On this page
- Estimate your monthly cost
- What AI receptionists cost at 50, 150 and 500 calls
- Every published plan
- How AI receptionists charge
- How call length changes the cheapest option
- Free and low-cost ways to start
- Setup fees, overage and contract terms
- Costs that are not in the headline price
- Annual billing discounts
- AI receptionist vs human answering service costs
- How much should an AI receptionist cost?
- Pricing by company
- Frequently asked questions
Estimate your monthly cost
Cheapest published plan for each company at list price, monthly billing. Excludes taxes, add-ons and telephony (Bland bills phone service separately). RingCentral AIR prices are "starting at". Plans without a published overage rate are only used up to what they include.
What AI receptionists cost at 50, 150 and 500 calls
Worked from each company's published plans with a 3-minute average call. Each cell shows the cheapest plan for that volume and the arithmetic. Goodcall assumes every call is a different person.
| Software | 50 calls (150 min) | 150 calls (450 min) | 500 calls (1,500 min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodcall | $79 Starter: $79, which includes 100 unique callers (you use 50). | $118.50 Starter: $79 + 50 extra unique callers x $0.79. | $129 Growth: $129, which includes 500 unique callers (you use 500). |
| Upfirst | $54.95 Starter: $24.95 + 20 extra calls x $1.50. | $119.95 Premium: $59.95 + 60 extra calls x $1.00. | $299 Scale: $299, which includes 600 calls (you use 500). |
| Rosie | $49 Professional: $49, which includes 250 minutes (you use 150). | $149 Scale: $149, which includes 1,000 minutes (you use 450). | $299 Growth: $299, which includes 2,000 minutes (you use 1,500). |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 Business-in-a-Box: $99, which includes 200 minutes (you use 150). | $161.50 Business-in-a-Box: $99 + 250 extra minutes x $0.25. | $424 Business-in-a-Box: $99 + 1,300 extra minutes x $0.25. |
| Dialzara | $72.20 Business Lite: $29 + 90 extra minutes x $0.48. | $199 Business Plus: $199, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | $524 Business Elite: $349 + 500 extra minutes x $0.35. |
| NextPhone | $199 Pro: $199 flat, unlimited calls. | $199 Pro: $199 flat, unlimited calls. | $199 Pro: $199 flat, unlimited calls. |
| RingCentral AIR | from $74 Standalone (from): $49 + 50 extra minutes x $0.50. | from $224 Standalone (from): $49 + 350 extra minutes x $0.50. | from $749 Standalone (from): $49 + 1,400 extra minutes x $0.50. |
| Smith.ai | $75 Free: $0 + 25 extra calls x $3.00. | $270 Pro, 150 calls ($1.80 a call): $270, which includes 150 calls (you use 150). | $800 Enterprise, 500 calls ($1.60 a call): $800, which includes 500 calls (you use 500). |
| Bland | $21 + telephony Start (plus telephony): 150 minutes x $0.14. | $63 + telephony Start (plus telephony): 450 minutes x $0.14. | $210 + telephony Start (plus telephony): 1,500 minutes x $0.14. |
| Synthflow | Annual contract from $30,000 | Annual contract from $30,000 | Annual contract from $30,000 |
At 150 calls a month
Bland ($63 plus telephony) and Synthflow (annual contract) are left out of the chart because their totals are not comparable.
Every published plan
All 31 plans the ten companies publish, with included usage and overage. Each company's own page has the plan-by-plan feature differences.
