How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost? Complete Pricing Breakdown [2026]

AI Receptionist Pricing by Provider (2026)

We researched pricing for every major AI receptionist provider. The table below shows publicly available pricing as of March 2026. Prices change frequently, so always verify directly with the provider before purchasing.

The price range is enormous: from $24.95 to over $325 per month at the entry level alone. The difference comes down to service type (pure AI vs human vs hybrid), billing model (per call vs per minute vs flat subscription), and features included at each tier.

AIRA: $24.95 to $159.95 Per Month

AIRA uses per call pricing with every feature included on every plan. There is no feature gating. Starter ($24.95/mo, 30 calls), Premium ($59.95/mo, 90 calls), Pro ($159.95/mo, 300 calls), and Enterprise (custom pricing for higher volumes). Every plan includes 31 language support, appointment booking, CRM integrations, call recordings, transcriptions, AI summaries, call transfers, and spam filtering. See our pricing page for current rates and overage details.

Dialzara: $29 to $199 Per Month

Dialzara uses per minute billing. The Starter plan at $29 per month includes 60 minutes. The Growth plan at $99 per month adds call transfers and more minutes. The Pro plan at $199 per month includes the full feature set. Important note: call transfers, a basic receptionist function, are not available on the cheapest plan. You need the $99 per month plan minimum for that feature.

Rosie: $49 to $149 Per Month

Rosie offers per minute plans starting at $49 per month. The service is straightforward with a focus on simple call answering and message taking. Integration options are more limited compared to AIRA. Rosie works well for businesses with basic needs and moderate call volumes. For a detailed comparison, read our AIRA vs Rosie breakdown.

Goodcall: $59+ Per Month

Goodcall, backed by Google's AI fund, starts at $59 per month with basic call routing and Google Business Profile integration. Advanced features require higher tiers with custom pricing. Goodcall is best for businesses that want simple call routing connected to their Google presence. Read our AIRA vs Goodcall comparison for the full breakdown.

My AI Front Desk: $64.99 to $124.99 Per Month

My AI Front Desk charges flat monthly subscription fees. The base plan at $64.99 per month includes call answering and basic scheduling. The Pro plan at $124.99 adds advanced integrations and features. Annual billing saves roughly 20 percent. The scheduling focus makes it attractive for appointment heavy businesses, though AIRA includes comparable scheduling at a lower price. See our detailed comparison.

Ruby: $235 to $1,640+ Per Month

Ruby uses live human receptionists (not AI). Plans start at $235 per month for a limited number of receptionist minutes. Ruby's receptionists are based in the United States and provide a premium experience. The cost per call is significantly higher than AI services because you are paying for human time. Ruby is the gold standard for businesses that insist on a human voice for every call and have the budget to match.

Smith.ai: $292.50+ Per Month

Smith.ai is a hybrid service: AI handles routine calls and trained human receptionists step in for complex situations. Per call pricing starts at $292.50 per month for 30 calls ($9.75 per call). The human backup is Smith.ai's key differentiator and justifies the premium. Best for law firms, medical practices, and businesses where some calls genuinely require human judgment. See our AIRA vs Smith.ai comparison.

AnswerConnect: ~$325+ Per Month

AnswerConnect combines live agents with AI support. Per minute billing starts around $325 per month for 200 minutes. Some plans may require annual commitments for the best rates. Setup fees can range from $0 to $99 depending on the plan. AnswerConnect is better suited for businesses that need a traditional answering service with AI augmentation rather than a pure AI receptionist.

Understanding AI Receptionist Pricing Models

AI receptionist services use three main billing models. Each has advantages and traps. Understanding the model matters as much as the sticker price because the billing model determines whether your actual monthly cost matches the advertised price.

Per Call Pricing

You pay based on the number of calls handled, regardless of call duration. A 30 second call costs the same as a 10 minute call.

• Who uses it: AIRA, Smith.ai
• Advantage: Most predictable. You know exactly how many calls you get per month, so you can predict your bill.
• Watch out for: Overage charges when you exceed your plan's call limit. Calculate your average monthly call volume before choosing a plan.
• Best for: Businesses with consistent call volume and some longer calls (legal intake, medical scheduling)

Per Minute Pricing

You pay based on the total minutes of call time consumed. Shorter calls cost less, longer calls cost more.

