Which AI answering service should you pick?
The best AI answering service depends on your calls and your budget. An AI answering service picks up your phone with a computer voice, takes a message, answers common questions and books appointments, day and night. This guide compares 13 services on price, cost per call and fit. Here is what suits each kind of business.
- If you run a small business on a tight budget: Smith.ai has a free AI plan for 25 calls a month, Beside Phone is $29 a month, Reception AI is $29 with a 14-day free trial and Rosie is $49.
- If you want a steady bill: Goodcall charges by the number of different customers, from $79 a month, and never counts minutes.
- If every caller should reach a person: Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 minutes, Abby Connect at $164 for 50 Abby Minutes and Smith.ai live agents at $300 for 30 calls.
- If you run a clinic or medical practice: Assort Health is built for healthcare practices, and Abby Connect offers HIPAA options on answering by people.
- If you run a law firm: Smith.ai, Ruby and Abby Connect all put people on the line or behind the AI.
- If you run a trades business, a restaurant, a dental office or a car dealership: Avoca, Slang.ai, Arini and Numa are each built for one of those.
Prices are US dollars as of 21 October 2026 and can change. Confirm the price with the company before you buy.
Who is this AI answering service guide for?
This guide is for owners and office managers who miss calls and want to know what an answering service costs. It compares 13 services: Smith.ai, Reception AI, Goodcall, Rosie, Beside, My AI Front Desk, Ruby, Abby Connect, Slang.ai, Avoca, Assort Health, Numa and Arini. Each one has its price, free trial, what it does and who it fits.
For a wider list that also covers scoring and more tools, see every AI receptionist service side by side.
How much does each AI answering service cost?
| Service | Who answers | Free plan or trial | Entry plan, billed monthly | A larger plan, billed monthly | Billed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai (AI first) | AI | Free plan, 25 calls | Pro $150 (75 calls) | $500 (300 calls) | Calls |
| Smith.ai (live agents) | People | 30-day money-back guarantee | $300 (30 calls) | $2,100 (300 calls) | Calls |
| Reception AI | AI | 14-day free trial | Basic $29 (75 minutes) | Premium $199 (1,000 minutes) | Minutes |
| Goodcall | AI | Free demo agent | Starter $79 (100 customers) | Scale $299 (2,000 customers) | Unique customers |
| Rosie | AI | 7-day free trial | Professional $49 (250 minutes) | Growth $299 (2,000 minutes) | Minutes |
| Beside | AI | 7-day trial on Unlimited | Baseline $29 (30 AI calls) | Unlimited $99 (no call limit) | Calls, then flat |
| My AI Front Desk | AI | 7-day free trial | $99 (200 minutes) | Custom | Minutes |
| Ruby | People, AI optional | Ask the company | $250 (50 minutes) | $1,725 (500 minutes) | Minutes |
| Abby Connect | People, AI or both | Free trial on every plan | Starter $164 (50 Abby Minutes) | Growth $1,380 (500 Abby Minutes) | Abby Minutes |
| Slang.ai | AI (restaurants) | Ask the company | Quote only | Quote only | Quote |
| Avoca | AI (home services) | Demo | Quote only | Quote only | Quote |
| Assort Health | AI (healthcare) | Demo | Quote only | Quote only | Quote |
| Numa | AI (car dealerships) | Demo | Quote only | Quote only | Quote |
| Arini | AI (dental) | Demo | Quote only | Quote only | Quote |
Prices are US dollars, as of 21 October 2026. Billed yearly, Reception AI is $24, $66 and $166 a month, Rosie is $41, $124 and $249 and My AI Front Desk is $79. Smith.ai also has a mixed AI and live plan from about $2.50 a call. Reception AI prices are before tax. Confirm the price with the company before you buy.
What does one answered call cost?
