comparisons

3CX vs 8x8: 2026 comparison for Australian SMBs and contact centres

3CX vs 8x8 X Series for Australian businesses - pricing, contact-centre features, AI capabilities, total cost of ownership over 3 years.

By Cloud Phone System Australia · 7 June 2025

The price comparison at scale

8x8’s pricing is tiered: X1 (basic calling) through X8 (full enterprise contact centre). Australian pricing typically sits at:

X2 (calling + video): ~$30/user/month
X4 (contact centre essentials): ~$50/user/month
X6/X7 (advanced CC): ~$80–120/user/month
X8 (enterprise CC): higher

For a 50-user business with a 10-agent contact centre, here’s the shape of the comparison:

Cost line	8x8 X4 + agent seats	3CX PRO with CPS managed bundle
40 non-CC users	~$1,200/mo	Included in system tier
10 CC agents (X4)	~$500/mo	Included in system tier
Australian calling	Add-on	Bundled
Australian support	Limited	Bundled
Annual total	~$20,400+ for licences alone	Fixed monthly bundle - talk to us

For a 100-agent contact centre, 8x8 X6 or X7 lands in the $80–140/user/month range - over $100,000/year in agent licences alone. The equivalent 3CX AI Edition with a CPS managed bundle is a small fraction of that.

Feature comparison

	8x8 X Series	3CX PRO/AI
Cloud phone, mobile + web + desktop	✅	✅
Video conferencing	X2+	Every edition (free)
Call queues	X2+	Every edition (advanced in PRO)
Skills-based routing	X4+	PRO and AI
Real-time wallboards	X4+	PRO and AI
Supervisor listen/whisper/barge	X4+	PRO and AI
Callback option in queue	X4+	PRO and AI
AI voicemail transcription	X4+	PRO and AI
AI sentiment tracking	Higher tiers	AI Edition
Full-call AI transcription	Higher tiers	AI Edition
CRM integration	✅	✅ Many
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing	Limited	✅
Bundled Australian SIP trunking	Limited	✅
Choice of hosting	Cloud only	Cloud Phone System Australia hosting
Australian-based managed support	Limited	✅

The pattern: where 8x8 charges extra (higher tier or add-on), 3CX includes it (in the appropriate edition).

Where 8x8 wins

Honest disclosure: 8x8 has some real strengths.

Global presence - strong for businesses with US/UK/Australia/Singapore teams sharing one provider.
Self-service signup for small teams - under-5-user 8x8 is quicker to spin up than a properly-deployed 3CX.
Enterprise contact centre features - X8 tier has some deep WFM and outbound dialler capabilities that 3CX doesn’t try to match at the very top end.

For under-5-user globally-distributed teams that don’t need real PBX features, 8x8 X2 may be the right pick.

For everyone else - and that’s most Australian 10+ user businesses - 3CX wins on cost, features and Australian support.

Real migration example

A 90-person Australian professional services firm we migrated last year:

Before: 8x8 X4 plan, 80 standard users + 10 CC seats. Annual licence cost: AUD $54,000. Plus Australian calling add-on. Plus a separate AI transcription tool. Plus 8x8’s overseas support.

After: 3CX PRO delivered as a CPS managed bundle. Australian calling, hosting, porting, AI voicemail transcription and Australian support all included in one fixed monthly invoice. Customer reported their annual phone bill dropped by roughly two-thirds. Migration completed in 11 business days.

Common questions

Is 8x8 cheaper than 3CX for very small teams?

For 1–5 user teams, 8x8's per-user pricing can be competitive. Above 10 users, 3CX's system-based pricing pulls ahead and the gap grows with size. For 50-user businesses 3CX is typically 50–70% cheaper annually.

8x8 has good contact-centre features - does 3CX match them?

Yes for SMB and mid-market contact centres. Skills-based routing, wallboards, supervisor listen/whisper/barge, callback option, scheduled reports - all in 3CX PRO. AI sentiment tracking and full-call transcription in 3CX AI Edition. For very large enterprise CC operations (1000+ agents with deep WFM), 8x8's enterprise tier or Genesys/NICE may still be the right fit.

How does 8x8's X Series compare across tiers?

8x8 X1 covers basic calling; X2 adds video; X4 adds contact-centre essentials; X6/X7/X8 add advanced CC features. Tier creep is a common 8x8 complaint - features you'd expect in the base tier are often two tiers up. 3CX's three editions (PRO, AI) are simpler and more inclusive.

Migration from 8x8 to 3CX - is it complicated?

No - 5–15 business days for typical Australian businesses. Same playbook as moving from RingCentral or Dialpad. Number port, parallel run, cutover. We've migrated dozens of 8x8 customers; the process is well-rehearsed.

Will I miss features moving from 8x8 to 3CX?

Very rarely. The overlap of features is high; the gaps are usually in 8x8-specific naming or workflow conventions that customers find better-replaced than imitated. We map every 8x8 feature to its 3CX equivalent during discovery; if there's a true gap we'll tell you.

Considering leaving 8x8?

20-minute discovery. We model your current 8x8 costs against a CPS-managed 3CX bundle. Most customers see a 50–70% annual saving.

Get my quote Call 1300 680 824