These three platforms keep landing on the same shortlist. When Boston businesses ask us to run a phone system evaluation — especially firms that live inside a CRM or practice-management tool — Dialpad, GoTo Connect, and Broadvoice are frequently the final three. They occupy similar territory: cloud PBX calling, mobile apps, and pricing that rewards a multi-year commitment. But they differ sharply in the details that decide the deal: how integrations actually work, whether you own or rent your phones, and what the contract locks in.
This comparison comes out of a real evaluation we recently ran for a Greater Boston professional services firm (details anonymized), and we publish the framework so your shortlist benefits from the same rigor. Illustrative list pricing verified September 2026 — street pricing through advisors runs lower, and promotions change monthly.
The Quick Verdict
- Dialpad — pick it when your workflow lives in an integration. The native Clio and CRM integrations are the deepest of the three, and AI transcription comes built into the base tiers rather than as an upsell.
- GoTo Connect — pick it for voice plus video on one bill. Bundled GoTo Meeting (up to 250 participants) and unlimited auto-attendants and queues at every tier make it the strongest all-in-one for meeting-heavy teams.
- Broadvoice — pick it for budget and startup cost. Seat-based b-hive pricing routinely comes in lowest, and phone rental on multi-year terms means no big hardware check on day one — if a shorter integration list is acceptable.
Dialpad: Deepest Integrations, AI in the Base Product
Dialpad built its platform around AI: real-time transcriptions, call summaries, and coaching cues are included at the base tiers instead of being carved off as premium add-ons. List pricing runs about $15 per user per month (Standard) to $25 (Pro) with annual billing, and the per-user model is straightforward to model as you grow.
The differentiator for vertical buyers is integration depth. The native Clio integration for law firms logs calls to matters automatically and captures billable time without staff touching a timer, and the same depth carries into mainstream CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
Watch-outs: built-in video conferencing is serviceable but lighter than dedicated meeting platforms, fax rides in through e-fax add-ons rather than a native feature, and you own your phones — the upfront hardware line matters unless a promotion offsets it.
GoTo Connect: Voice Plus Video on One Bill
GoTo Connect — formerly Jive, and still written as GoToConnect in most searches — pairs a solid cloud PBX with bundled GoTo Meeting video. Meetings with up to 250 participants come with the seat rather than as a separate line item, and unlimited auto-attendants and call queues at every tier are a genuine differentiator for multi-department offices.
Published pricing starts around $26 per user per month billed annually, though GoTo increasingly quotes deal by deal. The Clio integration is real — the official app lives in the Clio App Directory and delivers caller screen pops with a link to the client record, plus billable call logging — but it sits closer to click-to-call-plus than Dialpad's deeper matter syncing, and it carries its own monthly fee.
Watch-outs: video is the strength and voice AI features trail Dialpad, you own your phones here too, and quote-based pricing means the number you see online may not be the number you get.
Broadvoice: Value Pricing, Rented Hardware
Broadvoice sells value. Its b-hive platform prices by seat type — metered seats from around $10 per user, with unlimited-path seats running into the high teens — which routinely makes it the lowest line item on a three-way quote. Multi-year agreements are the norm, and hardware rental programs mean phones ship with the term rather than as an upfront purchase, flattening startup cost.
Watch-outs: the integration catalog is the shortest of the three — there is no native Clio integration, so practice-management workflows stay manual or route through a third party — and video meetings are not the platform's center of gravity. For straightforward voice at the lowest total cost, that trade can be exactly right.
