What is Grasshopper?
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system for entrepreneurs. It adds a business line to your personal phone – saving you cash, keeping your work life separate from your private life and making your business appear larger and more competent with personalized greetings, call handling and extensions.
Grasshopper is targeted at small to medium-sized businesses – with its low costs, basic features and effortless set-up. Grasshopper offers the small business owner a toll free number, a vanity line, numerous extensions for their team plus call forwarding and transcribed voicemails.
Grasshopper also has a number of add-ons available – to help small businesses stay ahead of the game. There is call-blasting, international calling, Ruby Receptionists and a Voice Studio. For only 75 smackeroonies you can have an English or Spanish voiceover actor record a personalized phone greeting for your business. Wow.
Grasshopper was founded by Iranian-American entrepreneur, Siamak Taghaddos and American Angel investor, David Hauser back in 2003. The company is currently based in Massachusetts, in the United States.
Grasshopper
What popular features do you get with Grasshopper?
- Desktop and Mobile Apps
- Voicemail Transcription
- Simultaneous Call Handling
- Customer Greetings
- Business Texting
- VoIP/Wi-Fi calling
- Virtual Fax
- Extensions
- Incoming Call Control
- Call Forwarding and Transfers
Customer Support is available at Grasshopper
The customer care team at Grasshopper can be contacted on their Toll Free number, which is: + 1(833) 851-8340 or alternatively, their long distance line: +1(805) 617-7080. They are also available via email and live chat. On the Grasshopper website, customers can search the large library of articles and videos about general set up, billing and plans, phone transfers, business tools, case studies and more. You can also connect with Grasshopper through their social media platforms; including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
What kind of business is Grasshopper ideal for?
According to their official website, Grasshopper has serviced over 350,000 happy customers. They are a favorite amongst entrepreneurs and small business owners because of their simplicity and low pricing however they do not offer a lot of features that large businesses tend to require. Below is a list of some of the business types who use Grasshopper and how their virtual phone line can assist them specifically.
- Healthcare providers love using Grasshopper because they can connect patients with the appropriate department through their incoming call management. Grasshopper enables them to greet callers with a personalized message. Private practices are able to link multiple clinics by utilizing extensions.
- Franchises can save time with extensions that provide information such as business hours, locations, FAQs and more. They can also connect to local communities by using a phone number that is also local.
- Real Estate Agents need mobility and Grasshopper empowers them to stay connected from anywhere and everywhere using a local area number to show future clients familiarity with their suburb. Call forwarding is also helpful for connecting clients with the applicable real estate agent.
- Consulting Professionals are able to work from their office desk or on the go with the Desktop and Mobile Apps available at Grasshopper. Texting and Voicemail Transcription gives consultants a sense of control throughout their day by being able to stay on top of all of their communications. If you happen to miss a communication with a potential client, the instant response feature will send an automated SMS, so you don’t miss out on business opportunities when you are busy and unavailable.
- Service Industry Providers such as hairdressers, accountants, nonprofit, retail and others can manage their business on the road with the Grasshopper mobile app. And with a memorable vanity number, such as 1800 467 HAIR. Your clients won’t even need to have your number on speed dial on their cell.
Pros and Cons
- Pricing
- Ease of Use
- Great for small businesses
- Extensive support library
- Limited features and add-ons
- Existing Landline or mobile number required
People like you also researched
Here are some products we think might be a good fit based on what people like you viewed.
Ooma Office
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Nextiva
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GoToConnect
- Free-of-charge toll-free numbers in US
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- Integrated VoIP communications platform offering phone, video, and chat
How much does Grasshopper cost?
*based on information provided by the vendor. Actual cost may vary.
All of the Grasshopper packages listed below include; VoIP and Wi-Fi calling, numerous extensions, personalized phone greetings, call forwarding, texting, virtual fax and voicemail. Pricing plans at Grasshopper include unlimited calling in the US and Canada but please be aware, that if you reside in Alaska or Hawaii, international rates will apply, as Grasshopper regards these states to be offshore.
There is also a 7-day free trial available to all potential users and no credit card is required. During the trial, you will receive 1 number and 3 extensions. This will give you the opportunity to test out various features and see if Grasshopper is the right virtual phone system for you.
Solo plan – $28/month – includes 1 phone number and 3 extensions
Partner plan – $48/month – includes 3 phone numbers and 6 extensions
Small business plan – $80/month – includes 5 phone numbers and unlimited extensions
Grasshopper also offers a bunch of add-ons to “spruce up” your business. Such as:
Call Blasting – $10/month
Voice Studio – $75/order
Ruby Receptionist – 35% off introductory offer
International calling – search rates by country
Additional phone numbers – $10/month each
Final thoughts...
The greatest part about Grasshopper is users can open up a new account, select a business number and be accepting calls from clients and potential customers within minutes. Grasshopper primarily receives positive reviews and users can easily add it to their personal number without having to purchase any additional hardware.
The Solo, Partner and Small Business pricing packages at Grasshopper are $26, $44 and $80 respectively when billed annually however if you’re a user that wants to be billed monthly, the cost increases by three-to-nine bucks per month.
Grasshopper has featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc500, FOX and TechCrunch. For owners of small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, Grasshopper offers a budget friendly virtual phone and management system with all the basic features that you will ever need.
