AI receptionist pricing (2026): 12 AI answering services and virtual receptionists
AI receptionists answer inbound calls, take messages, qualify callers and book appointments, and they are priced in three different units: minutes, calls, or unique customers served. That makes the headline price hard to compare. This page lists the lowest published plan of every AI receptionist and virtual receptionist we track, what that plan includes (minutes, calls or customers), and the full plan list from the vendor's own pricing page, so you can work out a monthly cost for your own call volume.
Summary: 12 of 12 tools publish a monthly entry price, from $20/mo (Upfirst) to $300/mo (Smith.ai); median $64/mo. 2 list a free plan. Prices verified against vendor pages, latest check .
How this page works: Sorted by lowest published entry price within each table; ties alphabetical. Entry prices are not like for like: one plan may include 30 calls, another 250 minutes, another 100 customers, so read the plan details before comparing. The entry price is the lowest price the vendor publishes (often with annual billing), "How it's charged" is read from the vendor's plan list, and each row links to the pricing page we checked. No placement here is paid. Methodology.
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Entry prices at a glance
| Entry price | Tools | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Under $20/mo | 0 | — |
| $20–$49/mo | 6 | Upfirst, Dialzara, NordTell, Phonely, Rosie, Trillet |
| $50–$99/mo | 3 | Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Simple Phones |
| $100–$199/mo | 1 | Brilo AI |
| $200/mo and up | 2 | Ruby, Smith.ai |
AI receptionists and AI phone agents (10)
Software answers the call, takes messages and books appointments; plans are capped by minutes, calls or customers and charge overage beyond that.
| Tool | Entry price | How it's charged | Plan details (vendor-published) | Free plan | Free trial | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | From $20/mo | Per plan (calls) | Priced by calls: monthly Starter $24.95 (30 calls), Premium $59.95 (90), Pro $159.95 (300), Scale $299 (600); annual billing 20% off (Starter $20, Premium $48, Pro $128); extra calls $1.50 to $0.70; 14-day free trial | No | Yes | 2026-11-11 |
| Dialzara | From $29/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Monthly, no contract: Business Lite $29 (60 min), Pro $99 (220 min), Plus $199 (500 min), Elite $349 (1,000 min); overage $0.48 to $0.35/min; Done for You managed service from $1,500/mo; 7-day free trial | No | Yes | 2026-11-09 |
| NordTell | From $32/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Priced in EUR, also published in USD, GBP, DKK, SEK and NOK, excluding VAT: Launch €29/mo ($32) with 60 minutes (extra minutes €0.50 / $0.55), Momentum €99/mo ($109) with 200 minutes (extra €0.40 / $0.44), Authority €299/mo ($329) with 1,000 minutes (extra €0.15 / $0.17; includes white-label), Empire €899/mo ($989) with 3,500 minutes (extra €0.11 / $0.12; includes white-label); yearly billing 10% off; phone numbers at carrier rates or bring your own; free account to build and test agents in the browser (a paid package is required to connect a real phone number) | Yes | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Phonely | From $33/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Billed annually (33% off): Starter $33/mo (200 minutes, about 100 calls; the comparison table says 250), Professional $100/mo (650 minutes; table says 750); Enterprise as low as 5 cents/min with full agent buildout; overage $0.35, $0.30 and $0.25/min; no free plan shown | — | — | 2026-11-09 |
| Rosie | From $49/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Monthly: Professional $49 (250 min), Scale $149 (1,000 min), Growth $299 (2,000 min); annual billing 2 months free (Professional $41/mo, $490/yr); website texting add-on $50/mo; 7-day free trial | No | Yes | 2026-11-11 |
| Trillet | From $49/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Juney AI receptionist app (iOS/Android) from $49/mo: Starter 200 minutes (about 200 calls), Pro $99/mo 800 minutes with Google Calendar booking; 100-minute top-ups $20 (never expire); Juney Pro 7-day free trial with 50 minutes; white-label agency platform (Studio and Agency plans) from $99/mo with $0.12/min plus telephony after included minutes and a 7-day free trial (card required); Enterprise custom; no contracts or setup fees on self-serve plans | — | Yes | 2026-11-10 |
| Goodcall Visit Goodcall ↗ | From $79/mo | Per plan (unique customers) | Priced per unique customer served, not per minute: Starter $79/mo (100 customers, then 79¢ each), Growth $129/mo (500, then 26¢), Scale $299/mo (2,000, then 15¢); Enterprise custom; start free with a demo agent | No | — | 2026-11-12 |
| My AI Front Desk Visit My AI Front Desk ↗ | From $79/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Business-in-a-Box $99/mo billed monthly or $79/mo billed annually (200 voice minutes, plus web chat, 2-way SMS, CRM and automations); Partner/Enterprise custom; 7-day free trial | No | Yes | 2026-11-12 |
| Simple Phones | From $97/mo | Per plan (calls) | Plans start at $97/mo for 100 calls/mo, phone line included, no commitment (from the vendor's site FAQ; /pricing redirects to the home page) | — | — | 2026-11-09 |
| Brilo AI | From $149/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Free plan (10 minutes/mo, 1 agent); Pro $149/mo (600 minutes, 3 agents); Growth $499/mo (2,500 minutes, unlimited agents); Custom plans above 5,000 minutes; the page lists about 16¢ (Pro) and 14¢ (Growth) per minute; annual billing saves 10% | Yes | — | 2026-11-07 |
Human and hybrid virtual receptionists (2)
Live receptionists, sometimes with AI, answer in your business name; plans are priced per call or per block of minutes and have higher entry plans than the software in the first table.
