AI Receptionist Pricing: Compare Minutes, Calls, and Customers
Reviewed by James McKinney, founder of Yapper. James builds Yapper for trades and small service businesses that need 24/7 phone coverage, emergency call routing, and simple flat-rate AI receptionist pricing.
Disclosure: Published by Yapper, a provider included in this comparison. Prices are published examples, not independently tested results. Checked .
Compare the bill for your workload, not just the starting price. AI and live answering services sell minutes, calls, unique customers, or a mix of human and AI time. The lowest advertised tier may not include the transfer or scheduling workflow you need.
Provider products and billing units
Yapper — Starter: $199/month for 200 minutes. Pro: $349/month for 500 minutes.
Each plan includes a monthly minute allowance. We do not bill automatic overage. If you regularly exceed your included minutes, we will contact you about a larger plan or pausing service until the next billing cycle.
| Product / handling | Published price / usage | Routing / scheduling | Best fit / check | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI ReceptionistAI-first; human escalation available | Free: $0 for 25 calls. Pro: $150/month for 75 calls. Pro additional calls: $2.50 each; check escalation and optional service charges. | Configurable workflows and transfers; verify escalation rules for your business. Calendly scheduling and integrations advertised. | Owners who need integrations or an AI service with human escalation. Call-based billing is different from minute-based billing; compare add-ons as well as the base plan. | Official pricing |
| Smith.ai Human-firstLive receptionists, 24/7 | Starter: $300/month for 30 calls. Starter additional calls: $11.50 each. Optional services can cost extra. | Starter includes one transfer destination. Appointment booking: $1.50/call; CRM options available. | Businesses that want a person handling intake and exceptions. This is a separate product from Smith.ai AI Receptionist. | Official pricing |
| DialzaraAI receptionist | Lite: $29/month for 60 minutes. Pro: $99 for 220 minutes. Lite: $0.48/additional minute. Pro: $0.45/additional minute. | Blind transfers included; warm transfers on higher tiers. Calendar and workflow features vary by tier; verify your required integration. | Owners seeking a lower entry price with metered extra minutes. Plus is $199 for 500 minutes; compare transfer type and integrations before choosing a tier. | Official pricing |
| GoodcallAI receptionist | Starter: $79/month per agent for 100 unique customers. $0.50/additional unique customer; unlimited minutes and tokens. | Contact-directory transfers and configurable logic flows. Forms and Zapier workflows; confirm the scheduling flow you need. | Businesses with repeat callers or long calls that benefit from customer-based billing. Unique customers, agents, and logic-flow limits matter more than total call minutes. | Official pricing |
| RubyLive receptionists, 24/7; optional AI enhancements | $250/month for 50 minutes; $720 for 200 minutes; $1,725 for 500 minutes. Minute packages; confirm the applicable extra-minute rate with Ruby. | Personalized call handling and flexible forwarding. Scheduling and bilingual answering available. | Owners who want live handling and Spanish or bilingual coverage. Use your actual call duration when choosing a minute package. | Official pricing |
| AnswerConnectLive receptionists, 24/7 | Entry: $350/month for 200 minutes plus $49.99 setup. Growth: $395 for 300 minutes, no setup fee. Entry: $2.50/additional minute. Growth: $1.85/additional minute. | Call routing and transfers advertised. CRM integrations; confirm scheduling requirements in the proposal. | Businesses that need live coverage and a configurable intake script. Published billing rounds interactions up to a minute; short-call exclusions have conditions. | Official pricing |
| ReceptionHQLive answering; service-specific coverage | MessageExpress: from $25/month plus $1.99 per answered call. This entry offer adds a per-call charge; other products and plans differ. | ReceptionistPlus offers transfers; MessageExpress is message taking. MyDiary is a separate scheduling product. | Low-volume message taking, or owners selecting a specific live-assistance product. The entry offer describes business-hours coverage; check after-hours terms and recipient limits. | Official pricing |
| AbbyHuman, AI, or a mix | Starter: $165/month for 50 Abby Minutes. Published plans double the included minutes when choosing AI; confirm mix and extra-usage charges. | Confirm transfer rules and coverage for your selected human/AI mix. Confirm the calendar and intake workflow with Abby. | Owners who want to choose or change the mix of human and AI handling. Abby Minutes are product-specific; do not treat them as the same allowance as Yapper minutes. | Official pricing |
Three billing units that are not interchangeable
Minute plans depend on call duration and rounding. Call plans depend on billable call counts and any long-call rules. Unique-customer plans depend on how many distinct customers call, so repeat callers can make them attractive. Ask whether spam, wrong numbers, transfers, and outbound follow-up count.
A price per call cannot be compared directly with a price per minute. Export your own call count and total duration, then ask each provider to quote that workload with your required features.
Example budget: 100 calls averaging three minutes
This is a hypothetical workload, not a customer result: 100 billable calls, 300 billed minutes, and 100 unique customers in one month. Assume monthly billing, no optional add-ons, and the provider’s standard included allowance. Actual rounding, spam exclusions, transfer time, and customer definitions can change the bill.
Yapper Pro: $349, within its 500-minute allowance. Starter’s 200 minutes do not cover this scenario; do not treat Starter as an unlimited $199 plan.
Dialzara Pro: $99 + (300 − 220) × $0.45 = $135. Smith.ai AI Pro: $150 + (100 − 75) × $2.50 = $212.50 before optional charges. Goodcall Starter: $79 for one agent if all 100 customers fit its unique-customer definition. AnswerConnect Growth: $395 within 300 billed minutes; different call rounding can exceed that allowance.
These figures compare base answering costs, not identical services. Dialzara and Goodcall are less expensive in this example. Yapper should earn its price through a demonstrated fit for your trade workflow, not a claim that every alternative costs more.
Yapper’s product pricing
Starter: $199/month for 200 minutes. Pro: $349/month for 500 minutes.
Annual Starter is $1,990/year; annual Pro is $3,490/year. Annual payment does not turn the monthly minute allowance into an unlimited pool.
Each plan includes a monthly minute allowance. We do not bill automatic overage. If you regularly exceed your included minutes, we will contact you about a larger plan or pausing service until the next billing cycle.
Yapper captures appointment requests and can text your booking link. It does not write directly to your calendar or dispatch system. You or your scheduling tool confirm the visit and arrival time.
7-day free trial. No credit card required to start. If you do not add billing before the trial ends, call answering pauses and you will not be charged.
What to include in a written quote
Ask about setup fees, additional usage, transfer destinations, after-hours coverage, bilingual handling, calendar access, recordings, and CRM updates. Get a worked bill at both normal and peak seasonal volume. Keep any discounts separate from the standard rate so the renewal cost is clear.
Frequently asked questions
Does Yapper confirm appointments in my calendar?
Yapper captures appointment requests and can text your booking link. It does not write directly to your calendar or dispatch system. You or your scheduling tool confirm the visit and arrival time.
What happens if I exceed Yapper’s included minutes?
Each plan includes a monthly minute allowance. We do not bill automatic overage. If you regularly exceed your included minutes, we will contact you about a larger plan or pausing service until the next billing cycle.
When should I choose a human answering service?
Choose a live service when calls need negotiation, complex exceptions, sensitive conversations, or a workflow that your AI service cannot support. Ask the provider to demonstrate the exact intake and dispatch process you need.