How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost per Month?
Published AI receptionist plans run from $29 to $599 a month as of October 2026. That range comes from the nine vendor pricing pages checked for this guide. Most plans with a few hundred minutes land between $49 and $199, and extra minutes cost $0.25 to $0.50 each where a rate is published.
The cheapest entry plan is Dialzara Business Lite at $29 a month for 60 minutes. The most expensive flat plan is Slang.ai Premium at $599 per location, built for restaurants. In between, Rosie charges $49 for 250 minutes and Aibrify Desk charges $179 for 400 minutes in English, Mandarin and Spanish.
A September 2026 survey by OnceHub puts the whole category at $25 to $300 a month, with most full-featured options between $50 and $200. The same survey puts a traditional live answering service at $175 to $1,700 a month. An in-house receptionist earns a median $38,010 a year before benefits, or $3,168 a month.
Every price below links to the page it came from. Prices change, so treat the links as the source of truth.
What Are the Three Ways AI Receptionists Are Priced?
AI receptionist vendors price in three ways: a flat fee with included minutes, a per-call fee, or a flat fee with no minute cap. Each model favors a different kind of caller. The right one depends on how long your calls run and how many you get.
Model 1: Flat monthly fee with included minutes
The most common model is a monthly plan with a bundle of minutes and a per-minute rate above the bundle. Dialzara sells 60, 220, 500 and 1,000 minutes at $29, $99, $199 and $349, with overage of $0.48 down to $0.35 a minute. RingCentral AI Receptionist starts at $49 a month with 100 minutes, then $0.50 a minute, billed in 30-second increments.
My AI Front Desk charges $99 a month for 200 voice minutes. Extra minutes cost 25 credits each at $0.01 a credit, or $0.25 a minute. Aibrify Desk is $179 a month for 400 minutes, then $0.30 a minute, with setup included and no contract.
Rosie offers 250, 1,000 and 2,000 minutes at $49, $149 and $299; the pricing page does not list an overage rate. The trap in this model is the overage rate, which is usually higher per minute than the bundle itself.
Model 2: Per-call pricing
Per-call vendors charge for each answered call regardless of its length. Smith.ai's AI receptionist starts at $300 a month for 30 calls, then $11.50 a call. The Basic plan is $810 for 90 calls, the Pro plan is $2,100 for 300 calls, and SMS or Slack notifications add $0.50 a call.
Per-call pricing rewards long, complex calls and punishes short ones. A thirty-second wrong number costs the same as a ten-minute intake.
Model 3: Flat fee with no minute cap
A few vendors charge a flat fee with unlimited minutes and cap something else instead. Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month per agent with unlimited minutes, capped at 100 unique customers a month, then $0.50 a customer. Slang.ai charges $399 a month per location on its Core plan and does not publish minute limits.
Flat plans are the simplest to budget. The cap moves from minutes to customers, agents or locations, so a growing business still pays more as it grows.
| Pricing model | Who sells it | What you pay for | Favors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat fee plus minutes | Dialzara, RingCentral, My AI Front Desk, Rosie, Aibrify Desk | Minutes, then overage per minute | Predictable volume |
| Per call | Smith.ai | Each answered call | Long, high-value calls |
| Flat fee, no minute cap | Goodcall, Slang.ai | Agents, customers or locations | Many short calls |
What Does a Month of Calls Cost at 100, 200 and 400 Minutes?
At 200 minutes the AI receptionist plans checked here cost $49 to $530, and at 400 minutes $79 to $915. Aibrify Desk is $179 either way. The table uses each vendor's list price and the plan whose minutes cover the usage, or the top plan plus overage.
For per-call vendors the table assumes 4 minutes a call, the figure Nextiva reports that most plans assume. That turns 100, 200 and 400 minutes into 25, 50 and 100 calls. Change the assumption and the per-call row moves a lot; the per-minute rows do not.
