Guides · Comparisons
Best AI receptionist for small business (2026)
By the Lead Friendly team · Published September 26, 2026 · Updated September 26, 2026
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Short answer: The best AI receptionist for a small business depends on what should happen after the call. For answering and message-taking at the lowest price, Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls and Dialzara at $29 for 60 minutes. For a flat price with no usage meter, NextPhone charges $199 a month for unlimited calls, and Goodcall $79 per agent with unlimited minutes for up to 100 callers. Smith.ai has a free AI plan for 25 calls, and live receptionists from $300. If the call should land in a CRM and be followed up (texted back, booked, called again within calling hours), Lead Friendly includes the AI receptionist, the phone line and a CRM from $49 a month with 150 AI voice minutes. Prices are each vendor's own, read September 26, 2026.
The short list, September 2026
| Tool | Starting price (Sept 2026) | Included | After that | Books appointments | CRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Friendly | $49/mo | 150 AI voice minutes and 250 texts | $0.15/min | Yes, into your calendar during the call | Built in; HubSpot and Salesforce on Pro |
| Upfirst | $24.95/mo ($20 billed annually) | 30 calls | $1.50 a call | Yes: Google, Outlook, Calendly and more | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive and others, native or via Zapier |
| Dialzara | $29/mo | Up to 60 minutes | $0.48/min | Calendar sync from Pro ($99/mo) | Via Make, Zapier or API |
| Rosie | $49/mo ($41 billed annually) | 250 minutes | Moves you up to the next plan | On Scale ($149/mo) and up; booking links by text below that | Via Zapier; direct CRM integrations not yet available |
| Goodcall | $79/mo per agent ($66 billed annually) | Unlimited minutes; 100 unique callers | $0.50 per extra caller | Yes, with calendar sync | Via Zapier |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/mo ($79 billed annually) | 200 voice minutes, 400 texts, 100 chats | 25 credits a minute (a credit is $0.01) | Yes, built-in booking | Built in |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free for 25 calls (card required); Pro $150/mo | 75 calls on Pro | $2.50 a call on Pro ($3 on Free) | Yes (Calendly and others) | Salesforce, HubSpot and Clio, or 5,000+ apps via Zapier and Make |
| NextPhone | $199/mo (Pro) | Unlimited calls | None | Yes: Google and Outlook calendars | HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Clio and others on Growth (from $299/mo) |
| Podium AI Employee | No price published | 300 voice AI minutes a month | At Podium's then-current rates | Not stated on the pricing page | Part of Podium's platform |
Entry plans at monthly billing, as each vendor publishes them on its own site, read September 26, 2026. Where a page carries a figure visitors don't see (stale button data, an invisible label), the price shown to visitors is used.
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Live receptionists, for comparison
A person on the line costs more per call. Smith.ai's human receptionists start at $300 a month for 30 calls ($10 a call), then $11.50 for each call over, with appointment booking an extra $1.50 a call. Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes, billed in 60-second increments, and does not publish its overage rate. Smith.ai's AI plan, for comparison, is $150 a month for 75 calls ($2 a call).
People handle the unusual call better: the upset customer, the question nobody wrote down. Many businesses let the AI answer every call and hand the difficult ones to a person, which is what the transfer features in the table are for.
What to check before you choose
- Hours: every call, 24/7, or only after hours and overflow.
- Booking: does it book into your calendar during the call, or take a message and send a link?
- Transfers: can it pass a live call to a person, and on what rules?
- Missed calls: does it text back the calls it could not finish?
- The record: does the call land in a CRM (its own or yours), or only in an email summary?
- A busy month: what calls or minutes beyond the plan cost, and what happens to callers when the allowance runs out.
- Calling back: an AI that phones customers back is placing outbound calls, which brings in consent, calling hours and do-not-call rules.
How they charge
- By the minute: Lead Friendly, Dialzara, Rosie and My AI Front Desk include minutes and charge for more, or move you up a plan.
- By the call: Upfirst and Smith.ai include calls, so a long call costs the same as a short one.
- By the caller: Goodcall includes unlimited minutes and counts unique callers each month; robocalls and silent callers don't count.
- Flat: NextPhone charges one monthly price for unlimited calls.
Where Lead Friendly fits
Lead Friendly is not the cheapest way to have the phone answered: Upfirst, Dialzara and Smith.ai's free plan all start lower. It fits when the call should turn into follow-up: a missed call texted back, an appointment booked on the call, an outbound callback placed within calling hours, and every conversation kept on one customer record in a CRM that is part of the product, not a Zapier connection. Starter is $49 a month with 150 AI voice minutes and 250 texts, and the phone line is included in the minute.
Before each AI call it checks the recipient's local calling hours with stricter state rules, the internal do-not-call and STOP list, per-number call caps and account verification, and it discloses the AI on every AI call. Marketing-call consent is attested by the account owner, with per-contact enforcement optional. Federal DNC scrubbing is the customer's job.
How this comparison was made
Every competitor figure comes from that vendor's own website, read on September 26, 2026: pricing pages, FAQs and product pages. Where a vendor publishes no price, the table says so. Some pricing pages carry numbers visitors never see, such as stale button data or hidden labels; this page uses only the prices shown to visitors. Lead Friendly's figures come from its pricing page. If something here is out of date, email hello@leadfriendly.com and it will be corrected.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI receptionist for a small business?
It depends on what should happen after the call. For the lowest price, Upfirst ($24.95 a month for 30 calls) and Dialzara ($29 for 60 minutes). For unlimited calls at a flat price, NextPhone ($199 a month). For a free start, Smith.ai's AI plan (25 calls). For a receptionist with a built-in CRM that also follows up, Lead Friendly (from $49 a month with 150 AI voice minutes).
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Entry plans published in September 2026 run from free (Smith.ai, 25 calls a month) and $24.95 a month (Upfirst, 30 calls) to $199 a month (NextPhone, unlimited calls). Rosie, Lead Friendly, Goodcall and My AI Front Desk start between $49 and $99 a month. Human receptionist services start higher: Ruby at $250 a month for 50 minutes and Smith.ai at $300 for 30 calls.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments?
Most can. Upfirst, NextPhone, Smith.ai, My AI Front Desk, Goodcall and Lead Friendly book during the call on their entry plans. Rosie books directly on its Scale plan ($149 a month) and up, and texts booking links below that; Dialzara adds calendar sync from its $99 Pro plan.
Can an AI receptionist transfer calls to a person?
Yes, on most. Dialzara offers blind transfers on every plan and warm transfers from Pro; Rosie's warm and live transfers start on Scale; Upfirst, NextPhone, Smith.ai, Goodcall and Lead Friendly transfer on their entry plans. Check who can receive transfers and on what rules, such as time of day or who the caller asks for.
Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service?
It is cheaper and always on: Smith.ai charges $150 a month for 75 AI-answered calls against $300 for 30 calls answered by people. A person still handles unusual calls better, so many businesses let the AI answer every call and transfer the difficult ones.
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