Aircall alternative: phone system and team inbox
Aircall is a cloud phone system: the phone numbers come straight from Aircall, with apps for desktop and mobile and more than 250 ready-made connections to other tools. If you run a larger calling team and want numbers from many countries from one provider, it serves you well. The-Y CRM is for teams whose customers call and message – phone system, WhatsApp, email, deals and invoices in one tool, at a flat price. You bring your phone number from your own telephony provider (currently sipgate, Zadarma or Twilio): it stays there, and the provider bills you for the minutes.
The difference in one sentence
With Aircall you buy the phone system and phone number per licence and connect a CRM for your customer data. The-Y CRM is phone system, inbox and CRM in one – the number and the minutes come from your own telephony provider.
Why The-Y CRM exists
I'm Thomas Nuri Yilmaz, founder of The-Y, and until September 2026 I was Head of IT at Dove Touristik. In 2024 I faced exactly this question: I was looking for a ticketing system, tested osTicket, then Zammad, and found Chatwoot while searching for a respond.io alternative. I ran Zammad, Chatwoot and n8n myself. What I was missing was everything in one place: WhatsApp, phone and email in one inbox, with a phone system of its own. Today we at The-Y no longer work with any of these tools – we work with The-Y CRM.
Aircall and The-Y CRM compared
Aircall according to its official pricing page (German view, euros, country Germany or Austria), the Aircall SAS terms (version of 10 Sep 2026), its help center and its regional data hosting page, accessed 26 Oct 2026 (sources below). Aircall prices in euros per licence per month: Essentials €30, Professional €50 billed annually, €40 or €70 billed monthly, minimum 3 licences; per the terms, taxes such as VAT come on top. Other countries may see other currencies. “Not found” means: not found in the official sources. Details on The-Y CRM as of version 1.1.53 (25 Oct 2026).
Stay with Aircall if …
- you want phone numbers from many countries straight from one provider – with The-Y the number comes from your own telephony provider,
- you need ready-made apps for desktop, Android and iOS and many ready-made connections, e.g. to Salesforce, HubSpot or Zendesk,
- your calling team should dial lists automatically one after another (Power Dialer), follow calls live and quietly coach new colleagues during a call – from Professional,
- you want an AI voice agent to answer calls – 50 minutes a month are included in every Aircall plan,
- you don't want to use Alpha software – The-Y CRM is Alpha.
Choose The-Y CRM if …
- you want calls and messages in the same inbox – phone, WhatsApp, email, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and web chat,
- you want deals, pipeline and invoices (right up to the export for your tax advisor) in the same tool instead of a second program,
- your phone number should stay with your own telephony provider and you'd rather pay for minutes there directly,
- customers also call you on WhatsApp, or you want to win back missed calls with “Press 1 for WhatsApp”,
- you want to pay a flat price instead of per licence: Cloud Pro €20 a month for all users, self-hosted €10 a month or €240 once – with no minimum number of licences.
Example: 5 people with phone and WhatsApp
Call minutes and WhatsApp fees come on top with both. At Aircall, Aircall bills them: outbound minutes included or on request depending on plan and country, WhatsApp templates at Meta's rate plus an Aircall fee. With The-Y you pay your telephony provider and Meta directly – The-Y adds no markup. Aircall prices are excl. VAT, Cloud Pro incl. VAT. For up to 3 people, The-Y Free (€0) is enough – in our cloud or self-hosted with a free key; Aircall needs at least 3 licences. All the details, with a calculator for every country: What The-Y CRM really costs. What a browser-based phone system costs in total for a team of 2 to 10 and what you need for it: Virtual phone system for small business.
Don't want to run a server yourself? Take Cloud Pro.
We host The-Y CRM for you – one price per company, all users and brands included, 10 GB storage, updates and backups, servers in Austria (Vienna data centre). Messages and call minutes with no volume limits: WhatsApp, SMS, phone and AI run on your own accounts, and Meta and your providers bill you directly – with no markup. You can have up to 10 simultaneous calls.
€20 a month during Alpha and Beta – the price stays as long as your subscription runs without interruption; €40 from the Live release. Or €240 a year (€480 from Live). Incl. VAT, businesses only, cancel any time, effective at the end of the paid period.
