📞 3CX: PBX software you license, install, and run yourself
A Cyprus-based PBX software vendor sold through IT partners, with a self-hosted option and a 3CX-managed hosting tier. Licensing is priced per simultaneous call rather than per user, and customers bring their own SIP trunk.
⏱ 9 min read · 🌍 PBX software vendor · 📅 Updated April 2026 · 🔗 3cx.com
🏢 Who 3CX is
3CX is a PBX software vendor founded in 2005 and headquartered in Cyprus. Rather than selling a managed telephony service, the company sells licenses for a phone system that businesses install and run on their own server, on a cloud virtual machine, or on infrastructure hosted by 3CX. The software is widely deployed across Europe, sold almost entirely through a network of IT resellers and managed service providers.
In Luxembourg, 3CX typically lands in businesses with their own IT staff or a managed service partner. The PBX software layer runs on customer or partner infrastructure, while Luxembourg phone numbers and call routing come from a separate SIP trunk provider. Full disclosure: this site is maintained by a team connected to Mixvoip and Voxbi. Mixvoip holds the highest 3CX SIP trunk certification and supplies Luxembourg numbering to many 3CX deployments in the country, so the relationship between the two products is a factual one rather than a hidden funnel.
📦 What 3CX offers
3CX ships as software, not as a service. The customer or an IT partner runs the server, plugs in a SIP trunk, and chooses a tier.
🖥️ PBX software with flexible hosting
3CX is installed on a Linux server or Windows server, either on customer hardware, on a cloud virtual machine, or on the 3CX-hosted plan. The software handles extensions, call routing, voicemail, conferencing, and mobile and desktop apps. Hosting responsibility sits with whoever runs the server: customer IT, a reseller partner, or 3CX on the hosted tier.
💳 Simultaneous call licensing
3CX prices by simultaneous call, the number of concurrent phone calls the system supports, not by user. A system licensed for 16 simultaneous calls can serve a much larger headcount because most employees are not on the phone at the same moment. Pricing tiers are SMB (free, up to 10 users), Pro, and Enterprise, with annual fees that scale by simultaneous call count.
🔌 Bring-your-own SIP trunk
A 3CX system does not make or receive external calls on its own. The customer or partner adds a SIP trunk, a wholesale voice line from a carrier, to connect the PBX to the public phone network. In Luxembourg this trunk is usually supplied by a local operator such as Mixvoip, Post Telecom, or Proximus NXT. The trunk supplies the numbers, the minutes, and the emergency call routing.
💬 Team collaboration add-ons
Higher 3CX tiers bundle web conferencing for up to 250 participants, live website chat, WhatsApp and Facebook message routing, and CRM connectors for Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics. Microsoft Teams integration is available so that Teams users can place and receive external calls through the 3CX backend.
⚖️ Quick compare with two PBX rivals
3CX is a PBX software vendor. This page compares it against two other products that a Luxembourg business might shortlist alongside it.
💻 3CX
PBX software · this page
You are here
🔗 3cx.com
Deployment: self-hosted or 3CX-hosted
Licensing: annual, per simultaneous call
Sold via: IT partners and MSPs
SIP trunk: bring your own
Teams integration: via connector
Typical size: 10 to 500 users
☁️ Voxbi
Managed Cloud PBX
Deployment: managed cloud only
Licensing: monthly, per user
Sold via: direct from Mixvoip
SIP trunk: included
Teams integration: via SBC routing
Typical size: 1 to 250 users
Comparison reflects public information. Sources linked from each provider page. Not a ranking.
👥 Typical client profiles
3CX lands in businesses that already have, or are willing to pay for, technical capacity. Four common profiles:
👨💻 The IT-managed SME with in-house capacity
A company of 20 to 150 employees with a system administrator or a small IT team that already manages Linux or Windows servers, VPN, and backups. 3CX fits because the PBX becomes one more workload on familiar infrastructure, and the per-simultaneous-call pricing keeps the bill flat as headcount grows.
🤝 The managed service provider customer
A business that outsources IT to an external partner and has no opinion on the PBX brand. The partner picks 3CX because it is familiar, because the reseller margin model works, and because the partner can host the PBX alongside other customer systems. This is the most common 3CX route in Luxembourg.
📞 The call-centre operation
A sales team, support team, or small contact centre that needs queues, skill-based routing, live wallboards, and call recording at a predictable license cost. 3CX scales better on simultaneous call pricing for this profile, because the ratio of active calls to headcount is higher than in normal office use.
