Independent research · no sponsored rankings
AI receptionists, compared on published facts
An independent directory of AI receptionists and live answering services. We normalize pricing to the same call volumes, link every fact to the vendor's own page with the date we checked it, and say plainly what we have and have not tested.
Disclosure: We currently have no affiliate or paid relationships with any vendor listed here, and all vendor links are ordinary links. If that changes, affected links will be labeled “Paid link” right next to them. Details.
Vendor directory
| Vendor | Type | Billing | Entry price | Live backup | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | AI | Per call | $24.95/mo | Not advertised (AI with warm transfer to your team) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| My AI Front Desk (Frontdesk) | AI | Per minute | $99/mo | Not advertised | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Rosie | AI | Per minute | $49/mo | Not advertised (transfers to your team) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| NextPhone | AI | Flat (unlimited calls) | $199/mo | Not advertised (transfers to your team) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Goodcall | AI | Per unique caller | $79/mo | Not advertised | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Dialzara | AI | Per minute | $29/mo | Not advertised (transfers to your team) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI + live backup | Per call | Free tier | Yes (live agent escalation) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Live humans | Per call | $300/mo | Yes (fully live) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Posh Virtual Receptionists | Live humans | Per minute | $65/mo | Yes (fully live) | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Ruby | Live humans | Per minute | Not published | Yes (fully live) | Oct 21, 2026 |
Comparisons and guides
- AI receptionist pricing index (50 / 100 / 200 calls)
- AI receptionist vs live answering service
- Upfirst vs Rosie: per-call vs per-minute billing
- NextPhone vs Smith.ai AI Receptionist
- AI receptionists for law firms
- Best options under 50 calls a month
- Best options at 200+ calls a month
- Smith.ai alternatives
- Ruby alternatives
- How to test an AI receptionist: 12 scripted calls
- Glossary
How this site works
Pages are research-based: we read vendors' public pricing and documentation and compute comparable costs. Where we offer a recommendation it is labeled as editorial opinion. We do not publish star ratings, invented reviews or test results we did not produce. Read the methodology.
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we will correct it.