Kelir vs Grasshopper
Same business phone system features. Grasshopper as a softphone for $14 flat. Kelir on a cellular line for $24.99.
Grasshopper and Kelir ship overlapping business phone system features — auto-attendant, working hours, voicemail with transcripts, call forwarding, basic IVR. The difference is delivery and pricing model: Grasshopper runs as a softphone app at $14/month (True Solo) flat-rate, $25 for up to 3 users (Solo Plus), $80 for unlimited (Small Business). Kelir runs the same system on a real cellular eSIM line at $24.99/mo (Solo) or $29.99/seat (Team Starter). Grasshopper wins on price floor and flat-rate scaling; Kelir wins on cellular delivery — native dialer ringing, works without internet, 2FA SMS reliably accepted.
How they compare.
| Compared | Grasshopper | Kelir |
|---|---|---|
| Network & delivery | ||
| Network type | Internet (VoIP) | Cellular VoLTE |
| Where calls ring | Inside the Grasshopper app or forwarded to existing line | Native dialer (it IS the line) |
| App must be open to ring (in-app) | ||
| Works without Wi-Fi | ||
| Features | ||
| Auto-attendant | ||
| Basic IVR | ||
| Visual voicemail with transcripts | ||
| SMS / MMS | ||
| CarPlay native routing | ||
| Apple Watch handoff | ||
| 2FA SMS accepted | Often blocked | |
| Pricing & terms | ||
| Starting price (USD) | $14/month (annual) | $24.99/month |
| Per-user vs flat | Flat rate (multi-user on higher tiers) | Per seat on Team plans |
| Free trial | 7 days, no card | No trial; cancel anytime |
| Setup fee | ||
Grasshopper information sourced from grasshopper.com on 2026-05-03. Plans and prices change; check the source for the current state.
- Lowest credible starting price ($14/month for True Solo, no per-seat).
- Flat-rate pricing — Solo Plus at $25/month covers up to 3 users, Small Business at $80/month covers unlimited users (annual prices).
- Mature, well-established US brand (founded 2003) — trustworthy choice for the conservative buyer.
- Includes auto-attendant and basic IVR even on the cheapest tier.
- Strong customer service for the price tier.
- Real cellular line via eSIM — calls run on the carrier voice network.
- Native dialer / lock-screen / CarPlay behaviour.
- Works on bad Wi-Fi or no Wi-Fi at all.
- 2FA SMS reliably accepted (banks, social networks).
- VoLTE HD voice codecs (AMR-WB, EVS) instead of VoIP codecs.
- eSIM SIM-swap resistance.
Side-by-side, USD.
- True Solo1 user, 1 extension$14/mo (annual)
- Solo PlusUp to 3 users$25/mo (annual)
- Small BusinessUnlimited users$80/mo (annual)
- Solo$24.99/month
- Team Starter2–10 users$29.99/seat/mo
- Team ProUp to 50 users$39.99/seat/mo
Who should pick which?
Price is the primary constraint, your team is small (1–3 people), and you primarily call from a desk on stable Wi-Fi. Grasshopper's flat-rate model is also great for very small businesses adding users frequently — adding a fourth user to Grasshopper Solo Plus costs nothing extra (until Small Business at $80/mo).
Your phone going dark for an hour costs you customers, you're often outside reliable Wi-Fi (cars, job sites, in transit), 2FA SMS reliability matters, and you want native phone behaviour (CarPlay, lock screen, Apple Watch). Worth $11 more per month for a line that rings like a phone.
Grasshopper has been the most credible budget softphone-based business phone in the US for two decades. For desk-bound users on stable Wi-Fi who value flat-rate scaling for small teams, it's the right answer. The $11/month delta to Kelir Solo is what cellular delivery costs above softphone delivery for the same call-handling system — and what you get back is native dialer ringing, no-app-required calls, and 2FA SMS that works. If your phone is the work, that delta pays for itself.
Common questions
Yes. Grasshopper supports port-out, Kelir supports port-in. Submit your Grasshopper account number and PIN through Kelir's port flow; expect 2–3 business days end-to-end. Kelir gives you a temporary US number to use during the port.
Yes — Grasshopper Small Business at $80/month covers unlimited users; Kelir Team Starter at $29.99/seat = $149.95/month for 5 users. Grasshopper wins on price for that team size. Kelir wins on call quality, hunt-group sophistication, and the routing/portal toolkit.
Grasshopper provides a US phone number that's routed via VoIP. From the regulator's perspective it's a 'virtual' phone number — a tagging that affects 2FA SMS reliability with banks and some social networks. Kelir's cellular eSIM number is a real US carrier line, indistinguishable from a personal cell from the recipient's side.
Cellular interconnect, VoLTE codecs, and carrier-grade reliability cost more to operate than IP routing. The $11 difference reflects that. If you're a desk-bound user on stable Wi-Fi who almost never has Wi-Fi quality issues and doesn't need 2FA SMS routinely, Grasshopper is genuinely a better value. If those don't describe you, Kelir is.
No — Grasshopper is an app. Calls ring inside the Grasshopper app, not on iPhone Phone or the Android dialer. CarPlay routing through Grasshopper is limited to the basic CarPlay framework (notifications, not first-class call presentation). Kelir is a cellular line, so all native phone behaviour applies.