3CX vs. FreePBX

The 3CX system is a well-thought out phone system with many features and options. The plan pricing is very affordable and flexible depending on your business needs. However, the key to having a solid, well-performing system with 3CX is the quality of your Internet connection. You may want to discuss your Internet connection type and speeds with a 3CX reseller before deciding on a 3CX system.

Incentivized

FreepBX is a great product if you are able and willing to manage your own PBX system. It requires some know-how to set up but once running, it works very well. There is a large community that helps answer questions, but it isn't "plug and play" so you will need to be able to research and troubleshoot your own issues (or pay for support).

Incentivized

• The 3CX Phone System has a really nice auto-provision feature that works with plug and play phones, so then all that's needed is for each to have an extension assigned to them.
• The 3CX Phone System web portal is exceptional. I love how I can keep it open during the day and quickly see who is busy on the phone and which lines are available. I can also call quickly by a simple click of the mouse.
• The app that accompanies this allows me to provision my cellphone via the app to my classroom extension so that if I am out of my classroom and someone calls my phone, it also rings on my cell phone. I can also call via the app and it appears as if I am calling from my classroom extension.

Incentivized

• Standard telephony.
• VM to email.
• Firewall
• Expandable extensions.

Incentivized

• I would like to be able to see direct-dial numbers on the handsets. Currently that is not possible but that would be a nice feature.
• You need an SBC per location, which can be a point of failure.
• You also need a server that might get disconnected, which is another point of failure.

Incentivized

• Phone integration/firmware can be clunky and has a learning curve.
• Relies on crowd sourcing information as expected for open-source.
• Requires some moderate expertise for setup.

Incentivized

I didn't have to use support personally but I have talked to the administrators of the system and they confirm that any issue is dealt with quickly. As we haven't had big issues I can't talk about priority 1 incidents which require immediate attention, but normal issues are answered fairly quickly and accurately.

Incentivized

We had offers from a local company to do VoIP and we were looking at cisco even Microsoft for our solution, but in the end, we wanted control over our phone system not a service with good support, yet at the same time we didn't want to pay a lot of money for solutions like Cisco.

Incentivized

FreePBX is as functional and easier to set up and manage, at least compared to the version of UCM we were on. The menus are more intuitive and you do not need to have Cisco command-line memorized to make things work. Plus, there is no cost overhead with an open-source software.

Incentivized

• Much lower cost than other PBX options: Our company paid nearly 1/5 the cost of purchasing a hardware-based PBX when we instead switched to 3CX. In either case we would have had to replace all phone hardware, but with 3CX we saved a ton of money on licensing and server hardware.
• Many locations, one phone system: We were able to tie all of our locations into a single 3CX phone system. This means each location is an extension, allowing call transferring, increased flexibility in auto attendant, and simpler numbers to remember.
• Elimination of carrier service: With 3CX we were able to replace carrier service at many separate locations with SIP service. This reduced each locations' phone bill from $50 per month to $5 per month.

Incentivized

• Drastically reduced our direct telephony cost as we don't need to have the hardware and support.
• Very functional and added new functionality that we did not have previously.

Incentivized