AI Receptionists · independent pricing index · updated Sep 29, 2026
What an AI receptionist actually costs at 200 calls a month
At 200 calls a month (3 min each, 600 talk-minutes), the cheapest AI receptionist resolves to about $42/mo (Retell AI), and the median across 17 priceable vendors is $159.95/mo. Sticker prices start near $0 pay-as-you-go but the real cost depends on call volume.
As of Sep 29, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below
Headline prices hide the real number. Plans only compare once you line them up the same way. We normalize every vendor to the same workload — 200 inbound calls a month at 3 minutes each — and show the cheapest effective monthly cost, with every figure linked to its source and dated.
Top-line findings
- Cheapest at 200 calls/mo Retell AI resolves to the lowest effective monthly cost once every billing model is normalized to 200 calls of 3 min.
- 19 of 26 vendors start under $100/mo Published entry prices cluster low, but headline price rarely reflects the cost at volume — per-minute and per-call models cross over flat plans as call count rises.
- 5 publish HIPAA, 4 a signed BAA Most vendors say nothing about HIPAA or BAA on their public pages. We record silence as "not published," never as "no."
- 12 of 26 state bilingual support English/Spanish (or broader multilingual) coverage is claimed by a clear majority, but only some include it at the base tier rather than as a paid add-on.
- 3 are quote-only Vendors that gate all pricing behind sales surface here with no fabricated number — an honest gap rather than an invented figure.
Cost ranking at 200 calls / month
Effective monthly cost = each vendor's cheapest plan once its native billing model is normalized to 600 talk-minutes (200 calls × 3 min). Where a plan would need an overage rate the vendor never published, we exclude that plan rather than invent a number. See the full capability matrix →
| # | Vendor | Cost @ 200 calls/mo | On plan | Billing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retell AI | $42 retellai.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Pay As You Go | Per minute |
| 2 | Goodcall | $79 goodcall.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Starter | Flat monthly |
| 3 | Bland | $84 bland.ai verified Sep 27, 2026 | Start (Free) | Per minute |
| 4 | My AI Front Desk | $145 myaifrontdesk.com verified Jun 27, 2026 STALE | Free | Flat monthly |
| 5 | Rosie | $149 heyrosie.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Scale | Flat monthly |
| 6 | Phonely | $150 phonely.ai verified Sep 2, 2026 STALE | Pro | Flat monthly |
| 7 | Trillet | $159 trillet.ai verified Sep 2, 2026 STALE | Studio | Flat monthly |
| 8 | Upfirst | $159.95 upfirst.ai verified Sep 27, 2026 | Pro | Per call |
| 9 | AIRA | $159.95 getaira.io verified Sep 27, 2026 | Pro | Per call |
| 10 | NextPhone | $199 getnextphone.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Pro | Flat monthly |
| 11 | Dialzara | $239 dialzara.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Business Plus | Flat monthly |
| 12 | ServiceAgent | $349 serviceagent.ai verified Sep 27, 2026 | Franchise | Flat monthly |
| 13 | Smith.ai | $385 smith.ai verified Sep 9, 2026 | Pro — 150 calls/mo | Per call |
| 14 | Slang.ai | $399 slang.ai verified Sep 2, 2026 STALE | Core | Flat monthly |
| 15 | ReceptionHQ | $423 receptionhq.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | MessageExpress | Per call |
| 16 | Thoughtly | $500 thoughtly.com verified Sep 27, 2026 | Flex | Flat monthly |
| 17 | PATLive | $1,170 patlive.com verified Jun 10, 2026 STALE | Pro | Per minute |
Why a normalized number
A low pay-as-you-go base and a high flat managed service can land within dollars of each other at real volume. The sticker price is a marketing artifact; the cost at a fixed workload is the decision input. Change the workload and the ranking changes — which is exactly why we publish the method, the inputs, and the source behind every figure.