Research brief

Best AI Receptionist in 2026: 12 AI Receptionists Compared on Price, Booking and Trials

The short version

Entry prices for AI receptionists ranged from free (Smith.ai, 25 calls) and $24.95 a month (Upfirst, 30 calls) to $299 a month for higher tiers, with overage charged per minute or per call ^1,2,3,4,5,6.
Per included minute, entry plans worked out from about $0.20 (Rosie) to about $0.50 (My AI Front Desk, Dialzara); human answering services worked out at $3.28 to $5.00 a minute on their entry plans ^3,4,5,10,11.
A US receptionist earns a median $38,010 a year and covers about 40 of the 168 hours in a week, which is the gap AI receptionists are sold to fill ¹².
Callers rarely leave messages: in Invoca's customer data only 2% of callers to unanswered lines left a voicemail, and 26% of calls from potential customers went unanswered ¹³.
Only two products we checked describe a white label or partner option for agencies: Dialzara on custom terms and My AI Front Desk from $500 a month. Convocore's white label plans are listed on its pricing page ^5,3,14.

An AI receptionist answers your business phone, takes messages, books appointments and sends follow-up texts, at any hour. We compared twelve AI receptionist products on the prices, included minutes, booking, trials and white label options published on their own pricing pages on 29 October 2026, set them against what human answering services and staff cost, and explain how to choose.

Sources checked October 29, 2026 · 16 sources · Published by Convocore, which sells white label AI agents. See method and limits.

$24.95

a month, the lowest paid AI receptionist plan we found (Upfirst Starter, 30 calls)⁶

About $0.20

per included minute on Rosie's Professional plan, $49 for 250 minutes (our arithmetic)⁴

$3.28 to $5.00

per minute on entry plans of human answering services Abby and Ruby (our arithmetic from listed prices)^10,11

$10.00

per call on Smith.ai's human receptionist Starter plan, $300 for 30 calls (our arithmetic)²

$38,010

median annual pay for a US receptionist, $18.27 an hour (May 2025)¹²

of callers to unanswered business lines left a voicemail in Invoca's 2021 customer data¹³

Why businesses use an AI receptionist

Missed calls are common and voicemail rarely saves them. Invoca, a call analytics vendor, reported that across its customers 26% of calls from potential customers went unanswered and only 2% of those callers left a voicemail ¹³. Moneypenny, a call answering provider, found 69% of callers do not leave a message ¹⁵. In Clio's 2024 secret shopper test of law firms, only 40% answered a prospective client's call ¹⁶.

A human front desk covers office hours only. The US median receptionist earns $38,010 a year, about $18.27 an hour, and works roughly 40 of the 168 hours in a week ¹². An AI receptionist answers every call, at night and at weekends, and can book the appointment while the caller is still on the line.

Where calls are lost^13,16

26%

of calls from potential customers went unanswered (Invoca, 2021)

of those callers left a voicemail

40%

of law firms answered a prospective client's call (Clio, 2024)

Vendor data and a secret shopper test; see the sources for their samples and weaknesses.

The AI receptionists compared

We opened each product's pricing page on 29 October 2026. The table gives the entry paid plan unless noted, what it includes, the overage price, and whether the page says it books appointments, offers a trial and offers white label or reselling.

AI receptionist pricing and features, from each vendor's pricing page on 29 October 2026^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,14}

Product	Entry price	Included	Overage	Books appointments	Trial	White label
Upfirst	$24.95 a month ($20 annually); up to $299	30 calls	$1.50 a call	Yes, all plans	14 days, no card	Not mentioned
Dialzara	$29 a month; up to $349	60 minutes	$0.48 a minute	Yes	7 days	Yes, partner program, custom pricing
Rosie	$49 a month; up to $299	250 minutes	Not listed	Booking links on entry plan; calendar booking from $149	7 days	Not listed
Goodcall	$79 a month; up to $299	100 unique customers (about 150 calls)	$0.79 per extra customer	Not listed per plan	Free demo agent	Not mentioned
My AI Front Desk	$99 a month ($79 annually)	200 voice minutes, 100 chat conversations, 400 texts	$0.25 a minute	Yes	7 days	Partner plans from $500 a month
Smith.ai AI receptionist	Free (25 calls); Pro $150; Enterprise $500	75 calls on Pro	$2.50 a call on Pro	Yes	Free tier	Not mentioned
Convocore	Business $99 a month ($66 annually); White Label from $199	25,000 usage credits, 2 phone numbers, 3 concurrent calls; voice and 7 chat channels	$0.02 a minute platform fee plus voice and phone provider costs at cost	Yes (Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly and others)	Free plan to build and test	Yes, White Label plans
Retell AI	No platform fee	Usage only	$0.07 to $0.31 a minute depending on the voice and model	Yes, as a feature you build	$10 free credit	Not mentioned
Bland AI	Free start; Build $299 platform fee	Usage only	$0.14 a minute (Start), $0.12 (Build)	Not stated	Free start	Not stated
Ruby (human, AI enhancements included)	$250 a month; up to $1,725	50 minutes	Not stated	Scheduling listed	Not stated	Not stated
Abby Connect (human, AI option)	$164 a month; up to $1,380	50 minutes; AI calls count as half a minute	At the plan's minute rate	Not stated	Free trial on every plan	Reseller program, no details
Synthflow	Contracts from $30,000 a year	Not listed	Not listed	Use case page only	Not mentioned	Not mentioned

