3CX Review
3CX is a Cyprus-based phone-system platform that publishes its full price list and charges per simultaneous call, from €285 a year for 8 calls and up to 40 users, with a free tier for up to 10, and bundles a contact centre, CRM integrations and an API into the editions. It suits a business with more extensions than concurrent calls and the IT capacity or partner to run it. The trade-offs are that everything South African, the trunk, the hosting and the support, comes from a partner, and there is no local review record to score.
Is 3CX worth shortlisting?
Yes for most South African businesses scoping a serious phone system, particularly those with more extensions than simultaneous calls and an IT function willing to own the platform or a partner to run it. 3CX publishes its full price list, charges per simultaneous call rather than per user (Basic from €285 a year for 8 simultaneous calls and up to 40 users, which works out to about R11 per user a month at 40 users at the August exchange rate), offers a free self-hosted tier for up to 10 users, and bundles a contact centre, CRM integrations, a Call Control API and AI into the editions. The trade-offs are that 3CX supplies the software only, so the SIP trunk, hosting and support come from a partner whose quality varies, pricing is in euros and dollars, and there is no South African review record to score.
- VendorNicosia, Cyprus · founded 2005 · sells direct from the pricing page and through South African partners
- PricingPer system per year by simultaneous calls (SC), not per user: Basic €285 a year at 8 SC for up to 40 users; AI edition €550 a year at 8 SC; Basic in US dollars $300 (8 SC, 40 extensions), $600 (16 SC, 80), $825 (24 SC, 120), $1,015 (32 SC, 192) up to $24,750 at 1,024 SC; 3CX-hosted option from €285 a year; free self-hosted tier for up to 10 users
- ModelPBX and UC software only: voice, video, chat and contact centre. Bring your own SIP trunk and numbers; on-premise, self-hosted on AWS, Azure or Google, or 3CX-hosted
- ReviewsG2 4.4 across 547 and Capterra 4.4 across 465 (global product ratings); no South African record to score
The transparent platform: a published price list charged per simultaneous call, a free tier and a deep feature set, with everything South African left to the partner.
3CX is one of the few phone-system vendors a South African buyer can price without talking to anyone. The full list is on 3cx.com with a Buy Now button on every tier, and the unit is the simultaneous call, not the user: Basic starts at €285 a year for 8 simultaneous calls and up to 40 users, which the WhichVoIP record converts to about R11 per user a month at 40 users, or R28 at the tier’s recommended minimum of 16, at the European Central Bank rate on 3 August 2026. A free self-hosted tier covers up to 10 users. The editions include multi-level IVR, call recording with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards and queue reporting, pre-built Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Dynamics, Freshdesk and Zendesk integrations with a wizard for the rest, a published Call Control API, and web, desktop and mobile apps. Pricing value scores 8.0 and feature set 8.5.
What 3CX does not supply is the South African part. It is PBX software only: the SIP trunk, the numbers, the hosting decision and the day-to-day support come from a partner, or from the buyer’s own IT if self-hosted, and the ICASA licence belongs to the trunk carrier. Reliability scores 7.2 because 3CX controls the switching layer wherever it runs but publishes no uptime figure, and support 7.3 because global ratings are strong while South African support is partner-delivered and varies. There is no South African review record with enough volume to score, so customer reviews are not scored and the other four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%. A promotions banner discounts hosting, upgrades and multi-year terms until 30 September 2026.
Is 3CX likely to suit you?
Tick what applies to your business.
Pros and watch-outs
What 3CX does well, and where to push back at quote stage.
- A published price list with a Buy Now button on every tier, charged per simultaneous call rather than per user: Basic from €285 a year for 8 calls and up to 40 users.
- A free self-hosted tier for up to 10 users, and a per-call model that saves money whenever extensions outnumber concurrent calls.
- Contact centre, multi-level IVR, recording with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards, CRM integrations and a published Call Control API included in the editions.
