A Grasshopper alternative: a second line that also dials your list.

What is Grasshopper, and who is it for?

Grasshopper calls itself 'the easy-to-use virtual phone system for your small business'. It turns 'your personal smartphone into a call and messaging command center', so a solo owner or a team can call and text from a business number without a second phone.

It's priced per account, not per user. True Solo, at $14 a month billed annually, is one user, one number and one extension. Solo Plus, at $25, allows unlimited users with one number and three extensions. Small Business, at $55, allows unlimited users with four numbers and unlimited extensions. Every plan includes unlimited calling minutes, unlimited business texting and the mobile and desktop apps.

Grasshopper lists no dialer, and its app keeps business contacts rather than a CRM.

When is Grasshopper the better choice?

Grasshopper is the better choice when your business line is mostly for taking calls and texts, and you don't work through call lists.

• You're a solo owner or a very small business that needs a business number on your own cell. True Solo is $14 a month billed annually.
• You want one flat price with unlimited users rather than paying per person.
• You mostly take calls and texts rather than run outbound call lists.
• You want extensions so callers can reach the right person, which TopReach doesn't have.
• You want unlimited calling minutes. A TopReach phone license includes 3,000 minutes a month per caller.

When does a CRM with a built-in dialer fit better?

A CRM with a built-in dialer fits better when your second line is how you find business: you call leads every day, follow up when they don't answer and need to know where each one stands.

That's the day of a real estate agent, an insurance or mortgage broker, a solar or home-services rep, a recruiter or a founder raising money. On a phone line alone, each call is dialed by hand and follow-up depends on memory. In TopReach, you build a saved list, or a dynamic list that fills itself from rules, tap Power or Parallel and work through it with your call script on the screen.

Each outcome saves to the contact. When a call isn't answered, TopReach can drop a voicemail and then send a text or an email on the days you choose, and each deal moves along a pipeline. The Today screen lines up your callbacks, tasks, missed calls, unread texts and deals closing this week.

How do the dialers compare?

Grasshopper has no dialer, so every call is a tap. TopReach includes two dialer modes in the same phone license.

Power mode calls one number after another, so whoever answers reaches you. It suits warm leads, past clients and callbacks. Parallel mode rings several numbers at once and connects you to whoever picks up first. When two people answer at the same moment, one of them gets dropped, so keep parallel mode for large cold lists where most calls go unanswered.

In the US, the Telemarketing Sales Rule limits abandoned calls to 3% of answered calls per campaign, measured over 30 days, and Canada's limit is 5%. If you use parallel mode for telemarketing, watch that rate.

Can you dial from your phone?

In TopReach, yes. The iPhone and Android apps run power and parallel sessions: pick a call list, tap Power or Parallel, and the next lead, the live call and the call script share one screen. Parallel shows when your workspace has it turned on. Calls go out over Wi-Fi or mobile data from your business numbers, not your SIM, and incoming business calls ring like any other call.

Grasshopper's app is built for being reachable: business calls, texts and contacts on your own phone. It has no dialer.

How does pricing compare for a calling team?

Grasshopper costs much less, and it's a phone line rather than a sales tool. TopReach costs more because each person who calls gets a CRM seat and a phone license with a dialer, local presence, AI summaries and minutes.

For one person who calls, TopReach is $164 a month with one number on monthly billing, or $158 with the seat billed yearly. Grasshopper True Solo is $14 a month billed annually, or $18 monthly.

For three people who all call, TopReach is $492 a month with three numbers on monthly billing, or $474 with the seats billed yearly. Grasshopper Solo Plus is $25 a month billed annually for the whole account, with unlimited users but one number and three extensions. Grasshopper adds a $19.50 one-time texting registration fee and $1.50 a month, and extra numbers are $9 a month.

If you make a few calls a day, Grasshopper is the better buy. If you spend hours a day calling leads, compare what a dialer and follow-up are worth in conversations, not the line price.

What should you check before you switch?

Check how you really use the line and what you'd give up. A short list:

• Call volume: a dialer pays for itself only if you work through lists. If you mostly answer calls, stay with a phone line.
• Extensions and menus: TopReach has none. If callers need to choose a person or department, keep a phone system for that number.
• Minutes: estimate your monthly minutes against the 3,000 included per caller. Extra minutes come in packs of 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000.
• Numbers: TopReach can move your existing business number over, or you can buy local numbers at $10 a month each.
• Your contacts: export them as a spreadsheet. TopReach finds the phone column on import and can merge duplicates.
• Your lists: make sure you're allowed to call them. TopReach keeps your own do-not-call list but doesn't scrub against the national registry.

What rules apply to outbound calling and texting?

Outbound calling and texting are regulated in both the US and Canada, whichever tool you use. This is general information, not legal advice.

• TCPA: autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones generally need the person's prior express consent, and a dropped voicemail counts as a prerecorded message. Many states add their own mini-TCPA rules.
• National Do Not Call Registry: telemarketing calls must respect it. TopReach keeps your own do-not-call list and handles texting opt-outs, but it doesn't scrub numbers against the national registry.
• Telemarketing Sales Rule: covers telemarketing calls, including the 3% abandoned-call limit that parallel dialing can push against.
• Caller ID: the Truth in Caller ID Act bars sending misleading caller ID to defraud or cause harm, and carriers check calls with STIR/SHAKEN. Calling from local numbers you own is different from spoofing.
• Call recording: some US states require everyone on the call to consent before recording.
• Canada: the CRTC's rules include the National DNCL and a 5% abandoned-call limit, and CASL covers commercial texts and emails. Check with your counsel before you start.