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AI answering service cost (2026)

Short answer. An AI answering service costs $29 to $500 a month for most small businesses. Entry plans start at $29 a month (Dialzara Lite, 60 minutes) and $49 a month (Rosie, 250 minutes, and RingCentral, 100 minutes). Smith.ai has a free AI plan for 25 calls. For a month of 100 calls at 3 minutes each, our math puts most services between $69.95 and $212.50. We read each vendor's pricing page on October 26, 2026.

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Entry prices

Service	Entry plan	What it includes	After that
Dialzara	$29 a month (Lite)	60 minutes	$0.48 a minute
Upfirst	$24.95 a month (Starter)	30 calls	$1.50 a call
Rosie	$49 a month	250 minutes	See vendor page
RingCentral AIR	$49 a month	100 minutes	$0.50 a minute
Goodcall	$79 a month (Starter)	100 unique customers	79¢ per extra customer
Nextiva XBert	$99 a month	Up to 100 resolutions	$1.50 a conversation
My AI Front Desk	$99 a month, or $79 a month paid by the year	200 voice minutes	See vendor page
Smith.ai AI Receptionist	$0 (Free)	25 calls	$3.00 a call

Sources: Dialzara, Upfirst, Rosie, RingCentral, Goodcall, Nextiva, My AI Front Desk, Smith.ai, checked October 26, 2026.

Bigger plans

Service	Plans
Dialzara	Pro $99 (220 min), Plus $199 (500 min), Elite $349 (1,000 min)
Upfirst, month to month	Premium $59.95 (90 calls), Pro $159.95 (300 calls), Scale $299 (600 calls)
Rosie	$149 (1,000 min), $299 (2,000 min)
Goodcall	Growth $129 (500 customers), Scale $299 (2,000 customers)
Smith.ai AI	Pro $150 (75 calls), Enterprise $500 (300 calls)

Upfirst lists lower prices when paid by the year: $20, $48, $128, and $240 a month.

How they bill

Services bill in four ways. Dialzara, Rosie, RingCentral, and My AI Front Desk bill by the minute. Upfirst and Smith.ai bill by the call. Goodcall bills by unique customer, so repeat callers do not add cost. Nextiva bills by conversation, counted when a call lasts 30 seconds or more.

Per included minute, Rosie's entry plan works out to about $0.20, RingCentral to $0.49, and My AI Front Desk to $0.495. Those are our math.

A 100-call month

Say you get 100 calls a month at 3 minutes each. That is 300 minutes.

Service	Plan	Cost, our math
Upfirst	Premium month to month, 90 calls plus 10 extra	$69.95
Goodcall	Starter, if callers are 100 or fewer people	$79
Nextiva XBert	100 conversations	$99
Dialzara	Pro, 220 minutes plus 80 extra	$135
Rosie	1,000-minute plan	$149
RingCentral AIR	100 minutes plus 200 extra	$149
Smith.ai AI	Pro, 75 calls plus 25 extra	$212.50

Short calls change the order. If your calls average 1 minute, the per-minute plans get cheaper and the per-call plans do not.

Compare AI answering: Cheapest AI receptionist · Answering service cost · AI receptionist vs virtual receptionist

FAQ

How much does an AI answering service cost per month? Most plans run $29 to $500 a month. Dialzara starts at $29, Rosie and RingCentral at $49, and Smith.ai has a free plan for 25 calls.

What is the cheapest AI answering service? Smith.ai's Free plan costs $0 for 25 calls. Among paid plans, Upfirst Starter is $24.95 a month for 30 calls and Dialzara Lite is $29 for 60 minutes.

Do AI answering services charge per call or per minute? Both. Dialzara, Rosie, and RingCentral charge by the minute. Upfirst and Smith.ai charge by the call. Goodcall charges by unique customer.

What does an AI answering service cost for 100 calls a month? By our math, $69.95 to $212.50 for 100 calls at 3 minutes each, depending on the service.

Is an AI answering service cheaper than a live answering service? Yes, by a wide margin. Live services such as Ruby start at $250 a month for 50 minutes.

Checked 2026-10-26. Prices and policies change. Confirm on the source before you buy.