CloudTalk pricing, every US plan, what Starter leaves out, and a CloudTalk alternative
CloudTalk costs $25 per user per month on Starter, $29 on Essential and $49 on Expert when billed annually, or $34, $39 and $69 month to month, for a US buyer. Starter and Essential sell a single seat; Expert needs three. The line most reviews miss is in CloudTalk's own plan table: Starter has no IVR, no business hours routing, no texting and no integrations, so the plan with a phone menu is really $29. Phone numbers are billed on top, at $6 a month each for a US local or toll-free number. Phoner Team is also $29 a seat on annual billing with the phone menu, ring groups, texting and one local number included, and $35 month to month.
The full ranked field is in the guide to the best VoIP for small business, entry pricing for every provider sits yearly against monthly in the business phone system comparison, and Phoner's plans are listed in plain dollars on the pricing page.
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Where CloudTalk is genuinely strong
CloudTalk is a real contact center product and the reasons to buy it are specific. Call queues and ring groups are on every plan, including Starter, which most rivals hold back a tier. Essential at $29 adds the IVR, business hours routing, reporting, API access, webhooks and CloudTalk's 95+ standard integrations, including a HubSpot Certified connector. Expert at $49 adds a power dialer, live monitoring with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards, VIP queues, WhatsApp, Salesforce, single sign-on and 24x7 phone support. Local numbers are sold in 160+ countries, US and Canada calling is unlimited on every plan, and the 14-day trial needs no credit card.
Where Phoner fits
Phoner is the better buy when the job is answering a small business line well rather than running a queue. The phone menu on Phoner Team costs the same $29 a seat as CloudTalk Essential on annual billing, but one local number is included where CloudTalk bills $6 for it, and month to month Phoner Team is $35 against $39. For a line with no phone menu at all, Phoner Starter is $15 against CloudTalk Starter at $25. CloudTalk is the better buy for a support or sales floor that needs hold queues, a power dialer or live monitoring, which Phoner does not sell at any price.
In practice the deciding features are usually the IVR phone menu and call routing and ring groups.
Phoner vs CloudTalk, line by line
| What you are buying | Phoner | CloudTalk |
|---|---|---|
| Price shape | $15-29/user/mo | $25-49/user/mo annual, $34-69 monthly |
| Contract | Month to month, or yearly for the lowest rate | Monthly, or a 12-month commitment for about 30 percent off |
| IVR phone menu | Visual builder, Team plan | Essential, $29; not on the $25 Starter |
| Team routing and ring groups | Yes, rules you can read | Ring groups and call queues on every plan |
| Business texting | Yes, Team plan | Essential, $29; texts charged from prepaid credit |
| Call recording + consent tools | Recording + consent announcements | Recording on every plan; one month kept on Starter, unlimited from Essential |
| Toll-free and vanity numbers | Yes, $5/number/mo | $6/number/mo plus $0.03 a minute for inbound toll-free calls |
| Phone number included | One local number | Numbers billed separately, $6 a month for a US local number |
| License minimum | None, buy a single seat | None on Starter and Essential; three on Expert |
| Smallest possible monthly bill with a phone menu | $29 annual, $35 monthly | $35 annual, $45 monthly (Essential plus one number) |
| CRM integrations and API | Business plan, $59 | Essential, $29 (95+ integrations, HubSpot Certified); Salesforce on Expert |
| Hold queues | Not offered | Every plan; VIP queues on Expert |
| Power dialer and live monitoring | Not offered | Expert, $49; power dialer $15 add-on below it |
| Phone support | Priority support on Business | Expert only; chat and email 24x7 on every plan |
| Free trial | Self-serve | Fourteen days, no credit card |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Competitor figures are public list prices and positioning as of 2026. Verify before buying.
Phoner's side of the table starts at $15/user/mo on the Starter plan and $29 on Team, the plan most small teams pick, both billed yearly, or $19 and $35 month to month. Extra local or toll-free numbers are a flat $5/number/mo. Where the two products tie on a row, the difference is usually how visibly the feature is built: see the IVR phone menu page for exactly how Phoner does it.
