The honest roundup
The best AI receptionists and answering services, compared
An AI receptionist is software that answers your business line, talks to callers, and — in the better products — books appointments into your calendar and texts missed callers back. This is our read of the market. Full disclosure up front: we make Conduit, so every price below is quoted from the vendor's own pricing page with the source named and the date we read it, and every rival entry says when that rival is the better buy.
Conduit
That's us — judge accordinglyBest for: Owner-run businesses that want every call answered and booked
Our product, so grade this entry accordingly. Conduit answers every call you forward with a named assistant that tells callers it's AI, books into your Google Calendar two ways, texts the customer a confirmation and texts missed callers back once carrier registration clears, puts emergencies through to you, and briefs you every morning. Every plan gets every capability; at the cap your assistant takes messages instead of billing an overage.
Plans from $79/mo for 150 minutes and 300 texts — published on our pricing page
Upfirst
Best for: The cheapest entry, and the widest choice of calendars
A per-call AI receptionist with booking and in-call texting on every plan, a no-card trial, and more calendar integrations than anyone else here. Per-call billing climbs on a busy line; on a light one, only Smith.ai's free tier costs less.
$24.95/mo for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call; $59.95 for 90 (upfirst.ai)
verified 2026-10-11
Reception AI
Best for: A quiet line, with a no-card trial
ElevenLabs' own receptionist, sold direct: booking and Google Calendar on every plan and a large voice library. The entry plan answers one call at a time and bills per minute past its allowance.
$29/mo for 75 minutes, then $0.45 a minute; $79 for 275 (elevenlabs.io)
verified 2026-10-11
Dialzara
Best for: A light line that only needs messages taken
A per-minute AI receptionist with a 7-day trial and minutes counted to the second. Calendar sync starts on its $99 plan, not the $29 one, and texting is a separate monthly add-on with per-message fees.
$29/mo for 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute; texting $19/mo + $0.05 a message (dialzara.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Beside
Best for: A new business phone line with the receptionist in one bill
A phone line with unlimited US calling and texting and an AI receptionist that books into your calendar. The entry plan caps AI-answered calls; you port or forward your number to it.
$29/mo for one line and 30 AI-answered calls; $99/mo unlimited (beside.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Rosie
Best for: The most minutes for the money
An AI receptionist with generous minute allowances. Direct calendar booking starts on its middle plan; the entry plan texts callers an appointment link. Running over moves you up a plan automatically.
$49/mo for 250 minutes; $149 for 1,000; $299 for 2,000 (heyrosie.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Goodcall
Best for: High volumes of short, similar calls
An AI phone agent that never meters minutes and counts unique callers instead — a shape that favours busy lines answering simple questions. Spam and wrong numbers don't count; the entry plan includes one external tool.
$79/mo for 100 unique callers, then $0.79 each; $129 for 500 (goodcall.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Smith.ai
Best for: A handful of calls, or the option of human receptionists
A reception company with an AI receptionist that's free for its first calls each month, then billed per call, plus human receptionist plans. An escalation the AI starts carries no fee; live-agent help is a per-call add-on.
AI: $0 for 25 calls, then $3 a call; $150/mo at $2 a call. Human plans from $300 for 30 calls (smith.ai)
verified 2026-10-11
My AI Front Desk
Best for: Texting, chat and calls in one plan, paid annually
A self-serve AI receptionist sold as one bundle: voice minutes, texts, a website chatbot and outbound calls. Annual billing brings the price down; overage draws on a credit pool.
$99/mo or $79/mo billed annually, 200 minutes and 400 texts (myaifrontdesk.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Jobber Receptionist
Best for: Businesses already running on Jobber
Jobber's AI add-on answers calls and texts and books straight into Jobber. If Jobber runs your day it's the obvious add-on; if it doesn't, the real comparison is add-on plus plan plus the move.
$29/mo add-on on a Jobber plan (Core $49/mo) (getjobber.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Housecall Pro CSR AI
Best for: Businesses already running on Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro's AI call answering, booking into its own platform. It's an optional add-on, and the price isn't published.
Optional add-on; no published price (housecallpro.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Ruby
Best for: People on the phone, by the minute
A US virtual receptionist service staffed by people. A skilled person is still the best answer to a hard call, and Ruby bills for it by the receptionist minute.
$250/mo for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500 (ruby.com)
verified 2026-10-11
Sameday
Best for: Multi-location home-service companies on field-service software
An AI phone agent built for staffed, multi-location operations, booking into the field-service tools they already use. Sold through a demo.
From $449/mo for 500 minutes and 3 locations; $789/mo for 1,000 (sameday.ai)
verified 2026-10-11
Avoca
Best for: Service businesses with a front-office team and field-service software
An AI front office for home-service and auto-repair businesses, one location or one hundred: answering calls, texts and chat, booking into ServiceTitan and similar tools, outbound campaigns, and call coaching for customer-service reps. Sold through a demo.
No published pricing — demo-led sales (avoca.ai)
verified 2026-10-11
Lindy
Best for: Teams that want one AI teammate across many jobs
A general AI teammate billed per user in shared credits; its receptionist role answers calls, books and texts the confirmation from instructions you write. Capable, if the phone is one job among many.
$29.99/user/mo for 3,000 credits or $49.99 for 5,000 — the page is testing both (lindy.ai)
verified 2026-10-11
Pricing is read from each vendor's published pricing page and may change — check their site before deciding. Trademarks belong to their owners; named for identification only.
Questions
Choosing an AI receptionist
How can a vendor's own roundup be trusted?
Judge it by its specifics. Every price here is quoted from the vendor's own published pricing page, with the source named and the date we read it, and every rival entry states the case where that rival is the better buy. Where a vendor publishes no price, we say so instead of guessing.
What should I compare when choosing an AI receptionist?
Five things decide it. What happens after the call — a message taken, or a visit booked into your real calendar? The meter — per minute, per call, per caller, or flat — and what happens at the cap. Whether business texting is included and who files your US carrier registration. The emergency path — urgent calls must reach a person. And platform lock: a cheap add-on can cost you a whole software migration.
Is an AI receptionist better than a human answering service?
Different tool, different job. A skilled person is still better on the hardest, most emotional calls — and costs like it, billed per minute or per call. An AI receptionist answers at once, day or night, for a monthly software price, and the better ones book into your real calendar and text missed callers back. Most owner-run businesses do well with an assistant for the routine calls and a path to a person for the rest.
Why isn't [some product] on this list?
The list covers the products small-business buyers weigh against each other, each checked against the vendor's own site on the date shown. It isn't exhaustive, and it changes: if a product belongs here, tell us at support@conduitapp.ai and we'll look at it honestly.
Prices on this page verified against each vendor's published pricing, most recently October 11, 2026 · Trademarks belong to their owners; named for identification only.