How it works: create a free account, then book Cloud Pro in the app under Settings → License. You can take your data to your own server any time – it's the same software. Extra storage (+10 GB for €3 a month) and automation packs (€5 a month) can be added; custom quotas and prices on request: sales@the-y.at.
Test it in about 30 minutes
- Create a free account on crm.the-y.at.
- Connect a mailbox, WhatsApp number or phone – guides in the documentation.
- Invite your team and see if it fits. Contacts and companies can be imported via CSV.
Like it? Then move to your own server – free with a free key (same limits as Free) or without limits with the self-hosting licence (guide, server requirements) – or stay in our cloud and book Cloud Pro in the app for your whole company.
Frequently asked questions
Can I self-host The-Y CRM?
Yes, with Docker on your own server – in two ways: free with a free key (created in the app after sign-up; the same limits as Free: 3 users, 1,000 outgoing messages across all channels and 200 outgoing call minutes per month, 2 simultaneous calls, 2 GB; no support, feedback during the Alpha is welcome) or without usage limits with the self-hosting licence for €10 a month or €240 one-time (during Alpha and Beta; from the Live release €20 or €480). The €10 and the €240 get you the same licence – one as a subscription, the other perpetual.
Is The-Y CRM also available hosted for more than 3 people?
Yes, with Cloud Pro: we host The-Y CRM for you in Austria (Vienna data centre) – unlimited users and brands included, 10 GB storage, updates and backups. It costs €20 a month during Alpha and Beta (the price stays as long as your subscription runs without interruption; €40 from the Live release) or €240 a year – incl. VAT, businesses only. Messages and call minutes have no volume limits, because WhatsApp, SMS, phone and AI run on your own accounts. You can have up to 10 simultaneous calls. Free in the cloud covers up to 3 users (1,000 outgoing messages across all channels and 200 outgoing call minutes per month, 2 simultaneous calls, 2 GB storage). You book Cloud Pro in the app under Settings → License; custom quotas on request at sales@the-y.at.
Where does the phone number come from with The-Y?
From your own telephony provider. The-Y CRM connects to your provider via a SIP line – currently sipgate, Zadarma or Twilio, more to follow. The number stays with that provider, and the provider bills you directly for the number and call minutes; The-Y adds no markup. The phone system itself is included on every plan: IVR, queues, voicemail, click-to-call in the browser and analytics – and since version 1.1.45 also for WhatsApp calls. Free covers 200 outgoing call minutes per month and 2 simultaneous calls, Cloud Pro up to 10 simultaneous calls with no minute limit. With Aircall, by contrast, the number and minutes come from Aircall itself.
Can I take my Aircall number with me?
Yes. According to Aircall's help center, you ask your new telephony provider to take over the number from Aircall; the new provider handles the process. Aircall doesn't charge for this, but your new provider may. Your Aircall account must stay active until the move is complete – it doesn't cancel your subscription automatically. Afterwards you delete the number in the Aircall dashboard so you're no longer billed for it. Some numbers can't be transferred, for example because of agreements between telephony providers. Whether and how your new provider takes over the number is something you clarify with them. Once it's there, you link it to your SIP line and calls arrive in The-Y CRM.
What does WhatsApp cost?
The-Y charges nothing extra. You pay Meta's fees directly to Meta. Since 1 Oct 2026 Meta also charges for replies within the 24-hour window; the first 1,000 per number per month are free. Those 1,000 are Meta's free allowance – not to be confused with the limit of The-Y Free (1,000 outgoing messages per month across all channels). Details on the costs page.
Can I use my existing WhatsApp number?
Yes. If you already use the WhatsApp Business app, you can keep it: The-Y CRM connects the number via Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform as well, replies you send from your phone also appear in the CRM, and up to 180 days of history are imported. If the number runs in the personal WhatsApp app, you first switch it to the WhatsApp Business app or release it from WhatsApp – that's Meta's rule for the Business Platform and applies just the same with Zammad, Chatwoot or Twilio. The number stays yours.
What happens to my licence if The-Y ceases to exist?
Then all self-hosted installations – with a free key, a monthly licence or a lifetime licence – first get a final update that removes the licence check and all usage limits. After that they keep running for free, without limits and indefinitely; your data is on your server anyway. This is also in our Terms of Use. If you use Free or Cloud Pro in our cloud, you can export your data at any time.
