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Crulon vs RingCentral. More control, no add-ons.

Both give your team a business phone system with an AI receptionist. In Crulon you listen in and take over on every plan, the agent works in your own systems and makes outbound calls, and it all comes in the plan, from $24 a seat.

Start at $24 a seat See the full table

Based on RingCentral's public website, RingEX and AI Receptionist pricing and support site, 15 Oct 2026. Prices are for monthly billing.

Four differences that matter.

Most of a phone system is the same everywhere. These are the parts that aren't.

Step into any call, on every plan.

On RingCentral, listening in, whispering and barging start on Advanced, at $35 a user. Core doesn't have them.

On every Crulon plan you hear the AI's call without being heard, and take it over when it matters. Every listen-in is logged.

Listening00:41

Dana Whitfield

(555) 014-2290

Main line · AI Front desk agent

No one on the call can hear you.

Transcript

CallerOur heat just went out, and it's 9 at night.

AII've opened ticket 4821 for 418 Alder Street. Connecting you to the on-call technician now.

An agent that works in your own systems.

RingCentral's AI Receptionist works from a fixed set of skills and prebuilt integrations. It can't call your own API.

In Crulon, any API becomes a Tool the agent can use mid-call: look up the customer, open the ticket, create the job.

Add a Custom Action for any API
Update CRM contactcrm.update_contact@1.0.0published
PATCHhttps://api.yourcrm.com/v1/contacts/{contact_id}
YourCRM API key · Test call ok · 200
Give it to your agent as a Tool
Business ToolsFront desk agent
Look up customerREAD
Update CRM contactWRITE
Add Tool
The agent uses it on the call
AgentI'll note that on your account before I hand you over.
Update CRM contactcrm_update_contact184 ms00:48
AI Saved to Dana Whitfield.

Your agent makes the calls, too.

RingCentral's AI Receptionist answers inbound calls only.

On Scale, Crulon's outbound AI campaigns call through a list for reminders, follow-ups and renewals, inside the hours you allow.

Calling hours
Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 9 pm in each person's own time zone to start, and no calls outside the hours you set.
Opt-outs, honoured
Anyone who says “stop calling” or texts STOP is off every list in the workspace.

The AI agent comes in the plan, not as an add-on.

RingCentral's AI Receptionist is a $39 a month add-on to RingEX, with 100 minutes, then 50¢ a minute.

Every Crulon plan includes the AI agent and a pool of 60, 150 or 300 AI minutes, then 25¢ a minute.

RingCentral, one person
Core $30 plus AI Receptionist $39: $69 a month
Crulon, one person
Starter, AI agent included: $24 a month

Keep what already works.

Crulon doesn't ask you to throw out your setup. It adds an AI agent and a modern phone system on top of it.

Keep your desk phones
Connect the SIP desk phones and softphones you already own, Yealink, Polycom, Cisco and more, on Scale.
Keep your carrier and numbers
Bring your own SIP trunk on Scale and keep your numbers for calls, with Crulon on top. Number porting is coming soon.
Keep your CRM
Custom Actions connect the agent to the systems you use today. Native Apps are coming.

Where RingCentral is ahead, for now.

Worth knowing before you choose.

Mobile and desktop apps
iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. Crulon's are coming soon.
Number porting
Bring your numbers over. Crulon's is coming soon.
Video meetings
Built into the same app, if your team wants one.

The full table.

