9 best virtual call center software to boost customer experience

Technological advancements have transformed the world of customer support, especially when it comes to call centers. Traditional call centers require heavy infrastructure that brings operational challenges and increased costs. In contrast, virtual call center software is less expensive and easier to set up and scale.

With virtual call center solutions, businesses are equipped to deliver high-quality voice support from wherever they are. Tools like inbound call center software enable teams to efficiently manage both inbound and outbound calls, and call forwarding software ensures seamless call routing to agents across regions. These solutions also make it easy to manage tickets and track customer interactions through cloud-based systems, which don't require complex equipment or a physical space. Features like AI-powered routing, omnichannel communication, and smart IVR software have completely reshaped how call centers operate.

There are plenty of virtual call center solutions out there, but choosing the best one for your team requires some effort. To help you make an informed decision, we've curated a list of the 9 best virtual call center software.

Let’s get into it.

More in this guide:

• What is a virtual call center?
• Virtual call center software comparison chart
• The 9 best virtual call center software
• How virtual call center software works for remote success
• Key benefits of virtual call center platforms
• How to choose the right virtual call center software
• Customer stories: How growing businesses benefit from virtual call center software
• Frequently asked questions
• Upgrade your virtual call center with Zendesk

What is a virtual call center? A virtual call center is a cloud-based system that connects customers and businesses using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The data transmission happens through the internet instead of traditional phone lines, allowing companies to operate flexibly and cost-effectively. With virtual call centers, agents handle not only calls, but chat, emails, messages, and social media interactions from anywhere, without needing a physical office.

Comparing pricing, free trials, and major selling points is key to finding the right fit for your team. Here's a quick summary of the 9 best virtual call center solutions.

Software	Best for	Starting price	Free trial
Zendesk Contact Center	Best for AI-powered, omnichannel customer resolutions	$50 per agent/month	Contact sales
Zendesk Voice	Best for AI-powered and scalable voice support	$19 per agent/month billed annually	14 days
NiCE	Best for optimizing complex global call center operations	$110 per agent/month	60 days
Genesys	Best for large, enterprise contact centers	$75 per agent/month for voice only	Contact sales
Nextiva	Best for simplified CX orchestration	$15 per agent/month	14 days
Aircall	Best for CRM integrations	$40 per agent/month for up to 3 agents	7 days
Five9	Best for modernizing enterprise contact centers	$149 per agent/month for a digital or voice-only contact center solution	Not available
Dialpad	Best for fast setup	$15 per agent/month	14 days
Zoom	Best for collaboration across hybrid teams	$69 per agent/month	Not available

Take a look at the main features of the best virtual call center solutions to decide which one matches your team's demand.

• Zendesk Contact Center: Best for AI-powered, omnichannel customer resolutions
• Zendesk Voice: Best for AI-powered and scalable voice support
• NiCE: Best for optimizing complex global call center operations

• Genesys: Best for large, enterprise contact centers
• Nextiva: Best for simplified CX orchestration
• Aircall: Best for CRM integrations
• Five9: Best for modernizing enterprise contact centers
• Dialpad: Best for fast setup
• Zoom: Best for collaboration across hybrid teams

1. Zendesk Contact Center

Best for AI-powered, omnichannel customer resolutions

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$50 per agent/month billed annually Explore more Zendesk pricing plans.	Contact sales	Advanced omnichannel routing Voice AI Workforce engagement management Smart IVR

Zendesk Contact Center was built for companies seeking seamless, high-volume support across every channel. It combines advanced omnichannel routing, Voice AI, and workforce engagement management (WEM) into a single platform.

With Zendesk Contact Center, agents can handle voice, chat, email, and social messaging from a single virtual space. This enables the delivery of rich, context-aware support that increases customers satisfaction and loyalty. Built to scale for any organization, it’s also ideal for growing teams using call center software for small businesses, delivering enterprise-grade capabilities without complex infrastructure.

