Best AI receptionists for small business in 2026

AI receptionists compared at a glance

This table lists each provider's cheapest paid plan, how it bills and who answers the phone. Prices are as listed on October 19, 2026, in US dollars a month.

The providers, one by one

For each provider: who it suits, how it bills, what it does well and what to check before you buy, all from its own pricing page on October 19, 2026 unless another source is named.

Julius Answer (our product)

Best for owners who want every feature on every plan, every caller kept in a built-in CRM, and setup done by typing or talking to an assistant. Billing: per minute, each call rounded up to whole minutes; plans at $79, $199 and $399 a month for 300, 1,000 and 3,000 minutes, plus extra-minute packs that never expire.

• Strengths: booking with Google Calendar, transfers, caller memory, Slack alerts, webhooks, Zapier and Make on every plan; a built-in CRM you can ask questions in plain English; a local number included; replies in Spanish or another language when the caller speaks it; CSV export anytime.
• Watch for: texting starts only after US carrier registration, which can take days or a few weeks; no live backup agents, no HIPAA BAA and no free plan. No native HubSpot, Salesforce, ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro or Clio integration (Zapier, Make or webhooks instead). The console and saved notes are in English, and unused included minutes don't roll over.

Smith.ai AI Receptionist

Best for businesses that want to start free and have live receptionists available behind the AI. Billing: per call. Free: $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call; Pro: $150 for 75 calls, then $2.50; Enterprise: $500 for 300 calls.

• Strengths: the Free plan includes 24/7 answering, recordings, transcripts, lead qualification, scheduling and native integrations such as Clio and Zapier. Calls can be transferred to a live North America-based receptionist at any time, and Spanish is included at no extra cost (Smith.ai, June 2025).
• Watch for: every call the AI answers counts by default (known spammers are filtered, and you can remove up to 10% as spam); 30 days' notice to cancel; no published price for live transfers.

Smith.ai Virtual Receptionist (live)

Best for firms that want a trained person on every call, such as legal intake. Billing: per call. Starter $300 for 30 calls ($11.50 each after), Basic $810 for 90, Pro $2,100 for 300.

• Strengths: 24/7 live answering, lead qualification and a 5-question intake on every plan; a 30-day money-back guarantee for new clients; 10% off for paying 12 months ahead.
• Watch for: per-call add-ons, including appointment booking at $1.50 and a dedicated Spanish line at $1.00; about $10 a call at Starter.

Ruby

Best for businesses that want live receptionists, including Spanish and bilingual handling around the clock. Billing: per minute, in 60-second increments rounded up. $250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500.

• Strengths: the same features on every plan, including scheduling, calling and texting from your business number, and AI transcripts at no extra cost; no long-term contract; a money-back guarantee for first-time users within 21 days.
• Watch for: hold time and post-call work count as minutes; no published overage rate; a 3% card fee; downgrades only after 3 billing periods (Ruby billing help page).

Goodcall

Best for businesses whose customers call several times a month. Billing: per unique caller; a number counts once a month, and spam and wrong numbers don't count. $79 for 100 unique callers (about 150 calls), then $0.79 each; $129 for 500; $299 for 2,000.

• Strengths: a free demo agent you build and test before paying; a plain-English agent editor; Google Calendar booking with text confirmations, transfers with a backup, HighLevel and Zapier; its homepage claims SOC 2 and HIPAA.
• Watch for: tiers limit team seats, connected tools and call history (Starter: 1 seat, 30 days); contract terms aren't stated.

Frontdesk (formerly My AI Front Desk)

Best for businesses that want phone, website chat, texting and some outbound calling in one plan. Billing: included minutes, then credits. $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations, 400 texts and 20 outbound calls a day.

• Strengths: a broad bundle with an AI-native CRM and Zapier; 20+ languages; a 7-day trial; no contract; credits that never expire.
• Watch for: about $0.50 per included minute (our arithmetic) and about $0.25 a minute after; transfer and calendar details aren't stated on the pricing page.

Rosie

Best for a low per-minute rate with English and Spanish on every call. Billing: per minute. $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, $299 for 2,000.

• Strengths: every plan includes 24/7 answering, English and Spanish, 10+ voices, iOS and Android apps, recordings and Zapier; a 7-day trial; 2 months free on annual billing.
• Watch for: the $49 plan texts an appointment link instead of booking and lists no transfers; direct booking and transfers start at $149. Overage isn't stated; Quo reports that Rosie moves you up a plan instead (September 2026).

Dialzara

Best for low-volume businesses that want hands-on setup. Billing: per minute. $29 for 60 minutes ($0.48 a minute after), $99 for 220, $199 for 500, $349 for 1,000.