Retell AI, Bland AI and Synthflow are platforms for building voice agents, not ready-made receptionists; you configure the receptionist yourself.
Ruby and Abby Connect are human answering services that add AI features; they are included because they compete for the same calls.

What an AI receptionist costs per minute and per call

Plans meter either minutes or calls, so we divided each entry plan's price by what it includes. These are our calculations from listed prices, and they assume you use the whole allowance.

Price per included minute on entry plans, as listed 29 October 2026 (our arithmetic)^{3,4,5,7,8,10,11}

Ruby, human, $250 for 50 minutes$5.00

Abby Connect, human, $164 for 50 minutes$3.28

My AI Front Desk, $99 for 200 minutes$0.50

Dialzara, $29 for 60 minutes$0.48

Retell AI, usage only, top of rangeup to $0.31

Rosie, $49 for 250 minutes$0.20

Bland AI Start, usage$0.14

Usage-only platforms (Retell, Bland) need you to build the receptionist; human services include people. Not like for like.

Price per included call on entry plans (our arithmetic)^1,2,6,9

Smith.ai human receptionists, $300 for 30 calls$10.00

Smith.ai AI receptionist Pro, $150 for 75 calls$2.00

Upfirst Starter, $24.95 for 30 calls$0.83

Goodcall Starter, $79 for about 150 callsabout $0.53

Goodcall counts unique customers; about 150 calls is its own estimate

How to choose an AI receptionist

The cheapest plan per minute is not always the cheapest receptionist. What matters is whether it books into your real calendar, hands urgent calls to a person, answers your actual questions correctly, and works on the other channels customers use. Test any shortlisted product by calling it with your ten most common questions.

Which kind of product fits which need^3,4,5,7,8,14

Rule	Ready-made AI receptionist	Build on a platform (Convocore, Retell, Bland)
One location, wants it live today	Set up in minutes from a template	More setup, more control
Books into your own calendar	Some plans only send booking links	Direct calendar integrations
Also answers website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram	Mostly phone only	Convocore runs voice and chat from one agent
An agency reselling to many clients	Partner programs on custom terms	White label plans with client accounts
Lowest effort, no testing	Least to configure	You own the setup and testing

Good fitDepends on the planPoor fit

Our reading of the vendors' pages. Check the specific plan before you buy.

Count your missed calls for two weeks first, so you know what you are buying.
Check that it books into the calendar you use, not just texts a link.
Make sure urgent calls transfer to a person and that the AI says it is an AI.
Compare the cost at your real call volume, including overage.

Where Convocore fits

Convocore is a platform for building AI agents rather than a ready-made receptionist. On the Business plan ($99 a month) one agent can answer the phone and the same agent can answer website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, book into Google Calendar, Outlook or Calendly, and hand calls to a person. Voice is billed at a $0.02 a minute platform fee plus the voice and phone providers' own costs, passed through at cost.

It suits businesses that want one assistant across phone and chat, and agencies that want to build receptionists for many clients under their own brand on the White Label plan. If you want a phone-only receptionist live in five minutes with nothing to configure, a ready-made product in the table will be quicker to start.

Build your AI receptionist free AI receptionist for agencies

What the evidence does not show

Prices and allowances change often; everything here is as listed on 29 October 2026.
Per-minute and per-call figures are our divisions of listed prices and assume the whole allowance is used.
We did not test call quality, booking accuracy or how each product handles hard questions, which matter more than price.
Several pages do not state overage, trials or integrations; we mark those as not stated rather than guessing.
The missed call figures come from vendors with an interest in the problem; see the source notes.

