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How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost in 2026? Real Pricing Compared
AI receptionist pricing in 2026, verified from vendor pricing pages: Upfirst from $24.95/mo, Frontdesk $99/mo, Goodcall from $79/mo, Smith.ai free to $150/mo. Compare per-call vs per-minute billing and what drives the real bill.
How we price-checked this guide: every plan, price, and overage rate below was read from the vendor’s own pricing page on October 13, 2026. Prices change — confirm on the vendor’s site before you buy. This page contains affiliate links; see our affiliate disclosure.
The short answer
An AI receptionist — software that answers your business phone line, talks to callers, books appointments, and takes messages around the clock — costs $25 to $300 per month for most small businesses in 2026. Entry plans start at $24.95/month (Upfirst, 30 calls) and a free tier exists (Smith.ai, 25 calls/month). What you actually pay depends less on the sticker price and more on the billing model: per-call, per-minute, and per-unique-caller plans behave very differently at the same call volume.
The four pricing models, explained
| Model | How you’re billed | Vendors using it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per call | Flat rate per answered call, regardless of length | Upfirst, Smith.ai | Short calls; spiky volume |
| Per minute | Talk time metered, usually via credits | Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk) | Short, predictable calls |
| Per unique caller | One price per distinct phone number per month, unlimited minutes | Goodcall | Long calls, repeat callers |
| Bundled minutes | Flat monthly fee for a minute allowance, overage after | OplyAI | Steady, known volume |
The model matters more than the monthly number. A $79 plan can beat a $25 plan — or lose badly — depending on how your phone actually behaves. We’ll prove it with math below.
Real 2026 pricing, vendor by vendor
All figures verified on each vendor’s own pricing page, October 13, 2026.
| Vendor | Entry plan | What's included | Overage | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | $24.95/mo (Starter) | 30 calls; scales to 600 calls on $299/mo Scale plan | $1.50/call on Starter, down to $0.70/call on Scale | 14 days, no credit card |
| Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk) | $99/mo ($79/mo annual) | 200 voice min, 400 SMS, 100 chatbot convos, 300 form submissions, 20 outbound calls/day | $0.25/voice minute via credits; auto-reload $10 per 1,000 credits | Free $0 tier (limited) |
| Goodcall | $79/mo (Starter) | 100 unique customers/mo (~150 calls); unlimited minutes | 79¢ per extra unique customer (26¢/15¢ on higher plans) | Free demo agent |
| Smith.ai (AI) | Free ($0) | 25 calls/mo; Pro from $150/mo (75–300 calls) | $3.00/call on free tier; ~$2.00–$2.50 on Pro | Free tier is the trial |
| OplyAI | $349/mo + $1,000 setup (Starter) | 400 minutes, 24/7 with after-hours included | Higher tiers: 600 min ($599/mo), 750 min ($899/mo) | Demo line published |
A few things worth noticing in that table:
- Upfirst is the cheapest way in at $24.95/month, and it never bills for spam, robocalls, or hang-ups under 15 seconds — stated on their own site. For a quiet line, that’s hard to beat.
- Frontdesk bundles the most channels — voice plus web chat, SMS, forms, and a CRM on every plan. You’re paying for a front office, not just a phone answerer.
- Goodcall’s model is the outlier: unlimited minutes means a 20-minute emergency intake call costs the same as a 30-second wrong number. If your calls run long, this is the plan shape to compare everything else against.
- Smith.ai is the only one with a real free tier (25 calls/month) and the only one with human backup — a live North America-based receptionist can take over a call the AI can’t finish.
- OplyAI is this site’s operator’s own product (disclosure) — priced as a done-for-you service with setup, not self-serve software.
What 100 calls a month actually costs
Sticker prices lie. Here’s our estimate for the same month — 100 answered calls, averaging 3 minutes each (300 minutes total) — on each vendor’s cheapest plan that fits. Our calculation from the verified plan terms above; your mix will differ.
| Vendor | Plan used | Math | Estimated month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | Premium $59.95 (90 calls) + 10 overage | $59.95 + 10 × $1.00 | ~$70 |
| Goodcall | Starter $79 (100 unique customers) | Flat, unlimited minutes | $79 |
| Frontdesk | Business-in-a-Box $99 + 100 extra min | $99 + (100 × $0.25) | ~$124 |
| Smith.ai | Pro $150 (75 calls) + 25 overage | $150 + 25 × $2.50 | ~$213 |
Same 100 calls, $70 to $213. The cheapest plan on paper (Upfirst’s $24.95 Starter) isn’t even the right comparison at this volume — you’d blow past 30 calls and pay $1.50 each. Estimate your real volume first, then compare. That’s the whole game.
