Grasshopper
Depends
Confidence: Medium
A reasonable pick for a solo founder or tiny US team that just needs a second business number on their phones.
Comparison
Grasshopper vs RingCentral
Grasshopper and RingCentral both land on Depends.
RingCentral
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a mid-size or larger organization with IT staff that wants phone, video, messaging, and contact center on one platform.
| Compare | Grasshopper | RingCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Solo founders needing a second number | Mid-size and larger orgs consolidating communications |
| Who it's not for | Healthcare providers . not HIPAA compliant | Tiny teams wanting a simple, cheap phone line |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found for this product in reviewed sources; not HIPAA compliant per HIPAA Journal.15 | Recent breach exposed 1.6M accounts; trust center and certifications exist; one recent WordPress plugin CVE. |
| Support quality | Advertises 24/7; billing complaints suggest otherwise | Support complaints recur across Reddit communities. |
| Public sentiment | Multi-year users complain most about hidden fees, billing, and cancellation, while reviewers acknowledge the core service is simple and functional.⁸ | G2 reviewers rate it highly, but sysadmin and MSP communities frequently complain about billing, support, and cancellations.16 |
| Biggest gotcha | Hidden fees reportedly accumulate over years; audit every invoice before committing⁸ | Advertised $19.99 is promotional; users cite standard plans at $24.99 plus add-on fees |
Pick Grasshopper when
- Solo founders needing a second number
- Mobile-first tiny teams
- US-based small businesses
- Non-technical users wanting simple setup
When Grasshopper is not a fit
- Healthcare providers . not HIPAA compliant
- Fee-sensitive buyers . hidden-fee reports are common
- Teams needing analytics, integrations, or call-center features
- International teams needing global coverage
Pick RingCentral when
- Mid-size and larger orgs consolidating communications
- Contact-center-heavy teams
- Companies with dedicated IT/admin resources
- Distributed teams needing phone, video, and messaging
When RingCentral is not a fit
- Tiny teams wanting a simple, cheap phone line
- Buyers who need month-to-month flexibility
- Orgs with no IT staff to manage setup and billing
- Budget-sensitive shops that can't absorb add-on fees
Sources
- Sign Up for Grasshopper - Pricing Starting at $14/monthgrasshopper.comofficial
- Grasshopper Virtual Phone Systemgrasshopper.comofficial
- Grasshopper Security pagegrasshopper.comofficial
- The Grasshopper Outage: Co-Founders Responsegrasshopper.comofficial
- Grasshopper Review - The Good and Bad in 2026crazyegg.comreview
- Grasshopper Reviews | G2g2.comreview
- Read Customer Service Reviews of www.grasshopper.comtrustpilot.comreview
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- STAY AWAY FROM GRASSHOPPERreddit.comreview
- My Experience with Grasshopper Phone Systemlinkedin.comreview
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- Grasshopper Pricing & Plans Guidegetvoip.comreview
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- Is Grasshopper HIPAA Compliant?hipaajournal.comsecurity
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