The best AI receptionist for small business: 10 options compared

The phone rings while you are under a sink, in the middle of a client meeting or closing the till. You know some of those callers will not leave a voicemail. They will ring the next business on the list. That is usually the moment people start searching for the best AI receptionist for small business, and it is also the moment the marketing gets loud: every vendor says it answers every call, books every appointment and never sleeps.

The useful question is narrower. Which of these products handles the calls your business actually gets, at a price that makes sense for your volume, with the one or two features you can't do without? For a dental practice that might be HIPAA paperwork. For a plumber it might be putting an emergency caller straight through to a mobile. For a salon whose customers live on WhatsApp it might be having one assistant across the phone and messaging apps.

This page compares ten products on the same criteria. We have not ranked them from one to ten, because the honest answer changes with the business. Instead, each product gets a "best for" label, its published price as of October 2026, its strengths and its limits.

How we judged

Every product was checked against the same eight questions. These are the questions that, in our experience, decide whether a small business keeps a receptionist service past the first month.

1. Who answers. An AI voice, a live person, or a mix. This matters more than any feature list. Some callers, and some businesses, need a human.
2. Price model and entry price. Per minute, per call, per unique caller or a flat plan with an allowance. We list the entry price and what it includes, from the vendor's pricing page.
3. What happens when you go over. Overage rates, caps and whether usage stops or keeps billing.
4. Handover to staff. Can the AI put a live caller through to you (call transfer), or does it take a message and notify you? This is the single biggest functional difference between products in this list.
5. Booking. Does it book appointments itself, into which calendar, and does it send a confirmation?
6. Channels. Phone only, or also website chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
7. Texting and follow-up. Can it send SMS confirmations, reminders or links? Can it make outbound calls?
8. Setup, trial and contract. Self-serve or onboarding, free trial or not, card or no card, contract length, and published compliance (for example HIPAA).

We did not use review-site ratings, customer counts, testimonials or any vendor's claims about speed. We didn't place test calls to any service. Prices are in US dollars, as each vendor lists them, and every price on this page is "as of October 2026". Prices change, so follow the link to each vendor's pricing page before you buy.

Which tools made the list

We looked at products that a small business can actually buy for answering its phone: AI receptionists sold to small businesses (Klugon, Dialzara, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Rosie, Smith.ai's AI plans), human answering services that have added AI (Ruby, Moneypenny), and one specialist for restaurants (Slang.ai).

We also looked at two products people often compare with these, Synthflow and Tidio. They are good at what they do, but neither is a small-business phone receptionist in the usual sense: Synthflow is an enterprise voice AI platform with contracts from $30,000 a year, and Tidio is a website and messaging chat tool with no phone answering. They appear near the end, with the same four headings, so you can rule them in or out quickly.

Best AI receptionist for small business at a glance

The table below uses the same criteria for every product. The entry price is the lowest published plan that answers calls, billed monthly unless stated.

"Not published" means we could not find it on the vendor's own pricing or feature pages. It doesn't mean the feature is missing; ask the vendor.

Best for each kind of business

If you only read one section, read this one. These are the cases where we think each product is the strongest choice.

• Callers must always reach a real person: Ruby or Moneypenny. Both are built on live receptionists.
• AI first, with live agents behind it: Smith.ai. Its hybrid plans let AI answer and live agents step in.
• The lowest monthly bill for a handful of calls: Dialzara. Its entry plan is $29.
• Lots of repeat callers or long calls: Goodcall. It bills per unique caller, not per minute.
• Calls plus two-way texting and outbound follow-up in one plan: My AI Front Desk.
• Live transfer to your mobile at a mid-range price: Rosie, from its $149 Scale plan.
• Restaurants taking reservations by phone: Slang.ai.
• One assistant across the phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and your website, with a large minute allowance: Klugon.
• Building custom voice agents at enterprise scale: Synthflow.
• Website and social chat, no phone: Tidio.

The tools, one by one

The tools are in alphabetical order. The order says nothing about which is better.

Dialzara

Best for: small businesses with low call volume that want the cheapest way in, and that may want call transfer or texting later.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Dialzara's pricing page lists four inbound plans with no contract and a 7-day free trial:

• Business Lite: $29/month, 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute.
• Business Pro: $99/month, 220 minutes, then $0.45 a minute.
• Business Plus: $199/month, 500 minutes, then $0.40 a minute.
• Business Elite: $349/month, 1,000 minutes, then $0.35 a minute.

