Contact Center Software

Contact Center Software Overview

Contact center software allows companies to manage a high volume of inbound and outbound customer communications across a range of channels. This includes call center solutions, which focus on managing and handling incoming calls based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions. Contact Centers, and related call centers, are typically part of a company’s overall customer relationship management (CRM) processes and strategy.

Many products offer the ability to track and store individual caller data. As such, previous call histories can be accessed by the agent each time a customer calls. This can reduce call average handle time (AHT) and time spent manually entering customer data. Contact Center software is ideal for small, midsize, and large contact centers. It is used in a wide variety of industries.

Top Rated Contact Center Products

TrustRadius Top Rated for 2021

These products won a Top Rated award for having excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The list is based purely on reviews; there is no paid placement, and analyst opinions do not influence the rankings. Read more about the Top Rated criteria.

Contact Center Software TrustMap

TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.

Contact Center Products

(1-25 of 163) Sorted by Most Reviews

The list of products below is based purely on reviews (sorted from most to least). There is no paid placement and analyst opinions do not influence their rankings. Here is our Promise to Buyers to ensure information on our site is reliable, useful, and worthy of your trust.

NICE CXone (formerly NICE inContact)

NICE inContact CXone is a cloud-based contact center platform that manages customer interactions across multiple communication channels. It includes features such as omnichannel routing, workforce optimization, automatic call distribution (ACD), and interactive voice response (IVR)…

Key Features

  • Warm transfer (478)
    86%
    8.6
  • Inbound call routing (463)
    85%
    8.5
  • Agent dashboard (505)
    84%
    8.4
Talkdesk

Talkdesk

Customer Verified
Top Rated

Talkdesk is a cloud-based contact center platform with voice, digital channel, and workforce engagement management capabilities. Talkdesk’s key features are its customizable user interface, built-in AI automation, and its integration with numerous CRM and helpdesk applications.

Key Features

  • Recording (356)
    94%
    9.4
  • Warm transfer (345)
    91%
    9.1
  • Agent dashboard (364)
    85%
    8.5
Genesys Cloud CX (formerly Genesys Cloud)

Genesys Cloud CX (formerly PureCloud, Genesys Cloud) is a contact center application optimized for automatic call distribution, interactive voice response, email, social media, chat, and text/SMS. It is also a VoIP interconnect service provider.

Key Features

  • Agent dashboard (234)
    90%
    9.0
  • Warm transfer (228)
    89%
    8.9
  • Call tracking (228)
    84%
    8.4
Genesys Multicloud CX (formerly Genesys Engage)

Genesys Multicloud CX (formerly Genesys Engage, or PureEngage) is the Genesys customer engagement platform for enterprises. It is designed to be flexible for enterprises, who often have multiple and multi-national locations (including outsourcing) and large peak volumes and populations.…

Key Features

  • Warm transfer (96)
    91%
    9.1
  • Agent dashboard (99)
    88%
    8.8
  • Interactive voice response (98)
    83%
    8.3
Fuze

Fuze

Customer Verified
Top Rated
TRUE

Fuze is a cloud-based unified communications platform that includes IP PBX voice service, video conferencing, and collaboration tools such as content sharing and instant messaging capabilities. It also integrates with a wide range of popular CTI, CRM, and click-to-call solutions.

Key Features

  • Mobile app for iOS (93)
    82%
    8.2
  • Directory of employee names (106)
    80%
    8.0
  • Answering rules (98)
    75%
    7.5
LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a help desk software designed to help users bring personalization to customer interactions. LiveAgent presents an omnichannel universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in call center, and a customer service portal. The vendor states users can increase productivity…

Key Features

  • Ticket creation and submission (55)
    94%
    9.4
  • Ticket response (56)
    94%
    9.4
  • Organize and prioritize service tickets (53)
    89%
    8.9
Genesys PureConnect

Genesys PureConnect was an omnichannel contact center platform that offered cloud-based or on-premise deployments. It featured a SIP-based architecture with VoIP capabilities, allowing companies to connect legacy voice systems and use existing phones. It remains available, but new…

Key Features

  • Warm transfer (54)
    85%
    8.5
  • Call forwarding (53)
    80%
    8.0
  • Agent dashboard (52)
    67%
    6.7
8x8 Contact Center

8x8 Contact Center

Customer Verified
Top Rated

8x8 offers their eponymous 8x8 Contact Center as a call center solution with in-built workforce optimization features, as well as an integration with Teleoptics to supply workforce management capabilities. The software is based at least partially on technology gained when 8x8 acquired…

Key Features

  • Warm transfer (70)
    83%
    8.3
  • Agent dashboard (68)
    80%
    8.0
  • Call forwarding (76)
    78%
    7.8
LivePerson CTI Platform (Tenfold)

Tenfold is a computer telephony integration (CTI) platform optimized for customer support and sales enablement. All contact points and interactions with customers are automatically captured back into existing CRM software, such as business calls, emails, texts, and chats. The solution…

Khoros Care (Formerly Spredfast + Lithium)

Khoros Care enables brands to serve their customers on their preferred digital channels, reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction and revenue. It Offers:Web chat & messaging gives customers convenient, efficient channels to engage brands, while giving brands a single…

Twilio

Twilio offers a CPaaS and CCaaS solution, with the combination of its programmable Voice, Video, and Messaging APIs, as well as the Twilio Flex cloud contact center. Additional capabilities include Twilio's Elastic SIP Trunking, as well as API for WhatsApp.

