How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Billing model matters more than the headline price. Per-minute plans punish long calls, per-call plans ignore call length, and flat-rate plans win at high volume.
- Smith.ai and Abby Connect are the strongest picks when some calls need a person, since both pair AI answering with live receptionists.
- Goodcall and NextPhone suit opposite ends of the market: Goodcall bills by unique caller, while NextPhone charges one flat rate for unlimited calls.
- The cheapest plans are small. A $29 plan with 60 minutes covers a quiet business, but a busy trade company can burn through it in a week.
- Test any service on real calls before forwarding your main number, and check how it handles upset callers, spam, and calls it cannot answer.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Smith.ai | AI plus live receptionists | Free for 25 calls per month | Yes |
 Abby Connect | Human and AI on one plan | $164 per month | Free trial |
 Goodcall | Predictable per-caller billing | $79 per month | No |
 Dialzara | Low-cost minute bundles | $29 per month | Free trial |
 Rosie | Simple local business answering | $49 per month | Free trial |
 Aira | Lowest starting price | $24.95 per month | No |
 NextPhone | Flat-rate unlimited calls | $199 per month | Free trial |
 RingCentral AI Receptionist | Existing RingCentral users | $49 per month | No |
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best AI virtual receptionist with 24/7 service
Starting priceFree for 25 calls per month
Free planYes
Smith.ai sells two products that work together: an AI Receptionist and a human Virtual Receptionist service. The AI side answers around the clock, qualifies callers, books appointments, and sends intake details into your CRM. When a call needs judgment, a live agent from the same company can step in.
Billing is per call, not per minute, which changes the math for long conversations. The AI service starts free for 25 calls a month, with Pro plans from $150 a month for 75 calls in third-party pricing checks from October 2026, and the vendor homepage lists AI-first pricing from $1.60 per call. A 20-minute intake call costs the same as a two-minute message call.
The trade-off is cost and complexity. Live receptionist plans start around $300 a month for 30 calls, and add-ons such as booking at $1.50 per call and Spanish answering at $1.00 per call add up. Setup also takes longer, since intake flows are tailored to your practice areas. Smith.ai fits a firm that can use that depth. A solo tradesperson with short calls will likely do better with a cheaper, simpler tool.
What we like- AI and live agents from one vendor
- Per-call billing ignores call length
- Strong intake and booking for law firms
- 24/7 coverage
Watch out for- Live plans cost much more than AI plans
- Booking and Spanish are paid add-ons on live plans
- Setup takes more work than a self-serve tool
Starting price$164 per month
Free planFree trial
Abby Connect has answered phones for small businesses for more than 20 years, and its current pitch is flexibility. You buy one plan measured in Abby Minutes, then choose whether each call goes to a person, to AI, or to a mix you can change any time. A human minute uses one Abby Minute, while an AI minute uses half, so leaning on AI makes the same plan go twice as far. That structure suits a business that wants people on important calls and AI on routine ones without buying two products.
The receptionist team is US-based and works in Abby offices in Las Vegas, with a dedicated team of 10 to 20 people assigned per client. English and Spanish answering are included on every plan, as are booking, intake, transcripts, and the AbbyGO app for calling and texting callers back. Plans start at $164 a month for 50 Abby Minutes and run to $1,380 for 500, with a free trial on every plan and no setup fee.
The weakness is per-minute billing for human calls. A long conversation with a person costs more than the same call on Smith.ai per-call pricing, and high-volume businesses quickly reach the custom-quote tier above 500 minutes. Abby Connect is best for a small practice that values a consistent human team and wants AI as a cost-saving layer, not as the whole service.
What we like- One plan covers human, AI, or a mix
- AI minutes count as half, stretching plans further
- Dedicated US-based team
- No setup fee
Watch out for- Human minutes still bill by the minute
- Plans above 500 minutes are custom quotes
- Higher starting price than AI-only tools
Starting price$79 per month
Free planNo
Goodcall prices its AI answering service by the customer, not by the minute or the call. Plans start at $79 a month for 100 unique callers, and a long call or a callback never changes the bill. That model rewards businesses whose callers ring repeatedly, such as a plumbing company with regular customers or a clinic with returning patients. It punishes businesses that get many one-time callers, since each new number counts against the allowance even for a short call.
Setup is built around Gabi, an assistant that builds your phone agent from a plain-language description of your business or from your website. The agent answers 24/7, qualifies callers, books into your calendar, recognizes returning customers by number, and sends lead details by text and email as each call ends.
Goodcall tells callers they are speaking with an AI assistant, which is the honest approach and avoids awkward moments when a caller asks. The main limit is the billing model itself. Before signing up, count your unique callers per month, not your total calls. If that number is close to the plan limit, a per-minute or flat-rate service may cost less.
