Receptionist Picks
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The best AI answering services for business

Five AI answering services ranked against a human answering service: what callers get, what 200 calls a month costs, and what happens when the AI can't help.

At a glance

At a glance
ServiceBillingIncludedTry it freeBooks appointmentsTransfers live callsTexts callersHuman backup
Smith.ai$150/moPer call75 callsFree planYesYesYesYes
Abby Connect$164/moPer minute50 minFree trialYesYesYesYes
Rosie$49/moFlat rate250 minFree trialYesYesYesNot stated
Goodcall$79/moFlat rate–Free trialYesYesYesNot stated
Dialzara$29/moPer minute60 minFree trialYesYesYesNot stated

An answering service picks up when you can’t: after hours, at lunch, when every line is busy. For decades that meant a room of people reading your script. An AI answering service does the same job with a voice agent, for a fraction of the price, and sends you a summary of every call instead of a scribbled message.

This list is for owners weighing that switch. We ranked AI answering services on what matters when you’re replacing people: how they handle a caller they can’t help, whether they take messages and book appointments well, and what they cost at 200 calls a month at about 3 minutes each (600 minutes).

The benchmark: what people cost

Human answering services price by the minute. AnswerConnect starts at $350 for 200 minutes, and 600 minutes would run about $890 on its larger plan with overage (pricing). Ruby starts at $250 for 50 minutes, and its biggest published plan is $1,725 for 500 minutes (pricing). The AI-only services below cost a fraction of that. The two hybrids, which keep people on hand, sit closer to it.

1. Smith.ai: AI first, people behind it

Smith.ai sells an AI receptionist and live human receptionists side by side. That’s why it ranks first: when its AI can’t handle a call, it can pass the caller to Smith.ai’s live receptionists, with no extra fee when the AI starts the escalation (AI pricing).

At 200 calls the AI plan costs $385 (150 included calls plus 50 at $2.30) or $500 for 300 calls. That’s more than the AI-only services, but well under human answering. A free plan covers 25 calls a month, enough to hear it on real callers before paying. It isn’t HIPAA-compliant, and cancelling the AI plan needs 30 days’ notice. See Smith.ai vs Ruby for the head-to-head with a human service.

Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing with Free at $0 for 25 calls, Pro from $150 for 75 calls and Enterprise from $500 for 300 calls
Smith.ai's AI Receptionist planssmith.ai

2. Abby Connect: choose AI or a person per call type

Abby Connect sells AI and live receptionists in one plan. You decide which call types the AI takes, which go to a person, and which get both, and the AI can warm-transfer to a human receptionist on the same call (AI receptionist).

It’s the most expensive pick. An AI minute uses half an Abby Minute, which works out to about $1.38 to $1.65 per AI minute. At 600 AI minutes you’d pay roughly $899 on the Professional plan with overage. You’re paying for the option to put a person on any call, which matters if you’re moving off a human service gradually. There’s a free trial, no setup fee and no contract.

Abby Connect pricing: Starter $164 for 50 Abby Minutes, Essential $329 for 100, Professional $599 for 200 (most popular), Growth $1,380 for 500, each with a Start free trial button
Abby Connect's plans, one minute bucket for human and AI answeringabby.com

3. Rosie: closest to a classic answering service, for less

Rosie is built for what most answering-service customers actually use: answer every call, take a message, filter spam and robocalls, and send you the details by email, text or app. It answers in English and Spanish on every plan, and you can forward only after-hours and overflow calls (Rosie).

At 600 minutes, Scale at $149 covers you and adds calendar booking and live transfers to your team. If you only need messages taken, the $49 plan’s 250 minutes may be enough. Going over doesn’t add per-minute charges; it moves you up to the next plan.

Rosie pricing page with Professional at $49, Scale at $149 and Growth at $299 per month, each with a Start My Free Trial button
Rosie's three plans, billed monthlyheyrosie.com

4. Goodcall: the cheapest per caller

Goodcall charges by unique callers, not minutes, so long calls and repeat calls that month cost nothing extra. At 200 callers, its $129 Growth plan is the cheapest bill on this list (pricing). It takes leads, books into Google Calendar, and transfers callers to up to three people in turn, retrying busy lines.

It answers in English only, and a signed HIPAA BAA needs the $299 Scale plan or Enterprise.

Goodcall pricing page with Starter at $79 a month for 100 unique customers, Growth at $129 for 500 and Scale at $299 for 2,000, plus Enterprise
Goodcall's plans, priced by unique callers per monthgoodcall.com

5. Dialzara: low entry price, more languages

Dialzara starts at $29 for 60 minutes and answers in 10 languages (pricing). At 600 minutes you’d pay about $239 on Business Plus. Calendar sync and warm transfers start on the $99 plan; the $29 plan only takes messages and blind-transfers.

One thing to set up on day one: when your included minutes run out, callers go straight to voicemail unless you turn on auto-recharge. An answering service that stops answering defeats the point.