Services count use in five ways: calls, minutes, unique customers, Abby Minutes and a flat monthly fee. To compare them, this table turns each plan into a cost per call, using a working figure of 3 minutes a call. Prices are as of 21 October 2026.
| Service | Entry plan | Calls it covers | Cost per call | Larger plan | Cost per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai (AI first) | Pro $150 | 75 | $2.00 | $500 (300 calls) | $1.67 |
| Smith.ai (live agents) | $300 | 30 | $10.00 | $2,100 (300 calls) | $7.00 |
| Reception AI | Basic $29 | 25 | $1.16 | Premium $199 (about 333 calls) | $0.60 |
| Goodcall (every call a new customer) | Starter $79 | 100 | $0.79 | Scale $299 (2,000 customers) | $0.15 |
| Rosie | Professional $49 | about 83 | $0.59 | Growth $299 (about 667 calls) | $0.45 |
| Beside | Baseline $29 | 30 | $0.97 | Unlimited $99 (at 300 calls) | $0.33 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 | about 67 | $1.49 | Custom | Ask the company |
| Ruby | $250 | about 17 | $15.00 | $1,725 (about 167 calls) | $10.35 |
| Abby Connect (answered by people) | Starter $164 | about 17 | $9.84 | Growth $1,380 (about 167 calls) | $8.28 |
| Abby Connect (answered by AI) | Starter $164 | about 33 | $4.92 | Growth $1,380 (about 333 calls) | $4.14 |
A cost per call here is the plan price divided by the calls the plan covers, so it holds only when you use the whole plan. Extra calls cost more. Goodcall counts a repeat caller once, so its figure is a worst case. Quote-only services are not in this table.
Which AI answering services suit most small businesses?
These six answer with AI. Prices are in US dollars, billed monthly, unless a card names yearly billing.
Smith.ai
- Free plan overage is $3.00 a call.
- Live plan overage is $8.50 to $11.50 a call.
Reception AI
- Basic takes 1 call at a time.
- Priority support starts on the Plus plan.
Goodcall
- Each new caller counts, so costs follow customers.
- Starter keeps 30 days of call history.
Rosie
- Calendar booking and live transfers start on Scale.
- Website texting is a $50 monthly add-on.
Beside
- Baseline has no trial and bills at checkout.
- Each extra phone line costs $4.99 a month.
My AI Front Desk
- The plan includes 200 voice minutes a month.
- Extra use runs on monthly credits.
Which answering services put a live person on the line?
These two use trained receptionists, and both can add AI. Smith.ai also has live agent plans, covered above.
Ruby
- Plans count receptionist minutes, not calls.
- Larger plans cost less per minute.
Abby Connect
- HIPAA options apply to answering by people only.
- Extra minutes bill at your plan's rate.
Which AI answering services are built for one industry?
These four are made for a single kind of business. Each gives its price after a demo or a quote.
Slang.ai
- Core includes bilingual support, and Premium adds more languages.
Avoca
- Pricing is given after a demo.
Numa
- Pricing is given after a demo.
Arini
- Pricing is given after a demo.
Assort Health: best for healthcare practices
Assort Health is a healthcare-specific AI voice agent for practices that need more than basic call answering. Its platform is designed to guide patients through referrals, scheduling, intake and follow-up, with tools for appointment management, outbound outreach, routing and triage, insurance and eligibility, and fax and referral automation.
It is worth considering when patient access is the priority: Assort says its AI is trained on more than 250 million healthcare interactions and can handle complex care protocols. Visit Assort Health for details.
Pricing is quote only, and the first step is a demo.
Which AI answering service fits your business?
Pick by the kind of business you run. These are the most common cases.
A clinic or medical practice
Look at Assort Health, which is built for healthcare practices and described above. Abby Connect offers HIPAA compliance options on answering by people. For more options, see the AI answering service guide for medical offices.
A law firm
Look at Smith.ai, Ruby or Abby Connect, where people answer or back up the AI. Smith.ai live agents are $300 a month for 30 calls and Ruby is $250 for 50 minutes. The legal answering service comparison goes deeper, and the AI call answering for law firms guide covers the AI side.
A plumbing, HVAC or other trades business
Look at Avoca, which serves HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing and other trades, or at Rosie ($49 a month) and Goodcall ($79) for a small crew. See the AI answering for HVAC and home services, plumbing answering options and contractor call answering guides.
A restaurant
Look at Slang.ai. It connects with OpenTable, SevenRooms and Yelp, and handles VIP guests and private event leads.
A dental office
Look at Arini, which is built for dental practices. The dental answering service guide compares more choices.
A car dealership
Look at Numa, which is built for dealerships and handles calls and messages in one place.
A real estate or property management company
Look at Beside, which connects to Follow Up Boss, HubSpot and Salesforce, or at Smith.ai. See the real estate answering options and property management call answering guides.
An online shop
Look at My AI Front Desk, which covers calls, web chat and text messages in one plan, or at Beside, which is a business phone with an AI receptionist.
