How much does an AI receptionist cost?
On published plans, an AI receptionist costs from $29 to $899 a month, and most small businesses land between about $50 and $250. The headline price is the least useful number, because vendors count different things: minutes, calls or unique callers. Below are the published plans read on each vendor's own page, what 40 and 100 calls a month really cost on each, the fees that hide in the fine print, and what a live receptionist costs instead.
The short version
- Self-serve AI receptionists publish plans from $29 a month (Dialzara, 60 minutes) to $899 a month (AgentZap, 1,500 minutes). Smith.ai's AI plan starts free for 25 calls.
- For about 40 calls a month the AI services cost roughly $45 to $109. For about 100 calls, roughly $79 to $237.
- Live human services cost about $395 to $415 for 40 calls and $915 to $1,725 for 100. An in-house receptionist's median wage is $38,010 a year before benefits.
- Watch four things: overage rates, one-time setup fees, add-on charges for booking or texting, and which plan tier actually books on your calendar.
- Dental and medical platforms, and done-for-you services, mostly quote after a call. That is a model, not a red flag, but ask for the number in writing.
What do AI receptionists cost on their published plans?
These are the plans as published on each vendor's own pricing page. We read them on September 13, 2026 and checked them again on September 19. Vendors change prices often, so the links go to the live page.
| Service | Entry plan | Top published plan | Priced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | $29/mo for 60 minutes, $0.48 a minute after | $349/mo for 1,000 minutes, $0.35 a minute after | Minutes |
| Rosie | $49/mo for 250 minutes | $299/mo for 2,000 minutes | Minutes |
| Goodcall | $79/mo per agent for 100 unique callers, unlimited minutes | $249/mo per agent for 500 unique callers; $0.50 per extra caller | Unique callers |
| Frontdesk | Free plan with limited usage | $99/mo, or $79/mo billed annually, for 200 voice minutes plus chat, texting and a CRM; extra voice $0.25 a minute | Minutes and credits |
| AgentZap | $109/mo for 150 minutes, $0.85 a minute after, plus a $499 setup fee | $899/mo for 1,500 minutes, $0.70 a minute after | Minutes |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free for 25 calls, $3 a call after | $500/mo for 300 calls, set up and run by Smith.ai | Calls |
| Weave (dental and medical) | Platform from $199/mo; the AI Receptionist is an early-access add-on with no published price | Not published | Platform plan |
| LeadSixty (done for you) | First 30 days free, then $297 a month flat, no setup fee; see pricing | Same flat $297 a month; no tiers | Flat monthly |
Three pricing models sit in that table. Per minute (Dialzara, Rosie, AgentZap, Frontdesk) is cheapest when calls are short. Per call (Smith.ai) is predictable if calls are long. Per unique caller (Goodcall) means a regular who calls ten times a month counts once. Which one is cheapest for you depends entirely on your call length and repeat rate, which is why the next table exists.
What does an AI receptionist really cost per month?
We priced two realistic months on the cheapest published plan that covers each, before taxes, add-ons and one-time fees. A light month: 40 calls averaging 2.5 minutes, the after-hours load for a small office. A busy month: 100 calls averaging 3 minutes from 100 different callers.
| Service | 40 calls, 100 minutes | 100 calls, 300 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | $45 (free plan plus 15 calls at $3) | $212.50 (Pro, $150 for 75 calls, plus 25 at $2.50) |
| Dialzara | About $48 (Lite plus 40 minutes at $0.48) | $135 (Pro, $99 for 220 minutes, plus 80 at $0.45) |
| Rosie | $49 (Professional) | $149 (Scale, the first plan that books directly on your calendar) |
| Goodcall | $79 (Starter) | $79 (Starter covers 100 callers) |
| Frontdesk | $99 (Business-in-a-Box) | About $114 ($99 plus 100 extra minutes at $0.25, less the plan's $10 of included credits) |
| AgentZap | $109 (Starter), plus $499 setup in month one | $236.50 (Starter plus 150 minutes at $0.85), plus $499 setup in month one |
| Ruby (live humans) | $395 (100-minute plan) | $1,725 (500-minute plan; the 200-minute plan is $720 with no published overage) |
| Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk (live humans) | $415 ($300 for 30 calls, plus 10 at $11.50) | $915 (Basic, $810 for 90 calls, plus 10 at $10.50) |
Notice how the ranking changes between the two columns. Goodcall is mid-pack at 40 calls and cheapest at 100, because it does not count minutes. Smith.ai's free tier is the cheapest way to try AI answering, and among the more expensive at volume. Run your own month through the vendor's numbers before you trust a "from" price.