Dialzara pricing page with Business Lite $29, Business Pro $99, Business Plus $199, Business Elite $349 and Done for You! from $1,500 a month, each listing included minutes and overage per minute
Dialzara's inbound AI receptionist plansdialzara.com

Choosing between them

Start with what happens on a call the AI can’t finish. If the answer must be “a person takes it”, Smith.ai and Abby Connect are the two here that offer that from their own staff. With Rosie, Goodcall and Dialzara, plan on transfers to your own team or a message.

Then check the price model against your calls. Per-call billing (Smith.ai) and per-caller billing (Goodcall) favor long calls. Minute bundles (Rosie, Dialzara, Abby) favor short ones.

For a fuller look at the trade-offs, read AI receptionist vs answering service. If cost is the main question, see the cheapest AI receptionists.

Best picks

  1. Smith.ai

    Smith.ai, Inc.

    Our pick

    $150/mo

    AI receptionist billed per call, with a free 25-call plan, plus live North America-based receptionists from $300 a month.

    Strengths

    • Free AI plan with 25 real calls a month, not a time-limited trial
    • AI can hand a call to Smith.ai's live North America-based receptionists, with no fee when the AI starts the escalation
    • Bills per call, not per minute, with every price and overage rate published
    • Test the AI with simulated calls in Quality Studio before it answers real callers
    • Month to month, no setup fee, and a dedicated number included or keep your own

    Weaknesses

    • Not HIPAA-compliant: it can't handle calls involving protected health information
    • Extra AI calls cost more than included ones ($2.17 to $3.00 each)
    • Live receptionist plans are expensive, from $300 for 30 calls, and booking, recording and Spanish cost extra per call
    • Cancelling the AI Receptionist needs 30 days' notice
    • Hybrid AI-plus-human pricing needs a consultation
    Visit Smith.ai

  2. Abby Connect

    Abby Connect

    $164/mo

    A hybrid answering service: an AI receptionist and US-based live receptionists on one plan, from $164 a month. AI minutes count half.

    Strengths

    • AI and live US-based receptionists on one plan, chosen per call type, with warm transfer to a person on the same call
    • AI minutes count half, so a plan covers up to twice as many minutes when the AI answers
    • Published prices, a free trial, no setup fee and month-to-month terms
    • AI answers in English and Spanish, detecting the caller's language, and books into Google Calendar, Calendly and Acuity
    • Transcripts, AI summaries, sentiment scores and recordings for every call in the app and portal

    Weaknesses

    • Even all-AI answering costs about $1.38 to $1.65 a minute, well above most AI-only receptionists
    • Usage is billed by the minute, so long calls eat the plan quickly
    • HIPAA compliance is offered only for human answering, not the AI
    • Trial length isn't published, and human receptionists book appointments only through Calendly
    Visit Abby Connect

  3. Rosie

    Rally Commerce, Inc. (dba Rosie)

    $49/mo

    A self-serve AI answering service for small businesses that answers calls in English and Spanish, from $49 a month for 250 minutes.

    Strengths

    • Published, self-serve prices from $49 a month for 250 minutes, with a 7-day free trial
    • No per-minute overage: going over your minutes moves you to the next plan's flat price
    • No contract or cancellation fee; cancel from the admin anytime
    • Trains itself from your Google Business Profile and website, with setup in as little as 10 minutes
    • English and Spanish, call recordings, transcripts and summaries on every plan, plus iOS and Android apps

    Weaknesses

    • Calendar booking and live call transfers start on the $149 Scale plan; Professional only texts a booking link
    • Direct calendar integrations are limited to Google Calendar and Calendly
    • CRMs connect only through Zapier for now; direct CRM integrations are still in the works
    • Call recordings are deleted automatically after 30 days
    Visit Rosie

  4. Goodcall

    Goodcall

    $79/mo

    An AI phone agent you build by chatting with an assistant, billed per unique caller instead of per minute, from $79 a month for 100 callers.

    Strengths

    • Billed per unique caller, not per minute: long calls and callbacks from the same number that month cost nothing extra
    • Published prices from $79 a month, month to month, with no setup fee and a local number included
    • Set up and change the agent by telling Gabi in plain words, with practice calls and approval before anything goes live
    • Transfers to up to three people in turn, retrying busy lines
    • Books into Google Calendar and sends leads to Google Sheets, HighLevel or 10,000+ apps via Zapier

    Weaknesses

    • Answers in English only
    • Local US numbers only: no toll-free, Canadian or international numbers yet
    • You can't port your number in yourself; you forward your existing line instead
    • Your Goodcall number can send texts but can't receive replies yet
    • HIPAA use with a BAA needs the $299 Scale plan or Enterprise
    Visit Goodcall

  5. Dialzara

    Dialzara LLC

    $29/mo

    A self-serve AI receptionist that answers calls 24/7, books appointments and transfers calls, from $29 a month for 60 minutes, with a 7-day free trial.

