Best AI receptionist for small business with 9 AI receptionists priced at 100 and 250 calls

The best AI receptionist for a small business is the one that books the appointment during the call, puts urgent callers through to a person, and costs a predictable amount in your busiest month. Priced at 100 and 250 calls a month from each provider's own published pricing, checked between October 8 and October 12, 2026, nine AI receptionists run from $68 to $270 at 100 calls and from $118 to $500 at 250 calls. The cheapest sticker is rarely the cheapest bill, because each vendor counts something different.

That is the short answer. The useful one depends on three questions: does the AI have to book appointments or only take messages, does it need to transfer a live caller to you, and does your call volume swing from month to month. Below are nine AI receptionists we could price from a published rate card, ranked by the small business each one fits, including where our own product is not the cheapest choice.

Best AI receptionist for small business, ranked by situation

• Best for a small business that wants calls booked and urgent callers transferred on one flat bill: PhoneAgent.ai. $89 a month on Starter for about 150 calls, or $199 on Professional for about 500 calls with warm transfer to whoever you choose. It books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly or Acuity during the call, answers in English or Spanish on every plan, and texts back anyone who hangs up before it answers.
• Best if you already use Quo (formerly OpenPhone) for your business number: Sona. Every Quo plan includes 10 AI-answered calls, and credit tiers add 40, 100, 250 or 600 calls for $25, $49, $99 or $199. The cheapest total in our model, but only on top of Quo seats, and it pauses at zero credits unless you switch overage on.
• Best cheapest standalone AI receptionist for a solo owner: Upfirst. $59.95 a month for 90 calls, then $1 a call, or $159.95 for 300 calls. Spam calls and calls under 15 seconds are not billed.
• Best when the same customers call back several times: Goodcall. $79 a month for 100 unique callers, then $0.79 each, or $129 for 500. Minutes are never metered, so long calls cost nothing extra.
• Best for home service businesses already running Jobber: Jobber Receptionist. A $29 add-on with 30 conversations, then $0.79 each, and the job lands in Jobber because it is Jobber.
• Best for long calls on a fixed minute bucket: Rosie. $149 a month for 1,000 minutes, the first plan that books appointments (the $49 plan takes messages only).
• Best AI and human from one vendor: Smith.ai. AI plans from $150 for 75 calls, with human receptionist plans you can move a line to later without changing company.

What 100 and 250 calls a month cost at each AI receptionist

The model is a small business taking 100 calls in a normal month and 250 in a busy one, at a three minute average call (300 and 750 minutes). Those counts are our assumption, so rerun the math with your own phone bill. Unique callers are counted as calls, which is the worst case for Goodcall. Rows run from cheapest to most expensive at 100 calls.

How the less obvious figures are built. Quo includes 10 Sona calls on every plan and sells 100 calls for $49 and 250 for $99, and the cheapest seat is $19 a month billed monthly. Upfirst's Pro plan is $159.95 for 300 calls with $0.75 a call over, so 250 calls fits inside it. Goodcall's Starter is $79 for 100 callers plus $0.79 each, so at 250 callers Growth at $129 is the cheaper plan. Jobber's add-on is $29 plus $0.79 for each conversation past 30. Frontdesk's $99 covers 200 minutes and every minute past that is $0.25. Moneypenny's AI plans are $69 for 25 calls, $99 for 50, $199 for 100 and $435 for 250. Smith.ai's AI plans are $150 for 75 calls, $270 for 150, $500 for 300 and $800 for 500.

How much does an AI receptionist cost for a small business?

For a small business taking 100 to 250 calls a month, an AI receptionist costs about $68 to $500 a month on published pricing, and most land between $79 and $200. That is a fraction of a live answering service, which runs roughly $400 to $1,725 at 100 calls, and of a part time receptionist, which costs more than that in wages alone.

What decides your actual bill is the unit the vendor counts. Per minute plans punish long calls, per call plans punish busy months, per caller plans reward repeat callers, and flat plans charge the same whatever happens. Our pricing is flat: $89, $199 or $399 a month, no per minute fee, no contract. The full method, including live services, is on the AI receptionist pricing page.

Which AI receptionist is best for a small business on a tight budget?

On sticker price, Quo Sona, Upfirst and Goodcall are the cheapest AI receptionists at 100 calls a month, all under $80. Quo is cheapest only if your business number already lives on Quo. Upfirst is the cheapest standalone choice for a solo owner, and Goodcall is the cheapest standalone option at 250 calls, at $129.

Before you pick on price alone, run two test calls. Ask to book a real appointment and check whether a slot appears in your calendar, and then say something urgent and check whether the call reaches your phone. A $60 plan that only takes messages can cost you more than a $199 plan that books the job, because the caller who gets a message-taker often calls the next business on the list. The Goodcall pricing and Rosie AI pricing breakdowns show where each plan stops booking.

What should a small business look for in an AI receptionist?

Five things separate an AI receptionist that pays for itself from one that annoys your customers. Check each of them on a demo call, not in the sales deck.

• Booking during the call. It should put a real appointment in Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly or your scheduling tool before the caller hangs up, not send you a message to call them back.
• Live transfer. Some calls need you. The AI should warm transfer them to the right phone, with a one line summary first, by rules you set.
• A bill that does not jump in your busy month. Look at what the plan costs at double your normal volume, not your normal volume.
• Honest disclosure. A good AI receptionist says it is an AI in its first sentence. Several states now regulate automated calls, and customers trust a business that does not pretend.
• Spanish, if your customers speak it. Some vendors include it, some charge extra, and some do not offer it. PhoneAgent.ai includes it on every plan.

Is an AI receptionist worth it for a small business?

Yes, for most small businesses that miss calls during working hours or after hours. A single booked job, appointment or new client usually covers a month of any plan in the table above, and callers who reach voicemail mostly do not leave a message. They call the next business instead.

It is less worth it if someone already answers every call, every hour, and your phone never rings over. Then an AI receptionist is an overflow and after hours tool, which is how many owners start. If you are still deciding between software and a person, AI receptionist vs human receptionist compares the two on cost and coverage, and best virtual receptionist for small business prices the live options next to the AI ones.

Can an AI receptionist answer calls for my existing business number?

Yes. With a standalone AI receptionist you forward your existing number, all the time, after hours only, or only when nobody picks up within a few rings. Your number, your listings and your signage stay exactly as they are. Quo Sona and Jobber Receptionist are different: they work inside their own phone or field service platform, so they make sense mainly if you already use it.

Getting set up is also the moment to check the rest of your front door. If the calls come from a website that is out of date or missing your service pages, an AI website builder can get a working site live while the receptionist handles the phone. PhoneAgent.ai takes about ten minutes to set up: you give it your hours, services and booking rules, forward the number, and make a test call.

Where PhoneAgent.ai fits, and where it does not

PhoneAgent.ai is the right buy when you want calls booked, urgent callers transferred and a bill that stays the same in your busiest month. At 100 calls it costs more than Quo Sona, Upfirst, Goodcall or Jobber's add-on, and at 250 calls Goodcall, Rosie and Upfirst all come in under our $199. We say that because it is true, and because the price difference is often smaller than one missed booking.

It is the wrong buy if your whole business runs inside Jobber and you need jobs created there automatically, or if your number already lives on Quo and a message-taking AI is enough. For everyone else, the fastest way to judge it is to call it. The AI receptionist for small business page shows what it answers and books, and the best AI receptionist page compares it with the wider category.