Selecting the right VoIP provider can make or break your company’s communication strategy, especially when two industry leaders like Jive (now GoToConnect) and Nextiva offer compelling but distinct advantages. Both platforms have evolved significantly since their 2006 founding, transforming from basic phone services into comprehensive unified communications powerhouses. Your choice between these solutions will ultimately depend on your specific business needs, budget constraints, and growth trajectory.

What Makes These VoIP Giants Stand Out

Both Jive and Nextiva have undergone remarkable transformations that reflect the broader evolution of business communications technology. Jive Communications experienced a strategic pivot when LogMeIn acquired the company in 2018, eventually rebranding it as GoToConnect in 2020. This merger created a powerful synergy between Jive’s robust VoIP infrastructure and GoToMeeting’s established video conferencing capabilities. The result is a unified platform that seamlessly integrates voice, video, and messaging into a single business solution.

Nextiva took a different but equally strategic approach to growth, expanding organically from its Scottsdale, Arizona headquarters. The company now employs over 1,000 people and serves more than 150,000 subscribers across diverse industries. Rather than acquiring complementary technologies, Nextiva built its expanded capabilities in-house, developing CRM tools, business analytics, survey systems, and live chat software. This approach has allowed them to maintain tighter integration between features while building a reputation for reliability and exceptional customer support.

How Market Evolution Shaped These Platforms

The parallel development of both platforms reveals important insights about the VoIP industry’s direction. GoToConnect’s acquisition-based growth strategy leveraged existing market-proven technologies, allowing them to quickly offer mature video conferencing and collaboration tools. This approach appeals to businesses seeking immediately available, battle-tested features without the growing pains of newly developed solutions. The integration with GoToMeeting’s established user base also provides network effects that benefit all users.

Nextiva’s organic growth strategy demonstrates a commitment to cohesive user experience and consistent quality across all features. By developing capabilities internally, they’ve maintained better control over feature integration and can ensure that new tools work seamlessly with existing ones. This approach has resulted in a more unified platform where features feel naturally connected rather than bolted together from different sources.

Cost Comparison: Simple vs Tiered Pricing

GoToConnect embraces a refreshingly straightforward pricing philosophy that eliminates the confusion often associated with feature-based tiers. Their plans range from approximately $22 to $39 per user monthly, with costs decreasing as your team grows larger. Every user receives access to identical features regardless of which pricing tier they select, making budgeting predictable and eliminating the frustration of discovering needed features require expensive upgrades. This approach particularly benefits smaller businesses that want enterprise-level capabilities without complex pricing negotiations.

Nextiva operates on a more traditional tiered pricing model with three distinct plans: Essential, Professional, and Enterprise. For teams with 20-99 users, monthly costs range from $18.95 to $32.95 per user, with each tier unlocking additional capabilities. The Essential plan covers basic calling needs, while Professional adds unlimited video conferencing and call recording, and Enterprise includes advanced CRM integrations and analytics. This structure allows businesses to pay only for features they currently need while providing clear upgrade paths as requirements evolve.

Key Pricing Differences Between Platforms

The following factors distinguish each platform’s pricing approach:

• GoToConnect’s All-Inclusive Model: Single feature set across all plans eliminates upgrade costs and provides predictable budgeting for growing teams
• Nextiva’s Tiered Structure: Essential ($18.95), Professional ($22.95), and Enterprise ($29.95) plans allow businesses to scale features with growth
• Volume Discounts: GoToConnect offers significant savings for 50+ users, while Nextiva provides 15-20% discounts for 36-month commitments
• Contract Flexibility: Both providers offer month-to-month options, though longer commitments unlock better pricing

Budget-conscious organizations should also factor in implementation costs and potential feature upgrade expenses when comparing these platforms. GoToConnect’s all-inclusive approach eliminates surprise costs from feature upgrades, while Nextiva’s tiered system might require plan changes as your business grows. Both providers exclude taxes and regulatory fees from quoted prices, which typically add 10-30% to monthly bills depending on your location and service requirements.

Core Features That Drive Business Success

Both platforms deliver essential VoIP capabilities that modern businesses expect, including unlimited domestic calling, sophisticated auto-attendants, comprehensive voicemail systems, and flexible call forwarding options. These foundational features work reliably across both platforms, ensuring that basic communication needs are met regardless of your choice. However, the implementation and additional capabilities surrounding these core features reveal important differences that could influence your decision.

