How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost in 2026?
An AI receptionist costs $29 to $199 a month for most small businesses, based on vendor pricing pages I checked on October 20, 2026. Dialzara starts at $29 for 60 minutes, NextPhone charges $199 for unlimited calls, Smith.ai has a free 25-call tier, and enterprise platforms like Synthflow start at $30,000 a year.
The catch: the sticker price is only part of it. What you pay depends on how the vendor counts usage (minutes, calls or callers), what overage costs and whether you pay monthly or yearly. I checked every price below on the vendor's own pricing page and left out anything I couldn't confirm there.
Typical AI receptionist cost range
- Free tier: $0 (Smith.ai, 25 calls a month).
- Entry paid plans: $29 to $199 a month.
- Higher tiers: Goodcall Growth $129, Rosie Scale $149, Dialzara Plus $199, Rosie Growth and NextPhone Growth $299, Goodcall Scale $299, Dialzara Elite $349, Smith.ai Enterprise $500 and NextPhone Scale $599 a month.
- Enterprise voice AI: from $30,000 a year (Synthflow).
AI receptionist pricing by vendor
| Vendor | Starting price | What's included | Overage | Higher tiers | Official link | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | $29/mo (Lite) | 60 minutes; 7-day trial; no setup fees | $0.48/min (Lite) | Pro $99 (220 min, $0.45/min); Plus $199 (500 min, $0.40/min); Elite $349 (1,000 min, $0.35/min) | dialzara.com/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 |
| Rosie | $49/mo (Professional) | 250 minutes; 7-day trial | Scale $149 (1,000 min); Growth $299 (2,000 min) | heyrosie.com/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 | |
| Goodcall | $79/mo (Starter) | 100 unique customers a month; free demo agent | $0.79 per extra customer (Starter) | Growth $129 (500, then $0.26); Scale $299 (2,000, then $0.15) | goodcall.com/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/mo, or $79/mo billed annually (Business-in-a-Box) | 200 voice minutes, 100 chat, 400 SMS; includes an AI-native CRM | $0.25/min (25 credits/min from a 1,000-credit monthly pool; auto-reload $10 per 1,000 credits) | Enterprise: custom | myaifrontdesk.com/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 |
| Smith.ai (AI Receptionist) | $0 (Free); Pro $150/mo | Free: 25 calls. Pro: 75 calls ($2.00/call), dedicated onboarding setup | $3.00/call (Free); $2.50/call (Pro) | Enterprise $500 (300 calls) | smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist | Oct 20, 2026 |
| NextPhone | $199/mo (Pro), or $1,990/yr ($166/mo) | Unlimited calls; no setup fee; 7-day trial | None (flat rate) | Growth $299 (set up, tested and tuned for you); Scale $599 | getnextphone.com/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 |
| Synthflow | From $30,000/year (Enterprise) | Scoped around call volume, concurrency, telephony setup, integrations, security needs and launch support | No self-serve price published | synthflow.ai/pricing | Oct 20, 2026 |
Prices change. Plans, tiers and prices change often. These are what each vendor's official pricing page showed on the checked date, in US dollars, before taxes and phone-number fees. A blank cell means I couldn't confirm that number on the vendor's own pricing page, or it's only given on a sales call. I leave it blank rather than guess. Check the vendor's page before you buy.
What drives AI receptionist cost
Minutes vs calls vs callers
This matters more than the sticker price. Dialzara, Rosie and My AI Front Desk include a bundle of minutes, so long calls use up the plan faster. Smith.ai bills per call, so call length doesn't change the price. Goodcall bills per unique customer each month, so repeat calls from the same caller count once. NextPhone charges a flat rate with unlimited calls.
Overage
Published overage runs from $0.25 a minute (My AI Front Desk) to $0.48 a minute (Dialzara Lite), and from $0.79 per extra customer (Goodcall Starter) to $3.00 per extra call (Smith.ai Free). On a minute plan, going well over can make the next tier cheaper. Dialzara says that if your balance hits zero, callers go straight to voicemail.
Setup and extra fees
Dialzara and NextPhone both state no setup fees. Dialzara's local number is $3 a month. NextPhone's Growth plan ($299 a month) is the done-for-you option: they set it up, test it and tune it. Smith.ai Pro includes dedicated onboarding setup.
Annual billing
Annual billing lowers the monthly figure where it's offered. My AI Front Desk drops from $99 to $79 a month, NextPhone Pro from $199 to $166 a month ($1,990 a year), and Rosie gives two months free on annual plans. The trade-off is paying upfront.
