The cheapest regular plan with a phone agent costs $99 a month at the median, ranging from $10 to $600. For 300 calls of 3 minutes a month, half of the providers we could calculate cost between $160 and $530. 1 provider charges no base fee and bills by usage; 45 quote prices only on request.
| Type | Providers with price | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI receptionists for small business | 38 | $49 | $10 to $499 |
| Industry specialists | 22 | $274.50 | $18 to $600 |
| Answering services with an AI plan | 6 | $82 | $19 to $164 |
Starting price means the lowest regular monthly price of a plan with a phone agent when paying monthly, or the annual price where only that is published. Trials, promotions and plans for selected customers are left out.
Of the 238 plans in our survey, the billing units are: 105 per minute, 38 per call, 30 per unit, 21 flat fee, 20 not stated, 20 per location, 4 per caller. A low monthly price says little until you know what it includes and what overage costs.
Formula: monthly price plus required monthly fees plus overage times overage price. Each provider appears with its cheapest plan for the volume.
| Provider and plan | Per month | Simultaneous calls | Setup fee | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple PhonesBasic | $49 | not stated | $0 | 1 agent, language and number; numbers released if monthly calls exceeded | Try free |
| ApoointlyPay As You Go | $60 | unlimited | $0 | No monthly fee; $0.20 per connected minute, billed by the second | Try free |
| LobbyStackStarter | $60 | unlimited | $0 | Calls under 10s and spam excluded; transfers over 20 cost $0.02 each | Try free |
| CallSphereAnswer | $64 | not stated | $0 | Plus usage at cost, estimated ~$0.15/min inbound; no booking on this tier | Try free |
| MarlieBasic | $67 | not stated | not stated | No call transfer; 1 action per call | Try free |
| AIRAPremium | $70 | not stated | not stated | 5 users; inbound SMS only | Visit site |
| UpfirstPremium | $70 | not stated | $0 | Billed per call; spam calls do not count | Try free |
| PhonelyStarter | $75 | unlimited | $0 | 3 phone numbers included; post-transfer minutes $0.02/min | Try free |
| While You WorkStarter | $77 | not stated | $0 | A call counts once up to 10 minutes; yearly = 10 months' price; US sign-ups open November | Visit site |
| GoodcallStarter | $79 | not stated | $0 | billed per caller, counted as one caller per call; Billed per unique caller per month, minutes not metered | Visit site |
| Provider and plan | Per month | Simultaneous calls | Setup fee | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suzee AISuzee AI | $79 | not stated | $0 | flat fee; Unlimited minutes and calls, all features, one plan | Try free |
| BesideUnlimited | $99 | not stated | not stated | flat fee; Unlimited AI Receptionist calls; 1 line, extra lines $4.99/month | Try free |
| BookingBee.aiEssentials | $99 | not stated | not stated | price per location, one location assumed; Up to 8 staff per outlet; sales contact (Let's Talk) | Visit site |
| DeepCuraAll 7 AI Agents per Provider | $129 | not stated | not stated | Per provider seat; 1,000 credits shared by all AI agents; 1 credit per call | Try free |
| GoodcallGrowth | $129 | not stated | $0 | billed per caller, counted as one caller per call; Billed per unique caller per month, minutes not metered | Visit site |
| RosieScale | $149 | not stated | not stated | billed per started minute; No per-minute overage: exceeding minutes auto-upgrades to the next plan | Try free |
| SadieAnswers | $149 | unlimited | not stated | flat fee; price with annual billing; Labeled 'Yearly', billed monthly; month-to-month price not shown. Unlimited minutes | Visit site |
| Simple PhonesAdvanced | $149 | not stated | $0 | 5 agents, languages, numbers | Try free |
| While You WorkBusiness | $149 | not stated | $0 | Calendar booking on the call only on this plan | Visit site |
| MapleMaple Voice | $150 | not stated | not stated | price per location, one location assumed; Answering, FAQs and call transfer only; no ordering or reservations; no per-minute fees | Visit site |
| Provider and plan | Per month | Simultaneous calls | Setup fee | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suzee AISuzee AI | $79 | not stated | $0 | flat fee; Unlimited minutes and calls, all features, one plan | Try free |
| BesideUnlimited | $99 | not stated | not stated | flat fee; Unlimited AI Receptionist calls; 1 line, extra lines $4.99/month | Try free |
| BookingBee.aiEssentials | $99 | not stated | not stated | price per location, one location assumed; Up to 8 staff per outlet; sales contact (Let's Talk) | Visit site |
| DeepCuraAll 7 AI Agents per Provider | $129 | not stated | not stated | Per provider seat; 1,000 credits shared by all AI agents; 1 credit per call | Try free |
| SadieAnswers | $149 | unlimited | not stated | flat fee; price with annual billing; Labeled 'Yearly', billed monthly; month-to-month price not shown. Unlimited minutes | Visit site |
| MapleMaple Voice | $150 | not stated | not stated | price per location, one location assumed; Answering, FAQs and call transfer only; no ordering or reservations; no per-minute fees | Visit site |
| NextPhonePro | $199 | not stated | $0 | flat fee; Unlimited inbound calls, no overage; self-setup; annual $1,990/year | Try free |
| Simple PhonesPremium | $249 | not stated | $0 | 20 agents, languages, numbers | Try free |
| GoodcallGrowth | $259 | not stated | $0 | billed per caller, counted as one caller per call; Billed per unique caller per month, minutes not metered | Visit site |
| heytruffleStandard | $299 | unlimited | not stated | flat fee; No integrations; reservations by SMS link | Visit site |
Your own figures go into the calculator. Not calculated: plans without an overage price once the included volume is used up, per-unit plans and "from" prices. Plans limited to one simultaneous call are left out from 300 calls a month.