Outbound calling plans are sold separately from $750/month for 1,500 contacts. An AI SMS agent is $19/month plus $0.05 per AI message, and the website chatbot is $39/month on its own or included with voice plans for 100 sessions a month. The page says annual pricing is available.

Strengths:

• The lowest published entry price in this list for an AI that answers calls.
• Every plan includes call recordings, call summaries, a US phone number and email or SMS notifications after each call.
• Blind transfer to your team on every plan, and warm transfer from Business Pro up.
• Bilingual English and Spanish and Google or Outlook calendar sync from Business Pro.
• It can grow into outbound calling, SMS and chat, all from one vendor.

Limits:

• The entry plan's 60 minutes is about 20 three-minute calls. Busier businesses land on Pro or Plus quickly.
• Warm transfer, calendar sync and Spanish need the $99 plan or above.
• Outbound starts at $750/month, a big step up from the inbound plans.
• WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger aren't listed on the pricing page.

Our full Dialzara comparison goes through each criterion in detail.

Goodcall

Best for: phone-heavy businesses with long calls or many repeat callers, and owners who want to describe changes to the agent in plain language.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Goodcall's pricing page bills per unique customer, meaning one phone number once a month, however many times that person calls. Minutes are never metered.

• Starter: $79/month, 100 unique customers, then 79¢ each.
• Growth: $129/month, 500 unique customers, then 26¢ each.
• Scale: $299/month, 2,000 unique customers, then 15¢ each.
• Enterprise: on request.

Every plan includes a local number, or you can forward your existing one. There is no traditional free trial; instead you build and test a free demo agent and pay when you connect a number.

Strengths:

• Billing by unique caller makes long calls and repeat callers cheap. Spam and wrong numbers don't count, according to the pricing FAQ.
• Changes are made by describing them to Goodcall's assistant, Gabi, which rewrites the agent and runs test calls first.
• Transfers to people you choose, plus connections to Google Calendar and HighLevel, and to other systems through an API tool or MCP server.
• Goodcall's FAQ says it offers HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA on Scale and above.

Limits:

• Starter allows five "workers" (specialist skills inside the agent), one external tool, one team member and 30 days of call history.
• If most callers are different people on short calls, per-customer billing loses its advantage.
• Supported languages and messaging channels aren't published on the pricing page.

See our Goodcall comparison for the side-by-side.

Klugon

Best for: businesses whose customers reach them on the phone and on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or the website, and that take enough calls to want a large flat minute allowance.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Klugon sells three separate products, each with three tiers, listed on the Klugon pricing page. Prices are monthly; yearly billing is 20% less.

• AI voice agent: Starter $99 (1,000 minutes), Business $299 (3,600 minutes), Scale $499 (6,000 minutes). Phone numbers are $9/month each, and extra minutes are $15 per started 100 minutes.
• AI social agent (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger): from $79/month for 300 conversations. A connected WhatsApp number adds $19/month.
• AI website chatbot: from $49/month for 100 conversations.

The free trial is 7 days. A card is required and is charged when the trial ends unless you cancel. A phone number can only be added after the trial; during the trial you test the voice assistant in the browser.

Strengths:

• The largest entry minute allowance in this list: 1,000 minutes on the $99 plan, and extra minutes work out at $0.15 each.
• Books appointments into its own calendar, using your opening hours, service lengths, staff and buffers. On Business and above it can also check Google, Outlook or Apple calendars for busy times and send Calendly links, after setup.
• Answers calls in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and Arabic.
• The same assistant and knowledge can answer WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and a website widget, and every conversation lands in one inbox.
• Answers from your own documents, pasted FAQs and website pages.
• Operated by a German company under the GDPR.

Limits (we hold ourselves to the same standard as everyone else here):

• No live call transfer. When a caller needs a person, the AI takes their details and flags the conversation for your team. On Business and above that alert can go to Slack or Zapier. It cannot put the caller through.
• No outbound calls and no SMS of any kind, so no text confirmations, reminders or missed-call text-backs.
• No automatic booking confirmations or reminders. The caller gets a booking reference in the conversation itself, and that's all.
• No call recordings, and call transcripts may show only the AI's side. Every call does appear in the inbox.
• No email alerts to the owner. Notifications go to Slack or Zapier only.
• No HIPAA, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification, and no EU-hosting claim.
• No number porting. You keep your number by forwarding it to a Klugon number, or by bringing your own SIP trunk on Business and above.
• WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger need Meta setup, and Instagram needs Meta's app review. Photos and voice notes sent on WhatsApp aren't seen or heard by the AI.

