Asterisk

Asterisk

Asterisk is an open source communications software that allows you to build telephony applications and services. It supports voice over IP, video conferencing, voicemail, auto attendant, interactive voice response, and more. It can be used to build PBX systems, call center soluti
Asterisk image
voip pbx telephony

Asterisk: Open Source Telephony Software

Asterisk is an open source communications software for building telephony applications and services, supporting voice over IP, video conferencing, voicemail, auto attendant, interactive voice response.

What is Asterisk?

Asterisk is an open source communications application platform that enables developers and integrators to build communications solutions, including VoIP phone systems, call center solutions, video conferencing servers, and more. It offers a wide range of features and capabilities that allow organizations to replace traditional proprietary phone systems with customized solutions.

Some key capabilities and features of Asterisk include:

  • Supports voice calls over IP, video calls, instant messaging, voicemail, interactive voice response (IVR), automated call distribution, call queuing, conferencing, and more
  • Works with a wide range of telephony hardware including SIP phones, analog telephones, and software IP phones
  • Built-in bridging for multi-party audio conferences
  • APIs for call control and integration into business applications and workflows
  • Scalable architecture suitable for anything from small office phone systems to large enterprise communications platforms
  • Modular design using loadable modules to enable developers to expand or customize functionality

Overall, Asterisk is a feature-rich platform for building customized communications systems and applications. With its open source availability and active development community, Asterisk offers cost savings over proprietary PBX systems while providing enterprise-grade capabilities to empower organizations with customized solutions tailored to their needs.

Asterisk Features

Features

  1. PBX functionality
  2. VoIP
  3. Interactive voice response
  4. Voicemail
  5. Conference calling
  6. Call routing
  7. Call queuing

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Open source and free

Highly customizable

Supports many protocols and codecs

Active development community

Integrates with many CRM and business software

Cons

Steep learning curve

Requires technical expertise to setup and manage

Limited official support

Fragmented documentation

Not as feature rich as proprietary PBX systems


The Best Asterisk Alternatives

Top Network & Admin and Communication Platforms and other similar apps like Asterisk


3CX icon

3CX

3CX is an open-source IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) software solution designed for Windows that works seamlessly with popular SIP phone systems and VoIP providers. It offers a complete unified communications suite for SMBs including options for on-premise, cloud-hosted, or hybrid deployment.Key features of 3CX include: Auto attendants and interactive...
3CX image
XiVO icon

XiVO

XiVO is an open-source IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) software designed specifically for small and medium businesses. It can be installed on commodity hardware to provide a full-featured business phone system.Key features of XiVO include:Call routing and IVR menus to direct calls to the right people and departmentsVoicemail and voicemail-to-email...
XiVO image
Yate - Yet Another Telephony Engine icon

Yate - Yet Another Telephony Engine

Yate is an open-source project that provides a modular telephony engine and server for voice over IP (VoIP) and traditional telephony applications. It can function as a softswitch, media gateway, call router, IVR server, or combination thereof for building custom communications solutions.Some key features of Yate include:Supports a variety of...
SipXcom icon

SipXcom

sipXcom is an open source unified communications platform that provides enterprise-grade IP PBX and video conferencing capabilities. Developed by SIPfoundry, sipXcom offers a rich set of features including:Call control, call routing, interactive voice responseVoicemail, auto attendant, call parkingAudio and video conferencing, screen sharingPresence management and instant messagingIntegration with CRM, ERP,...
Thirdlane Multi Tenant PBX icon

Thirdlane Multi Tenant PBX

Thirdlane Multi Tenant PBX is a feature-rich cloud phone system tailored for businesses managing distributed teams, multiple offices, or departments across different locations. As a multi-tenant PBX solution, it allows you to support all sites and users on a single unified platform while keeping each business unit separate.Key benefits include:...
Thirdlane Multi Tenant PBX image
FreeSWITCH icon

FreeSWITCH

FreeSWITCH is an open source telephony platform and switching engine that enables the creation of voice, chat, and video applications, including PBX systems, voicemail services, conference calling, and contact center solutions. Released under the Mozilla Public License, FreeSWITCH is free to download, use, and modify.Some key features and capabilities of...
FreeSWITCH image
FusionPBX icon

FusionPBX

FusionPBX is an open source IP PBX software solution that provides enterprise-grade communications capabilities for organizations of all sizes. It offers a wide range of features including:Cloud-based or self-hosted deployment optionsUnlimited extensions and auto attendantsVoicemail-to-emailCall recordingIVR menusRing groupsCall forwarding, parking, transferVideo and audio conferencingFax serverPresence managementCRM integrationsReporting and monitoringFusionPBX can...
FusionPBX image
Opensips icon

Opensips

OpenSIPS is an open source Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server and framework for building voice over IP (VoIP) platforms and unified communications solutions. It started in 2001 as OpenSER and forked in 2008 to become OpenSIPS.OpenSIPS provides a scalable and flexible architecture for routing, managing, and securing real-time communications sessions....
Opensips image
Wazo icon

Wazo

Wazo is an open-source Unified Communications platform built for businesses. It brings together multiple communication tools and integrates them into a single interface.Some key features and capabilities of Wazo include:IP telephony - Make and receive voice calls over the internet. Includes support for phones like SIP hardphones and softphones.Voicemail -...
Wazo image
Kamailio icon

Kamailio

Kamailio is an open source Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server used for Voice over IP (VoIP) and real-time communications applications and services. It handles fundamental SIP protocol needs like call routing, policy enforcement, media handling, accounting, and authorization, with support for additional functions like presence, instant messaging, and more.Some key...
Kamailio image
Ozeki Phone Systems icon

