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AI receptionists, costed at your real call volume.

If you miss calls while you work, an AI receptionist is the highest-return first agent you can hire: it answers in your business’s name, books real slots in your calendar, and sends a summary you can act on. Billing is the trap — per minute, per call and flat plans cross over fast, so every agent here is costed at 50 and 200 calls a month.

One business line · low ≈ 50, typical ≈ 200 calls/month · Every figure from the vendor’s own pricing page

#AgentLowTypicalBilledNo-codeSolo fit
1UpfirstAnswers every call and books the appointment for the lowest per-call entry price in this jobfrom $55from $160per callSolo-Ready
2GoodcallAnswers and books without ever metering minutes, billing only for each different customer helpedfrom $79from $111per unique callerSolo-Ready
3Rosie AICheap minute bundles for 24/7 answering, with real calendar booking once you step up a tierfrom $49from $149per minuteSolo-Ready
4DialzaraThe lowest entry price for a self-serve receptionist that still books and routes callsfrom $72from $239per minuteSolo-Ready
5NextPhoneOne flat monthly bill for unlimited inbound calls, however busy the month getsfrom $199from $199flat monthlySolo-Ready
6Smith.aiAI answering with trained human receptionists behind it when a call gets complicatedfrom $75from $385per callSolo-Ready
7Slang AIA phone host built only for restaurants, booking tables straight into your reservation systemfrom $399from $399flat monthly per locationSolo-Ready
8Sameday AIAn AI customer service rep for home services that books jobs straight onto your dispatch boardfrom $449from $789per minuteSmall-Team Ready
9Retell AIPay-as-you-go voice agent platform to build your own receptionist for cents per minutefrom $17from $66per minuteTechnical
10VapiDeveloper voice platform with swappable models and voices for a receptionist you fully ownfrom $12from $48per minuteTechnical
11Bland AIOne bundled per-minute rate for building phone agents, with the model and voice includedfrom $21from $84per minuteTechnical

Ranked picks

Reasons on every listing.
UpfirstAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedBest first AI receptionist for most solo founders, with the catch that busy phones make per-call billing add up.from $160Solo-ReadyGoodcallAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedExcellent for a solo shop with repeat callers and long calls, with the catch that extra locations mean extrafrom $111Solo-ReadyRosie AIAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedGreat value if your calls are short, with the catch that true booking starts at $149, not the $49 headline.from $149Solo-ReadyDialzaraAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedCheapest way to start for a quiet phone, with the catch that overage quietly erases the saving when calls pickfrom $239Solo-ReadyNextPhoneAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedThe calmest pricing in this job for a busy phone, with the catch that a quiet phone overpays for unlimited.from $199Solo-ReadySmith.aiAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedThe safest pick for valuable, complex intake calls, with the catch that you pay a clear premium for the humanfrom $385Solo-ReadySlang AIAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedBest phone answer for a solo full-service restaurant, with the catch that the per-location price only pays backfrom $399Solo-ReadySameday AIAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedPowerful for a growing trades team on ServiceTitan-class software, with the catch that a true solo operatorfrom $789Small-Team ReadyRetell AIAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedCheapest to run for a technical founder who will build it, with the catch that your time is the realfrom $66TechnicalVapiAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedThe most ownable way to run this job for a technical founder, with the catch that there is no receptionistfrom $48TechnicalBland AIAnswer the Phone & BookSolo Founder AgentsCheckedPredictable per-minute economics for a founder with a builder, with the catch that the receptionist itself isfrom $84Technical

What to look for

Questions, answered

Will callers know it's an AI?

Usually, yes — the better services identify themselves as a virtual receptionist, and disclosure is good practice (and required in some places). In practice callers care about getting booked or answered, and completion rates are high for routine calls. Complex or emotional calls should route to you, and each listing notes how handoff works.

Per minute or flat monthly — which is better for a solo business?

If your calls are short and seasonal, per-minute often wins. If customers talk — intake, quotes, troubleshooting — per-minute bills surprise people. The True Solo Cost figures on this page show both volumes so you can see where each model crosses over.

Can it book into my existing calendar?

Most leaders connect to Google Calendar, Outlook or tools like Calendly and book real availability. Each listing names the calendar integrations we verified on the vendor's own pages. If booking matters most, filter this page for it — message-taking-only services are marked as such.

What happens when it can't handle a call?

Configured well: it takes a structured message, promises a callback window, and alerts you immediately. Configured badly: the caller hits a wall. Setup quality is part of our Solo-Ready scoring — listings with weak fallback options say so in their cons.

Another job to fill? Do the Books · Find & Chase Leads · Run Operations & Workflows · Answer Customers · Run Admin & Scheduling