AI Receptionist Cost 2026: Pricing, Billing Models and the Cheapest Plan at Your Volume

As of October 26, 2026, an AI receptionist costs $112.50 to $270 a month for 5 three-minute calls a day, and the median is $151.50. At 13 calls a day the range is $129 to $695.30. What moves your bill is the unit each vendor counts: minutes, calls, unique callers, or nothing.

AI receptionist pricing at 3, 5 and 13 calls a day

Prices checked against each vendor's own pricing page on October 26, 2026.

Our arithmetic: each vendor's cheapest published plan for that volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls over 30 days. Taxes, setup fees and add-ons are not included. Goodcall bills per unique caller, and we count every call as a new caller. How we price.

At 13 calls a day, Goodcall costs the least of the vendors with a published price at that volume, $129. At 3 calls a day, Upfirst costs the least, $59.95. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist costs the most at 13 a day, $695.30, and NextPhone the most at 3 a day, $199.

Simple Phones prices only its entry plan and no rate past it, so its 5 and 13 a day cells cannot be computed. Phonely shows two overage rates for the same plan on one page, so its cost at 3, 5 and 13 calls a day is a range.

How AI receptionists bill: four models

Ten vendors, four billing units. The unit decides which of your calls cost money.

Per minute: Dialzara as the example

90 three-minute calls are 270 minutes. Dialzara sells Business Pro at $99/month for 220 minutes. The 50 minutes past the bundle cost $0.45 a minute, so 3 calls a day cost $121.50. Double the call length and the minutes double with it.

Per call: Upfirst as the example

Upfirst's Premium plan is $59.95/month for 90 calls, which is exactly 3 calls a day. At 5 a day, the 60 extra calls cost $1.00 a call, so the month comes to $119.95. A 9-minute call costs the same as a 1-minute one.

Per unique caller: Goodcall as the example

Goodcall's Starter plan is $79/month for 100 unique callers, then $0.79 a caller. Its FAQ defines the unit: "One phone number, once a month. The same person calling five times in a month is one customer." (goodcall.com/faq, read October 27, 2026). A line full of repeat callers costs less than our per-call arithmetic shows.

Flat and unlimited: NextPhone as the example

NextPhone's Pro plan is $199/month for unlimited calls. Its pricing page says: "A busy month costs exactly the same as a slow one." (getnextphone.com/pricing, read October 26, 2026). The flat price is also why it costs the most in the table at 3 calls a day.

What changes an AI receptionist bill

The table assumes every call lasts 3 minutes and nothing else is billed. Five rules move a real invoice away from that.

Rounding and short calls

Three AI receptionists in our index publish a billing increment, and each counts a short call differently:

• Rosie rounds up to a full minute: "calls are rounded up to the next 60-second mark" (heyrosie.com/legal/terms, read October 27, 2026). A 20-second wrong number uses a full minute.
• RingCentral AI Receptionist rounds to 30 seconds: "Call time is rounded up and billed in 30-second increments." (ringcentral.com pricing, read October 26, 2026)
• Dialzara meters by the second: "Usage tracked to the second - partial minutes are not rounded up." (dialzara.com/pricing, read October 27, 2026)

Per-call vendors draw a different line. Upfirst does not bill "calls under 15 seconds or calls where the caller never speaks" (upfirst.ai/pricing, read October 27, 2026). Smith.ai counts "Every call answered by your AI Receptionist" by default (smith.ai pricing, read October 26, 2026).

Going over the allowance

Past the allowance, five vendors do five different things:

1. Rosie moves you up a plan. Its terms say Rosie "will automatically upgrade the Subscriber to a higher Subscription Plan" (terms, read October 27, 2026). Paid changes apply to "at least the subsequent two consecutive billing periods". At 2 calls a day Rosie costs $49; at 3 a day, $149, because 270 minutes pass Professional's 250.
2. Dialzara goes to voicemail. When included minutes run out, "If it hits zero, callers go straight to voicemail" unless you turn on auto-recharge or buy minutes (dialzara.com/pricing, read October 27, 2026). The bill stays put; the calls go unanswered.
3. Simple Phones releases your numbers. "If you cancel your plan, or you exceed the number of calls per month for your tier, your phone numbers will be released." (simplephones.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026)
4. Goodcall bills each extra caller at the plan's rate. "There's no penalty rate, and no charge for minutes." (goodcall.com/faq, read October 27, 2026)
5. NextPhone has no allowance to pass. Its pricing page says "No per-minute pricing, no overage fees" (read October 26, 2026).

Per-minute and per-call vendors with a published rate simply add it. RingCentral AI Receptionist charges $0.50 a minute past its bundle. Going from 13 to 26 calls a day changes its bill by +$585.

Transfers and a human backup

A transfer can keep a meter running after the AI hands off. Phonely says post-transfer minutes "may be billed" and lists a post-transfer rate of $0.02 a minute on Starter and Pro (phonely.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026). My AI Front Desk's call log shows "AI call cost, transferred call cost" as separate lines (help center, read October 27, 2026).

Smith.ai sells a person behind the AI. Its help center: "Live agent involvement is billed at a flat rate of +$3.00 per call, only when used." (Smith.ai help, read October 7, 2026). That sits on top of the per-call rate in the table.