But what makes Zendesk stand out is its smart orchestration of customer interactions. Thanks to its omnichannel routing, every query from any channel is automatically directed to the right agent with all the context they need. Voice AI agents can even handle sophisticated conversations and empower human agents with predictive guidance.

Plus, native AI-powered workforce engagement management provides tools to optimize team performance and boost productivity, helping managers and agents enhance customer experiences.

Easy to deploy and backed by secure and scalable AWS cloud infrastructure, Zendesk Contact Center is an excellent option to accelerate growth and drive exceptional experiences for customers and agents.

Pros	Cons
Full suite of core CCaaS capabilities Built-in AI right off the bat WEM and QA are fully integrated Unified agent workspace	Complex for very small contact center operations

What people are saying:

• “Easy to use, set up, customize, and get help if needed. Implementing AI is also easy.”
• “Zendesk for Contact Center shines with its intuitive interface and seamless omnichannel capabilities, making it remarkably easy to use for both agents and managers.”
• “Zendesk is extremely user-friendly and simple to navigate. I really appreciate how easily I can move between tickets and profiles, merge interactions, leave both public and internal notes, escalate issues, and more. It truly makes my work as a CX service representative much easier in every way!”

2. Zendesk Voice

Best for AI-powered and scalable voice support

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$19 per agent/month billed annually Explore more Zendesk pricing plans.	14 days	Omnichannel support built into Zendesk Resolution Platform End-to-end resolution with voice AI agents Copilot for agent productivity boosting QA insights for reducing churn rates

Zendesk voice offers AI-powered tools for virtual call centers that guarantee high-quality customer experience while maintaining genuine human connection. With end-to-end resolutions powered by voice AI agents, you can offer nonstop phone support and resolve even complex customer interactions.

Plus, AI agents can answer calls using natural language to support customers, managing even the most sophisticated interactions or redirecting customers to a human agent when necessary. This reduces wait times and costs while upholding quality customer experience, essential to boosting customer satisfaction levels.

There's also Copilot, which automates tasks and provides relevant insights, helping service teams deliver faster resolutions and driving productivity. Additionally, QA insights help agents identify churn risks and outliers and analyze conversations to ensure high-quality interactions.

What's more, with omnichannel support built into the Zendesk Resolution Platform, Zendesk Voice helps you manage all your interactions in a unified workspace. Its virtual call center software capabilities let you direct and route calls in the same workspace as your other channels and benefit from full context in every interaction. The results are faster resolutions and higher overall customer satisfaction.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use  Intuitive and user-friendly interface Agile and easy to scale Robust integration of multiple channels	Free trial only 14 days

What people are saying:

• “The platform simplifies implementation with robust onboarding tools and flexible configurations, allowing teams to get up and running quickly.”
• “It offers a comprehensive suite of tools that cater to businesses of all sizes, providing solutions for ticketing, live chat, knowledge base management, and customer support and more.”
• “It was so useful and intuitive to use, AI features are great and also agents have ability to know for whom they are transferring the calls.”

3. NiCE

Best for optimizing complex global call center operations

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$110 per agent/month	60 days	Omnichannel support Workforce engagement management IVR

NiCE's call center software solution, CXone Mpower, is designed to optimize complex global call center operations. Built for large-scale organizations, it unifies customer interactions across multiple languages, regions, and channels.

With omnichannel support, NiCE CXone Mpower ensures engagement between voice and digital platforms. The virtual call center software also provides real-time insights, gamification, and flexible scheduling through its workforce engagement management tools.

An IVR system is also available, which routes high call volumes to help teams maintain service quality, operational efficiency, and performance at scale across markets and global customer bases.

Pros	Cons
User-friendly interface Widespread functionalities	Unreliable call functionality High costs associated

What people are saying:

• “What I like best about NiCE CXone Mpower is its intuitive interface and smooth integration with daily workflows. It centralizes communication tools in one place, making it easier to manage customer interactions efficiently.”
• “NICE CXone Mpower is always clear and reliable, which is crucial for maintaining professional communication with our customers.”
• “Incoming calls may not display correctly, and some calls may be dropped for no reason.”

