Grasshopper Review

Why Grasshopper Is The Best Virtual Phone System

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system that works on your existing phone. It piggybacks off your phone’s cellular network for voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) calls, texts and messages. It also works over Wi-Fi so you can keep communicating if your cell service becomes spotty. Grasshopper’s commitment to simplicity and affordability, along with a small set of great features, makes it the best virtual phone system for small businesses.

We like that Grasshopper provides the same core features across every phone plan, including unlimited minutes and business texting, call forwarding, inbound-only virtual faxing, mobile and desktop apps, voicemail and extensions. In our experience, the initial setup of virtual phone lines and call flows was straightforward. The platform is no more difficult to operate than an iPhone or Android phone and offers a similar look and feel for calls and texting.

With unlimited users included with most service plans, Grasshopper’s value proposition grows with every additional user account you essentially get for free. You can select a dedicated business phone number as your second virtual line, choosing a toll-free, vanity or local number that best suits your needs. It separates professional and personal contacts on cell phones while allowing several team members to answer calls from shared lines.  

Other features that make Grasshopper a standout virtual phone system include a redesigned admin portal and AI transcription for voicemail and call recordings. Moreover, purchasing and setting up Grasshopper is a quick and easy process, especially if you’re selecting a new business phone number rather than porting one from your previous carrier (the former is more common for new and small businesses).

Usability

If you’re comfortable operating your existing smartphone, you shouldn’t have any issues adopting Grasshopper. You can access your business phone account and platform settings through the desktop app, mobile app and web browser. However, the business phone apps are where you’ll access the dialer and messages to make calls and send texts. 

By default, when calls come in, Grasshopper rings your desktop and forwarding number simultaneously for 30 seconds before following your call forwarding rules. The setup assistant offers extension forwarding and phone menu options, but you can also customize settings later via the Grasshopper admin portal on desktop or mobile phone apps. Grasshopper only forwards calls to devices with valid phone numbers, which rules out desk phones unless you use a separate VoIP or landline service.

To test different features for our Grasshopper review, we set up three extensions. Most configuration options are easy to navigate using drop-down menus. Here’s what we learned during our evaluation:  

• Phone menu and greetings: We configured phone menu options using Grasshopper’s interactive voice response (IVR) system. To ensure callers could leave voicemails after hours, we had to set account-level hours as 24/7, then add office hours for each extension. 
• Business phone apps for desktop: You can use Grasshopper from a computer, but desktop softphones don’t follow your call forwarding schedule. This means you could get call notifications after your preset office hours.
• Virtual faxing: Under call management settings, we enabled virtual fax for our account and entered two email addresses. Teams view virtual faxes in the phone apps or as PDFs via email. But we were disappointed that we couldn’t use Grasshopper for outbound faxing.
• Voicemail transcriptions: Seeing voicemail messages alongside calls and texts in your inbox helps you understand caller history without switching tabs. Grasshopper also sends them via PDF to up to 15 email addresses for each extension’s voicemail. 
• Simultaneous call handling: We liked that we could choose whether to connect to calls as soon as we picked up, have the extension announced or ask for the caller’s name first. Grasshopper rings forwarding numbers in a preset order or all numbers simultaneously.

Overall, we were satisfied with how easy it was to set up and manage Grasshopper’s virtual PBX (private branch exchange) service. It provides basic functionality in a simple platform suitable for small teams or solo entrepreneurs. 

Grasshopper Features

Grasshopper’s virtual phone system includes core features with every plan. You get everything from a unified conversation inbox and call forwarding to business texting and voicemail transcription. Below, we explore the tools that we found most valuable for small business owners and freelancers. 

Mobile App

Nearly all cloud-based phone systems offer mobile apps, including Grasshopper. Available on both iOS and Android phones, the Grasshopper mobile app received high user ratings but doesn’t work on tablets or iPads. During setup, you can choose whether to display your business number or the caller’s number, helping you distinguish between personal and professional calls.

Call Forwarding and Schedules

Most VoIP phone systems let companies customize their business hours and call forwarding rules. With a Grasshopper True Solo account, you can route calls to one forwarding number. Solo Plus and Small Business subscriptions support up to 50 numbers per extension. These plans also include a simple phone tree menu that lets callers choose a department or an employee extension. 

For a small remote team, the easy-to-configure auto attendant and scheduling options offer the right amount of flexibility. But if employees or contractors have international or offshore numbers, you must enable international calling and deposit $500 as a prepayment. Other competitors, like Ooma Office and 8×8, connect to Puerto Rico, Alaska, or Hawaii on standard plans. See our Ooma Office review for more details. 

