Short answer: the AI receptionists we compared cost between $49 and $300 a month, and a few newer services advertise plans under $30 for a small number of calls. The cheapest plans cap your minutes or callers, flat plans with unlimited calls start around $199, and live receptionist services cost $250 to $300 a month for a small number of minutes or calls.
Below are real prices from each vendor’s pricing page, checked on October 27, 2026. Tradellen makes this page and is included in the list; the sources are linked at the bottom.
Prices at a glance
| Service | Cheapest plan | What it includes | When you need more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosie | $49/mo | 250 minutes | Next plan $149 for 1,000 minutes |
| Tradellen | $69/mo | Receptionist plus field service software, teams up to 10 | Priced by team size, not minutes |
| Goodcall | $79/mo | 100 unique customers | 79¢ per extra customer |
| NextPhone | $199/mo | Unlimited inbound calls | No overage |
| Ruby | $250/mo | 50 minutes, live people | Next plan $395 for 100 minutes |
| Smith.ai | $300/mo | 30 calls, AI plus live agents | $11.50 per extra call |
Lowest monthly plan on each vendor’s site on October 27, 2026, before tax and annual discounts.
The three ways AI receptionists charge
By the minute. Rosie and the human services work this way. It’s cheap when calls are short and few, and the bill grows with every long call.
By the caller. Goodcall charges per unique customer each month, so a regular who calls three times counts once.
Flat. NextPhone charges one price with unlimited inbound calls. Tradellen prices by team size and includes the receptionist with the rest of its software.
What the cheapest plans leave out
Entry plans get you started, and some features sit one tier up. On Rosie, booking straight onto your calendar and live call transfers start on the $149 Scale plan; the $49 plan takes messages and texts callers a link to book. On NextPhone, CRM integrations start on the $299 Growth plan. Before comparing prices, list what you need on day one: booking, transfers for emergencies, and where the booked job has to end up.
AI receptionist, human receptionist or answering service
A full-time receptionist is the most personal option, but it’s a salary, and nights and weekends are still uncovered. A traditional answering service costs less, but it usually takes a message you read the next morning and can’t book the job. An AI receptionist answers every call at once, 24/7, and can book the appointment while the caller is still on the line. Live receptionist services sit in between: Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 minutes and Smith.ai at $300 a month for 30 calls.
Work out what missed calls cost you
Three numbers you already know give you a rough budget: your average job value, how many calls you get a week, and how many go unanswered. As an example only, a $340 job missed five times a week is about $1,700 a week going to a competitor. Plug in your own numbers and compare the result with the prices above.
When the receptionist comes with your software
Most receptionists are a separate bill on top of the software you schedule and invoice in. Tradellen includes its AI receptionist, Aria, in every plan of its field service software: $69 a month for teams of up to 10, $149 for up to 50 and $299 with no team limit. There’s no setup fee, no contract and a 7-day free trial. If you pay for scheduling software and a receptionist separately today, add the two bills together before you compare.
Related: the best AI receptionists for home service businesses, AI receptionist vs answering service and what a missed call costs.
Sources
Every price and feature on this page was read from the vendor’s own site on October 27, 2026.