2026 pricing guide · verified numbers only
Between $29 and $500 per month, based on published pricing as of August 2026. Per-minute plans run roughly $0.20–$0.48 per minute; per-call plans roughly $1.67–$3.00 per call. Most small businesses land between $49 and $300 a month. Every number below comes from a vendor's own pricing page — nothing estimated, nothing invented.
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What actually drives the price. Five things, in order of impact.
Published AI receptionist prices. Verified August 2026.
Every figure below comes from the vendor's own public pricing page as of August 2026. Prices change; check the vendor before you buy.
| Vendor | Pricing model | Published plans | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | Per minute | $29/mo (60 min) to $349/mo (1,000 min) | $0.35–$0.48/min |
| Rosie | Per minute | $49/mo (250 min), $149/mo (1,000 min), $299/mo (2,000 min) | Not published |
| Goodcall | Per unique customer | $79, $129, or $249/mo per agent — unlimited minutes, 100–500 unique customers included | $0.50 per extra customer |
| Smith.ai (AI) | Per call | Free (25 calls, then $3.00/call), Pro $150/mo, Enterprise $500/mo — roughly $1.67–$2.00/call in-plan | $2.10–$2.50/call |
| Smith.ai (live agents) | Per call | $300/mo (30 calls) to $2,100/mo (300 calls) | $8.50–$11.50/call |
| Ruby (live agents) | Per minute | $250/mo (50 min) to $1,725/mo (500 min) | Unused minutes don't roll over |
Sources: dialzara.com, heyrosie.com, goodcall.com, smith.ai, and ruby.com pricing pages, August 2026. Smith.ai and Ruby's live-agent plans are included because they're the incumbent human alternative most buyers compare against.
AI vs. human: the honest math.
An in-house receptionist earns a median of $37,230 a year ($17.90/hour) per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data (May 2024) — before payroll taxes, benefits, sick days, and turnover. And that buys you roughly 40 hours of coverage a week, one call at a time.
Human virtual receptionist services split the difference: Ruby's published plans run $250 to $1,725 a month for 50 to 500 minutes, and Smith.ai's live-agent plans run $300 to $2,100 a month for 30 to 300 calls, per both companies' published pricing as of August 2026. You get real people 24/7, but at $3.45–$5.00 per minute or $7.00–$10.00 per call, a busy month gets expensive fast.
An AI receptionist covers every hour of the week, answers multiple calls at once, and costs less per month than most human services charge per week of equivalent volume. The honest caveat: AI is not better at everything. A skilled human still beats AI on genuinely unusual conversations and de-escalation. Where AI wins outright is the 2 AM call, the fifth simultaneous call, the caller who speaks a language your front desk doesn't, and every call that used to hit voicemail.
Hidden costs to watch. The plan price is not the whole price.
Where ServiceHawk fits. Custom-quoted, on purpose.
ServiceHawk doesn't have a pricing table on this page, and that's deliberate: we don't sell fixed buckets of minutes. Every quote is built from your actual call volume, the languages your callers speak, and what Bella — our AI receptionist — needs to do on each call: take messages, run intake, book appointments, flag urgent calls for a same-day callback.
Three things make us different from the table above. First, Bella answers in English and Spanish on the same line, following the caller's language — no transfer, no separate bilingual add-on fee. Second, you hear the demo answering as your business before anyone talks numbers. Third, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so the risk of a wrong fit sits with us, not you.
Request the demo below. Tell us your business name and what your calls look like.
Bella calls you answering as your business, usually within minutes.
Then we quote — based on your call volume and needs, not a one-size-fits-all tier.
Want to hear it right now? Call (954) 440-7749 — Bella answers.
AI receptionist cost questions, answered.
Competitor figures reflect published pricing as of August 2026 — plans and rates change; confirm current pricing on each provider’s site.
Published plans in August 2026 run from about $29/month at the low end (Dialzara, 60 minutes) to $500/month at the high end (Smith.ai's Enterprise AI tier), with most small businesses landing between $49 and $300/month depending on call volume. Per-minute plans price minutes around $0.20 to $0.48 each; per-call plans run roughly $1.67 to $3.00 per call.
Almost always, and by a wide margin. A full-time in-house receptionist has a median wage of $37,230 per year per BLS data (May 2024), before taxes and benefits, and covers roughly 40 hours a week. Human virtual receptionist services like Ruby ($250 to $1,725/month) and Smith.ai's live plans ($300 to $2,100/month) cost less than hiring but far more than AI plans covering the same or greater call volume around the clock.
The four most common are overage charges once you pass your included minutes or calls, per-feature add-on fees (some vendors charge extra per appointment booked, per SMS sent, or per additional integration), setup or custom-training fees, and billing models that meter something other than calls, such as unique customers, which can be hard to forecast. Always ask what a busy month costs, not just the plan price.
Per-minute pricing tracks the vendor's actual compute and telephony costs, so it is usually cheaper if your calls are short. Per-call pricing gives you a predictable cost per conversation regardless of length, which is easier to budget but can cost more if most of your calls are quick. Estimate your average call length and monthly volume, then price both models against those numbers.
ServiceHawk doesn't publish a flat price because we don't sell a flat product. Pricing is quoted per business based on your call volume, the languages you need (English and Spanish), and what the receptionist has to do on each call — message taking, intake, appointment booking. You hear the demo answering as your business before you're quoted anything, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Sometimes. A $29 to $49/month plan can be a fine fit if you just need messages taken from a modest number of short calls. The cheapest tiers typically limit minutes, scenarios, or customization, so a plan that can't handle your real call flow costs you the lead it fumbles — which is usually worth far more than the monthly fee you saved. Judge plans on what a handled call is worth to you, not on the sticker price alone.
Live demo
A pricing table can't tell you whether an AI receptionist will sound right answering your phone. A two-minute call can. Bella calls you back answering as your business — or we email you the demo links instead. Your choice.
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