• Strengths: a 1:1 onboarding call with a prompt engineer on every paid plan, with no setup fee; booking, call routing, CRM and calendar integration and English and Spanish from the cheapest plan; a 7-day trial.
• Watch for: 60 minutes covers about 20 three-minute calls (our arithmetic); annual pricing and contract terms aren't stated.

Upfirst

Best for very low call volume, billed per call. Billing: per call, without billing spam, calls under 15 seconds or calls where nobody speaks. $24.95 for 30 calls ($1.50 each after), $59.95 for 90, $159.95 for 300, $299 for 600.

• Strengths: a 14-day trial with no card that works with real forwarded calls; every plan includes transfers, scheduling (Google, Outlook, Clio, Calendly and others), texting during the call, caller memory and 35+ languages; no contract; 20% off annually.
• Watch for: white-glove onboarding only from the $159.95 plan; HIPAA BAAs only on Custom; extra agents at $9.95 a month.

AIRA

Best for very low volume billed per call, with a built-in CRM. Billing: per call. Its plan prices and call allowances match Upfirst's: $24.95 for 30 calls ($1.50 each after) up to $299 for 600.

• Strengths: every plan includes 31 languages, a free number, spam filtering, transfers, a built-in CRM, a knowledge base and 54+ integrations via Zapier; no long-term contract.
• Watch for: no trial mentioned on the pricing page; calendar booking and texting aren't stated there; the receptionist is one of several products the company sells.

Trillet

Best for solo owner-operators who want a simple self-serve plan. Billing: per minute. $49 for 150 minutes, then $0.20 a minute.

• Strengths: answers 24/7 on your existing number, books into your calendar, advertises a 5-minute setup; month to month with no setup fee and a 28-day money-back guarantee; 32 languages.
• Watch for: CRM integration is "Calendars only"; transfers, texting and recording aren't stated for this plan.

What about Synthflow, Retell AI and Bland?

Synthflow, Retell AI and Bland are voice-AI platforms you build on, not ready-made receptionists for a small business. Choose one only if you have a developer and need custom call flows.

• Synthflow lists only an Enterprise plan: "Enterprise contracts start at $30,000 annually."
• Retell AI charges $0.07 to $0.31 a minute pay-as-you-go, with components priced separately. It offers an AI receptionist template, but you build the agent yourself.
• Bland charges $0.14 a minute on its Start plan, or $299 a month plus $0.12 a minute on Build, with telephony billed separately.

How to choose the right AI receptionist

Start from your calls, not the feature list: count your monthly calls and minutes, list what the receptionist must do on every call, and pick the cheapest plan that does all of it.

1. Volume and billing unit. A few calls a week suits per-call plans; short calls at higher volume suit per-minute plans; many repeat callers suit Goodcall's per-caller billing. The AI receptionist cost guide works through an example month on each.
2. Must-haves on the plan you'd buy. Booking into your calendar, transfers, texting and languages vary by plan, not only by product.
3. Live people. If some callers need a person, choose a live service or an AI with live transfer (Smith.ai).
4. Where call details go. Native integrations (Smith.ai with Clio, Goodcall with HighLevel) or a built-in CRM (Julius Answer, AIRA, Frontdesk).
5. Compliance. If you handle patient information, get HIPAA terms in writing before you start.
6. A real test. Use a trial, free plan or money-back period to run your own calls through it before you commit.

Where Julius Answer fits, and where another product may fit better

Julius Answer fits a small business that wants every feature on every plan, its callers kept in a built-in CRM and setup done by talking to an assistant, on per-minute plans. Another product may suit you better if:

• You need live people: Smith.ai or Ruby.
• You get only a handful of calls a week: Upfirst or AIRA at $24.95 for 30 calls cost less than Julius Answer's $79 Starter plan.
• You want texting from the first day, or an AI that answers texts: Upfirst lists in-call texting on every plan, Frontdesk includes 400 texts and Dialzara lists an AI SMS Agent. Julius Answer texts callers who agree once your business is registered with US carriers, and suggests replies that a person sends.
• You need a HIPAA BAA: Upfirst offers one on its Custom plan.
• Your team works in Spanish: Julius Answer speaks Spanish with callers, but its console and call notes are in English. A bilingual live service such as Ruby may suit a Spanish-speaking team better.
• You want a free plan or a bigger annual discount: Smith.ai has a free plan; Upfirst and Frontdesk take 20% off for paying a year ahead.
• You want outbound calls: Frontdesk includes 20 a day; Julius Answer answers incoming calls only.