Avaya OneCloud CCaaS

Avaya OneCloud CCaaS is a comprehensive, cloud-based contact center solution that delivers experiences for customers and employees. Users can connect everything—voice, chat, messaging, social, and screen—while bringing together resources, insights, and knowledge across the entire…

Key Features

  • Call forwarding (26)
    93%
    9.3
  • Inbound call routing (27)
    92%
    9.2
  • Historical reporting (26)
    87%
    8.7
Cisco Unified Contact Center

Cisco Unified Contact Center is a contact center platform that can support up to 24,000 agents. It supports call routing, omnichannel integrations, and a management portal for creating customer profiles, segmentation, and resource monitoring.

Key Features

  • Agent dashboard (35)
    85%
    8.5
  • Live reporting (34)
    82%
    8.2
  • Historical reporting (34)
    81%
    8.1
Broadvoice

Broadvoice aims to simplify communications for small and medium businesses (SMBs) by combining cloud PBX, UC and collaboration features with virtual call center in one Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform that delivers enterprise-class features.

Five9

Five9

Customer Verified

Five9 is cloud contact center software for inbound, outbound, blended, or multi-channel operations. This solution includes management capabilities such as campaign management, quality monitoring, real-time and historical reporting, and call recording.

Key Features

  • Quality management (21)
    79%
    7.9
  • Call analytics (13)
    78%
    7.8
  • Call tracking (13)
    76%
    7.6
CloudTalk

CloudTalk is cloud-based call center software for sales and support teams of all sizes, looking to improve customer experiences through more personalized, data-driven customer interactions.The vendor aims to help teams communicate clearly and efficiently.With CloudTalk users can…

Key Features

  • Outbound response (30)
    79%
    7.9
  • Validate callers (30)
    78%
    7.8
  • Agent dashboard (33)
    77%
    7.7
Aircall

Aircall headquartered in Paris provides a VOIP system for business designed to support contact centers, featuring IVR and automated call routing, conference calls, shared call inbox and call notes, unlimited concurrent calls and call queuing, and many integrations with CRM or marketing…

Key Features

  • Call recording (21)
    90%
    9.0
  • Answering rules (22)
    80%
    8.0
  • Message alerts (19)
    63%
    6.3
RingCentral Contact Center

RingCentral Contact Center offers a set of cloud-based software plans ranging from basic to pro level. The basic plan includes features such as support for inbound and outbound call centers and IVR and ACD capabilities. The most extensive plan also includes features such as advanced…

Key Features

  • Inbound call routing (11)
    92%
    9.2
  • Outbound response (11)
    86%
    8.6
  • Agent dashboard (11)
    86%
    8.6
Webex Contact Center

Cisco Webex Contact Center is a cloud-based omni-channel (e.g. voice, email, and chat) contact center solution providing customer / agent matching, customer service self-service agent, and built-in chat and voice for collaboration between agents.

Key Features

  • Warm transfer (12)
    96%
    9.6
  • Agent dashboard (12)
    94%
    9.4
  • Validate callers (12)
    89%
    8.9
3CX

Cyprus based company 3CX offers an IP PBX phone system.

Bright Pattern Contact Center

Bright Pattern provides an AI-powered omnichannel contact center software that can be deployed quickly. With the purpose of making customer service, sales, and marketing brighter and faster than ever before, Bright Pattern offers advanced omnichannel cloud platform with embedded…

Key Features

  • Validate callers (10)
    92%
    9.2
  • Outbound response (10)
    88%
    8.8
  • Agent dashboard (10)
    85%
    8.5
Dialpad Contact Center

Dialpad Contact Center is an inbound or outbound call center platform and solution, launched by Dialpad in 2018. The solution helps companies connect with customers across all channels and skip the repetitive questions, retaining reviewable conversations and context history.

Key Features

  • Inbound call routing (9)
    88%
    8.8
  • Agent dashboard (8)
    82%
    8.2
  • Validate callers (8)
    80%
    8.0
CallTrackingMetrics

CallTrackingMetrics is a call tracking solution for all online and offline channels with real-time reporting and intelligent routing.

Cisco Finesse

Cisco Finesse is a product designed to improve customer support delivered via contact centers. Described by Cisco as a next-generation agent and supervisor desktop, Cisco Finesse provides a collaborative experience for communities that interact with your customer service organization.…

Key Features

  • Call tracking (7)
    85%
    8.5
  • Agent dashboard (7)
    85%
    8.5
  • Outbound response (7)
    79%
    7.9
IFS Customer Engagement (formerly from mplSystems)

IFS Customer Engagement is based on the mplSystems Omni-Channel Contact Centre, now owned and supported by IFS since the August 2017 acquisition. It contains workforce optimization with messaging and email support emphasizing the needs of outbound call centers.

