Comparisons
Contact center software compared: Five9, Genesys, Talkdesk, Aircall, RingCentral, Dialpad
10 November 2026 · 9 min read
The short answer
On 10 November 2026, five people cost $150 (KES 19,490) a month on Aircall Essentials, $375 (KES 48,724) on Genesys Cloud CX 1 and $445 (KES 57,819) on Dialpad Support Essentials, and Five9 asks for at least 50 seats. SautiDesk Pro is KES 15,000 for five, and Basic KES 5,000, with WhatsApp, calls, SMS, email and web chat.
Contact center software for a Kenyan team of 5 to 50 agents is priced very differently from the enterprise platforms. Five9 asks for a minimum of 50 seats, Aircall for 3 users and Genesys Cloud for a licence per named user, all in US dollars. For five people the published prices range from $150 (KES 19,490) a month on Aircall Essentials to $575 (KES 74,710) on Genesys Cloud CX 2. SautiDesk Pro is KES 15,000 for five people, and Basic is KES 5,000.
Published prices side by side
Every competitor price below is from the vendor’s own pricing page, read on 10 November 2026. Prices are in US dollars as published, and each shilling figure uses KES 129.93 to the dollar, so it moves with the exchange rate.
| Platform and plan | Price per person a month | What the page states |
|---|---|---|
| Five9 Digital | $119 (KES 15,462) | Per concurrent user, minimum of 50 seats |
| Five9 Core | $159 (KES 20,659) | Per concurrent user, minimum of 50 seats |
| Genesys Cloud CX 1 | $75 (KES 9,745) | Billed annually, named user, for voice contact centers |
| Genesys Cloud CX 2 | $115 (KES 14,942) | Billed annually, named user, for omnichannel contact centers |
| Talkdesk Digital Essentials | $85 (KES 11,044) | Email, chat, SMS and social messaging |
| Talkdesk Voice Essentials | $105 (KES 13,643) | Voice engagement and routing |
| Talkdesk Elite | $165 (KES 21,438) | Adds custom reporting and workforce management |
| Aircall Essentials | $30 (KES 3,898) | Billed annually, minimum of 3 users |
| Aircall Professional | $50 (KES 6,497) | Billed annually, minimum of 3 users |
| RingCentral RingCX | From $65 (KES 8,445) | “Starting at” price, no billing period stated |
| Dialpad Support Essentials | $89 (KES 11,564) | Contact center plan |
| Dialpad Support Advanced | $119 (KES 15,462) | Adds live coaching and quality management |
| SautiDesk Basic | KES 1,000 | Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat |
| SautiDesk Pro | KES 3,000 | Everything in Basic, plus reports, live floor, listening in and campaigns |
What each pricing page says besides the price
- Five9: the page prices per concurrent user, says usage-based pricing may apply and sets a minimum of 50 seats. Plus, Pro and Enterprise say “Contact Sales for flexible pricing”, and every bundle has a “Get a Quote” button. For voice it notes that SMS usage charges apply.
- Genesys Cloud: the page says “Get custom pricing”, prices a named licence and a concurrent licence differently, and says they may not be mixed. It also says Genesys Cloud Experience Units are required for certain features.
- Talkdesk: the page splits digital and voice into separate plans and ends with a form to request a quote.
- Aircall: one local or toll-free number comes with each plan and an additional number is $6 (KES 780) a month. WhatsApp is not included in any plan: it is an add-on at $10 (KES 1,299) per seat a month. The page lists unlimited calls within the US and Canada, says “Contact us for rates” for international outbound calls, and lists SMS in 14 countries across North America, Europe and Australia.
- RingCentral: the RingCX price is a starting price, and the page states no billing period.
- Dialpad: the page shows one price per tier beside a monthly and annual toggle without saying which it applies to. Advanced is available month-to-month or annual and Premium annual only, and both say “Talk to sales”.
A worked month for five people
Multiply the per-person price by five. Five9 is left out because its page sets a minimum of 50 seats, and the Aircall lines meet its minimum of 3 users.
| Platform and plan | Five people a month |
|---|---|
| Aircall Essentials | $150 (KES 19,490) |
| Aircall Professional | $250 (KES 32,483) |
| RingCentral RingCX, from | $325 (KES 42,227) |
| Genesys Cloud CX 1 | $375 (KES 48,724) |
| Talkdesk Digital Essentials | $425 (KES 55,220) |
| Dialpad Support Essentials | $445 (KES 57,819) |
| Talkdesk Voice Essentials | $525 (KES 68,213) |
| Genesys Cloud CX 2 | $575 (KES 74,710) |
| SautiDesk Basic | 5 × KES 1,000 = KES 5,000 |
| SautiDesk Pro | 5 × KES 3,000 = KES 15,000 |
Add the phone number to the SautiDesk lines: one number is KES 500 a month, so five people on Basic are KES 5,500 and on Pro KES 15,500. Incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are KES 0.05 per second, so a ten-minute outgoing call is 600 seconds, or KES 30. The price calculator works out the total for your own team.
What a minimum of 50 seats means
Five9’s page sets a minimum of 50 seats. At the Digital price of $119 that is $5,950 a month, about KES 773,084, before voice usage. SautiDesk is billed per person: 50 people on Pro are 50 × KES 3,000 = KES 150,000 a month, and a team that starts with five pays for five.
What a Kenyan team of 5 to 50 needs
SautiDesk is call centre software built for that size. Agents answer a Kenyan business number in the browser with a headset, calls ring the next free agent, a missed call opens a ticket with an owner, and WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat join the same ticket per customer. Payment is in shillings by M-Pesa or card from a prepaid balance.
Pro adds what a supervisor needs: as many queues as you need, the live floor view, listening in on calls, reports by agent, channel and disposition and calling campaigns. Most teams take their first call the same day.
For how queues route calls, read call queues and ACD explained. For how many agents a call volume needs, read how many agents you need, the Erlang method in plain language. For what to look for in the software, see best call centre software.
Keeping your phone system? Get Kenyan numbers from Sautikit
If you are keeping a platform or phone system you already have, you still need Kenyan numbers and calls. Sautikit is the Kenyan voice API and number provider that SautiDesk runs on. A number is KES 500 a month with no set-up fee, incoming calls are free, and outgoing calls are KES 3.00 a minute billed per second. See Sautikit pricing.
Start on SautiDesk
- Pick Basic at KES 1,000 per person a month, or Pro at KES 3,000 if you want reports, the live floor view and campaigns.
- Add your people. Each person is one seat, billed by the month.
- Choose a Kenyan number for calls and SMS at KES 500 a month.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number and your support email address.
- Top up your balance by M-Pesa or card, then answer your first call in the browser.
Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat are on both plans. See the full list on the pricing page and start with the plan that fits your team today.
Exchange rate used on this page, as of 10 November 2026: 1 US dollar = KES 129.93. These vendors publish their prices in US dollars, so the shilling figures move with the rate.