Switching from Aircall – step by step
Each step takes about 5 to 10 minutes in The-Y. Only moving the phone number to your new provider takes longer. Keep your Aircall account active until the number has moved. Cancelling is a separate step: per the terms in writing at least 30 days before the end of the term, otherwise the contract renews for the same period.
- Bring your contacts (about 5–10 min): According to the help center you can't export contacts from Aircall yourself – ask Aircall support for a CSV file with all your contacts. In The-Y you upload it under Contacts → “Import”, and the same works for companies and deals. A dry run first shows row by row what will be created or updated. Phone numbers are converted to international format so The-Y recognises customers when they call or message you on WhatsApp.
- Set up your phone line (about 10 min): Create a SIP line at your telephony provider (currently sipgate, Zadarma or Twilio) and add it in The-Y under Telephony → Lines. The telephony assistant then asks “What should happen when someone calls?” and sets up the call route with opening hours, voicemail and greeting. A new number from the provider is enough for testing. Guide →
- Move your Aircall number (waiting time depends on the provider): Ask your new provider to take over the number from Aircall. According to the help center Aircall charges nothing for this; your account there must stay active until it's done. Then link the number to your SIP line at the provider and delete it in the Aircall dashboard. The number stays with your provider.
- Connect your email (about 5–10 min): Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com with “Connect with Microsoft”, no password needed; all other mailboxes via IMAP/SMTP. If you choose “Whole history”, The-Y also fetches the emails still in the mailbox's inbox. Guide →
- Connect WhatsApp (about 5–10 min, plus any waiting time): Click “Connect WhatsApp” and choose your business, your WhatsApp account and the number in Meta's window. If the number already has a two-step PIN, enter it afterwards in the “Existing PIN” field; if you don't know it, turn off two-step verification in WhatsApp Manager. After that the number runs on your own Meta account and Meta bills you directly. If you like, you can also take WhatsApp calls in the phone system. Guide →
What doesn't come along
- Call history, recordings and voicemails from Aircall – there is no import for them in The-Y. Save them first: you download the call history from Aircall as a CSV (Essentials up to 6 months back, Professional 12 months, at most 6 months per export), recordings one by one in the call details.
- Your message history (SMS, WhatsApp) from Aircall – there is no import for that either.
- You set up call routes, ring groups and announcements again in The-Y – with the telephony assistant or a phone template.
Seen enough? Try it yourself.
Click through the inbox, phone system and deals with sample data and see whether it suits your team better than Aircall – everything is deleted after 24 hours.
Prefer to do it together? We set it up with you by video call – in your browser, nothing to install. Mon–Fri 10–12 and 14–17 (Vienna time).
More comparisons
Zammad · Chatwoot · osTicket · FreeScout · respond.io · Trengo · superchat · Bitrix24 · Freshdesk · WATI · Userlike · Kommo · Zendesk · HubSpot · WhatsApp Business with multiple users · Phone system for small business · All comparisons
Sources (as of 10/2026)
- Pricing, licences, minimums, phone numbers, minutes, features per plan, add-ons (including WhatsApp), AI voice agent: aircall.io/de/preismodell (German view, euros; country Germany or Austria; monthly prices after switching to “Monatlich zahlen”), accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Aircall SAS terms and conditions, version 5.10 of 10 Sep 2026 (monthly or annual plan, automatic renewal, 30-day notice, licences can't be reduced, billing of minutes, taxes on top): legal.aircall.io, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Trial (7 days, no porting during the trial): Aircall help center, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Your own line only with Twilio numbers via SIP trunk: SIP trunking with Twilio; desk phones and SIP devices: SIP devices, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Taking a number from Aircall to another provider: Porting out, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Call history as CSV, downloading recordings: Call history; contacts exported only via support: Contacts, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Inbox (calls, voicemails, SMS, WhatsApp): Workspace inbox, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- WhatsApp in Aircall (paid plan required, messages, no bulk sending, fees in US dollars): product page, overview and usage rates, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Data location (AWS, EU data in Frankfurt, what is mostly in the US; as of 16 Oct 2026): aircall.io/regional-data-hosting, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Countries with Aircall phone numbers (including Austria and Germany): aircall.io/countries, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Telephony provider example (Zadarma, Austria): as on our costs page
Aircall is a trademark of its respective owner. This comparison is independent and made to the best of our knowledge; please report errors to office@the-y.at and we'll correct them right away.