How power dialers work in GoHighLevel, Aircall, Kixie and others

The term "power dialing" is used for at least four different calling mechanics. Some vendors call a one-click "next contact" button power dialing. Others mean software that rings ten lines at once and hands the first human answer to a rep. If you compare products without separating those mechanics, you end up comparing per-seat prices for tools that do different jobs.

This post covers how the main dialing modes work, how GoHighLevel, Aircall and Kixie package them, what to check in a GoHighLevel setup, and where Ready's dialer fits. Ready's dialer does not do power dialing, and we say so plainly below.

The four dialing modes, from slowest to most aggressive

Most products sold as power dialers use one of these modes, or a mix of them.

1. Preview dialing. The rep sees the contact record first, then clicks to dial. This is the slowest mode, with the most context and the least compliance risk.
2. Power (progressive) dialing. The software dials one contact at a time from a list. When a call ends, it moves to the next contact automatically, sometimes after a short wrap-up timer. One rep has one line, and there is no idle time between calls.
3. Parallel (multi-line) dialing. The software rings several numbers at once for a single rep and connects the first one that answers. The others are dropped. This raises connect rate per hour, and it also creates abandoned calls, which is where carrier spam flags and regulatory exposure come from.
4. Predictive dialing. An algorithm adjusts how many lines to dial based on how many agents are free and on historical answer rates. This is built for call centers with many agents, not a three-person sales team.

For a deeper look at modes 3 and 4, see our post on predictive dialer vs auto dialer.

Features that sit on top of the dialing mode

These features drive most of the price differences between products:

• Voicemail drop. The rep clicks once to leave a prerecorded message and moves on.
• Local presence. The caller ID matches the contact's area code.
• Call dispositions and CRM logging. Each outcome writes back to the contact record.
• Monitoring, whisper and barge. A manager listens in, coaches the rep privately, or joins the call.
• List management. Retry rules, time zone ordering and do-not-call suppression.

How the main platforms package it

We're comparing these qualitatively. Vendors change their plans often, so check current pricing pages before you buy.

The main split is between per-seat and per-minute pricing. Per-seat pricing suits reps who dial all day, because the seat cost spreads over hundreds of calls. It suits occasional callers poorly: a rep who makes 15 calls a week still pays the full seat.

If Kixie is on your shortlist, our Kixie alternatives breakdown compares the options on local presence and plan structure.

Setting up power dialing in GoHighLevel

GoHighLevel's calling runs on LC Phone or a connected phone provider. The menus move around between releases, so treat this as a checklist rather than a click path:

1. Get a calling number on the location. Buy an LC Phone number for the GoHighLevel location, or connect your existing provider. Calls bill per minute through LC Phone, on top of your GHL plan.
2. Build a smart list. Filter contacts by tag, pipeline stage or last activity. That list is what you dial through. Keep it to consented, warm contacts.
3. Set up dispositions. Map call outcomes to tags or pipeline moves so a "no answer" goes to a retry list and an "interested" contact goes to the next stage.
4. Use workflows for the gaps. A "manual call" action can queue a call task for a rep after a form fill. That isn't true auto dialing, but it keeps leads from going cold.
5. Check compliance settings. Look at quiet hours, DNC suppression and call recording disclosure. Recording rules differ by state, and some states require every party's consent.

A common mistake is dialing a list that was never cleaned. Wrong numbers, landlines in a list meant for mobile follow-up, and known TCPA litigators all burn rep time and add risk. A standalone scrub costs $0.005 per contact on Ready. It checks each number against TCPA-litigator and DNC-complainer lists and flags matches before you call or text. That reduces risk; it does not make you lawsuit-proof. Uncleaned outreach can carry statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per call or text.

Where Ready's dialer fits, and where it doesn't

We make Ready, so here is the clear version. The Ready Dialer is click-to-call from a dial pad in the Ready dashboard or inside GoHighLevel. It includes:

• Call recording (with consent) and transcripts
• Inbound calls that ring the open dial pad
• A Missed call card in the Inbox thread for each missed call
• Billing at $0.025/min, with each started minute billed as a full minute, no seat plans, and every minute billed at that same rate from the first one

It does not include list auto dialing, multi-line dialing, voicemail drop, call transfer, or manager whisper and barge. If your team runs 300 outbound dials per rep per day, use Kixie, Aircall or GHL's own power dialing. A click-to-call pad will slow that team down.