What we like- No per-minute charges
- Long calls never change the bill
- AI agent built by describing your business
- Transfers and CRM updates included
Watch out for- Bills by unique caller, so many one-time callers cost more
- No free plan
- Best for repeat-caller businesses
Starting price$29 per month
Free planFree trial
Dialzara is the budget entry point for a real AI receptionist. Business Lite costs $29 a month for 60 minutes, then $0.48 per minute, and every plan includes 24/7 answering, unlimited simultaneous calls, recordings, and summaries. The vendor states setup takes about 15 minutes: add your website, pick a voice from more than 50 options, add knowledge documents, and forward your number. For a small business testing AI answering for the first time, that low entry price and short setup are hard to beat.
The catch is the minute allowance. Sixty minutes covers roughly 20 short calls a month. A business with steady call volume will move to Pro at $99 for 220 minutes or Plus at $199 for 500 minutes fairly quickly, and overage minutes add up at $0.48 each. Warm transfers to your team start on the Pro plan, so Lite buyers should check whether that matters before committing.
Dialzara also sells outbound voice agents, SMS agents, and a website chatbot on the same platform, which suits a business that wants one vendor for several channels.
What we like- Lowest AI minute-bundle price here
- 24/7 answering on every plan
- Unlimited simultaneous calls
- 7-day free trial
Watch out for- Small 60-minute allowance on the entry plan
- Overage at $0.48 per minute
- Live transfers start on higher plans
Starting price$49 per month
Free planFree trial
Rosie is an AI call answering service aimed at local businesses, with pricing from $49 a month and 24/7 phone support. Setup follows three steps: add your FAQs, create a custom greeting, and turn on spam filtering. Rosie blocks robocalls and screens sales calls, takes messages with the details you need, and books appointments. It also turns website visitors into leads over text, which helps a business that gets inquiries from both phone and web.
The appeal is simplicity. Rosie does not ask a small business owner to design call flows or manage a complex dashboard.
The weakness is transparency. Rosie publishes less pricing and plan detail on its homepage than Dialzara or NextPhone, so you need a trial or a sales conversation to confirm minute allowances, overage rates, and integration options. Rosie is a good fit for a local business that wants a simple, low-cost answering service and is willing to test it on real calls before relying on it fully.
What we like- Simple setup for local businesses
- Spam filtering included
- Appointment booking and message taking
- Free trial
Watch out for- Pricing details are thin on the homepage
- Fewer published integrations than larger rivals
- Smaller vendor with less track record
Starting price$24.95 per month
Free planNo
Aira is the cheapest way to get a 24/7 AI front desk. Plans start at $24.95 a month for 30 calls, and the vendor states setup takes about ten minutes: paste your website, pick a voice, set intake questions and routing rules, and forward your number. Aira reads your services, hours, and FAQs automatically, answers in more than 70 languages, and sends caller details and summaries into your CRM or calendar.
That combination of low price and fast setup makes Aira a strong choice for a service business that misses calls after hours and wants coverage without a large monthly commitment. The agent qualifies callers, filters bad fits, books on your real calendar, and transfers urgent calls to your team based on rules you set. Every call is transcribed and tagged, so you can see what callers actually asked.
The entry plan is small, at 30 calls, so a business with steady volume will need a larger plan, and Aira is a newer, smaller vendor than the established answering services here. For a low-volume business, Aira offers the best price-to-coverage ratio on this list.
What we like- Lowest starting price on this list
- Live in about ten minutes
- 70-plus languages
- CRM and calendar connections
Watch out for- Entry plan covers only 30 calls
- Newer and smaller than Smith.ai or Abby
- Human handoff depends on your routing rules
Starting price$199 per month
Free planFree trial
NextPhone takes the simplest pricing position in this list: one flat rate, unlimited calls, no overages ever. Pro costs $199 a month, Growth $299, and Scale $599, and every plan includes 24/7 answering, calendar booking, and a local number. The agent learns your business from your website, asks your intake questions, books appointments, transfers calls with context, and sends a summary by text and email after every call.
Flat pricing wins when call volume is high or unpredictable. A business that takes 300 calls one month and 80 the next pays the same $199 either way, while a per-minute plan would swing widely. Bilingual answering in 14 languages is included, and the agent can answer every call or only overflow and after-hours calls.
The trade-off is the entry price. At $199 a month, NextPhone costs more than Dialzara, Aira, or Rosie at low volume, and CRM writes require the $299 Growth plan rather than Pro. NextPhone fits a busy business that already knows its call volume is high and wants a bill that never surprises it, rather than a quiet business that would pay less on a metered plan.
