Short answer: for most small businesses, an AI receptionist app costs between $14 and $150 a month to start, and the right one depends on what you need it to do. If you only need calls answered and messages taken, the cheapest plans (AI-Receptionist.com, Upfirst, Dialzara) work. If you need appointments booked on the call, look at Rosie's Scale plan, My AI Front Desk or Smith.ai. If you want a real person behind the AI, Smith.ai and Ruby offer that. Dental offices have specialist options such as Dentina.AI and Viva AI.
Every price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked on November 3, 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a number, we say so instead of guessing. Disclosure: we build custom voice agents. We appear only in the custom-build row.
| Service | Entry plan | Extra usage | Human backup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI-Receptionist.com | $14/month for 75 minutes | $0.25/min booster packs | Transfers to your own numbers | The lowest sticker price |
| Upfirst | $24.95/month for 30 calls ($20 billed annually) | $1.50 per call | No | Simple per-call answering |
| Dialzara | $29/month for 60 minutes | $0.48/min | Transfer to your team on Elite ($349) | Very low call volume |
| Rosie | $49/month for 250 minutes | Not published | Transfer to your team from $149 | Home services and trades |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | $49/month for 100 minutes | $0.50/min | Handoff to your users and queues | Businesses already on RingCentral |
| Goodcall | $79/month for 100 unique callers | $0.79 per extra caller | Not described | Many short repeat calls |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/month for 200 minutes ($79 billed annually) | $0.25/min | Call transfer to your team | Voice, text and chat in one |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free for 25 calls; Pro $150/month for 75 calls | $2.17 to $2.50 per call on Pro | Yes, live North America receptionists | Firms that want people behind the AI |
| Sona by Quo | Included with Quo plans from $15 per user/month (billed annually); 10 AI calls free | $1.00 per call, lower on paid tiers | Not stated | Teams already on Quo (formerly OpenPhone) |
Zoom also sells a Virtual Agent Receptionist that works with any phone system; its launch announcement (July 2026) lists $29.99/month for 100 minutes.
| Service | Entry plan | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | $250/month for 50 receptionist minutes | Live receptionists; AI is used for call routing and transcripts | Businesses that want a person on every call |
Dental calls have their own rules: new-patient intake, insurance questions, hygiene recall and emergencies. These tools are built for that.
| Service | Published price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dentina.AI | From $299 per location/month (billed annually) | Up to 3 providers, unlimited calls; warm transfer on Premium ($399) |
| Viva AI | Gold $349/month | Credit-based; live transfer to staff on Platinum ($899) and up |
| Arini | Not published (demo) | Dental AI receptionist plus outbound calling |
| Weave | Base plans from $199/month; AI Receptionist add-on not published | Add-on is in early access |
Bola AI often shows up in dental AI lists, but it does clinical voice charting, not phone answering. More on dental: Voice AI for dental offices.
| Platform | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Retell AI | About $0.07 to $0.31/min, pay as you go | No platform fee; $10 free credit; you or an agency build the agent |
| Vapi | $0.05/min hosting plus provider costs | $5 free credit; HIPAA add-on is extra |
| The AI Agency USA (custom build) | Starter builds from about $2,500 plus usage | Built, tested and maintained for you; books, qualifies and routes by your rules |
Compare on your real volume, because vendors count differently: per minute (most), per call (Smith.ai, Upfirst, Sona), per unique caller (Goodcall) or in credits (Viva AI, My AI Front Desk). At 300 calls a month averaging two minutes, a $0.25-per-minute plan comes to about $150, while a $2.00-per-call plan comes to about $600. Our AI receptionist cost guide compares apps against a human answering service and a hired receptionist, and the missed-call calculator shows what unanswered calls cost you now.
Off-the-shelf apps are the right start for most businesses. A custom agent earns its cost when calls need your rules (service area, insurance, which provider), when it has to write into your CRM or practice software, or when a single mishandled call is expensive. That is what we build: custom voice AI agents that answer in one ring, 24/7. We are based in Las Vegas and work with businesses across the U.S.
Tell us how your calls and bookings come in today. On a free 30-minute call we will tell you which of these tools fits, including when an off-the-shelf app is the right answer and you do not need us.
Book my free call → Run the missed-call math →Related: AI booking tools compared · AI receptionist cost · AI receptionist vs answering service · Answering service Las Vegas