Spam and robocalls

2 of 3 AI receptionists that publish a spam rule do not bill spam: Goodcall and Upfirst (vendor terms, read October 5 to 27, 2026). Goodcall: "Spam and wrong numbers don't count." Smith.ai is the exception: answered spam counts. Customers can remove "up to 10% of their calls from their bill each billing cycle" (pricing page, read October 26, 2026).

Rosie bills no minutes for numbers you block. Its help center does not say whether calls its spam detection hangs up on use minutes (Rosie help, read October 27, 2026).

Phone numbers and texting

Dialzara prices numbers separately on its FAQ, while Goodcall says "Every plan includes a local number." Rosie sells website texting as a separate add-on. My AI Front Desk refills its overage pool automatically: "we automatically add more ($10 for 1,000 credits)" (myaifrontdesk.com/pricing, read October 27, 2026). None of these are in the table.

What an AI receptionist costs at your volume

The median AI receptionist costs $114 at 3 calls a day, $151.50 at 5 and $299 at 13. Simple Phones drops out of the median past 3 calls a day, because its price past 100 calls is not published.

Spread over the minutes, AI receptionists cost $0.22 to $0.74 a minute all in at 3 calls a day, and $0.11 to $0.59 at 13. As the plan fee spreads, Rosie's cost per call falls from $1.66 a call at 3 calls a day to $0.77 a call at 13. Dialzara's falls less, from $1.35 a call to $1.05 a call, because every plan still bills by the minute.

What doubling your calls does to each bill, from 13 to 26 a day:

• Flat: NextPhone, no change, because it has no allowance to pass.
• Small rise: Goodcall +$72.80, because each caller past Growth's 500 costs $0.26 a caller. Upfirst +$197.55, moving from Pro to Scale.
• Large rise: RingCentral AI Receptionist +$585 and Smith.ai AI Receptionist +$692.70, which bill every extra minute or call.
• No published price: Rosie. 26 three-minute calls a day are 2,340 minutes, past the 2,000 of Growth, its largest published plan.

To find your own volume, divide last month's answered calls by 30. Then check your average call length: a 5-minute average puts per-minute vendors well above the 3-minute numbers here, and leaves per-call, per-caller and flat plans where they are.

Which AI receptionist costs the least at your volume

Under about 1 call a day: a free plan. Phonely's is free for 100 minutes, about 33 three-minute calls, and past it you must upgrade. Smith.ai's is free for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call. At 30 calls a month Smith.ai costs $15, less than Upfirst's $24.95. Past about 37 calls a month, Upfirst costs less. Every free plan and trial is on free AI receptionist.

3 calls a day: Upfirst. It costs $59.95 at 3 calls a day, the least in the table at that volume. It may not fit if your calls grow fast: each call past Premium's 90 costs $1.00 a call.

5 calls a day: no clear winner. Goodcall costs $118.50, less than Upfirst's $119.95 by under two dollars. Phonely's range, $112.50 to $137.50, straddles both. Pick on terms here, not price.

13 calls a day: Goodcall, then NextPhone. Goodcall costs $129 at 13 calls a day, the least in the table. NextPhone costs $199, less than Upfirst's $227.45, and its bill does not move as calls grow. Goodcall has no trial, only a demo agent. NextPhone's flat price is also why it costs the most in the table at 3 a day.

Picks by situation rather than volume (a human backup, short calls, a bill that never moves) are on best AI receptionist for small business, and a ranking by call pattern is on best AI receptionist. For what each vendor writes to Clio, HubSpot or Jobber, see the integration matrix.

AI receptionist cost against a hire

One full-time receptionist on the BLS median wage costs $4,399 a month with benefits and turnover, at any call volume. Every AI receptionist with a published price costs less at 13 calls a day (hire vs AI receptionist). Against live people billed by the minute, see virtual receptionist vs AI receptionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?

At 5 three-minute calls a day, AI receptionists with published prices cost $112.50 to $270 a month, with a median of $151.50 (prices checked October 26, 2026). Entry plans run $24.95 to $199. Taxes, setup fees and add-ons come on top.

What is the cheapest AI receptionist?

At 3 three-minute calls a day, Upfirst costs the least of the ten AI receptionists in our table, $59.95. At 13 a day Goodcall does, $129.

Do AI receptionists charge per minute or per call?

Both, and two other ways. Rosie, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk, Phonely and RingCentral AI Receptionist bill minutes. Upfirst, Smith.ai and Simple Phones bill calls, Goodcall bills unique callers each month, and NextPhone charges a flat price with unlimited calls.

What happens if I go over my AI receptionist plan?

Rosie moves you to a higher plan for the current billing period and at least the next two. Dialzara sends callers to voicemail unless you buy more minutes, and Simple Phones releases your phone numbers. Upfirst, Goodcall, Smith.ai and RingCentral charge a published rate per extra call, caller or minute.

Are AI receptionists charged for spam calls?

Goodcall and Upfirst say spam is not billed. Smith.ai bills answered spam but lets you remove up to 10% of a cycle's calls. Rosie bills no minutes for numbers you block. Dialzara, My AI Front Desk, Phonely, RingCentral and Simple Phones publish no rule on whether spam is billed.

Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a receptionist?

Yes at every volume we price. One full-time receptionist on the BLS median wage costs $4,399 a month with benefits and turnover. At 13 three-minute calls a day, AI receptionists cost $129 to $695.30.