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Three things turn a cheap plan expensive: an unpublished overage rate, a feature you needed sitting one tier up, and a per-minute meter meeting callers who like to talk.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 | No human fallback; we have no operating record |
| 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 the one case where a minute meter genuinely wins, so if yours are like his, Rosie's $49 for 250 minutes is a real bargain and you should take it. Posh, whose entry price looks close to the others, would cost him five times more on the same phone.
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.
If your phone rings fewer than about 25 times a month and the calls are short, Dialzara at $29 or Smith.ai's free tier will cost you less than we will.
| 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 |
Before you act on any of this
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?
Yes, if you're under about 25 calls a month. Smith.ai's free tier covers exactly that and then charges you $3.00 a call, the most expensive per-call rate in this comparison. It's a genuinely good deal for you right up until it isn't.
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.