The best AI receptionists for auto repair shops
GreetKeeper is our product, and it ranks first for repair shops on the criteria below. It books the oil change or brake inspection into your calendar during the call. That holds on every plan, from $49 for 200 calls. Two calls at once are both answered, so the Monday rush doesn't queue.
A shop phone has two jobs that fight each other. Your service writer is under a lift or at the counter, and the phone rings anyway. Every ring that goes to voicemail is a car that might be booked at the shop down the road by lunchtime.
Goodcall counts unique customers at $79 for 100, so the driver who rings three times about the same brake job is one unit. Rosie starts at $49 for 250 minutes and puts booking on its $149 Scale plan. Dialzara is the cheapest entry at $29 for 60 minutes.
Smith.ai adds a trained human team behind its AI on the $150 Pro plan. PATLive staffs human receptionists from $99 for 50 minutes, with every per-minute rate printed.
How this was put together
Disclosure: GreetKeeper is our product. We scored six vendors in September 2026 for independent repair shops. Every rival figure comes from that vendor's own pricing page, read the same month.
What we compared
- Whether the call can end with a service slot booked in your calendar, on the entry plan.
- Whether calls that arrive together are all answered, for the first hour after opening.
- How a repeat caller asking about the same car is billed.
- The published entry price, allowance and rate past it.
- Whether a call about a tow or a breakdown reaches a person fast.
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 |
| Goodcall | per unique caller | Starter $79/mo ($66 annual) for 100 unique customers | $0.50 per additional unique customer, published |
| Rosie | per minute | Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes | Not published |
| Dialzara | per minute | Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes | Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35 |
| 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 |
| PATLive | per minute | $49/mo pay as you go with no minutes included, at $2.99 a minute; $99 for 50 minutes | Published on every tier: $2.99 a minute pay as you go, $2.29 on the $99 plan, $1.99 at $349, $1.79 at $759, down to $1.49 at $6,899 (re-read on patlive.com/pricing 2026-09-24) |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
Books the service slot during the call, answers the Monday pile-up, from $49 for 200 calls.
Worth it for: An independent shop whose service writer can't reach the phone in the busiest hours, and who wants bookings in the calendar, not on sticky notes.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Goodcall
One unit per customer, however often they ring back.
Worth it for: A shop where one customer calls several times about one repair. A repeat caller counts once at $79 for 100 unique customers.
Not for: A group running a separate line per shop, 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.
Rosie
The $49 entry price, with booking on the tier above.
Worth it for: A one-bay shop with short calls that mainly wants the phone picked up and a message taken, at $49 for 250 minutes.
Not for: Booking on the entry plan, since booking sits on the $149 Scale tier. The overage rate is not published either.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
Dialzara
The lowest price of entry, with overage on every tier.
Worth it for: A quiet shop testing the idea for $29, with the rate past 60 minutes printed from $0.48 down to $0.35.
Not for: A shop that fields real volume. Sixty minutes goes fast on quote 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.
Smith.ai
AI calls with a human team behind them, billed per call.
Worth it for: A transmission or restoration specialist, where about $2.00 a call on the $150 Pro plan is small next to one job.
Not for: A busy general shop on a budget, since calls past the free tier's 25 cost $3.00 each.
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.
PATLive
Human receptionists with a published rate card.
Worth it for: A shop owner who wants a person on every call and a printed price, from $99 for 50 minutes.
Not for: A shop with many short calls, since past the allowance the $99 plan bills $2.29 a minute.
Charges per minute. Entry plan $49/mo pay as you go with no minutes included, at $2.99 a minute; $99 for 50 minutes. After the allowance: Published on every tier: $2.99 a minute pay as you go, $2.29 on the $99 plan, $1.99 at $349, $1.79 at $759, down to $1.49 at $6,899 (re-read on patlive.com/pricing 2026-09-24).
How to pick a receptionist for your shop
Count your Monday. Most shops take a burst of calls in the first hour after opening, from drivers who noticed a noise over the weekend. GreetKeeper answers calls that arrive together at the same time, so the third caller in that burst is booked like the first.
Then decide what a status call needs. GreetKeeper takes the name, number and vehicle, and texts the on-call person the details so your service writer can ring back with the answer. When the car needs to come in, it books the slot and reads the time back before it writes.
Finally, look at the units. A quote call about a timing belt can run five minutes. Rosie and Dialzara bill that by the minute, Goodcall by the customer, and GreetKeeper by the answered call, at $0.45 past the allowance on Starter.
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 book an oil change or inspection?
Yes. GreetKeeper books into Google Calendar or Outlook during the call, on every plan. It reads the customer's name, number and the time back before it writes the booking. The customer then gets one text with the confirmation.
What happens when a customer calls about a breakdown or a tow?
You write a transfer rule for it. GreetKeeper puts the caller through to your team, and if that line isn't picked up it tries a second number you nominate. It can also text the on-call person with the caller's details.
Will it answer questions about my hours and which cars I service?
It answers the questions you train it on. Point GreetKeeper at your website for a first draft of your hours, services and FAQs, then correct it. Closure dates are set once, and it answers as closed on those days.
Do spam calls about my car's extended warranty count toward the plan?
No. GreetKeeper screens out robocalls and spam calls, dropping silent or robotic callers before the greeting. Screened calls and very short calls don't count toward your 200, 750 or 2,000 answered calls.
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a repair shop?
GreetKeeper starts at $49 a month for 200 answered calls and $0.45 a call past that, with booking included. Professional is $149 for 750 calls. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no card.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.