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What an AI receptionist actually costs in 2026 — across 11 providers, with hidden fees, the human-vs-AI math, and the break-even line for your business.
Most small-business AI receptionists cost $29 to $999 per month, depending on whether you want per-minute usage, a flat-rate plan with included interactions, or a hybrid with human backup.
Plans that look cheap usually hit you with per-minute overages and thin feature sets. Flat-rate plans like BizRnR Spark ($99/mo, 100 interactions included) are priced above the commodity band for a reason — they include the full lead pipeline (booking, SMS follow-up, CRM) rather than just answering the phone.
Every provider uses one (or a blend):
For most service-based small businesses with 100+ calls a month, flat-rate plans with included interactions end up cheapest once you factor overage.
| Provider | Starting price | Included calls | HIPAA | Setup fee | Contract | Free trial, no card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BizRnRthis site | $99 / mo | 100 incl. | Yes | $0–$999 | Yes | Yes |
| Smith.ai | $95 / mo | No | addon | $95 | Yes | No |
| Ruby Receptionists | $500 / mo | No | addon | None | No | No |
| Rosie | $49 / mo | partial | No | None | Yes | Yes |
| Goodcall | $59 / mo | partial | No | None | Yes | Yes |
| Dialzara | $29 / mo | No | No | None | Yes | Yes |
| Synthflow | $29 / mo | No | addon | None | Yes | Yes |
| Air AI | Contact sales | partial | addon | Varies | No | No |
| Bland AI | $0.09 / min | No | No | None | Yes | Yes |
| Retell AI | $0.07 / min | No | No | None | Yes | Yes |
| Vapi | $0.05 / min | No | No | None | Yes | Yes |
Competitor pricing from public pages as of April 2026. “Partial” = included minutes up to a fair-use cap. See every head-to-head at /vs.
A full-time human receptionist costs roughly $2,900 to $4,100 per month all-in (salary, benefits, payroll tax, office space, equipment). They work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. After hours they don’t answer. On sick days they don’t answer.
An AI receptionist at the flat-rate tier costs $99 to $999 per month. It answers calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at the same quality every time. It does not take PTO. It does not call in sick.
Cost delta is 75–95% cheaper for AI — and the coverage is 3× as many hours. For most small businesses under 20 employees, AI is the right default.
Smith.ai charges $95 just to turn the service on. BizRnR Spark has no setup fee. Ignite includes a one-time $999 setup.
$0.50 to $1.50+ per extra minute on tiered plans. Plans with included interactions and low overage (like BizRnR at $0.20/interaction) minimize this risk.
Healthcare needs $50–$150/mo extra on most providers. Verify it’s included before signing.
Some tools charge to connect calendar or CRM. BizRnR includes Google, Microsoft, iCal, Zapier, direct CRM hooks.
Ruby and some enterprise tools require annual contracts with early-termination fees. BizRnR is month-to-month.
Use our Missed-Call ROI Calculator to plug in your own numbers.
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