#1Top pick
AI phone answering for small businesses, from $49/mo
Rosie is an AI answering service that picks up a small business's calls 24/7, answers questions and takes messages. It trains itself from your Google Business profile and website, books appointments on higher plans, and can transfer callers to staff. It works in English and Spanish and includes a website chat widget.
Why it's here
- +Low entry price with minutes included
- +Learns from your website and Google profile
- +English and Spanish
- +iOS and Android apps
Watch out for
- −Calendar booking needs the $149 plan
- −Live transfers not on the cheapest plan
- −Minute caps per plan
#2
AI phone agent billed per unique caller, not per minute
Goodcall is an AI phone agent platform that answers business calls, captures leads and handles routine requests. Billing counts unique customers per month rather than minutes or calls, and spam and wrong numbers are not counted. You can build and hear a demo agent free before connecting a number.
Why it's here
- +No per-minute or per-call charges
- +Spam calls not billed
- +Edit the agent in plain English
- +Local number included
Watch out for
- −Overage per extra customer on Starter is high
- −Few external tool connections on Starter
- −Short call history on the base plan
#3
Developer-friendly platform to build and run AI phone agents
Retell AI is a platform for building AI voice agents that make and take phone calls. Pricing is pay-as-you-go per minute, and every account gets templates, call analytics, simulation testing and API access. It is HIPAA-ready with BAA support, which makes it common for healthcare and other regulated builds.
Why it's here
- +Transparent per-minute pricing
- +20 free concurrent calls
- +HIPAA/BAA support
- +Simulation testing before launch
Watch out for
- −You design the call flow yourself
- −Real cost depends on the LLM and voice you pick
- −Not a done-for-you receptionist
#4Free option
AI receptionist with live North America-based receptionists as backup
Smith.ai is an answering service that combines an AI receptionist with human receptionists who can take over calls. The AI answers, qualifies and routes calls, and complex calls can be transferred to a live receptionist at any hour. It connects to CRMs and scheduling tools and is popular with law firms and service businesses.
Why it's here
- +Live receptionists available as backup
- +Free AI plan to start
- +Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations
- +Can take payments via LawPay, Square, PayPal
Watch out for
- −Priced per call, which adds up for busy lines
- −Human plans are much pricier than AI-only rivals
- −Extra CRM integrations cost per call
Free · from $150/moAutonomous
#5
Per-call AI answering service with a no-card free trial
Upfirst is an AI answering service that answers every call, overflow calls or after-hours calls for a small business. It books appointments on Google, Outlook and Calendly, sends call summaries, and can text callers back. Pricing is per call, and spam or calls under 15 seconds are not billed.
Why it's here
- +Free trial needs no credit card
- +35+ languages
- +Spam and short calls not billed
- +Zero data retention option
Watch out for
- −Per-call pricing punishes long-tail volume
- −Base plan only covers 30 calls
- −Fewer deep CRM integrations
#6
Business phone system with Sona, an AI agent that answers calls
Quo is a business phone system (formerly OpenPhone) that includes Sona, an AI agent that answers calls 24/7. Sona comes with every plan and uses call credits, with 10 calls included free. It suits teams that want a shared business number and AI answering in the same app.
Why it's here
- +Phone system and AI agent in one bill
- +Low per-user price
- +AI answering included on every plan
Watch out for
- −AI calls are metered on top of seats
- −Fewer AI customization options than voice platforms
- −Per-user pricing grows with team size
From $15/user/moAutonomous
#7
AI receptionist plus web chat, SMS and a built-in CRM
My AI Front Desk is an AI receptionist that answers calls and also runs web chat, two-way SMS and follow-up sequences from one account. It includes a simple CRM, a knowledge base and outbound calling limits. It supports 20+ languages and claims setup in about five minutes.