- Deployment choice: on-premise, self-hosted on AWS, Azure or Google, or 3CX-hosted, so voice data can stay on local infrastructure for POPIA.
- Strong global product ratings: G2 4.4 across 547 and Capterra 4.4 across 465.
- Software only: the SIP trunk, numbers, hosting and support come from a partner or your own IT, and partner quality in South Africa varies.
- Pricing is in euros and dollars, so a South African buyer carries exchange-rate exposure and a partner adds a rand markup for hosting, support and integration.
- Licensing by simultaneous call is unfamiliar; under-buy and calls queue, over-buy and the saving disappears.
- No South African review record to score, no published uptime figure, and promotional discounts that expire on 30 September 2026.
Score breakdown
Five categories that decide whether 3CX earns a slot on your shortlist. The headline is the weighted sum, so you can check the arithmetic.
Among the most transparent in the market: a public price list with Buy Now on every tier, a free tier to 10 users, no per-user charge and no multi-year lock-in; Basic from €285 a year at 8 simultaneous calls for up to 40 users. Held back by euro and dollar pricing and the partner markup a South African buyer adds.
The strongest axis. Voice, video, chat, a built-in contact centre, multi-level IVR, recording with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards, CRM integrations with a wizard, a Call Control API, and web, desktop and mobile apps, all included in the editions rather than sold as add-ons.
No South African public rating with enough reviews to score. 3CX carries only global product ratings (G2 and Capterra, both 4.4 at scale); its HelloPeter page is an unclaimed stub and no South African Google listing matches. The remaining four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%.
A software vendor rather than a licensed carrier, but it controls the switching layer wherever it runs: on-premise, self-hosted on AWS, Azure or Google, or 3CX-hosted. No published uptime figure, and the trunk carrier holds the ICASA licence.
Global support ratings on G2 and Capterra are strong, but South African support is partner-delivered and varies materially between resellers.
Pricing: published per simultaneous call, billed yearly
3CX prices one annual cost per system by the number of simultaneous calls, not per user. The list is public with a Buy Now button on every tier, sampled 3 and 13 August 2026. The euro figures are the 3CX ordering page; the dollar figures are the equivalent Basic tiers. A promotions banner discounts hosting, upgrades and multi-year terms until 30 September 2026.
| Line | Published rate | What to check | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free self-hosted tier | €0, up to 10 users | Which features the free tier excludes and where you will host it | Published |
| Basic, 8 simultaneous calls, up to 40 users | €285 a year ($300) | About R11 per user a month at 40 users, or R28 at the recommended minimum of 16, at the ECB rate on 3 August 2026 | Published |
| Basic, 16 / 24 / 32 simultaneous calls | $600 (80 extensions), $825 (120), $1,015 (192) a year | Your true peak of concurrent calls, not your headcount | Published |
| Largest published tier | $24,750 a year at 1,024 simultaneous calls (up to 8,192 users) | Scale planning for a large estate | Published |
| AI edition, 8 simultaneous calls | €550 a year | Whether AI agents, transcription and analytics justify the step up from Basic | Published |
| 3CX-hosted option | From €285 a year at 8 simultaneous calls | Hosting region and what the partner charges on top | Published |
| South African partner: trunk, hosting, support | Rand quote | Per-channel trunk rates, porting fees, hosting, installation and the support SLA; the licence is fixed, this layer is not | Partner quote |
What real customers say
There are no customer quotes on this page. 3CX is a global software platform with no South African review record of its own, so customer reviews are not scored and the remaining four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%. The global product ratings on record are G2 4.4 across 547 reviews and Capterra 4.4 across 465, both sampled 30 July 2026, which speak to the software rather than to any South African partner. Ask your shortlisted reseller for two reference customers running 3CX at a similar size.
The 3CX product line
A full UC platform in the licence, with the South African layer supplied by a partner.
Simultaneous calls, not headcount
One annual cost per system set by how many calls run at once: a business with 80 desks and 16 concurrent calls licenses 16.
