Cloud-Based Phone Software: CloudTalk VS 8×8

Cloud-based telephone systems will also allow your business to offer faster, more consistent customer service as it scales with demand. The cloud-based system can assist you with automating routine or repetitive activities, allowing your team to focus on more important, personal customer service needs.

Additionally, the cloud-based phone system will provide you with real-time metrics and data, which will enable your team to handle an increasing volume of calls and to do so with a higher level of quality. This aligns with broader contact center automation trends, showing how cloud platforms improve scalability and service performance.

Unlocking the Power of Cloud Phone Systems

Companies have come to expect that their customers will receive a high level of consistent, timely, and personal support from businesses in multiple ways. In contrast to how they have traditionally been supported by businesses through the use of on-site telephone equipment, current on-site telephone equipment is limited in its ability to meet the increased volume of calls during peak periods, causing inefficiencies in routing calls and poor call quality due to the growth of teams.

The above limitations can cause extended wait times for customers, lost calls, and overworked representatives, with an increase in operational costs.

Cloud-based phone software provides solutions to these challenges by offering:

•     Scalable architecture
•     AI-driven automation capabilities
•     Real-time analytics to support teams in managing increased call volumes without adding additional personnel.

With these tools, businesses will be able to increase their agents’ efficiency and decrease the amount of time agents spend performing redundant functions while providing better customer experiences; thus, they are a significant investment for expanding sales and support teams.

Table of Contents

•     CloudTalk Overview
•     How We Rated the Platforms
•     8×8 Overview
•     Quick Comparison Chart
•     Final Verdict

How We Rated the Platforms

CloudTalk is highly rated for usability, CRM integrations, and call quality, earning 4.0/5 on Trustpilot and 4.4/5 on G2 from over 1,600 verified reviews.

8×8 is praised for its omnichannel features and analytics, but some users find the interface complex. Overall, CloudTalk delivers more reliable, user-friendly call workflows, making it the preferred choice for sales and support teams.

1.   CloudTalk

The main goal of CloudTalk is to assist SMB sales and customer support teams that are highly reliant on making and receiving phone calls. CloudTalk focuses heavily on AI and workflow automation as well as managing high-volume call traffic by leveraging its CRM capabilities.

Key Highlights

•     CloudTalk has been designed for both inbound and outbound sales and support calls.
•     It emphasizes AI call automation and efficiency for the user.
•     It is built to be able to connect deeply with your current business applications.

Core Capabilities

•     AI Voice Agent: These agents can receive, make, and summarize the results of all inbound and outbound calls. They also have the capability to send automated follow-up messages and updates to the CRM automatically.
•     Smart Call Routing and Visual IVR: Skill-based routing and visually configured IVR flows help to create shorter wait times and first-call resolutions.
•     100 + CRM and Help Desk Integrations: Embedding calling functionality directly into sales and support workflows through integration with your preferred CRM or Help Desk application such as HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce and many more.
•     Global Reach: Provides local telephone number options in over 160 countries.
•     Real-Time Analytics: Reporting and live dashboard views of agent performance and the success or failure of each call.

Pricing

CloudTalk’s pricing plan provides a tiered approach that reflects the specific call center needs of businesses:

•     Starter $25/user/month: Call center basics and essential tools
•     Essential $29/user/month: Adds IVR, smart routing, messaging, and analytics
•     Expert $49/user/month: Adds power dialer, call monitoring, wallboard, enterprise level features.

Best For

•     SMB Teams of sales and support professionals that use calling as a primary form of communication
•     Businesses that have repetitive call functions they would like to automate
•     Global businesses that require extensive coverage but do not want the additional complexity of an Enterprise solution
•     Teams that desire advanced enterprise-grade functionality at a Mid-Market Price.

CloudTalk is uniquely positioned to deliver real business operational value from AI technology by using an “Automation-First” strategy for call operations. This enables businesses to scale their call operations efficiently, while continuing to provide exceptional customer interaction experiences.

2.   8×8

8×8 is a UCaaS solution that includes voice, video, messaging, and contact center solutions in an all-in-one service offering. This type of UCaaS is designed for companies that have larger, more complex communication needs.

Key Highlights

•     An all-in-one UCaaS solution for voice, video, messaging, and meeting needs.
•     The use of AI for speech analytics and call quality monitoring.
•     A full-featured, omnichannel contact center (voice, chat, email, social messaging).
•     Compliance and security to support regulated business industries.
•     Enterprise scalability to connect globally and deploy at scale.
•     Company-wide unified communications administration through a single interface.

Key Capabilities

•     Cloud-based calling capabilities that include integrated video conferencing and instant messaging.
•     Use of AI to provide real-time agent performance metrics and customer sentiment insights.
•     Advanced reporting and dashboard capabilities for manager visibility into operations.
•     Scalability of the infrastructure to meet enterprise demands.

Pricing

8×8 provides a variety of price options as per different size business and use cases:

•     Express $15/user/month: Basic cloud calling for small teams, including US/Canada calling and auto-attendant.
•     Unified Communications $24–$44/user/month: Voice, video, messaging, and integrations (Slack, Teams).
•     Contact Center ~$85/user/month: Adds IVR, skills-based routing, and analytics.
•     CX Beyond the Contact Center $110–$140+/user/month: Advanced AI, omnichannel routing, and enterprise analytics.

Note: The exact cost and features may differ depending on region and type of agreement.

Best For

8×8 is a good option for companies that want to use a single platform to manage their organization’s communications. The AI functions available for 8×8 are more focused on providing insights, rather than automating processes, and some of the advanced functionality may be included in the higher-tier pricing options.

Comparison Chart

Final Verdict

CloudTalk represents the best option for organizations that focus on their use of AI, automation, and CRM-based calling. With a strong ability to help both sales and customer service teams with managing large numbers of calls, CloudTalk is a very good option for organizations that are experiencing rapid growth or have operations around the world.

•     CloudTalk is an excellent option for using AI and automated workflows.
•     CloudTalk reduces the amount of manual effort required for handling high-volume calls.
•     CloudTalk scales well for organizations that are expanding quickly.
•     In comparison to 8×8, CloudTalk offers far more value and flexibility.

With CloudTalk, organizations can start increasing the efficiency of their calls, automating their workflows, and scaling their operations without a problem.