GoToConnect’s standout feature is its innovative Dial Plan Editor, which transforms complex call routing configuration into an intuitive visual experience. This drag-and-drop interface allows non-technical users to create sophisticated call flows, set up after-hours handling, and customize caller experiences without requiring IT expertise. The visual approach reduces configuration time and minimizes errors that often occur with text-based setup systems. Additionally, GoToConnect includes unlimited international calling to over 50 countries in their standard plans, providing exceptional value for businesses with global operations or international client bases.

Advanced Call Management Capabilities

Nextiva distinguishes itself through intelligent call handling features that enhance customer service quality and agent productivity. Their Call Pop feature automatically displays relevant caller information from integrated CRM systems when calls arrive, giving agents immediate context before answering. This capability transforms routine calls into personalized interactions and helps agents provide more effective support. Nextiva’s recently updated call flow builder offers detailed customization options based on time of day, caller information, and other variables that can significantly improve caller experience.

Both platforms support extensive hardware compatibility with popular VoIP desk phones from manufacturers like Poly (formerly Polycom), making transitions from traditional phone systems smoother. GoToConnect excels in call queue management with sophisticated hold music options and queue monitoring tools. Nextiva provides more advanced analytics capabilities, including sentiment analysis and voicemail-to-text transcription in higher-tier plans, which can provide valuable insights into customer interactions and agent performance.

Mobile Workforce Solutions

Modern businesses require communication solutions that work seamlessly across devices and locations, making mobile capabilities essential rather than optional. Both GoToConnect and Nextiva have developed comprehensive mobile applications that transform smartphones into fully functional business phones. These apps allow employees to make and receive calls using their business numbers from any location with internet connectivity, ensuring professional communication regardless of physical location.

GoToConnect’s mobile application maintains feature parity with the desktop experience, providing consistent functionality across all devices. Users can access team messaging, presence indicators, call transfers, and conference calling directly from their mobile devices without compromising functionality. The platform’s “Never Miss A Call” suite enables simultaneous call routing to multiple devices or intelligent call following based on pre-configured preferences. This flexibility supports various work styles and ensures important calls reach employees regardless of their current device or location.

Essential Mobile Features for Remote Teams

Both platforms provide comprehensive mobile solutions that include:

• Unified Business Identity: Make and receive calls using business numbers from personal devices while maintaining professional appearance
• Cross-Device Synchronization: Seamlessly transfer calls between desk phones, mobile devices, and computers mid-conversation
• Full Feature Access: Complete access to voicemail, call routing, team messaging, and conference calling from mobile applications
• Secure Communication: Enterprise-grade encryption and security protocols protect sensitive business conversations on mobile devices

Nextiva’s mobile solution, branded as Nextiva App, emphasizes call quality and reliability while providing comprehensive business communication features. The application includes visual voicemail, SMS/MMS messaging capabilities, and integrated team collaboration tools that keep remote workers connected to their teams. A particularly impressive feature is Nextiva’s “call pulling” capability, which allows users to seamlessly transfer ongoing calls between devices mid-conversation, such as moving from a desk phone to mobile when leaving the office.

Video Conferencing and Team Collaboration

The integration of video conferencing and collaboration tools represents a critical differentiator in today’s unified communications landscape. GoToConnect leverages its connection to the established GoTo product family, offering robust video conferencing through seamless GoToMeeting integration. This partnership provides access to mature video conferencing technology that supports meetings with up to 250 participants, comprehensive screen sharing capabilities, meeting recording functionality, and webinar hosting tools. The integration ensures reliable performance and familiar interfaces for users already comfortable with GoToMeeting’s established platform.

GoToConnect’s persistent chat spaces create virtual team environments where colleagues can communicate in real-time, share files, and transition smoothly between text, voice, and video conversations. This unified approach eliminates the friction often associated with switching between different communication tools throughout the workday. The platform’s integration with other GoTo products, including GoToWebinar, provides additional value for businesses that regularly host online events, training sessions, or customer presentations.

Comprehensive Virtual Workspaces

Nextiva’s collaboration platform, called Cospace, provides a comprehensive virtual workspace designed to replicate in-office collaboration experiences for remote teams. This platform combines voice, video, messaging, file sharing, and task management capabilities within a single, cohesive interface. Cospace supports unlimited video conferencing with up to 250 participants in higher-tier plans, along with screen sharing, meeting recording, and automatic meeting transcription that creates searchable records of discussions. The transcription feature proves particularly valuable for teams that need to reference meeting content or track action items over time.

The platform includes sophisticated team messaging with both public and private channels, direct messaging capabilities, and integrated file sharing that keeps project resources organized and accessible. Nextiva’s calendar integration and meeting scheduling tools provide more native integration options compared to GoToConnect’s reliance on third-party integrations. For businesses heavily invested in team collaboration and project management, Nextiva’s Cospace offers more comprehensive native tools, while GoToConnect provides excellent video conferencing capabilities through its established GoToMeeting heritage.