Included in the editions
Multi-level IVR with time-of-day and skill-based routing, call recording with listen, whisper and barge, switchboard and wallboards, and agent, queue and SLA reporting.
CRM, Microsoft 365, Call Control API
Pre-built Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Dynamics, Freshdesk and Zendesk integrations, a wizard for other systems, and a published Call Control API.
Anywhere, on any device
On-premise, self-hosted on AWS, Azure or Google, or 3CX-hosted, with one extension across web, desktop and mobile apps; bring your own trunk and numbers.
Choose 3CX if
- Your extensions outnumber your simultaneous calls and per-call pricing saves you money.
- You want to choose where the platform runs and keep voice data on local infrastructure.
- A contact centre, CRM integrations and an API matter and you do not want to pay for them as add-ons.
- You have IT capacity, or a partner you trust, to own the trunk, hosting and support.
Consider another if
- You want one supplier accountable for the phone system, the trunk and the support; a hosted PBX provider supplies all three.
- You want rand pricing with no exchange-rate exposure.
- You need a published uptime SLA from the vendor; Microsoft publishes 99.999% on Teams Phone.
- You want a South African service record you can read before buying.
Alternatives to compare
Three providers worth quoting alongside 3CX, each stress-testing a different decision driver.
Switch Telecom
A South African hosted PBX with per-extension rand pricing, its own trunk and a strong local record. Compare if you want one accountable supplier.
Yeastar
A PBX platform that runs on an appliance, hosted or self-hosted, sold through South African resellers from about R65 per user a month. The closest like-for-like.
Microsoft Teams Phone
Voice inside Teams at $10 per user a month plus a PSTN route, with a financially backed uptime SLA. Compare if you already run Microsoft 365.
Peers scored on the same rubric sit side by side on Compare phone systems.
South African essentials
Four local signals to verify before signing.
Not applicable to 3CX itself: it is PBX software, not a South African network or service carrier. ICASA ECNS and ECS licensing applies to the SIP trunk or carrier your partner connects, so verify that carrier at register.icasa.org.za.
Porting is handled by the trunk carrier, not by 3CX. Confirm the porting timeline, fee and which numbers move on which date with the partner supplying the trunk.
South African support is partner-delivered and no support hours are published by 3CX for local buyers. Get the partner’s support hours, response times and escalation route in writing, and confirm who owns a fault that sits between the trunk and the platform.
The licence is annual per system, sold direct or through partners, with discounts on multi-year terms until 30 September 2026. Confirm the partner’s own contract term for hosting and support, and what happens to the licence if you change partner.
How this score was built
Scores are editorial guides, not guarantees. 3CX’s 7.9 is the weighted sum of the four scored dimensions above, re-weighted to 100% because customer reviews could not be scored: 0.3125×8.0 + 0.3125×8.5 + 0.1875×7.2 + 0.1875×7.3. 3CX is not a sponsor, and sponsorship does not move a score.
- Pricing value, 31.25%Rate transparency, setup friction, contract flexibility
- Feature set, 31.25%Controls, analytics, integrations, admin usability
- Reliability and uptime, 18.75%Infrastructure ownership, hosting location, published uptime evidence
- Support quality, 18.75%Support hours, location, and what customer reviews say about resolution
FAQ
Short answers for the questions buyers typically ask before requesting quotes.
What is 3CX?
A Cyprus-based phone-system software platform, founded in 2005, covering voice, video, chat and contact centre, licensed per simultaneous call and deployable on-premise, self-hosted in the cloud or on 3CX’s own hosting.
How much does 3CX cost?
Basic starts at €285 a year for 8 simultaneous calls and up to 40 users, about R11 per user a month at 40 users at the August 2026 exchange rate; the AI edition is €550 at the same tier and a free self-hosted tier covers up to 10 users. A South African partner adds trunk, hosting and support at a rand quote.
What does per simultaneous call mean?
