Talkdesk VS Five9: Which Should You Use?

Searching for a cloud-based call center software? In this Talkdesk vs Five9 debate, we break them down for you to help you choose the best software.
Picture of Benard Kiplangat
Benard Kiplangat

Content Writer

Reading time: 7 minutes

In your search for the best cloud-based call center software, you would have come across Talkdesk and Five9. Both software are among the leading cloud-based contact solutions in the market. 

In 2021, Talkdesk was the winner of the customer service excellence awards. Five9 also announced winning the Global Partner Award Winners in 2021 and celebrated a year of record achievement. 

While it’s clear that both companies are crowd favorites, which one will you choose for your business?

To help you come to a decision, we evaluate both software in detail. Let’s dive right in!

Contents

What is Talkdesk?

Talkdesk is a call center solution that enables businesses to engage with their customers
Talkdesk is a call center solution that enables businesses to engage with their customers

Talkdesk is a call center solution that enables businesses to engage with their customers anytime using any device. It has features like the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) to route callers to the most qualified agent to meet their needs based on customizable data. 

Talkdesk displays real-time data of the customer, such as the name and purchase history. If a call is missed, it emails the customer’s call data and voicemail recording. The software also integrates with various programs such as Shopify and Salesforce.

What is Five9?

Five9 is a cloud-based call software for inbound, outbound, and omnichannel contact centers

Five9 is a contact center management software that allows users to manage inbound, outbound, omnichannel, and multi-channel contact centers.

It helps employees engage with customers via multiple channels such as chat, mobile, and email. Its IVR feature with speech recognition is used to attend the common customer inquiries to create high-value interactions.

💡 P.S: We’ve done an in-depth analysis of Five9’s pricing, check it out to see their features and plans!

Talkdesk vs Five9

Although both software are similar, some factors differentiate them. In this article, we’ll look at the following factors to help find the best cloud-based contact solution:

  • Ease of use: If the software is easy to operate and how long it takes to set up.
  • Pricing: If the running cost of the software is efficient compared to the size of the business.
  • Management: How much effort the management has to take on the agents.
  • Customer support: How far does it go in terms of customer support?
  • Integrations: What features are available to enhance quality customer engagement?

Ease of use

When it comes to incorporating such software into your business processes, it shouldn’t be too complex to learn and use. 

Imagine taking ten minutes to answer a call? Or spending a good 15 minutes searching for a feature? 

That doesn’t sound very productive. 

Although both are not really complex, Talkdesk is relatively easier and more beginner-friendly when compared to Five9. Reviews have also stated that Talkdesk’s user interface is extremely intuitive and takes no time to learn. The simple interface makes it easier to navigate through the system for daily use. 

✏️ Which is better: Talkdesk

Pricing

While Five9 and Talkdesk have different pricing structures, they both have a four-tier plan structure. Talkdesk has available pricing while Five9 does not openly advertise its prices, and for each tier, you will have to request its quote.

Talkdesk has four plans whose features expand as scale upwards. The CX Cloud Essentials is $75, CX Cloud Elevate is $95, and CX Cloud Elite is $125 for every user per month. Talkdesk also offers outbound, inbound, and blended contact features just like Five9. If you are looking for a 100% uptime guarantee of these features, you will have to invest in the CX Cloud Elite Plan.

So, which one do you choose? 

The two-scale very well, of course, but Five9 can be used in businesses that have consistently varying calling requirements. Therefore, you will only pay when you need to use the features and when you don’t need them, you don’t pay.

Also, Talkdesk is ideal for larger enterprises (more than 1,000 users) that have a more regular calling. It is useful to those who may want to open several contact centers in different territories that need consistent reliability.

✏️ Which is better: Talkdesk

Management features

Contact center teams have to be managed efficiently to provide the best experiences — and this is usually done using agent features and reporting tools. 

Five9 approaches call management by focusing on the quality management of the agents and their history of interaction with customers. They have the standard KPIs that are used in all contact centers such as the percentage of calls, number of calls, and average talk time. 

Talkdesk also has effective features for managing its teams. All calls are recorded and information is analyzed to provide context. However, when compared to Five9, Talkdesk lacks an important contact feature called the call whisper. 

The call whisper allows managers to communicate privately to reps while they are on the line with customers. This enables real-time coaching without the customer’s knowledge, brings first-call resolution, and reduces customer bounces.

In consideration of good management features and in-depth metrics, Five9 makes a the better option. 

✏️ Which is better: Five9

Customer support

Customer support can very well make or break businesses. Customers usually need first-hand information from the business itself, such as inquiring about the solutions and features offered. 

Both Talkdesk and Five9 offer 24/7 customer support through phone and email. Self-service options such as e-guidelines are also available for customers on both platforms. 