Customer Support Excellence

Customer support quality significantly impacts the overall user experience with any business communication platform, and both providers have built strong reputations around their service approaches. Nextiva has made exceptional customer service a cornerstone of their brand identity, offering comprehensive 24/7 support across multiple channels including phone, email, and live chat. The company maintains U.S.-based support teams and provides dedicated onboarding assistance for new customers, ensuring smooth transitions and proper system configuration. Their extensive online knowledge base features detailed documentation, video tutorials, and troubleshooting guides that enable self-service problem resolution.

User reviews consistently highlight Nextiva’s responsive support as a key competitive advantage, though some feedback indicates that support quality can vary depending on issue complexity and contact timing. The company’s commitment to customer success extends beyond technical support to include strategic guidance on optimizing communication workflows and maximizing platform value. This consultative approach helps businesses fully leverage their investment in Nextiva’s platform while identifying opportunities for improved efficiency.

Support Accessibility and Resources

GoToConnect provides extended-hours support through phone, email, and live chat channels, though not offering full 24/7 availability like Nextiva. Their customer service philosophy emphasizes comprehensive self-service resources alongside human support, featuring an extensive knowledge base and active community forum where users can share solutions and best practices. GoToConnect’s heritage as Jive Communications brings a reputation for personalized support, particularly during implementation phases when businesses need guidance on system configuration and user training.

User reviews frequently mention the helpfulness and expertise of GoToConnect support agents, though some feedback notes that response times can occasionally extend longer than desired during peak periods. Both companies offer premium implementation and onboarding services, with Nextiva providing more extensive options for larger deployments that require complex configurations or integrations. GoToConnect offers a more standardized onboarding experience that emphasizes user training and system optimization to ensure teams can quickly become productive with their new communication tools.

Integration Ecosystem Comparison

The ability to connect with existing business tools has become a crucial factor in VoIP provider selection, and significant differences exist between GoToConnect and Nextiva’s integration approaches. GoToConnect provides access to an extensive ecosystem of third-party integrations through their App Center and Integration Platform, offering connections to popular business tools including Microsoft Teams, G Suite, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Zoho CRM, Sugar CRM, Zapier, Oracle, Clio, Zendesk, and Slack. The platform’s integration with Zapier particularly expands connectivity potential, allowing connections to thousands of applications without requiring direct integrations.

This broad integration approach appeals to businesses using diverse software tools that need seamless connectivity across their technology stack. GoToConnect’s robust APIs also support custom development for enterprises requiring specialized integrations that aren’t available through standard connectors. The platform’s flexibility in connecting with various business tools makes it particularly attractive for organizations with complex or unique software requirements.

Strategic Integration Focus

Nextiva takes a more selective but strategically focused approach to integrations, offering fewer connections but with deeper functionality. The Essential plan includes basic integrations with Outlook and Google Contacts, while higher-tier plans add comprehensive connections to major CRM platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and Microsoft Dynamics. Nextiva’s integration strategy emphasizes quality over quantity, focusing on deep connectivity with widely-used business platforms rather than broad compatibility with niche tools.

This focused approach allows Nextiva to provide more comprehensive integration features, particularly with CRM systems where they offer advanced functionality like automatic contact synchronization, call logging, and customer interaction tracking. The company also provides custom API development for enterprises needing specialized integrations, though their primary focus remains on perfecting connections with mainstream business platforms. Businesses heavily invested in major CRM or productivity platforms may find Nextiva’s deeper integration approach more valuable than GoToConnect’s broader but potentially less comprehensive connections.

Reliability and Security Standards

System reliability and security form the foundation of any business communication platform, and both providers have invested heavily in these critical areas. Nextiva maintains an impressive 99.999% uptime guarantee, translating to less than five minutes of downtime annually. This “five nines” reliability is achieved through redundant data centers across multiple geographic locations, advanced network monitoring systems, and automatic failover capabilities that ensure service continuity even during regional outages. Their infrastructure includes sophisticated load balancing and traffic management systems that prevent service degradation during peak usage periods.

Nextiva’s security implementation includes TLS and SRTP encryption for all calls, enterprise-grade authentication protocols, and regular security audits conducted by third-party specialists. The company maintains HIPAA compliance capabilities, making their platform suitable for healthcare organizations handling protected health information. Their security framework also includes advanced access controls, detailed audit logging, and compliance reporting tools that help businesses meet regulatory requirements across various industries.

