Do ever find that your business lacks the time, commitment, patience, or in-house resources to juggle customer support? You’re not alone! More companies are deciding to outsource their customer support needs to professional inbound call center services (aka phone answering services) year over year. In addition, according to Microsoft, 59% of customers are saying they have higher expectations for companies to provide excellent customer service, compared to last year. Companies who choose to outsource their customer service needs to a remote call center service are finding themselves with more time internally to focus on day to day operations. They also are able to designate more time and attention to their customers to ensure a great experience with their brand. For these reasons and more, businesses today want to know – who are the top 5 call center service providers?
Well, before you dive into this topic, there are a few things you should know:
- There are U.S. based call center providers as well as ones overseas.
- Different call center providers will be a better fit for small vs. large companies, and for different industries.
- Call center providers have different payment structures, including charging per minute and per month.
- Providers will offer different solutions, ie. appointment setting vs. call routing.
Keep these factors in mind when you start to compare top call center service providers, so you can find the perfect fit for your business. With that being said, take a look at 360Connect’s list of the top 5 call center providers! (Note: We’ve included providers that help a wide range of industries and business sizes.)
1. Xact
Best Overall Option
Xact is one of the top call center service providers in the industry, as they offer many of the staple, go-to tasks that many businesses want. These include live answering services, lie chat, help desk support, appointment setting services, hotlines, email management, and more. Additional services Xact offers include message taking and order taking. Essentially, businesses that partner with Xact feel as though they have an extra employee working for them, but for a lesser cost.
Xact bills by the minute, which is a common fee structure for call center providers. They start at 89 cents per minute per shared agent, and bill in 12-min increments. However, keep in mind that there are different pricing plans available to different kinds of businesses with Xact. Note: Be sure to ask about any hidden or additional fees when signing up.
Services Offered | Industries | Top Features | Pricing |
Customer help desk Live chat/web support Outbound survey/response Service and support dispatch Answering services | All industries. Learn more. | CRM integrations API connectivity Quality assurance Ongoing training | Per-minute basis. Starting at 89 cents per min. Various pricing plans available. Set-up fees involved, starting at $75 per hour. |
2. MAP Communications
Best for medium to large businesses
MAP Communications is a reliable and affordable call center service provider, specializing in call center services and phone answering. Their customers find their call center solution to be desirable partly due to the fact that they offer flexible month-to-month agreements rather than long-term commitments. They are also 100% employee-owned, meaning they offer a true partnership and only succeed when they help you succeed.
MAP also offers live receptionists to give your business a professional reputation and offer services in dozens of industries. Their pricing works on a per minute basis. Typical pricing plans range between $39-$249 per month.
Services Offered | Industries | Top Features | Pricing |
Call center services Answering services Virtual receptionist | SMB Medical Contractors Property Management Attorneys Transportation Hospitality Financial Utilities Education Government And more | Virtual receptionist 24/7 service HIPAA Compliance Bilingual Appointment scheduling Call routing Custom phone scripts Message dispatch In-house IT Online tools/reports | Per-minute basis. Prices range between $1.07-$1.15 per min. |
3. HelpWare
Best for start-ups and SMB
Founded in 2016, HelpWare defines themselves as a company whose mission is to take a modern approach to the outsourcing industry. Their call center service solution offers companies the opportunity to “build their own team” when it comes to customer support, making them a very flexible and customizable option for businesses today. For instance, you can choose what kind of support you want to offer to customers, including call, live chat, video chat, SMS, and more. HelpWare has three offices in the U.S., as well as others worldwide.
Services Offered | Industries | Features | Pricing |
Customer support Back-office support Taskware (ie. content moderation) | SMB Start-ups Tech Healthcare Transportation Retail And more | Omnichannel customer support Multilingual support Tech support Customer success teams | Per-month basis. Custom quotes only. 6 month & annual contracts available. Learn more. |
4. GoAnswer
Best for Healthcare
GoAnswer is a versatile call center service provider as they help a wide range of industries and professions. They offer inbound and outbound call center services to small businesses, medical practices, attorneys, education, financial institutions and much more. Note that they also offer HIPAA compliant medical answering services, which is great for practitioners.
There are several industry perks to using GoAnswer. For instance, they are very transparent about their pricing and offer very competitive, cost-effective pricing packages. Additionally, they don’t enact minimum call volume, invoice minimums, or long-term contracts. This makes GoAnswer a great choice for businesses of all sorts of call volumes, meaning that if you are a small business, you’ll benefit from GoAnswer and be able to fit it within your budget.
Services Offered | Industries | Top Features | Pricing |
Answering services Contact center services Legal intake services Outbound call services | SMB Medical Property Management Contractors Attorneys Hospitality Financial Education Franchises Government And more | Omnichannel support Bilingual services 24/7 customer support Live answering Updates and notifications HIPAA compliance | Per month basis. Starting at $50-$110 per month. |
5. TeleDirect
Best for insurance and financial services
TeleDirect offers call center services, both inbound and outbound, to both Fortune 500 and small businesses. Their top industry specialties are healthcare, insurance, financial services, and others. While they aren’t necessarily the cheapest option in the industry, as they charge their clients per minute, they offer hard-to-find call center services such as cold calling, lead qualification and other valuable call center services that can help companies boost revenue. TeleDirect’s team is also available to help 24/7 and after hours so you can rest assured you’ll never miss a chance to help your customers. Another perk of this call center provider is that you can work with a dedicated TeleDirect agent, who works with your team one-on-one so you can work to improve results.
Services Offered | Industries | Top Features | Pricing |
Call center services Reservations and appointments Lead response management Technical support Product support | Healthcare Insurance Financial Services Retail Education Telecommunication Legal Construction Marketing and media Real estate And more | Lead qualification Customer service Tech support Order processing Direct response support After hours support Help desk services | Per-minute basis. Starts at $1,100 per 1,000 min. |
Learn More
If you are considering a top call center service provider for your business, you might also want to check out our guide on how to find the best answering service. Additionally, companies who are finding a need for call center providers also tend to need the following:
Ready to compare prices for top call center service providers? 360Connect’s free service helps businesses like yours match with the perfect call center provider for their specific needs. Get started here to compare prices, with no obligation on your part to buy.