Read more about the AI phone receptionist and AI appointment booking.

Moneypenny

Best for: businesses that want trained human receptionists, or a cheap AI tier from a company that can also supply people.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Moneypenny's US pricing page has two tabs. The page labels these figures "original price", so a promotion may apply when you visit.

• People answering, by the minute: 50 minutes $165/month (extra minutes $2.28), 100 minutes $265 ($2.12), 200 minutes $422 ($1.91), 500 minutes $985 ($1.67).
• AI answering, by the call: 25 calls $69/month (extra calls $2.49), 50 calls $99 ($2.39), 100 calls $199 ($2.19), 250 calls $435 ($1.89).

There are no contracts; the FAQ says 30 days' notice cancels from the next billing date.

Strengths:

• A real choice between human and AI answering from one provider.
• The people plans list warm call transfer, bilingual answering, caller recognition, lead qualification, CRM integrations and a mobile app.
• The AI plans list human escalation and a reporting dashboard.
• No feature tiers: the page says everything is included from day one.

Limits:

• Human minutes are expensive compared with AI. 200 minutes of people answering is $422.
• AI plans are priced per call, so a large share of spam or very short calls still uses your allowance.
• Calendar connections, SMS and messaging-app channels aren't detailed on the pricing page.
• A free trial isn't published.

Our Moneypenny comparison covers both of its services.

My AI Front Desk

Best for: businesses that want answering, two-way texting, outbound follow-up and a simple CRM in one subscription, at modest call volumes.

Pricing (as of October 2026): My AI Front Desk (which now calls itself Frontdesk) lists one self-serve plan on its pricing page:

• Business-in-a-Box: $99/month, or $79/month billed yearly, with 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations, 400 SMS, 20 outbound calls a day, 500 email drafts and 300 web form submissions.
• A pool of 1,000 overage credits a month is included. After that, credits auto-reload at $10 per 1,000. A voice minute costs 25 credits ($0.25).
• Partner/Enterprise: custom pricing.

There is a 7-day free trial, and the page says no contracts and cancel anytime.

Strengths:

• The broadest bundle in this list at $99: voice, website chat, two-way SMS, outbound calls, email, forms and a CRM.
• Agent actions include transferring a call and sending a text.
• Answers in "20+ languages", per the pricing page.
• Its own feature pages describe SMS booking confirmations and reminders, and its home page says it is HIPAA compliant with signed BAAs.

Limits:

• 200 included voice minutes is about 65 three-minute calls. After the credit pool, each minute is $0.25.
• The knowledge base is capped at 20 pages, there are 2 editor seats, and call history keeps the last 200 logs.
• Outbound calls are capped at 20 a day.
• WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger aren't listed on the pricing page.

See our My AI Front Desk comparison for worked costs.

Rosie

Best for: home services and other owner-run businesses that want an AI receptionist which can transfer calls to a mobile, at a mid-range price.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Rosie's pricing page lists three plans, with a 7-day free trial and two months free on annual billing:

• Professional: $49/month, 250 minutes. Message taking (2 scenarios), appointment links by text, spam detection, website chat widget.
• Scale: $149/month, 1,000 minutes. Adds booking directly on your calendar, warm transfers, live transfers and texting callers during the call.
• Growth: $299/month, 2,000 minutes. Adds waterfall transfers (it tries several numbers), custom agent training from your documents, white-glove onboarding and priority support.

A website texting add-on is $50/month for 25 conversations. Overage rates aren't shown on the pricing page.

Strengths:

• Every plan includes call summaries, transcripts and recordings, email and text notifications, English and Spanish, Zapier, and iOS and Android apps.
• Rosie learns your business from your Google profile and website.
• Warm and live transfer from $149, with waterfall transfers to several numbers on Growth.
• The website chat widget is free with all plans.

Limits:

• Calendar booking and transfers need the $149 plan; the $49 plan sends booking links by text instead.
• Uploading your own training documents is a $299 Growth feature.
• Overage pricing and any HIPAA position aren't published on the pricing page.
• WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger aren't listed.

Our Rosie comparison covers the detail.

Ruby

Best for: professional firms and any business where every caller should speak to a trained person, including callers who are upset or confused.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Ruby's pricing page lists virtual receptionist plans by the minute:

• 50 minutes: $250/month.
• 100 minutes: $395/month.
• 200 minutes: $720/month.
• 500 minutes: $1,725/month.

