls

LiveAgent is a cloud-based call center software solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers omnichannel communication capabilities—including social media, live chat, and HD video calls—and integrations for gathering all these interactions in a central location.

LiveAgent’s skill-based routing lets businesses control how incoming customer calls get routed, and unlimited call recording can store and analyze past interactions for training purposes. Additionally, the platform includes IVR capabilities, automatic call distribution, and knowledge base features.

User reviews

• "Fantastic and exceeded expectations."
• "Good for small teams."
• "Okay tool, just not for our business needs."

3. HappyFox

Best for: Agent scripts

HappyFox is a help desk management software with inbound call center capabilities. The platform’s Cloud Contact Center includes features, integrations, and automations designed to help support teams with incoming customer requests.

HappyFox’s ticketing system can process incoming calls and offers features like IVR support, call notes, and rule-based auto assignments. Furthermore, agent scripts allow organizations to develop best practices for their agents.

User reviews

• "HappyFox was easy to implement and works great."
• "Strong basic functionality—unclear how to get the most out of it."
• "Great chat, little bit of issues."

4. Nextiva

Best for: Cloud-based inbound software

Nextiva is a phone support system that lets businesses consolidate all customer communications onto a single platform. It offers IVR, so customers can help themselves without agent intervention. It also includes skill-based routing and a dedicated agent interface.

One of Nextiva’s most popular features is its Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA), which can manage high volumes of calls while handling sensitive data. Common applications of this feature include multilingual support, appointment scheduling, the ability to answer FAQs, and more. 

Additionally, Nextiva is cloud-based, which means data updates are typically non-disruptive.

User reviews

• "Beneficial product for my business."
• "Great when it works. Lots of issues."
• "Avoid at all costs!"

5. Freshworks

Best for: Remote teams

Freshcaller by Freshworks is a cloud-based contact center solution designed to support remote teams. Users can bring their own carrier or purchase phone numbers from over 90 countries through the platform.

Managers can monitor call volume and queue times to evaluate remote team performance, while routing capabilities can ensure customers connect with the right support agent for their needs. However, some reviewers mention difficulty with customization and a lack of training resources, which may make the initial setup and implementation challenging.

User reviews

• "Great service desk software that integrates with almost anything."
• "Really powerful and helpful, but really tedious."
• "Not good for smaller customers."

6. CloudTalk

Best for: Medium-sized businesses

CloudTalk’s call center software helps small and medium-sized businesses maintain customer satisfaction. Users can establish a local presence from anywhere in the world, automatically track and record calls, and receive calls through a browser or mobile device. 

Key features include integrations with technical support tools, smart detection of missed calls, a real-time dashboard, and IVR. 

User reviews

• "A reliable VoIP solution with room for improvement."
• "I like it."
• "Interesting app with some improvements necessary."

7. Sprinklr

Best for: Contextual routing

Sprinklr is a customer experience management platform with inbound call center capabilities. The product features an AI-powered IVR that allows businesses to handle customer calls using chatbots, facilitate self-service, and redirect conversations from phone to digital or social channels if needed. 

Contextual routing connects customers with the most qualified support agent, while a 360-degree customer view gives teams full visibility into consumer information and cross-channel conversations.

User reviews

• "An all-round powerhouse for CX."
• "Big potential and poor maintenance."
• "It has a lot of potential but is very cluttered."

8. Intercom

Best for: Screen sharing

Intercom is a customer support platform with inbound capabilities. Teams can use it to facilitate phone calls, conduct video calls, and even screen share with customers to troubleshoot issues. 

Intercom features an omnichannel workspace where all team members can access calls, emails, tickets, and conversations. No-code automation allows users to create IVR trees and perform other simple tasks. 

User reviews

• "Best omnichannel tool."
• "The platform is complicated to use."
• "So much promise, but Intercom's development teams are their own worst enemy."

9. Zoom

Best for: Video calls

Zoom is a virtual meeting platform that now features customer care capabilities. An AI-powered virtual agent empowers teams to offer self-service to their customers, engage in intelligent routing, and automate simple interactions. 

The platform features an omnichannel workspace where agents can connect with customers across SMS, social, chat, voice, or video. Teams can also use the native Zoom video calls feature to meet with teammates and managers.

User reviews

• "Great all-around communication platform."
• "Love the features of Zoom with adjustments."
• "Good product overall, but cumbersome implementation."

10. Nice CXone

Best for: Automation finder

Nice CXone is a customer experience software with inbound call center services. It features routing, analytics, and workforce optimization functions that help teams address customer issues.

CXone’s Automation Finder allows users to select which automation features are best to implement, while the Automation Studio offers no-code implementation. Nice CXone also features Enlighten AI, an artificial intelligence feature that handles inquiries quickly, improves sales processes, and identifies at-risk customers. Enlighten AI can also produce audio transcriptions of meetings and calls.