You pay for the number of calls that can happen at once, not for every extension. A business with 80 desks and 16 concurrent calls licenses 16.
Do I need a South African partner?
For the SIP trunk and numbers, yes, and usually for hosting and support. 3CX sells the licence direct and through partners; the trunk carrier holds the ICASA licence.
Why are customer reviews not scored?
3CX has no South African review record with enough volume. Its global product ratings are G2 4.4 across 547 and Capterra 4.4 across 465, and the other four dimensions are re-weighted to 100%.
Does 3CX include a contact centre?
Yes. Queues, multi-level IVR, recording with listen, whisper and barge, wallboards and reporting are included in the editions, with AI agents and transcription in the AI edition.
Sources, disclosure and what changedWhere this review’s facts come from, how WhichVoIP gets paid, and the update history
- 3cx.com ordering pageUsed for the per-simultaneous-call model, Basic from €285 a year at 8 SC for 40 users, the AI edition at €550, the hosted option from €285, the tier ceiling of 8,192 users at 1,024 SC, the direct-sales Buy Now buttons and the promotions banner ending 30 September 2026. Sampled 3 August 2026. Open source →
- 3CX Basic dollar tiersUsed for the $300, $600, $825, $1,015 and $24,750 annual tiers. Sampled 13 August 2026. Open source →
- ECB euro reference rateUsed for the conversion of €285 a year to about R11 per user a month at 40 users and R28 at 16, at the rate on 3 August 2026. Open source →
- 3cx.com product pages and Call Control API documentationUsed for the contact-centre features, CRM integrations, the API, the apps and the deployment and bring-your-own-trunk model. Sampled 8 and 24 August 2026. Open source →
- 3CX on G2Used for the 4.4 rating across 547 reviews. Sampled 30 July 2026. Open source →
- 3CX on CapterraUsed for the 4.4 rating across 465 reviews. Sampled 30 July 2026. Open source →
3CX is not a WhichVoIP sponsor. This review was researched and written by WhichVoIP’s editorial team using primary sources (the 3CX website, G2, Capterra, Gartner Peer Insights and Trustpilot review platforms, SA partner pages and the prior WhichVoIP review). WhichVoIP may receive a referral fee when you request quotes through our platform. Read our full editorial policy.
- 6 September 2026Page rebuilt in the updated review layout. Pricing table rebuilt from the August facts (Basic €285 and dollar tiers, AI €550, hosted from €285, the recorded rand conversion); the earlier PRO-edition euro prices, which had no fact record, removed. Customer reviews remain unscored with the four-dimension re-weighting stated in the method card; the aggregate cards replaced by a no-quotes note citing the recorded G2 and Capterra ratings, with the unrecorded Trustpilot and Gartner figures removed. Alternatives given reasons; South African essentials rewritten to the four standard checks; journey rail and collapsed sources block added; CTAs routed to the phone-systems quote form. Score unchanged at 7.9.
- 4 September 2026Re-scored on the five-dimension rubric with Customer reviews marked Not scored (global product ratings only, no South African review body) and the other four dimensions re-weighted to 100%; the 7.9 headline holds. Pricing re-read on 3cx.com today: BASIC €285 and PRO €380 a year at 8 simultaneous calls, PRO €760 at 16 SC and €1,285 at 32 SC, hosted add-on €285 – the table below is current. A summer promotion (50% off hosting, 30% off three-year terms) runs to 30 September 2026.
- 21 May 2026Score held at 7.9 against the V7 4-axis rubric. Pricing value lifted to 8.0 on the confirmed published pricing and instant-quote calculator; feature set held at 8.5 with Agentic AI now built into the editions. The editions were renamed BASIC / PRO / AI and pricing refreshed (PRO 16 SC now €760/year). Support and reliability reflects strong IT-buyer reviews (G2 and Capterra both 4.4 at scale) weighed against the softer Trustpilot feed and partner-delivered SA support.
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