However, Five9 goes the extra mile by providing more options to contact them easily. They ensure full support by offering training videos and live instructions. In addition, well-trained reps will offer you premium support if you opt for the premium plan. 

✏️ Which is better: Five9

Integrations

The right integrations ensure that you’re able to increase productivity and reduce overall costs. 

Being able to integrate with useful applications like CRMs, analytical tools, and helpdesks allow you to work much faster and better keep track of your business activities.

Talkdesk integrates with over 60 business tools, while Five9 only offers 52. Slack, Front, Help Scout, and Shopify are among the third-party integrations Talkdesk supports that Five9 does not.

✏️ Which is better: Talkdesk



So, Talkdesk is in first place with a score of 3, while Five9 is in second place with a score of 2. That’s a close call, but before we reach a conclusion, let’s have a look at another option for a cloud-based contact center solution.

What is Novocall?

Novocall is a business phone system that comes with features like click-to-call, an outbound dialer, and call tracking to support call-driven lead generation efforts.
Novocall is a business phone system that comes with features like click-to-call, an outbound dialer, and call tracking to support call-driven lead generation efforts.

Novocall is a business phone system that helps you manage your contact center operations better with features like click-to-call, an autodialer, and call tracking. 

Let’s take a look at some reasons why Novocall is a viable option:

Suite of call management features

Novocall’s suite of call management features can boost your call center performance and results. It is ideal for call centers that manage both inbound and outbound calls

With Novocall, you can enjoy an entire stack of call management features like inbound and outbound call automation, lead routing, call tracking, call forwarding, and more.

Novocall’s click-to-call widget can be embedded onto your site to collect contact information from inbound leads who use it to schedule calls with you.
Novocall’s click-to-call widget can be embedded onto your site to collect contact information from inbound leads who use it to schedule calls with you.

With its click-to-call widget, this ensures a smoother transition from your website to calls. The widget also captures a caller’s information and logs it into your CRM.  

Novocall’s auto dialer allows your sales reps to upload long lists of contacts and create automated cold calling campaigns.
Novocall’s auto dialer allows your sales reps to upload long lists of contacts and create automated cold calling campaigns.

Novocall also has capabilities for automated outbound calls to save you time dialing numbers for your outbound call campaigns. All you have to do is upload a list of your contacts, and the dialer will handle the rest.

Novocall’s call tracking feature uses DNI to trace calls back to its marketing source.
Novocall’s call tracking feature uses DNI to trace calls back to its marketing source.

The call tracking feature allows you to track calls using Dynamic number insertion (DNI) to find out which campaign is driving the most calls to your call center. 

This allows you to optimize top-performing campaigns.

Full-fledged features at a low cost

Novocall’s pricing plans.
Novocall’s pricing plans.

Compared to Talkdesk, Novocall’s pricing plans are much more affordable, starting at just $19 per user per month. 

Even at Novocall’s most basic tier, you get most of the advanced features such as call forwarding, website widgets, and integration options with apps such as Google Analytics and Facebook.

As you scale higher and your business calling needs to escalate, you may upgrade to a better plan with more additional features for $39.

Several integration options

Novocall has a wide range of integration options, like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Google Analytics. Novocall also integrates with Facebook Lead Ads so you can capture more leads easily on Facebook. 

Not to forget, Novocall’s integration with Zapier lets you connect with thousands of other apps. This integration gives you more freedom and widens the functionality of Novocall.

All these integrations options allow you to automate your processes and make more effective sales calls

Ease of use

Novocall’s intuitive interface and easy deployment options can save you hours and costs of setup and maintenance that are synonymous with many VoIP providers. 

It is no wonder that many of Novocall’s customers reported the setup took less than 5 minutes to get the software running.

You can easily install Novocall’s click-to-call widget.
Easily install Novocall’s click-to-call widget.

For example, Novocall’s click-to-call widget can be set up by simply copying and pasting a generated code onto your website. This guarantees that even the most non-technical users with no prior coding experience can easily use the software to integrate it into their system.

So which is better?

So, in this Twilio vs Five9 debate, which software emerges the winner?

Despite the fact that both programs are among the best in the market, their costs and feature sets may not be right for you. It all comes down to what your company requires and how these programs might help you meet those goals.

Five9 is a suitable option if you’re a large corporation that can afford to pay extra for more comprehensive capabilities. They contain robust features that can keep up with a fast-paced company’s demands. Twilio, on the other hand, is unquestionably a viable option. It’s a terrific way to communicate with your customers because of its advanced calling options.

Novocall, on the other hand, is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that conduct call-focused sales operations. Its call control features help your phone systems run better at a lower cost. 

To explore what Novocall can do for your business, sign up with us today!

Picture of Benard Kiplangat
Benard Kiplangat

Ben is a content writer at Novocall.

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