Call Recording and AI Transcripts

This feature is new to Grasshopper and is available on the Solo Plus and Small Business plans. We liked the flexibility to enable automatic recording on any or all extensions and choose inbound, outbound or all calls. 

Sales and service teams can record calls for monitoring purposes or, in our case, for client meetings. In both use cases, you can search AI transcriptions shortly after recording calls. We searched and reviewed conversations in the admin portal, where we could see all transcriptions related to complaints or pull up meeting details for post-conference follow-ups.

Unified Conversations

Sharing virtual phone lines among remote team members can be confusing, but Grasshopper’s unified inbox keeps conversations organized. It shows everyone the most recent customer interactions, with one activity feed per business phone number and one thread per contact or incoming phone number. 

We tailored inboxes to our individual work styles using: 

• Smart filters: You can adjust filters to see only calls, voicemails or texts. This setting applies to conversation details, so you must remove filters to view all interactions by contact. 
• Personalized settings: After setting up filters in our test account, each user saved their activity feed view. This step shows your chosen interaction types whenever you open the inbox. 
• Reasons for missed calls and hangups: You can learn why hangups or missed calls happen in Grasshopper’s mobile app under conversations. Reason codes include missing forwarding numbers, after-hours calls and callers not choosing an extension. 

Business Texting and Instant Response

Many Grasshopper alternatives set limits on how many texts you can send monthly. We love that all Grasshopper phone subscriptions include unlimited texting, while all but the base plan allow instant response. 

Like all VoIP phone systems, business owners must register with The Campaign Registry (TCR) before using business text or instant response services. This process can take up to two weeks, and you must have a registered business tax ID (TIN) or employer identification number (EIN). All outbound messaging capabilities are blocked until this process is complete. 

With instant response, small teams can increase sales via business text messages to new customers immediately after missing a call. This feature ensures quick communication with anyone who reaches out to you. Responses are easy to customize from within the Grasshopper mobile app, desktop softphone or admin portal. You can add up to 160 characters with your key branding elements, including images, custom text and hyperlinks.

Call Logs and Reporting

Grasshopper provides simple but effective reporting tools with all of its virtual phone plans. Although reporting is more commonly a focus among larger businesses or those with big customer service or sales teams, we still appreciate that Grasshopper includes these tools at no extra cost alongside its basic features. 

Administrators and users can use Grasshopper to uncover insights into historical data through custom reporting tools, providing an overview of calls by type, including voicemails, hang-ups and faxes. You can also dive into minutes used and average call length with sorting options for specific phone numbers, extensions, time zones and dates. Reports are stored for up to 90 days and are available for download as comma-separated value (CSV) files from the admin portal.

Call Blasting

This paid add-on is designed to reduce wait times and increase customer satisfaction. It lets you assign up to 15 phone numbers for simultaneous ringing. It’s an ideal tool for small businesses when demand and incoming calls spike for short periods.

Grasshopper Cloud Phone Costs

Grasshopper phone plan pricing ranges from $18 to $70 per month. For greater savings, enable annual billing, which reduces costs to $14 to $55 per month. Grasshopper also offers a seven-day free trial — no credit card required.

Unlike most virtual phone systems we tested that charge per user, Grasshopper offers unlimited users for a single flat rate. This approach can save small businesses a lot of money when managing shared lines. However, adding VoIP numbers or extensions to subscriptions increases your costs. 

Additionally, each phone number must be registered to send text messages, which is a requirement for all VoIP business phone users. According to Grasshopper, it doesn’t mark up TCR fees. You pay a one-time fee ($4.50) to register your business entity, $15 per use case or campaign and $1.50 monthly per active campaign (less than 6,000 texts per day), or $10 per month for over 6,000 daily texts.

To decide which Grasshopper plan fits your needs, consider the following: 

• True Solo: Best for solopreneurs and freelancers who want a second number with office hours on their mobile phone. This package includes all core features but allows only one call-forwarding number, which can be a drawback if you have both a cell phone and a landline. 
• Solo Plus: Better for sole proprietors who need an auto attendant or very small teams who want to separate calls by department or user. This plan adds call recording and allows 50 forwarding numbers. 
• Small Business: Best for remote teams who work in shifts or need dedicated numbers. Consider upgrading to this plan once monthly add-on fees exceed the base cost of a Small Business subscription. 

