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3CX Live Chat vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

3CX Live Chat
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
IP PBX (1st), Unified Communications (2nd), Live Chat (4th), Hosted and Cloud Based VoIP (4th)
Polycom RealPresence Desktop
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
13th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of 3CX Live Chat is 3.2%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Desktop is 1.4%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
3CX Live Chat3.2%
Polycom RealPresence Desktop1.4%
Other95.4%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Ram Maruboina - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer – Rust Systems & AI Evaluation at Turing
Real-time chat has boosted customer satisfaction and improves team efficiency and lead conversion
We could improve with better advanced chatbot customization, stronger AI-powered conversations, automatic deep CRM and third-party integration, more detailed analytics and reporting, additional customization options for chats, and improvements to mobile app performance and workflow automation. Regarding security, it is essential for customer-facing interactions. I would point out the real-time data lag, which is a significant gap, and enhancements in system reporting and live data update metrics are necessary. We also miss deep customer journey insights, along with user interface improvements, mobile widgets, and agent experience enhancements, especially with security and privacy configurations. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate 3CX Live Chat as an 8 because it has excellent control over the PBX license while enabling instant transitions from chat to voice and video calls. The reasons for losing those two points include basic analytics, widget customization options, and limited standalone chat tools compared to its competitors, which have higher market shares. With the right developers, they could excel in this area. The reason I chose the number eight is not only about analytics or customization but due to reliability bugs and agent workflow frictions, which affect the overall reporting coherence. Reliability and security glitches are significant drawbacks.
NH
Network Technical Advisor at a government with 10,001+ employees
Regular use enables effective communication with room for improvement in interoperability
The most valuable part of the desktop is the ability to make voice and video calls. Without getting too technical or divulging too much due to the environment we are in, it allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room. Scalability was easy. It was based on calls, not licenses.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Excellent Windows based PBX constantly updated with new features and great support."
"The management interface is hands-down the easiest I've ever had to use."
"3CX technical support is top notch and the best of any vendor I've encountered so far."
"I’m not saying it’s the best system in the world, but at the price point, it is exceptional value when looking at the features you receive with the Pro licence."
"This system is just awesome."
"The collaboration features allowed us to consistently provide cohesive communication with our customers as all team members could participate regardless of their geographic location."
"We have not had any bugs or glitches, the solution is stable."
"Mobility features and remote extensions work well."
"It allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room."
"The ROI was phenomenal."
 

Cons

"The Android and iPhone clients are great options but don't always work perfectly, even on wifi."
"There are a lot of quality of life things that could be improved. When adding extensions, you need to use the extension import setting, you can't just use an import function to update extensions. You have to delete and recreate the extension, which can have all kinds of unintended consequences."
"The analytics need to have a granular depth on how the customer details and the data sends information through this medium."
"It would be nice if the Chat feature also allowed us to transfer files."
"Support for more desktop phones as a standard would be helpful. They are heavy on Yealink phones and when moving from legacy systems we find it a bit cumbersome to add those phones on to 3CX and then auto-provisioning becomes quite a task."
"For firewall: Its advice is to disable the firewall to allow voice to pass through the network, but there are instants when you don't disable the firewall for security reasons that NAC port comes in."
"iPhone users found it difficult to use the mobile application when working offsite."
"Bluetooth audio support for 3CX IOS app is needed."
"There probably needs to be an improvement in interoperability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is in the middle range compared to other solutions. There are different license options available. For example, there is a professional version and an enterprise version, and with the enterprise version, you have the ability to modify the dashboards. You can purchase a license at many different time frame increments, such as monthly, yearly, or two years."
"Switching from POTS or PRI to SIP Trunk save the customer real costs. ROI is seen in less than a year."
"We used a yearly license depending on the customer's requirements, and the customers did not complain about the pricing."
"There aren't any additional costs. With the license I purchased, I have all features that I need. I don't have to buy an add-on or another license."
"The price of the solution has been reasonable. We have not had any problems or complaints with the licensing model. We have not reached a point where we need to upgrade. We have all the correct channels."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. There are a few license options and we are using an enterprise license."
"We have purchased an annual license to use 3CX Live Chat. There are different options available, you can pay monthly or yearly. I am completely satisfied with the pricing of 3CX Live Chat, it is cheaper than competitors and it is a better solution."
"3CX sells an annual subscription, but we usually split it out monthly for clients, so they don't see an annual bill for the 3CX licensing, it's just part of their monthly phone bill. As they're paying us for carrier service anyway, we just roll it all together. Your standard phone service would be an additional cost, you either need to maintain a local carrier with POTS lines or PRI or a SIP, or you have to go with a cloud-based SIP."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise3
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for 3CX Live Chat?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for 3CX Live Chat is generally positive. The pricing structure is straightforward, and the licensing models are user-friendly, leading to a smo...
What needs improvement with 3CX Live Chat?
We could improve with better advanced chatbot customization, stronger AI-powered conversations, automatic deep CRM and third-party integration, more detailed analytics and reporting, additional cus...
What is your primary use case for 3CX Live Chat?
My main use case for 3CX Live Chat is customer support, website live chat, and lead generation. For my customer support and lead generation use, I worked with 3CX Live Chat for customer inquiries i...
What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Desktop?
There is probably room for improvement in interoperability.
What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Desktop?
We use the desktop. It was used in the same case. We use it with our partners.
 

Also Known As

3CX PBX
RealPresence Desktop
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
John Laing, China Daily, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, NATO Communications and Information Agency, NHS Home Dialysis, Silver Chain, South Carolina Department of Mental Health, nimed
Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, TeamViewer, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.