AI receptionists for accountants and CPA firms, ranked on filing season
GreetKeeper is our product, and it ranks first for an accounting firm because it answers the deadline and document questions that fill the phone from January, books the prospective client into the partner's Outlook calendar, and discloses that it is an AI at the start, for $49 a month with the overage printed.
From January to April an accounting firm's phone belongs to filing season. Most callers want a deadline confirmed, a document chased or an extension explained, and every one of them interrupts a return in progress. The prospective client who rings in March is the one who gets a callback in May, which is when they have signed elsewhere.
Rosie holds the $49 anchor for 250 minutes and keeps booking on its $149 plan. Smith.ai answers per call from $150 for Pro with a human team behind the AI. Ruby's people start at $250 for 50 minutes. Goodcall counts unique customers, which fits a firm whose existing clients ring back all season.
Accounting is a regulated occupation in Utah's AI Policy Act, which requires a prominent verbal disclosure at the start of the call. GreetKeeper's disclosure setting has the assistant say it is an AI in the first sentence, in the words you choose, and Maine's notice rule is met the same way.
The seasonal shape decides the plan. Professional covers 750 answered calls at $149, the overage on Starter is $0.45 a call, printed, and very short calls and screened robocalls do not count toward the plan.
How this was put together
Disclosure: GreetKeeper is our product. Compared in September 2026 on an accounting firm's busy season, with every rival figure read on the vendor's own pricing page that month.
What we compared
- Whether the routine deadline, document and extension questions are answered from information you provide.
- Whether a prospective client can be booked into a partner's Outlook or Google calendar at the entry price.
- Whether the assistant can disclose it is an AI verbally at the start, which Utah requires of accountants.
- How the bill behaves when volume triples for four months, and whether the overage rate is published.
- Published entry price and allowance.
The shortlist at a glance
Billing unit first, because it decides more of the final bill than the headline price does.
| Charges by | Entry plan | After the allowance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | per answered call | $49/mo for 200 answered calls | $0.45 a call on Starter, published |
| Rosie | per minute | Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes | Not published |
| Smith.ai | per call | Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call | Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises |
| Goodcall | per unique caller | Starter $79/mo ($66 annual) for 100 unique customers | $0.50 per additional unique customer, published |
| Ruby | per minute | $250/mo for 50 minutes | Not published on their pricing page |
| Dialzara | per minute | Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes | Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35 |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
Season questions answered, the prospect booked into Outlook, the AI disclosed at the start, at $49.
Worth it for: A firm of one to ten partners that wants filing-season calls handled without interrupting returns, and wants the March prospect on a partner's calendar the same day.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Rosie
The $49 anchor for 250 minutes, with booking on the $149 plan.
Worth it for: A sole practitioner who wants calls captured cheaply and will book every consultation back by hand in the evening.
Not for: Booking the prospect at the entry price, since booking sits on the $149 Scale tier, and April, since the rate past 250 minutes is not published.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
Smith.ai
A trained human team behind the AI, per call from $150.
Worth it for: A firm whose highest-value calls are business owners comparing advisors, where a person available on the line is worth near $2.00 a call.
Not for: A firm pricing on volume. The Pro plan is $150 for 75 to 300 calls, and filing season runs past the top of that band.
Charges per call. Entry plan Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call. After the allowance: Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises.
Goodcall
One unit per client all season, minutes uncapped.
Worth it for: A firm whose existing clients call repeatedly between January and April about the same return, since a repeat caller is one unit at $79 for 100 customers.
Not for: A firm with a separate tax-season line, because pricing is per agent and each phone number is an agent.
Charges per unique caller. Entry plan Starter $79/mo ($66 annual) for 100 unique customers. After the allowance: $0.50 per additional unique customer, published.
Ruby
People answering by the minute, from $250 for 50.
Worth it for: A boutique advisory firm with few calls and large engagements, where a receptionist's voice is part of the service.
Not for: Filing season. Fifty minutes covers a dozen deadline questions, and the overage rate is not on the pricing page.
Charges per minute. Entry plan $250/mo for 50 minutes. After the allowance: Not published on their pricing page.
Dialzara
The lowest entry price on the page, with overage printed on every tier.
Worth it for: A new practice testing the category at $29 in the off season, with the per-minute rate from $0.48 to $0.35 printed.
Not for: January on the $29 plan, since 60 minutes is around fifteen calls and the next tier is $99 for 220 minutes.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes. After the allowance: Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35.
How to choose for an accounting firm
Start with the season. Count the calls last February produced and price them against each vendor's rate past the allowance. GreetKeeper's is printed at $0.45, $0.35 and $0.25 a call by tier, Dialzara's per minute on every plan, and Rosie's and Ruby's are not on their pricing pages.
Then the booking. A prospect who rings in March should be on a partner's calendar before the call ends. GreetKeeper reads the partner's real availability from Outlook or Google Calendar, reads the name, number and time back, and writes the event, on the $49 plan. Rosie sells booking at $149.
Last, the disclosure. Accounting is a licensed occupation in Utah and its AI Policy Act requires a verbal disclosure at the start. GreetKeeper's disclosure setting handles it in the first sentence of the greeting, so the firm's compliance officer signs off once.
Our own pricing, in full
Including the rate after the allowance, which is the number most of this list leaves off.
| Plan | Monthly | Calls included | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterFor a single location taking calls one line at a time. | $49 | 200 | $0.45 per call |
| ProfessionalBooking, routing and transfers included, not an add-on. | $149 | 750 | $0.35 per call |
| ScaleFor busy phones and longer opening hours. | $349 | 2,000 | $0.25 per call |
The short version
- Booking is included on every tier. Rosie keeps booking and live transfer behind its $149 plan.
- The overage rate is on the pricing page. Rosie, Ruby, Slang and AnswerConnect do not publish theirs.
- Calls are counted, not minutes, so a long useful conversation costs the same as a short one.
Questions people ask about this list
Can an AI receptionist answer tax deadline questions?
It answers the questions you train it on: filing dates, what documents to send and where, extension basics and office hours. Anything about a specific return is transferred to the preparer you name or captured as a message with the caller's details and the file reference.
Does Utah require an accounting firm to disclose an AI receptionist?
Utah's AI Policy Act requires regulated occupations, which include accounting, to disclose prominently and verbally at the start of the interaction. GreetKeeper's disclosure setting has the assistant say it is an AI in the first sentence, in words you set. Maine requires clear notice in trade too.
Can it book a prospective client into a partner's Outlook calendar?
Yes. GreetKeeper writes into Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft 365 and Google Calendar directly, reading real availability during the call and confirming the time back before it writes the event. Booking is on every plan, including Starter at $49.
Why does GreetKeeper rank itself first for accountants?
On the published criteria: season questions answered, booking on the entry plan, verbal AI disclosure, and a printed overage rate. Rosie gates booking to $149, and Rosie and Ruby publish no overage. Every plan starts with a 14-day trial with no card, so a firm can test it before January.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.