A Salesforce dialer is a calling tool that logs every call in Salesforce, on the right lead, contact or opportunity. It integrates in one of two ways: a softphone embedded in the Salesforce console (CTI), or a separate dialer that syncs each call back to the CRM through the API.
That architecture choice matters more than any feature checklist. It decides where your reps spend their day, how fast they can dial, and what your Salesforce admin will have to maintain. This guide covers Salesforce’s own dialer and seven third-party tools, with the integration type, the dialing mode (one number at a time or several simultaneously), the published pricing and the team each one fits. Every price and spec below was checked on the vendors’ websites on November 5, 2026, and the prices were rechecked on November 11, 2026.
What is the best business phone app with Salesforce integration?
Three situations cover most teams. Find yours, then jump to the matching tools below.
CTI or API sync: what are the two ways to connect a dialer to Salesforce?
Before comparing tools, it helps to be clear about what “integration” means, because two architectures coexist and they solve different problems.
Softphone in the console
The call starts from Salesforce
- 1The rep opens a recordLead, contact or opportunity, in the Salesforce console.
- 2Click on the numberThe embedded softphone places the call. One number at a time.
- 3Logged on that recordThe call activity lands where the rep already is.
Most embedded softphones run on Open CTI.
Dialer synced through the API
The call starts from the dialer
- 1The dialer reads SalesforceLeads and contacts become a calling session in the dialer app.
- 2The rep calls from the dialerPower dialing, or several lines ringing at once.
- 3Written back through the APITask, outcome, duration, and often recording and transcript.
Not affected by the Open CTI retirement.
Open CTI retirement timeline
- 2020 Maintenance mode No new features or enhancements for Open CTI.
- Feb 16, 2026 Closed to new orgs Unavailable for newly created Agentforce Service orgs.
- Feb 28, 2028 Retirement Open CTI stops working for all orgs.
Source: Salesforce Trailhead, "Prepare for Open CTI Retirement", checked November 11, 2026.
| CTI dialer | API-synced dialer | |
|---|---|---|
| Where reps call from | The Salesforce console | The dialer’s own app |
| Setup | AppExchange package, call center, softphone layout | Connect the org, choose what syncs |
| Main strength | Reps never leave Salesforce | Fast dialing, often several lines at once |
| Main limit | Slower dialing, depends on Open CTI | Two screens, the call doesn’t start from the record |
| Typical user | AEs, account managers, inbound teams | SDRs and high-volume outbound teams |
The broader topic of connecting a phone system to a CRM is covered in our guide to phone system CRM integration. This article stays focused on Salesforce.
Business phone app or sales dialer: which one do you need with Salesforce?
“Business phone app” and “sales dialer” are often used as if they meant the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides which shortlist you should be reading.
What each one writes to Salesforce differs too, and it is worth reading before a demo:
Business phone app (Aircall)
- Where the call starts
- Inside Salesforce, Lightning or Classic
- What is written
- Call data on leads, contacts, accounts, cases, tasks and activities, plus a dedicated Aircall Voice object
- Call content
- Call recordings
- Inbound calls
- IVR and call queues
- Mobile
- iOS and Android apps, all plans
- Salesforce edition
- Enterprise or Unlimited
Outbound dialer (Skipcall)
- Where the call starts
- In Skipcall, never from the Salesforce record
- What is written
- Dated, qualified tasks on standard objects: lead, contact, account, opportunity
- Call content
- Recording, transcript and AI summary, depending on your settings
- Inbound calls
- No IVR, no call queues, no inbound routing
- Mobile
- iOS and Android app, plus the browser
- Salesforce edition
- No package to install
Where does Skipcall sit? It is first an outbound dialer. It also sells a business VoIP plan, from $25 per licence per month, that gives a company landline and mobile numbers, calls and SMS on the web and on the iOS and Android app. It has no IVR, no call queues and no inbound call routing: if your Salesforce project is a support line or a switchboard, a business phone system such as Aircall or CloudTalk is the right family. If it is a team of reps who need to reach more prospects per hour and find every call in Salesforce, it is the dialer family.
Is Salesforce’s native dialer good enough?
Salesforce sells two separate products that are often confused.
The main limit is the dialing mode. Salesforce’s Trailhead module on the dialer describes reps adding records to a call list and calling them one after another, each record leaving the list once called. There is no simultaneous dialing. It is a comfortable tool for a rep making a few dozen calls a day, but it does nothing about the time spent waiting on rings and voicemail greetings.
