Cost calculator · scenario

What AI receptionists really cost at 500 inbound calls a month

At 500 inbound calls a month, the cheapest AI receptionist is Vapi at $75/mo effective, and the most expensive is PATLive at $2,970/mo — across 19 priced AI receptionists the median effective cost is $299/mo. Each figure normalizes per-minute, per-call and flat billing from the vendor's own sourced, dated pricing (as of 2026-06-10).

As of Jun 10, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below

Sticker prices hide the real bill: included usage, overage rates and billing model decide what you actually pay. Here is the effective monthly cost of every priced AI receptionist at this volume, ranked cheapest first — each figure linked to the vendor's own page and the date we verified it.

#AI receptionistEffective / moOn planVerified
1 Vapi $75 Build (Pay As You Go) 2026-09-02
2 Goodcall $79 Starter 2026-09-02
3 Retell AI $105 Pay As You Go 2026-09-02
4 Synthflow $135 Pay As You Go 2026-06-27
5 NextPhone $199 Pro 2026-09-02
6 Loman $199 Starter 2026-06-10
7 Bland $210 Start (Free) 2026-09-02
8 Trillet $267 Studio 2026-09-02
9 Rosie $299 Growth 2026-09-02
10 Upfirst $299 Scale 2026-09-02
11 AIRA $299 Scale 2026-09-02
12 My AI Front Desk $370 Free 2026-06-27
13 Phonely $375 Pro 2026-09-02
14 Slang.ai $399 Core 2026-09-02
15 Thoughtly $500 Flex 2026-09-02
16 Dialzara $524 Business Elite 2026-09-02
17 ReceptionHQ $1,020 MessageExpress 2026-09-02
18 Smith.ai $1,223 Starter (self-service) 2026-06-27
19 PATLive $2,970 Pro 2026-06-10

Need a different volume? Try 100, 200, 300, 1,000 , or the interactive cost calculator for your exact usage. Method + provenance on the methodology page.