Hunt Group vs Call Queue vs Auto Attendant

Last checked: 2 November 2026

A hunt group rings a set of people when your number is called and has no waiting line. A call queue holds callers in order, with hold music, until someone is free. An auto attendant answers with a recorded menu ("press 1 for sales") and sends the caller to the right hunt group, queue or person. Most small business phone systems use an auto attendant at the front and a hunt group or call queue behind it.

This guide explains what each feature does, using the definitions published by Vodafone, Microsoft and Webex, and how to decide which your business needs when you move to a hosted VoIP phone system.

What is a hunt group?

Vodafone's One Net documentation defines it as "a way to manage calls coming to a phone number that is shared by a group of people". When the number is called, the system "hunts" through the group for someone to answer.

Vodafone lists four ringing patterns for its hunt groups:

Ring simultaneously: every phone in the group rings at once.
Ring in sequence: phones ring one after another in a fixed order.
Ring in circle: the system tries "the person who is listed after the last person to accept a call", spreading calls around the team.
Go to most idle: the call goes to "the person who has gone longest without receiving a call to the shared number".

A hunt group does not hold callers. In Webex's comparison of routing methods, hold music, wait messages, callback and supervisor monitoring are call queue features, not hunt group features. If nobody answers, a hunt group diverts the call (for example to voicemail, a mobile or another group).

Suits: small teams where calls are usually answered within a few rings, such as a three-person office or an engineers' support line.

What is a call queue?

Vodafone describes a call queue as "a way of putting calls made to a company number in order and distributing them to subscribed users". Microsoft calls it "analogous to a waiting room in a physical building".

A queue does what a hunt group does, ringing agents in a chosen pattern, but when everyone is busy the caller waits in line rather than going to voicemail. Microsoft's Teams call queues show the kind of controls a queue adds:

Hold music and a greeting: Teams provides default hold music, or you can upload your own.
Routing methods: attendant routing (ring everyone), serial routing, round robin ("each call representative gets the same number of calls") and longest idle.
Overflow: a cap on callers waiting. Teams defaults to 50 and allows 0 to 200, then sends extra callers to voicemail, another queue, a person or an external number.
Timeout: a maximum wait, from 0 seconds to 45 minutes in Teams, before the call is redirected.
Opt-out and presence: agents can opt out, and presence-based routing only rings people shown as Available.
Callback: callers can be offered a call back instead of waiting, based on wait time or queue length.

Suits: reception desks, sales and support teams, and any line where several calls can arrive at once and you do not want callers sent to voicemail.

What is an auto attendant?

Vodafone defines it as "an automated receptionist that answers calls with an announcement and a menu of dialling options". Microsoft says its purpose is "to direct a caller to an appropriate person or department based on the caller's input to the provided menu options". It is also called an IVR (interactive voice response) or a call menu.

In Teams, an auto attendant can assign keypad keys 0 to 9, * and # to destinations, offer dial by name or extension, and run separate business-hours, after-hours and holiday call flows. Microsoft's default business hours are 09:00 to 17:00, and anything outside the hours you set is treated as after-hours.

An auto attendant does not ring people directly in the way a group does. It sends the caller somewhere else: a hunt group, a queue, a person, voicemail or another menu.

Suits: businesses with more than one department, anyone who needs a different message when the office is closed, and firms that want callers routed without a receptionist.

Hunt group vs call queue vs auto attendant: comparison table

Feature	Hunt group	Call queue	Auto attendant
Rings a group of people	Yes	Yes	No, sends callers to a destination
Callers wait in line	No	Yes	No
Hold music and wait messages	No	Yes	Not applicable
Caller menu (press 1, press 2)	No	No	Yes
Business hours, after-hours and holiday routing	No	Yes on Webex; Microsoft recommends an auto attendant for this	Yes
Overflow or divert when unanswered	Yes	Yes	No, it routes rather than rings
Callback offer	No	Yes	No
Supervisor monitoring	No	Yes	No

The hunt group, queue and auto attendant rows follow Webex's published comparison of routing methods. Exact features vary between providers, so check the supplier's own feature list.

Call queue vs auto attendant: do you need both?

Often, yes, because they do different jobs. The auto attendant decides where a call goes; the queue holds it until someone answers. Microsoft states that "call queues don't provide separate call routing for off hours and holidays" and recommends "using an auto attendant to direct calls to the call queue" even when the queue is staffed around the clock.

Vodafone's closed-hours settings work the same way: you can schedule closed hours, including public holidays, to change how an auto attendant, call queue or hunt group behaves.

Which should a small business use?

Your situation	Typical setup
2 to 4 people sharing one number, calls rarely overlap	Hunt group, ringing simultaneously, with voicemail as the divert
One busy line where callers often arrive together	Call queue with hold music, an overflow limit and a timeout
Two or more departments (sales, accounts, support)	Auto attendant with a menu, each option going to a hunt group or queue
Different handling when closed	Auto attendant with business hours, after-hours and holiday call flows

Keep the menu short. Every extra option or level makes callers wait longer before reaching a person, so give the most common reason for calling the first option and always offer a route to a human.

Worked example: a 9-person office

Picture an office with one main 01 number, a two-person accounts team, a four-person sales team, a receptionist and two directors.

Auto attendant on the main number: "Press 1 for sales, press 2 for accounts, or stay on the line for reception." Out of hours, a closed message with an option to leave voicemail; holidays get their own message.
Sales: call queue. Calls can arrive together, so callers wait with hold music. Round robin spreads calls fairly; after a set wait, overflow goes to the receptionist.
Accounts: hunt group. Two people and lower volumes, so both phones ring at once and unanswered calls go to a shared voicemail.
Reception: the default route if the caller presses nothing.
Directors: reached by dial-by-name or direct numbers, not through the menu.

Write this out as a one-page call flow before asking for quotes. It tells each supplier exactly what to build and lets you compare like with like. If you are moving numbers to the new system, check the porting steps in our keep your business number guide.

Do these features cost extra?

It depends on the platform. Many hosted VoIP services include hunt groups, queues and auto attendants in the user licence; others charge for advanced queue features or extra numbers. On Microsoft Teams, Microsoft says you need "at least one Teams Phone license" to enable auto attendant and call queue services, plus "a free Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account license for each resource account". Our Teams Calling Plan vs Operator Connect vs Direct Routing guide explains the rest of the Teams licensing.

Also check your connection can carry your busiest number of simultaneous calls. Our guide to how much bandwidth VoIP needs shows how to size it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a hunt group and a call queue?

A hunt group rings a group of phones and, if nobody answers, diverts the call. A call queue rings the same kind of group but holds callers in order, with music or messages, until someone is free, and usually adds overflow, timeout and callback options.

What is a hunt group on a phone system?

A hunt group is a set of users who share one number. The system rings their phones together, in order, in rotation or by who has been idle longest, until someone answers.

Is an auto attendant the same as an IVR?

In most small business phone systems the terms are used for the same thing: a recorded greeting with keypad options that routes the caller. Webex notes that an auto attendant "can be used as IVR".

Can I have different call routing out of hours?

Yes. Auto attendants support business-hours, after-hours and holiday call flows, and systems such as Vodafone One Net let you schedule closed hours, including public holidays.

How many people should be in a hunt group?

There is no fixed rule. A hunt group works best when calls are usually answered within a few rings. If callers often find everyone busy, a call queue stops them being sent straight to voicemail.

Related guides

Sources

Compare business phone systems

Tell us how many users you have, how your calls should be routed and which numbers you need to keep, and we will help you compare suitable options.

Get a free business quote