Learn more: Discover how NiCE integrates with Zendesk and how Zendesk vs. NiCE compare.

4. Genesys

Best for large, enterprise contact centers

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$75 per agent/month for voice only	Contact sales	Workforce engagement management Predictive routing Agent copilot

Genesys Cloud CX is a cloud-based contact center focused on customer and employee experience. The all-in-one CCaaS solution supports businesses of all sizes in managing customer and employee experience from a single platform.

It offers several features like AI-powered experience orchestration, omnichannel routing, workforce engagement management, and journey analytics. Plus, Genesys Cloud CX provides resources for enterprises to modernize operations and unify CX across multiple channels, such as voice, digital, and self-service. 

Pros	Cons
Easy to use  User-friendly interface Seamless integrations	Minimal customization options Limited reporting capabilities Weaker workflow automation capabilities

What people are saying:

• “It has a very simple interface which includes voicemails, chats, emails and social channels all in one place. Easier to manage calls and have all data. We can conference calls, can do bridge callings, integrate with other applications to make calls to clients.”
• “The platform is intuitive for agents and powerful for administrators, with real-time dashboards, workforce management, and AI-powered capabilities like predictive engagement and bots.”
• “Reporting Limitations: Out-of-the-box reports are limited; building custom reports often requires additional effort or external tools.”

Learn more: Discover how Genesys integrates with Zendesk and how Zendesk vs. Genesys compare.

5. Nextiva

Best for simplified CX orchestration

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$15 per agent/month	14 days	Omnichannel support Workforce engagement management End-to-end customer resolution

Nextiva is a cloud-based, AI-powered contact center platform that unifies customer interactions across voice, digital, and social channels. As the best for simplified CX orchestration, Nextiva focuses on helping businesses manage every customer touchpoint from one centralized platform, enabling seamless omnichannel communication.

Combining advanced automation, AI-driven insights, and journey analytics, Nextiva allows organizations to provide personalized and context-aware experiences at scale. Its features include voice bots, agent assist, workforce engagement management, and end-to-end orchestration. Intelligent routing, built-in analytics and sentiment tracking, along with scripting tools are also the reason why Nextiva is among the best virtual call center solutions.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use  Reliable	Difficult to set up complex call flows Poor customer support

What people are saying:

• “The thing I like the most is their functionality. The specific feature is phone-presence which allows me to see whether team members (even if remote) are available, busy or away. It became easier to coordinate my team communication operations, even though we are a small team.”
• “The reporting tools could be a bit more detailed, especially for tracking call metrics by individual users.”
• “The biggest challenge during implementation was underestimating the time it would take to configure the more complex call flows.”

6. Aircall

Best for CRM integrations

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$40 per agent/month for up to 3 agents	7 days	Call routing IVR AI voice agents

Aircall is a cloud-based platform for managing customer communications over voice. It handles voice interactions for sales and support teams within small to mid-sized companies. With a focus on accessibility and quick deployment, Aircall offers several features for teams to manage customer conversations across devices and locations.

One of those features is intelligent call routing, which ensures customers reach the right agent quickly. There's also an IVR system to support self-service and reduce wait times. Plus, with AI voice agents, Aircall automates routine calls and qualifies leads.

Additionally, to support sales handling, Aircall integrates with several CRM systems. Still, it's limited to voice support, so email, chat, or social media engagement aren’t available.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use  Seamless integration with CRM systems	Limited to voice support Expensive for a voice-only platform

What people are saying:

• “We've been using Aircall for our business communications, and the experience has been excellent. The interface is clean and user-friendly, the call quality is consistently clear, and integration with our CRM has streamlined our workflow significantly.”
• “The app is fast and intuitive, with good sound quality. It offers many useful features that are easy to personalize according to your needs and can be implemented at any time.”
• “The price may seem a bit high for small teams, especially if they do not use all the offered integrations.”

Learn more: Discover how Aircall integrates with Zendesk.

