Best Call Center Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

What you need to know about call center software

What is call center software?

Essential features of call center software

Benefits and competitive advantages of using call center software

How to choose the best call center software for your business

Software related to call center

More resources for your call center journey

What you need to know about call center software

The call center software is designed to help businesses handle communication with customers related to sales, product inquiries, or technical support. Of more than 100 conversations with call center software buyers over the past year, 68% asked about the automatic call distribution (ACD) functionality of the software. 

To give you an idea of the market, our site features over 400 call center software vendors and has published more than 2,500 reviews in the past year alone. 

Call center software is typically priced on a "per month" basis, starting at around $228 for basic functionalities. Mid-tier subscriptions can cost around $1624 and allow between 11 and 20 users. More advanced platforms can cost upwards of around $3990 as they often require customizations for larger teams of more than 21 users. [2] Many products offer free software trials. 

First-time buyers should begin evaluating with a budget, number of users, specific use cases, and necessary integrations in mind. Ensure you've consulted with stakeholders on a list of critical questions to help you evaluate systems based on your needs, such as:

• Does the software offer automatic call distribution functionality and how does it manage routing of calls?

• Does the software’s IVR system support both voice prompts and keyboard input?

• Does the software support call scripting?

Because there are so many different vendors, choosing the right option can be a long, daunting process. In this guide, you'll learn about the essential components of call center software, get step-by-step guidance on how to choose the right solution for your business and tap into the expertise of our experienced call center software advisors, Cameron Pugh and Jakub Vaughn. They have been leading buyers to the right software for the last three years. Reach out to schedule a consultation with them or any of our advisors.

What is call center software?

Call center software is an umbrella term for applications designed for use in a formal or informal call center. The closely related term "contact center software" is often a synonym but also refers to features used in call centers that manage various communication channels in addition to voice (for example, email, instant messaging, SMS text, social media, and live chat).

The software supports the agents whose job it is to assist customers over the phone, or via one of those other channels. It also helps the supervisors who manage the call center's operations.

Essential features of call center software

When comparing call center software systems to choose the best solution for your business, it's important to understand the key features you can expect. Some functionalities, like automatic call distribution, are fundamental and available in every call center software, while other features, such as call monitoring, call scripting, and queue management, are still common. By analyzing user reviews and feedback from industry professionals, we've identified what are considered core features of call center software to guide your decision.

Core call center software features

Common call center software features

To learn how important integrations are for this kind of software, we turned to Software Advise advisor Jakub Vaughn: “It is important to ask whether the software offers automatic call distribution functionality or not when selecting the right tool. An automatic call distribution system distributes the call to the next available agent if you get callbacks when an agent is already busy on the phone.”

If you'd like to learn more about call center software features and get recommendations for your business, contact Cameron Pugh, or one of our other call center software advisors. =

Benefits and competitive advantages of using call center software

Our analysis of 2,932 user reviews from the past year shows that team collaboration, dialer system, communication channels, and integration capabilities are the top-rated benefits of call center software [3]:

• Improved team collaboration. Makes it easier for agents to access real-time customer data, share information, and communicate seamlessly. Thus, enabling a centralized collaboration platform for teams. 

• Supports multiple communication channels. By supporting various communication channels such as phone, email, social media or chat, the software allows users to communicate with agents in a way that best suits them. 

• Integration capabilities. Enables businesses to have consistent data exchange between different systems. For example, by integrating with CRM, agents can have complete access to customer history and details during a call. 

How to choose the best call center software for your business

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before selecting call center software, it is important to define specific business requirements. In addition to deciding on the software's functionalities, you also need to consider the budget, training assistance, and integrations required. 

What is the cost of call center software?

It is quite difficult to generalize the pricing of call center software as several factors may contribute to its cost, including:

• The number of users

• Volume of calls

• Desired features

• Integration needs

According to our analysis, call center software’s pricing typically starts at around $228 for basic functionalities while mid-tier subscriptions cost around $1624 for more advanced features. [2]

Consider user experience while selecting call center software

You should ideally think of agents’ experience when selecting a product. It is essential to ensure that the software runs smoothly, with quickly available support to customers. The more it is user friendly, the more effective agents can deliver service support. 

Integration capabilities

If you are not starting a business from scratch, you might already have legacy software in place. In such a scenario, it is ideally important to ensure that your call center software can integrate with them and work smoothly. 

For example, integrating call center software with CRM may help agents quickly access customer information such as purchase history, previous interactions, and account details within the call interface, allowing them to offer more personalized customer services.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of call center software

With so many call center software options available, it can be difficult to choose the right one for your business. However, with the right resources and support, selecting the best software could become easier.

Get assistance from a qualified advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors - Cameron Pugh and Jakub Vaughn have experience helping hundreds of businesses identify solutions that match their needs and budgets.

If you need help, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, your advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your practice’s requirements.

Explore our list of call center software FrontRunners

If you’re not ready to speak to an advisor just yet, you can also start compiling your shortlist of call center software with our FrontRunners report. Only products that earn top user ratings make this list. To be eligible for consideration, a product must:

• Have at least 20 unique user reviews in the last 24 months

• Be a stand-alone call center software product

• Offer these features:

  • Automatic call distribution

  • Call center management

  • IVR

Check out our full methodology description for more details on how the report is compiled.

Step 3: Pick your best option

After shortlisting your options, the next step is to look at vendor demos. These sessions help you explore features, understand pricing, and make the right investment. Staying prepared is key to getting the most out of these sessions.