What we like- Unlimited calls with no per-minute or per-call charges
- Flat monthly rate
- 14 languages
- CRM writes on Growth plan
Watch out for- Higher starting price than metered rivals
- CRM integration requires the $299 plan
- No free plan
Starting price$49 per month
Free planNo
RingCentral AI Receptionist is the right pick for a business that already runs on RingCentral, or plans to. The standalone AI Receptionist starts at $49 a month for 100 minutes in third-party pricing checks from October 2026, with overage at $0.50 per minute billed in 30-second increments. It answers 24/7, handles FAQs, routes calls, captures leads, books appointments, and sends text follow-ups, all inside the RingCentral phone system your team already uses.
The advantage is integration depth. Calls, messages, meetings, and AI agents live in one platform with more than 500 pre-built integrations, and RingCentral reports 99.999 percent availability across more than 600,000 business customers.
The weakness is fit. As a standalone purchase, RingCentral AI Receptionist is less simple than Dialzara or Aira, and its best value comes when it sits on top of a RingCentral phone plan. A small business with no RingCentral account will likely get faster setup and a lower bill from a standalone AI receptionist. An existing RingCentral customer, by contrast, gets 24/7 AI answering without adding another vendor.
What we like- Sits inside a full business phone platform
- AI Receptionist answers 24/7
- Large integration catalog
- Strong reliability record
Watch out for- Standalone price is for the AI add-on, not a full phone plan
- Best value only inside RingCentral
- Setup is heavier than a standalone tool
How we chose
We compared AI receptionist services that offer 24/7 answering in the United States today, using vendor homepages and pricing pages, plus public pricing checks and reviews on G2, Capterra, and Reddit from October 2026. We favored services with published starting prices, clear billing models, and real 24/7 coverage, and we excluded services that offer live answering only, without an AI receptionist option.
We did not claim hands-on testing. Our comparison rests on what each vendor publishes about pricing, allowances, languages, booking, transfers, and integrations, and on what reviewers report about billing and handoff behavior.
What to check before you forward your number
Match the billing model to your call pattern
Count your calls, your unique callers, and your average call length before choosing. Long calls favor per-call billing. Repeat callers favor per-caller billing. High or spiky volume favors flat-rate billing. Short, predictable calls favor per-minute bundles. Picking the wrong model can double your bill even when the headline price looks low.
Test handoffs and hard calls first
Set up the service on a test number or during off-peak hours before forwarding your main line. Call it as an upset customer, a caller with a complex question, and a caller asking for a person. Check whether it transfers cleanly, takes a useful message, and tells you what happened.
Decide what the AI may and may not say
Write down which questions the AI can answer, which need a person, and what it should never promise, such as prices, legal advice, or medical guidance. Most services let you set these rules in plain language.
Check spam, language, and after-hours rules
Confirm whether spam calls count against your allowance, since some services bill them and others do not. Check language coverage if your callers speak Spanish or another language, and set different rules for business hours, nights, and weekends. A service that answers the same way at 2 pm and 2 am is missing the point of 24/7 coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Do callers know they are talking to AI?
It depends on the service and your settings. Goodcall tells callers they are speaking with an AI assistant by default, while other services let you choose whether the AI identifies itself.
What happens when the AI cannot help a caller?
A good service transfers the call to your team, takes a detailed message, or schedules a callback, based on rules you set. Smith.ai and Abby Connect can hand off to live receptionists, while standalone AI tools transfer to your own phone. Test this path before going live, since a dead end is worse than voicemail.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a live answering service?
Usually yes at the same volume, because AI plans start around $25 to $80 a month while live services often start above $250. The gap narrows when AI plans charge overage for long calls or many unique callers. Compare your expected monthly total, not the starting price, and include overage rates.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments?
Yes, all eight services here offer booking into a calendar, though the details vary. Some book into Google Calendar or Outlook directly, while others need a higher plan for CRM writes. Check whether booking works with the calendar your team actually uses before you buy.
How many calls does a cheap plan actually cover?
It depends on the billing model. A $29 plan with 60 minutes covers about 20 short calls, a $24.95 plan with 30 calls covers 30 calls of any length, and a $79 plan with 100 unique callers covers 100 different people. Read the allowance unit carefully, since minutes, calls, and callers are not the same thing.
Should a small business use AI answering or a live service?
Use AI answering when most calls are routine, such as booking, FAQs, and message taking, and when budget matters most. Use a live service, or a hybrid like Smith.ai or Abby Connect, when callers are often upset, confused, or dealing with sensitive matters. Many businesses start with AI for after-hours and overflow, then add live coverage for their most important calls.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://smith.ai
- https://www.abby.com
- https://goodcall.com
- https://dialzara.com
- https://www.heyrosie.com
- https://www.getaira.io
- https://www.getnextphone.com
- https://www.ringcentral.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.