Posh Virtual Receptionist Alternatives 2026: 8 Services Priced Against Posh
Published · prices checked October 26, 2026
Key takeaways
- Posh costs $630 for 100 three-minute calls a month. Go Answer costs the least of the 8 alternatives here, $345 (prices checked October 26, 2026).
- At 100 calls, four alternatives cost less than Posh and four cost more: Ruby, Smith.ai, Abby Connect and Moneypenny.
- Posh and MAP Communications share contract sentences word for word, but MAP adds a month of written notice to cancel and Posh does not.
- Below about 24 calls a month, Posh's 50-minute Vogue plan costs less than Go Answer.
Posh costs $630 for 100 three-minute calls a month on its cheapest plan for that volume (prices checked October 26, 2026). Of the 8 virtual receptionists priced against it here, Go Answer costs the least at that volume, $345; four cost less than Posh and four cost more.
What does Posh cost?
Posh starts at $65/month (pay per use at $2.30/min) and bills per receptionist minute, rounded up to a whole minute per call under its terms. At 50, 100 and 200 three-minute calls it costs $322.50, $630 and $1,170. Every plan, rate and clause is on Posh virtual receptionist pricing.
Posh alternatives compared
Prices checked against each vendor's own pricing page on October 26, 2026.
| Service | Billing unit | Entry plan | 50 calls/mo | 100 calls/mo | 200 calls/mo | Overage | Contract | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Posh | Per minute | $65/month (pay per use at $2.30/min) | $322.50 | $630 | $1,170 | $1.90 to $2.20 a minute | Month-to-month; cancels at the end of the cycle; non-refundable | posh.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Go Answer | Per minute | $175/month (100 minutes) | $262.50 | $345 | $700 | $1.25 to $1.75 a minute | "Cancel anytime", but the FAQ asks for 30 days written notice; no proration | goanswer.io/pricing/live-receptionist, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Specialty Answering Service | Per minute or per call | $44/month (pay per use at $1.54/min) | $231 | $384.20 | $783 | $1.09 to $1.44 a minute | Three cancellation rules on the site and a fourth in the terms; no proration | specialtyansweringservice.net/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| MAP Communications | Per minute | $49/month (pay per use at $1.37/min) | $211.50 | $403 | $777 | $1.28 to $1.30 a minute | Month-to-month; written notice one month before the next invoice | mapcommunications.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| PATLive | Per minute | $49/month (pay per use at $2.99/min) | $293.50 | $479 | $938 | $1.49 to $2.29 a minute | Month-to-month | patlive.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Moneypenny | Per minute | $165/month (50 minutes) | $397.50 | $661 | $1,194 | $2.09 to $2.85 a minute | Month-to-month; one full calendar month notice by phone | moneypenny.com/us/plans-pricing-people, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Abby Connect (live and AI) | Abby Minute (one AI minute counts as half) | $164/month (50 minutes) | $493 | $898 | $1,656 | $2.76 to $3.29 a minute | Month-to-month; 30 days notice after the first 30 days; no refunds | abby.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Per call | $300/month (30 calls) | $530 | $915 | $1,965 | $8.50 to $11.50 a call | Cancel 30 days before the cycle ends or the next month is billed; annual plans prepaid and non-refundable | smith.ai/pricing/receptionists, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Ruby | Per minute | $250/month (50 minutes) | $620 | $1,160 | $2,125 | $3.30 to $5.40 a minute | 30-day contract that renews automatically | ruby.com/plans-and-pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
Our arithmetic: each vendor's cheapest published plan for that volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. Goodcall bills per unique caller; we count every call as a new caller. Taxes, setup fees and add-ons are not included. How we price.
Posh sits in the middle. At 100 calls Go Answer, Specialty Answering Service, MAP Communications and PATLive cost less; Ruby, Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists, Abby Connect and Moneypenny cost more. At 50 calls MAP costs the least of the alternatives, $211.50; at 200, Go Answer again, $700.
Posh and MAP Communications: the same sentences, one difference
Posh's terms and MAP Communications' terms share whole sentences. Both say "You have no property rights to any telephone number or any other form of ID number that we assign to you". Both bill "for each whole or partial month during which your agreement with us remains in effect", and both can drop an account whose advertising causes "extreme fluctuations in call volume" (posh.com/terms and mapcommunications.com/terms, read October 7, 2026).
The renewal clause shows where they part. Posh's plan extends "until we receive a written cancellation request from you." MAP's same sentence continues: "on written notice received by us at least 1 month prior to your next invoice due date". Posh also names "compliance@mapcommunications.com" as its privacy contact (posh.com, read October 7, 2026). No page we read says one company owns both, so we price them separately. Ruby's terms share some of the same wording.