Explore Grasshopper plans and pricing below:

In addition to monthly or annual VoIP plans, Grasshopper offers several add-ons. You can find most options in your admin portal by selecting Plan & Billing, then Subscriptions. From here, you can choose from several add-on features, including:

• Additional virtual phone lines or extensions: Additional phone numbers cost $9 per month, regardless of the plan. Solo Plus subscribers can also add extensions ($3 each per month). 
• Professionally recorded greetings: Choose professional voice actors to record your main phone or voicemail greeting. You must provide a script and choose from English, Spanish or French speakers. 
• Digital listings management: Ensure public listings correctly display your business hours, location and contact details. This add-on costs $75 annually and pulls business details from your billing and payment info. 
• Ruby Receptionist: Hire a live United States-based receptionist with the Ruby add-on. Choose from three packages (50, 100 or 200 minutes), starting at $199 per month.
• Call blasting: It costs $9 per month per virtual phone line to ring up to 15 call forwarding numbers at the same time. 

Grasshopper Setup

Most business owners can set up Grasshopper within two to five minutes. After signing up with a plan or choosing the free trial, the admin portal opens and the setup assistant walks you through the next steps. 

Alternatively, you can skip most of the initial setup and download the Grasshopper apps to make calls immediately. This is helpful when you need to answer lines fast and want to finish the configuration later. In our tests, the longest part of the setup process involved recording a satisfactory greeting. 

We found account settings in the admin portal and also configured extensions in the mobile apps. For our evaluation, we got a new VoIP number, which allowed us to use the system instantly. Porting an existing business number is free but can take anywhere from a few business days to a couple of weeks. In most cases, you won’t be able to send outbound texts until TCR approves your registration. 

Grasshopper Customer Service

We love that all Grasshopper plans have the same level of customer support. That includes 24/7 availability through phone, email, chat, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). 

We contacted the company numerous times, posing as a new business owner. Each time we reached out, our calls were answered immediately by representatives who provided clear, detailed answers to all our questions. The reps never tried to pressure us into signing up for the service. 

Grasshopper also offers on-demand training covering everything from creating new extensions and configuring user permissions to registering your brand to comply with U.S. and Canadian business texting regulations.

Grasshopper Drawbacks

Like most business phone systems, Grasshopper has advantages and drawbacks. Its flexibility for solopreneurs, small teams and freelancers is a major pro. But the platform falls behind competitors in the following instances: 

• No video conferencing or team chat: Unlike Zoom Phone, which offers low-cost VoIP with its free video meeting tools, none of Grasshopper’s plans include video or team messaging features. See our Zoom Phone review to compare prices.
• Limited scalability vs. fuller UCaaS platforms: Grasshopper’s virtual phone system works best for very small teams. Brick-and-mortar locations with desk phones or multisite dial plans may prefer more robust cloud PBX phone systems.
• No integrations: Grasshopper doesn’t integrate directly with other platforms, such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. However, it’s still possible to enable call tracking with the best CRM software and Zapier by using tagged phone numbers and other workarounds.
• Limited AI features: Only AI transcriptions for voicemails and recorded calls come with virtual phone lines. Grasshopper alternatives like Dialpad, RingEX and Zoom offer AI-generated video meeting summaries and other AI features. 

Methodology

While researching the top business phone systems, we investigated more than a dozen platforms, including Grasshopper. We considered each VoIP provider’s user experience, latest features, mobile and desktop functionality and pricing. Through demos and product testing, we analyzed how systems worked for small businesses during setup and management tasks. We also collected user reviews and ratings, interacted with customer service and examined product documentation. 

To compare virtual phone lines to more advanced cloud PBX and UCaaS systems, we assessed basic voice, texting, voicemail and administrative capabilities. We tried different tools to see how well they worked in small business settings. 

Grasshopper limitations, specifically no video conferencing and limited AI features, make it less helpful for fast-growing startups or businesses with more than a handful of employees. Still, it nails the basics and is affordable for small companies looking to build their professional image. Based on our tests and experience, we chose Grasshopper as the best virtual phone system for small teams and solo entrepreneurs.

Overall Value

We recommend Grasshopper for …

• Anyone shopping for a virtual phone system or a second phone number.
• First-time business owners and startups that want to share virtual phone lines.
• Home-based businesses and small teams looking for a basic, low-cost phone system.

We don’t recommend Grasshopper for …

• Businesses shopping for an advanced unified communications platform.
• Entrepreneurs who need access to their VoIP phone system during international travel. 
• Companies that want to integrate their phone system with their other software applications. 

Jessica Elliott contributed to the reporting and writing in this article.