Bundles with managed live chat are also listed. Ruby says there are no fees for activation, onboarding, setup or coverage at particular times, and that optional AI enhancements are included in every plan at no extra cost.

Strengths:

• Real people answer 24/7, including weekends and holidays.
• Plans include custom greetings, call handling options, a mobile app and email notifications, and calling and texting from your business number.
• Optional scheduling, bilingual answering, client intake, payment collection and outbound call help.
• The pricing page says HIPAA-compliant services are available.

Limits:

• The highest per-minute cost in this list. 200 minutes is $720.
• Overage rates aren't shown on the pricing page.
• Human answering runs to set scripts; for very high call volumes the bill grows quickly.
• A free trial isn't published on the pricing page.

See our Ruby comparison.

Slang.ai

Best for: restaurants and restaurant groups that take reservations by phone and use OpenTable, SevenRooms, Resy or Yelp.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Slang.ai's pricing page asks you to get a quote:

• Core: starting at $399 per location.
• Premium: starting at $599 per location.
• Enterprise: custom pricing.

The page doesn't state the billing period or a free trial.

Strengths:

• Built for restaurants: reservation management, special requests logged in OpenTable, private event capture with Tripleseat and Perfect Venue, and VIP caller routing.
• Text links and confirmations to guests, such as reservation confirmations, ordering links and wine lists.
• Call recordings, summaries and reservation insights.
• Instant human transfer, and on Premium, 97 languages with switching mid-call.

Limits:

• Priced per location and well above the general-purpose tools here.
• Not designed for businesses outside hospitality.
• Pricing requires a quote rather than self-serve sign-up.

Our Slang.ai comparison looks at restaurants in more depth.

Smith.ai

Best for: law firms and other businesses that want AI to answer first, with live North American agents ready to step in, and are happy to pay per call for that safety net.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Smith.ai's AI receptionist pricing page lists:

• Free: $0/month for 25 real calls, then $3.00 a call.
• Pro: $150/month at 75 calls ($2.00 a call; $2.50 overage). Higher levels of 150 and 300 calls are priced at $1.80 and $1.67 a call.
• Enterprise: from $500/month at 300 calls.

Its human-first plans start at $300/month for 30 calls, and hybrid plans (AI plus live agents) start at about $2.50 a call.

Strengths:

• Three modes from one vendor: AI-first, hybrid and human-first.
• Warm transfer to your team or to a live agent.
• Recording, transcription, scheduling and integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot and Clio.
• A free AI plan to try it with real calls.

Limits:

• Per-call pricing adds up for busy lines: 150 calls on AI Pro is about $270 a month.
• Many human-plan extras (booking, recordings, follow-up) are priced per call.
• Messaging-app channels aren't priced on the AI pricing page.

See our Smith.ai comparison.

Also considered: two tools that aren't phone receptionists for small businesses

Synthflow

Best for: larger companies, contact centres and agencies building custom voice agents with their own telephony.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Synthflow's pricing page says enterprise contracts start at $30,000 a year, scoped around call volume, concurrency, telephony, integrations and security.

Strengths: native telephony or SIP trunking, custom routing, escalation and handoffs, CRM and calendar integrations, implementation support and enterprise security review.

Limits: no self-serve small-business plan is published, and the minimum contract is far above what a small business typically spends on answering calls.

Our Synthflow comparison explains the difference between a voice platform and a ready-made receptionist.

Tidio

Best for: online shops and service businesses whose customer questions come in by website chat, email, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp rather than by phone.

Pricing (as of October 2026): Tidio's pricing page shows, billed yearly: Starter $24.17/month (100 billable conversations, plus 50 one-off conversations with its Lyro AI agent), Growth from $49.17/month, Plus from $300/month plus usage, and Premium on request. The Lyro AI agent on its own starts at $32.50/month billed yearly for 50 AI conversations. There is a 7-day free trial.

Strengths: a mature live chat and help desk with AI answers, human handoff, ticketing and flows for collecting leads, across website, email and the Meta messaging apps.

Limits: it doesn't answer phone calls, so it isn't a receptionist in the sense most small businesses mean.

See our Tidio comparison.

Criterion 1: who answers, and does it need to be a person?

Start here, before price. Ask what share of your calls genuinely need a person.

For most appointment-led businesses, the bulk of calls are routine: opening hours, prices, "do you have anything Thursday?", directions, "is my booking still on?". An AI handles these well. The calls that need a person are fewer but matter more: a complaint, a nervous first-time client, a medical or legal question, an emergency.

