Channels

Channels is a cloud phone system that displays customer details during calls. It supports web calls, outbound calls, SMS, and international business phone numbers. Its IVR routes callers to an agent or department according to keypad selections. Staff can see customer names, order details, and recent calls during a conversation. Integrations include Shopify, Pipedrive, Magento, Integromat, HubSpot, Zendesk, Clientify, and Zapier. The product also provides an API for pushing and pulling data and webhooks for sending event data to third-party apps. It is available on Android, iOS, web, and as an extension. The maker identifies customer support, ecommerce, sales, and remote work as use cases for online businesses of any size or industry. A 7-day trial provides full software access, a phone number, and starting calling credit, with no credit card required. Plus costs $24 a month billed annually and includes five phone numbers, three users, and 30 days of call history and recording storage. Advanced costs $62 a month billed annually and includes unlimited phone numbers, five users, and 365 days of history and recording storage. Support is available 24/7 by phone, email, and live chat.

Channels combines business calling with customer details, routing, and integrations. The Plus and Advanced plans differ in user, phone-number, and storage limits.

Channels suits online businesses that want calling and messaging tools alongside customer context. The listed use cases include customer support, ecommerce, sales, and remote work.

Channels is a cloud phone system for businesses that want customer information alongside calls. It is best suited to support, ecommerce, and sales teams handling customer conversations; smaller teams can start free, but paid plans impose meaningful limits on users and call history.

Overview

During calls, Channels can show customer names, order details, and recent calls, giving agents useful context for support or sales conversations. Its web and outbound calling, SMS, international business numbers, and keypad-based IVR cover more than basic business calling: callers can be routed to an agent or department according to their selection.

Channels connects with Shopify, Pipedrive, Magento, Integromat, HubSpot, Zendesk, Clientify, and Zapier. Its API can push and pull data, while webhooks send event data to third-party apps. These capabilities make it a more compelling option for businesses tying phone workflows to sales, ecommerce, or support systems than for teams that only need a line for calls.

Key features

• Customer context: Names, order details, and recent calls can appear during conversations. This can help agents pick up customer interactions with more context, particularly in support and ecommerce.
• Calling and routing: Web calls, outbound calls, SMS, and international business phone numbers cover several contact needs. IVR routes callers based on keypad choices; the described routing is useful for basic direction to an agent or department, not evidence of more complex routing rules.
• Integrations and data exchange: The listed integrations span commerce, CRM, and support tools. API access and webhooks extend data exchange to third-party apps, which matters to teams that need phone activity connected to other systems.
• Voicemail drop: This is included as a capability, though no further limits or details are provided.
• Security and support: Channels says it uses SSL-encrypted connections, secured AWS data centers, encrypted WebRTC, and constant monitoring, and that it does not access credit card information. Support is offered 24/7 by phone, email, and live chat.

Pricing

Channels has a free plan and a 7-day free trial. The trial includes full software access, a free phone number, and starting calling credit, with no credit card required. Paid plans are billed annually.

Plus is the lower-cost paid option for teams that can work within 5,000 web calls, three included users, five numbers, and a month of stored call history and recordings. Advanced costs $38 more per month on annual billing, but removes the web-call cap, raises the included user count to five, and extends storage to a year while making phone numbers unlimited. Teams needing more than three users should account for Plus’s $8-per-user charge; Advanced charges $16 per additional user, so its longer history and higher included limits—not simply a lower per-user rate—are the reasons to step up. The free plan has no stated cap details.

Platforms

Channels is available on Android, iOS, web, and as an extension, covering mobile use as well as browser-based access.

Who it's for

Channels is aimed at online businesses of any size or industry, with particular relevance to customer support, ecommerce, sales, and remote work. It fits teams that will use customer context, IVR, or integrations to support their calling workflows. A team seeking only a simple phone service, or one that needs longer retention and more numbers without paying for Advanced, may find the plan limits restrictive.

Pros and cons

• Pros
  • Customer names, order details, and recent calls can give agents useful context while speaking with customers.
  • Web and outbound calls, SMS, international business numbers, and IVR address several business calling needs.
  • The integrations, API, and webhooks support connections to commerce, CRM, and support workflows.
  • The trial provides full software access, a phone number, and calling credit for seven days without requiring a credit card.
  • 24/7 support is offered across phone, email, and live chat.
• Cons
  • Plus limits teams to 5,000 web calls, five phone numbers, and 30 days of call history and recording storage.
  • Plus includes only three users; extra users cost $8 each, while Advanced charges $16 per additional user.
  • Advanced is a substantial price increase over Plus, at $62 /month versus $24 /month, even though its higher limits may be unnecessary for smaller teams.
  • The free plan's usage and user limits are not described, so it is harder to judge whether it can support an ongoing business workflow.

Alternatives

For a broader set of sales-dialer choices, browse Sales Dialer Software.

• JustCall Sales Dialer is a paid alternative with a free trial and Android, API, extension, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows support. Its Team plan is $29 a month, billed annually, and includes a business phone system with CRM integrations; consider it if that combination and its platform coverage better fit your team.
• Mojo Dialer is a paid option for Android, iOS, and web. Its Mojo Caller ID plan is $10 a month, billed monthly, and includes an optional verified number and complimentary Reputation Guard; consider it if those calling-number features are the priority.
• MySalesDialer has a free plan and supports Android, iOS, and web. Its MySalesDialerPro plan includes an autodialer, mobile and web CRM, Geo-Track, Salesforce integration, unlimited campaigns, and compatibility with Vonage, RingCentral, Skype, and more; consider it if those sales workflow features match your needs.
• PaulSpeaks Dialer is a paid Android, iOS, and web option with custom pricing starting at £99 per month for small teams; the quote depends on team size, call volume, and number of phone numbers. Consider it if that quote-based approach suits your requirements.
• Callingly is a paid service with a free trial and Android, API, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows support. Its Starter plan is $100 a month and includes $100 of monthly usage, with separate per-call, talk-minute, and SMS-segment rates; consider it if its usage-based plan structure fits your calling volume.
• DialerBee is a paid service with a free trial for Android, API, iOS, and web. Its Starter plan is $69 a month, billed monthly, and includes up to 20 agents, inbound queues and DIDs, and preview and power dialing; consider it if those team and dialing features are a better fit.
• Myphoner is a paid service with a free trial for Android, API, iOS, and web. Its Basic plan costs $27 a month per seat, billed monthly, and includes five pipeline automations and unlimited lists and call queues; consider it if those pipeline and queue features suit your workflow.
• PowerDialer.ai is a paid service with a free trial, available on Android, API, extension, iOS, self-hosted, and web. Its Single Line plan is $45 a month and includes up to 250 minutes, basic CRM integration, email support, and call recording and transcriptions; consider it if those capabilities and platform options align with your needs.

Verdict

Channels is a sensible choice for support, ecommerce, and sales teams that want customer details, calling, and routing tied to their existing tools. Its strongest case is the combination of in-call context and integrations; its main drawback is the jump from Plus to Advanced for unlimited calls and numbers and a full year of storage. Choose it if those connections and context justify the plan limits, and look elsewhere if you need a simpler phone service or more generous limits at a lower annual cost.