Key Features

  • CRM software integration (6)
    82%
    8.2
  • Agent dashboard (5)
    80%
    8.0
  • Historical reporting (6)
    78%
    7.8

Learn More About Contact Center Software

What is Contact Center Software?

Contact center software allows companies to manage a high volume of inbound and outbound customer communications across a range of channels. This includes call center solutions, which focus on managing and handling incoming calls based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions. Contact Centers, and related call centers, are typically part of a company’s overall customer relationship management (CRM) processes and strategy.

Many products offer the ability to track and store individual caller data. As such, previous call histories can be accessed by the agent each time a customer calls. This can reduce call average handle time (AHT) and time spent manually entering customer data. Contact Center software is ideal for small, midsize, and large contact centers. It is used in a wide variety of industries.

Cloud-Based and On-Premise Solutions

There are two main deployment options: cloud-based and on-premise. Cloud platforms have become popular, and offer the benefits of outsourcing software and maintenance costs and being easily accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.

On the other hand, more traditional on-premise solutions are often hardware-based and incur upgrade and maintenance expenses every few years. Some benefits of on-premise contact centers are that they are typically located on the same site as the company and are highly customizable.

Omni-channel Contact Center Software

Many Contact Center products are now omni-channel, or multi-channel. These products are typically cloud-based and have expanded their capabilities beyond traditional call center activity. Omni-channel software has the capabilities to handle and integrate customer communications across all potential touchpoints and channels. These can include voice, VoIP, email, fax, video chat, SMS/text, and social media platforms.

Contact Center Software Features & Capabilities

Many products offer a set of basic features that focus on voice communication:

  • Validate callers
  • Outbound calling
  • Call forwarding
  • Click to call (allows one-click calling for agents)
  • Warm transfers
  • Interactive voice response (IVR)
  • Call scripting
  • Call tracking
  • CRM software integration (allows agents to access aggregated customer information and call history data)

Many leading Contact Center software vendors also offer a range of workforce optimization features that enable managers and team leaders to analyze and track agent performance to increase contact center efficiency.

  • Inbound call routing
  • Call recording
  • Quality monitoring (monitoring conversation content to track and improve agent performance)
  • Predictive dialing
  • Call analytics (KPIs such as average time in the queue, average call abandonment rate, and average handle time)
  • Historic reporting
  • Real-time reporting
  • Customer interaction analytics (aggregating unstructured interaction data across channels (audio, video, email, text, etc.) and formatting it so that it can be searched and categorized based on interaction patterns)

Recently, vendors have also started to offer more advanced predictive analytics and omni-channel support features such as:

  • Multi-channel integration (ability to collect, store, and share customer data across communication channels such as voice (phone), email, fax, SMS/text, video, live chat, and social media)
  • Intelligent call routing (uses machine learning to connect calls to the correct agents based on previous interaction data)
  • Digital Agents (Chatbots enabled with machine learning that are used to handle more routine or simpler customer requests)
  • AI assistance for live agents (AI provided predictive suggestions for live agents based on customer history and real-time interaction)

Benefits of Using Contact Center Software

Some benefits of using Contact Center software include:

  • Reductions in average handle time (AHT)
  • Eliminating manual searching
  • Allow agents to access customer data histories

Pricing Information

Some vendors offer free trials of their Contact Center software. The paid versions are typically subscription based. Basic cloud-based packages typically start at $10-$20 per agent per month, with more extensive plans ranging between $50-$200 per month.

On-premise Contact Center products usually include a one-time licensing fee and subsequent software upgrade and maintenance costs. Most on-premise Contact Center software vendors do not openly disclose their prices but offer a quote upon request.

More Resources

Contact Center Software Best Of Awards

The following Contact Center Software offer award-winning customer relationships, feature sets, and value for price. Learn more about our Best Of Awards methodology here.

Best Contact Center Software

Related Categories

Frequently Asked Questions

What is contact center software?

Contact center software helps both uni-channel and multi-channel call centers efficiently manage high volumes of inbound and outbound communications with customers. Call centers and customer support teams use this software to efficiently direct customers needing assistance to agents who can help them. Types of customer communication can include: phone calls, VoIP calls, live chat, chatbot conversations, email, fax, SMS/text, and social media messaging.

What’s the difference between cloud-based and on-premise contact center software?

These are the two main types of contact center deployment available. Cloud-based contact center software doesn’t need to be installed or downloaded on local servers, but is provided either via public or private cloud and is accessed through the internet. On-premise contact center software can include hardware and software that needs to be installed on local servers.

What are the benefits of using contact center software?

Some key benefits of using contact center software include:

  • Reductions in average handle time (AHT) for calls
  • Ability to eliminate manual searching
  • Ability for agents to access full customer interaction histories to lend context on future calls

How much does contact center software cost?

Cloud-based contact center software is usually priced on a monthly, per user subscription basis. Prices can range from $50/user/month up to $200/user/month for more extensive software packages. However, many vendors don’t advertise pricing on their websites, but will provide a quote upon request.