• Who uses it: Dialzara, Rosie, Ruby, AnswerConnect
• Advantage: Can be cheaper if your calls are very short (under 2 minutes average)
• Watch out for: Unpredictable bills. A 5 minute call costs 2.5 times more than a 2 minute call. One long call can blow through your monthly allotment. Average call duration in service businesses is 3 to 5 minutes.
• Best for: Businesses with very high volume of short calls (quick appointment confirmations, simple yes/no inquiries)

Flat Subscription Pricing

You pay a fixed monthly fee regardless of usage, though there may be caps on call volume.

• Who uses it: Goodcall, My AI Front Desk
• Advantage: Completely predictable monthly cost within the plan's limits
• Watch out for: Features gated behind higher tiers. The base subscription may not include the features you need (call transfers, CRM integrations, advanced analytics), requiring an upgrade to a more expensive plan.
• Best for: Businesses that want a fixed monthly expense and whose call volume stays within plan limits

True Cost Per Call at Different Volumes

The advertised starting price tells you almost nothing about what you will actually pay. What matters is the cost per call at your expected monthly volume. Here is how the major providers compare at 50, 100, 200, and 500 calls per month.

At 50 Calls Per Month

At 50 calls per month, AIRA's Premium plan at $59.95 delivers the lowest cost per call among full featured providers at $1.20 per call. Per minute providers like Dialzara and Rosie can be competitive at this volume if calls are short, but costs escalate quickly with longer calls.

At 200 Calls Per Month

At 200 calls per month, the gap between AI and human services becomes dramatic. AIRA Pro at $159.95 handles 300 calls, giving you 100 calls of headroom. Smith.ai at the same volume would cost over $1,170. That is a 7x price difference.

At 500 Calls Per Month

At 500 calls per month, you are a high volume business and pricing becomes critical. AIRA offers Enterprise plans with custom pricing for this volume. Per minute services become prohibitively expensive at this scale. Human services like Ruby and Smith.ai can exceed $2,000 to $4,000 per month. For businesses at this volume, AI is not just cheaper; it is the only cost effective option outside of hiring dedicated staff.

Hidden Costs Most Businesses Miss

The advertised price is almost never the final price. Here are the hidden costs that inflate your bill across different provider types.

1. Overage Charges

Every provider with a tiered plan charges overages when you exceed your allotment. The rates vary significantly:

• Per call overages (AIRA, Smith.ai): You pay a fixed rate per additional call. Predictable because you control the number of calls, not the duration.
• Per minute overages (Dialzara, Rosie, Ruby): Charged by the minute beyond your plan. A single long call can trigger significant overage. Average overage rates range from $1.00 to $2.50 per minute.

2. Feature Gating

Some providers advertise a low starting price but lock essential features behind more expensive plans:

• Dialzara: Call transfers require the $99 per month Growth plan. The $29 Starter plan does not include them.
• Goodcall: Advanced routing and analytics require higher tier plans with custom pricing.
• My AI Front Desk: Advanced integrations require the Pro plan at $124.99 per month.
• AIRA: No feature gating. Every feature is included on the $24.95 Starter plan.

3. Contract Lock In

Some providers offer lower monthly rates in exchange for annual commitments. If you cancel early, you may owe the difference. Most pure AI services (AIRA, Dialzara, Rosie) offer month to month billing. Some traditional services (AnswerConnect) may require 12 month commitments for the best pricing.

4. Training and Setup Time

While most AI services do not charge a setup fee, some require significant configuration time. If you spend 3 hours configuring a system and your time is worth $150 per hour, that is $450 in hidden setup cost. AIRA is designed for setup in under 30 minutes. Some services with more complex configuration (custom AI training, script building) can take hours or days.

5. Integration Costs

Connecting your AI receptionist to your CRM, calendar, or business tools may incur additional costs. Some providers charge for premium integrations or require a Zapier subscription ($20+ per month) for connections they do not support natively. AIRA includes HubSpot and Pipedrive integrations at no additional cost and supports Zapier for broader connectivity.

6. Number Porting or Forwarding

Most AI receptionist services work via call forwarding from your existing business number, which is typically free through your phone carrier. Some services provide a new phone number, which can complicate things if you have an established business number. Always confirm whether a service works with your existing number before signing up.

What Affects AI Receptionist Pricing

Understanding what drives pricing helps you evaluate whether a higher price actually gets you more value or just higher margins for the provider.

Call Volume

The single biggest factor. More calls means a higher tier plan. Before choosing a provider, track your incoming calls for a month. Many business phone systems show call counts in their dashboard. If you do not track this already, check your phone carrier's call log for the past 3 months and calculate an average.