| Vendor and plan | 100 minutes | 200 minutes | 400 minutes | How the number was reached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosie | $49 | $49 | $149 | Professional covers 250 minutes; Scale covers 1,000 |
| Goodcall | $79 | $79 | $79 | Starter, unlimited minutes, up to 100 customers |
| Dialzara | $99 | $99 | $199 | Business Pro covers 220 minutes; Business Plus covers 500 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 | $99 | $149 | $99 plus 200 extra minutes at $0.25 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | $49 | $99 | $199 | $49 plus extra minutes at $0.50 |
| Aibrify Desk | $179 | $179 | $179 | 400 minutes included |
| Slang.ai Core | $399 | $399 | $399 | Flat per location; minutes not published |
| Smith.ai AI receptionist | $300 | $530 | $915 | Starter 30 calls, then $11.50; Basic 90 calls, then $10.50 |
| Ruby, human receptionists | $395 | $720 | $1,725 | 100, 200 and 500 minute plans |
| Live answering, per minute | $75 to $150 | $150 to $300 | $300 to $600 | $0.75 to $1.50 a minute |
The chart ranks the 200-minute column: every AI receptionist with a minute bundle is under $200, per-call and per-location plans run $399 to $530, and a human service is $720.
| Option at 200 minutes | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Rosie Professional | $49 |
| Goodcall Starter | $79 |
| Dialzara Business Pro | $99 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | $99 |
| Live answering, per minute | $150 to $300 |
| Aibrify Desk | $179 |
| Slang.ai Core | $399 |
| Smith.ai AI, Starter plus overage | $530 |
| Ruby, 200-minute plan | $720 |
First, the effective price per minute falls as you fill the bundle. Aibrify Desk works out to $0.90 a minute at 200 minutes and $0.45 at 400. Second, the cheapest plan at 100 minutes is often not the cheapest at 400, so size first and shop second.
Which Fees Are Not on the Headline Price?
The headline price leaves out six things: overage, setup, carrier texting registration, number porting, annual-contract discounts, and per-unit add-ons. Each one is small on its own. Together they can move a $99 plan to $150 or more in a busy month.
Overage rates
Overage is the biggest variable. AI plans publish $0.25 a minute at My AI Front Desk, $0.30 at Aibrify Desk, $0.35 to $0.48 at Dialzara and $0.50 at RingCentral. Human services charge far more: OnceHub found Ruby's overage around $3.30 to $5.40 a minute and Smith.ai's at $10.50 to $11.50 a call.
Rounding matters too. RingCentral bills call time rounded up in 30-second increments, so a 61-second call counts as 90 seconds. Ask every vendor how they round.
Setup fees
Most AI receptionists list no setup fee. Dialzara, Smith.ai, Ruby and Aibrify Desk all say so on their pricing pages. Among live answering services, OnceHub found setup runs $0 to $99 at most providers, and Nextiva cites one provider with a $49.99 set-up fee.
Texting registration
If the receptionist sends text messages from a US business number, carriers require A2P 10DLC registration. Twilio's fee schedule, updated September 2026, lists a $4.50 one-time brand fee for sole proprietors and low-volume brands. Campaign vetting is $15, monthly campaign fees are $1.50 to $10, and standard brands pay $46 one-time.
The dollars are small, but approval can take weeks and texts do not send until it is done. Aibrify Desk, for example, starts text alerts once carrier texting registration is approved, and sends call summaries by email or Slack in the meantime.
Number porting
Moving your number to the vendor is optional and usually unnecessary. The FCC notes that companies may charge you to port your number, and that simple ports must be processed in one business day. Forwarding avoids the fee and the risk.
With Aibrify Desk the business keeps its number and sets up call forwarding for unanswered calls or all calls. The owner then gets each call summary in Chinese or English. Nothing moves, so nothing can get stuck in a port.
Contracts and annual discounts
Annual prepay discounts are common: My AI Front Desk takes 20% off for annual billing, Goodcall takes 15% off and Smith.ai takes 10% off for 12 months. The discount is real, but so is the lock-in. Month to month costs more per month and lets you leave after a bad quarter.
Per-unit add-ons
Read what the vendor counts. Goodcall prices per agent and charges $0.50 a customer above the plan's cap, and Slang.ai prices per location. Smith.ai adds $0.50 a call for SMS or Slack notifications, and Rosie charges $50 a month for website texting.
The two numbers that decide the real bill sit side by side here.
| Vendor and plan | Monthly price | Included | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara Business Lite | $29 | 60 minutes | $0.48 a minute |
| Rosie Professional | $49 | 250 minutes | Not listed |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist, standalone | $49 | 100 minutes | $0.50 a minute |
| Goodcall Starter | $79 per agent | Unlimited minutes, 100 customers | $0.50 a customer |
| Dialzara Business Pro | $99 | 220 minutes | $0.45 a minute |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 | 200 minutes | $0.25 a minute |
| Aibrify Desk | $179 | 400 minutes | $0.30 a minute |
| Smith.ai AI Starter | $300 | 30 calls | $11.50 a call |
| Ruby, human, 100 minutes | $395 | 100 minutes | Not listed on pricing page |
How Does an AI Receptionist Compare With a Human Receptionist?