🏢 The hybrid on-premises shop
A business that prefers to keep phone system data on its own infrastructure for policy, compliance, or historical reasons. Self-hosted 3CX gives direct control over where recordings, logs, and configuration data live. The trade-off is that server maintenance, patching, and backups sit with the customer.
🎯 Where 3CX stands apart
Three positioning points worth weighing before choosing 3CX over a managed Cloud PBX.
💶 Flat licensing as the team grows
Because 3CX charges by concurrent call rather than per seat, adding extensions does not add cost. A 32-simultaneous-call license serves 40 or 400 extensions at the same price. For businesses where most staff use the phone occasionally rather than constantly, the economics can work in the customer's favour compared with a per-user subscription.
🛠️ Control and configurability
Self-hosted 3CX gives a system administrator direct access to the underlying server, the SIP configuration, and the integration layer. Custom call flows, bespoke integrations, and non-standard SIP trunk routing are all possible without going through a vendor support ticket.
⚠️ Security and update burden sits with the customer
Self-managed PBX software places patching, monitoring, and incident response on the customer or the partner. 3CX experienced a supply-chain security incident in March 2023 that affected customers of the desktop app; the company patched the vulnerability and tightened its build process, but the episode illustrates that a self-hosted phone system is also a server to defend. A fully managed Cloud PBX shifts this responsibility to the provider.
📚 Terms you can look up
Not sure what something on this page means? The pbx.lu glossary explains each in plain language.
🧩 Decision tree
Two honest recommendations based on business profile.
✅ Choose 3CX if
- You have in-house IT or a trusted MSP who can administer a Linux or Windows server
- Your team is large but most phones are idle most of the time, making per-simultaneous-call pricing cheaper than per-user
- You want direct control over call flows, data location, and integrations
- You already work with an IT reseller who sells and supports 3CX
🔎 Other providers worth considering
If 3CX is not quite the right fit, these are the logical next pages to check.
Same category · other PBX products and UC platforms
Different category · Luxembourg operators and SIP trunks
📦 Post Telecom
Incumbent national operator, SIP trunks and hosted telephony
❓ Common questions
Does 3CX work in Luxembourg?
Yes. 3CX runs anywhere the operating system runs, and a compatible Luxembourg SIP trunk supplies the numbers and call routing. Mixvoip offers certified 3CX SIP trunking at the highest certification level, and several other local operators also support 3CX integrations.
Is 3CX cheaper than a managed Cloud PBX?
The license fee alone is low. The full cost includes the SIP trunk subscription, server hosting if the system is self-hosted, SSL certificates, backup infrastructure, and the IT or partner time spent on setup, patching, and incident response. Once those are added, the gap with a managed per-user service narrows or closes, depending on headcount and call volume.
What is a simultaneous call?
A simultaneous call is a phone call that is active at a given moment. A system licensed for 8 simultaneous calls can have 8 conversations running at once, regardless of how many extensions are registered. 3CX prices its licenses by simultaneous call rather than by user.
What happened in the 2023 3CX security incident?
In March 2023, a trojanised version of the 3CX desktop app was distributed through a supply-chain attack. 3CX patched the vulnerability and tightened its build and signing processes after the incident. The episode is a reminder that a self-hosted PBX places update and monitoring responsibility on the customer or partner running the server.
Can I migrate from 3CX to a managed service and keep my numbers?
Yes, as long as the numbers are portable. If the numbers are hosted on a Luxembourg operator that also offers a managed Cloud PBX, the transition can keep the same numbering on the same network with no physical port. If the numbers sit with a different carrier, a standard Luxembourg number port takes a few working days.
Does 3CX include video conferencing?
Yes. The Professional tier supports web conferencing for up to 100 participants and the Enterprise tier up to 250. No third-party conferencing tool is required, although many 3CX customers still use Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet for external meetings by preference.
📎 Explore next on pbx.lu
📦 Features
14+ feature deep-dives: call recording, analytics, AI transcription, mobile app, Microsoft Teams integration, and more.
💼 Use cases
Cloud PBX applied to retail, logistics, finance, public sector, and IT companies.
📍 Next steps
📅 Ready to explore Cloud PBX for your business?
Start with the provider comparisons or feature guides. If you want independent advice, a short consultation narrows the 18 providers down to what fits you.