What an AI receptionist really costs.
Paid AI receptionist plans start at $24.95 to $150 a month; Ruby's smallest live-receptionist plan is $250. How they're billed matters more than the sticker price, so here are the billing models, published prices from October 21, 2026, and what to check before you sign.
Three ways they bill.
The same month of calls can cost several times more depending on the meter.
Per minute
You pay for talk time. Cheap for short calls; long calls cost more.
Used by: Nerro, My AI Front Desk, Dialzara, Trillet, Rosie, and human services like Ruby
Per call
Every call costs the same, whatever its length. Watch what counts as a call: spam, hang-ups, wrong numbers.
Used by: Smith.ai, Upfirst
Per unique caller
One phone number counts once a month, however often it calls or for how long.
Used by: Goodcall
Published prices, one example month.
Each product's plan that costs least for the example month, metered its own way. More per product on the alternatives pages.
| Product | Billed | Plan compared | Included | Extra use | Example month* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nerro | Per minute | Starter: $49/mo | 300 minutes | $0.15 per minute | $49 |
| Smith.ai | Per call | Pro: $150/mo | 75 calls | $2.50 per call | $212.50 |
| My AI Front Desk | Per minute | Business-in-a-Box: $99/mo | 200 minutes | $0.25 per minute | $114 |
| Dialzara | Per minute | Business Pro: $99/mo | 220 minutes | $0.45 per minute | $135 |
| Goodcall | Per unique caller | Starter: $79/mo | 100 callers | $0.79 per caller | $79 |
| Upfirst | Per call | Premium: $59.95/mo | 90 calls | $1 per call | $69.95 |
| Trillet | Per minute | AI Receptionist: $49/mo | 150 minutes | $0.20 per minute | $79 |
| Rosie | Per minute | Scale: $149/mo | 1,000 minutes | Not published | $149 |
| RubyHuman receptionists | Per minute | 500 minutes: $1,725/mo | 500 minutes | Not published | $1,725 |
*100 calls of 3 minutes (300 minutes) from 100 different numbers, on each company's published plan that costs least for that month. At other volumes a different plan may win. “Can't tell” means the extra-use price isn't published. Prices as each company's own pricing page published them on October 21, 2026; check theirs before you buy.
Costs that don't show on a pricing page.
Ask these before you sign up, with any provider.
- Is spam billed?
- Ask whether robocalls and silent hang-ups count. Several products say they don't bill them; some don't say.
- What does extra use cost?
- If extra use isn't published, you can't work out a busy month in advance. Some products don't publish it.
- Is there a fee to reach a person?
- Ask whether handing a call to a person, or to your own team, costs extra.
- Annual or monthly?
- Annual plans are cheaper. Check the refund terms before you prepay; month to month lets you leave if it doesn't work.
- Is texting, chat or booking extra?
- Some sell texting, web chat, outbound calling or calendar booking as add-ons or on bigger plans only.
- Do you keep your number?
- Forwarding keeps your number with your carrier. If you port it to the vendor, ask how you port it out if you leave.
Want to know what unanswered calls cost you? Try the missed-call calculator.
Questions about cost.
Something else? Ask us.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Paid plans start at $24.95 to $150 a month among the AI products we compared (published prices, October 21, 2026), and Smith.ai also has a free 25-call plan. What you actually pay depends on how they meter and what extra use costs.
How much does a human answering service cost?
Ruby, a well-known live receptionist service, publishes $250 a month for 50 minutes, about $5 a minute, and $1,725 for 500 minutes.
Per minute or per call: which is cheaper?
Per minute favors short calls and per call favors long ones. Work out a normal month both ways.
Are there setup fees?
Nerro has none: you set it up yourself in four steps. Trillet and Ruby say on their pricing pages that they charge none either. For the others, ask before you sign.
Put an AI employee on your line for 3 days.
Tell Nerro about your business. It builds and tests your AI employee, and you decide when it goes live.
Free for 3 days with up to 10 answered calls. No card. Then from $49 a month.