Why it's here
- +Phone, chat, SMS and email drafts bundled
- +Built-in CRM and automations
- +Monthly, no contract
- +Partner plan for agencies
Watch out for
- −Usage caps across many channels to track
- −Knowledge base limited to 20 pages
- −Only one self-serve plan
#8
Budget AI receptionist that books, qualifies and routes calls
Dialzara is an AI receptionist that answers calls 24/7, books appointments, qualifies leads and transcribes voicemails. Plans are priced by included minutes, starting at 60 minutes a month. Add-ons cover SMS, a website chatbot and outbound calling.
Why it's here
- +Cheapest entry plan in this list
- +White-glove onboarding on paid plans
- +CRM and calendar integration from the base plan
Watch out for
- −Warm transfer only on the $349 plan
- −Overage around $0.35–$0.48/min
- −Self-editing the prompt needs a higher tier
#9
Voice agent platform with all-in per-minute pricing
Bland AI is a platform for building AI phone agents for inbound and outbound calls at scale. Its per-minute rate includes the LLM, speech-to-text and text-to-speech, with no token charges, while telephony is billed separately. Enterprise plans add dedicated infrastructure, on-prem options and a BAA.
Why it's here
- +Model costs bundled into one rate
- +No platform fee to start
- +On-prem/VPC on enterprise
Watch out for
- −Higher per-minute rate than DIY stacks
- −Daily call caps on the free-fee plan
- −BAA only on enterprise
#10
No-code AI voice agents for inbound and outbound calls
CallFluent AI is a no-code builder for AI voice agents that handle inbound and outbound calls for bookings, reminders, surveys and support. It offers hundreds of voices and many languages and connects to Google Calendar, GoHighLevel and Zapier. You bring your own Twilio account for phone numbers.
Why it's here
- +Cheap flat plans
- +Inbound and outbound on Business plan
- +White-label option for agencies
Watch out for
- −Needs your own Twilio account
- −Starter is inbound only
- −Advertised discounts make list price unclear
E#11Free option
Voice agents built on ElevenLabs' realistic voices
ElevenLabs Agents is ElevenLabs' platform for building conversational voice agents for phone, web and apps. It uses the company's text-to-speech voices, and extra call minutes cost $0.08 each with LLM usage billed separately. A free plan includes 15 minutes of calls, and BAAs are available on enterprise.
Why it's here
- +Very natural voices
- +Free plan to prototype
- +Same account covers TTS, dubbing and agents
Watch out for
- −LLM costs are extra
- −Burst minutes cost double
- −HIPAA BAA only on enterprise
Free · from $0.08/minAutonomous
#12
Enterprise voice AI platform sold on annual contracts
Synthflow is a voice AI platform for building phone agents for contact centers and large teams. New deployments start on an annual enterprise contract priced on call volume, concurrency and integrations, with no public per-minute rate. It maintains HIPAA, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR coverage.
Why it's here
- +HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 2
- +No-code builder
- +Launch support included in contracts
Watch out for
- −No self-serve plan or trial
- −Annual commitment required
- −Pricing only by quote
#13
Voice AI agents for sales and service teams, sold by quote
Thoughtly is a voice AI platform for building phone agents that qualify leads, book appointments and handle service calls. All plans list unlimited voice minutes, with usage above allowances billed in arrears. HIPAA and BAA coverage is limited to the enterprise tier.
Why it's here
- +Unlimited voice minutes listed on all plans
- +Covers inbound and outbound
- +Enterprise HIPAA option
Watch out for
- −No public prices
- −HIPAA only on enterprise
- −Overage billed after the fact
#14
API-first voice agent platform where you pick each model
Vapi is a developer platform for building voice AI agents where you choose the speech-to-text, LLM and voice providers. You pay a hosting fee per minute plus each provider's cost, roughly $82–$129 for 1,000 minutes by Vapi's own estimate. HIPAA-eligible handling is a paid add-on.
Why it's here
- +Mix and match providers
- +Free Vapi telephony and WebRTC
- +Strong API and SDKs
Watch out for
- −Stacked pricing is hard to predict
- −HIPAA costs $2,000/mo extra
- −Requires engineering time