Grasshopper Review 2026: The Complete Deep Dive (Features, Pricing, Issues, and Alternatives)

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system that gives entrepreneurs and small businesses a separate business number without requiring dedicated phone hardware. Calls and texts work through mobile and desktop apps or can be forwarded to an existing phone.

This review covers Grasshopper’s current features, pricing, limitations, and how it compares with the SmartChat CRM platform that SmartChat provisions.

Quick Verdict

Overall rating: 4.2/5

Grasshopper is an easy way to add professional calling, texting, greetings, extensions, and voicemail to a small business. Its flat account pricing is especially attractive for small teams because eligible plans include unlimited users instead of charging for every employee.

However, Grasshopper is not a full CRM, sales platform, or advanced contact center. Businesses needing sophisticated queues, outbound campaigns, detailed workforce analytics, or automated lead nurturing will require additional software.

Best for: Solopreneurs and small teams that need a professional business number on existing devices.

Consider an alternative if: You need CRM pipelines, marketing automation, advanced call-center controls, or extensive integrations.

What Is Grasshopper?

Grasshopper is a cloud-based virtual phone service owned by GoTo. It separates business and personal communications while allowing users to keep their existing phones.

Businesses can choose a local, toll-free, or vanity number, create extensions, configure call forwarding, send business texts, record greetings, and manage communication from mobile and desktop apps.

Unlike a complete office PBX, Grasshopper focuses on straightforward virtual calling for small businesses.

Business Numbers and Calling

Rating: 4.4/5

Grasshopper offers local, toll-free, and vanity numbers. Customers can also request to port an eligible existing number.

The service advertises unlimited calls and minutes, subject to its terms, supported calling area, and acceptable-use rules. International calls are not included in domestic unlimited calling and may carry separate rates.

Users can make business calls through the app while displaying the company number instead of a personal number. Incoming calls can ring the app or forward to another telephone.

Test call quality over Wi-Fi, mobile data, and cellular forwarding before relying on Grasshopper as the company’s only number.

Extensions and Call Routing

Rating: 4.2/5

Extensions can route callers to employees, departments, or information-only destinations. Businesses can create greetings, phone menus, schedules, forwarding rules, and call-handling instructions.

Grasshopper works well for simple structures such as:

• Press 1 for sales
• Press 2 for service
• Press 3 for billing
• Route after-hours calls to voicemail
• Forward an extension to several employees

It is less suitable for complex contact centers requiring skills-based routing, large queues, detailed agent states, workforce management, or sophisticated supervisor controls.

Business Texting and Shared Inbox

Rating: 4.2/5

Grasshopper supports business SMS through eligible numbers. Its shared inbox keeps calls, texts, and voicemails together, helping team members see recent customer communication.

The service advertises unlimited texts, but messaging remains subject to carrier rules, registration, supported number types, reasonable use, and anti-spam requirements.

Businesses sending US application-to-person messages may need brand and campaign registration. Confirm registration charges, approval requirements, throughput, opt-out handling, and whether the intended message type is permitted.

Grasshopper is built for business conversations rather than high-volume promotional text campaigns.

Need texts answered, not just received? SmartChat AI puts a 24/7 AI front desk on SMS, Messenger, Instagram, and website chat — reading each inquiry, answering from your knowledge base, and booking appointments while you work.

Voicemail, Transcription, and Greetings

Rating: 4.4/5

Grasshopper includes customizable greetings, voicemail boxes, and voicemail transcription. Transcriptions make it easier to review messages without listening to every recording, although accuracy can vary with noise, accents, names, and technical vocabulary.

Professional voice recordings are available for businesses that want polished menu and voicemail audio. Confirm whether the required recording is included or charged separately.

Instant Response can automatically text a new caller when the business cannot answer. This is useful for acknowledging an inquiry, but it does not replace a complete follow-up campaign.

Mobile and Desktop Apps

Rating: 4.3/5

The mobile and desktop apps allow users to place calls, send texts, check voicemail, review communication, and manage availability.

Grasshopper does not require a second mobile device or traditional office-phone installation. That simplicity is one of its strongest advantages.

Performance still depends on the user’s internet connection, mobile carrier, operating system, permissions, and notification settings. Test background ringing and call behavior on every device an employee will use.

Call Recording, Summaries, and Analytics

Rating: 4.0/5

Grasshopper advertises call recording, call tracking, analytics, AI-generated call summaries, and sentiment information. These tools can help small businesses review conversations and understand caller activity.

Availability may depend on the plan, account, or current rollout. Confirm recording storage, retention, download options, AI limits, and pricing before purchase.

Recording and transcribing calls can require notice or consent. Businesses must configure these features according to the laws applying to their callers and employees.

Virtual Fax and Additional Features

Rating: 4.0/5

Grasshopper includes virtual fax capabilities for businesses that occasionally exchange documents by fax. It also provides call forwarding, simultaneous call handling, custom schedules, caller ID, incoming-call control, and reporting.

Buyers should verify fax-page limits, supported file types, retention, international availability, and whether inbound and outbound faxing are both supported by the chosen configuration.

Grasshopper Pricing

Grasshopper offers three principal plans. Annual billing saves more than 20% compared with month-to-month billing.

Plan	Annual-billing price	Monthly price	Included structure
True Solo	$14/month	$18/month	1 user, 1 number, 1 extension
Solo Plus	$25/month	$32/month	Unlimited users, 1 number, 3 extensions
Small Business	$55/month	$70/month	Unlimited users, 4 numbers, unlimited extensions

Annual plans are paid according to the checkout terms. Taxes, international calls, premium numbers, additional numbers, professional recordings, registration, and optional services may add to the total.