Show all 31 plans
| Software | Plan | Price / month | Included | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Free | $0 | 25 calls | $3.00 per extra call | Source |
| Smith.ai | Pro | $150 | 75 calls | $2.50 per extra call | Source |
| Smith.ai | Pro | $270 ($1.80/call) | 150 calls | $2.30 per extra call | Source |
| Smith.ai | Pro | $1.67 per call | 300 calls | $2.17 per extra call | Source |
| Smith.ai | Enterprise | $500 | 300 calls | $2.17 per extra call | Source |
| Smith.ai | Enterprise | $800 ($1.60/call) | 500 calls | $2.10 per extra call | Source |
| Upfirst | Starter | $24.95 | 30 calls | $1.50 per extra call | Source |
| Upfirst | Premium | $59.95 | 90 calls | $1.00 per extra call | Source |
| Upfirst | Pro | $159.95 | 300 calls | $0.75 per extra call | Source |
| Upfirst | Scale | $299 | 600 calls | $0.70 per extra call | Source |
| Dialzara | Business Lite | $29 | 60 min | $0.48 per extra min | Source |
| Dialzara | Business Pro | $99 | 220 min | $0.45 per extra min | Source |
| Dialzara | Business Plus | $199 | 500 min | $0.40 per extra min | Source |
| Dialzara | Business Elite | $349 | 1,000 min | $0.35 per extra min | Source |
| Rosie | Professional | $49 | 250 min | Not published | Source |
| Rosie | Scale | $149 | 1,000 min | Not published | Source |
| Rosie | Growth | $299 | 2,000 min | Not published | Source |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) | Standalone | from $49 | 100 min | $0.50 per extra min | Source |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) | Add-on to RingEX | from $39 | 100 min | $0.50 per extra min | Source |
| Goodcall | Starter | $79 | 100 unique customers | $0.79 per extra customer | Source |
| Goodcall | Growth | $129 | 500 unique customers | $0.26 per extra customer | Source |
| Goodcall | Scale | $299 | 2,000 unique customers | $0.15 per extra customer | Source |
| My AI Front Desk | Business-in-a-Box | $99 ($79 annual) | 200 min | $0.25 per extra min | Source |
| My AI Front Desk | Partner / Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Source |
| NextPhone | Pro | $199 ($166/mo annual) | Unlimited calls | None | Source |
| NextPhone | Growth | $299 ($249/mo annual) | Unlimited calls | None | Source |
| NextPhone | Scale | $599 ($499/mo annual) | Unlimited calls | None | Source |
| Bland | Start | $0 | Pay per use | $0.14/min; transfers $0.05/min | Source |
| Bland | Build | $299 | Pay per use | $0.12/min; transfers $0.04/min | Source |
| Bland | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Source |
| Synthflow | Enterprise | from $30,000/yr | Custom | Custom | Source |
How AI receptionists charge
Per call
Upfirst and Smith.ai include a number of calls. A 1-minute call and a 10-minute call cost the same. Upfirst does not bill spam, robocalls, calls under 15 seconds or silent calls; Smith.ai lets you remove up to 10% of calls as spam each cycle.
Per minute
Dialzara, Rosie, My AI Front Desk and RingCentral AIR include a block of minutes. RingCentral rounds up to 30-second increments. Rosie publishes no overage rate, so plan a cushion.
Per unique caller
Goodcall: "One phone number, once a month." Five calls from the same person in March count once, and spam and wrong numbers do not count.
Flat
NextPhone charges $199, $299 or $599 a month for unlimited calls and users. The plans differ by setup help, integrations and texting, not volume.
Developer platforms
Bland charges $0.14 a minute on Start and $0.12 on Build ($299 platform fee), with telephony billed separately. Its rate includes the language model, speech-to-text and voice.
Enterprise contracts
Synthflow scopes price around "call volume, concurrency, telephony setup, integrations, security needs, and launch support", from $30,000 a year.
How call length changes the cheapest option
Per-minute plans reward short calls; per-call, per-caller and flat plans ignore length. At 150 calls a month, here is the cheapest product as the average call gets longer:
| Average call | Cheapest | Runner-up | Cheapest per-minute plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 minutes (225 min a month) | Rosie, $49 | Dialzara, $101.25 | Rosie, $49 |
| 3 minutes (450 min a month) | Goodcall, $118.50 | Upfirst, $119.95 | Rosie, $149 |
| 6 minutes (900 min a month) | Goodcall, $118.50 | Upfirst, $119.95 | Rosie, $149 |
| 10 minutes (1,500 min a month) | Goodcall, $118.50 | Upfirst, $119.95 | Rosie, $299 |
If your calls are mostly quick questions, look at minute bundles. If they are intake calls or service bookings that run five minutes or more, per-call, per-caller or flat pricing will usually win.
Free and low-cost ways to start
- Free plan: Smith.ai's AI receptionist answers 25 calls a month free, then $3.00 a call. It is "not a trial", so it suits very low volume or after-hours only.
- Free trials with real calls: Upfirst (14 days, no card), RingCentral AIR (14 days), and 7 days at Dialzara, Rosie, My AI Front Desk and NextPhone Pro.
