Most AI receptionists cost $25 to $200 a month for a small business. Plans that include live human backup cost more, typically $150 to $300+. Specialist tools for large trades businesses can run $449 a month or more.
The headline price matters less than the pricing model, because the same 200 calls can cost very different amounts depending on how a vendor counts them.
Prices are from vendors’ public pricing pages as of November 2026. Confirm on each site before buying.
The four pricing models
| Model | You pay for | Examples | Cheapest when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per minute | Talk time | Rosie, Dialzara | Calls are short |
| Per call | Each answered call | Smith.ai, Upfirst | Calls are short and frequent, or long but few |
| Per unique caller | Each distinct person per month | Goodcall | Calls are long or people call back |
| Flat rate | Nothing extra | NextPhone | Volume is high or unpredictable |
Published plans
| Tool | Entry plan | Included | Overage / next tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | $24.95/mo | Per-call plan | See vendor |
| Dialzara | $29/mo | 60 minutes | Extra minutes about $0.35–$0.48; tiers at $99, $199, $349 |
| Rosie | $49/mo | 250 minutes | Larger plans at $149 and $299 |
| Goodcall | $79/mo | 100 unique callers | $129 (500 callers), $299 (2,000 callers) |
| Smith.ai AI | Free | 25 calls | Per-call fee after; Pro from $150/mo |
| NextPhone | $199/mo | Flat rate | — |
| Sameday (trades) | $449/mo | Minute bundles | Up to about $789/mo |
| Avoca (trades) | Quote only | — | — |
Worked example: 200 calls a month
Say you get 200 calls a month, averaging 3 minutes (600 minutes), from about 120 different people.
- Per minute: 600 minutes is over Rosie’s 250-minute entry plan, so you’d need the next tier (around $149). On Dialzara’s $29 plan you would pay heavy overage.
- Per unique caller: 120 callers is just over Goodcall’s 100-caller Starter plan, so roughly the Starter price plus a small overage, or the $129 tier.
- Per call: 200 calls on a per-call plan quickly passes the free tier and lands in the paid range.
- Flat rate: $199, regardless.
The lesson: estimate your calls, minutes and unique callers before comparing.
Hidden costs to ask about
- Setup or onboarding fees
- A new phone number vs forwarding your existing one
- Calendar and CRM integrations locked to higher tiers
- Spam calls: are they filtered before they count?
- Transfers to a human billed separately
AI receptionist vs human answering service
A human answering service typically costs several times more for the same call volume. A full-time in-house receptionist costs far more again. AI is the cheapest option for routine calls; a hybrid (AI first, human for complex calls) is a good middle ground.
Next steps
Setting one up? Use our free AI receptionist script builder to write your greeting, call flow and FAQ answers before you start a trial.
- Best AI receptionist for small business
- Industry guides: contractors, HVAC, real estate, dentists
Munaza
Founder & Editor, SupportPricing
Munaza runs a digital marketing agency that manages social media and SEO for client brands across multiple platforms. Her work puts her inside SaaS tools every day: she sets up help centers, writes product content and compares software for clients before they buy. She started SupportPricing because customer service software pricing kept changing faster than anyone could track. Every price on this site comes from the vendor’s own pricing page and carries the date she checked it.