How to prepare for vendor demos

Once you’ve compiled a shortlist of call center software, set up a time for demo sessions with each vendor to get a deeper understanding of their products. Do not miss a chance to ask targeted questions about features, pricing models, technical support, training resources, and any other factors important for your decision-making process.

Some key questions to ask vendors during demos include:

Is it possible to customize workflows or IVRs to match our specific support service requirements?

Every business operates differently and will have its own unique support-providing processes and needs. A one-size-fits-all solution may force you to change established workflows, which can disrupt efficiency. By asking about customization, you can ensure the software aligns with your current processes, making it easier for your team to adopt and increase operational productivity and provide faster support to customers. 

Does your software support integrations?

Asking about the available integrations can help you ensure that the call center software can interact with your existing tools. This might help you assess whether the software can improve productivity by centralizing data across systems. For example, integrating call center software with social listening tools can allow you to monitor customer sentiment and feedback directly from social media platforms, thereby improving customer experience and support.

What kind of support and training is provided?

When selecting a call center software, choose a vendor that offers the level of customer and technical support and training you need. Make sure the vendor offers you a walkthrough of a product that lets you understand how software exactly works. Ongoing support is also crucial to resolve issues quickly and avoid delays in offering customer support.

Step 4: Implement the new call center software

Once you’ve made a final selection of the call center software, it is now time to start implementing the new product. Whether you are moving from one call center software to a new one or using it for the first time, you should take the following points into consideration:

• Plan the data migration. In case you are switching from the old software to the new one, identify how you’ll transfer historical call data and integrate the software with other tools, such as CRM or social media channels. Classify the data based on priority and plan the migration in cycles so that you don’t miss out on moving the most crucial data to the new software. 

• Schedule training sessions. Adapting to the new software may involve learning new features and workflows. Therefore, it is essential to roll out training sessions for employees who will use the software to offer support to customers. 

• Customize the software to match your needs. Many call center software platforms allow you to customize workflows and personalize the customer interface with your company branding. 

Software related to call center 

Depending on which call center software you select, you may have to integrate or use some similar software types to enhance your organization's customer support strategy. Some types of software that are closely related to call center but may or may not be included in your call center system include:

• CRM software: A customer relationship management (CRM) software is designed to be used by the sales team, call center reps, and sales reps to maintain interaction with customers and respond to their needs or queries quickly. 

• Call recording software: A call recording software is used to capture digital audio recordings of telephonic conversations over a Voice over IP (VoIP) or public switched telephone network (PSTN). 

• Contact center software: A contact center software is built for companies to handle large volumes of customer communications over multiple channels such as SMS, telephone, chat, email or social media. 

• Customer service software: A customer service software is designed to help customer service representatives document, track and resolve customer issues via a ticketing system. 

• Help desk software: Help desk software is designed to help support teams accept, handle, respond to, and report on customer queries or issues. It can be used to centralize information and automate the complaint resolution process. 

• IVR software: IVR software is an automated phone system technology that allows callers to connect with a company by selecting options from a voice menu using voice commands or a phone keypad. 

• Online CRM software: An online CRM software is a cloud-based application that allows businesses to handle and monitor all interactions with their customers through a centralized platform. 

• Speech analytics platform: A speech analytics platform is designed to assist businesses in analyzing live and recorded calls. This, in turn, can improve the customer journey and help agents deliver better customer support service. 

• Telephony service: Telephony service is a technology that allows you to use a computer to initiate, handle, and improve your phone calls. 

More resources for your call center journey

• 7 Top-Rated Affordable CRM Software

• Find the Best CRM Software

About our contributors

Author

Smriti Arya is a writer at Software Advice, where she helps small businesses find the right software solutions. She draws insights from over 550,000 user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Software Advice advisors and buyers.

Before joining Software Advice, she covered lifestyle, education, and technology trends. Her work has appeared in Medium and Canadian publications like Business in Vancouver and Canadian HR Reporter.

Editor

Parul Sharma is a content editor at Software Advice with expertise in curating content for various niches, including SaaS, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. With over half a decade of experience in content writing and editing, Parul has the expertise to simplify complex terms into engaging, valuable content for targeted audiences. She completed her graduation and post-graduation in English literature from Delhi University and was awarded the Dr. Asha Sahni Memorial Award for being the highest scorer in her graduating class.

Parul has contributed to the news, lifestyle, education, and health verticle of DNA India, India’s premier media channel. Outside of work, she can be found curating healthy recipes, coloring in mandala books, and spending quality time with her family.

Advisors

Cameron Pugh is a senior advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2022, and he is based in Austin, TX.

Cameron works directly with small-business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking tools such as CMMS, inventory management, call center, and facilities software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches.

His favorite part of being a software advisor is experiencing the buyer’s gratitude and relief when he finds the best software solution for their needs.

Jakub Vaughn is a senior advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2022 as a software advisor. He is based in Fort Myers, FL.

As part of the software advisor team, Jakub helps professionals from a wide range of industries who are seeking tools including CMMS, manufacturing, inventory management, and help desk software. He provides a short list of personalized technology recommendations based on budget, business goals, and other specific needs.

Jakub’s favorite part of being a software advisor is educating buyers with different needs on software systems available to them and their business.

Sources 

• Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking call center tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions from October 22 2023, to October 22, 2024 Read the complete methodology.

• Software Advice software pricing data: Only products with publicly available pricing information and qualified software products within the category, as of December 2023, are included in the pricing analysis. Read the complete methodology.

• Software Advice reviews data: Software Advice reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from the past year as of the production date. Read the complete methodology.