Comparison

SwitchboardFREE vs CircleLoop

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SwitchboardFREE

This app provides a virtual receptionist service, offering a free 084 number to route calls to multiple UK landlines or mobiles. Features include call queuing, missed call alerts via email/SMS, and an easy answer phone function.

Highlights
  • Free 084 number
  • Call forwarding to multiple locations
  • Call queuing
  • Missed call alerts (email/SMS)
  • Voicemail to email
  • Follow Me feature with location-based routing
  • Line identification (whisper)
Read full description

***** Top 20 FREE Business App!!!! ***** Never miss a call again with the app for the UK best selling Virtual Receptionist SwitchboardFREE. Utilising an innovative and user friendly interface which allows full control over standard and now also advanced features. Now featuring our innovative new 'Follow Me' feature. Simply add a location of interest (e.g, office, home), and provide a number you'd like us to redirect to when you arrive. Your iPhone will update us when you enter or exit the location and we will redirect your calls to the number you specified or to your mobile if you are on the road. All of this is done automatically! Get a FREE 084 number to route to any UK landline. Never miss a call again. Front your web pages, business card and adverts with a free 084 phone number connected to a powerful call manager which re-directs your calls to up to 5 separate locations. All UK landline re-directs are free with redirects to mobile phones at just 12p per minute plus VAT, paid for via pre-payment if required. With over 24,000 UK business and homeworkers already enjoying this powerful and free application, why not empower your business or organisation today! Call queuing for your business ---------- If you have limited lines into your office, we will queue the callers and put them through to you as soon as a line becomes free. Your customer will never hear the engaged tone again! No maintenance and no licensing fees ---------- We maintain the service at no cost to you. We also cover the performing rights expense, another cost saving. Missed call alert - Email and SMS ---------- Once a customer calls your number, we record the inbound CLI (The caller's phone number) when available; Should a customer hang up when they are on hold we will send their phone number to your email address in seconds so you can call them back. Easy answer phone ---------- If the caller has been on hold for more than two minutes, or your number calls out of hours, we give them the option to leave a voicemail. Once they have completed the message, we email it to you in seconds. This feature is so much better than an old-fashioned answer phone. Instantly re-routes your calls ---------- If you move offices permanently, or just for a day or a week or even an hour, you can re-route all your calls to the new office. This can be done via a simple web page instantly! In a disaster recovery situation you can re-route to an alternate location in seconds and continue to conduct business. Line Identification Option (whisper) ---------- Each number you obtain can be configured for a different purpose e.g. sales, admin, support etc. When you answer the call you will hear a short message which will identify the call. This allows you to personalise the way in which you greet each caller. Whether you operate more than one company from a single office or have home workers who need to identify between personal and business calls, this function will become invaluable to you! No cost to your business ---------- There is no set up fee or rental fee for this product. There is no increase in your phone charges or your phone bill. It is 100% free for businesses, sole traders or home workers based in the UK that have less than 50 employees. Choose your own "On Hold" music ---------- While your callers are waiting to be connected they are played "On Hold" music. You can choose what genre of music your customers get to hear from over 15 different choices currently available. Set open and close times ---------- When callers phone outside your normal opening hours, the call is recorded and sent via a missed call alert to your email, ensuring you never miss an opportunity. Customize your introduction and out of hours message ---------- The system allows you to quickly record a customer introduction or an out of hours message that reflects your opening times and or emergency contact number.

About

CircleLoop

This app provides a cloud-based business phone system for iOS devices. Choose a new number or transfer an existing one to make and receive calls from your smartphone. It offers features like call recording, voicemail to text, and integrations with popular business tools.

Highlights
  • Cloud-based business phone system
  • Choose or transfer business numbers
  • Call recording
  • Voicemail to text
  • Integrations with CRM and Slack
  • Conference calling
Features
Read full description

Download the Circleloop app for iOS and get a modern, cloud-based phone system in a powerful mobile app Simply choose a business phone number (01, 02, 03, 07 available), and run it from your iOS device in our powerful, intelligent business phone application. You can also port/transfer any existing phone numbers to CircleLoop. Start your 7-day FREE trial today and sample CircleLoop’s apps with all of our powerful features including call recording, call transfer, menus and greetings, contact management, conference calling, voicemail to text and call forwarding. CircleLoop integrations include Google, Pipedrive, Hubspot, Capsule, Zoho and Slack, with many more planned for the coming months. The app works over WiFi, 3G , 4G and 5G networks Circleloop web signup is also available online The Benefits of the Circleloop Application Anywhere Business Telephony With CircleLoop, you can finally say goodbye to multiple business landlines and business mobiles. You use it via your iOS smartphone, allowing you to make & receive calls from your landline number, whilst using your mobile. Completely Flexible Solution CircleLoop provides you with the flexibility you need and want from a business telephone system on your iOS device. The solution enables you to manage your team, contact numbers, and system preferences down to the smallest detail. With complete, and instant configurability, you can tailor the app to your every need. Collaborative Platform You can create a team number that your colleagues can receive calls from, with the help of CircleLoop. This allows you to bring your team together and ensures that no customer call falls through the cracks. Other than that, you can make certain that when a customer calls, somebody is always ready to answer. Integrated Workplace CircleLoop allows you to connect the software tools you already use, including HubSpot, Capsule, Pipedrive, Slack, Zoho & Intercom, plus you can synchronise your iOS and/or Google Contacts straight into the app. By integrating your existing communication tools with CircleLoop’s next-generation telephony app, you can consolidate your client communications, helping to improve the service that you provide to your customers! Follow us Find out what’s happening with Circleloop: Take a look at our features, integrations and help docs online Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/circleloophq Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/circleloophq We are also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/_circleloophq/ https://blog.circleloop.com/ Keeping you “In the loop” with our interactive and engaging blogs

Screenshots

SwitchboardFREE4 screens
CircleLoop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SwitchboardFREE at 74% against CircleLoop's 32%. CircleLoop's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SwitchboardFREE ships an update every 7 months, CircleLoop monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SwitchboardFREE versus CircleLoop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwitchboardFREECircleLoop
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews — better31.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB88 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLiquid11 LtdGamma

Customer experience

SwitchboardFREE

Written reviews23 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral13.0%
Negative13.0%

CircleLoop

All ratings17 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive31.7%
Neutral4.9%
Negative63.4%

In-app purchases

None

SwitchboardFREE

No in-app purchases

None

CircleLoop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SwitchboardFREE free?
SwitchboardFREE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CircleLoop free?
CircleLoop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SwitchboardFREE or CircleLoop have ads?
Neither SwitchboardFREE nor CircleLoop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SwitchboardFREE or CircleLoop?
SwitchboardFREE ships an update every 7 months, and CircleLoop monthly. Most recently, SwitchboardFREE was updated on September 23, 2026 and CircleLoop on September 27, 2026.

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