Connect Zero vs the Aircall to CRM bundle: keep your 3CX or switch?
If you run an agency CRM platform and you already have 3CX deployed,
the decision in front of you is not “Aircall versus 3CX as phone
systems”. The decision is “do I rip out 3CX and adopt an Aircall plus
CRM integration bundle, or do I keep 3CX and bridge it to my CRM with a
purpose-built integration?”. This page lays out both paths honestly so
you can choose the one that fits your agency.
TL;DR: The Aircall-to-CRM bundle is the right answer
if you are starting fresh with no phone system in place, or if you are
already on the way out of 3CX for other reasons. Connect Zero is the
right answer if you already have 3CX numbers, extensions, queues and
call recordings in place and want to bridge that investment into your
CRM without rip-and-replace. The cost picture is different too: flat
per-location pricing on Connect Zero versus per-user pricing on the
Aircall bundle.
At a glance
| Connect Zero (keep 3CX) | Aircall + CRM bundle | |
|---|---|---|
| Keep your existing phone system | Yes, runs on top of 3CX | No, you replace 3CX with Aircall |
| Pricing model | Flat per location, per month, published | Per user, per month, with a three-seat minimum |
| Setup time | About two minutes from the CRM marketplace | Sales-led onboarding plus PBX cutover |
| Lock-in | Cancel any time by uninstalling | Annual discounts encourage annual commit |
| Per-seat fee | None | Yes, starts at USD 30 per user per month annual |
Features
The Aircall-to-CRM bundle is a cloud PBX with a dedicated connector
built by Aircall’s integration partner. It pulls call recordings,
transcripts and contact data into your CRM as the calls happen. Built on
top of Aircall’s PBX, the bundle includes the full set of cloud-PBX
features: queues, IVR, business hours, monitoring, supervisor barge,
voicemail-to-CRM and a mature mobile app.
Connect Zero is a bridge from 3CX into your CRM. It listens for 3CX
call events, matches the inbound caller against contacts in your CRM,
attaches the recording to the contact and timeline, and fires workflow
triggers on the call outcome. It does not replace any of 3CX’s PBX
features because 3CX continues to do all of that.
The agency-facing question is “do I want the PBX features and the CRM
integration in one bundle from one vendor, or do I want to keep my 3CX
investment and add a CRM bridge”. Both answers are legitimate. The
honest framing is that they are not the same shape of value.
Pricing
Aircall publishes its rate card. The Essentials plan is USD 30 per
user per month on annual billing, or USD 40 per user per month on
monthly billing, with a three-seat minimum. That makes the entry point
USD 90 per month for three users on the cheapest annual plan, before any
integration cost. The integration to your CRM is built by Aircall’s
partner Airlinx and may carry its own usage cost on top.
Connect Zero publishes USD 39 per location per month flat. The number
does not change if you have one user, ten users or fifty users in 3CX.
Call sync is metered at USD 0.02 per inbound message synced and workflow
triggers at USD 0.01 per trigger fired. For a five-user team running a
representative call volume, total monthly cost lands in the low hundreds
of US dollars rather than several hundred.
Total cost consideration: The Aircall bundle’s
per-seat model means cost rises in step with team size and is loaded
entirely on the PBX side. Connect Zero’s per-location flat fee means the
cost stays the same as the team grows and the only variable is the call
and trigger meter. For agencies adding seats, the Connect Zero shape is
materially cheaper at three users and above.
Setup and onboarding
Adopting the Aircall bundle means cutting over your phone numbers,
porting DIDs, training the team on the new soft-phone, and standing up
queues and IVR from scratch. The bundle has been delivered many times
and the playbook is mature, but the cutover is a project.
Adopting Connect Zero from the CRM marketplace takes about two
minutes. You install the app, paste in the 3CX webhook URL, finish the
OAuth handshake to the CRM, and you are done. Your existing 3CX queues,
IVR, business hours and recordings all continue to work because nothing
in 3CX changes.
Support
Aircall’s support footprint is global with multilingual coverage. The
bundle’s CRM integration is supported jointly by Aircall and their
partner Airlinx, with documented escalation paths.
Connect Zero’s support runs from Adelaide during Australian business
hours, with direct access to the engineers who built the bridge. Smaller
team, shorter chain. The trade-off is timezone coverage: if your agency
is North American and needs 9am US-Eastern support, the Aircall bundle
has the broader coverage.
Integrations
The Aircall bundle integrates with the major CRMs as a first-party
connector via the Aircall integration partner. The breadth of
integrations is one of Aircall’s strengths.