• If almost every call needs a person, pick a human service: Ruby, Moneypenny's people plans or Smith.ai's human-first plans. Expect to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a few hundred minutes.
• If most calls are routine but a few need a person right now, pick an AI that can transfer: Rosie (from $149), Dialzara (warm transfer from $99), Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Smith.ai or Moneypenny's AI with human escalation.
• If most calls are routine and the rest can wait for a call back, any AI here works, including Klugon, which takes the details and flags the conversation for your team rather than transferring.

Criterion 2: price model and what you really pay

The headline price is less useful than the price model, because the model decides what happens as you get busier.

• Per minute with an allowance (Klugon, Dialzara, Rosie, My AI Front Desk, Ruby, Moneypenny people plans): you pay for talk time. Short calls are cheap. Long calls cost more.
• Per call (Smith.ai, Moneypenny AI): every call counts the same, whether it lasts twenty seconds or twenty minutes. Long intake calls are good value; lots of short calls are not.
• Per unique caller (Goodcall): the same person calling five times a month counts once. Good for repeat callers and long calls.
• Per location (Slang.ai) and annual contract (Synthflow): priced around your business rather than your usage.

A worked cost example

Here is one scenario run through each published price list. The assumptions are ours, so change them to match your own call log.

Assumptions: 120 calls a month, an average of 3 minutes each (360 minutes), from 100 different callers. One phone number. Monthly billing. No add-ons beyond what's needed to answer those calls. Prices as of October 2026.

Now change one assumption. Double the calls to 240 a month (720 minutes, say 200 different callers):

• Klugon stays at $108, because 720 minutes still fits inside 1,000.
• Goodcall moves to Growth at $129.
• Rosie stays at $149 on Scale.
• Dialzara moves to Elite at $349 or Plus plus overage, around $287.
• Smith.ai's AI Pro moves to the 300-call level, about $500.

And if your calls are long, say 12-minute consultations, the per-call and per-caller models start to look much better than per-minute ones. Run your own numbers.

Criterion 3: handing over to a person

This is where products differ most, and where marketing language is least clear. "Escalation" can mean three different things:

1. Live transfer. The caller is put through to your phone while still on the line. Rosie (Scale and up), Dialzara, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Smith.ai, Moneypenny and Slang.ai describe this on their own sites.
2. Live agent takeover. A human receptionist at the vendor picks up. Smith.ai's hybrid plans and Moneypenny's AI escalation work this way; Ruby is human from the start.
3. Flag and follow up. The AI takes the caller's details and reason, marks the conversation as needing a person and notifies your team. You call back. This is how Klugon works: it notifies Slack or Zapier on Business and above, and shows a "Needs a person" banner in the inbox.

If an urgent caller must reach a human immediately, for example a burst pipe at 11 pm or a client with a court deadline, the third approach isn't enough on its own. Pick a product with live transfer, or keep a separate emergency line on your website and voicemail greeting.

Criterion 4: booking appointments

Nearly every product says it books appointments. The detail that matters is where the booking goes and what the customer gets afterwards.

• Into your existing calendar: Dialzara (Google or Outlook from Pro), Goodcall (Google Calendar, HighLevel), Rosie (from Scale), My AI Front Desk (Google, Outlook, Calendly), Smith.ai (Calendly and others), Slang.ai (OpenTable, SevenRooms, Resy, Yelp).
• Into the product's own calendar: Klugon books into a built-in calendar that understands service lengths, staff and buffers. On Business and above it can check Google, Outlook or Apple calendars for busy times, after setup.
• By sending a link: Rosie's $49 plan texts a booking link instead of booking directly. Klugon can send a Calendly link if you connect Calendly.

Then ask about confirmations. Products with SMS (Slang.ai, My AI Front Desk, Goodcall, Rosie, Dialzara with its SMS agent) can text the customer. Klugon gives a booking reference during the conversation and sends nothing afterwards, so if written confirmations or reminders matter for your no-show rate, factor that in.

Criterion 5: channels beyond the phone

Many small businesses now get as many enquiries on WhatsApp or Instagram as on the phone. Here the list splits clearly.

• Phone plus SMS and website chat: My AI Front Desk, Dialzara, Rosie.
• Phone plus WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and website chat, all in one inbox: Klugon, priced as separate products (social from $79/month, chat from $49/month).
• Chat and messaging, no phone: Tidio.
• Phone-focused: Goodcall, Smith.ai's AI plans and Slang.ai, as far as their pricing pages show.

