In this GoTo review, we’ll be taking a deep dive into GoTo Connect (previously known as Jive) — a popular all-in-one communication platform. For this GoTo review, we’ve tested it to give you a complete overview of what to expect — we’ll cover its pricing, features, pros and cons, and how it compares to similar products.
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GoTo Connect’s Pricing
GoTo is a multipurpose business solution with many products. However, in this GoTo review, we’ve paid special attention to GoTo Connect, as it’s the only product that’s a VoIP solution.
You get both domestic and international calls, video calls, and team messaging as well. Here’s a comparison of the plans on offer:
Basic | Standard | |
Starting Price | $27/user/month | $32/user/month |
Unlimited Domestic Calling | ✅ | ✅ |
Unlimited Domestic (US and Canada) Texting | No – 40 credits | No – 80 credits |
International Calling | Charged per minute | 50+ countries included free |
Numbers | Toll-free, local, and vanity | Toll-free, local, and vanity |
Video Conferencing | ✅ | ✅ |
Call Recording | ❌ | ✅ |
Voicemail Transcription | ❌ | ❌ |
Basic – $27/user/month
This is the cheapest GoTo Connect can get, offering a good number of valuable features, such as:
- Smart call routing
- Call forwarding
- Unlimited extensions
- International calling
- Team messaging
- Audio and video conferencing
- Unlimited meeting minutes
It also offers the basics. One ring group, auto-attendant greeting, and call queue. In terms of value for money, when compared to, say, 8×8 and Google Voice, GoTo sits squarely in the middle.
Google Voice is cheaper ($10/user/m) and leads the way with unlimited domestic texting and voicemail transcription, whereas 8×8 costs slightly less but limits domestic calls, unlike GoTo Connect.
Standard – $32/user/month
This plan includes all the features offered under the basic plan plus some benefits that are unique to it, such as:
- Call recording
- Paging & Intercom
- Voicemail to email
- Real-time analytics
- Electronic fax
- Hot desking
GoTo Connect is constantly expanding, adding new features to make meetings and collaboration even more seamless and fun. Here are some of the new features you get with this plan:
- InRoom Link — Join and host meetings directly from your existing conference room system
- Smart Notes — Take shareable notes during a meeting
What’s impressive is that the Standard plan, which is a huge step up from the Basic plan in terms of features, is only $5 more. Other VoIP services like 8×8 have considerable price gaps between their plans.
Other Go-To Plans
As we mentioned above, Go-To has several products. Here’s a breakdown of the others you may find handy, with their starting prices:
- GoTo Meetings — $12/organization/month — host unlimited meetings with no time limits
- GoTo Webinar — $49/organization/month — Host webinars and hand out certificates for those who join
- GoTo Room — Custom — Includes a display, remote, and sound box for a conference room
GoTo Connect’s Features
Having tested numerous VoIP solutions, we’ve pinpointed unique aspects of GoTo Connect and explored how it compares to similar products we’ve used. Here are the most noteworthy features on offer:
Calling Functions
GoTo has one of the most diverse sets of calling features we’ve seen. Apart from the usual ring groups, call recording, and call forwarding, you also get a bunch of other interesting features.
For instance, Instant Response sends an automated message to your first-time callers if you’re busy on another line. Similarly, you can use your business phone as a pager and intercom line as well.
Another interesting feature is Spy Mode, where a supervisor can listen to a live call without callers knowing. Or, you can turn on the whisper mode so that the agent alone can hear the supervisor.
Overall, we found the calling features to be really comprehensive. There aren’t any significant features missing that you’d find at one of GoTo Connect’s competitors.
Video Calling & Meeting Functions
Our favorite thing about GoTo is undoubtedly the scope and the ease with which you can go about your meetings. Depending on the plan, you can allow up to 150 or 250 people to join these meetings.
However, we found it odd that only 50 of these users can have their webcam on at the same time. To make up for it, though, GoTo doesn’t restrict the meeting duration – unlike Zoom’s 40-minute cap.
