Cheap virtual receptionist options, and what the low price buys
Cheap is real in this market, but what you get for it is usually a smaller quantity than you'd assume. Dialzara's $29 buys you 60 minutes, about twenty conversations. Rosie's $49 buys you 250 minutes and keeps appointment booking on the $149 tier above. Posh's $65 buys you a subscription and no minutes at all. Smith.ai will answer 25 of your calls a month for nothing and then charge you $3.00 each.
So the question isn't which number is smallest. It's which plan survives your actual month. A plan that costs $29 and runs out on the 11th is not cheaper than one that costs $49 and doesn't.
Three things turn a cheap plan expensive: an unpublished overage rate, a feature you needed sitting one tier up, and a per-minute meter meeting callers who like to talk.
The low end, with what the price actually includes
| Service | Price | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai free tier | $0 | 25 calls | $3.00 a call after, the steepest per-call rate here |
| Dialzara | $29 | 60 minutes | Roughly twenty conversations; next tier is $99 |
| GreetKeeper Starter | $49 | 200 answered calls | None: booking included, $0.45 a call printed |
| Rosie | $49 | 250 minutes | Booking and live transfer start at $149 |
| Posh Chïc | $65 | 0 minutes | $2.30 every minute, so 30 minutes costs $134 |
| Goodcall | $79 | 100 unique callers | Priced per phone number, so a second line doubles it |
| PATLive | $99 | 50 minutes | $2.29 after, the dearest overage at the low end |
Read on each vendor's own pricing page, September 2026.
How a cheap plan becomes an expensive month
- The overage you can't look up. Rosie's isn't published, so a 250-minute plan that runs out on the 20th has no knowable cost for the rest of the month.
- The gated feature. If booking is why you bought a receptionist, Rosie's $49 becomes $149 the day you switch it on.
- The zero-minute base. Posh's $65 is only $65 if nobody rings.
- Per-number pricing. Goodcall charges per phone number, so a shop with a sales line and a service line pays $158 before an extra caller.
- The tier cliff. Dialzara's steps run $29, then $99. There's no gentle way up.
Worked example
A single-chair barber takes 80 calls a month. Most are 'are you open' or a booking, so they average 90 seconds. That's 120 minutes.
Dialzara
$29 covers 60 minutes, then 60 more at roughly $0.48. $29 + $28.80 = $57.80.
Rosie
$49 covers 250 minutes, so 120 fits. $49, though booking isn't on this tier.
Posh Chïc
$65 + 120 × $2.30 = $341.
GreetKeeper
80 answered calls, inside Starter. $49.
Short calls are where minute meters look best, and Rosie's $49 covers his minutes. It keeps booking on the $149 tier, though, while GreetKeeper books on $49. Posh, whose entry price looks close, would cost him five times more.
Where our own price sits
Ours is $49 for 200 answered calls with $0.45 after, and booking is on that plan rather than the one above it. That's the whole argument at the cheap end: not that we're cheapest, but that the $49 doesn't have a second price behind it.
Transfers, message taking, transcripts and summaries all come on the same $49 plan, with nothing gated one tier up.
| 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 |
Getting the most from a low-cost plan
Check that the cheapest tier can book. GreetKeeper's $49 Starter plan books appointments, reads the details back and sends a summary of every call.
Set transfer rules for callers who need a person, so a low-cost plan still gets upset or complex callers to your team.
Very short calls, robocalls and screened calls don't count toward your GreetKeeper plan, so a cheap plan goes further.
Every competitor figure on this page was read on that vendor's own pricing page in September 2026. Prices change. Check before you buy.
Questions people ask
What's the cheapest virtual receptionist that books appointments?
Of the published prices we've checked, ours at $49, because you get booking on every tier. Rosie's booking starts at $149. Dialzara's $29 plan does more than take messages, but gives you only 60 minutes to do it in.
Is a free tier ever the right answer?
Only for a very quiet phone. Smith.ai's free tier covers 25 calls a month and then charges $3.00 a call, the most expensive per-call rate in this comparison. One busy week puts it above a $49 plan.
Why is a $65 plan sometimes dearer than a $215 one?
Posh's $65 Chïc tier gives you no minutes at $2.30 each, while the $215 Elegant tier gives you 100 at $2.15. Past about 70 minutes of use, the dearer-looking plan is your cheaper one. Same vendor, same page.
Does cheap mean offshore?
Not necessarily, and we'd not lead with it. If a person is answering, ask where they're based. If software is, ask what it does when it can't answer. Your second question separates these services more than the first one will.
Check the second price before you buy the first
Every cheap plan has one: the overage, the gated feature, or the next tier. Find it before you sign up.