Comprehensive Security Measures

GoToConnect offers a 99.996% uptime guarantee, representing approximately 20 minutes of downtime annually, which still demonstrates excellent reliability for business communications. The platform leverages a distributed network architecture similar to Nextiva’s approach, with redundant systems across multiple data centers and sophisticated monitoring tools that proactively identify and resolve potential issues. GoToConnect implements comprehensive end-to-end encryption, TLS protocols, and AES-256 encryption standards for all communications, ensuring that sensitive business conversations remain protected.

The platform provides robust access controls including role-based permissions, single sign-on (SSO) integration, and two-factor authentication options that help businesses maintain security while enabling user convenience. Like Nextiva, GoToConnect can support HIPAA compliance requirements through appropriate business associate agreements and additional security configurations. Both providers offer detailed service level agreements that outline compensation for service disruptions exceeding their guaranteed uptime, demonstrating confidence in their infrastructure reliability.

Specialized Features and Unique Value

Beyond standard VoIP capabilities, both platforms offer specialized features that distinguish them from competitors and provide unique value propositions. Nextiva’s integrated NextOS platform represents a significant advancement in unified communications, combining traditional phone services with comprehensive customer experience management tools. This platform includes built-in CRM capabilities, customer journey analytics, and automated workflows that can streamline sales and service operations without requiring separate software purchases. The sentiment analysis feature automatically evaluates customer satisfaction during interactions, flagging potential issues before they escalate into larger problems.

Nextiva’s survey tools integrate directly with communication channels, allowing businesses to gather customer feedback immediately after interactions while experiences remain fresh. This immediate feedback capability provides valuable insights into service quality and customer satisfaction trends that can inform business improvements. For organizations focused on customer experience management, these native capabilities represent significant advantages over competitors that require separate tools for similar functionality.

Innovative Communication Tools

GoToConnect’s unique strengths center around international communication capabilities and user-friendly configuration tools. The platform includes unlimited international calling to over 50 countries in standard plans, providing exceptional value for businesses with global operations, international clients, or remote team members in different countries. This feature alone can generate significant cost savings for organizations that regularly conduct international business communications.

The platform’s Dial Plan Editor stands out as an innovative approach to call routing configuration, making complex setup accessible through an intuitive visual interface. This tool reduces the technical expertise required for sophisticated call handling while minimizing configuration errors that often occur with traditional text-based systems. GoToConnect also offers strong contact center capabilities including advanced call queuing, real-time agent monitoring, and customizable wallboard displays that show live performance metrics. The platform’s integration with other GoTo products provides additional value for businesses that regularly host webinars, training sessions, or online events.

Best Practices for VoIP Implementation

Successfully implementing either GoToConnect or Nextiva requires careful planning and adherence to proven best practices that ensure smooth transitions and optimal performance:

• Conduct a thorough assessment of your current communication infrastructure, including internet bandwidth, network quality, and existing hardware compatibility before making your final platform selection.
• Develop a comprehensive user training program that covers not only basic calling features but also advanced capabilities like call routing, mobile applications, and collaboration tools that can improve productivity.
• Establish clear communication protocols and guidelines for your team that define when to use different features like video conferencing, team messaging, or traditional phone calls based on the situation and participants involved.
• Plan your implementation in phases, starting with core users or departments before rolling out to the entire organization, allowing you to identify and resolve issues before they affect all users.
• Configure backup communication methods and disaster recovery procedures that ensure business continuity if your primary VoIP service experiences unexpected disruptions or technical issues.
• Regularly monitor call quality, system performance, and user satisfaction to identify optimization opportunities and ensure your investment continues delivering expected value over time.

Choose Your VoIP Partner Wisely

Your decision between GoToConnect and Nextiva should align with your business priorities, growth plans, and specific communication requirements. Nextiva excels for organizations prioritizing customer experience management, comprehensive analytics, and integrated CRM capabilities, making it ideal for sales-driven businesses and companies with significant customer service operations. The platform’s superior uptime guarantee and comprehensive 24/7 support provide additional confidence for mission-critical communications. Businesses willing to commit to longer contracts can achieve excellent value through Nextiva’s 36-month pricing incentives.

GoToConnect represents the optimal choice for businesses with substantial international communication needs, thanks to unlimited calling to over 50 countries and intuitive configuration tools that don’t require technical expertise. The platform’s simplified pricing structure offers transparency and potentially better value for smaller organizations, while extensive third-party integrations provide flexibility for businesses using specialized tools. Both platforms support remote and hybrid workforces effectively, though your choice should reflect whether you prioritize comprehensive virtual workspaces or straightforward communication with global reach.