7. Five9

Best for modernizing enterprise contact centers

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$149 per agent/month for a digital or voice-only contact center solution	Not available	Omnichannel support Call routing IVR Workforce engagement management

Five9 is a virtual contact center solution that helps businesses modernize customer experiences through AI, automation, and scalable cloud technologies. The platform is built for enterprises with modern microservices architecture. It provides tools for agility, productivity, and operational efficiency for teams to keep up with rapidly changing customer communication preferences.

With flexible omnichannel support, Five9 unifies voice, email, chat, SMS, and social messaging into a single platform. It also offers intelligent call routing and IVR systems to ensure customers are connected to the right agents. Finally, its workforce engagement tools boost agent performance and service quality, driving higher satisfaction in high-volume contact centers.

Pros	Cons
User-friendly interface Good customer support	Difficult to set up Expensive

What people are saying:

• “We like the supervisor tool where we can monitor incoming calls and phone agents daily performance.”
• “A good option for call/contact centre, to reach the cutomer and handle all calls from a single platform.”
• “Setting up complex workflows or integrations might take longer than expected for less experienced users.”

Learn more: Discover how Five9 integrates with Zendesk.

8. Dialpad

Best for fast setup

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$15 per agent/month	14 days	Omnichannel support IVR Workforce management

Dialpad is a virtual call center platform designed for remote and hybrid teams. Easy to set up and manage, it enables agents to connect with customers across voice, video, chat, and social messaging from a single, AI-powered workspace.

Flexibility is at the heart of Dialpad, as it aims to provide fast deployment without the need for hardware or complex IT infrastructure. Along with omnichannel support and easy setup, Dialpad also features customizable IVR menus for intelligent call routing. Plus, workforce management tools help companies optimize support staffing and performance.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use and set up Fluid call management across multiple devices	Limited advanced customization for large enterprise needs

What people are saying:

• “The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing for quick adoption across teams.”
• “Dialpad Connect is super easy to use and keeps everything in one place — calls, video, messaging, even SMS. I love that I can switch between devices seamlessly and stay connected no matter where I am, which is huge for a team spread across multiple locations.”
• “Some features are unpolished and require an overhaul, for instance, the desktop app.”

Learn more: Discover how Dialpad integrates with Zendesk and how Zendesk vs. Dialpad compare.

9. Zoom

Best for collaboration across hybrid teams

Starting price	Free trial	Key features
$69 per agent/month	Not available	Omnichannel support End-to-end customer journey visibility Workforce engagement management

Zoom contact center is an AI-first customer experience platform that gathers voice, chat, video, email, and social interactions in a single, scalable solution. It connects customer communication with back-office collaboration tools, allowing teams to resolve inquiries efficiently and maintain consistent support service across all channels.

The platform offers end-to-end visibility into interactions for data-driven decision-making, IVR for call routing, and workforce engagement management tools to optimize agents scheduling and performance. Plus, Zoom integrates with the most popular CRMs, including Zendesk.

Pros	Cons
Easy to use  Seamless integrations	Basic functionalities missing Difficult to set up

What people are saying:

• “The dynamic call routing is awesome. ZCC integrates with our CRM and when a call comes in, ZCC searches for the phone number in our CRM. If no number is found, the caller is routed to our Client Development Team. If the number is found in a profile in our CRM, the call is routed directly to the rep that is assigned to that client.”
• “What I like most about the Zoom Contact Center is how simple and user-friendly it is to operate and manage.”
• “Zoom contact center was very difficult to set up.”

Learn more: Discover how Zoom integrates with Zendesk and how Zendesk vs. Zoom compare.

Virtual call center software uses cloud-based infrastructure to connect agents and customers anywhere. This means that companies no longer need to rely on physical hardware and on-premise phone systems. With AI-powered tools and unified communication channels, agents collaborate with each other from different offices (even across countries) or from home.

Equipped with the right tools, remote teams perform effectively without compromising quality or collaboration. The results are faster responses and consistent service quality.

Virtual call center solutions empower businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences while operating from anywhere. Here are some key benefits of virtual call center platforms.

