3CXEnterprise phone system with integrated AI at an unbeatable price
vs
DialpadThe AI platform for customer experience
Comparison · Contact Center · weekly run Nov 3
3CX vs Dialpad
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Dialpad is the stronger AI pick in Contact Center: it has a visibility score of 14.5 versus 0.4 for 3CX.
Choose 3CX if…
- You want a free plan to start
- You need a self-hosted or on-premises option
- Flat tiers pricing suits your budget better than per seat
- affordable phone system with contact center features
Choose Dialpad if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (14.5 vs 0.4)
- You want a lower entry price ($15 vs $300)
- AI answers describe it more positively (45% vs 12% positive)
- You need SOC 2 Type II or HIPAA-ready (Business Associate Agreement available) or GDPR (Data Processing Agreement available) or CSA STAR registry member or ISO 27001:2022 or ISO 27017:2015 or ISO 27018:2019 coverage
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | 3CX | Dialpad |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 0.4% | 14.5% |
| Change vs last week | down−0.6% | up+4% |
| Rank in Contact Center | #39 | #11 |
| Share of voice | 0.2% | 3.9% |
| Mentions this run | 1 | 22 |
| Positive in AI answers | 12% | 45% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
3CX −0.7000000000000001pp · Dialpad +4pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Dialpad leads on 3 of 3 engines
ChatGPT
AI Mode
Perplexity
3CXDialpad
Head to head in AI answers
0 engine answers name both brands
03CX ranked higher
0Dialpad ranked higher
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | 3CX | Dialpad |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Per seat |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $300 / mo | $15 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No · 14-day trial |
| Deployment | Hosted by 3CX, on-premise, or self-hosted in your own private cloud | Cloud-based |
| Compliance | — | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA-ready (Business Associate Agreement available), GDPR (Data Processing Agreement available), CSA STAR registry member, ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27017:2015, ISO 27018:2019 |
| Support | Free tech support questions via the website, Help forum, Partner network | 24/7 phone support on Advanced and Premium plans, Enterprise SLA on Premium plans, Help center at help.dialpad.com |
| Founded | 2005 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Nicosia, Cyprus | San Ramon, California |
| Employees | 51–200 | 1,001–5,000 |
| Funding | Latest round listed as Other Investors | Series F |
| Best for | Companies with 25+ users that want a self-managed phone system with integrated AI | Businesses that run customer support, sales, and team communications and want AI agents and human agents on one platform. |
Plans side by side
3CX
Free (StartUP)$0year, up to 10 users incl. hosting
Basic$300year (8 simultaneous calls; scales with SC tier)
Pro$395year (8 simultaneous calls; scales with SC tier)
AI$575year (8 simultaneous calls; scales with SC tier)
Dialpad
Support Essentials$89user/month
Support Advanced$119user/month
Support Premium$149user/month
Sell Essentials$39user/month
Sell Advanced$59user/month
Sell Premium$79user/month
Connect Standard$15user/month
Connect Pro$25user/month
Connect EnterpriseCustom
Resolve (Agentic AI)Customconversation-based
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
3CX
- affordable phone system with contact center features
- free edition for up to 10 users
- cost control and deployment flexibility
- good fit for small and midsize businesses
- core omnichannel communications such as live chat and call routing
- suitability depends on business size, budget and IT resources
- may not suit needs for a dedicated enterprise omnichannel contact center
Dialpad
- Built-in AI tools such as real-time transcription, agent assist and coaching
- Budget-friendly entry pricing for business calling and contact center plans
- AI embedded as core infrastructure rather than an expensive add-on tier
- Quick setup and self-service sign-up, suited to smaller teams
- Unified calling, video meetings and support queues in one ecosystem
- Dedicated AI Contact Center pricing may require a sales conversation
- Exact annual commitment discount percentage not publicly specified
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “3CX vs Dialpad”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/3cx-vs-dialpad, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.