What drives the price up (and the hidden costs)
- Overage rates, not base rates. The difference between vendors lives in the overage column. Smith.ai’s $3.00/call overage on the free tier means a busy month gets expensive fast; Goodcall’s 79¢-per-caller overage barely moves the needle.
- What counts as billable. Upfirst doesn’t bill spam or sub-15-second calls. Smith.ai auto-filters 20M+ known spam numbers and lets you strike up to 10% of calls per cycle. If your line gets a lot of junk, this matters more than the plan price.
- Minutes vs calls. On per-minute billing (Frontdesk), a chatty caller costs you. On per-call billing (Upfirst, Smith.ai), a 12-minute intake costs the same as a 1-minute message. On Goodcall, neither matters — only distinct callers count.
- Setup and build. Most vendors are self-serve with no setup fee. Done-for-you services (OplyAI’s $1,000–$2,500 setup) charge for building the agent, knowledge base, and calendar rules for you. Worth it if you’d never configure it yourself; wasted if you would.
- Add-ons. Website chat, CRM sync depth, extra numbers, and live-agent handoff sometimes sit on higher tiers. Check what’s actually in the plan you’re buying.
AI receptionist vs. a human answering service
For context: a traditional human answering service runs about $1.50–$1.90 per minute (Goodcall’s own pricing page), and Smith.ai’s own live-receptionist plans run $300/month for 30 calls up to $2,100/month for 300 calls. AI receptionists run roughly a tenth of that. The trade-off — what a human handles that AI doesn’t — is covered in our AI receptionist vs. answering service guide.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly counts as a billable call or minute — and what’s excluded (spam, hang-ups, short calls)?
- What happens at overage: throttled, auto-charged, or cut off?
- Is after-hours and weekend coverage included, or is 24/7 a separate tier?
- Who builds the agent — you, or them — and what does that cost?
- Month-to-month or contract? What’s the cancellation notice? (Smith.ai, for example, requires 30 days’ notice.)
- Can the AI transfer a live call to you, and does that cost extra?
The bottom line
Don’t shop the monthly number — shop the overage math against your real call volume. Count your calls and estimate their length for one typical month, then run the table above with your numbers. For most small businesses, the decision comes down to: Upfirst for the lowest entry cost, Goodcall for long or repeat calls, Frontdesk if you want chat/SMS/CRM bundled in, Smith.ai if you want to test free or need a human safety net.
Next: Upfirst vs. My AI Front Desk, head-to-head · AI receptionist vs. answering service · Best AI receptionist for plumbers
Frequently asked questions
What is the typical monthly cost of an AI receptionist in 2026?
Entry-level AI receptionist plans run $25–$99/month. Upfirst starts at $24.95/month for 30 calls, Goodcall at $79/month for 100 unique callers, Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk) at $99/month for 200 voice minutes, and Smith.ai offers a free tier with 25 calls/month. Mid-range plans with a few hundred calls run $130–$300/month.
Do AI receptionists charge per minute or per call?
Both models exist, plus a third: per unique caller. Upfirst and Smith.ai bill per call ($0.70–$3.00 depending on plan and volume). Frontdesk bills per minute ($0.25/min overage) via a credit system. Goodcall bills per unique customer per month ($79 for 100) with unlimited minutes. The right model depends on your call volume and average call length.
Are there setup fees for AI receptionists?
Most vendors we checked charge no setup fee: Upfirst lists no setup fees and no contracts, and Smith.ai is month-to-month. OplyAI is the exception in our data set, with a one-time setup fee ($1,000–$2,500 by plan) for a done-for-you build. Always confirm setup terms on the pricing page before you buy.
What happens when I go over my plan’s included calls or minutes?
It depends on the vendor. Upfirst charges per extra call ($1.50 down to $0.70 depending on plan). Frontdesk auto-reloads overage credits at $10 per 1,000 credits (voice costs 25 credits/minute). Goodcall charges per extra unique customer (79¢ on Starter, less on higher plans). Smith.ai charges $3.00 per extra call on the free tier.
Is there really a free AI receptionist?
Smith.ai offers a genuinely free tier: 25 calls per month, then $3.00 per call after that. Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk) also has a $0 plan with limited usage across its full platform. Both are usable for testing on a low-volume line, but neither covers a busy business line for free.
How often do AI receptionist prices change?
Often enough that you should verify on the vendor’s pricing page before signing. We re-check every price in this guide against the vendor’s own site; the figures here were verified October 13, 2026.