A solo owner on a tight budget
Start with the Smith.ai free plan (25 calls a month), Reception AI (a 14-day free trial, then $29) or Beside ($29). Rosie is $49 with a 7-day free trial.
A business that needs English and Spanish
Rosie answers in English and Spanish on every call, Abby Connect and Ruby offer English and Spanish answering, and Reception AI covers more than 70 languages. Slang.ai Premium covers 97. The English and Spanish answering guide compares more.
How is an AI answering service different from a live answering service?
Both pick up your calls. The difference is who answers and how you pay.
- Who answers. An AI answering service uses a computer voice that follows the instructions and knowledge base you give it. A live service uses trained receptionists. A person can use judgement on an unusual or upsetting call.
- When and how many. AI answers on the first ring, day and night. Rosie handles several calls at once, and Reception AI takes 1, 3 or 10 calls at once on Basic, Plus and Premium.
- What it costs. In the table above, AI plans cost about $0.15 to $2.00 a call at most services, and Abby Connect's AI is $4.14 to $4.92 a call. Plans answered by people cost about $7.00 to $15.00. A mix is possible: Smith.ai has a mixed plan, and Abby Connect and Ruby add AI to their people.
- What it can do. Most AI services take messages, answer questions, book appointments and route calls. Live services do the same and can handle tasks that need a person.
- Answering service or AI receptionist. An answering service takes a message and passes it on. An AI receptionist also answers questions, books appointments and routes calls. Today the two names mostly describe the same product, and this guide uses both.
For a closer look at both sides, read AI or human on the phone, AI that hands calls to a person and live and AI virtual receptionists.
Which AI answering service answers demo questions, books appointments and routes calls?
Reception AI is set up for this. You give it a knowledge base, such as your website, product documents and a list of demo and sales questions, and it answers from them on every call, 24/7 in more than 70 languages. The trial and Basic plans allow 3 knowledge sources, Plus allows 5 and Premium allows 7. It books appointments through its calendar connections and uses team-first routing to send calls to your own staff.
For calls that must reach a specific person, Smith.ai answers with AI and passes live callers to its live agents, and Abby Connect and Ruby answer with people.
What do the answering service words mean?
A few terms come up on every pricing table.
- Answering service: a service that picks up your calls when you cannot, takes a message and passes it on.
- AI receptionist: an answering service run by AI that also answers questions, books appointments and routes calls.
- Minutes, calls and unique customers: the three ways plans count use. A minute is call time, a call is one conversation and a unique customer is one phone number counted once a month.
- Abby Minute: Abby Connect's unit. One minute with a person is one Abby Minute, and one minute of AI is half of one.
- Overage: the price of use beyond the plan, such as $0.45 a minute on Reception AI Basic.
- Warm transfer and live transfer: a live transfer connects the caller straight away. In a warm transfer, the service briefs your team first.
- Knowledge base: the facts the AI answers from, such as your website, prices, hours and policies.
What costs extra on top of the plan price?
Check the limits as well as the headline price. Prices are as of 21 October 2026.
- Going over the plan. Smith.ai charges $3.00 a call after the free 25, and $8.50 to $11.50 a call over the live plans. Reception AI charges $0.30 to $0.45 a minute, and Goodcall charges 79, 26 or 15 cents per extra customer. Abby Connect bills extra at the plan's Abby Minute rate.
- Monthly billing. Yearly billing costs less. Reception AI Basic is $29 monthly and $24 yearly, Rosie Professional is $49 and $41, and My AI Front Desk is $99 and $79.
- Add-ons. Rosie website texting is $50 a month for 25 conversations, then $1 each. Beside phone lines past the first cost $4.99 a month each.
- Features on higher plans. Rosie calendar booking and live transfers start on Scale. Reception AI priority support starts on Plus.
- Tax. Reception AI prices are before tax.
How do you choose an AI answering service?
Work through these six steps.
- Count the calls you get in a normal month and how long they run.
- Decide who should answer: AI only, people only or a mix.
- Check how the plan counts use, because calls, minutes and unique customers give different bills.
- Price the plan you will really need, and add the cost of going over it.
- List what the service must do, such as book appointments, send texts or transfer to your team.
- Start a free plan or trial, forward a few real calls and listen to the recordings.
A service only works if it answers the way you would, so test your final two with your own questions before you decide.
How does an answering service work with the phone you already have?