Best for: teams already on Sales Cloud with moderate call volume that want everything inside Salesforce and no extra vendor.
Limit: one record at a time, and a multi-license price structure that is hard to estimate without a quote.
The best Salesforce dialers, compared
The cards summarize all eight options; details follow tool by tool. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on the vendor’s site as of November 11, 2026. We did not guess it.
Skipcall
- Salesforce integration
- Native, API sync; calls placed from Skipcall
- Dialing mode
- Power dialer, or up to 4 simultaneous lines
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- From $70 per seat per month, billed annually
Salesforce Sales Dialer
- Salesforce integration
- Native, in the console
- Dialing mode
- One record at a time
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- From $5 per user per month
Kixie
- Salesforce integration
- Browser extension on the Salesforce API
- Dialing mode
- Up to 4 lines (Multi-Line PowerDialer plan)
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- Not published on the pricing page
Orum
- Salesforce integration
- CRM sync
- Dialing mode
- Parallel dialing, line count not published
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- Quote only, 9-seat minimum
Nooks
- Salesforce integration
- Bi-directional sync
- Dialing mode
- Multi-line and power dialing, line count not published
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- Quote only
PhoneBurner
- Salesforce integration
- AppExchange package, panel inside Salesforce
- Dialing mode
- Power dialer, one conversation at a time
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- From $140 per user per month, billed annually
Aircall
- Salesforce integration
- App inside Salesforce, via AppExchange
- Dialing mode
- Sequential power dialer
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- $50 per seat per month billed annually, 3-seat minimum
CloudTalk
- Salesforce integration
- Salesforce integration on the Expert plan
- Dialing mode
- Parallel dialer add-on, up to 10 lines
- Published price (checked Nov 11, 2026)
- USD amounts not readable on our check
1. Skipcall
Skipcall is a B2B outbound dialer: power dialer, simultaneous dialing on up to 4 lines, AI voicemail detection, prerecorded voicemail drop, and AI transcripts and summaries for every call. The Salesforce integration is native: no Apex code, no package to deploy, no custom objects. Calls become dated, qualified tasks on standard objects (lead, contact, account, opportunity), and the admin decides what syncs to Salesforce and what stays in Skipcall.
The point to understand before choosing: you call from Skipcall, and Salesforce is updated afterwards. There is no softphone in the Salesforce console and no click-to-call from the record. A click-to-call browser extension has been announced, but it is not available as of this article.
Why that design? Because simultaneous dialing is hard to drive from a record page. When four numbers ring at once, the rep needs a screen that surfaces whoever picks up, not whichever record happened to be open. When someone answers, the other lines are cancelled while they are still ringing, and those prospects see a missed call. Keeping that number low is why Skipcall stops at 4 lines, a cap we explain with the full math in how many lines a parallel dialer should use.
You call from Skipcall, and Salesforce is updated afterwards.
The parallel dialer and power dialer are included from the Starter plan, from $70 per seat per month billed annually, with no seat minimum. The Salesforce integration is included in the license at no extra cost (see pricing).
- Power dialer and up to 4 simultaneous lines from the Starter plan.
- Native sync on standard objects, with no Apex code and no custom objects.
- Published price, no seat minimum, Salesforce integration included.
- No softphone in the Salesforce console, no click-to-call from the record.
- No IVR or call queues.
- No more than 4 lines per rep.
Best for: SDRs and outbound teams that spend their day in the dialer, want several simultaneous lines, and need Salesforce kept current without manual logging.
Not for: teams that require calls to start from the Salesforce console, inbound call centers (Skipcall has no IVR or call queues), and teams that want more than 4 lines per rep.
2. Salesforce Sales Dialer
Covered above: it is the most integrated option, since Salesforce builds it. Reps never switch screens, calls log without extra setup, and the admin has no third-party vendor to approve. In return, dialing is one record at a time, and pairing Sales Dialer with Sales Engagement stacks two add-ons on top of the Sales Cloud license.
Best for: organizations that value a single vendor over call throughput.
3. Kixie
Kixie connects through a browser extension, PowerCall, that talks to the Salesforce API: no call center definition and no softphone layout, according to its Salesforce page. Reps dial from leads, contacts, list views and task queues, and every call logs as a completed task of type Call. The Multi-Line PowerDialer plan dials up to 4 lines simultaneously from Salesforce list views. Kixie requires Salesforce Professional or higher with API access.
