GoTo Connect Review (2025): International Calling for Less

GoTo Connect ranks among the top VoIP systems for US-based mid-sized businesses, delivering standout performance across call management, hardware compatibility, and communication channels. Our research shows that GoTo Connect’s comprehensive Phone System plan offers excellent value, especially for businesses balancing remote collaboration with customer service.

GoTo also offers two enhanced plans – Connect CX and Connect Contact Center – tailored for teams needing social media messaging, omnichannel support, advanced analytics, and coaching features.

In this review, we’ll explore how GoTo Connect performs for US businesses, where it excels, where it could improve, and how it stacks up against competitors like RingCentral, Zoom, and 8×8 Work.

GoTo Connect Review: Key Features

GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan delivers an impressive range of internal communication features, scoring highest in our tests for small business needs. Its capabilities span robust team messaging, video conferencing with up to 250 participants, and practical tools like screen sharing and SMS/MMS support, creating an efficient and flexible environment for team collaboration.

We’ll be focusing on this plan in our review, since it’s the option we’ve researched, analysed, and tested most. However, we’ll be referring to all three plans throughout this review, so you know exactly what features are a part of each.

Call management

GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan is an excellent option for call management, scoring perfectly in our US testing for both medium and large businesses. Even though it’s an entry-level plan, it includes all the essential tools a business needs to route, queue, and manage calls professionally. These include:

• Auto-attendants
• Call queues
• Ring groups
• Call forwarding
• Call flip
• Customizable hold music
• Voicemail-to-email
• A visual drag-and-drop dial plan editor

The visual call flow editor is particularly strong as it allows admins to build complex call routing trees based on time-of-day, department, caller location, or other rules, without needing technical skills. According to our research, few competitors include such deep call routing functionality on their base plans.

This puts it on par with RingCentral Advanced and 8×8 Work, both of which also offer intelligent routing, but typically reserve visual builders for mid- or top-tier plans.

Training features and call analytics

GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan includes built-in call recording, call monitoring, and basic analytics, but falls short on live coaching tools unless you upgrade.

Advanced features like call whisper, call barge, and real-time agent dashboards are only available on the Contact Center plan. While this is common for many providers, it does mean GoTo’s coaching tools cost more to access than with competitors like RingCentral, which includes barge and whisper in its Advanced or Ultra tiers.

The Connect CX and Contact Center plans do add more intelligent analytics tools, such as:

• AI-powered call summaries
• Supervisor dashboards
• Customizable performance reports
• Queue callback automations

However, these capabilities are split across plans and don’t come standard with Phone System, so US businesses seeking built-in training tools without an upgrade may want to consider alternatives like Dialpad Ai Pro or Nextiva Engage.

All in all, then, GoTo is a reliable choice for passive monitoring, but real-time coaching requires a plan upgrade, which might be cheaper elsewhere. You could say GoTo Connect is best for teams who don’t need live supervision tools out of the box, as a result.

Communication channels

GoTo Connect is one of the few providers to include a full spectrum of communication tools across its plans, helping teams switch fluidly between internal collaboration and customer outreach.

Included on the base Phone System plan:

• Unlimited domestic calling across the US and Canada
• Free international calling to 50+ countries
• Video conferencing (up to 250 participants)
• SMS and MMS messaging
• Internal team chat and file sharing
• Call forwarding and call flip

Unlike Zoom Phone or Ooma Office, which charge extra or cap messaging/video usage at low levels, GoTo includes these in its core plan. SMS/MMS functionality is also embedded in the desktop and mobile apps, enabling customer communication directly from the softphone interface.

Upgrading to Connect CX adds:

• Social media messaging (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram)
• Web chat
• SMS campaign tools
• Shared inbox for omnichannel communication
• Post-interaction surveys

This is the norm for communications platforms, with the likes of 8×8, RingCentral, and Dialpad either limiting social media and web chat tools to more costly contact center plans (as GoTo does) or via third-party integrations. The only exception is Nextiva, which offers native social media inboxes and web chat tools (albeit on its highest paid plan; read our Nextiva Review for more details).