Connect Zero is purpose-built for the 3CX-to-CRM pair only. It is not
a generic PBX integration framework. If you need 3CX into multiple CRMs
simultaneously, Connect Zero handles one CRM tenant at a time. If you
need a generic PBX-to-anything integration platform, the Aircall bundle
has the breadth.
Who the Aircall bundle suits
The Aircall-to-CRM bundle is the right choice for agencies that:
- Are starting fresh with no incumbent phone system
- Are already in the process of moving off legacy on-premises phones
and want a cloud PBX bundle as part of that move - Value a single-vendor billing relationship covering both PBX and CRM
integration - Have a large global team where multilingual PBX support and 24/7
SLAs justify the per-seat cost
The ideal Aircall-bundle customer is an agency starting a new office
or a new function, with no sunk PBX investment and a preference for one
vendor handling both phones and CRM integration.
Who Connect Zero suits
Connect Zero is built for agencies that:
- Already run 3CX and have numbers, extensions, queues, IVR, and
recordings configured - Do not want to migrate the phone system to land the CRM
integration - Want flat per-location pricing rather than per-seat pricing
- Prefer cancel-by-uninstall over annual contracts
- Want an Australian vendor with Australian-hours support
- Are cost-sensitive at three or more users
The ideal Connect Zero customer is an agency on 3CX with three or
more users, a CRM in place, and a preference for keeping the phone
system they already invested in.
Bottom line
If you are starting fresh on phones, the Aircall bundle is a coherent
choice and the per-seat math will work for a small team. If you already
have 3CX in place, Connect Zero lets you keep the phone system, add the
CRM bridge in two minutes, and pay a flat per-location fee that does not
balloon as the team grows.
Ready to try Connect Zero?
- Start a free trial of Connect Zero on your existing
3CX setup (no credit card needed for the trial). - Book a demo to see calls flowing into your CRM from
a sample 3CX dataset. - Talk to sales if you have a multi-tenant or
multi-location 3CX setup and need help mapping it out.
You can also browse the 3CX hub for the full
product picture, or jump straight to Connect
Zero pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to
replace 3CX to integrate with my CRM?
No. Connect Zero is purpose-built so that you keep 3CX and add the
CRM bridge alongside. None of your existing 3CX configuration changes.
The bridge listens for 3CX call events and writes them into the CRM in
near real time.
How
much does Connect Zero cost compared to the Aircall bundle?
Connect Zero is USD 39 per location per month flat, plus a small
per-call and per-workflow-trigger meter. The Aircall bundle is at least
USD 30 per user per month on annual billing, with a three-seat minimum,
plus any integration partner cost. For agencies with three or more
users, Connect Zero is materially cheaper.
Will my call recordings
sync to the CRM?
Yes. 3CX recordings are attached to the matching contact record in
the CRM with a clickable link, and the call event itself appears on the
contact timeline. The recording attachment is included in the standard
plan with no separate storage charge.
Will workflow
triggers fire on inbound calls?
Yes. Connect Zero fires CRM workflow triggers based on call outcome,
so you can route missed calls to a follow-up sequence, tag new contacts
on first call, or kick off an automation when a known contact calls
in.
How long does setup take?
About two minutes to install the app, paste in the 3CX webhook URL,
and complete the CRM OAuth. After that the bridge runs in the
background. No PBX cutover, no number porting, no team retraining.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The trial runs on your existing 3CX setup, no credit card
required to start. You get enough time to see real call events flowing
into your CRM.
What happens if I cancel?
You uninstall the app from the CRM marketplace. New calls stop
flowing into the CRM. Historical call events and recording links that
already landed in the CRM remain in the CRM. There is no written notice,
no minimum term and no exit fee.
Does
Connect Zero work for agencies with multiple sub-accounts in the
CRM?
Yes. The bridge supports multi-tenant CRM setups where you have a
separate sub-account per client. Each sub-account counts as one location
in the pricing model.
Can I keep
using my existing 3CX numbers and DIDs?
Yes. Connect Zero does not touch your 3CX numbers, DIDs, extensions,
queues or IVR. Everything that worked on 3CX before installation keeps
working after installation.
What
if my agency is in North America and needs US-hours support?
Connect Zero support runs from Adelaide during Australian business
hours. The team responds via email and the in-app help channel and a
same-day reply is the norm. If a US-Eastern morning SLA is a hard
requirement, the Aircall bundle’s broader support footprint is the
better fit.
Does
Connect Zero support 3CX hosted by anyone, or only certain hosts?
Connect Zero works with any 3CX instance that can reach the bridge
endpoint, including self-hosted 3CX, 3CX in the 3CX cloud, and 3CX
hosted by an Australian or global partner. The webhook configuration is
the same in each case.
