AI Receptionist Cost in 2026: Real Prices From 12 Services

How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?

Most ready-made AI receptionists charge a monthly plan that includes a set number of calls or minutes, with overage fees above that. Entry plans for small businesses run from about $25 to $150 a month. These are the starting prices listed on each vendor's site when we checked in November 2026:

• Upfirst: from $24.95/mo for 30 calls, with a 14-day or 100-call free trial and no card required.
• Dialzara: from $29/mo for 60 minutes on Business Lite, with a 7-day free trial and no setup fee.
• CallFluent AI: from $37/mo for 1 agent and 100 inbound calls; it needs a Twilio account.
• Rosie: from $49/mo with 250 minutes on Professional, and a 7-day free trial. Calendar booking needs the $149 plan.
• Goodcall: from $79/mo for 100 unique customers a month, counted per caller rather than per minute.
• My AI Front Desk: from $99/mo, or $79/mo billed annually, with 200 voice minutes and a 7-day free trial.
• Smith.ai: a free AI plan with 25 calls a month and paid AI plans from $150/mo. Plans with live human receptionists start at $300/mo for 30 calls.
• Quo (Sona): from $15 per user a month billed yearly, with 10 AI calls included and credit tiers from $25/mo.

Is an AI receptionist priced per call, per minute or per caller?

AI receptionists use three pricing units, and the right one depends on how your calls look. Per call (Upfirst, Smith.ai) is predictable when calls are long. Per minute (Rosie, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk) is cheaper when most calls are short. Per unique caller (Goodcall) suits businesses where the same customers call back often, since repeat calls from one person count once a month.

Before you pick a plan, pull last month's call log and count calls, total minutes and unique numbers. Then price each option on those real numbers, including overages.

How much does an AI voice agent cost per minute?

If you build your own phone agent on a voice platform instead of buying a ready-made receptionist, you pay per minute. Retell AI lists $0.07 to $0.31 per minute depending on the models you choose, Vapi charges a $0.05 per minute hosting fee plus provider costs, Bland AI starts at $0.14 per minute with telephony billed separately, and ElevenLabs Agents starts at $0.08 per minute with LLM and phone costs extra.

These platforms are cheaper per minute at scale but need setup work: writing prompts, connecting a calendar or CRM and testing calls. Compare them in AI voice agents and AI phone agents.

What is not included in the headline price?

The monthly price on the pricing page is rarely the full bill. Check these before you sign up:

• Overages: calls or minutes beyond your plan are billed extra.
• Features on higher plans: booking appointments, live transfers or CRM integrations are often only on the more expensive tiers.
• Phone and model costs: build-your-own platforms bill telephony and AI models on top of the platform fee.
• Human backup: services that hand calls to live receptionists, such as Smith.ai, cost much more than AI-only plans.
• Annual billing: some advertised prices assume you pay a year up front.

Is an AI receptionist worth the cost?

An AI receptionist is worth it when missed calls cost you customers. A simple test: multiply the calls you miss each month by how often a call turns into a job and what a job is worth. If that number is higher than the plan price, the receptionist pays for itself.

Start with a free trial on your real phone line, check every call summary in the first week, and only then turn on booking or transfers. Our ranked list of AI receptionists compares features, and AI agents for small business covers what to add next.