An in-house receptionist costs $3,168 a month in wages alone, about 18 times the price of a mid-range AI receptionist plan. Live answering services run $175 to $1,700 a month in the OnceHub survey. An AI receptionist at $49 to $199 is the cheapest of the three and does not charge more when a call runs long.
In-house receptionist
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $38,010 a year, or $18.27 an hour, for receptionists in May 2025. That is $3,168 a month before any benefits. The same page projects employment of receptionists to decline 2 percent from 2025 to 2035.
Wages are only part of the cost. In June 2026 the BLS measured benefits at 30.0 percent of total compensation for private industry workers. Grossing up the median wage by that share gives a loaded cost of about $54,300 a year, or $4,525 a month.
One person also covers one phone line for about 40 hours a week. Evenings, weekends, lunch breaks and sick days go unanswered or fall to the owner. For a full breakdown, see AI receptionist vs human receptionist.
Live answering service
OnceHub's September 2026 survey found $175 to $325 a month at entry level and $325 to $700 for 50 to 200 calls. Above that, the range is $700 to $1,700. Nextiva puts per-minute live plans at $0.75 to $1.50 a minute and per-call plans at $1 to $11 a call.
Ruby is the clearest published example: $250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500. That works out to $3.45 to $5.00 a minute at full use. The guide on AI receptionist vs answering service covers what each does well.
| Option | Monthly cost | Per minute at 400 minutes | Hours covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house receptionist, wages only | $3,168 | $7.92 | About 40 a week |
| In-house, wages plus 30% benefits share | $4,525 | $11.31 | About 40 a week |
| Live answering service, survey range | $175 to $1,700 | $0.75 to $1.50 on per-minute plans | 24 hours |
| Ruby, 500-minute plan | $1,725 | $3.45 | 24 hours |
| AI receptionist, category range | $25 to $300 | $0.25 to $0.50 overage | 24 hours |
| Aibrify Desk | $179 | $0.45 | 24 hours |
The in-house per-minute figure assumes 400 phone minutes a month. The other hours go to greeting, filing and scheduling, which an AI receptionist does not do.
How Many Minutes Does Your Business Need?
Count your calls for two weeks, multiply by 4 minutes a call, and add 25 percent for growth and long calls. That gives a monthly minute figure you can match to a plan. The 4-minute figure is the assumption most answering plans use; measure your own average if your phone system reports call length.
In calls, the three usage levels look like this.
- 100 minutes: about 25 calls a month, or roughly one every business day. Solo practices, tradespeople and part-time studios tend to land here.
- 200 minutes: around 50 conversations, two or three on a typical weekday. Think of a salon, a one-dentist office or a property manager with a few buildings.
- 400 minutes: about 100 calls, or five a day on weekdays. A busy clinic, a restaurant with reservations or a law office with intake calls fits this level.
Three adjustments change the count:
- Spam and hang-ups. Most AI receptionists filter spam before answering, so those calls cost nothing or a few seconds. Count only real conversations.
- Transfers. A call that is transferred to a person usually stops billing when the transfer connects. Ask the vendor where the meter stops.
- Language. A caller who reaches a receptionist that speaks their language tends to finish the conversation instead of hanging up. If some of your callers speak Mandarin or Spanish, budget for those calls to complete.
Once you have the number, pick the plan whose bundle covers it with room to spare. Paying for 400 minutes and using 300 is cheaper than paying for 220 and buying 80 at overage rates.
When Is the Cheapest AI Receptionist Plan the Wrong One?
The cheapest plan is wrong when the bundle is too small, the cap counts the wrong unit, or a key feature is missing. A $29 plan that takes messages in one language is a different product from a $179 plan that books appointments in three. Compare what each plan does before comparing the price.
The bundle is too small
A 60-minute plan at $29 becomes about $96 at 200 minutes once overage is added, close to a 220-minute plan at $99. The plan that looked cheapest ends up costing about the same, with a bill that moves every month.
The cap counts the wrong thing
Unlimited minutes with a customer cap suits a business with repeat callers and long calls. It suits a restaurant badly, because most callers are new and each one counts. Per-call pricing is the reverse: good for a law office with few long intake calls, bad for a shop fielding dozens of quick questions.