What each alternative does better and worse than Posh
Go Answer
Better: $345 at 100 calls, billed by the second where Posh rounds each call up to a minute. Worse: voicemail and the phone menu are billed too: "Voicemail greeting/talk time and front end IVR are categorized as automation" (goanswer.io/faq, read October 7, 2026).
Specialty Answering Service
Better: $384.20 at 100 calls, billed by the second, with robocalls and dead air "limited to 30 seconds of billable time". Worse: Spanish needs its own line: "the Spanish line is considered a sub account and will be billed according to the sub account fees" (SAS register FAQ, read October 7, 2026).
MAP Communications
Better: $211.50 at 50 calls, the least in the table at that volume. Worse: everything in Posh's terms above, plus a month of written notice to cancel and "a flat fee charged on seven major holidays" with no amount published (MAP terms, read October 7, 2026).
PATLive
Better: $479 at 100 calls, in 6-second steps after the first minute. Worse: PATLive's terms say numbers left on an account "become property of PATLive and may not be available for porting or reuse once a cancellation is effective" (patlive.com/terms-of-use, read October 7, 2026).
Moneypenny
Better: wrap-up is capped "up to 180 seconds per call", where Posh states no cap (Moneypenny terms, read October 7, 2026). Worse: $661 at 100 calls, and cancelling takes "one full calendar month advanced notice" by phone (Moneypenny terms, read October 7, 2026).
Abby Connect
Better: AI-handled minutes count as half an Abby Minute on every plan, where Posh's AI-enabled plans list "Mixed minutes included" with no number. Worse: $898 at 100 calls, and a trial that needs a card and charges unless you email "at least 24 hours before expiration" (abby.com terms, read October 7, 2026).
Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists
Better: per call, so long calls cost no more, and spam is not counted when your line passes caller ID. Worse: $915 at 100 calls, and no live trial, where Posh offers 7 days with no card.
Ruby
Better: Ruby's pricing page lists "24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling available" (read October 26, 2026), where Posh guarantees Spanish on weekdays only; Ruby's own FAQ gives weekday hours, so ask. Worse: $1,160 at 100 calls, and Ruby's overage costs more than its included minutes.
AI receptionists as Posh alternatives
Posh sells its own AI-enabled plans, but the terms bill AI time as "Worktime" and the plans publish no allowance. Dedicated AI receptionists publish theirs:
| Service | Entry plan | 3 calls/day (90/mo) | 5 calls/day (150/mo) | 13 calls/day (390/mo) | If calls double (13 to 26 a day) | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Posh | $65/month (pay per use at $2.30/min) | $567 | $900 | $2,223 | +$2,223 | $1.90 to $2.20 a minute | posh.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Goodcall | $79/month (100 unique callers) | $79 | $118.50 | $129 | +$72.80 | $0.15 to $0.79 a caller | goodcall.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| NextPhone | $199/month (unlimited calls) | $199 | $199 | $199 | No change | None, unlimited calls | getnextphone.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Upfirst | $24.95/month (30 calls) | $59.95 | $119.95 | $227.45 | +$197.55 | $0.70 to $1.50 a call | upfirst.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Phonely | Free (100 minutes), then $50/month (200 minutes) | $67.50 to $74.50 | $112.50 to $137.50 | $292.50 to $389.50 | +$292.50 to $409.50 | $0.25 to $0.35 a minute | phonely.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Rosie | $49/month (250 minutes) | $149 | $149 | $299 | Not computable | Moves up to the next plan | heyrosie.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/month (240 minutes: 200 voice plus a 1,000-credit pool worth 40) | $106.50 | $151.50 | $331.50 | +$292.50 | $0.25 a minute | myaifrontdesk.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Dialzara | $29/month (60 minutes) | $121.50 | $199 | $408.50 | +$409.50 | $0.35 to $0.48 a minute | dialzara.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | From $49/month (100 minutes) | $134 | $224 | $584 | +$585 | $0.50 a minute | ringcentral.com/pricing/ai-receptionist.html, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free (25 calls), then $150/month (75 calls) | $187.50 | $270 | $695.30 | +$692.70 | $2.10 to $3.00 a call | smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Simple Phones | From $97/month (100 calls) | $97 | Not computable from the published price | Not computable from the published price | Not computable | Not published | simplephones.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
Simple Phones publishes no rate past the 100 calls in its entry plan, so it has no price at 5 or 13 calls a day.
At 13 calls a day every AI receptionist with a price in the table costs less than Posh's $2,223. Goodcall costs the least, $129; at 3 calls a day Upfirst does, $59.95. NextPhone is the one bill in the table that does not move from 13 to 26 calls a day, $199. Rosie's largest published plan covers 2,000 minutes, short of the 2,340 that 26 calls a day use, so its bill there cannot be computed.
