Prices checked on vendor pages · November 11, 2026

AI receptionist for small business. Six tools, real prices, your numbers.

AI receptionists are priced three different ways: per minute, per call or per caller. The cheapest one for you depends on how your phone actually rings. Enter your volume and see what each tool would cost.

Per minuteRosie, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk
Per callUpfirst, Smith.ai
Per unique callerGoodcall

Six AI receptionists compared

Plans and limits as published on each vendor's pricing page on November 11, 2026. Vendors change prices often: follow the link to confirm before you sign up.

Upfirst

Per call

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Starter	$24.95$20 annual	30 calls	$1.50
Premium	$59.95$48 annual	90 calls	$1
Pro	$159.95$128 annual	300 calls	$0.75
Scale	$299$240 annual	600 calls	$0.70

Strong point. Lowest entry price per call and a clear per-call overage on every plan.

Watch out. Billed per call, so long calls cost the same as short ones, but busy months add up at the extra-call rate.

Free trial, no card requiredVendor pricing ↗

Rosie

Per minute of talk time

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Professional	$49	250 minutes	Not published
Scale	$149	1,000 minutes	Not published
Growth	$299	2,000 minutes	Not published

Strong point. Generous minutes, English and Spanish on every call, mobile apps; calendar booking and warm transfers from Scale.

Watch out. Appointment booking and call transfers start on the Scale plan, not the entry plan.

7-day free trial, 2 months free on annualVendor pricing ↗

Dialzara

Per minute of talk time

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Business Lite	$29	60 minutes	$0.48
Business Pro	$99	220 minutes	$0.45
Business Plus	$199	500 minutes	$0.40
Business Elite	$349	1,000 minutes	$0.35

Strong point. Published per-minute overage on every plan and a done-for-you option for teams that want it managed.

Watch out. The entry plan includes only 60 minutes, so check your real talk time first.

7-day free trial, no contractVendor pricing ↗

Goodcall

Per unique caller

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Starter	$79	100 unique callers	$0.79
Growth	$129	500 unique callers	$0.26
Scale	$299	2,000 unique callers	$0.15

Strong point. Bills per unique caller per month, never per minute, so repeat callers and long calls cost nothing extra.

Watch out. Good value with many repeat callers; less so if every call is a new person.

Free demo agent before you add a numberVendor pricing ↗

My AI Front Desk

Per minute of talk time

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Business-in-a-Box	$99$79 annual	200 minutes	Not published

Strong point. One plan that bundles phone answering with chat and SMS tools.

Watch out. Includes 200 voice minutes; check the extra-minute rate with the vendor if you talk more.

See vendorVendor pricing ↗

Smith.ai AI Receptionist

Per call

Plan	Monthly	Includes	Extra
Free	$0	25 calls	$3
Pro 75	$150	75 calls	$2.50
Pro 150	$270	150 calls	$2.30
Pro 300	$500	300 calls	Not published
Enterprise 500	$800	500 calls	Not published

Strong point. A free tier to test on real calls, native integrations such as Clio, and a path to human receptionists from the same company.

Watch out. Per-call prices are the highest of this group at low volume.

Free plan with 25 calls a monthVendor pricing ↗

Per minute, per call or per caller: which is cheaper?

The pricing model matters more than the headline price. The same business can pay very different amounts depending on how its calls look.

Many short calls

Quick questions, opening hours, directions. Per-minute plans usually win, because short calls use few minutes.

Fewer, longer calls

Quotes, intake, bookings with details. Per-call plans usually win, because a ten-minute call costs the same as a one-minute call.

The same customers call back

Clinics, salons, trades with ongoing jobs. Per-caller billing usually wins, because the second and third call from the same person are free that month.

What an AI receptionist can and cannot do

Answer every call. Picks up at any hour, several calls at once, with your business details and FAQs.
Take messages and qualify. Asks your questions, captures name, number and need, and sends you a summary.
Book appointments. On plans that connect to your calendar, it offers slots and books the call or visit.
Transfer calls. Passes urgent or high-value calls to a person, on plans that include transfers.

Where it needs help

Make judgment calls. Pricing exceptions, complaints and anything legal or medical still need a person.
Update every system by itself. Out of the box, most tools send a summary. Getting each call into your CRM, job system and follow-up sequence takes integration.
Fix a bad process. If nobody follows up on the leads it captures, the phone gets answered and the revenue still leaks.

Setup checklist

Measure your callsCount calls per month and average call length from your phone bill or provider. This decides which pricing model is cheapest.
Write the call scriptList the ten questions callers ask most, what to collect on every call and when to transfer to a person.
Pick by pricing modelMany short calls favour per-minute plans. Long calls favour per-call plans. Many repeat callers favour per-caller billing.
Test before forwardingCall it yourself with real scenarios, including an angry caller and a wrong number, before you forward your main line.
Connect the follow-upSend every call summary to your CRM, alert the right person, and follow up with leads who did not book.

Where PURIST comes in

The phone gets answered. Does the lead get followed up?

An AI receptionist captures the call. The revenue comes from what happens next: the contact in your CRM, the right person alerted, a reply within a minute and follow-ups until the lead books. We build that part on n8n, connected to the receptionist you choose, in your own accounts.

The Lead Rescue: every lead answered and followed up → Lead and CRM workflows explained

AI receptionist questions

How much does an AI receptionist cost for a small business?

Published plans for the tools compared here start at $20 a month on annual billing and go up to several hundred dollars a month depending on minutes, calls or callers included. Prices were checked on each vendor's pricing page on November 11, 2026.

Is there a free AI receptionist?

Smith.ai offers a free AI receptionist plan with 25 calls a month, then charges per call. Goodcall lets you build and test a free demo agent before you connect a phone number. Most other tools offer a free trial rather than a free plan.

What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an AI answering service?

The terms are used for the same kind of product: software that answers your business calls with an AI voice. "Answering service" often stresses message taking, while "receptionist" often includes booking, routing and transfers. Compare the features on each plan rather than the label.

Which AI receptionist is best for a small business?

It depends on your call pattern. For low volume and short calls, per-call plans such as Upfirst are cheapest. For businesses with many repeat callers, Goodcall bills per unique caller. If you need booking and Spanish on every call, Rosie includes both from its Scale plan. Use the calculator with your own numbers.

Can an AI receptionist book appointments?

Yes, on plans that connect to a calendar. Check the plan level: some tools include booking only from their second tier.

Is an AI receptionist suitable for a medical or dental office?

It can answer, take messages and book, but health data adds privacy obligations. Ask the vendor whether they sign a Business Associate Agreement and how call recordings are stored before you use it with patients.