Picking the best AI receptionist for you

Start with your own numbers: how many calls you miss, when, and what callers want. Then shortlist two or three products from the table that book into your calendar, call each with your real questions, and compare the cost at your actual volume.

If you want one assistant on the phone and on chat, or you are an agency building receptionists for clients, a platform such as Convocore gives you more control at a flat price. We sell it, so test it against the others.

White label AI platform →Pricing →

Method and limits

Every product price was read on the vendor's own pricing page on 29 October 2026.
Products were chosen because they rank for AI receptionist searches or compete for the same calls; it is not an exhaustive list.
Convocore's prices and limits are read from the pricing catalog that powers /pricing.
Convocore sells an AI agent platform that competes with these products, so it has a commercial interest in this comparison. If you find an error, write to support@convocore.ai and we will correct it.

Sources

AI receptionist pricingPrimary source
Smith.ai. Read 29 October 2026.
Virtual receptionist pricing (human)Primary source
Smith.ai. Read 29 October 2026.
PricingPrimary source
My AI Front Desk. Read 29 October 2026.
PricingPrimary source
Rosie. Read 29 October 2026.
The page asks what happens if you go over your minutes but gives no answer.
PricingPrimary source
Dialzara. Read 29 October 2026.
PricingPrimary source
Upfirst. Read 29 October 2026.
PricingPrimary source
Retell AI. Read 29 October 2026.
Total per-minute cost depends on the voice engine, model and telephony chosen.
PricingPrimary source
Bland AI. Read 29 October 2026.
PricingPrimary source
Goodcall. Read 29 October 2026.
Plans count unique customers; the call estimates are Goodcall's own.
PricingPrimary source
Ruby. Read 29 October 2026.
Human receptionists with optional AI enhancements; per-minute figures are our division.
PricingPrimary source
Abby Connect. Read 29 October 2026.
Human answering service; AI calls count as half a minute.
Receptionists, Occupational Outlook HandbookPrimary source
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 pay data; page modified 27 August 2026.
Invoca Launches New Solution to Recover Revenue from Missed Sales and Appointment-Setting CallsCommissioned research
Invoca, press release via SalesTechStar. 9 November 2021.
Aggregate 2021 Invoca customer data with no sample size. Invoca sells call analytics.
Convocore pricingPrimary source
Convocore. Read 29 October 2026.
Our own prices and limits, read from the pricing catalog.
Findings of small business call report revealedCommissioned research
Moneypenny. 21 November 2016.
Survey of 300 micro businesses plus call data from 10,000, commissioned by a call answering provider.
Answering the Call: Why Responsiveness Is Critical for Law Firm Success (summarizing Clio's 2024 Legal Trends Report)Secondary report
Oklahoma Bar Journal. September 2025.
We read this summary, not Clio's report.

Questions

What is the best AI receptionist?

It depends on what you need. For the lowest entry price, Upfirst started at $24.95 a month for 30 calls. For the most minutes per dollar, Rosie gave 250 minutes for $49. For booking, chat and phone from one agent, or reselling to clients, a platform such as Convocore fits better. Test two or three with your own questions.

How much does an AI receptionist cost?

On 29 October 2026 entry plans ranged from free (Smith.ai, 25 calls) and $24.95 a month (Upfirst) to $99 a month (My AI Front Desk), with higher tiers up to about $299 to $500. Per included minute that is roughly $0.20 to $0.50, against $3.28 to $5.00 for human answering services.

How do you make an AI receptionist?

Either sign up for a ready-made AI receptionist and fill in your business details, or build one on an AI agent platform: write what it should say, add your FAQs and services, connect your calendar, get a phone number, and test it with real calls. Convocore can also build one for you through Claude or ChatGPT.

Is an AI receptionist better than a human receptionist?

It answers every call at any hour for a fraction of the cost: a US receptionist earns a median $38,010 a year and covers about 40 hours a week. A human is still better for complex, emotional or high-value calls, so the best setups transfer those calls to a person.

Can an AI receptionist book appointments?

Most can. Upfirst, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai list booking on their plans. Rosie's entry plan sends booking links rather than booking the calendar directly. Check it works with your calendar.

Can I resell an AI receptionist to my clients?

Dialzara and My AI Front Desk offer partner or white label programs on custom terms. Convocore's White Label plans let agencies build AI receptionists for many clients under their own brand at a listed price.

White label AI receptionist for agencies →AI receptionist for clinics →AI receptionist for law firms →AI receptionist pricing guide →AI chatbot pricing compared →