Where Posh is still the better buy
- Very low volume. Below about 24 calls a month, Posh's Vogue plan, $130/month for 50 minutes, costs less than Go Answer's smallest plan.
- A trial without a card. "We don't even require any credit card info" for 7 days or 250 minutes (pricing page, read October 26, 2026).
- No notice period. A written request ends the plan at the end of the current cycle. MAP, Moneypenny, Abby Connect, Go Answer and Smith.ai each ask for 30 days or a month of notice.
- A person on every call, for less than Ruby. At 100 calls Posh costs $530 a month less than Ruby.
One full-time receptionist on the BLS median wage (May 2025) costs $4,399 a month with benefits and turnover, 2.0 times Posh at 13 calls a day. The full model is on receptionist cost vs AI receptionist.
Which alternative fits which situation
Best for a lower per-minute bill at 100 to 200 calls: Go Answer
$345 at 100 calls and $700 at 200, the least in the table. It may not fit if many calls go to voicemail, which is billed.
Best near 50 calls: MAP Communications
$211.50 at 50 calls. It may not fit if you want to leave quickly: MAP asks for a month of written notice.
Best if calls run long: Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists
Per call, so length does not move the bill. It may not fit at 3-minute calls: at 50, 100 and 200 calls it costs more than Posh.
Best for routine calls: an AI receptionist
At 13 calls a day Goodcall costs $129 against Posh's $2,223. It may not fit callers who expect a person.
How to switch from Posh without losing calls or your number
- Find out whose number it is. For a number Posh assigned, the terms say "You have no property rights to any telephone number"; ask Posh in writing whether it will release it before you cancel.
- Cancel in writing, near the cycle's end. The plan ends "as of the last day of the customer's current billing cycle", and a partial month bills in full (posh.com/terms, read October 7, 2026).
- Overlap for a few days. Start the new service's trial, forward overflow to it, then move the main line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cheaper than Posh virtual receptionist?
At 100 three-minute calls a month, Go Answer costs $345, Specialty Answering Service $384.20, MAP Communications $403 and PATLive $479, against Posh's $630. Prices checked October 26, 2026.
Is Posh cheaper than Ruby?
Yes. At 100 three-minute calls Posh costs $630 and Ruby $1,160. Both bill whole minutes and the time spent after a call.
Are Posh and MAP Communications the same company?
Their terms share sentences word for word, and Posh's privacy contact uses a mapcommunications.com address. No page we read states that one company owns both. Their cancellation rules differ: MAP asks for a month of written notice, Posh does not.
Can I take my Posh phone number with me?
Not by right. Posh's terms say you have no property rights to a number it assigns. Ask Posh in writing before cancelling, or forward a number you already own.
Is there an AI alternative to Posh?
Yes. At 13 three-minute calls a day, AI receptionists cost $129 to $695.30 a month, against Posh's $2,223. They answer every call with AI, with no person on the line.
How these numbers were made
Every vendor price on this page was read from the vendor's own pricing page on the date in its Source cell and saved as a dated capture. Monthly costs use each vendor's cheapest published plan for the volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. The in-house figure uses the BLS median wage for receptionists over 2,080 paid hours (paid leave included), other employer benefit costs and turnover, each from the BLS release named below. Vendors that hide prices stay in the tables as quote only. We do not test answering quality and publish no ratings.
Sources
Vendor pricing and terms pages, from the price index
- Abby Connect: abby.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); abby.com/resources/terms-and-conditions (read October 7, 2026)
- Dialzara: dialzara.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); dialzara.com/terms-of-use (read October 27, 2026)
- Go Answer: goanswer.io/pricing/live-receptionist (read October 26, 2026); goanswer.io/terms-conditions (read October 7, 2026)
- Goodcall: goodcall.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); help.goodcall.com/en/articles/8007566-terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- MAP Communications: mapcommunications.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); mapcommunications.com/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Moneypenny (US): moneypenny.com/us/plans-pricing-people (read October 26, 2026); cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a06eb94845f8e1701b7e7f1/6aaa99366734be94e463cc1b_us-terms-and-conditions.pdf (read October 7, 2026)
- My AI Front Desk: myaifrontdesk.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); myaifrontdesk.com/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- NextPhone: getnextphone.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- PATLive: patlive.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); patlive.com/terms-of-use (read October 7, 2026)
- Phonely: phonely.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Posh: posh.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); posh.com/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- RingCentral AI Receptionist: ringcentral.com/pricing/ai-receptionist.html (read October 26, 2026)
- Rosie: heyrosie.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); heyrosie.com/legal/terms (read October 27, 2026)
- Ruby: ruby.com/plans-and-pricing (read October 26, 2026); ruby.com/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Simple Phones: simplephones.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist (read October 26, 2026)
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: smith.ai/pricing/receptionists (read October 26, 2026); smith.ai/receptionists/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Specialty Answering Service: specialtyansweringservice.net/pricing (read October 26, 2026); specialtyansweringservice.net/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Upfirst: upfirst.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026); upfirst.ai/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
Hire-cost inputs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- OEWS, receptionists and information clerks (SOC 43-4171) (May 2025, released May 15, 2026)
- Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, table 4 (June 2026 (2026 Q2), released September 9, 2026)
- Employee Benefits in the United States (March 2026, released September 25, 2026)
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, annual 2025 (released March 13, 2026)
- Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn, "There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees," Center for American Progress, November 16, 2012 (issue brief; PDF carries an August 31, 2015 correction to Figure 3)
Other pages quoted
- Terms read October 7, 2026: posh.com/terms, mapcommunications.com/terms.