The platform also cares deeply about keeping your meetings secure. Hence, it allows you to lock meetings once everyone has joined or to put passwords on them so that only authorized users can join.
Although the video conferencing functions of GoTo are great overall, the meeting capacity of 250 participants means that the service isn’t the best for large teams. For this, we recommend 8×8.
Call Analytics
GoTo ensures that you get insight into everything your customers do. For instance, it gives you a ‘caller hold time report’ before you take a new call, so you know their patience level beforehand.
Its real-time analytics tool helps you find out the overall satisfaction level of a caller based on their interaction, too. Plus, you’ll get call recordings to do your own research on how calls go.
The insights you get from GoTo Connect should suffice – in most cases. However, if call analytics are really important to you, we recommend GoTo Contact Center, which comes with the following:
GoTo Training
GoTo really wants to see you win. It’s one of the few platforms that helps you promote your business. For starters, if you sell webinars and training, it’ll automatically send attendees certificates.
This will give them an incentive to join your future webinars and a sense of accomplishment. Secondly, it integrates with third-party payment platforms such as PayPal to make it all that much easier.
Last but not least, GoTo has its own video platform called GoTo Stage, where you can publish your videos and earn new leads. It’s like YouTube for business videos.
GoTo Connect’s Integrations
GoTo is a widely connected communication platform. It offers a decent number of native integrations, including popular tools like:
- Zendesk
- Miro
- Shopify
- Salesforce
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Products
You can also connect to Zapier, a platform that’s home to 6,000+ third-party apps. This combined ensures you’ll have all the apps you need for your company in one place.
Is GoTo Connect Safe?
For confidential meetings, GoTo, of course, lets you put on a meeting lock — plus, you also have the option to turn on Two-Factor Authentication for even better safeguarding against intruders.
If that’s not enough, how about the ability to add passwords to every meeting? Also, if there’s any suspicious activity, such as a new login from an unknown device, GoTo will notify you immediately.
On testing the various security measures first-hand, we didn’t find GoTo lacking anywhere as far as user security and privacy are concerned.
GoTo Connect Customer Reviews
GoTo has received excellent ratings online. For example, on Gartner, GoTo has a 4.5 rating based on 138 ratings. Out of this, 52% have given it a 5-star rating, and 39% have given it a 4-star rating.
What’s even more amazing, despite being unsurprising, is that none of the users rated it 1 or 2 stars. Similarly, it has a 4.4/5 rating on GetApp, with over 6.4k people giving it a 5-star review.
Most of the users love the user-friendly interface and the responsive customer support team. Several highlight how it doesn’t require any training to use.
Other customers have praised its collaboration abilities and how easy it is to add new users and share meeting recordings with them. Overall, to find flaws, you’d really need to nitpick.
What is GoTo Connect Good for?
It’s also great for those who host online events/seminars, as it even handles the certificate side of things and helps with the ease with which you charge webinar attendees.
Additional fun features like being able to promote your videos on GoTo Stage and in-meeting polls make it a solid choice for anyone after video engagement and metrics.
GoTo Connect vs Top Competitors
Wondering if GoTo is the right choice for business? Here’s a quick comparison between GoTo and other top players in the industry:
VoIP Platform | GoTo | Ooma | Vonage | Phone.com | MightyCall |
Best For | Video calls and online seminars | Any-sized business | Small businesses | Startups | Mid-sized businesses |
Starting Price | $27/user/month | $19.95/user/month | $13.99/line/month | $12.74/user/month | $15/user/month |
Trial Period | 14 days | 60 days | 14 days | Free demo | 7 days |
Mobile App | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
Top 3 Features | Caller hold-time report, meeting lock, unlimited extensions + no meeting duration cap | HD audio quality, virtual receptionist, free toll-free number | Unlimited meetings, class-leading security, multi-level auto attendant | Voice tagging, native SMS box, personalized call messages | Custom greetings, business hour call routing, call screening |
Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | ❌ |
GoTo Connect vs RingCentral
GoTo and RingCentral are both terrific. That said, as we found in our RingCentral review, it boasts some nifty extras for businesses. This includes visual voicemail and a separate console for admins.
