Who is Grasshopper?
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system (business communications) that provides cloud-based voice and messaging services for small businesses and independent professionals.
- Cloud-based virtual phone system for business voice and messaging.
- Local, toll-free, and vanity business numbers with call routing features.
- Desktop and mobile apps for calling, SMS, and voicemail management.
- Call handling capabilities such as extensions, call forwarding, greetings, and voicemail transcription.
- Integration of business calling and texting with existing personal phones without extra hardware.
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More About Grasshopper
Grasshopper offers a cloud-based virtual phone system (business communications) designed to give small businesses, startups, and independent professionals a dedicated business identity for calls and text messages without requiring on-premises (on-prem) PBX hardware. The service runs over existing broadband and mobile networks, enabling users to manage business communications from personal smartphones and computers while keeping business and personal numbers separate.
The platform provides business numbers (telephony) including local, toll-free, and vanity options that can be associated with multiple users and devices. Incoming calls route through Grasshopper’s virtual system, where administrators can configure call forwarding rules, extensions, and greetings. This architecture allows organizations to present a single main business number with departmental or individual extensions, even when staff work remotely or rely on mobile devices instead of desk phones.
Grasshopper includes call management features (unified communications) such as customizable greetings, call forwarding to one or more phone numbers in sequence or simultaneously, call transfer, and voicemail. Voicemail messages are stored in the cloud and accessible through mobile and desktop applications, email delivery, or web dashboard. Voicemail transcription (speech-to-text) converts voice messages into text for faster review and search, which can be useful for users who handle many inbound inquiries.
For messaging, Grasshopper supports business SMS and MMS (business messaging), enabling users to send and receive text messages tied to their Grasshopper numbers rather than personal mobile numbers. This supports simple customer interactions such as appointment updates, quick responses, or follow-ups, while maintaining a consistent business identity. Desktop and mobile apps centralize access to call logs, messages, and voicemails, providing a single interface for communication history.
From an enterprise or institutional standpoint, Grasshopper is used primarily by small teams, satellite or branch offices, and distributed staff who require business-grade voice presence without complex telephony infrastructure. It can function as a lightweight alternative to traditional PBX or on-prem phone systems for scenarios where advanced contact center features are not required. The solution aligns with marketplace categories such as virtual phone systems, cloud telephony, VoIP-enabled business calling, and small-business unified communications.
Grasshopper’s architecture leverages common telephony protocols and carrier interconnections behind the scenes, while exposing configuration and management through a web portal and native applications. This reduces the need for IT staff to manage Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks, session border controllers, or hardware phones. For technical stakeholders, Grasshopper is typically evaluated as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) option within the broader communications stack, often complementing other collaboration and productivity tools by providing a dedicated business phone presence without additional on-site equipment.
Our description of Grasshopper. Updated December 2025.