| Tool | Entry price | How it's charged | Plan details (vendor-published) | Free plan | Free trial | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | From $250/mo | Per plan (minutes) | Receptionist plans by minutes: $250/mo (50 minutes), $395/mo (100), $720/mo (200), $1,725/mo (500); live chat and bundled plans also listed | No | — | 2026-11-08 |
| Smith.ai | From $300/mo | Per plan (calls) | Human-first receptionist plans, priced per call: Starter $300/mo (30 calls, then $11.50/call), Basic $810/mo (90 calls, $10.50 overage), Pro $2,100/mo (300 calls, $8.50 overage); Enterprise custom; AI-first and hybrid options on the same page; 10% off for 12 months; 30-day money-back guarantee; spam calls not charged | No | — | 2026-11-12 |
Prices for these 12 AI receptionists change often. Get verified pricing changes and new tools in one free weekly email.
Recent price changes in this table
| Tool | Change | Before | After | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phonely | Tier no longer offered | Free plan (100 minutes); Starter $33/mo and Professional $100/mo billed annually (33% off); Enterprise from 5 cents/min (2026-11-01) | Starter $33/mo (200 minutes) and Professional $100/mo (650 minutes) billed annually (33% off); Enterprise as low as 5 cents/min; no free plan shown | 2026-11-09 |
From our price changes log, documented by comparing two dated checks of the vendor's page.
FAQ
How much do AI receptionists cost in 2026?
Across the 12 AI receptionists on this page with a published monthly entry price, the lowest plans run from $20/mo (Upfirst) to $300/mo (Smith.ai); the median entry price is $64/mo. 6 start under $50/mo and 3 at $100/mo or more. Entry prices are the lowest each vendor shows, often with annual billing; prices checked against vendor pages, latest Nov 12, 2026.
What is the cheapest AI receptionist?
By lowest published entry price: Upfirst from $20/mo, Dialzara from $29/mo, NordTell from $32/mo. Check what each entry plan includes in the table (users, accounts, emails or contacts), since the cheapest plan is often capped.
Which AI receptionists have a free plan?
NordTell and Brilo AI list a free plan on their pricing pages; limits apply. 5 of the 12 tools list a free trial.
How are AI receptionists priced?
Of the 12 tools on this page: 8 per plan (minutes), 3 per plan (calls), 1 per plan (unique customers). The 'How it's charged' column shows which applies to each tool, read from its pricing page.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Look at the entry plans in the first table, then check what each includes. Entry plans include a fixed allowance of calls, minutes or customers, and larger plans scale up with volume, with overage charged beyond the allowance. The summary above gives the exact range for the tools we track, with the free plans listed separately.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human virtual receptionist?
On published entry plans, yes: the AI tools in the first table start well below the human and hybrid services in the second table, which charge per call or per block of minutes. The trade-off is what each handles; some callers need a live person, and Smith.ai describes human, AI and hybrid receptionists. Check each vendor's plan details for call transfer and live-agent features.
Why is the price unit different for each AI receptionist?
Vendors meter usage differently: some sell minutes, some sell calls, and Goodcall prices by the number of unique customers served rather than minutes. To compare, estimate your monthly call count and average call length, then price that against each plan's allowance and overage rate. A short-call business can be cheaper per-call, while long calls are cheaper per-minute.
Related
- Best AI receptionists
- Smith.ai alternatives
- AI voice agent pricing per minute
- Sales dialer pricing
- Smith.ai vs Goodcall
- Rosie vs Goodcall
- Dialzara vs Rosie
- Upfirst vs Rosie
- Smith.ai vs Ruby
- Business phone system pricing
- All inbound AI SDR tools
- Pricing table for all tools
- Sales tool pricing report
Blank or "—" means the vendor did not publish it or we could not confirm it. Spotted an outdated price? Report it.
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