User reviews

• "Great tool to use."
• "It's fine."
• "Integration and support are lacking."

11. RingCentral

Best for: Healthcare businesses

RingCentral is a customer service software with inbound capabilities, catering to businesses in the healthcare, financial services, education, government, and retail industries. It provides multiple options for third-party integrations, such as Zendesk.

RingCentral blends outbound and inbound features that can help businesses create efficient schedules for their agents and prevent staffing issues. Skills-based routing directs incoming calls to the best-qualified available agent for speedier issue resolution. With incentivized gamification, managers can keep agents engaged and motivated to continue delivering good customer service.

User reviews

• "Best phone software for all sizes [of] companies."
• "RingCentral was fine, but we wanted to expand to something more professional."
• "Good features, could be better."

12. Five9

Best for: Gamification

Suitable for companies of all sizes across a wide range of industries, Five9 is a cloud contact center that can help businesses deliver personalized customer experiences. The platform offers features that benefit both agents and customers, including gamification, call recording, and employee performance management. Intelligent IVR and easy access to customer information can assist support teams in delivering faster service.

Five9’s visualization widgets also allow users to customize how they view their most important customer data. Meanwhile, automation tools help businesses identify and implement the right automation strategies to optimize workflows and improve efficiency.

User reviews

• "Very reliable and customizable contact center solution."
• "Not bad."
• "It's been okay."

13. uContact

Best for: Preview dialers

Inbound platform uContact by net2phone positions itself as an all-in-one omnichannel contact center supporting call center services. It comes with features like preview dialers, IVR, and voice broadcast. The software also offers tools for monitoring performance, including a KPI dashboard, time-stamped recordings, and cross-channel interaction recording. Plus, it provides a customizable gamification feature that lets managers create games to motivate their teams.

User reviews

• "Superior product, exceptional service."
• "net2phone is a good VoIP system with poor service."
• "The onboarding experience was brutally awful."

14. Zoho Desk

Best for: Sentiment analysis

Zoho Desk is the inbound call center solution by Zoho. This software offers omnichannel communications, workflow automation, and a self-service center.

The platform has features like omnichannel support ticketing systems, self-service capabilities, and service-level agreements. It also includes sentiment analysis, which can automatically determine positive and negative messages from customers—and suggest the best way to respond to them.

User reviews

• "Good experience with Zoho Desk."
• "Decent experience so far."
• "It’s great, but a lot of things require the support team."

15. Aircall

Best for: Spam filters

Aircall is a call center solution that seeks to help support teams connect with customers. The platform offers various integrations, so companies can implement their current CRM, help desk, or other software they use.

Aircall provides marketing and analytics tools that allow teams to monitor call volume and resolution time, automated workflows to eliminate repetitive tasks, IVR, and call routing. Additional product features include blocklist numbers, spam filters, customizable business hours, call conferencing, queueing, and monitoring capabilities.

User reviews

• "Aircall is easy and simple to use!"
• "I use it on a daily basis, and it is mostly functional most of the time."
• "Gets the job done, but clunky."

16. Genesys Cloud

Best for: Predictive routing

Genesys Cloud is an inbound call center software suitable for both inbound and outbound operations. It offers omnichannel communication so businesses can interact with customers on their preferred channels and transition between them if issues escalate. 

The platform also includes features like personalized scripts, predictive routing, workforce management, IVR, and analytics and reporting.

User reviews

• "The contact center solution ahead of the competition."
• "Great for straightforward call centers. Not for anything complex."
• "It fulfills its function but often fails."

17. Twilio Flex

Best for: WhatsApp users

Twilio Flex is a contact center platform that is part of a suite of business apps designed for various needs, including sales teams, marketing campaigns, inbound calling, outbound calling, and account security. Its inbound call center software offers integrations with tools such as Zendesk.

The software also provides customer profiles that present relevant customer information to support agents. Twilio offers omnichannel communication as well, supporting chat over multiple channels. For example, teams can use the WhatsApp API to engage in transactional and conversational messaging and leverage other contact center capabilities directly into the app.

User reviews

• "Very user-friendly!"
• "Works well, but impossible to customize easily."
• "Bugs and slowness."

18. 8x8

Best for: Customer feedback

8x8 is a cloud contact center offering inbound and outbound capabilities. Its inbound features prioritize flexibility, as users can transition phone calls to chat and vice versa. At the same time, 8x8 offers several integrations with tools like Zendesk, so teams can stay on the same page while adopting a new product.

Key inbound capabilities include automatic call distribution, IVR, and support for digital channels. The platform’s workforce engagement management tools help keep teams motivated. It can also gather customer feedback directly after interactions, giving managers real-time insights into agent performance.