- Try before you connect a number: Goodcall lets you build and test a demo agent and only pay when you connect a number.
- Cheapest paid plans: Upfirst Starter $24.95 (30 calls), Dialzara Business Lite $29 (60 minutes) and Rosie Professional $49 (250 minutes).
- Developer route: Bland's Start tier has no platform fee and no card, at $0.14 a minute plus telephony, but you build the agent yourself.
Setup fees, overage and contract terms
| Software | Setup fee | Overage | Contract | Trial | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Not mentioned | $2.10 to $3.00 per call, by tier | Month-to-month, 30 days' notice | Free plan (25 calls a month) | 6-month plan mentioned, no price |
| Upfirst | None listed | $0.70 to $1.50 per call | No contract, cancel any time | 14 days, no card | 20% off |
| Dialzara | None ("no setup fees") | $0.35 to $0.48 per minute | "No contract" stated on Elite only | 7 days | Not listed |
| Rosie | None listed | Not published | Cancel any time | 7 days, all features | "2 months free" |
| RingCentral AIR | Not stated | $0.50 per minute, 30-second increments | Not stated | 14 days | Not stated |
| Goodcall | Not stated | $0.15 to $0.79 per extra caller | Not stated | Free demo agent | Not stated |
| My AI Front Desk | None listed | $0.25 per minute (25 credits) | No contracts, cancel any time | 7 days, no card | $79 a month vs $99 |
| NextPhone | None | None (unlimited) | Month-to-month, no cancellation fees | 7 days (Pro) | About 17% off |
| Bland | Not stated ($0 platform fee on Start) | $0.12 to $0.14 per minute plus telephony | Enterprise by contract | Free Start tier, no card | Not stated |
| Synthflow | Scoped in contract | Scoped in contract | Annual, from $30,000 | Free to start building | Annual only |
"Not stated" means the pricing page does not say. Ask the vendor in writing before you rely on it.
Costs that are not in the headline price
- Telephony. Bland bills phone service separately; you can use your own carrier or Bland's Twilio at pass-through cost.
- Texting add-ons. Rosie's Website Texting is $50 a month for 25 conversations, then $1 each. Dialzara's AI SMS Agent lists a $19 monthly platform fee plus $0.05 per AI message, with the card also saying "free with any inbound voice plan".
- Extra locations. Upfirst charges $9.95 a month for each additional agent (another business or location).
- Human backup. Smith.ai's homepage lists human escalation at "$3 extra" per call; escalations the AI starts itself have no fee.
- Usage credits. My AI Front Desk bills overage from a credit pool (25 credits, or $0.25, per voice minute; $10 buys 1,000 credits). Goodcall sells extra AI test usage $5 at a time.
- Features on higher plans. The cheapest plan often lacks transfers or direct booking: Rosie's transfers and calendar booking start at $149, and Dialzara's warm transfer is on its $349 plan.
Annual billing discounts
| Software | Published annual discount |
|---|---|
| Upfirst | 20% off: Starter $20, Premium $48, Pro $128, Scale $240 a month |
| NextPhone | About 17% off: $1,990, $2,990 or $5,990 a year |
| My AI Front Desk | $79 a month billed annually instead of $99 |
| Rosie | Annual billing advertised as "2 months free" |
| Smith.ai | A 6-month plan is mentioned "at a better rate", with no price shown |
AI receptionist vs human answering service costs
Four live answering services publish their prices. Here is what each costs at the same volumes, with the cheapest AI plan alongside. Ruby and Abby Connect publish no overage rate, so we only use plans that cover the full volume.
| Human answering service | 50 calls (150 min) | 150 calls (450 min) | 500 calls (1,500 min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | $530 Starter: $300 + 20 extra calls x $11.50. | $1,440 Basic: $810 + 60 extra calls x $10.50. | $3,800 Pro: $2,100 + 200 extra calls x $8.50. |
| Ruby | $720 200-minute plan: $720, which includes 200 minutes (you use 150). | $1,725 500-minute plan: $1,725, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | No published plan |
| PATLive | $293.50 100-minute plan: $189 + 50 extra minutes x $2.09. | $759 500-minute plan: $759, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | $2,344 1,000-minute plan: $1,499 + 500 extra minutes x $1.69. |
| Abby Connect | $599 Professional: $599, which includes 200 minutes (you use 150). | $1,380 Growth: $1,380, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | No published plan |
| Cheapest AI receptionist (for comparison) | $49 Rosie | $118.50 Goodcall | $129 Goodcall |
Smith.ai sells both: its AI receptionist is $270 at 150 calls, and its human-first Virtual Receptionists plan is $1,440 for the same calls. Abby Connect bills AI answering at half the rate of human answering ("1 Abby Minute per 2 minutes"). Full comparison: AI vs human receptionist.
