Independent comparison for enterprise buyers. Updated May 2026.
Quick verdict: Choose 8x8 when integrated UCaaS and contact centre on a single platform is the decisive criterion, particularly for mid-market and large enterprises procuring telephony and contact centre together with multinational reach. Choose Dialpad when AI-native voice features, real-time call transcription, and a lighter modern client are priorities, particularly for technology, professional services, and sales-led organisations. The differentiator is portfolio shape: 8x8 leads on contact centre depth and global PSTN reach; Dialpad leads on AI features built into every call.
| Criteria | 8x8 | Dialpad |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | 4.1 / 5.0 | 4.3 / 5.0 |
| Deployment | Cloud SaaS; desktop, mobile, browser, IP phone clients | Cloud SaaS; desktop, mobile, browser, supported IP phones |
| Pricing Model | Per-user subscription; UCaaS and combined UCaaS-plus-CCaaS plans | Per-user subscription; Standard, Pro, Enterprise tiers and Ai Contact Center |
| Target Buyer | Mid-market and enterprise UC, particularly with contact centre scope | Small business through enterprise; technology, sales, and services teams |
| Cloud Availability / Regions | Calling in 55+ countries; direct PSTN replacement footprint | Calling in approximately 70 countries via direct and partner routes |
| Ecosystem / Integrations | Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Google Workspace |
| Key Strength | Integrated UCaaS plus CCaaS on a single platform | AI-native real-time transcription and call coaching |
| Key Limitation | Smaller channel ecosystem; narrower marketplace breadth | Less developed in large complex CCaaS deployments than incumbents |
8x8 and Dialpad both compete in the UCaaS market but with different strategic shapes. 8x8 X Series was designed as a single platform for UCaaS, video, messaging, and contact centre from the outset, and the integrated administration and reporting across UC and CC workloads is a recurring buying-side reason for choosing it. Dialpad was built around AI-augmented voice, with real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and post-call summaries as native features rather than premium add-ons.
On telephony, 8x8 X Series provides direct PSTN replacement in 55+ countries with strong coverage in North America, the UK, Australia, and EMEA. Dialpad offers calling in approximately 70 countries through a combination of direct and carrier-partner routes, with strong coverage in North America, the UK, and selected EMEA and APAC markets. For multinational telephony with broad local-number requirements, 8x8 is typically more straightforward to deploy as a single direct-supplier estate; Dialpad is competitive in markets where its native footprint aligns.
On meetings and messaging, both products provide native meetings, video, messaging, and softphone clients. Dialpad Ai Meetings includes the same AI features as voice — real-time transcription, action item capture, and post-meeting summaries — and the integrated client is lightweight and well regarded by sales-led teams. 8x8 Work provides native meetings and messaging integrated with telephony and additionally supports Microsoft Teams Phone via Direct Routing for organisations standardised on Teams.
On contact centre, 8x8 Contact Center is the deeper offering, with workforce management, quality management, speech analytics, omnichannel routing, and outbound campaigns as integrated capabilities on the same platform as UCaaS. Dialpad Ai Contact Center is competitive for small and mid-sized contact centres, particularly inbound voice and digital with strong AI assistance, but it is less developed for large complex CCaaS deployments with deep WFM, quality management, and outbound dialler requirements.
On AI features, Dialpad has a structural advantage. Dialpad AI is embedded across every call and meeting at no incremental licence cost, including real-time transcription, sentiment detection, action item extraction, and supervisor coaching. 8x8 Intelligent Customer Assistant and Engagement Analytics provide similar features in contact centre but typically as higher-tier or add-on capabilities rather than baseline. For organisations where pervasive call intelligence across all users is decisive, Dialpad is the cleaner fit.
On integrations, 8x8 covers the standard enterprise stack including Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, and Dynamics 365 adequately. Dialpad has invested heavily in Salesforce, HubSpot, and Google Workspace integrations and tends to be the more natural choice for sales-led teams whose primary system of record is a modern CRM.
8x8 X Series list pricing as of mid-2026 ranges from approximately $24 per user per month for X2 to $44 for X4, with combined UCaaS-plus-CCaaS plans (X6, X7, X8) at $85–140 per user per month including agent functionality. For an enterprise procuring UCaaS and CCaaS together, 8x8 combined plans are commercially competitive against piecing together separate UCaaS and CCaaS suppliers at similar feature depth. Annual enterprise contracts for 1,000-seat deployments typically land in the $300K–$1.5M range depending on contact centre scope.
Dialpad list pricing as of mid-2026 starts at approximately $15 per user per month for Standard, $25 for Pro, and bespoke pricing for Enterprise. Dialpad Ai Contact Center licensing typically lists at $80–150 per agent per month depending on tier. Dialpad bundles AI features across every tier at no additional licence cost, which is a structural pricing advantage versus suppliers that licence AI separately. The principal buying-side caveat for either supplier is that international calling tariffs and country-by-country PSTN charges materially affect total cost; organisations with heavy international dialling should model country-specific minute charges before commercial comparison.
Choose 8x8 when integrated UCaaS and CCaaS on a single platform is decisive, when contact centre is procured in the same cycle as telephony, when administration simplicity and consolidated reporting across UC and CC workloads matter, or when the organisation operates primarily in markets covered by 8x8's 55-country footprint. 8x8 is well suited to mid-market and enterprise organisations in financial services, healthcare, retail, and higher education where the contact centre is a critical operational asset and platform unification simplifies operations meaningfully.
Choose Dialpad when AI-native voice features across every call are decisive, when sales-led teams prioritise real-time transcription, coaching, and CRM auto-population, when the modern lightweight client improves adoption versus legacy PBX replacements, or when Google Workspace is the primary productivity platform and tight Workspace integration matters. Dialpad is well suited to technology companies, professional services firms, modern sales organisations, and mid-market enterprises where contact centre scope is moderate but pervasive call intelligence is strategically valuable.
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