The cheapest AI receptionists, and what the low price leaves out
We put ourselves top on a narrow claim: $49 buys 200 answered calls and books appointments, which no cheaper plan here does. Rosie matches the $49 and gates booking to $149. That gap is the whole reason our entry tier exists. We have no track record to set against Rosie's, so weigh that.
Dialzara has the lowest entry price at $29 a month, and it is a real product rather than a teaser. What $29 buys is 60 minutes, which is roughly fifteen to twenty actual conversations, so treat it as a way to try the category rather than a way to run a business on.
Rosie at $49 for 250 minutes stretches furthest if your calls are short. One condition matters: appointment booking and live transfer are not on it. They start at $149.
Smith.ai's free tier at $0 for 25 calls lets you hear one of these handle your own calls without paying anything. After 25 calls it is $3.00 a call, which is the most expensive rate on this page, so it works as a trial rather than a tier.
How this was put together
Entry prices read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026, with the allowance and the overage rate beside them, because a cheap plan with a hidden overage is not cheap.
What we compared
- The lowest published monthly price at which the product does something useful.
- What the allowance covers, converted into rough conversations rather than left as minutes.
- Whether booking is included at that price or gated to a higher tier.
- The overage rate, which is what a busy month actually costs.
What we could not test
- Whether a cheap plan performs as well as an expensive one from the same vendor, which none of them let you verify.
- Call quality at any price point, since we have run no controlled comparison.
- How often a cheap plan pushes you into overage, which depends on your calls rather than on the vendor.
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 |
| Dialzara | per minute | Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes | Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35 |
| 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 |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
The cheapest published plan here that actually books an appointment.
Worth it for: A buyer on a small budget whose calls are worth booking rather than merely logging, and who wants the overage printed before a busy month arrives.
Not for: Anyone who needs evidence the product works in the field, since we have no customers and no reviews. A cheap plan makes testing affordable, but you are still the one testing it. English only at launch, no certifications, and no uptime figure published.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Dialzara
The lowest real price in the category, and they publish the overage on every tier.
Worth it for: Trying an AI receptionist properly for the price of a couple of coffees, or a very low-volume business with short calls.
Not for: Anything approaching normal volume. Sixty minutes is fifteen to twenty conversations, after which the meter runs from $0.48 a minute.
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.
Rosie
The cheapest plan most people should actually consider, if booking is not why you are buying.
Worth it for: A business that wants calls answered and messages taken, with short calls and 250 minutes of headroom.
Not for: Anyone buying this to book appointments. That is the $149 tier. The overage rate is also unpublished, so a busy month is a number you find out afterwards.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
Smith.ai
Free for the first 25 calls, then the priciest per-call rate here.
Worth it for: Hearing the category handle your real calls without spending anything.
Not for: Ongoing use at the free tier's rate. Past 25 calls it is $3.00 a call until you move to the $150 Pro plan.
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
Not the cheapest headline, and sometimes the cheapest bill.
Worth it for: Trades with repeat callers, where $79 for 100 unique customers with uncapped minutes beats a cheaper per-minute plan.
Not for: A business with one phone line and a tight budget where every caller is new, which is where the cheaper plans above win outright.
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.
When the cheap plan is a false economy
The trap in this part of the market is the unpublished overage. A $49 plan with a hidden rate can cost more in a busy month than a $149 plan with a published one, and you cannot compare them in advance because two of the vendors here will not tell you the number. Ask before you sign, and treat reluctance as an answer.
The other trap is the gated feature. If booking is the job you are hiring this for, a cheap plan that takes messages is not a cheaper version of the product, it is a different product. Rosie is explicit about this and it is worth reading their tier list properly rather than the headline.
If your volume is genuinely tiny, say under thirty calls a month, none of this is urgent. A clear voicemail greeting and a habit of calling back within the hour will hold most of that value for nothing.
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
What is the actual cheapest?
Dialzara at $29 a month for 60 minutes, and Smith.ai is free for the first 25 calls. Neither is a plan you would run a busy phone on, which is the point of reading the allowance rather than the price.
Does a cheaper plan mean a worse assistant?
Usually it means a smaller allowance and fewer features rather than a different assistant. Rosie is the clearest example: the cheap plan gates booking and transfer rather than degrading the voice.
Why do you publish your overage rate?
Because the rate is what a busy month costs, and four of the vendors we track do not publish theirs. Ours is $0.45 a call on Starter, $0.35 on Professional and $0.25 on Scale.
Is a cheap AI receptionist better than voicemail?
For most businesses taking more than a handful of calls, yes, because a caller who reaches voicemail usually rings someone else instead of leaving a message. Below that volume the honest answer is that a fast callback habit does most of the same work.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.