GoTo, on the other hand, makes up for it by offering separate plans for meetings, webinars, and training. It’s more organized and ensures you only pay for the services you need.
Also, while RingCentral asks you to upgrade for more than 20 users, video conferencing, and integrations with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365, GoTo Connect’s Basic plan covers all this.
GoTo vs Zoom
The best thing about Zoom is that it has a generous free plan; however, meetings are capped at 40 minutes and 100 participants. That said, it also offers Team Chat, Notes, and Mail & Calendar.
GoTo has no free plan, but the attendee limit is higher, at 250 participants. GoTo Connect similarly leads the way when it comes to international calling VoIP services and unlimited domestic calls.
You also get unlimited meeting duration, whereas Zoom caps out at 30 hours on its highest plan, but in all fairness, you’d hardly require that number of hours in the first place.
GoTo vs Ooma
As we explored in our Ooma review, it’s primarily focused on audio calling, and since GoTo also has fantastic audio calling features, it’s safe to say that the competition is tough.
In fact, a lot of the features are the same. Ooma only gets a slight edge, thanks to its paging group feature. While both let you use your business phone as a pager, Ooma lets you form paging groups.
Plus, you can also set distinct ringtones for each number, making it easier for you to recognize who’s calling. That said, GoTo outperforms Ooma for meetings and webinars.
How We Test VoIP Services
Our team has 13+ years of experience in the industry, reviewing countless software and hardware products, including VoIP services. To do this, we take them for a trial run.
We test each feature individually to see how it compares to others we’ve used — the same is true for analyzing the ease of use of the various apps and interfaces.
Beyond this, we also dig out feedback from customers to ensure we’re covering everything. All this combined allows us to give you what you need to know to decide if it’s best for you.
How to Choose the Best VoIP Provider
Here are a few parameters that you should consider while buying a VoIP platform:
Quality VoIP services don’t have to break the bank for you. There are ample options on the market, all covering various needs and budgets. It’s important to consider what features you need and what you can afford to pay.
By default, almost all popular VoIP platforms offer core features like call forwarding and ring groups. However, if you’re after something particular, we advise ensuring this feature is available on your chosen plan and not on a higher-end one or as an add-on.
Even the best small business VoIP services should offer room for growth. The last thing you need is to need to switch VoIP providers when your business outgrows the platform supporting it. Make sure what you’ll need in the future is covered by the provider you choose.
How simple a platform is can make it or break it for you, especially if you want to save time and money on training. Be sure to make use of any free trials and guarantees when choosing a VoIP service.
Integrating with third-party business apps helps centralize your workflow so your team doesn’t need to juggle multiple apps. Be sure to note if the apps you use are supported on the plan you can afford.
Even if you have an in-house tech team, it’s always better to pick a platform with good customer support. Be sure to take into account their online documentation and the support channels on offer.
If your communication line is down, your customers won’t be able to reach you. Opt for sites that guarantee you uptime close to 100%. Every 9 in 99.999% uptime means minutes of downtime per year.
These can be in the form of a price hike post renewal or forcing you to buy an add-on for the functionality you need. Read the contracts thoroughly before committing to anything.
Verdict – Is GoTo Really Worth It?
GoTo is best for those looking for a provider that’s easy to set up and use and that offers a myriad of solutions across categories, like video conferencing, online seminars, and dedicated customer engagement.
The GoTo Connect Standard plan ($32/user/m), although more than some others, like Ooma, is a steal, given that it includes almost everything you’d need.
We also found the platform was very responsive. However, GoTo isn’t the best option for larger teams due to the meeting cap. For this, we recommend Vonage instead — or Zoom if you’re after a free VoIP.
FAQs
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References
- What is AES-256 Encryption (FIPS Publication)
- Benefits of Video Conferencing (University of Cumberlands)