📋 Independent Review

RingCentral review 2026 — a heavyweight UCaaS platform

RingCentral is one of the biggest names in cloud communications, with message, video and phone on one platform. We look at what you get, and what it costs.

✅ Our verdict: feature-rich and reliable — but often more platform, and more cost, than a small UK office needs

Quick answer

RingCentral (now branded RingEX) is a mature, feature-rich unified communications platform combining phone, video and messaging with a huge library of integrations. It is a strong, reliable choice for mid-sized and larger businesses that want one platform for everything and value deep CRM and app integrations. The trade-offs for smaller UK businesses are cost and complexity: entry pricing rises quickly across tiers, advanced features sit in higher plans, and it can be more system than a straightforward office phone setup needs.

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Replacing BT One Phone?

RingCentral is an app-based system, not a like-for-like replacement for BT One Phone's native SIM calling. If you need true FMC, see BT One Phone alternatives →

What is RingCentral?

RingCentral is a global cloud communications provider and one of the best-known UCaaS platforms. Its core product — now marketed as RingEX — brings together business phone, video meetings and team messaging in a single app, available on desktop and mobile.

The platform is known for breadth: hundreds of integrations with CRMs and business tools, strong admin and analytics, international calling options, and an add-on contact centre (RingCX). For businesses that want one vendor for voice, video and messaging with deep integration into their software stack, RingCentral is a serious contender.

The main considerations for UK buyers are cost and fit. RingCentral is priced per user across tiers, and the features many businesses want — advanced call handling, analytics, and higher usage limits — sit in the mid and upper plans. For a small office that just needs reliable desk-and-mobile calling, a leaner UK-focused system is often cheaper and simpler.

Pros and cons

✓ Pros

  • Well-established global provider with a mature, all-in-one platform
  • Reliable service with a strong uptime record
  • You can manage most settings yourself through the admin portal
  • Easy to add users, change extensions, manage call routing and voicemail
  • Strong mobile and desktop apps, with messaging and video built in
  • Professional features such as call queues, auto attendant, recording and reporting
  • Suitable for remote teams, and scales to larger organisations

✗ Cons

  • Support quality can vary; simple issues are usually handled quickly, but technical problems may take longer
  • Escalations can sometimes be slow
  • The range of features means the admin portal takes time to learn
  • Some advanced changes may require contacting support or a partner
  • Pricing steps up across tiers, so costs climb as you add features
  • Smaller customers may not always receive priority support

RingCentral pricing 2026

RingCentral (RingEX) is priced per user per month and is cheaper on annual billing — paying monthly costs up to around 38% more. Current UK pricing (annual price, with monthly in brackets), excluding VAT:

PlanPrice (per user/month)Includes
Essentials£12.99 (£17.99 monthly)Message and phone, mobile & desktop apps, team messaging, call logs, 100 inclusive minutes per user, 24/7 support
Standard£19.99 (£23.99 monthly)Everything in Essentials plus video meetings (up to 200), on-demand call recording, multi-level IVR, internet fax, unlimited audio conferencing, popular integrations (Microsoft 365, Google, Slack), 750 minutes
Premium · most popular£24.99 (£28.99 monthly)Everything in Standard plus automatic call recording, advanced call handling, CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zendesk), single sign-on, custom roles, developer platform, 2,000 minutes
Ultimate£29.99 (£33.99 monthly)Everything in Premium plus device status reports and alerts, unlimited storage, 4,000 minutes

Realistic starting point: Essentials is message and phone only — no video or call recording — so for proper business call handling most businesses start on Standard (£19.99/user/month on annual billing). RingCentral is more feature-rich than many smaller hosted providers, but you pay for that extra control and capability.

How GoYap compares

GoYap starts from £8.95 per user per month — below RingCentral's entry price — and is billed monthly, with no annual commitment. You get business call handling without paying the premium for RingCentral's broader platform, and without locking into a year up front. Compare GoYap →

Pricing verified from RingCentral's UK plans page, 3 August 2026. Prices exclude VAT and can change — confirm current pricing before deciding.

RingCentral vs alternatives

How RingCentral compares to the main alternatives available to UK businesses:

ProviderContractPricingHandsetsSupportBest for
RingCentral reviewed Annual / monthly From £12.99/user Wide range UK/global Integration-heavy UCaaS
GoYap recommended 12 months From £8.95/user 300+ models UK direct Best value SMEs
Gamma Horizon 12–36 months From ~£9.99/user Wide range UK direct UK SMEs needing SLA
8x8 12–36 months From ~£12/user Wide range UK support Contact centre & multi-site
Vonage Business Flexible From ~£12/user Wide range UK/global Integrations & flexibility
Microsoft Teams Calling 12 months From £12.50/user Teams-certified UK direct Microsoft 365 users

Who is RingCentral right for?

RingCentral suits mid-sized and larger UK businesses that want a single, well-integrated platform for phone, video and messaging, and that will use the deeper analytics, integrations and contact-centre options. If you want one vendor for everything and integration with your CRM matters, RingCentral is a strong choice.

If you are a small or mid-sized office that mainly needs reliable desk phones and a mobile app, RingCentral is likely more platform — and more cost — than you need. In that case GoYap or Gamma Horizon usually delivers what you want for less. And as with all app-based UCaaS platforms, RingCentral does not replicate BT One Phone's native SIM calling — see our BT One Phone alternatives page.

Frequently asked questions

RingCentral UK pricing (RingEX) on annual billing is Essentials £12.99, Standard £19.99, Premium £24.99 and Ultimate £29.99 per user per month, excluding VAT. Paying monthly costs more — up to around 38% higher. Standard (£19.99) is the realistic starting point for proper business call handling, as Essentials is message and phone only with no video or call recording.
RingCentral can work for small businesses, but its strength is being an all-in-one platform for phone, video, messaging and integrations, which many small offices do not fully use. If you mainly need desk phones and a mobile app, a leaner UK system such as GoYap or Gamma Horizon is usually more cost-effective. RingCentral shines for mid-sized and larger businesses.
RingCentral is a standalone UCaaS platform with its own phone, video and messaging apps. Microsoft Teams Calling adds phone calling to Teams, which suits businesses already standardised on Microsoft 365. If you live in Teams, Teams Calling is the natural fit; if you want a dedicated communications platform with broad integrations, RingCentral has the edge.
Not like for like. BT One Phone delivered native SIM calling with no app; RingCentral calling runs through its app. RingCentral is a capable UCaaS platform, but if you specifically need the native SIM experience BT One Phone offered, see our BT One Phone alternatives page for true FMC options such as GoYap.
The main alternatives are GoYap (best value for SMEs), Gamma Horizon (proven UK hosted system), Microsoft Teams Calling (for Microsoft 365 businesses), 8x8 and Vonage Business. We can compare any of these against RingCentral for your specific requirements.

Compare RingCentral alternatives

Tell us about your business and we'll match you to the right solution — no obligation, and we compare RingCentral against GoYap, Gamma, Microsoft Teams and more.

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Related pages

Compare all phone systems → BT Cloud Voice review → BT One Phone alternatives → Microsoft Teams calling → Business phone system cost →
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