Empower agents to work from anywhere

Remote work is incredibly beneficial for companies to attract talented personnel. Instead of hiring locally because you need agents at a physical office, you can search for skilled talent from all over the world. Plus, a powerful virtual call center platform provides top-notch tools for agents to work efficiently even from home.

Scale effortlessly without heavy infrastructure costs

Let's say your support demands are increasing and you need to scale. Think of two scenarios. One option is to open a new call center space and pay for new desks, computers, phones, rent, electricity, and other additional costs. The other is to buy extra virtual seats within your existing remote call center operation, for agents who will work from their own homes.

Guess which one costs less and is faster to set up? With a virtual call center solution you can scale effortlessly without the hassle and high costs of building a heavy physical infrastructure.

Boost productivity and customer satisfaction

Virtual call center software streamlines operations by automating routine tasks and intelligently routing calls to the right agents. It also optimizes staffing and empowers virtual agents to manage complex customer interactions. All these resources help increase productivity, reduce wait times, and reach better resolutions, resulting in higher customer satisfaction levels.

Gain actionable insights through data and analytics

Feature-rich virtual call center software provides real-time dashboards and reporting capabilities that give managers a clear view of performance. Insights regarding call volumes, handle times, customer sentiment, and satisfaction trends help teams identify what's working and what needs improvement. With these analytics, leaders can optimize staffing, identify coaching opportunities, and make data-driven decisions. 

Connect seamlessly across channels and tools

Thanks to omnichannel capabilities, agents can handle calls, chats, emails, and social media interactions in one place. Eliminating the hassle of switching between platforms and misplaced information leads to smoother collaboration within teams, faster responses to customers, and more personalized support across all communication channels.

Enhance reliability with cloud-based redundancy

Virtual call center solutions are designed for uptime and resilience, as they operate in the cloud. Cloud-based redundancy and global data centers keep operations running smoothly—even during outages or spikes in demand. This ensures consistent, reliable service for customers and uninterrupted workflows for remote teams.

To choose the right virtual call center software, focus on a few key areas:

Assess your needs

Some teams may need a cloud contact center model or a computer telephony integration (CTI) product, while others might need one to improve their CX. If you’re looking for the latter, prioritize virtual call center software that’s purpose-built for CX, like Zendesk.

Make AI a priority

AI can help virtual teams boost productivity through AI-powered QA, WFM, intelligent routing, and more. Look for AI tools that are easy to use to increase adoption and lower implementation costs.

Evaluate the software’s customizability and flexibility

For any software to be useful to your organization, it must integrate seamlessly with your existing systems. Tech stack consolidation ensures smoother operations and helps you get the most out of your virtual call center investment. So, give priority to solutions you can configure around your current processes.

Calculate ROI

Consider how new technology will financially impact your business—both in terms of how it can save you money and help you drive more revenue. Also, prioritize solutions with transparent pricing and avoid software that requires a team of developers to implement.

Analyze time to value and ease of use

Consider how long it will take your team to get up to speed and the projected time to value. The sooner you can realize the product’s full potential, the better.

Consider a free trial

Research is useful, but it helps to see the software in action. Free trials allow you to thoroughly explore a product's features and functionality, helping you determine if it meets your needs.

Liberty London

“With Zendesk AI, I'm seeing an exciting opportunity to streamline and be more efficient. That will allow our team to have more time to work on projects of importance to the business, be it driving revenue or new sales channels.”

—Ian Hunt, director of customer services at Liberty London

Dunlop Sports

“Zendesk helps correlate all the times that somebody calls by providing the notes and the tracking of customer interactions. That helps us speed up the process and cut down on the average handle time of a phone call because we have all the context we need to deliver a consistent message.”

—Cody Gaudreau, customer experience manager at Dunlop Sports

TELUS

“This partnership has introduced a first-class messaging system expertly blending AI efficiency with the best of personalized human support. We continue to set ourselves apart, advancing in our journey of responsible digital transformation with a steadfast focus on customer experience.”

—Zainul Mawji, Executive Vice-president and President at TELUS