- Specialty Answering Service: minutes article, read October 7, 2026.
Changes to these prices
- Upfirst: cancellation notice recorded as none. Its pricing FAQ says "You can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade anytime, no questions asked," the same strength as other cancel-anytime terms. Its setup-fee summary now reads "None stated": no page says there is no fee. No price changed.
- My AI Front Desk: the 1,000 monthly overage credits its pricing page lists as included ("Extra credits you get each month in case you go over your included usage") now count as 40 included minutes, so Business-in-a-Box covers 240 minutes before the $0.25 rate applies (was 200).
- Phonely: its Professional plan card says 650 minutes and its comparison table 750; the card is used. When two plans tie on their lowest cost, the one with the narrower range is chosen, so Phonely at 300 calls a month prices on Professional alone.
- My AI Front Desk: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Simple Phones: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Phonely: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- RingCentral AI Receptionist: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Rosie added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Rosie moves an account up a plan instead of charging overage.
- Goodcall added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Goodcall bills per unique caller a month; our arithmetic counts every call as a different caller.
- Dialzara added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026).
- Upfirst added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Upfirst does not bill calls under 15 seconds or spam.
- Moneypenny (US) raised its live extra-minute rates on every plan: $2.28 to $2.85 (50 minutes), $2.12 to $2.65 (100), $1.91 to $2.39 (200) and $1.67 to $2.09 (500); plan prices are unchanged. Found in a full re-check of every source page.
- Abby Connect Starter is now $164 a month (was $165), with extra minutes at $3.29 (was $3.30). Found in a full re-check of every source page.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist Enterprise at 500 calls ($800, $2.10 per extra call) added from its pricing page, in a full re-check of every source page.
- Added NextPhone Pro, Growth and Scale from its public pricing page. All three plans include unlimited calls with no per-minute charge or overage fee.
- PATLive added its 2,000 to 5,000-minute tiers.
- Specialty Answering Service: cancellation and setup-fee summaries corrected.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: billing terms added.
- Specialty Answering Service: 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 minutes ($2,929, $5,649 and $10,599, overage $1.19 to $1.09 a minute) added from its pricing page (read October 5, 2026), and hold time added to what its per-minute billing covers, from its rates page (read October 7, 2026).
- Go Answer: 1,700, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 minutes ($1,870, $2,750, $5,500 and $11,000, overage $1.40 and $1.25 a minute) added from its pricing page (read October 5, 2026).
- Ruby: 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 minutes ($4,945, $6,400 and $7,875, overage $3.50 to $3.30 a minute) added from its help center (read October 7, 2026).
- My AI Front Desk: overage of $0.25 a minute (25 credits at $0.01) added; it was on the captured page but missing here.
- Go Answer: 750 minutes ($825) added; it was on the captured page but missing here.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Ruby: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- PATLive: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Posh: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- MAP Communications: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Specialty Answering Service: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Moneypenny (US): billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Go Answer: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Abby Connect: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Ruby: overage rates added from its help center ($5.40/min on the 50-minute plan down to $3.65 on 1,000 minutes), plus the 350, 750 and 1,000 minute plans published there. Ruby's pricing page still shows no overage rate.
- Abby Professional overage corrected to $2.99 per Abby Minute (its terms and help center), from $3.00 computed as price divided by minutes.
Download the data
The first table on this page (CSV, 9 rows). The full price index (CSV), free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
How to cite this page
ReceptionistPrices.com, Posh Virtual Receptionist Alternatives 2026: 8 Services Priced Against Posh, prices checked October 26, 2026, https://www.receptionistprices.com/posh/alternatives/