An answering service sits on top of the phone line you already have. Calls forward to it when you do not pick up, or all the time, and Goodcall keeps your business number with call forwarding. If you are still choosing that line, start with the best business phone systems for small business and add answering on top.
Beside is the exception: it is a business phone with the AI receptionist inside, so one app holds your number, calls and texts.
Best for your situation
Guides & comparisons
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI answering service?
It depends on your calls and your budget. Smith.ai, Reception AI, Goodcall, Rosie and Beside suit small businesses, from a free AI plan for 25 calls at Smith.ai to $99 a month for unlimited AI calls at Beside. Ruby and Abby Connect put people on the line. Avoca, Slang.ai, Arini, Numa and Assort Health are built for one industry each. Pick by who should answer, how the plan counts use and what you can spend.
Is there a free AI answering service available?
Yes. Smith.ai has a free AI plan for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call. Reception AI has a 14-day free trial, Rosie and My AI Front Desk have 7-day free trials, Beside Unlimited has a 7-day trial and Goodcall lets you start free with a demo agent. Abby Connect has a free trial on every plan.
How much does an AI phone answering service cost?
Most AI plans cost $29 to $299 a month, for example Reception AI from $29, Rosie from $49, Goodcall from $79 and My AI Front Desk at $99. Smith.ai charges $2.00 a call on Pro. Live receptionist plans cost more, from $164 a month at Abby Connect and $250 at Ruby. Prices are as of 21 October 2026.
What is the cheapest AI receptionist service available?
Smith.ai has a free AI plan for 25 calls a month. Among paid plans, Reception AI Basic and Beside Baseline are $29 a month, and Rosie Professional is $49. Reception AI Basic covers 75 minutes and Beside Baseline covers 30 AI calls, so check how much you need before you choose on price alone.
Can I get AI to answer my phone calls?
Yes. You forward your business number to an AI answering service, or use a phone that has one built in, such as Beside. The AI answers in the voice and greeting you set, takes messages, answers questions and books appointments. Most services let you start on a free plan or trial so you can hear a few real calls first.
How do I set up an AI answering service?
Pick a plan, give the service your business details and the questions callers ask, choose a greeting and voice, then forward your phone number to it. Reception AI answers from a knowledge base you set up, and Smith.ai lets you test before going live. Run a few test calls and read the summaries before you rely on it.
What is the best answering service for small businesses?
For most small businesses with routine calls, an AI service is the lowest cost: Smith.ai, Reception AI, Goodcall, Rosie, Beside or My AI Front Desk. If your callers need a person every time, Ruby and Abby Connect use trained receptionists, and Smith.ai has live agent plans. See the price table above to match a plan to your calls.
Is an answering service worth it?
It is worth it if missed calls cost you work. An answering service picks up when you cannot, takes a message or books the job and tells you who called. Compare the plan price with what one extra booked customer is worth to you, and start on a free plan or trial to see how many calls it catches.
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an answering service?
An answering service takes a message and passes it on. An AI receptionist also answers questions, books appointments and routes calls. In practice many AI answering services do all of this, so the two names often describe the same product. The bigger choice is whether AI or a person answers.
Is AI replacing receptionists?
AI is taking over the routine calls, such as hours, bookings and simple questions. Many services still keep people in the loop: Smith.ai, Abby Connect and Ruby add AI to their receptionists, and Rosie transfers calls to your own team. A person is still the choice for unusual or sensitive calls.
Can an AI answering service book appointments?
Yes. Reception AI books, reschedules and cancels appointments, Smith.ai books through Calendly and other schedulers, and Rosie books on your calendar from the Scale plan. Beside and Arini also book appointments. Check that the service connects to your calendar before you buy.
In short: which AI answering service should you pick?
- If you run a small business on a tight budget, look at Smith.ai (free AI plan), Beside, Reception AI or Rosie.
- If you want a steady bill, look at Goodcall, which charges by the number of different customers.
- If every caller should reach a person, look at Ruby, Abby Connect or Smith.ai live agents.
- If you run a clinic or medical practice, look at Assort Health.
- If you run a trades business, a restaurant, a dental office or a car dealership, look at Avoca, Slang.ai, Arini or Numa.
- If you need English and Spanish, look at Rosie, Abby Connect, Ruby or Reception AI.
Prices are as of 21 October 2026 and can change, so confirm the price with the company before you buy. Whichever you choose, start on a free plan or trial, forward a few real calls and listen to them before you commit.
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