Contract terms
Smith.ai is month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel. I didn't find contract terms on the other vendors' pricing pages, so check before you sign up.
What you'd pay at 100 and 300 calls a month
Example calculations, not quotes. Assumptions: 100 or 300 calls a month; a 3-minute average call (300 or 900 minutes); every call from a different caller (for Goodcall); monthly billing; the cheaper of the lowest tier that covers the volume or the entry tier plus overage; no taxes or number fees.
| Vendor | Plan used | Cost at 100 calls | Cost at 300 calls | How it was worked out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | Pro (100); Elite (300) | $135 | $349 | 100: Pro $99 incl. 220 min + 80 min × $0.45 = $135. 300: Elite $349 incl. 1,000 min covers 900 (Plus would be $199 + 400 × $0.40 = $359) |
| Rosie | Scale | $149 | $149 | Professional's 250 min doesn't cover 300 and I couldn't confirm the overage rate, so Scale $149 incl. 1,000 min covers both |
| Goodcall | Starter (100); Growth (300) | $79 | $129 | 100: Starter $79 incl. 100 customers. 300: Growth $129 incl. 500 (Starter would be $79 + 200 × $0.79 = $237) |
| My AI Front Desk | Business-in-a-Box | $124 | $274 | 100: $99 incl. 200 min + 100 min × $0.25 = $124. 300: $99 + 700 min × $0.25 = $274. How the included credit pool offsets this isn't spelled out, so treat these as upper figures |
| Smith.ai | Pro (100); Enterprise (300) | $212.50 | $500 | 100: Pro $150 incl. 75 calls + 25 × $2.50 = $212.50 (Free would be 75 × $3.00 = $225). 300: Enterprise $500 incl. 300 calls |
| NextPhone | Pro | $199 | $199 | Flat $199, unlimited calls, no overage |
| Synthflow | Enterprise | Contract-scoped; no price on the vendor's page |
Your real cost changes with call length; rerun this with your own numbers.
How to choose
- Count your calls. Check last month's call log for the number of calls and the average length.
- Match the billing model. Short calls suit minute bundles. Long calls suit per-call, per-caller or flat-rate pricing.
- Price the overage. Work out a busy month, not just a typical one.
- Check features by tier. Check which tier includes the features you need, such as appointment booking or call transfers.
- Use the trial. Rosie, NextPhone and Dialzara offer 7-day trials, Smith.ai has a free tier and Goodcall has a free demo agent.
If you're still deciding which tool fits, I sorted them by use case in best AI receptionist for small business, by use case.
FAQ
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Most paid AI receptionist plans for small businesses cost $29 to $199 a month, based on the vendor pricing pages I checked on October 20, 2026. Smith.ai also has a free 25-call tier, and enterprise platforms like Synthflow start at $30,000 a year. Prices change, so check the vendor's page before you buy.
How much should an AI receptionist cost?
For most small businesses, $29 to $199 a month covers an entry plan. The right number depends on your call volume. Match the billing model to your calls: minute bundles suit short calls, while per-call, per-caller or flat-rate plans suit longer ones. Then price a busy month, including overage.
How much is an AI receptionist worth?
That depends on your own numbers, not mine. Compare the monthly cost against what you pay now to answer the phone and what a missed call costs you. The 100- and 300-call example table above shows what each vendor's published rates add up to at those volumes.
Is there a free AI receptionist?
Smith.ai lists a $0 plan with 25 calls a month and $3.00 per call after that. Rosie, NextPhone and Dialzara offer 7-day trials instead, and Goodcall offers a free demo agent. A trial lets you test call handling before you pay, but check what the plan costs once it ends.
I compare every free plan, trial and demo in free AI receptionist options: free plan, trials and demos.
What is the cheapest AI receptionist?
Of the vendors I checked, Dialzara Lite has the lowest paid entry price at $29 a month for 60 minutes, with overage at $0.48 a minute. Rosie starts at $49 a month for 250 minutes. The cheapest sticker price isn't always cheapest at your volume, so run the numbers.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service?
It depends on your call volume. I list a human answering service separately on the homepage with its published rates, so compare it against the AI plans above, using your own monthly call count and average call length.
Last checked: October 20, 2026. Prices, tiers and plans change, so confirm on each vendor's page. Next, compare every AI receptionist side by side.
Some links on this site may be affiliate links, now or in the future. If you buy through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn't change the prices shown. Questions: brian@theintrovertedmarketer.online