How much should an AI receptionist cost?
| Monthly calls | Reasonable budget at list prices | Plans that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 calls | $0 to $80 | Smith.ai Free covers 25 calls; Upfirst Starter is $24.95 for 30; Rosie Professional is $49 for 250 minutes. |
| About 150 calls | $118.50 to $200 | Goodcall Starter, Upfirst Premium, Rosie Scale, My AI Front Desk, Dialzara Business Plus or NextPhone Pro. |
| About 500 calls | $129 to $300 | Goodcall Growth (if mostly different callers), NextPhone Pro, Upfirst Scale or Rosie Growth. |
| 1,000+ calls | $199 to $599 flat, or custom | NextPhone's flat plans, Goodcall Scale (2,000 unique callers for $299), or enterprise contracts. |
These ranges come from the published plans above with 3-minute calls. If your calls are longer, per-call, unique-caller and flat plans get relatively cheaper.
Pricing by company
- Smith.ai pricing
- Upfirst pricing
- Dialzara pricing
- Rosie pricing
- RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) pricing
- Goodcall pricing
- My AI Front Desk pricing
- NextPhone pricing
- Bland pricing
- Synthflow pricing
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Published plans start at $0 (Smith.ai Free, 25 calls a month) and $24.95 (Upfirst Starter, 30 calls) and run to $599 a month (NextPhone Scale, unlimited calls). At 150 calls a month the cheapest plan from each company costs $118.50 to $270.
How much should an AI receptionist cost?
At list prices, expect about $50 to $80 for 50 calls a month, $118.50 to $200 for 150 calls, and $129 to $300 for 500 calls on bundle or flat plans. Paying more usually means the billing model does not fit your call pattern.
How much do AI assistants cost?
For phone answering, self-serve AI assistant plans run from free to $599 a month; developer platforms charge per minute (Bland: $0.14 on Start, plus telephony), and enterprise voice agents start around $30,000 a year (Synthflow).
What is the average cost for an answering service?
Live answering services that publish prices charge $189 (PATLive), $329 (Abby Connect) and $395 (Ruby) for 100 minutes a month, an average of about $304. Smith.ai's human receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls.
Do AI receptionists charge setup fees?
None of the self-serve products we compared lists a setup fee. Dialzara says "no setup fees" and includes a 1:1 onboarding call; NextPhone says no setup fee on any plan. Synthflow scopes launch support into its enterprise contract.
Do I pay for spam calls?
It depends. Upfirst does not bill spam, robocalls, calls under 15 seconds or silent calls. Goodcall does not count spam or wrong numbers. Smith.ai counts every answered call by default but blocks known spammers before answering and lets you remove up to 10% of calls each cycle.
Is per-minute or per-call pricing cheaper?
Per-call is cheaper when calls are long; per-minute is cheaper when calls are short and you buy a big bundle. At 150 calls a month, Upfirst (per call) costs $119.95 whatever the call length. Rosie (per minute) costs $49 if calls average under about 1.7 minutes (250 minutes), $149 up to about 6.7 minutes (1,000 minutes), and $299 up to about 13 minutes.
Is there a free AI receptionist?
Yes: Smith.ai's AI receptionist has a permanent free plan for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call. Bland's developer Start tier has no platform fee, but you pay $0.14 a minute plus telephony and build the agent yourself. Others offer 7 to 14-day trials.
Why do AI receptionist prices vary so much?
Because vendors bill different things: calls, minutes, unique callers or a flat fee. The same 150 calls cost $118.50 at Goodcall and $270 at Smith.ai. Matching the billing model to your call length and repeat-caller pattern matters more than the headline price.
Can I change plans later?
Yes for most. Upfirst lets you upgrade, downgrade or cancel any time; Smith.ai bills a new plan from the next month; NextPhone is month-to-month with no cancellation fees.