Ready fits teams where texting does most of the work and calls happen on purpose, usually right after a lead replies or fills out a form.

Worked example: cost per connect

Assumptions (example only, not a benchmark): one rep places 200 manual calls in a week from the Ready pad.

• 40 are answered by a person. At an average of 3 minutes 20 seconds, each bills 4 minutes, for 160 billed minutes.
• 50 go to voicemail. Voicemail counts as answered, so each bills at least 1 minute. Assuming each voicemail call runs under a minute, that's 50 billed minutes.
• 110 ring out or hit a busy line, for 0 billed minutes. Only answered time is billed.

The total is 210 minutes × $0.025 = $5.25. That's 210 ÷ 40 = 5.25 billed minutes per live conversation, and 5.25 minutes × $0.025 = $0.13 per live conversation, with no seat fee underneath it.

Compare that with your per-seat quote. Divide the monthly seat cost by the live conversations a rep actually has in a month. If the per-seat number comes out lower and your reps dial all day, a per-seat dialing tool is the better buy. If the rep makes a few dozen calls a week between other work, per-minute billing usually wins.

Text first, then call: pairing SMS with manual dialing

The pattern Ready is built around is to text a new lead within seconds, then call from the pad when they reply or engage. Our post on the 60-second speed-to-lead window covers why that first contact matters.

The texting side uses the Standard rate: $0.0075/segment plus a $0.0045 carrier fee, for both sent texts and replies. A 140-character first text with no emoji is 1 segment.

Ready swaps curly quotes and long dashes for plain ones before sending, so those characters don't change the count. An emoji does change it. It drops the segment limit to 70 characters, so that same message with one emoji becomes 3 segments.

If you text those 200 leads one segment each, the bill is 200 × ($0.0075 + $0.0045): 200 segments at the Standard rate plus the carrier fee.

Ready's all-in prices per segment include the carrier fee but not screening: Scrub lists and Number validation, the two switches in Settings under Compliance, each add $0.003 per segment when switched on, shown as screening on your bill, and both are off by default. Unless you turn the opt-out footer off, the first text to each contact, and one again from time to time, also gets "Reply STOP to opt out" and your business name if the message does not already have them, so a text close to the segment limit can bill one more segment.

A few practical notes:

• Registration. Texting at volume requires 10DLC registration. Ready handles brand and campaign registration in-app, and most approvals take 2 to 7 days. The first charge at submit is $25. After that, the monthly cost is $25/mo for registration and $2 per number. Before you register, an account can send up to 500 texts a month at its normal rate.
• Free texts. The first 20 texts are free one-to-one sends. Use them before you pay for registration, because they end the moment registration is paid for.
• Local presence. Local presence on Ready works for texts and for calls from the pad: each picks your number closest to the contact's area code. If you rotate local numbers for outbound calls on another platform, read how rotating local numbers gets them flagged as spam first.
• GoHighLevel. Ready installs in GoHighLevel with two-way sync, mapped per location. Texts and dial-pad calls show up next to your GHL pipeline. The GHL SMS setup guide walks through it.

How to choose

Start with your team's call volume and how much of your outreach is texting.

• Reps dialing for hours a day, from lists: Choose a true power or parallel dialer (Kixie, Aircall, or GHL's dialing if you already live there). The per-seat cost is worth it at that volume.
• Mixed teams where texting drives most conversations: Use a per-minute click-to-call pad next to a texting platform. You pay for the minutes you actually talk.
• Still deciding between a CRM-native dialer and a separate tool: Our CRM built-in dialer vs standalone comparison lays out the tradeoff.

Whichever you pick, clean the list before anyone dials, keep auto dialing to people who consented, and price the tool on cost per live conversation, not cost per seat. If the text-first, call-second pattern matches how your team works, you can sign up and try it with your first 20 one-to-one texts free. Rates are on the pricing page.