Still, if you don’t need those two communication channels, GoTo Connect is among the most communication-rich platforms at its price point. Its messaging and conferencing limits outclass those of Zoom Phone, Dialpad, and Vonage at the entry tier, in our view.

Hardware compatibility

GoTo Connect stands out for its broad hardware compatibility, by offering a ‘Plug-in and Play’ policy that allows businesses to bring any brand to it for use with its platform. That makes it ideal for businesses with mixed or legacy desk phone setups. Some of the deskphones it supports are:

• Yealink
• Poly (formerly Polycom)
• Cisco
• Grandstream
• Unlocked SIP devices
• USB headsets and VoIP softphones

This cross-brand compatibility allows US businesses to save costs by reusing existing phones, something providers like Zoom Phone only support via limited provisioning or specific certified models.

As a result, GoTo earned a perfect score for our hardware assessment in both our medium and large business US testing tiers. In fact, we think GoTo Connect is the best VoIP provider for teams wanting to mix new and old hardware without extra setup headaches or vendor lock-in.

GoTo Connect: Pricing Plans Explained

GoTo Connect doesn’t currently publish fixed pricing on its US website and typically requests that businesses contact its sales team for a quote.

However, just a few months ago, it published pricing for all plans, with costs starting from $25 per user, per month, before quietly removing them.

Here’s a breakdown of those pricing plans, based on those figures we saw then:

Pricing and feature comparison

Pricing is accurate as of June 2025. Note: GoTo regularly removes pricing from its plan webpage, requesting users to contact its sales team for bespoke pricing. For the most accurate price for your business, we suggest contacting GoTo for a quote or using our quote finder tool.

Does GoTo Connect have any hidden or extra costs?

There are a few additional costs businesses should be aware of when using GoTo Connect:

• Hardware purchases: GoTo Connect supports a wide range of desk phones, but if your team needs to buy new hardware, this will come at an extra cost.
• Additional phone numbers: Each GoTo Connect plan includes a limited number of local and toll-free numbers. If your business needs extra for departments, campaigns, or regional coverage, expect to pay around $3 to $5 per month extra, depending on the type and volume.
• SMS usage overages: SMS and MMS messaging are included, but only up to a predefined limit. High-volume texting may incur overage charges if it exceeds the monthly credit allocation.

How does GoTo Connect’s pricing compare to other providers?

Good value for smaller teams: At $26/user/month, GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan is slightly higher than entry-level offerings from budget providers like Ooma Office ($19.95) or Net2Phone Essentials ($19.99). However, GoTo justifies the higher price with a richer feature set, especially unlimited international calling, built-in team messaging, and 250-participant video meetings, which are typically missing from cheaper plans.

Cost-effective for growing or mid-sized teams: The $34 Connect CX and $80 Contact Center plans provide solid value compared to competitors like Vonage Premium ($39.99) or RingCentral Ultra ($35). GoTo includes tools like omnichannel messaging that includes socials, AI analytics, and shared inboxes as standard, whereas rivals often require third-party add-ons or complex integrations to match this functionality, particularly around social media.

Less competitive for coaching tools alone: If your main priority is access to call barge and whisper, GoTo’s $80/month Contact Center plan may feel expensive. RingCentral and 8×8 offer these features at lower price points, often starting around $25/user/month with coaching included. That said, GoTo’s value lies in bundling these tools alongside a complete CCaaS environment, which may justify the price for larger support teams.

GoTo Connect Review: Help & Support

GoTo Connect provides 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and chat, meaning you should be able to get assistance whenever you need it. During our testing of its chat functionality, we found that the chat is actually bot-led and doesn’t let you connect to a real person, which isn’t always the most helpful. Still, you can simply call to speak to a real agent instead, or write out your issue in an email/via its web-based contact forms, which is probably the best use of its support agent resources.