User reviews

• "Best on the market."
• "Some good functionality, but dated software and unclear billing practices."
• "Not very user-friendly."

19. Convoso

Best for: Outbound dialer capabilities

Convoso is a platform designed to help call centers connect with their customers through AI tools and automation. Its outbound dialer enables support agents to work faster and assist more customers in less time.

The tool also offers customizable ratios, external systems, and IVR to improve inbound call management. Additional features like workflow dialing, dynamic scripting, and local caller ID might increase agents' productivity.

User reviews

• "A great dialer option."
• "It's pretty good but has so much more potential not being used."
• "Functional product with a few bugs to iron out."

20. Talkdesk

Best for: Financial businesses

Talkdesk is an AI-powered cloud contact center platform with various features for inbound call center operations. The product caters to businesses across several industries—including healthcare and manufacturing—with specialized plans geared towards the financial sector. 

Features like AI-driven workflows, synchronized databases, and self-service options can boost productivity and help teams improve the customer experience.

User reviews

• "A game changer for customer and staff experience."
• "Talkdesk is good."
• "Over complicated, glitchy."

21. 3CX

Best for: Call queuing

3CX is a communication platform that connects support teams and customers through phone, video, and live chat. It attempts to simplify communication by offering several features that allow people to interact in their preferred way.

Designed specifically for remote workforces, the software comes with multiple call queuing features to assist busy support teams, plus callback options and tools for creating call flows. Additionally, live chat and messaging capabilities let customers contact businesses through Facebook and WhatsApp.

User reviews

• "Does everything we need and more."
• "Mediocre phone system."
• "After 10 years, I threw in the towel and left."

22. JustCall

Best for: SMS capabilities

JustCall by SaaS Labs is a cloud-based phone and SMS system designed to assist customer-facing teams. It leverages artificial intelligence to help support agents connect with their customers through voice, SMS, and third-party messaging services like WhatsApp.

JustCall’s virtual call center software includes call routing, IVR, SMS workflows, and other features to promote efficiency. Additionally, JustCall offers 24/7 assistance to help businesses with onboarding and ongoing product support.

User reviews

• "So many use cases—great tool for our business."
• "Easy-to-use system for sales and support."
• "It works for what you need it to."

23. CallHippo

Best for: Call barging

CallHippo is a virtual phone system that aims to help support teams reduce communication costs. It offers numerous features, including AI routing, power dialers that allow support to quickly connect with customers, call queueing, and call analytics to identify performance trends and areas of improvement.

Support teams can also manage calls with features like Smart Switch and Smart Call Forwarding, ensuring calls are routed to the right agents at the right time. At the same time, call barging and call recording capabilities assist managers in employee training.

User reviews

• "The best VoIP company I've tried."
• "Overall, the service works. I did wish it had a non-web-based app that actually works."
• "Seemed great. Turned out not great at all!"

24. Call Center Studio

Best for: AI speech recognition

Call Center Studio is an inbound and outbound call center software that focuses on the customer experience, prioritizing features that enable agents to deliver timely support.

Features like agent supervision tools and unified agent workspaces improve team connectivity. Omnichannel capabilities and AI speech recognition can help support agents interact with consumers across various mediums. An analytics dashboard tracks agent metrics, allowing supervisors to monitor team performance and efficiency.

User reviews

• "Works as sold and expected and more."
• "The reports are well designed. Meets the needs."
• "It’s a good experience, but they should focus on their deposition problem."

Here are key features that inbound call center software solutions should offer.

Interactive voice response system (IVR)

An IVR works like a chatbot over the phone, guiding customers through predetermined scripts to answer questions or transfer them to the appropriate agent. These systems automate the customer experience, providing a solution to route callers, accept payments, schedule callbacks, and more to increase the efficiency of support teams.

Call routing

Companies commonly segment departments based on specialized types of care like IT or payment processing. Call routing features ensure the consumer seamlessly connects to the right department.

Our built-in routing and intelligence capabilities at Zendesk ensure all customer requests have the smoothest path to resolution. You can route calls directly to a specific group of agents or a set of groups in Zendesk or route calls received after business hours or when agents are busy to an alternate phone number—ensuring customers can always connect with a live agent.

Workforce management (WFM)

Workforce management is an inbound call center feature that helps businesses optimize their staffing and scheduling processes.

For call centers, it can be a never-ending battle to match the estimated call volume with the amount of agents scheduled. With this feature, businesses can accurately forecast and monitor labor needs.

Tip: If you want to monitor your current staffing needs, check out the staffing calculator in our instant messaging software writeup.

Omnichannel capabilities

In today’s marketplace, consumers expect to reach your business through your website, social media pages, and anywhere else you have a presence. Omnichannel inbound call center capabilities connect your customers with your team no matter where they come from.