Not sure what your month looks like? On a free 30-minute Where AI Fits call we pull your call volume by hour from your phone report and tell you which model fits, including whether a $49 tool is the right answer. If it is, we will say so.
Book a Where AI Fits callWhich fees hide in the fine print?
- Overage rates. Every per-minute plan has one, from $0.25 a minute (Frontdesk) to $0.85 (AgentZap's entry plan). A busy month on a small plan can cost more than the next plan up.
- Setup fees. AgentZap adds a $499 one-time training and setup fee to its self-serve plans, waived on the $295 plan's six-month term. Most of the others charge none.
- Feature tiers. Rosie sends booking links by text on its $49 plan and books directly on your calendar only from $149. Dialzara's $29 plan lists warm transfer as not included. The plan that does what you actually need is often one step up.
- Per-action add-ons on live services. Smith.ai's live receptionists charge $1.50 a call to book appointments and $0.50 a call for text follow-up, on top of the plan.
- Annual billing. Frontdesk drops from $99 to $79 a month billed annually. Cheaper, but you are paying for a year of a tool you have not tested.
- Your own time. Self-serve means you write the answers, connect the calendar, test the calls and update it when hours or prices change. Done-for-you services charge for that, which is the honest reason they cost more.
How does that compare with a human receptionist?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median receptionist wage at $38,010 a year, or $18.27 an hour, as of May 2025. Benefits sit on top: in the BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation release for June 2026, benefits were 30.0% of employer costs for private industry workers. At that average, a full-time receptionist runs roughly $54,000 a year, a rough estimate from two averages, and covers about 40 of the week's 168 hours.
That is not a like-for-like comparison, because a person also greets visitors, handles paperwork and reads an upset caller. Our AI receptionist versus human receptionist comparison covers what each does better and why many businesses end up with both.
Why do some AI receptionists not publish prices?
Two kinds of vendor quote after a call. Platforms built for dental and medical practices, such as Weave, Arini and Voicify, sell like practice software: by demo, priced by locations and integrations, with a HIPAA agreement in the contract. Our dental AI receptionist comparison goes through them. And done-for-you services, ours included, price the work of writing the script, connecting the calendar, testing and maintaining it, which varies by business. Neither is a red flag. Just get the number, the overage terms and the cancellation terms in writing before you sign.
For live answering services priced the same way, see answering service cost, and for which one to pick, the best answering service for small business. For the after-hours case specifically, see after hours answering service: AI, live service or voicemail. For how the technology works and the recording rules, see the guide to how AI receptionists work. By industry: legal answering services compared, with our own AI legal answering service, and medical answering service pricing.
Questions about AI receptionist pricing
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?+
Is there a free AI receptionist?+
How much does an AI answering service cost compared to a live one?+
What is the cheapest way to price an AI receptionist: per minute, per call or per caller?+
Are there setup fees for AI receptionists?+
Why don't dental and medical AI receptionists publish prices?+
- Vendor pricing pages, read September 13 and 19, 2026: Dialzara, Rosie, Goodcall, Frontdesk and its billing explainer, AgentZap, Smith.ai AI Receptionist, Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk, Ruby, Weave.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Receptionists," Occupational Outlook Handbook, median pay May 2025. bls.gov
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026," released September 9, 2026. bls.gov
Published September 19, 2026. Every price was read on the vendor's own page and checked again before publishing; see how we research and write. Vendors change prices often. Found an error or a change? Email hello@leadsixty.com.
The right price is the one that matches your call volume.
Book a free 30-minute Where AI Fits call. We look at when your calls come in and how many reach voicemail, and we tell you honestly whether a $49 tool, a live service or a done-for-you receptionist is the right spend.
Book a Where AI Fits callOr see how ours works on the AI receptionist page.