Handled vs RingCentral AIR.
RingCentral AIR is what it looks like when a telecom incumbent enters the category: $49/mo, 100 minutes included, and instant distribution to millions of existing phone-system customers.
Their prices change — verify on their site. Ours are public on /pricing.
RingCentral AIR · checked August 2026
- AIR standalone
- 100 minutes included
- $49/mo
- AIR for RingEX customers
- discounted inside the RingCentral stack
- $39/mo
Handled · public pricing
- Starter
- 500 min · $500 one-time setup · 30-day money-back
- $249/mo
- Pro
- 1,500 min · CRM-native · monthly tuning · 30-day money-back
- $549/mo
- Vertical
- Unlimited · industry-tuned · bi-weekly tuning
- $1,200/mo
Done-for-you: a human builds your line from your real price book, bilingual EN/ES from the first ring, live in 48 hours — plus websites, apps, and AI staff under the same roof.
Where each one actually wins.
// where RingCentral AIR wins
Incumbent trust
A public company your accountant has heard of, bundled with a full business phone system.
Entry price
$49/mo is impulse-buy territory, especially for existing RingCentral customers.
Integration velocity
SMS, queues, Shopify, Calendly, WhatsApp support added within months of launch.
// where Handled wins
100 minutes is one busy Tuesday
A trades business fields more talk-time than AIR's included minutes in days. Handled Starter includes 500 minutes; Vertical is unlimited.
Built from your price book, by a person
AIR is self-serve configuration. Handled is a working session with an owner-operator who loads your real prices and rules.
Bilingual + the whole stack
EN/ES natively, plus website, app, and AI staff from the same builder.
Pick RingCentral AIR
Pick RingCentral AIR if you're already a RingCentral shop and want a cheap, native add-on for light call volume.
Pick Handled
Pick Handled if the phone is how you get paid — real call volume, Spanish-speaking callers, and rules a self-serve form can't capture.
// straight answers
- Is RingCentral AIR cheaper than Handled?
- Yes — $49/mo ($39 for RingEX customers) vs Handled's $249/mo start, as of August 2026. AIR includes 100 minutes; Handled Starter includes 500 plus done-for-you setup, bilingual answering, and 30-day money-back.
- Do I need RingCentral's phone system to use AIR?
- No — AIR launched as a standalone product, with a discount if you're on RingEX. Handled is also phone-system-agnostic: you forward your existing line, from any carrier.
// don't trust our comparison? ask an AI
Sources, checked August 2026: RingCentral AIR announcement. Competitor prices are theirs to change; if something above is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Hear the difference on a real call.
48h to live · 30-day money-back on Starter and Pro