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Published AI receptionist plans run from free tiers to $800 a month for Smith.ai's 500-call Enterprise tier. Dialzara's managed plan starts at $1,500 or more a month. Developer platforms list per-minute rates from about $0.05, before model costs and add-ons.
Your real bill depends on how the vendor counts usage, so compare the billing unit before the headline price. Every price below was read on the vendor's own page on 9 November 2026 and can change. This guide is part of our AI Front Desk guide.
Key Takeaways
- Vendors bill by the minute, the call, the unique caller or a monthly bundle, so headline prices don't compare directly.
- Developer platforms such as Retell, Vapi and Bland charge per minute, and you pay more for add-ons.
- Packaged tools such as Dialzara, Goodcall and Quo Sona publish monthly plans with stated limits.
- Human-staffed answering services cost more, with published plans from $250 to $2,100 a month.
- Billing details such as hold time, transfers and HIPAA add-ons can change your total.
How vendors charge
There are five common billing models. Each one rewards a different call pattern.
| Model | You pay for | Works best when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per minute | Every minute connected | Calls are short | Long holds and transfers |
| Minute bundle | A set number of minutes | Volume is steady | Overage rates |
| Per call | Each answered call | Calls are long | Spam and very short calls |
| Per unique caller | Each person who calls | People call repeatedly | How "customer" is defined |
| Quote only | A negotiated contract | You have high volume | Annual terms |
Prices for developer platforms
These tools are built for teams that configure their own agent. You usually need someone technical to set them up.
| Vendor | Published price (9 Nov 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Retell | $0.07-$0.31 per minute for voice agents | Voice infrastructure listed at $0.055 per minute; telephony $0.015 per minute for listed countries |
| Vapi | $0.05 per minute hosting | Models passed through at provider cost; Core plan $29 a month; Pro $999 a month minimum |
| Bland | Start: $0.14 per minute; Build: $0.12 per minute plus $299 a month | Transfer minutes billed separately |
Prices for packaged AI receptionists
These products aim to work with less setup. Their plans publish a monthly price and a limit.
| Vendor | Unit | Plans (9 Nov 2026) | Over the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | Minutes | $29 for 60; $99 for 220; $199 for 500; $349 for 1,000 | $0.48 down to $0.35 per minute |
| Goodcall | Unique customers | $79 for 100; $129 for 500; $299 for 2,000 | 79, 26 or 15 cents per extra customer |
| Quo Sona | Calls | $0 for 10; $25 for 40; $49 for 100; $99 for 250; $199 for 600 | $1.00 down to $0.45 per call |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Calls | Free: $0 for 25; Pro: from $150 for 75; Enterprise: from $500 for 300 | $3.00 down to $2.10 per call |
| CallRail Voice Assist | Calls | Starts at $95 a month | $1 per call above an allowance |
Goodcall says "No per-minute charges." It also says "We never meter minutes."
Quo lists its phone plans separately, starting at $19 per user a month, or $15 billed yearly. Quo says the 10 Sona calls come with every Quo plan.
CallRail's page shows two allowances for the same offer, 50 and 55 calls over 15 seconds. Confirm which applies before you sign.
Prices for human answering services
Human-staffed services are the usual comparison point. These two publish plans.
| Service | Plans (9 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|
| Ruby | $250 for 50 minutes; $395 for 100; $720 for 200; $1,725 for 500 |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | $300 for 30 calls; $810 for 90; $2,100 for 300 |
Ruby says optional AI enhancements are included in all plans at no extra cost. Smith.ai charges $11.50 per call over its 30-call plan.
Costs that change your bill
The headline rate is only part of the total. Check these before you compare two vendors.
- Hold and silence. Retell says billing covers the entire duration of the call, including hold time and silence.
- Transfers. Retell's AI fee stops after a transfer, but telephony continues. Bland bills transfer minutes at $0.05 on Start and $0.04 on Build.
- Add-ons. Retell lists extras such as Knowledge Base at $0.005 per minute and PII Removal at $0.01 per minute.
- Concurrency. Retell includes 20 concurrent calls, then charges $8 per additional concurrent call per month.
- Healthcare. Vapi lists a HIPAA add-on at $2,000 a month. Do not treat any add-on as proof of compliance.
- Spam. Smith.ai says it filters known spammers and can remove up to 10% of calls per billing cycle for selected spam.
- Plan changes. Smith.ai's page says plans are month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel.
A worked example
This is our own arithmetic, not a vendor quote. It uses a business with 200 calls a month averaging three minutes each, or 600 minutes.
| Vendor and plan | Estimated monthly cost | How we got there |
|---|---|---|
| Bland Start | $84 | 600 minutes at $0.14, before transfer minutes |
| Retell | $42 to $186 | 600 minutes at $0.07 to $0.31, before add-ons |
| Dialzara Business Plus | $239 | $199 for 500 minutes, plus 100 minutes at $0.40 |
| Quo Sona Tier 4 | $99 | 250 calls included; Quo phone plans are priced separately |
| Goodcall Growth | $129 | Assumes 500 or fewer unique customers |
| Smith.ai Pro, 150 tier | About $385 | 150 calls at $1.80, plus 50 overage calls at $2.30 |
Your own numbers will differ, because call length and repeat callers vary widely. Pull a month of real call logs and run the same math before you choose.
Published prices also do not show setup time, script writing or connecting your calendar and CRM. Ask each vendor what is included. Our guide to AI agent pricing models explains the wider trade-offs.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What counts as a billable call or minute?
- Are spam and very short calls billed?
- What happens to the price during a transfer to a person?
- Is telephony included in the quoted rate?
- Are setup, integrations and support extra?
- What are the overage rates, and how is overage billed?
- If you are a healthcare practice, will the vendor sign a business associate agreement? Get the answer in writing.
- How much notice do you need to give to cancel?
For sector rules on patient calls, see our HIPAA checklist for marketing vendors. Compare prices only after you know what the tool is allowed to handle.
Next step
Once you know your call volume, compare the plans against your real numbers. If you want help choosing or setting one up, talk to us. We sell this kind of work, so weigh our view accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Published plans we checked ranged from free tiers to $800 a month, as of 9 November 2026. Dialzara's managed plan starts at $1,500 or more. Higher volumes often move to custom pricing. Your bill depends on how the vendor counts usage.
Is per-minute or per-call pricing cheaper?
It depends on call length. Per-minute pricing favors short calls, and per-call pricing favors long ones. Multiply your real call data by each rate to compare.
Are free AI receptionist plans enough for a business?
Smith.ai has a free 25-call plan, and Quo includes 10 Sona calls with every Quo phone plan. They suit a trial. Check the limits before relying on one for real customer calls.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human service?
The published AI plans we checked were lower than the human plans, at similar volumes. Human services include judgment an AI tool may lack. Compare what each one actually handles for your business.
Why do some vendors not list prices?
Some vendors sell through sales conversations or enterprise contracts instead of public plans. Pricing often depends on your call volume and systems. Ask for the full cost in writing, including add-ons.
How often do these prices change?
Often. We checked each price on 9 November 2026. Confirm the current price on the vendor's page before you buy.
