Dialpad Offers Free Business Phone Systems to Small Businesses

Dialpad has announced the release of a new service, intended to help small businesses and remote workers by eliminating their monthly phone bills. This new release, Dialpad Free, extends the company’s missions statement from “Kill the Desk Phone” to “Kill the Phone Bill,” by offering a free business phone system without a trial period.

Dialpad Free is, as the name suggests, free to use for businesses with five or fewer employees. Subscribers receive one office phone number, and up to five employees can be reached either by name or as extensions. Subscribers can sign up and download the Dialpad app onto their computer or mobile device, and it works on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android devices, as well as a native app for Google Chromebooks and an extension for the Chrome browser.

The Dialpad Free service offers a number of features, including voicemail, HD calling, call recording, call logs and analytics, and internal call transfers. It offers unlimited inbound minutes, and 100 outbound minutes per month, as well as 100 SMS messages (which includes both inbound and outbound messages, and can be sent to and from the company’s main office number). Users can connect an unlimited number of IP-enabled devices, and its two-way address book syncs with Google contacts.

Users in the same organization can chat amongst themselves freely, without using the limited message allowance. In addition, video calling is available between Dialpad users, and all businesses will receive five free UberConference accounts, allowing them to call through their PC’s web browser via WebRTC. It also provides a Google G Suite sidebar, which acts as a virtual assistant to show upcoming events and provide context for calls such as relevant emails and Google Docs.

Dialpad is offering to help small businesses transfer their existing business phone numbers to Dialpad Free at no charge for a limited time. Porting numbers away, however, will incur a small fee.

According to Blair Pleasant of COMMfusion, “Dialpad is trying to disrupt the market with this pricing approach, while eliminating the legacy approach to telecom. The company is building on the success of its Uberconference freemium model, and applying it to business phone systems, which makes a lot of sense.” She added, “The fact that Dialpad Free is autoprovisioned and can be up and running immediately should make it very attractive to small businesses that want to try out a cloud-based phone system without having to invest much time or money. The only downside is the lack of E911 support, but the company notes that most people would use their mobile phones in an emergency situation. The benefits and ease of use that Dialpad Free offers should be very attractive to SOHO workers, very small businesses, startups, and freelancers and contractors looking for a professional business communication system without the costs and headaches.”

For more information, visit dialpad.com/free.