In addition to direct support channels, GoTo Connect offers a comprehensive online resource centre featuring detailed guides, tutorials, and FAQs. This self-help material is extensive, well-organised, and simple for troubleshooting common issues without direct support involvement.

However, GoTo Connect lacks some of the advanced support features found in higher-tier providers like RingCentral, such as dedicated technical account managers or premium support channels available to enterprise-level subscribers. Businesses requiring high-touch, highly responsive support might find GoTo’s service adequate but could consider RingCentral or 8×8 Work for more premium customer support experiences.

GoTo Connect Review: Competitor VoIP Phone Systems

While GoTo Connect is one of the strongest VoIP platforms for US businesses, it’s not the only contender. Our 2025 VoIP testing evaluated each provider on pricing, features, call management, and real-world usability. Several other systems stood out, particularly for businesses with more specific needs like global calling, advanced coaching, or tight software integration requirements.

Below, we compare GoTo Connect’s Phone System plan to similarly priced alternatives. Then, we dive into how GoTo stacks up against three top competitors: RingCentral, 8×8 Work, and Zoom Phone.

1. RingCentral Advanced

A key competitor of GoTo Connect is what we consider the best phone system on the US market for medium-sized businesses and above.

Key standouts:

• Deep CRM and productivity integrations (500+ native apps, including Salesforce, Teams, and Zendesk).
• Extensive analytics with customizable dashboards and performance reports
• Built-in training tools like call barge, whisper, and live monitoring are included at no extra cost

How does RingCentral compare to GoTo Connect?

In side-by-side usability tests, RingCentral Advanced emerged as better suited for businesses with advanced analytics needs or larger sales/service teams that benefit from real-time coaching at a far lower cost than GoTo’s coaching costs. In our tests, it also scored full marks for call management, training tools, and integrations, so you’ll be getting a more than competent product.

However, GoTo Connect offers wider hardware compatibility and international calling to 50+ countries, which RingCentral only includes on more expensive plans like Ultra.

• Best for: Sales teams, helpdesk operations, or businesses needing tight CRM integration
• Less ideal if: You want plug-and-play support for diverse hardware without provisioning overhead

2. 8×8 Work

Key standouts:

• Excellent global calling coverage, with unlimited calls to 48+ countries on certain tiers.
• Robust security and compliance frameworks (HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2 Type II).
• Up to 500 video participants, outdoing GoTo Connect’s 250-participant capacity for larger-scale meetings.

How does 8×8 Work compare to GoTo Connect?

Our testing revealed 8×8 Work’s global minutes proposition is nearly unmatched at certain plan levels, whereas GoTo Connect’s phone system plan retains free international calls to 50+ countries, but at a narrower scope compared to 8×8’s bigger plan tier. Moreover, 8×8’s 500-participant video limit is especially beneficial for webinar-like scenarios, which some medium-sized businesses might prefer.

• Best for: International companies, webinar-heavy teams, or industries with strict compliance needs
• Less ideal if: You want affordable coaching tools or extensive SMS/hardware support out of the box

3. Zoom Phone (Regional Unlimited)

Key standouts:

• Extremely low cost for unlimited US/Canada calling ($15/user/month)
• Seamless video/voice integration within the Zoom ecosystem
• Scales well for businesses already using Zoom Meetings

How does Zoom Phone compare to GoTo Connect?

Zoom Phone is a great entry point for businesses already using Zoom for video calls, or those wanting a simple VoIP platform at a low cost. However, it lacks some essential features unless you pay for add-ons, like SMS/MMS, advanced call flows, or CRM integration beyond a small set of tools.

Compared to GoTo Connect, Zoom Phone is more affordable but less feature-rich. GoTo includes SMS, team messaging, international calling, and better call management tools at just $11 more per user.

• Best for: Budget-conscious teams or companies already integrated into the Zoom ecosystem
• Less ideal if: You need built-in texting, CRM integrations, or intelligent call routing

How Did We Review GoTo Connect and Other VoIP Phone Systems?