Features Needed

The features that matter most for small businesses and their impact on pricing:

• Appointment booking: Essential for service businesses. Included on all AIRA plans, gated on some competitors.
• Call transfers: Lets the AI send important calls to you live. Critical for businesses that need to speak with certain callers directly. Included on all AIRA plans, requires $99+ on Dialzara.
• CRM integration: Automatically logs calls and leads in your CRM. Saves manual data entry. Included on all AIRA plans, varies by competitor.
• Call recordings and transcriptions: Invaluable for quality review, training, and documentation. Included on all AIRA plans.
• Multilingual support: AIRA supports 31 languages at no extra cost. Most competitors support English only or add Spanish as the only second language.

Service Type: AI Only vs Hybrid vs Human

This is the biggest pricing differentiator across the market:

• Pure AI (AIRA, Dialzara, Rosie, Goodcall): $24.95 to $199 per month. AI handles every call with no human involvement unless you configure a transfer to your team.
• AI plus human hybrid (Smith.ai): $292.50+ per month. AI handles routine calls, trained humans step in for complex ones. The human backup is what you are paying the premium for.
• Live human (Ruby, PATLive, AnswerConnect): $235+ per month. Real people answer every call. Highest cost because you are paying for human labor. Best quality for emotionally complex calls.

Integrations and Ecosystem

Services that integrate with more business tools typically cost more or gate integrations behind premium tiers. Consider which integrations you actually need today. Most small businesses need CRM integration (HubSpot, Pipedrive) and calendar connectivity. Anything beyond that is nice to have but rarely justifies a significant price premium.

Language Support

If you serve multilingual customers, language support can dramatically affect your pricing decision. Hiring a bilingual receptionist costs 10 to 20 percent more than monolingual. A bilingual answering service costs a premium. AIRA's 31 language support at no extra cost is a significant advantage for businesses in diverse markets. Read our bilingual answering service guide for more details.

What Should You Expect to Pay Based on Business Size?

Your ideal plan depends on your call volume, which correlates roughly with business size. Here are our recommendations by category.

Solo Practitioner (10 to 30 Calls Per Month)

Solo attorneys, independent consultants, one person shops. You get enough calls to matter but not so many that volume is the issue. Your priority is making sure every single call gets answered because each one could be a significant client.

Small Team (30 to 100 Calls Per Month)

Dental offices, small law firms, single location salons, HVAC companies, real estate teams. You have some staff but nobody dedicated to phones. Calls are frequent enough that missing them hurts revenue consistently.

Multi Location or High Volume (100 to 300+ Calls Per Month)

Multi location dental groups, property management companies with many units, busy contractor operations, franchise locations. Volume is significant and consistent. You need reliability at scale.

What Do Businesses in Your Industry Pay?

Different industries have different call patterns, which affects which plan and provider make sense. Here is what typical businesses in each industry should expect.

Dental Offices

Average call volume: 80 to 150 calls per month. Calls tend to be moderate length (2 to 4 minutes) centered on appointment scheduling, insurance questions, and new patient inquiries. Multilingual support matters in diverse communities.

• Recommended: AIRA Premium ($59.95/mo) or Pro ($159.95/mo) depending on volume
• Typical spend range: $60 to $160 per month with AI, $300 to $600 per month with answering services, $3,500+ per month with a dedicated front desk hire (phone duties only)
• Read: AI receptionist for dental offices

Law Firms

Average call volume: 40 to 100 calls per month for small firms. Calls tend to be longer (3 to 7 minutes) due to intake questions and case screening. Callers may be emotionally charged. The value of a single captured client is high ($5,000 to $50,000+ per case), making missed call cost extremely high.

• Recommended: AIRA Premium ($59.95/mo) for most small firms. Smith.ai ($292.50/mo) if you need human backup for complex intake.
• Typical spend range: $60 to $300 per month with AI, $300 to $1,000+ with hybrid/human services
• Read: AI receptionist for law firms

HVAC, Plumbing, and Home Services

Average call volume: 50 to 120 calls per month. Calls are action oriented: callers want to schedule service, report emergencies, or get estimates. Speed of answer matters because these callers will call the next company if they do not get a live answer within seconds.

• Recommended: AIRA Premium ($59.95/mo) or Pro ($159.95/mo) for busy seasons
• Typical spend range: $60 to $160 per month with AI. Most owner operators currently use voicemail (free, but leaking revenue).
• Read: AI receptionist for HVAC, for plumbers

Salons and Beauty Services

Average call volume: 60 to 120 calls per month. Most calls are appointment bookings, rescheduling, or service inquiries. Call duration is typically short (1 to 3 minutes). The appointment booking feature is critical.