Connecting WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger to any AI tool takes some setup in Meta's tools. The WhatsApp Business Platform page explains how business messaging works on Meta's side.

Criterion 6: setup, trial and contract

One practical point for Klugon: because a phone number can't be added during the trial, you test the voice assistant in your browser for those seven days, and real calls start after the first payment. If you want to hear real customers on day one, a product with a free plan or demo number (Smith.ai, Goodcall) is quicker.

To keep your existing number with any of these services, you usually forward it with your carrier's call-forwarding settings. Some vendors also support porting; Klugon doesn't.

Criterion 7: compliance and data

If you handle patient information in the US, you need a vendor that will sign a Business Associate Agreement. On their own sites, Goodcall (Scale and above, per its FAQ), My AI Front Desk (per its home page) and Ruby (HIPAA-compliant services available) say they offer HIPAA compliance. Klugon has no HIPAA, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification. The HHS HIPAA guidance explains what a covered entity needs from a vendor.

In the UK and EU, check the vendor's privacy policy for where data goes and under what safeguards. Klugon is operated by a German company under the GDPR, with transfers covered by standard contractual clauses as listed in its privacy policy.

If you use AI to answer calls, be open with callers about it. A greeting that says the caller is speaking to an AI assistant costs nothing, and most of these tools let you write your own.

How to choose in four steps

1. Pull last month's call log. Count calls, average length and how many were from the same numbers. That tells you which price model suits you.
2. List the calls that need a person right now. If there are any, shortlist only products with live transfer or live agents.
3. List the channels your customers actually use. If WhatsApp or Instagram matter as much as the phone, shortlist products that cover them.
4. Trial two products on the same calls. Write the same ten test questions for each, including one the AI should hand over, and compare the answers and what lands in your inbox.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AI receptionist for small business?

There isn't one best for everyone. For callers who must reach a person, a human service such as Ruby or Moneypenny fits. For low volume on a small budget, Dialzara's $29 plan is cheapest. For repeat callers, Goodcall's per-caller billing works well. For phone plus WhatsApp, Instagram and website chat in one inbox, Klugon fits. Restaurants should look at Slang.ai.

Which AI receptionists can transfer calls to my phone?

On their own pricing or feature pages, Dialzara, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Rosie (Scale plan and up), Smith.ai, Moneypenny and Slang.ai describe transferring callers to a person. Klugon doesn't transfer calls; it takes the caller's details and flags the conversation for your team.

How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?

Published entry prices in October 2026 ranged from $29 (Dialzara, 60 minutes) to $99 (Klugon with 1,000 minutes, or My AI Front Desk with 200 minutes). Human answering starts at $165 to $250 a month for 50 minutes. What you actually pay depends on your call count, call length and the price model.

Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service?

Usually, by a wide margin at the same volume. In our worked example of 120 three-minute calls, the AI options ranged from about $79 to $270 a month, and the human plans from about $728 to $1,725. Human services are still the better choice when every caller needs a person.

Can an AI receptionist book appointments into my calendar?

Most can. Some book straight into Google Calendar, Outlook or a reservation system; others, including Klugon, book into their own built-in calendar and can check external calendars for busy times after setup. Ask whether the customer gets a confirmation afterwards, because not every product sends one.

Do AI receptionists send text message confirmations?

Some do. Slang.ai, My AI Front Desk, Goodcall, Rosie and Dialzara (with its SMS agent) describe texting customers. Klugon sends no SMS of any kind; the booking reference is given during the conversation.

Can I keep my existing business number?

Yes, with almost every service here, usually by forwarding your existing number to the one the provider gives you. Goodcall includes a local number and supports forwarding. With Klugon you forward your number to a Klugon number ($9/month) after the trial, or bring your own SIP trunk on Business and above. Klugon doesn't support porting.

Are AI receptionists HIPAA compliant?

Some vendors say they are, on certain plans and with a signed BAA. Goodcall, My AI Front Desk and Ruby say so on their own sites. Klugon isn't HIPAA certified, so US healthcare practices handling patient information should choose a vendor that will sign a BAA.

Our view

If your phone is your main channel and you need live transfer, Rosie, Dialzara and Goodcall give you that at small-business prices. If you need people, Ruby, Moneypenny and Smith.ai are built for it. If your customers are as likely to message you on WhatsApp or Instagram as to ring, and you want a big block of minutes for a flat fee, Klugon's AI receptionist is worth a trial, provided the limits above don't rule it out for you.