It’s important, however, that the inbound call center solution has the capabilities for agents to access the customer’s information easily. According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2023, 70 percent of customers expect anyone they interact with to have the full context of their situation. Selecting a call center software that offers robust customer profiles can be key to giving agents the context that today’s consumer requires.

Real-world example: Liberty, a UK-based premium department store and retailer, uses Zendesk to manage its voice calls from the same software it uses for emails. This means all contact data is captured by the same system, giving customer service agents the flexibility to take calls on various devices.

Reporting and analytics

Reporting and analytics are valuable features for businesses to see how their inbound call center operations perform.

Quality software can track your operation’s call center performance metrics and KPIs, such as average wait times, agent productivity, and areas of improvement. At Zendesk, we offer pre-built and custom dashboards that provide an overview of essential information to keep your inbound center running smoothly.

Here are a few benefits that inbound call center software can bring to your operations.

Improve customer retention and satisfaction

With inbound call center software, businesses can provide an effective CX that customers appreciate. Omnichannel capabilities allow customers to contact an organization on their preferred communication channel. Meanwhile, efficient call routing and IVR systems can ensure these customers connect with the right support agent.

According to our CX Trends Report, 72 percent of customers expect immediate service, and the right solution can ensure you tend to your customers promptly.

Real-world example: Netwealth, an Australian-based financial company, turned to Zendesk after growing call volumes overwhelmed their original phone system. After implementing Zendesk for voice support, they resolved 99 percent of call tickets in one touch—a change that made a big difference for their customers.

Improve agent efficiency

Inbound call center software should have features to improve agent efficiency. For example, internal knowledge bases can help support agents solve pressing issues. Meanwhile, call routing features can help them escalate or transfer calls quickly—providing a seamless handoff for agents and customers. Furthermore, managers can use call recording features for training purposes to help agents perform at their best.

Our help center capabilities at Zendesk allow support agents to quickly pull up relevant articles and information to best assist customers. Another benefit of the help center is that it enables customers to solve common issues independently, resulting in a lower call volume for support teams.

Streamline operations

Efficient operations are the backbone of any successful business, and inbound call center software comes with features to achieve exactly that.

You can use workforce management applications to optimize staffing levels and schedules to meet call volume demands. Meanwhile, support data and actionable insights are crucial for identifying any bottlenecks or areas of improvement in your organization.

Manage more inbound calls

Without software, individual customer service agents can only handle so many customers in a day—and this issue compounds when your business is growing and experiencing higher call volume.

Quality inbound call center software prioritizes scalability while providing capabilities that make agents more efficient, like omnichannel agent workspaces. These features help your reps work as efficiently as possible to deliver a great CX, even in the wake of increased calls.

When deciding which inbound call center software is right for your company, there are some factors to consider. Before making a selection, ask yourself a few questions about your needs.

Will it integrate well with existing applications and processes?

Seamless integration is vital when introducing a new tool into your organization. Make sure the chosen software integrates effortlessly with your existing processes to minimize disruptions and mismanaged data. Easy setup and adaptability should be top priorities to ensure a smooth transition.

At Zendesk, we provide 1,000+ pre-built apps and integrations via the Zendesk Marketplace—meaning your team can seamlessly implement nearly every tool they work with.

What level of security do you need?

In today’s increasingly technological marketplace, data breaches can pose a real threat to businesses and consumers. When selecting an inbound call center software, you must ensure it can keep your and your customer’s data safe.

Check the security measures and encryption of any software you’re considering to ensure it’s safe for your operations. At Zendesk, we have the certifications and memberships to show we are qualified to keep your data safe.

How long will it take team members to get up to speed?

A steep learning curve can cause short-term CX disruption and long-term employee frustration when introducing new software. Prioritize user-friendliness and ease of admin. The quicker your team can get up to speed, the quicker you can see the product's benefits.

What is the total cost of ownership?

Total cost of ownership (TCO) includes all direct and indirect costs, such as maintenance, training, customization, full-scale adoption, and other factors a business may accrue while owning the product.

Zendesk ranks as the #1 software product for 2023 according to G2—and one of the many reasons is that we are the only vendor that delivers a consistently high ROI with a low total cost of ownership. We do this through software that’s fast to set up and easy to make ongoing changes to without large IT or developer teams—learn more in Forrester’s study on the ROI of Zendesk.

How quick will your time to value be?

A quick time to value (TTV) implies a faster return on investment and increased efficiency—and the faster your organization can realize the benefits of a new process or software, the better. Our inbound call center solutions at Zendesk can get your organization up and running rapidly, helping businesses see the value of our product in days, not months.

Here are frequently asked questions about inbound call center software.