The AI agent

An AI agent in the plan: Crulon: Included on every plan; RingCentral: No. The AI Receptionist is a $39 a month add-on
How AI is priced: Crulon: 60, 150 or 300 minutes a month, pooled; then 25¢ a minute; RingCentral: 100 minutes a month with the add-on; then 50¢ a minute, in 30-second steps
What it knows: Crulon: Typed text, website pages and documents, plus live answers from your systems through Custom Tools; RingCentral: Your website and uploaded documents
Works in other systems during the call: Crulon: Custom Actions call any API, and the agent uses them as Tools; RingCentral: No custom API actions; fixed skills and prebuilt integrations
Hands the call to a person: Crulon: Up to ten destinations, with a note; RingCentral: Users, extensions, queues or outside numbers, with a summary
Hands the call into a Call Flow: Crulon: Yes, on inbound calls; RingCentral: No. Users, extensions, queues or outside numbers only
Drafts before changes go live: Crulon: Yes. Every change is a version you can roll back; RingCentral: No. Changes take effect on the next call
Outbound AI calls: Crulon: Outbound AI campaigns on Scale; RingCentral: No. The AI Receptionist answers inbound calls only

Staying in control

Listen in on a live call: Crulon: Every plan, the AI's calls and your team's; RingCentral: No on Core; Advanced and up
Take over a call: Crulon: Every plan, from the AI at any moment, after a confirm; RingCentral: No on Core; Advanced and up
Automatic call recording: Crulon: Every plan; choose who's recorded, and see who listened; RingCentral: No on Core; on demand only
Call summaries: Crulon: After every call, on every plan; RingCentral: AI notes in the apps, on every plan

The phone system

Call queues: Crulon: Every plan, with a longest wait and wrap-up time; RingCentral: Basic on Core; advanced rules on Advanced and up
Phone menus and routing: Crulon: Every plan; RingCentral: Every plan
Texts included: Crulon: US and Canada texts included, with fair use; RingCentral: No. 25 texts a user a month on Core
Shared text inbox: Crulon: Every plan, in Conversations; RingCentral: No. A $25 add-on on Core and Advanced
Where your team answers: Crulon: The browser, desk phones and softphones; mobile and desktop apps coming soon; RingCentral: Desktop and mobile apps, the browser and desk phones
Number porting: Crulon: Coming soon; RingCentral: Yes

Starting price, billed monthly

Per user, entry plan: Crulon: Starter, $24 a seat, AI agent included; RingCentral: RingEX Core, $30 a user; the AI Receptionist is $39 a month more

Based on RingCentral's public website, RingEX and AI Receptionist pricing and support site, 15 Oct 2026. Prices are for monthly billing. RingCentral is a trademark of its owner. See every Crulon plan.

Questions about switching.

Is Crulon a RingCentral alternative?

Yes. Both are business phone systems for your team. Crulon includes an AI agent on every plan, lets supervisors listen in and take over on every plan, and connects the agent to your own systems through Custom Actions.

Is Crulon cheaper than RingCentral?

Yes, on the entry plan. Crulon Starter is $24 a seat a month with the AI agent included. RingEX Core is $30 a user on monthly billing, and the AI Receptionist is a $39 a month add-on, so one person with an AI agent pays $69 on RingCentral and $24 on Crulon.

How is AI priced differently?

RingCentral's AI Receptionist includes 100 minutes for $39 a month, then charges 50¢ a minute. Crulon gives the workspace a pool of 60, 150 or 300 minutes a month on every plan, counts only the agent's own time, and charges 25¢ a minute past the pool.

Can I listen in on calls?

On every Crulon plan, yes: listen to any live call without being heard, and take over a call from the AI. On RingCentral, monitoring starts on the Advanced plan.

Can I keep my phone numbers?

On Scale, bring your own SIP trunk and keep your numbers for calls, with Crulon on top. Number porting is coming soon.

Does Crulon have a mobile app?

Mobile and desktop apps are coming soon. Today your team answers in the browser, and on SIP desk phones and softphones on Scale.

How did you compare?

From RingCentral's public website, its RingEX and AI Receptionist pricing pages (monthly billing) and its support site, on 15 October 2026. Prices and features change, so check RingCentral's site before you decide.

See the difference on a call.

Talk to the agent on this site, or sign up with one seat and set up your first Call Flow in an afternoon.

Start at $24 a seat Talk to the agent