CloudTalk pricing, annual against month to month, with the numbers priced in
CloudTalk changes its plan cards by the visitor's country. A US or Canadian visitor sees Starter, Essential and Expert in dollars. The $19 Lite plan quoted in some roundups is shown only to visitors in Latin America and the Caribbean, so it is left out here. Phone numbers are not included in the seat price on CloudTalk's published rate cards, so the last column adds one US local number at $6.
| Plan | Billed annually | Month to month | License minimum | One person with one number, annual / monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudTalk Starter | $25 per user | $34 per user | One | $31 / $40 a month |
| CloudTalk Essential | $29 per user | $39 per user | One | $35 / $45 a month |
| CloudTalk Expert | $49 per user | $69 per user | Three | $153 / $213 a month (three seats) |
| Phoner Starter | $15 per user | $19 per user | None | $15 / $19 a month |
| Phoner Team | $29 per user | $35 per user | None | $29 / $35 a month |
| Phoner Business | $59 per user | $69 per user | None | $59 / $69 a month |
Swipe sideways for the full table
CloudTalk figures read from its plan cards, plan comparison table and number pricing pages at cloudtalk.io on September 28, 2026, United States view · US local and toll-free numbers are $6 a month each with no activation fee, and inbound toll-free calls are $0.03 a minute · CloudTalk bills in advance and does not refund partial months · Phoner Starter and Team include one local number · Taxes and regulatory fees are extra everywhere
CloudTalk Essential against Phoner Team at one to ten people
These are the two plans that carry a phone menu, ring groups and texting. The seat price is identical on annual billing, so the gap comes from the phone number CloudTalk bills separately and from the month to month rate. Both columns assume one shared US local number for the team.
| People answering the phone | CloudTalk Essential, annual | Phoner Team, annual | CloudTalk Essential, monthly | Phoner Team, monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35 | $29 | $45 | $35 |
| 2 | $64 | $58 | $84 | $70 |
| 3 | $93 | $87 | $123 | $105 |
| 5 | $151 | $145 | $201 | $175 |
| 10 | $296 | $290 | $396 | $350 |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Monthly per team, one shared US local number included in each column · Each extra CloudTalk number adds $6 a month and each extra Phoner number adds $5 · CloudTalk Essential includes call queues, reporting, API access and 95+ integrations, which Phoner Team does not · Phoner Team includes one local number and call recording with consent announcements
What CloudTalk actually costs once you read the plan table
The $25 Starter plan has no phone menu
CloudTalk's own plan comparison marks IVR routing, business hours, SMS and MMS, integrations, API access and reporting as not included on Starter, and keeps call recordings for one month. Starter is a calling seat with ring groups and queues. The plan most small businesses mean when they say "phone system" is Essential at $29 annual or $39 monthly, and every price comparison that quotes CloudTalk from $25 is comparing a different product.
Phone numbers are billed on top of the seat
CloudTalk's US number pages price a local number at $6 a month and a toll-free 888 number at $6 a month, with no activation fee, and inbound toll-free calls cost $0.03 a minute. The seat price does not include a number on the published cards. One person on Essential with one local number pays $35 a month on annual billing, not $29.
Unlimited US and Canada calling has a written ceiling
CloudTalk's help center states that US and Canada calling is unlimited on all plans up to 10,000 minutes a seat under its fair usage policy, and lists calls to Alaska and Hawaii, premium and special numbers, and forwarded calls as not covered. For an office line that is plenty. For a heavy outbound team, read the forwarded call rules before you route calls to cell phones.
Expert is where the sales floor lives, and it needs three seats
Expert at $49 annual adds the power dialer, live monitoring with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards, VIP queues, WhatsApp, Salesforce, single sign-on and 24x7 phone support. It also carries a three-license minimum, so the smallest Expert account is $147 a month annual or $207 monthly before numbers. Below Expert the power dialer is a $15 per user add-on and the parallel dialer is $39.
Annual billing saves about 30 percent and cannot be refunded
The toggle advertises roughly 30 percent off, or three months free, for paying annually, and the FAQ says the annual rate comes with a 12-month commitment. CloudTalk bills in advance and states it does not refund or credit partial months, unused time or plan changes. Month to month runs $34, $39 and $69.
AI is sold as add-ons and a separate agent product
AI Conversation Intelligence, which covers summaries, searchable transcripts and sentiment, is $9 per user per month billed annually on every plan. AI Voice Agents start at $99 a month for 200 minutes. Branded caller ID for US and UK numbers is from $0.07 a call, and spam remediation is quoted by sales.
Where CloudTalk is simply the stronger product
Phoner has no hold queue, no power dialer, no live call monitoring and no CRM connection below its $59 Business plan. CloudTalk has queues on every plan and 95+ integrations from $29. If callers wait in line for an agent, or reps work a call list inside HubSpot or Pipedrive, CloudTalk is built for that and Phoner is not.
Support by phone is an Expert feature
Chat and email support run 24x7 on every CloudTalk plan. Phone support is marked as included only on Expert. Setup and onboarding are free according to the FAQ, and the 14-day trial starts without a credit card.
Who should pick which
Pick CloudTalk if
Pick CloudTalk if three or more people work a queue of inbound support calls or an outbound sales list, and you want hold queues, reporting and HubSpot or Pipedrive logging on a $29 plan, with the power dialer and live monitoring one tier up. It is also the stronger pick if you need local numbers outside North America.
