How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Monthly, per-minute and pay-once prices side by side, with sources and what is not included.
The short answer
It depends on how you pay. Monthly AI receptionists are reported at about $79 to $250 a month, per-minute platforms start around $0.05 to $0.08 a minute before the other costs they pass through, and human services run into the hundreds a month. A pay-once agent is $214 to $399 once per location (audio plus the local agent; audio alone is $14 to $199), first 12 months of updates and support included, then an optional flat $99 a year.
Reported prices by product
| Product | What it is | Price (published or reported) |
|---|---|---|
| Vapi | a per-minute voice-agent platform for developers | Vapi's pricing page lists hosting for its agents at $0.05 per minute (published). Speech to text, the language model, text to speech and phone service are passed through at cost, or free if you bring your own keys (published). Guides that add those up put a re |
| Retell AI | a per-minute voice-agent platform | Retell's pricing pages list voice infrastructure at $0.055 per minute and platform voices at $0.015 per minute (published, localized pages); language-model and phone costs come on top. Third-party guides put pay-as-you-go voice agents at about $0.07 to $0.31 a |
| Synthflow | a hosted voice-agent platform | Synthflow's documentation describes pay-as-you-go use and enterprise plans for teams above 10,000 minutes a month (published). Third-party guides report per-minute rates starting around $0.08 and say its older fixed monthly plans were retired; the sources disa |
| Goodcall | a monthly AI phone agent for small businesses | Reported plans are about $79 (Starter), $129 (Growth) and $249 (Scale) per agent per month, priced by the number of unique customers who call, about $0.50 per extra customer (reported). Some sources list lower prices ($59, $99, $199), so treat these as approxi |
| Smith.ai | an AI and human receptionist service | Reported AI receptionist plans start from a free tier of about 25 calls a month and run from about $95 to $150 a month for a few dozen to about 75 calls, with per-call overage of roughly $2 to $3 (reported; sources differ). Plans with human receptionists are r |
| Ruby Receptionists | a human virtual receptionist service | Reported plans: about $250 a month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500, with overage reported at several dollars a minute (reported; older sources list somewhat lower prices). |
| My AI Front Desk | a monthly AI receptionist | Reported plan: about $99 a month (about $79 a month billed yearly) for the small-business plan, with extra voice minutes reported at about $0.25 a minute (reported). |
Checked October 28, 2026. Prices change and sources disagree; each product page links its sources: Vapi, Retell AI, Synthflow, Goodcall, Smith.ai, Ruby Receptionists, My AI Front Desk.
How to compare them fairly
- Count your calls and minutes in a normal month.
- Add what each product passes through (phone, model, voice, overage).
- Add setup time: hosted services need less of it than something you run yourself.
- Multiply by twelve and compare with a one-time price.
Why choose Speakvora · Pay-once alternatives · Speakvora pricing.
Questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Reported prices run from about $79 to $250 a month for small-business AI phone agents and receptionists, about $0.05 to $0.31 a minute for per-minute voice-agent platforms once model, voice and phone costs are added, and about $250 to $1,725 a month for human receptionist services (all reported or published figures checked October 28, 2026). A pay-once agent such as Speakvora is $214 to $399 once per location (audio plus the local agent; audio alone is $14 to $199), first 12 months of updates and support included, then an optional flat $99 a year.
Why do AI receptionist prices vary so much?
Because they bill different things: per month, per unique caller, per call, per minute, or per platform fee plus pass-through costs for the language model, the voice and the phone line. Compare what a normal month of your own calls would cost under each model, not the headline number.
Is there a way to avoid monthly fees?
Yes: a voice agent you buy once and run yourself. Speakvora is one. You pay your own phone and text provider, and an AI key is optional and billed by your AI provider. Speakvora charges no licence fee per call, text or minute.
What costs extra besides the agent?
Your phone number and the minutes or texts your provider bills, any AI key you add, and setup time. US business texting on Twilio also needs carrier registration, which can take days.
Are these prices current?
No. They are published or reported figures checked October 28, 2026, they change often, and some sources disagree. Check each provider's page.