Ozeki Phone Systems

Ozeki Phone Systems is a VoIP softphone and PBX solution designed for small to medium sized businesses. It provides an affordable way to make phone calls over the internet rather than traditional phone lines.Some key features of Ozeki Phone Systems include:Softphone application allows making and receiving VoIP calls directly from...
Ozeki Phone Systems image
Starfish PBX icon

Starfish PBX

Starfish PBX is an open source IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) software solution designed specifically for small to medium sized businesses. It transforms a regular computer into a full-featured phone system and communications platform.Some key features of Starfish PBX include:Auto-attendant with customizable greetings and dial-by-name directoryVoicemail boxes for each extensionAdvanced...
VoipSwitch icon

VoipSwitch

VoipSwitch is an open-source Private Branch Exchange (PBX) software solution designed for small to medium sized businesses. It allows connecting IP phones over the internet to make and receive calls, include advanced phone features, and manage communications.Some key features of VoipSwitch include:Call routing - Intelligently route incoming calls based on...
VoipSwitch image
MiRTA PBX icon

MiRTA PBX

MiRTA PBX is an open-source Private Branch Exchange (PBX) software solution for small to medium-sized businesses. It replaces traditional proprietary PBX hardware with a software program that provides advanced telephony features through an intuitive web interface.Key features of MiRTA PBX include:Call routing and management - Intelligently route incoming calls to...
MiRTA PBX image
Mizutech VoIP Server icon

Mizutech VoIP Server

Mizutech VoIP Server is a feature-rich open-source voice over IP (VoIP) platform for building end-to-end telephony solutions. It allows organizations and developers to enable phone communication over the internet at a fraction of the cost of traditional phone systems.Some key features of Mizutech VoIP Server include:Softphone support - Make and...
Mizutech VoIP Server image
RingCentral Engage Digital icon

RingCentral Engage Digital

RingCentral Engage Digital is a comprehensive customer engagement platform designed to help businesses connect with customers across digital channels. It brings together features like digital messaging, chatbots, campaign builder, and social media management into one intuitive interface.Some key capabilities include:Omnichannel digital messaging - Send and receive messages with customers via...
RingCentral Engage Digital image
Flexisip icon

Flexisip

Flexisip is an open-source Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server software for Linux operating systems. It provides a robust and high-performance SIP infrastructure to enable real-time communication features such as voice over IP (VoIP) calling, video conferencing, instant messaging, and presence.Some key features of Flexisip include:Lightweight and optimized for enhanced performance...
Avaya Voice Portal icon

Avaya Voice Portal

Avaya Voice Portal is an interactive voice response (IVR) platform that allows companies to build automated phone menus and self-service applications. It enables speech recognition, text-to-speech, call routing, and integration with back-end systems and databases.Key features of Avaya Voice Portal include:Intuitive drag-and-drop interface to build IVR scripts and call flowsSupport...
Avaya Voice Portal image
Cloud Telephony icon

Cloud Telephony

Cloud telephony, also known as hosted telephony, is a business phone service that is delivered over the internet rather than an on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) system. It allows businesses to utilize the latest voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technologies without having to invest in and maintain an expensive hardware...
Cloud Telephony image
Natterbox icon

Natterbox

Natterbox is a cloud-based virtual phone system designed for modern businesses. It works by replacing a physical PBX with a virtual phone system that runs in the cloud and provides a business phone service, including features like:Cloud phone system with virtual numbersCall routing and interactive voice responses (IVRs)Voicemail, call recording...
Natterbox image
SipXecs icon

SipXecs

sipXecs is an enterprise open source IP PBX software solution, offered under the AGPLv3 license. It provides a complete Unified Communications platform with standard telephony and advanced unified communications capabilities for businesses.Key features of sipXecs include:Voicemail, auto-attendant and advanced call routingAudio and video conferencingPresence and instant messagingIntegration with CRM, ERP...
SipXecs image
Vodia Networks icon

Vodia Networks

Vodia Networks is a network management software company founded in 2008 and based in San Jose, California. Their flagship product is Vodia ION, which provides an integrated solution for managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting enterprise networks.Some key capabilities and benefits of Vodia ION include:Automatic discovery of network devices and topology mapping...
Vodia Networks image
UContact icon

UContact

uContact is a customer relationship management (CRM) software designed for small businesses to organize, track, and engage with customer contacts. Key features of uContact include:Contact Profiles - Store all information about customers like name, company, email, phone, address, notes, etc. in one place.Activity Tracking - Log emails, calls, meetings, notes...
UContact image
Thirdlane Business Phone System icon

Thirdlane Business Phone System

Thirdlane is a cloud-based business phone system designed for small to mid-sized companies. It provides a complete phone solution without the need for expensive on-premise hardware. Some key features include:Auto attendants to route calls professionallyVoicemail and voicemail-to-emailCall recording for quality assuranceSMS for business textingMobile apps so you can use your...
Thirdlane Business Phone System image
MiniSIPServer icon

MiniSIPServer

miniSIPServer is an open-source Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server software designed for voice and video over IP communications. It is developed by a team of open-source contributors as part of the miniSIPServer project.Some key features and highlights of miniSIPServer include:Lightweight and optimized for embedded hardware like Raspberry PiSupports common SIP...
MiniSIPServer image
Genesys icon

Genesys

Genesys is an industry-leading customer experience platform trusted by organizations worldwide to orchestrate people-centric customer and employee experiences at scale across the contact center, back office and branches. With robust omnichannel routing, workforce engagement, analytics and artificial intelligence, Genesys solutions put the customer at the center of business operations to...
Genesys image