The pricing page shows no dollar amounts, and the unlimited minutes it advertises cover calls to the US and Canada. See Skipcall vs Kixie for the detailed comparison.
Best for: North American teams that want simultaneous dialing launched straight from Salesforce list views.
4. Orum
Orum is a US parallel dialer that lists Salesforce among its integrations. Its pricing page gives neither a price nor a line count: pricing depends on package and number of users, with a 9-seat minimum on the Ascend plan. It is built for structured SDR teams already running outbound at volume. See Skipcall vs Orum.
Best for: SDR teams of ten or more that are comfortable buying through a quote.
5. Nooks
Nooks combines an AI dialer, sequencing, signals and coaching. Its pricing page mentions bi-directional CRM sync with Salesforce and HubSpot, and “multi-line and power dialing” without stating the number of lines. Pricing is by quote. It is a broad platform: if you only want a dialer, you will be evaluating more than you set out to buy. See Skipcall vs Nooks.
Best for: teams that want a full prospecting platform around Salesforce, with the budget to match.
6. PhoneBurner
PhoneBurner is the textbook dialer that lives inside Salesforce. Installed from the AppExchange, it adds a dialer panel to the Salesforce UI in both Classic and Lightning. Its most admin-friendly feature: any Salesforce report becomes a dial session, keeping its filters and sort order, up to 500 records. Calls, notes and dispositions log automatically.
Dialing stays sequential: one live conversation per rep, no simultaneous lines. Plans start at $140 per user per month billed annually ($165 monthly). See Skipcall vs PhoneBurner.
- Dialer panel inside Salesforce, in both Classic and Lightning.
- Any Salesforce report becomes a dial session, with its filters and sort order.
- Calls, notes and dispositions log automatically.
- Sequential dialing: no simultaneous lines.
- Plans start at $140 per user per month billed annually.
Best for: teams that run everything through Salesforce reports and do not want to leave the interface.
7. Aircall
Aircall is a full business phone system, inbound and outbound, with an app that runs inside Salesforce Lightning and Classic. The Sales Cloud and Service Cloud integration is limited to the Professional plan, at $50 per seat per month billed annually with a 3-seat minimum, and it requires a Salesforce Enterprise or Unlimited org. Aircall also sells an “Aircall for Salesforce Voice” add-on at $30 per seat per month. Its power dialer works through an imported list of up to 1,000 numbers in sequence, with no simultaneous calls.
- Full business phone system, inbound and outbound.
- App that runs inside Salesforce Lightning and Classic.
- Softphone apps for iOS and Android included in all plans.
- No simultaneous calls.
- Requires a Salesforce Enterprise or Unlimited org.
- 3-seat minimum.
Best for: teams that also handle inbound calls and want a real phone system wired into Salesforce.
Limit: no simultaneous dialing, and a high Salesforce edition required. See Skipcall vs Aircall.
8. CloudTalk
CloudTalk is a cloud phone system covering every dialing mode. Its pricing page ties the Salesforce ecosystem integration to the Expert plan, which has a 3-seat minimum and includes the power dialer; the parallel dialer is a paid add-on on every plan and dials up to 10 lines (five per rep by default, up to ten on request, according to the pricing page on November 11, 2026). On November 5 and again on November 11, 2026 we could only read the page’s euro prices, so check the USD figures on CloudTalk’s pricing page. See Skipcall vs CloudTalk.
Best for: SMBs that want inbound, outbound and simultaneous dialing from one vendor, alongside Salesforce.
Your softphone runs on Open CTI: what to do before 2028
If your reps call from a phone embedded in the Salesforce console, the retirement date is your deadline, not your vendor’s. Three steps settle it, and the first takes five minutes.
- 01
Find out whether you are concerned
Ask your Salesforce admin how the softphone is installed. A phone that sits in the console through a call center and a softphone layout is the Open CTI pattern described above. A dialer that runs in its own app and writes calls back through the API is not concerned.
- 02
Send your vendor the five questions below
Send them in writing, and keep the answer. A vendor with a plan answers in a few days. A vague answer is information too.
- 03
Decide before your next renewal
If the vendor migrates to Salesforce Voice, price the new setup: the Salesforce side is billed on top of the telephony license. If your team mostly prospects, this is also the moment to ask whether calls still need to start from the record, or whether an API-synced dialer would serve it better.