    Strengths

    • Cheap to start and fully published: $29 a month for 60 minutes, with overage listed for every plan ($0.48 down to $0.35 a minute)
    • Self-serve signup with a 7-day free trial, no setup fee and no contract
    • Billed by the second of live talk time, with no rounding up to the minute
    • Answers in 10 languages on every plan and switches language mid-call
    • Blocks spam calls, books into Google Calendar or Outlook, and records and summarizes every call

    Weaknesses

    • The $29 Lite plan has no calendar sync and only blind transfers; booking and warm transfers start on the $99 Pro plan
    • When included minutes run out, callers go straight to voicemail unless you turn on auto-recharge or buy more
    • No named CRM integrations listed; CRMs connect through Zapier, Make or webhooks
    • No public HIPAA claim: healthcare practices are told to contact sales for a custom configuration
    • Outbound calling is a separate plan starting at $750 a month
    Visit Dialzara

Features

Features
Smith.aiAbby ConnectRosieGoodcallDialzara
Starts at$150/mo$164/mo$49/mo$79/mo$29/mo
BillingPer callPer minuteFlat rateFlat ratePer minute
Free planYesNoNoNoNo
Free trialNoFree trial on every plan; length not stated7 days on every plan; cancel before it ends to avoid being chargedFree demo agent you can build and test; you pay once you add a phone number7 days on every voice plan
Month to monthYesYesYesYesYes
Setup feeNoneNoneNot statedNoneNone
Phone number includedYesYesYesYesYes
Keep your numberYesYesYesYesYes
Transfers live callsYesYesYesYesYes
Books appointmentsYesYesYesYesYes
Texts callersYesYesYesYesYes
Call summariesYesYesYesYesYes
Call recordingYesYesYesYesYes
Outbound callsYesYesNot statedNot statedYes
Spam filteringYesYesYesYesYes
Human backupYesYesNot statedNot statedNot stated
HIPAANoYesNot statedYesNot stated
LanguagesEnglish, SpanishEnglish, SpanishEnglish, SpanishEnglishEnglish, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, Dutch
CalendarsCalendly, Acuity Scheduling, Appointy, HarmonizelyGoogle Calendar, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Microsoft OutlookGoogle Calendar, CalendlyGoogle CalendarGoogle Calendar, Microsoft Outlook
IntegrationsSalesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow, Clio Manage, MyCase, CallRail, Zapier, MakeSalesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, QuickBooks, Square, Zendesk, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Contacts, Notion, Airtable, Asana, monday.com, TrelloZapier, ShopifyGoogle Sheets, HighLevel, ZapierZapier, Make
IndustriesLaw firms, Home services, Software and SaaS, Marketing agencies, General contractors, Finance, Hiring and staffing, InsuranceLegal, Home services, HVAC, Plumbing, Business services, Financial services, Healthcare, Beauty and wellness, Dental, Chiropractic, Accounting, Real estate, Property managementAny businessAny businessAny business

Sources

Smith.ai

  1. Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
  2. Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
  3. Smith.ai Hybrid pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
  4. Smith.ai AI ReceptionistChecked Nov 8, 2026
  5. Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists (FAQ on HIPAA, outbound calls, keeping your number)Checked Nov 8, 2026
  6. Smith.ai bilingual answeringChecked Nov 8, 2026
  7. Smith.ai integrationsChecked Nov 8, 2026

Abby Connect

  1. Abby Connect pricing (plans, Abby Minutes, overage)Checked Nov 8, 2026
  2. Abby Connect: AI ReceptionistChecked Nov 8, 2026
  3. Abby Connect homepage (human, AI or both)Checked Nov 8, 2026
  4. Abby Connect FAQChecked Nov 8, 2026
  5. Abby Connect: Outbound callsChecked Nov 8, 2026
  6. AbbyGo on the App StoreChecked Nov 8, 2026
  7. AbbyGo on Google PlayChecked Nov 8, 2026
  8. Abby Connect: Abby vs Conversational ("Included with Abby": Abby hosts your business number)Checked Nov 8, 2026

Rosie

  1. Rosie pricing and FAQChecked Nov 8, 2026
  2. Rosie homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
  3. Rosie: dental answering service (new Rosie number at signup, call forwarding)Checked Nov 8, 2026
  4. Rosie Shopify integrationChecked Nov 8, 2026
  5. Rosie bilingual answering serviceChecked Nov 8, 2026
  6. Rosie terms of serviceChecked Nov 8, 2026

Goodcall

  1. Goodcall homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
  2. Goodcall pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
  3. Goodcall FAQ: pricing, billing, phone numbers and HIPAAChecked Nov 8, 2026
  4. How Goodcall worksChecked Nov 8, 2026

Dialzara

  1. Dialzara homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
  2. Dialzara pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
  3. Dialzara FAQsChecked Nov 8, 2026
  4. Dialzara featuresChecked Nov 8, 2026