VICIdial vs 3CX
Both are real options and each is the right answer for someone. Below is what each one costs, which dialing modes you actually get for that money, and the buyer each genuinely suits: followed by a note on where our own product fits, clearly marked as ours.
VICIdial
The open-source predictive dialer that runs a large share of the world’s call-centre floors. Free software, paid everything else.
- PRICING
- The software is free under the AGPL. Official VICIhost managed hosting is about $400/month per server after a $1,000 setup, roughly $16 per user at 25 agents. Third-party hosts charge $100-$149 per agent per month.
- BILLING
- None for the software itself. Hosting and SIP trunking are separate contracts with separate vendors.
- DIALING
- Predictive, power, preview and manual, all included. Ratio, drop rate and hopper depth are directly configurable, more control than most commercial products expose.
- BEST FOR
- Floors of 30+ agents with a competent telephony administrator on staff who want total control and the lowest possible cost at scale.
Pros of VICIdial
- Genuinely free software with no per-seat licence, ever
- The deepest configurability in outbound dialing: nearly every pacing parameter is exposed
- Enormous install base, so almost any problem has already been solved on a forum
- Cheapest per-agent cost in the industry once you are past roughly 100 agents
- No vendor can raise your price, deprecate your setup, or lock your data in
Cons of VICIdial
- Free software is not a free system: published TCO lands at $130-$400+ per agent per month once servers, SIP trunking and administration are counted
- A dedicated VICIdial administrator is a real hire; industry salary data puts the median near $97,000 a year
- Below about 30 agents the operational overhead eats the savings entirely
- Compliance is yours to build: calling windows, DNC scrubbing and abandon-rate control are configuration, not guarantees
- You own uptime. A dialer that is down mid-shift is your emergency at 9am
3CX
A business PBX licensed by simultaneous call capacity, not a sales dialer.
- PRICING
- Licensed by simultaneous call capacity rather than per seat.
- BILLING
- Annual licensing.
- DIALING
- Not an outbound sales dialer: no lead lists, dispositions, or AMD.
- BEST FOR
- Organisations that need a PBX and will run outbound some other way.
Pros of 3CX
- Very cost-effective as a PBX
- Self-hostable
- Mature telephony feature set
Cons of 3CX
- Solves a different problem: it is a phone system, not a dialer
- No lead management, dispositions, or answering-machine detection
- Capacity planning required
Which one to pick
Choose VICIdial if you are floors of 30+ agents with a competent telephony administrator on staff who want total control and the lowest possible cost at scale.
Choose 3CX if you are organisations that need a PBX and will run outbound some other way.
The most common mistake in this comparison is reading the advertised rate as the bill. Add the seat minimum, the tier the dialer actually lives on, per-number charges, and any setup fee before deciding which is cheaper.
Where DialerSeat fits
We publish this page, so weigh it accordingly. $35 per seat per week on Pro. $75 per week on Manager+, which adds team ownership and white-labeling. Billed weekly from day one: no trial, no contract, no setup fee, cancel any week. Lead data is preserved if a subscription lapses. Preview, power, progressive, and predictive: all four included at the base price, selectable per campaign.
Where we are not the right answer: National DNC scrubbing and consent records remain the customer’s responsibility; No built-in lead marketplace: bring your own list.
Pricing and packaging for other vendors change without notice and are summarised here from their public materials. Verify current terms with the vendor before buying. Corrections are welcome, we would rather be accurate than flattering. Competitors listed: ReadyMode, Mojo Dialer, PhoneBurner, Five9, Convoso, BatchDialer, WAVV, Kixie, Orum, JustCall, CloudTalk, Aircall, VICIdial, CallTools, DialedIn, smrtPhone, Aloware.