Skipcall and Salesforce: who it fits, and who it doesn’t
Being straight about this saves a bad purchase and a trial that goes nowhere.
- your reps do outbound prospecting and spend most of their day dialing;
- you want simultaneous lines, capped at a sensible 4;
- you expect Salesforce to be current (tasks, outcomes, transcripts, summaries) without anyone re-entering data;
- your admin rejects packages that create their own objects: the integration writes to standard objects;
- you want a published price with no seat minimum.
- leadership requires calls to start from the Salesforce record, with a softphone in the console;
- you run an inbound call center with IVR and queues: Skipcall has neither;
- you want 6 or 10 lines per rep;
- your reps make a handful of calls a day between meetings: the native Sales Dialer or a phone system like Aircall will do.
How do you choose a Salesforce dialer?
Five questions, in this order, settle most cases.
- 01
Where must reps call from?
If the answer is “inside Salesforce, no exceptions”, your shortlist shrinks to CTI dialers and the native add-on. If what matters is that Salesforce stays current, API-synced dialers come back into play, and they are the ones that dial fastest.
- 02
What volume?
Below a few dozen calls per rep per day, a power dialer is enough. Above that, waiting on rings and voicemail greetings becomes the biggest time sink, and that is where a parallel dialer changes the output. The cost per meeting calculator puts numbers on the gap with your own data, and the tools that dial several numbers at once are compared line count by line count in the multi-line dialers roundup.
- 03
Which Salesforce edition?
Check it before any demo. Aircall requires Enterprise or Unlimited, Kixie requires Professional with API access, and Sales Dialer is not available on Starter Suite. Skipcall connects to standard objects with no package to install.
- 04
What must show up in Salesforce?
A call task is not always enough. List what managers actually read: call outcome, duration, recording, transcript, summary, next step. Then check, tool by tool, what syncs and onto which object (lead or contact, account, opportunity).
- 05
What does it really cost?
Add up the dialer license, minutes, add-ons (parallel dialing, numbers), seat minimums and, where needed, the Salesforce add-on. A quote-only tool with a 9-seat minimum does not have the same entry cost as a published per-seat price with no minimum: the real first invoice of each vendor is worked out in power dialers with no minimum seats. A startup with one to five callers on Salesforce should also read cold calling software ranked by startup stage.
Not on Salesforce?
The same question applies to every CRM, with different answers. HubSpot has its own built-in calling, whose limits are covered in the best HubSpot dialers; Pipedrive relies on its marketplace, see the best Pipedrive phone integrations; Attio has its own guide on Attio phone integration. If you are still choosing the CRM itself, our roundup of the best CRMs for SDRs lays out the criteria. Whatever the CRM, its built-in enrichment rarely supplies mobiles: our review of CRM native enrichment and phone numbers checks six of them.
What to remember
- A Salesforce dialer integrates either through a softphone in the console (CTI) or through API sync from its own app. The first optimizes for comfort, the second for speed.
- A business phone app with Salesforce integration (Aircall, CloudTalk) handles inbound calls, IVR and queues; an outbound dialer (Skipcall, Kixie, Orum, Nooks) is built to reach more prospects per hour.
- Salesforce’s native Sales Dialer, from $5 per user per month, dials one record at a time. Sales Engagement costs $50 per user per month on top of the license.
- Open CTI retires on February 28, 2028: ask your vendor if your embedded softphone depends on it.
- To dial several numbers at once you need a third-party tool: Skipcall and Kixie up to 4 lines, CloudTalk 5 by default and up to 10 on request, as an add-on, Orum and Nooks with no published line count.
- Skipcall syncs natively with Salesforce but is used from Skipcall, from $70 per seat per month billed annually. It suits teams that live in the dialer, not teams that want to call from the Salesforce record.
- Check your Salesforce edition before signing: it is the most common trap.
Prices and specs checked on vendor websites on November 5, 2026; prices, seat minimums, line counts and the Open CTI dates rechecked on November 11, 2026. Sources: Salesforce add-ons page, Salesforce Partner Contact Center pricing, Salesforce Trailhead Lightning Dialer module, Salesforce Trailhead module “Prepare for Open CTI Retirement”, Salesforce Ben’s February 24, 2026 report on the Open CTI retirement, and the pricing and Salesforce pages of Kixie, Orum, Nooks, PhoneBurner, Aircall and CloudTalk.