• Recommended: AIRA Starter ($24.95/mo) for smaller salons, Premium ($59.95/mo) for busier locations
• Typical spend range: $25 to $60 per month with AI
• Read: AI receptionist for salons

Real Estate

Average call volume: 30 to 80 calls per month per agent. Calls are often time sensitive (buyer inquiries on active listings, showing requests). Response speed directly correlates with whether you get the client or your competitor does.

• Recommended: AIRA Starter ($24.95/mo) or Premium ($59.95/mo) depending on volume
• Typical spend range: $25 to $60 per month with AI
• Read: AI receptionist for real estate

Medical Offices and Healthcare

Average call volume: 100 to 250 calls per month. Calls cover appointment scheduling, prescription refills, lab results, insurance questions, and urgent care. Longer average call duration and potentially sensitive content. HIPAA considerations may apply.

• Recommended: AIRA Pro ($159.95/mo) for most practices. Smith.ai ($292.50+/mo) for practices that need human backup for sensitive patient calls.
• Typical spend range: $160 to $500 per month depending on service type and volume
• Read: AI receptionist for medical offices

Property Management

Average call volume: 80 to 200 calls per month depending on portfolio size. Calls range from maintenance requests to lease inquiries to emergency reports. After hours calls are common and often urgent (pipe burst, lockout, noise complaints).

• Recommended: AIRA Premium ($59.95/mo) to Pro ($159.95/mo) based on portfolio size
• Typical spend range: $60 to $160 per month with AI, $400 to $1,000+ with traditional answering services
• Read: Answering service for property management

Is an AI Receptionist Worth the Investment?

The short answer: for almost every small business, yes. The longer answer involves a simple ROI calculation that any business owner can do.

The Missed Call Revenue Formula

Every missed call has a cost. Here is the formula:

ROI by Industry

The math is clear across every industry: an AI receptionist pays for itself if it captures even one additional customer that would have otherwise been lost to voicemail or a missed call. For most businesses, that happens within the first week. For more on comparing AI to hiring, see our complete AI receptionist vs hiring cost breakdown.

Beyond Revenue: Time and Consistency Value

ROI is not just about captured revenue. Consider the value of:

• Time reclaimed: If you or your staff spend 1 hour per day on phone calls, that is 250+ hours per year. At a billing rate of $150 per hour, that is $37,500 in time you could spend on billable work or business growth.
• Consistency: An AI receptionist answers every call the same way: professionally, immediately, and according to your instructions. No bad days, no distractions, no turnover.
• Data capture: Every call recorded, transcribed, and summarized. This creates a searchable archive of every customer interaction that human receptionists cannot match.
• 24/7 presence: Your business is reachable at midnight, on holidays, and during every moment you are unavailable. For emergency services (HVAC, plumbing, property management), after hours availability is a competitive weapon.

How to Choose the Right AI Receptionist Plan

Follow this decision framework to find the best fit for your business.

Step 1: Count Your Calls

Check your phone system's call log for the past 3 months. Calculate your average monthly incoming call volume. If you do not have this data, estimate based on your business activity. Most small businesses receive 40 to 150 calls per month.

Step 2: Identify Must Have Features

For most small businesses, the essential features are:

• 24/7 call answering
• Appointment booking
• Call transfers to your team
• Message taking and notifications

Nice to have features that significantly improve value:

• CRM integration (eliminates manual data entry)
• Call recordings and transcriptions (quality control and documentation)
• Multilingual support (captures diverse customer base)
• AI summaries (quick review without listening to full recordings)
• Spam filtering (saves your call allotment for real customers)

Step 3: Calculate Your True Budget

Compare the monthly cost of each option at your call volume, not just the starting price. Factor in overages, feature upgrades, and integration costs. Use the cost per call tables above to estimate accurately.

Step 4: Decide on AI Only vs Hybrid

If your calls are primarily transactional (scheduling, routing, information), pure AI like AIRA is the best value. If a significant portion of your calls require complex human judgment or emotional sensitivity, consider a hybrid option like Smith.ai, but be prepared for the price premium.

Step 5: Start Small, Scale Up

Most AI receptionist services offer month to month billing with no contracts. Start with a smaller plan to test the service at your actual volume, then upgrade if needed. With AIRA, you can start at $24.95 per month and move to Premium or Pro as your business grows.

Frequently Asked Questions