The plan lacks the feature that pays for itself
Price tiers often gate the features that make a receptionist worth having. Rosie's $49 plan takes messages and sends appointment links; direct calendar booking and live transfers start at $149. Goodcall's $79 plan keeps call details for 7 days; 30 days starts at $129.
Most plans handle English, and some add Spanish, so an English-only plan at any price still loses Mandarin-speaking callers. Aibrify Desk covers English, Mandarin and Spanish on the $179 plan; Cantonese is not supported.
A rule of thumb
Put a value on one caught call: a new patient for a dental office, a reservation for a restaurant, a service call for a plumber. If one caught call a month covers the gap between the cheap plan and the right plan, the cheap plan is the expensive one. For a vendor-by-vendor look at features rather than price, see the best AI receptionist guide.
What Does Aibrify Desk Cost and What Is Included?
Aibrify Desk costs $179 a month with 400 minutes included, then $0.30 a minute, setup included, no contract. Every call opens by saying it is an AI assistant and that the call is transcribed; no audio is kept. The price covers:
- Appointments booked into Desk's own booking calendar.
- Answers to common questions from the owner's material: hours, address, parking, services, insurance accepted.
- Messages taken, spam blocked, and uncertain calls transferred to the owner's phone or passed on with the details right away.
- A list of topics Desk won't answer, set by the owner: prices, complaints, refunds, symptoms, legal advice. Those go to a person.
- A summary after each call by email or Slack, a weekly summary on Monday, and a monthly report.
Setup is a set of steps rather than a project. The owner shares the material Desk should answer from, lists the topics to hand off, and turns on call forwarding from the existing number. Clinics, law firms and other careful fields can go custom, with more material and stricter limits, priced to fit.
To hear it, call the demo line on desk.aibrify.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Published AI receptionist plans cost $29 to $599 a month in October 2026. Mid-size bundles mostly fall between $49 and $199. Dialzara starts at $29 for 60 minutes, Rosie at $49 for 250, and Aibrify Desk at $179 for 400 in English, Mandarin and Spanish.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per minute?
Overage on AI receptionist plans that publish a rate is $0.25 to $0.50 a minute. My AI Front Desk charges $0.25, Aibrify Desk $0.30, Dialzara $0.35 to $0.48 and RingCentral $0.50. Human answering services charge far more, with Ruby's overage running about $3.30 to $5.40 a minute according to OnceHub's 2026 survey.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human receptionist?
Yes, by a wide margin: AI receptionist plans with a few hundred minutes cost $49 to $199 a month. The BLS median wage for receptionists is $38,010 a year, or $3,168 a month before benefits. With the 30 percent benefits share the BLS measures, the loaded cost is about $4,525 a month.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
Usually. OnceHub's September 2026 survey puts live answering services at $175 to $1,700 a month and AI receptionists at $25 to $300. Per-minute live plans run $0.75 to $1.50 a minute while AI overage runs $0.25 to $0.50, so the gap widens as call volume grows.
Do AI receptionists charge setup fees?
Most do not: Dialzara, Smith.ai, Ruby and Aibrify Desk state on their pricing pages that there is no setup fee. Among traditional answering services, OnceHub found setup fees of $0 to $99 at most providers. Ask about carrier texting registration and about any per-location or per-agent charges before signing.
How many minutes does a typical business need?
Log calls for two weeks and multiply by 4 minutes, the call length most answering plans assume. About 25 calls a month is 100 minutes, 50 calls is 200 minutes and 100 calls is 400 minutes. Add 25 percent for growth, exclude filtered spam calls, and pick the plan whose bundle covers the result without overage.
Does an AI receptionist require a contract?
Most AI receptionist plans are month to month, and Smith.ai, Dialzara, Rosie, My AI Front Desk and Aibrify Desk all let customers cancel anytime. Several vendors discount annual prepayment: 20 percent at My AI Front Desk, 15 percent at Goodcall and 10 percent at Smith.ai. The discount comes with a year of lock-in.
Do I have to change my phone number to use an AI receptionist?
No: the business keeps its number with Aibrify Desk and forwards unanswered calls, after-hours calls or all calls to Desk. Porting a number to a vendor is possible, and the FCC notes that companies may charge for it. Forwarding avoids both the fee and the risk of a stuck port.