Head-to-Head: The Decision Table
Illustrative list pricing verified September 2026 — street pricing through advisors runs lower. Your fit depends on the row that matters most to you.
| Factor | Dialpad | GoTo Connect | Broadvoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| List from (per user/mo) | ~$15–$25 | ~$26+ (quote-based) | ~$10–$20 by seat type |
| Hardware | You own; promos often offset | You own; promos often offset | Rental on term agreements |
| Clio integration | Native and deep (auto matter logging) | Official app: screen pops + logging, add-on fee | None native — manual or third party |
| Video meetings | Built in, lighter | Strongest — GoTo Meeting bundled, up to 250 | Not the focus |
| AI features | Core strength at base tiers | Growing | Platform basics |
| Contract posture | Monthly or annual | Annual typical | Multi-year typical |
| Best for | Integration-heavy teams, professional services | One-bill voice + video | Budget and hardware-rental deployments |
What the Table Can't Tell You
Three things only surface during a live evaluation:
- Promotions change monthly. Free months, free phones, and waived implementation fees come and go, and the best versions are often visible only through channel pricing — an advisor's quotes frequently beat the list page.
- E-fax is never free. None of the three is a fax platform. E-fax arrives as an add-on or third-party service, and whether it lands inside the seat price or beside it changes the per-user math — a real issue for workflows that still require fax.
- Total cost lives in the term, not the month. Own-versus-rent hardware, promo months, and implementation fees net out differently over 36 months than they do on a monthly quote. Our Boston VoIP cost guide shows the full TCO method.
Which One Fits Your Business
Running a practice-management tool like Clio? Dialpad is the clearest fit — automatic call logging to matters and billable-time capture are worth real money to a firm, more than any per-user delta. See how we evaluate for Boston law firms.
Meeting-heavy team that wants one bill? GoTo Connect bundles what others charge separately, and the video experience is the most mature of the three.
Cost-driven and straightforward voice? Broadvoice's seat pricing plus rented hardware keeps both startup cost and monthly cost down — the right trade when integrations are nice-to-have.
None of these are your only options. RingCentral, Zoom Phone, 8x8, and Nextiva sit in the same market — see our full Boston provider comparison for that four-way matrix.
How the Evaluation Process Works
As an independent technology advisor, we run this comparison with your requirements — not the carriers' quotas. We shortlist the providers that actually fit, build a current-versus-proposed cost breakdown, schedule demos around your scenarios, and negotiate pricing and terms through carrier relationships that usually beat going direct. And when you choose, we run the number porting so your main line never goes dark: port first, cancel last. The same rigor covers the internet half — our fiber vs cable guide walks the circuit underneath it all.
Comparison FAQs
Is GoToConnect the same as GoTo Connect?
Yes. GoToConnect is the older branding still used in most searches; the product is officially GoTo Connect, built on the Jive communications platform GoTo acquired. If you see both names in quotes and comparisons, they refer to the same system.
Which of the three integrates with Clio?
Dialpad has the deepest native Clio integration: calls log to matters automatically and billable time is captured without manual entry. GoTo Connect has an official Clio app that delivers caller screen pops with a link to the client record plus call logging, billed as its own add-on. Broadvoice has no native Clio integration, so practice-management workflows stay manual or route through a third-party connector.
Do I own my phones with these providers?
It depends on the deal structure. Dialpad and GoTo Connect typically sell you the handsets, with promotions that offset or bundle hardware depending on the month and the term. Broadvoice commonly rents phones as part of a multi-year agreement, which keeps startup cost low but means you are renting for the life of the contract. Compare both paths over the full contract term, not just month one.
Can we switch to any of them without losing our phone numbers?
Yes. Your numbers move through a carrier-to-carrier port, and the sequencing rule is simple: port first, cancel the old carrier last. Never disconnect existing service before every number is confirmed ported and tested, or the numbers can be released and lost. Our project managers run ports end to end — the full mechanics are in our POTS replacement guide.
Key Takeaways
- Dialpad wins on integration depth and built-in AI; GoTo Connect wins on bundled voice plus video; Broadvoice wins on total cost and rented hardware.
- Clio users: only Dialpad integrates natively and deeply — GoTo Connect's official app is real but lighter and billed separately, Broadvoice has none.
- List pricing verified September 2026 is a starting point — promotions and advisor channel pricing move the real number.
- Whichever you choose, sequence the switch so numbers port before anything cancels.