True Solo

True Solo is designed for one-person businesses. It includes one user, one business number, and one extension.

It is the most affordable option for a freelancer or owner who only needs a dedicated business identity and basic call handling.

Solo Plus

Solo Plus supports unlimited users, one number, and three extensions. It is the practical choice for a small team sharing one main business number.

Because it does not use per-user pricing, it can remain economical as more employees need access.

Small Business

Small Business includes unlimited users, four numbers, and unlimited extensions. It suits companies with multiple departments, brands, locations, or call routes.

The plan provides more flexibility, but it does not convert Grasshopper into an enterprise PBX or full contact center.

Plan details and promotional discounts can change. Confirm the final renewal price and included services at checkout.

Free Trial, Guarantee, and Cancellation

Grasshopper offers a seven-day free trial without requiring a credit card. The pricing page also advertises a seven-day money-back guarantee for purchases.

These are separate offers. Review the guarantee’s eligibility and request process before buying, especially when purchasing an annual subscription, number, add-on, or professional service.

Grasshopper says customers do not have to sign a long-term contract and can change plans. Annual billing still creates a prepaid billing commitment, so confirm refund treatment, renewal timing, and cancellation requirements.

Do not cancel an account until any number you want to keep has successfully transferred to the new provider.

Main Issues and Buying Risks

It is not a complete phone system for every business

Grasshopper handles everyday small-business communication well, but advanced queue management, contact-center analytics, desk-phone provisioning, and complex enterprise controls may require GoTo Connect or another provider.

No built-in CRM

Call and message history does not replace deal pipelines, customer records, lead scoring, or sales automation.

International calling costs extra

Unlimited domestic calling does not mean worldwide calling is included. Obtain rates for every country the business regularly calls.

Messaging remains regulated

“Unlimited texts” does not remove carrier registration, consent, anti-spam, throughput, and acceptable-use requirements.

Important costs can sit outside the base plan

Additional numbers, premium area codes, international calls, professional recordings, regulatory charges, and optional services can increase the final bill.

Shared access needs clear ownership

When several users share a number or inbox, define who answers calls, owns conversations, responds to texts, and reviews missed inquiries.

Security and Privacy

Grasshopper is part of GoTo and provides centralized account controls and company privacy documentation. Businesses should still review administrator access, password practices, recording permissions, retention, data export, and account recovery.

Call recordings, voicemail transcriptions, text messages, and AI summaries can contain sensitive information. Limit access to employees who need it and establish a retention policy.

Businesses with healthcare, financial, legal, or other regulated communications should obtain written confirmation that the service and selected configuration meet their specific requirements.

Grasshopper vs SmartChat CRM

Grasshopper and SmartChat CRM both provide business calling and texting, but they serve different needs.

Category	Grasshopper	SmartChat CRM
Primary purpose	Simple virtual business phone	CRM, marketing, sales, and agency management
Account pricing	From $14/month annually	Included with SmartChat plans
Unlimited users	Solo Plus and Small Business	Depends on plan and account structure
Business numbers	Included by plan	Numbers purchased through connected telephony
Call forwarding and extensions	Core strength	Available, but more workflow-focused
SMS conversations	Included, subject to rules	Usage-based through connected services
CRM pipelines	Not included	Included
Email automation	Not included	Included
Funnels and websites	Not included	Included
Reputation management	Not included	Included
Multi-client agency tools	Not included	Included on higher plans

SmartChat CRM is provisioned through SmartChat’s annual plans at flat peso pricing rather than sold as separate tiers. There are no separate platform usage charges: SMS runs through your own postpaid SIM under your telco plan, and the AI front desk is included.

Choose Grasshopper if:

• You primarily need a professional business number.
• Your team wants to use existing phones and computers.
• Simple forwarding, extensions, voicemail, and texting are enough.
• You prefer predictable account pricing.
• You already have a CRM and marketing system.

Choose SmartChat AI if:

• You need a CRM as well as text communication — SmartChat provisions a SmartChat CRM sub-account with pipelines, forms, calendars, and workflows included.
• Automated lead nurturing is important, and you want the AI doing the first response, not just the software.
• You want a 24/7 AI front desk on SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and website chat.
• Texts should come from your own Philippine business number through a postpaid SIM in a dedicated Android relay phone.
• Flat annual peso pricing — ₱2,699 per month equivalent for SMS + AI, unlimited contacts — fits better than stacking a phone app on top of a CRM you still have to configure.

Want to see the difference a real front desk makes? Text 0917 315 4230 and the SmartChat AI will answer — the same way it would answer your customers.

Migrating to Grasshopper

Begin by listing every number, user, extension, greeting, voicemail box, schedule, and forwarding destination.

Then:

1. Choose a new number or begin the porting process.
2. Build extensions and call routes.
3. Record the main and voicemail greetings.
4. Install the apps on employee devices.
5. Configure texting and required registration.
6. Test incoming and outgoing calls.
7. Test transfers, forwarding, voicemail, and notifications.
8. Confirm shared-inbox responsibilities.
9. Train users on business caller ID and availability.
10. Cancel the previous provider only after porting is complete.

Final Verdict

Grasshopper is a practical virtual phone system for entrepreneurs and small businesses that value simplicity. It provides professional numbers, calling, texting, extensions, greetings, voicemail, and mobile access without requiring dedicated hardware.

Its unlimited-user plans can be excellent value for small teams. Its limitations become clear when a business needs advanced contact-center operations, deep integrations, or automated customer management.

Final rating: 4.2/5

Choose Grasshopper when a clean business number is all you need. Choose SmartChat AI when the number is only the start — when you want every inquiry answered 24/7 by an AI front desk, landing in a SmartChat CRM CRM that is already set up for you.