What Is Grasshopper?
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system started by two entrepreneurs with the desire to make starting and running a small business even easier. This phone system functions like a legacy phone system, but through a smartphone or desktop app.
Grasshopper offers customers toll free, vanity, or local phone numbers, call routing, and voicemail transcriptions. For customers who need it, Grasshopper also offer on-demand faxing as well as headsets or desksets for making calls.
The inbox on Burner (left) and Grasshopper (right)
What Are the Differences Between Grasshopper and Burner?
What makes Grasshopper unique is the ability to use their system to affordably represent your business as larger than it is. For just $24 per month, Grasshopper provides businesses with a toll free number, custom greetings, hold music, extensions, and call routing. For a phone-based business, the price may be worth the professional appearance.
Burner, however, focuses more on protecting peer-to-peer privacy of our users, and providing local phone numbers. We offer robocall blocking through Nomorobo and other smart features such as text auto-replies, and integrations with Dropbox, Google Drive, Slack, and more.
Grasshopper is missing some of the features that make its competitors attractive to big businesses such as picture or MMS messaging, video calling, and integrations with other business services.
Why Choose Burner Over Grasshopper?
If you’re looking for basic phone functions or simply to protect your privacy when completing online transactions, Burner is a more affordable, easy to use option. Burner makes it easy to run multiple lines and to burn phone numbers you don’t need anymore.
If you’re running a small business on a tight budget and want to appear professional to customers, Grasshopper offers a lot of features for an affordable price in comparison to competitors.
CREATE YOUR FIRST NUMBER
- Unlimited calls, texts, and pics
- Up to 3 auto-renewing lines
- Spam and robocall blocking
- 1 swap per line per month
How Much Does Grasshopper Cost?
Starting at $24 per month, Grasshopper offers users one number with three extensions. For three numbers, the costs jumps to $49 per month, and for five numbers it’s $89 per month. Unless there’s a special deal running, there’s also a $25 set-up fee.
That's a lot just to get a new phone number. However, the base price does includes unlimited calling minutes and texting, no contract, call routing, automatic greetings, and hold music.
The best option will depend on where your priorities lie, and how much you're willing to spend.
What Are People Saying About Grasshopper and Burner?
“I love having this option to use one line with an additional number. I can keep my business and my personal life separate without the need and the hassle of carrying to different phones and the unnecessary expense of additional cellular service. Whoever thought of this is a genius!”
“Great app to keep your private number private, and still be sociable. Have business calls on same phone, and for fun. Talk about user friendly, simple with all kinds of features I didn’t even realize existed. An absolute must. Probably best app I’ve ever used. 10 stars in my book. Thanks for a great app that’s simple and offers so much!”