Their list price: $25-49/user/mo annual, $34-69 monthly, numbers extra
Pick Phoner if
Pick Phoner if your team answers a business line rather than works a queue. The phone menu, ring groups, texting and one local number are on Team at $29 a seat, $35 month to month, and a plain professional line is $15 on Starter against $25 at CloudTalk.
Phoner: $15-29/user/mo yearly, $19-35 monthly
Leaving CloudTalk does not mean a new number
Your number is yours and moves with you. Phoner's free number porting takes about 1-2 weeks, and the line keeps ringing on CloudTalk until the moment it switches over. Set up your phone menu and ring groups in Phoner while you wait, then the cutover is invisible to callers.
Port order · CloudTalk → Phoner
Sign up for Phoner and submit the port with a recent CloudTalk bill.
Keep answering on CloudTalk. The number never goes dark.
In 1-2 weeks calls ring your Phoner apps. Cancel the old account.
Porting fee: $0 · Downtime: None
Compare CloudTalk against a specific competitor
This page weighs CloudTalk against Phoner. If you are choosing between two other vendors instead, these pages put both of their rate cards in one table.
JustCall pricing and alternatives
The closest sales-first rival, $29 per user with a two-license minimum and a single-level IVR on its entry plan.
Aircall pricing and alternatives
Integrations and an IVR on a $30 entry license, sold in blocks of three, so its smallest bill is $90 a month.
Ringover pricing and alternatives
Another European call platform, $15 per user on a twelve-month term with a three-user minimum.
Dialpad pricing and alternatives
AI call notes and transcription on a $15 seat, if AI is the reason you were looking at CloudTalk.
Common questions about switching
How much does CloudTalk cost per month?
For a US buyer CloudTalk costs $25 per user per month on Starter, $29 on Essential and $49 on Expert with annual billing, or $34, $39 and $69 month to month. Phone numbers are extra at $6 a month each for a US local or toll-free number. Expert requires three licenses, so its smallest bill is $147 a month on annual billing.
Does CloudTalk have a free trial?
Yes. CloudTalk offers a 14-day trial with 50 AI Voice Agent minutes, and its FAQ says no credit card is needed to start. There is no free plan. After the trial you choose Starter, Essential or Expert, billed monthly or annually, and CloudTalk does not refund partial months once you are billed.
Does CloudTalk have a minimum number of users?
Only on Expert. Starter and Essential can be bought for a single user, and Expert requires three licenses, so a one-person Expert account still pays for three seats: $147 a month annual or $207 monthly, before phone numbers.
What is the best CloudTalk alternative?
For a small business that needs a phone menu and ring groups rather than a call center, Phoner Team is the closest swap at $29 a seat annual or $35 monthly, with one local number included. For a sales floor that wants a dialer, JustCall and Aircall are the like-for-like rivals, and for AI call notes on a $15 seat, Dialpad.
Who are CloudTalk's competitors?
CloudTalk competes most directly with Aircall, JustCall, Ringover and Dialpad for sales and support teams, and with RingCentral, Nextiva and Phoner for small business phone systems. Aircall and Ringover sell three-seat minimums, JustCall two, and CloudTalk none below Expert, which makes CloudTalk the easiest of the four to start with one seat.
Does CloudTalk charge for phone numbers?
Yes. CloudTalk's US number pricing lists a local number at $6 a month and a toll-free 888 number at $6 a month, with no activation fee, plus $0.03 a minute for inbound toll-free calls. The seat price on the plan cards does not include a number, so budget $6 for each line you publish.
What is the difference between CloudTalk Starter and Essential?
Essential adds the parts most businesses expect from a phone system: IVR routing, business hours, texting, reporting, conference calls, API access and the 95+ standard integrations, and it keeps call recordings without the one-month limit on Starter. Starter is $25 and Essential $29 on annual billing, $34 and $39 monthly.
Does CloudTalk integrate with HubSpot?
Yes. CloudTalk lists a HubSpot Certified integration that logs every call in HubSpot, and integrations start on the Essential plan at $29 per user billed annually. Starter includes no integrations. Salesforce is reserved for Expert at $49.
How much does CloudTalk charge per minute?
Calls within the US and Canada are unlimited on every plan, up to 10,000 minutes a seat under the fair usage policy, so domestic calls carry no per-minute charge. Inbound calls to a CloudTalk toll-free number cost $0.03 a minute, international calls are priced by destination, and texts are charged from prepaid credit.
Can I keep my number if I leave CloudTalk?
Yes. Under FCC local number portability rules you keep your US numbers when you change providers, and a carrier cannot refuse to release a number over an unpaid balance. Because CloudTalk bills in advance with no partial refunds, time the port for the end of a billing period.
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