1:1 comparison · Verified August 27, 2026 If you’re weighing DialPhone vs Grasshopper for your business phone system in 2026, the choice usually comes down to three factors: real total cost over 36 months, whether AI receptionist is included or addon, and how the platform handles US/Canada cross-border seats.
Every competitor figure below is taken from the vendor’s own published pages and is listed with its source and check date at the end of this page. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, this page says so instead of estimating.
TL;DR: at a glance
- Best for one or two person businesses that want a business number on an existing phone at a published $14/month entry price: Grasshopper
- Best for teams of roughly five or more that need desk phones, softphones, video meetings and CRM integration: DialPhone
- Critical 2026 difference: the billing unit. Grasshopper charges per account from $14 a month; DialPhone charges $24 per user per month. Below about three people Grasshopper is cheaper by construction; above that the per-account model stops being the cheaper one.
Quick comparison table
| Feature | DialPhone | Grasshopper |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user, per month | Flat rate per account, users share the plan |
| Pricing unit | Per user, per month | Per account, not per user |
| Published entry price | $24/user/mo (Core, annual) | From $14/month, billed annually |
| Availability | US and Canada, plus international numbers | United States and Canada only |
| Setup fee | $0 | Not publicly listed |
| AI receptionist | Add-on ($59/mo) | Add-on |
| Published uptime SLA | 99.999% monthly uptime target with service credits (Terms §6) | No public SLA located |
| HIPAA BAA | BAA offered on Advanced and higher (HIPAA) — a contract, not a certification | Not publicly confirmed |
| SOC 2 | Contact DialPhone for current status, scope and documentation (SOC 2) | Not publicly confirmed |
| GDPR | DPA and EU data residency (GDPR) — not a certification | Not publicly confirmed |
| PCI DSS | Contact DialPhone for current status, scope and documentation (PCI) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Founded | 2024 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong | Needham, MA |
| 36-month cost | $21,600 (25 seats × $24 × 36) | Not comparable: Grasshopper bills per account, not per seat |
Pricing breakdown
DialPhone
- Core ($24/user/mo, annual): unlimited US/Canada calling, SMS, HD video meetings up to 200 participants, AI live captions and transcription
- Advanced ($34, annual): adds AI SMS drafting, Proactive Workflow Automation, integrations and a HIPAA BAA
- Ultra ($54, annual): adds advanced analytics
- Contact Center (separate CCaaS plans from $65/agent/mo): omnichannel routing, AI quality management, workforce management
- Smart Virtual Concierge (AI Receptionist): separate $59/month add-on, or $69/month in the AI Pro Bundle
All plans are billed annually and include a 14-day free trial with no card required. A HIPAA Business Associate Agreement is available on Advanced and higher. The AI Receptionist is a separate add-on, not part of Core, Advanced or Ultra.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper’s own pricing page states pricing “starting at just $14/month, billed annually”. Grasshopper bills per account rather than per user, so the entry price covers the account and its included numbers and extensions rather than one seat.
Grasshopper is sold in the United States and Canada only; its pricing page blocks access from other regions, which also means we could not verify the individual tier names, number allowances or extension limits from the vendor’s own page at the time of checking. Rather than reproduce tier detail we cannot currently source, this page states only what Grasshopper publishes: the entry price and the billing unit. Check grasshopper.com/pricing from the US or Canada for the current tier breakdown.
Because the two vendors bill in different units, there is no honest per-seat comparison. At one or two people, an account-based plan at $14 a month is cheaper than any per-user product. The crossover moves in DialPhone’s favour as headcount and feature requirements grow, and where it lands depends entirely on which Grasshopper tier you need.
The DialPhone 36-month figure counts subscription seats only, at Core annual pricing: 25 × $24 × 36 = $21,600. It excludes taxes and telecom fees, usage, hardware and add-ons such as the AI Receptionist. Model your own configuration with the VoIP TCO calculator.
Feature parity
Where Grasshopper is the better fit
Account-based pricing from a published $14 a month is below any per-user product at very small scale, and there is nothing to deploy: calls forward to phones the team already carries. For a sole trader or a two-person business that wants a professional number rather than a phone system, that is the whole requirement.
Grasshopper’s limitation
It is sold in the United States and Canada only, and it is a forwarding and virtual-receptionist service rather than a phone system: no desk-phone deployment, no video meetings, no contact center. We were also unable to verify its individual tier names and allowances from the vendor’s own page outside the US and Canada.
DialPhone’s limitation
At one or two users DialPhone is simply more expensive and more product than the job needs. It was founded in 2024 against Grasshopper’s 2003, and its AI receptionist is a $59 per month add-on on top of the seat price.
Where DialPhone is the better fit
Once a team needs desk phones, softphones, video meetings for up to 200 participants and CRM integration, it needs a phone system rather than call forwarding, and DialPhone publishes every tier so the cost is predictable as headcount grows.
When to pick Grasshopper
Choose Grasshopper if:
- You are a one or two person business and want a number, not a phone system
- You want account-based pricing from a published $14 a month rather than a per-user charge
- You want toll-free, vanity or local numbers forwarding to phones you already carry
- You do not need video meetings, desk phones or a contact center
When to pick DialPhone
Choose DialPhone if:
- You have roughly five or more people and need desk phones, softphones and video meetings
- You want an AI receptionist from the same vendor as your phone system (Smart Virtual Concierge, $59/month add-on)
- You want unlimited US and Canada calling in the base plan without an enterprise agreement
- You want a contractual 99.999% monthly uptime target with service credits (Terms section 6)
- You need a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (available on Advanced and higher)
What’s NOT in the comparison
Some features that don’t differ meaningfully between the two for SMB use cases:
- Mobile apps (both have iOS/Android)
- Standard VoIP features (call forwarding, voicemail, hold music)
- Number porting (both support; timelines depend on the losing carrier, number type and documentation)
If a comparison post tells you “DialPhone has voicemail and Grasshopper has voicemail”, yes, every vendor does. The differences that matter are above.
How we built this comparison
Competitor pricing, plan names and feature availability are taken from the vendor’s own current pricing, product, security and legal pages. Every figure used is listed with its source, publisher and check date in the Sources section of this page. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, this page says so rather than estimating one.
DialPhone figures come from the DialPhone pricing page and the Terms of Service. If you find a discrepancy, tell us and we will correct it.
Verdict
There is no automatic winner here. DialPhone fits teams that want business phone and contact center from one vendor with published per-seat pricing and an AI receptionist available as a paid add-on. Grasshopper fits teams that match its own strengths (virtual phone for solopreneurs). Price both at your real seat count against each vendor’s current pricing page before deciding.
The honest test: run both through the TCO calculator at your actual seat count + use case. Whichever lands lower for your spec is the right answer.
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Compiled by Darshan M, Growth Operations · DialPhone. The 2026 SMB VoIP pricing dataset cited above is published openly at dialphone.com/data/voip-pricing-2026.json under CC BY 4.0.