AI Receptionists · buyer questions · updated Sep 29, 2026

Direct answers to ai receptionists buyer questions

One page per question buyers actually ask — each opens with a direct, self-contained answer computed from our index of 29 AI receptionists, then shows the real data behind it with every figure linked to its source.

How much does an AI receptionist cost?

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 20 priceable vendors is $159.95/mo. Sticker prices start near $0 pay-as-you-go but the real cost depends on call volume.

Read the answer →
What is the cheapest AI receptionist under $50/month?

17 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publish an entry plan under $50/mo, including 6 with a genuine $0 free tier. The cheapest paid entry is KaiCalls at $10/mo. These are sticker prices with small included quotas — usage beyond the quota is billed extra, so the real cost rises with volume.

Read the answer →
What is the cheapest flat-rate AI answering service?

The cheapest flat-rate AI answering service is My AI Front Desk at $0/mo on its Free plan — a fixed monthly fee with no per-minute or per-call usage billing. Flat plans bill the same regardless of call volume, so they win once monthly call counts climb past usage-based platforms.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionists have no per-minute fees?

6 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publish a flat plan with no per-minute or per-call usage fee — the monthly bill is the same at any call volume: Vapi, Hey Jodie, Goodcall, NextPhone, Slang.ai, Thoughtly. The cheapest is Vapi from $29/mo. Some still cap a non-usage dimension (for example unique customers per month), which we note per vendor rather than calling it "unlimited."

Read the answer →
What is the cheapest per-minute AI voice platform?

5 of 29 tracked platforms bill per talk-minute. The lowest published voice rate is $0.05/min (Vapi). These developer-style platforms publish a base voice rate; for several, the LLM, speech and telephony are billed on top, so the all-in per-minute cost is higher than the headline figure unless the vendor states it is all-inclusive.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionists bill per call?

5 of 29 tracked AI receptionists bill per call: a base fee covers a set number of calls, then each extra call is charged at a published per-call rate. They are Smith.ai, AIRA, Upfirst, ReceptionHQ, Simple Phones, entry pricing from $0/mo (Smith.ai). Per-call billing is predictable when call length is short, but a long call costs the same as a short one — minute-based plans can be cheaper for lengthy calls.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionists have a free tier?

6 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publish a $0 plan: 2 give a fixed free monthly allowance (for example My AI Front Desk 20 min, Phonely 100 min) and 4 are pay-as-you-go developer platforms that bill only for usage. Free tiers are built for testing; allowances are small, so production use moves to a paid plan quickly.

Read the answer →
AI receptionist vs human answering service: which is cheaper?

At 200 calls/mo (3 min each), the cheapest AI receptionist runs about $42/mo and the AI median is $159.95/mo, while the cheapest priceable human answering service (ReceptionHQ) starts at $423/mo. Human services bill per receptionist-minute, so their cost climbs steeply with volume where AI stays flat.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionists are HIPAA compliant?

Of 29 tracked AI receptionists, 6 publicly state HIPAA support and 4 also offer a signed BAA (Phonely, Vapi, Bland, Retell AI). The rest say nothing about HIPAA on their public pages — we record that silence as "not published," not as "no," because many will sign a BAA on request.

Read the answer →
What is the cheapest HIPAA-compliant AI receptionist?

At 200 calls/mo, the cheapest AI receptionist that publicly states HIPAA support is Retell AI at $42/mo with a signed BAA. 3 of the 6 HIPAA vendors also offer a signed BAA, which is the document a medical or dental office actually needs before any protected health information is handled.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist books into Google Calendar?

7 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name Google Calendar as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that books appointments straight into Google Calendar: Rosie, Upfirst, Trillet, AIRA, Kalyvox, KaiCalls, AptaBook. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist integrates with Calendly?

1 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name Calendly as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that books appointments through Calendly: Smith.ai. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist integrates with Clio?

5 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name Clio as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that syncs to the Clio legal practice-management system: Smith.ai, Upfirst, Ruby, Abby Connect, KaiCalls. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist integrates with HubSpot?

7 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name HubSpot as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that pushes captured leads into the HubSpot CRM: Synthflow, Upfirst, Trillet, AIRA, AnswerConnect, KaiCalls, AptaBook. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist integrates with Salesforce?

5 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name Salesforce as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that syncs callers and leads into Salesforce: Synthflow, Upfirst, AIRA, AnswerConnect, KaiCalls. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionist integrates with GoHighLevel?

4 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly name GoHighLevel as a supported integration — i.e. an agent that connects to the GoHighLevel agency CRM: Synthflow, Upfirst, Trillet, AIRA. Each row links to the vendor page where the integration is listed and the date we verified it.

Read the answer →
What is the best AI receptionist for restaurants?

2 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly integrate with restaurant reservation or POS systems (OpenTable, SevenRooms, Toast, SpotOn, Square): Slang.ai, Loman. These are the vendors built for restaurant front-of-house — taking reservations and answering during service.

Read the answer →
Which AI receptionists are bilingual (English/Spanish)?

14 of 29 tracked AI receptionists publicly state bilingual (typically English/Spanish, some broader multilingual) support. Coverage is common, but only some include it at the base tier — others charge for Spanish as a paid add-on — so confirm whether it is bundled on the plan you are pricing rather than an extra line item.

Read the answer →
Goodcall vs Smith.ai: which AI receptionist is cheaper?

At 200 calls/mo (3 min each), Goodcall costs $79/mo and Smith.ai costs $385/mo — a $306/mo gap, with Goodcall cheaper at this volume. Goodcall bills a flat monthly fee and Smith.ai bills per call, so the ranking can flip as call volume changes.

Read the answer →
Upfirst vs AIRA: which AI receptionist is cheaper?

Upfirst and AIRA publish byte-identical pricing — the same four per-call tiers, the same included-call quotas and the same per-call overage rates — so neither is cheaper than the other. Both resolve to the same $159.95/mo at 200 calls/mo. The two appear to share a pricing engine or white-label lineage; we record each from its own source rather than treat them as one. Choose on integrations and language support, not price.

Read the answer →